Dual Discontinuous Reception (DRX) in Frequency Range 1 (FR1) and Frequency Range 2 (FR2) Carrier Aggregation (CA)

Abstract

The techniques discussed herein may facilitate configuring a user equipment (UE) with two or more discontinuous reception (DRX) configurations. A first set of techniques may facilitate configuring the UE with independent DRX configurations for frequency range 1 (FR1) and for frequency range 2 (FR2). A second set of techniques may facilitate configuring the UE with independent DRX configurations for a first set of one or more component carriers (CCs) associated with a first frequency band of a supported frequency band combination and for a second set of one or more CCs associated with a second frequency band of a supported frequency band combination. Various implementations may employ techniques from one or more of the first set of techniques or the second set of techniques.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless technologies, and more particularly to technologies related to configuring a user equipment (UE) for operation in one or more of frequency range 1 (FR1) or frequency range 2 (FR2) with two or more discontinuous reception configurations. Background Art

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) radio access technology (RAT) is a newly developed air interface for 5G. 5G NR uses frequency bands in two different frequency ranges: Frequency Range 1 (FR1) including bands below 6 GHz, and Frequency Range 2 (FR2) including bands above 6 GHz (e.g., including millimeter wave (mmWave), including bands at 24 GHz and above).

[0003] While FR1 overlaps and / or shares some frequency bands employed in other RATs (e.g., fourth generation (4G) long term evolution (LTE) bands), FR2 is a unique design feature of 5G NR that provides multiple advantages but also presents challenges that make operation on FR2 significantly different from operation on FR1. FR2 allows UEs to access much higher bandwidth, which may be advantageous for services that benefit from high data rates and / or low latency. However, FR2 suffers from increased path loss compared to lower frequencies. In addition, FR2 operation may involve increased power consumption and thermal issues. Due to the possible higher data rates via FR2, baseband processing, transmission, and even AP loading may result in increased power consumption. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating the architecture of a system including a core network (CN), such as a fifth generation (5G) CN (5GC), according to various embodiments.

[0005] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating example components of an apparatus that may be employed in accordance with various aspects discussed herein.

[0006] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example interface of baseband circuitry that may be employed in accordance with various aspects discussed herein.

[0007] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating a system that facilitates configuring a UE with two or more discontinuous reception (DRX) configurations in accordance with various embodiments discussed herein.

[0008] Figure 5is an exemplary timing diagram illustrating a carrier aggregation scenario in accordance with various aspects discussed herein, wherein a frequency range (FR1) cell and a frequency (FR2) cell of a UE are configured to have the same DRX cycle but with different drx-InactivityTimer and drx-onDurationTimer values.

[0009] Figure 6 is an exemplary timing diagram illustrating operation of a UE with different DRX configurations for FR1 and FR2, the UE being capable of independent measurement gaps (MGs) for FR1 and FR2 (or per-FR MGs) according to various embodiments discussed herein.

[0010] Figure 7 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method that can be employed at a UE to facilitate operation of different DRX configurations for FR1 and FR2 according to various embodiments discussed herein.

[0011] Figure 8 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method that can be employed at a next generation Node B (gNB) according to various embodiments discussed herein to facilitate configuring a UE with different DRX configurations for FR1 and FR2.

[0012] Fig. 9 is an exemplary timing diagram illustrating operation of different DRX configurations for a first component carrier (CC1) on band A and for CC2 on band B for a UE capable of independent DRX configuration for band combination A+B according to various embodiments discussed herein.

[0013] Fig.10 is an exemplary timing diagram illustrating the operation of different DRX configurations for a first CC (CC1) on a first frequency band (Band A), for a second CC (CC2) on a second frequency band (Band B), and for a third CC (CC3) on a third frequency band (Band C) for a UE capable of independent DRX configuration for frequency band combination A+B+C according to various embodiments discussed herein.

[0014] Fig.11 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method that can be employed at a UE to facilitate operation of independent DRX configurations for a first set of CCs and a second set of CCs based on supported frequency band combinations in accordance with various embodiments discussed herein.

[0015] Fig.12 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method that can be employed at a gNB to facilitate configuring a UE with independent DRX configurations for a first set of CCs and a second set of CCs based on supported frequency band combinations in accordance with various embodiments discussed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein throughout the text, similar figure numerals are used to refer to similar elements, and the structures and devices shown therein need not be drawn to scale. As used herein, the terms "component", "system", "interface", etc. are intended to refer to entities, hardware, software (e.g., in execution) and / or firmware related to a computer. For example, a component may be a processor (e.g., a microprocessor, a controller or other processing device), a process running on a processor, a controller, an object, an executable file, a program, a storage device, a computer, a tablet computer, and / or a user equipment with a processing device (e.g., a mobile phone or other devices configured to communicate via a 3GPP RAN, etc.). By way of example, an application program and a server running on a server may also be a component. One or more components may reside in a process, and a component may be located on a computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. A group of elements or a group of other components may be described herein, wherein the term "group" may be interpreted as "one or more", unless the context indicates otherwise (e.g., "empty group", "a group of two or more Xs", etc.).

[0017] In addition, these components can execute from various computer-readable storage media having various data structures stored thereon, such as using modules, for example. Components can communicate via local and / or remote processes, such as according to signals having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacts with another component in a local system, a distributed system, and / or an entire network, such as the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network, or a similar network with other systems via signals).

[0018] As another example, a component may be a device having a specific function provided by a mechanical component operated by an electrical or electronic circuit, wherein the electrical or electronic circuit may be operated by a software application or a firmware application executed by one or more processors. The one or more processors may be internal or external to the device and may execute at least a portion of the software or firmware application. As another example, a component may be a device that provides a specific function by electronic components without mechanical components; the electronic component may include one or more processors therein to execute at least a portion of the software and / or firmware that gives the electronic component its function.

[0019] The use of the word "exemplary" is intended to present concepts in a specific way. As used in this application, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or". That is, unless otherwise specified or clear from the context, "X employs A or B" is intended to mean any natural inclusive arrangement. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then "X employs A or B" is satisfied in any of the foregoing cases. In addition, the articles "one" and "an" used in this application and the appended claims should generally be interpreted as meaning "one or more" unless otherwise specified or clear from the context to point to a singular form. In addition, to the extent that the terms "including", "comprising", "having", "having", "with" or variations thereof are used in the detailed description and claims, such terms are intended to be included in a manner similar to the term "comprising". In addition, in the case of discussing one or more numbered items (e.g., "first X", "second X", etc.), generally, one or more numbered items may be different or they may be the same, but in some cases, the context may indicate that they are different or that they are the same.

[0020] As used herein, the term "circuit" may refer to, may be part of, or may include an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), electronic circuit, processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and / or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes one or more software or firmware programs, combinational logic circuits, and / or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, a circuit may be implemented in one or more software or firmware modules, or the functionality associated with the circuit may be implemented by one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, a circuit may include logic that is at least partially operable in hardware.

[0021]

[0013] Various aspects discussed herein may be directed to facilitating wireless communications, and the nature of these communications may vary.

[0022] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0023] The embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and / or software. Figure 1The architecture of a system 100 including a core network (CN) 120 (e.g., a fifth generation (5G) CN (5GC)) according to various embodiments is shown. The system 100 is shown to include: a UE 101, which may be the same or similar to one or more other UEs discussed herein; a third generation partnership project (3GPP) radio access network (radio AN or RAN) or other (e.g., non-3GPP) AN, (R) AN 210, which may include one or more RAN nodes (e.g., evolved Node B (eNB), next generation Node B (gNB and / or other nodes) or other nodes or access points; and a data network (DN) 203, which may be, for example, an operator service, Internet access, or a third party service; and a fifth generation core network (5GC) 120. 5GC 120 may include one or more of the following functions and network components: authentication server function (AUSF) 122; access and mobility management function (AMF) 121; session management function (SMF) 124; network exposure function (NEF) 123; policy control function (PCF) 126; network repository function (NRF) 125; unified data management (UDM) 127; application function (AF) 128; user plane (UP) function (UPF) 102; and network slice selection function (NSSF) 129.

[0024] The UPF 102 may serve as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point interconnected with the DN 103, and a branch point to support multi-homed PDU sessions. The UPF 102 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, perform the user plane portion of policy rules, lawful interception of packets (UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform QoS processing on the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, uplink (UL) / downlink (DL) rate enforcement), perform uplink traffic verification (e.g., service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in uplink and downlink, and perform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 102 may include an uplink classifier for supporting routing of traffic to a data network. The DN 103 may represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. The DN 103 may include or be similar to an application server. UPF 102 may interact with SMF 124 via an N4 reference point between SMF 124 and UPF 102 .

[0025] AUSF 122 may store data for authentication of UE 101 and handle authentication-related functions. AUSF 122 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. AUSF 122 may communicate with AMF 121 via an N12 reference point between AMF 121 and AUSF 122; and may communicate with UDM 127 via an N13 reference point between UDM 127 and AUSF 122. In addition, AUSF 122 may present an interface based on Nausf services.

[0026] AMF 121 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., responsible for registering UE 101, etc.), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, and lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. AMF 121 may be the termination point of the N11 reference point between AMF 121 and SMF 124. AMF 121 may provide transport for SM messages between UE 101 and SMF 124, and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. AMF 121 may also provide communication between UE 101 and Short Message Service (SMS) Function (SMSF) ( Figure 1 101). The AMF 121 may provide transport for SMS messages between the (R)AN 110 and the AMF 121. The AMF 121 may act as a security anchor function (SEAF), which may include interaction with the AUSF 122 and the UE 101 and / or receiving intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 101 authentication process. In the case of using authentication based on the Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM), the AMF 121 may retrieve security material from the AUSF 122. The AMF 121 may also include a single connection mode (SCM) function that receives keys from the SEA for deriving access network-specific keys. In addition, the AMF 121 may be a termination point for a RAN control plane (CP) interface, which may include or be an N2 reference point between the (R)AN 110 and the AMF 121; and the AMF 121 may be a termination point for non-access stratum (NAS) (N1) signaling, and perform NAS encryption and integrity protection.

[0027] AMF 121 may also support NAS signaling with UE 101 over a non-3GPP (N3) interworking function (IWF) interface. N3 IWF may be used to provide access to untrusted entities. N3 IWF may be the termination point for the N2 interface between (R) AN 110 and AMF 121 for the control plane, and may be the termination point for the N3 reference point between (R) AN 110 and UPF 102 for the user plane. Thus, AMF 121 may process N2 signaling for PDU sessions and QoS from SMF 124 and AMF 121, encapsulate / decapsulate packets for Internet Protocol (IP) Security (IPSec) and N3 tunnels, mark N3 user plane packets in the uplink, and perform QoS requirements corresponding to N3 packet markings, thereby taking into account QoS requirements associated with such markings received over N2. The N3IWF may also relay uplink and downlink control plane NAS signaling between the UE 101 and the AMF 121 via the N1 reference point between the UE 101 and the AMF 121, and relay uplink and downlink user plane packets between the UE 101 and the UPF 102. The N3IWF also provides a mechanism for establishing an IPsec tunnel with the UE 101. The AMF 121 may present an interface based on the Namf service, and may be an N14 reference point between the two AMFs 121 and an N14 reference point between the AMF 121 and the 5G Equipment Identity Register (5G-EIR) ( Figure 1 The termination point of the N17 reference point between (not shown).

[0028] UE 101 may register with AMF 121 in order to receive network services. Registration Management (RM) is used to register UE 101 with the network (e.g., AMF 121) or deregister UE 101, and to establish a UE context in the network (e.g., AMF 121). UE 101 may operate in an RM-REGISTRED state or an RM-DEREGISTRED state. In the RM-DEREGISTERED state, UE 101 is not registered with the network, and the UE context in AMF 121 does not maintain valid location or routing information of UE 101, so AMF 121 cannot reach UE 101. In the RM-REGISTERED state, UE 101 is registered with the network, and the UE context in AMF 121 may maintain valid location or routing information of UE 101, so AMF 121 can reach UE 101. In the RM-REGISTERED state, UE 101 can perform a mobility registration update procedure, perform a periodic registration update procedure triggered by expiration of a periodic update timer (e.g., to notify the network that UE 101 is still active), and perform a registration update procedure to update UE capability information or renegotiate protocol parameters with the network, etc.

[0029] AMF 121 may store one or more RM contexts for UE 101, each RM context being associated with a specific access to the network. An RM context may be a data structure, a database object, or the like, which indicates or stores, in particular, a registration status and a periodic update timer for each access type. AMF 121 may also store a 5GC Mobility Management (MM) context, which may be the same or similar to an (Enhanced Packet System (EPS)) MM ((E)MM) context. In various embodiments, AMF 121 may store coverage enhancement (CE) mode B restriction parameters for UE 101 in an associated MM context or RM context. AMF 121 may also derive values ​​from the UE's usage setting parameters already stored in the UE context (and / or MM / RM context) when necessary.

[0030] Connection Management (CM) may be used to establish and release a signaling connection between the UE 101 and the AMF 121 through the N1 interface. The signaling connection is used to implement NAS signaling exchanges between the UE 101 and the CN 120, and includes a signaling connection between the UE and the AN (e.g., an RRC connection or a UE-N3IWF connection for non-3GPP access) and an N2 connection between the UE 101 in the AN (e.g., the RAN 110) and the AMF 121. The UE 101 may operate in one of two CM states (CM IDLE mode or CM-CONNECTED mode). When the UE 101 operates in the CM-IDLE state / mode, the UE 101 may not have a NAS signaling connection established with the AMF 121 through the N1 interface, and there may be a (R)AN 110 signaling connection (e.g., N2 and / or N3 connection) for the UE 101. When the UE 101 operates in the CM-CONNECTED state / mode, the UE 101 may have a NAS signaling connection established with the AMF 121 through the N1 interface, and there may be a (R) AN 110 signaling connection (e.g., N2 and / or N3 connection) for the UE 101. Establishing an N2 connection between the (R) AN 110 and the AMF 121 may cause the UE 101 to transition from the CM-IDLE mode to the CM-CONNECTED mode, and when the N2 signaling between the (R) AN 110 and the AMF 121 is released, the UE 101 may transition from the CM-CONNECTED mode to the CM-IDLE mode.

[0031] SMF 124 may be responsible for session management (SM) (e.g., session establishment, modification, and release, including tunnel maintenance between UPF and AN nodes); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of UP functions; configuring traffic steering of the UPF to route traffic to the correct destination; terminating interfaces toward policy control functions; control portions of policy enforcement and QoS; lawful interception (for SM events and interfaces with lawful interception (LI) systems); terminating the SM portion of NAS messages; downlink data notification; initiating AN-specific SM information sent to AN via AMF over N2; and determining the session and service continuity (SSC) mode for the session. SM may refer to the management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or "session" may refer to a PDU connection service that provides or implements the exchange of PDUs between UE 101 and a data network (DN) 103 identified by a data network name (DNN). The PDU session may be established at the request of UE 101, modified at the request of UE 101 and 5GC 120, and released at the request of UE 101 and 5GC 120 using NAS SM signaling exchanged between UE 101 and SMF 124 over the N1 reference point. Upon request from an application server, 5GC 120 may trigger a specific application in UE 101. In response to receiving a trigger message, UE 101 may pass the trigger message (or relevant parts / information of the trigger message) to one or more identified applications in UE 101. The identified applications in UE 101 may establish a PDU session with a specific DNN. SMF 124 may check whether the UE 101 request complies with the user subscription information associated with UE 101. In this regard, SMF 124 may retrieve and / or request to receive update notifications about SMF 124 level subscription data from UDM 127.

[0032] SMF 124 may include the following roaming functions: handling local execution to apply QoS service level agreements (SLAs) (visited public land mobile network (VPLMN)); charging data collection and charging interface (VPLMN); lawful interception (for SM events and interface with LI system, in VPLMN); and support interaction with external DN to transmit signaling for PDU session authorization / authentication through external DN. In a roaming scenario, an N16 reference point between two SMFs 124 may be included in the system 100, which may be located between an SMF 124 in a visited network and another SMF 124 in a home network. In addition, SMF 124 may present an interface based on Nsmf services.

[0033] NEF 123 may provide components for securely exposing services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions for third parties, internal exposure / re-exposure, application functions (e.g., AF 128), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such embodiments, NEF 123 may authenticate, authorize and / or restrict AF. NEF 123 may also convert information exchanged with AF 128 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, NEF 123 may convert between AF service identifiers and internal 5GC information. NEF 123 may also receive information from other network functions (NFs) based on the exposure capabilities of other network functions. The information may be stored at NEF 123 as structured data, or stored at a data storage NF using a standardized interface. The stored information may then be re-exposed to other NFs and AFs by NEF 123, and / or used for other purposes such as analysis. In addition, NEF 123 may present an interface based on Nnef services.

[0034] NRF 125 may support service discovery functionality, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information of discovered NF instances to NF instances. NRF 125 also maintains information of available NF instances and the services they support. As used herein, the term "instantiation" and the like may refer to the creation of an instance, and "instance" may refer to the specific occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of a program code. In addition, NRF 125 may present an interface based on Nnrf services.

[0035] The PCF 126 may provide for control plane functions to enforce their policy rules, and may also support a unified policy framework for managing network behavior. The PCF 126 may also implement a FE to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDR of the UDM 127. The PCF 126 may communicate with the AMF 121 via the N15 reference point between the PCF 126 and the AMF 121, which may include the PCF 126 in the visited network and the AMF 121 in the case of a roaming scenario. The PCF 126 may communicate with the AF 128 via the N5 reference point between the PCF 126 and the AF 128; and communicate with the SMF 124 via the N7 reference point between the PCF 126 and the SMF 124. The system 100 and / or the CN 120 may also include an N24 reference point between the PCF 126 (in the home network) and the PCF 126 in the visited network. In addition, the PCF 126 may present an interface based on Npcf services.

[0036] The UDM 127 may process subscription-related information to support the handling of communication sessions by network entities, and may store subscription data of the UE 101. For example, subscription data may be transferred between the UDM 127 and the AMF 121 via an N8 reference point between the UDM 127 and the AMF. The UDM 127 may include two parts: an application function entity (FE) and a unified data repository (UDR) (the FE and the UDR are in Figure 1 126, and NEF 123). The UDR may store subscription data and policy data of the UDM 127 and PCF 126, and / or structured data for exposure and application data of the NEF 123 (including packet flow descriptions (PFDs) for application detection, application request information of multiple UEs 101). The Nudr service-based interface may be presented by the UDR 221 to allow the UDM 127, PCF 126, and NEF 123 to access specific sets of stored data, as well as read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete, and subscribe to notifications of changes to related data in the UDR. The UDM may include a UDM-FE, which is responsible for handling credentials, location management, subscription management, etc. In different transactions, several different FEs may serve the same user. The UDM-FE accesses the subscription information stored in the UDR, and performs authentication credential processing, user identification processing, access authorization, registration / mobility management, and subscription management. The UDR may interact with the SMF 124 via the N10 reference point between the UDM 127 and the SMF 124. UDM 127 may also support SMS management, where SMS-FE implements similar application logic as discussed elsewhere herein.In addition, UDM 127 may present an interface based on Nudm services.

[0037] AF 128 can provide the influence of applications on traffic routing, provide access to NEF 123, and interact with the policy framework for policy control. 5GC 120 and AF 128 can provide information to each other via NEF123, which can be used for edge computing implementation. In such implementations, network operators and third-party services can be hosted near the UE101 access point of the attachment to achieve effective service delivery through reduced end-to-end delay and load on the transmission network. For edge computing implementation, 5GC can select UPF 102 near UE 101 and perform traffic steering from UPF 102 to DN 103 via N6 interface. This can be based on UE subscription data, UE location and information provided by AF 128. In this way, AF 128 can affect UPF (re) selection and traffic routing. Based on operator deployment, when AF 128 is considered a trusted entity, the network operator can allow AF 128 to interact directly with the relevant NF. In addition, AF 128 can present an interface based on Naf services.

[0038] NSSF 129 may select a set of network slice instances to serve UE 101. NSSF 129 may also appropriately determine the allowed network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI) and the mapping to the subscribed single NSSAI (S-NSSAI). NSSF 129 may also determine a set of AMFs to serve UE 101, or a list of candidate AMFs 121, based on appropriate configuration and possibly by querying NRF 125. The selection of a set of network slice instances for UE 101 may be triggered by AMF 121, where UE 101 registers by interacting with NSSF 129, which may result in changes to AMF 121. NSSF 129 may interact with AMF 121 via the N22 reference point between AMF 121 and NSSF 129; and may communicate via the N31 reference point ( Figure 1 129 in the visited network. In addition, the NSSF 129 may present an interface based on the Nnssf service.

[0039] As discussed previously, CN 120 may include an SMSF, which may be responsible for SMS subscription checking and verification, and relaying SM messages from / to other entities, such as an SMS-Gateway Mobile Services Switching Center (GMSC) / Interworking MSC (IWMSC) / SMS router, to / from UE 101. The SMSF may also interact with AMF 121 and UDM 127 for notification procedures that UE 101 is available for SMS transmission (e.g., setting a UE unreachable flag and notifying UDM 127 when UE 101 is available for SMS).

[0040] CN 120 may also include Figure 1 Other elements not shown, such as data storage system / architecture, 5G-EIR, security edge protection proxy (SEPP), etc. The data storage system may include structured data storage function (SDSF), unstructured data storage function (UDSF), etc. Any NF can be connected via any NF and UDSF ( Figure 1 The N18 reference point between the NF and the NF (not shown) stores or retrieves unstructured data in or from the UDSF (e.g., UE context). Individual NFs may share a UDSF for storing their respective unstructured data, or individual NFs may each have their own UDSF located at or near a single NF. In addition, the UDSF may present an interface based on the Nudsf service ( Figure 1). The 5G-EIR may be a NF that checks the status of the Permanent Equipment Identifier (PEI) to determine whether to blacklist a specific device / entity from the network; and the SEPP may be a non-transparent proxy that performs topology hiding, message filtering, and policing on the inter-PLMN control plane interface.

[0041] Additionally, there may be more reference points and / or service-based interfaces between NF services in a NF; however, for clarity, Figure 1 These interfaces and reference points are omitted. In one example, CN 120 may include an Nx interface, which is an inter-CN interface between an MME (e.g., a non-5G MME) and AMF 121, to enable intercommunication between CN 120 and a non-5G CN. Other exemplary interfaces / reference points may include an interface based on N5g-EIR services presented by 5G-EIR, an N27 reference point between a network repository function (NRF) in a visited network and an NRF in a home network; and an N31 reference point between an NSSF in a visited network and an NSSF in a home network.

[0042] Figure 2 Exemplary components of a device 200 according to some embodiments are shown. In some embodiments, the device 200 may include at least an application circuit 202, a baseband circuit 204, a radio frequency (RF) circuit 206, a front-end module (FEM) circuit 208, one or more antennas 210, and a power management circuit (PMC) 212 coupled together as shown. The components of the illustrated device 200 may be included in a UE or a RAN node. In some embodiments, the device 200 may include fewer elements (e.g., the RAN node cannot utilize the application circuit 202, but includes a processor / controller to process IP data received from a CN such as a 5GC 120 or an evolved packet core (EPC)). In some embodiments, the device 200 may include additional elements, such as a memory / storage device, a display, a camera, a sensor, or an input / output (I / O) interface. In other embodiments, the following components may be included in more than one device (e.g., the circuit may be separately included in more than one device for a specific implementation of a cloud-RAN (C-RAN)).

[0043] The application circuit 202 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuit 202 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage device and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the device 200. In some embodiments, the processor of the application circuit 202 may process IP data packets received from the EPC.

[0044] The baseband circuit 204 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuit 204 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic components to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of the RF circuit 206 and generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 206. The baseband processing circuit 204 may interact with the application circuit 202 to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of the RF circuit 206. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 204 may include a third generation (3G) baseband processor 204A, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 204B, a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor 204C, or other baseband processors 204D of other existing generations, under development, or to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation (2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuit 204 (e.g., one or more baseband processors 204A-D) may handle various radio control functions, which may communicate with one or more radio networks via the RF circuit 206. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the baseband processors 204A-D may be included in a module stored in the memory 204G and executed via the central processing unit (CPU) 204E. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 204 may include fast Fourier transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 204 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. The implementation of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions is not limited to these examples, and may include other suitable functions in other embodiments.

[0045] In some embodiments, the baseband circuit 204 may include one or more audio digital signal processors (DSPs) 204F. The audio DSP 204F may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. In some embodiments, the components of the baseband circuit may be appropriately combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit 204 and the application circuit 202 may be implemented together, such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

[0046] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may support communications with NG-RAN, Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wireless personal area networks (WPANs), etc. Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 204 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

[0047] RF circuit 206 can communicate with a wireless network through a non-solid medium using modulated electromagnetic radiation. In various embodiments, RF circuit 206 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with a wireless network. RF circuit 206 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuits that down-convert RF signals received from FEM circuit 208 and provide baseband signals to baseband circuit 204. RF circuit 206 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuits that up-convert baseband signals provided by baseband circuit 204 and provide RF output signals to FEM circuit 208 for transmission.

[0048] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuit 206 may include a mixer circuit 206a, an amplifier circuit 206b, and a filter circuit 206c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 206 may include a filter circuit 206c and a mixer circuit 206a. The RF circuit 206 may also include a synthesizer circuit 206d for synthesizing the frequencies used by the mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from the FEM circuit 208 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 206d. The amplifier circuit 206b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and the filter circuit 206c may be a low pass filter (LPF) or a band pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to the baseband circuit 204 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero frequency baseband signal, although this is not required.In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receive signal path may include a passive mixer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0049] In some embodiments, mixer circuit 206a of the transmit signal path can be configured to upconvert an input baseband signal based on a synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuit 206d to generate an RF output signal for FEM circuit 208. The baseband signal can be provided by baseband circuit 204 and can be filtered by filter circuit 206c.

[0050] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receiving signal path and the mixer circuit 206a of the transmission signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for orthogonal down-conversion and up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receiving signal path and the mixer circuit 206a of the transmission signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image suppression (e.g., Hartley image suppression). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receiving signal path and the mixer circuit 206a of the transmission signal path may be arranged for direct down-conversion and direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 206a of the receiving signal path and the mixer circuit 206a of the transmission signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0051] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, RF circuit 206 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuits, and baseband circuit 204 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with RF circuit 206.

[0052] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuits may be provided to process signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0053] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 206d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 206d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0054] Synthesizer circuit 206d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on the frequency input and the divider control input for use by mixer circuit 206a of RF circuit 206. In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 206d may be a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0055] In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), although this is not required. The divider control input may be provided by baseband circuitry 204 or application processor 202 depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by application processor 202.

[0056] The synthesizer circuit 206d of the RF circuit 206 may include a frequency divider, a delay locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the frequency divider may be a dual-mode frequency divider (DMD), and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by N or N+1 (e.g., based on carry) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a cascaded, tunable, delay element, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a D-type flip-flop set. In these embodiments, the delay element may be configured to divide the VCO cycle into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0057] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 206d can be configured to generate a carrier frequency as an output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency can be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used with a quadrature generator and divider circuit to generate multiple signals with multiple different phases relative to each other at the carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the output frequency can be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuit 206 can include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0058] The FEM circuitry 208 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from the one or more antennas 210, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to the RF circuitry 206 for further processing. The FEM circuitry 208 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify transmit signals provided by the RF circuitry 206 for transmission via one or more of the one or more antennas 210. In various embodiments, amplification by either the transmit or receive signal path may be accomplished only in the RF circuitry 206, only in the FEM 208, or in both the RF circuitry 206 and the FEM 208.

[0059] In some embodiments, the FEM circuit 208 may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuit may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit may include an LNA to amplify a received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuit 206). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 208 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify an input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuit 206), and one or more filters to generate an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., through one or more of the one or more antennas 210).

[0060] In some embodiments, PMC 212 can manage the power provided to baseband circuit 204. Specifically, PMC 212 can control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. When device 200 is capable of being powered by a battery, for example, when the device is included in a UE, PMC 212 can generally be included. PMC 212 can improve power conversion efficiency while providing a desired implementation size and heat dissipation characteristics.

[0061] Although Figure 2PMC 212 is shown coupled only to baseband circuitry 204. However, in other embodiments, PMC 212 may additionally or alternatively be coupled to other components (such as, but not limited to, application circuitry 202, RF circuitry 206, or FEM 208) and perform similar power management operations.

[0062] In some embodiments, the PMC 212 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of the device 200. For example, if the device 200 is in the RRC_Connected state, where it is still connected to the RAN node as expected to receive traffic soon, then after a period of inactivity, it may enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX). During this state, the device 200 may be powered off for short time intervals, thereby saving power.

[0063] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, the device 200 may transition to the RRC_Idle state, in which it is disconnected from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 200 enters a very low power state, and it performs paging, in which it wakes up periodically again to listen to the network, and then powers down again. The device 200 may not receive data in this state; in order to receive data, it may transition back to the RRC_Connected state.

[0064] An additional power saving mode can keep a device from using the network for longer than the paging interval (which can range from a few seconds to several hours). During this time, the device is completely unable to connect to the network and can be completely powered down. Any data sent during this time will be significantly delayed, and it is assumed that the delay is acceptable.

[0065] The processor of the application circuit 202 and the processor of the baseband circuit 204 can be used to execute elements of one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of the baseband circuit 204 can be used alone or in combination to perform the functions of Layer 3, Layer 2, or Layer 1, and the processor of the application circuit 204 can utilize data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further perform the functions of Layer 4 (e.g., Transport Communication Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) layers). As mentioned herein, Layer 3 may include a radio resource control (RRC) layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, Layer 2 may include a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, Layer 1 may include a physical (PHY) layer of a UE / RAN node, which will be described in further detail below.

[0066] Figure 3An exemplary interface of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments is shown. As discussed above, Figure 2 The baseband circuit 204 may include processors 204A-204E and a memory 204G used by the processors. Each of the processors 204A-204E may include a memory interface 304A-304E, respectively, to send / receive data to / from the memory 204G.

[0067] The baseband circuit 204 may also include: one or more interfaces to communicatively couple to other circuits / devices, such as a memory interface 312 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to the baseband circuit 204); an application circuit interface 314 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to the baseband circuit 204); Figure 2 RF circuit interface 316 (for example, for sending / receiving data to / from the application circuit 202); Figure 2 an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a RF circuit 206); a wireless hardware connection interface 318 (e.g., for sending / receiving data to / from a near field communication (NFC) component, Components (e.g. Low Energy), components and other communication components to send / receive data); and a power management interface 320 (eg, an interface for sending / receiving power or control signals to / from PMC 212).

[0068] As discussed in more detail herein, various implementations that may be employed, for example, at a UE or a node of a RAN, may facilitate configuring a UE with two or more DRX configurations, according to the techniques discussed in more detail below. A first set of techniques may be employed to configure a UE with dual DRX for one or more FR1 cells (e.g., with a first DRX configuration) and one or more FR2 cells (e.g., with a second DRX configuration). A second set of techniques may be employed to configure a UE with dual (or multiple) DRX for one or more cells of a first frequency band (e.g., with a first DRX configuration) and one or more cells of a second frequency band (e.g., with a second DRX configuration), and optionally one or more cells of at least one additional frequency band (e.g., with at least one additional DRX configuration). Various implementations may employ one or more of the first set of techniques and / or the second set of techniques.

[0069] See also Figure 4, a block diagram of a system 400 that can be employed at a UE (user equipment), a next generation Node B (gNodeB or gNB) or other BS (base station) / TRP (transmission / reception point), or another component of a 3GPP (third generation partnership project) network (e.g., a 5GC (fifth generation core network) component or function, such as a UPF (user plane function)) according to various embodiments discussed herein, the system facilitates configuring a UE with two or more DRX configurations (e.g., one for each of FR1 and FR2, one for each of two or more different frequency bands, etc.). The system 400 may include a processor 410, a communication circuit 420, and a memory 430. The processor 410 (e.g., which may include one or more of 202 and / or 204A-204F, etc.) may include processing circuits and associated interfaces (e.g., a communication interface (e.g., RF circuit interface 316) for communicating with the communication circuit 420, a memory interface (e.g., memory interface 312) for communicating with the memory 430, etc.). The communication circuit 420 may include, for example, circuits for wired and / or wireless connections (e.g., 206 and / or 208), which may include a transmitter circuit (e.g., associated with one or more transmission chains) and / or a receiver circuit (e.g., associated with one or more reception chains), wherein the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit may employ common and / or different circuit elements, or a combination thereof. The memory 430 may include one or more memory devices (e.g., memory 204G, local memory (e.g., including CPU registers of the processor discussed herein), etc.), which may have any of a variety of storage media (e.g., volatile and / or non-volatile according to any of a variety of technologies / constructions, etc.), and may store instructions and / or data associated with one or more of the processor 410 or the transceiver circuit 420.

[0070] A particular type of implementation of system 400 (eg, UE implementation) may be indicated via a subscript (eg, system 400 UE Including processor 410 UE , communication circuit 420 UE and memory 430 UE In some embodiments, such as BS embodiments (eg, system 400 gNB ) and network components (eg, UPF (User Plane Function), etc.) implementation scheme (eg, system 400 UPF ), processor 410 gNB (etc.), communication circuits (eg, 420 gNB etc.) and memory (e.g., 430 gNBThe signaling or messaging between different embodiments of system 400 (e.g., 4001 and 4002) may be generated by processor 4101, transmitted by communication circuit 4201 over a suitable interface or reference point (e.g., 3GPP air interface N3, N4, etc.), received by communication circuit 4202, and processed by processor 4102. Depending on the type of interface, additional components (e.g., antennas, network ports, etc. associated with systems 4001 and 4002) may participate in the communication.

[0071] In various aspects discussed herein, signals and / or messages may be generated and output for transmission, and / or transmitted messages may be received and processed. Depending on the type of signal or message generated, outputting for transmission (e.g., by processor 410, etc.) may include one or more of generating a set of associated bits indicating the content of the signal or message, encoding (e.g., which may include adding a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) and / or encoding via one or more of a turbo code, a low-density parity check (LDPC) code, a tail-biting convolutional code (TBCC), etc.), scrambling (e.g., based on a scrambling seed), modulation (e.g., via one of binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), or some form of quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), etc.), and / or resource mapping to one or more resource elements (REs) (e.g., a scheduled resource set, a set of time and frequency resources authorized for uplink transmission, etc.), where each RE may span one subcarrier in the frequency domain and one symbol in the time domain (e.g., where a symbol may be according to any of a variety of access schemes, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), etc.). Depending on the type of signal or message received, processing (e.g., by processor 410, etc.) may include one or more of the following operations: identifying physical resources associated with the signal / message, detecting the signal / message, resource element group deinterleaving, demodulating, descrambling and / or decoding.

[0072] In various aspects, one or more of information (e.g., system information, resources associated with signaling, etc.), features, parameters, etc., may be received from a gNB or other access point (e.g., via a processor 410) via signaling (e.g., associated with one or more layers, such as L1 signaling or higher layer signaling (e.g., MAC, RRC, etc.)). gNB Generate, by the communication circuit 420 gNB Transmission, by communication circuit 420 UE received and processed by processor 410 UEThe type of signaling employed and / or the exact details of the operations performed at the UE and / or gNB in ​​the process (e.g., signaling structure, processing of PDUs / SDUs, etc.) may vary depending on the type of information, features, parameters, etc. However, for convenience, such operations may be referred to herein as configuring information / features / parameters / etc. to the UE, generating or processing configuration signaling, or by similar terminology.

[0073] Various embodiments involve configuring more than one DRX configuration to a UE (e.g., a first DRX configuration for a FR1 cell and a second DRX configuration for a FR2 cell; and / or a first DRX configuration for a cell of a first frequency band, a second DRX configuration for a cell of a second frequency band, and optionally at least one additional DRX configuration for a cell of at least one additional frequency band). In short, a UE in DRX mode may operate according to a DRX cycle (e.g., a long DRX cycle or a short DRX cycle) that may allow discontinuous monitoring of a PDCCH, etc. (e.g., via a medium access control (MAC) entity of the UE, e.g., as determined by a processor 410). UE The DRX operation may be performed by configuring a plurality of parameters associated with the DRX operation (eg, via the processor 410 gNB Generate, by the communication circuit 420 gNB Transmission, by communication circuit 420 UE received and processed by processor 410 UEThe parameters may include some or all of the following: drx-onDurationTimer, the duration at which the DRX cycle starts; drx-SlotOffset, the delay before starting the drx-onDurationTimer; drx-InactivityTimer, the duration after the PDCCH indicates a PDCCH opportunity for a new UL or DL ​​transmission for the MAC entity; drx-RetransmissionTimerDL (except for the broadcast process, each DL drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL (each DL HARQ process except the broadcast process), the minimum duration before a DL allocation of HARQ retransmission is received by the MAC entity; and drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerUL (each UL HARQ process): the minimum duration before the MAC entity expects a UL HARQ retransmission grant. In various embodiments, one or more of these parameters may vary between different DRX configurations of two or more DRX configurations of the UE (e.g., one for FR1, one for FR2, two or more different DRX configurations for two or more bands of a band combination, etc.).

[0074] UE (eg, including system 400 UE) can save power via the DRX cycle by shutting down the RF circuitry (e.g., RF circuitry 206) during some or all times in the DRX cycle except for the active time. The active time of the DRX cycle (e.g., involving PDCCH monitoring, etc.) includes the time when one or more of the following is true: (1) drx-onDurationTimer or drx-InactivityTimer or drx-RetransmissionTimerDL or drx-RetransmissionTimerUL or ra-ContentionResolutionTimer (related to contention resolution of contention-based random access requests) is running; or (2) a scheduling request is sent on the PUCCH and is pending; or (3) after successfully receiving a random access response to a random access preamble that was not selected by the MAC entity among the contention-based random access preambles, no PDCCH indicating a new transmission of a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) addressed to the MAC entity is received.

[0075] In various aspects, embodiments discussed herein may facilitate configuring a UE (e.g., using system 400) with two or more discontinuous reception (DRX) configurations (e.g., a first DRX configuration for FR1 and a second DRX configuration for FR2, a first DRX configuration for a first frequency band (e.g., in FR1 or FR2) and a second DRX configuration for a second frequency band (e.g., in FR1 or FR2), etc.). UE ). As described above, operation in FR1 may differ significantly from operation in FR2. Due to the higher bandwidth and power consumption of FR2 operation, in some scenarios, it may be advantageous to operate less frequently in FR2 than in FR1. Various embodiments may provide this and other advantages, including improved power savings over existing systems, via the ability to individually configure a UE (e.g., for FR1 / FR2 carrier aggregation (CA), for CA involving two or more frequency bands (e.g., inter-band CA, inter-band and intra-band CA, etc.) with two or more DRX configurations (also referred to herein as dual DRX, multi-DRX, etc.), etc.).

[0076] In 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) RAN2#108 (RAN (Radio Access Network) WG2 (Working Group 2) Meeting #108), RAN2 discussed power saving enhancements when both FR1 and FR2 cells are configured via carrier aggregation. With this enhancement, FR2 cells can be configured with separate (and shorter) drx-InactivityTimer (duration at the start of the DRX cycle) and drx-onDurationTimer (duration after the PDCCH opportunity when the PDCCH indicates a new UL or DL ​​transmission of the MAC entity) compared to FR1 cells. The length of the long DRX cycle (and the short DRX cycle, if configured) is common to both FR1 and FR2. This enhancement enables FR2 cells to go to sleep faster, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0077] See also Figure 5 , shows an exemplary timing diagram illustrating a carrier aggregation scenario according to various aspects discussed herein, where the FR1 cell and FR2 cell of the UE are configured to have the same DRX cycle but with different drx-InactivityTimer and drx-onDurationTimer values. Figure 5 An example of two different DRX configurations for FR1 and FR2 is shown. It can be seen that the DRX cycle 5001 for FR1 is identical to the DRX cycle 5002 for FR2, as they have the same length and start at the same time. However, the two DRX configurations may have different DRX on duration timers 5021 and 5022, as configured by drx-onDurationTimer for FR1 and drx-onDurationTimer2 for FR2 (drx-onDurationTimer2 is used herein to refer to a parameter that operates in the same manner as drx-onDurationTimer for the first DRX configuration for the second DRX configuration). In addition, after uplink (UL) and / or downlink (DL) traffic 5041 and 5042, the two DRX configurations may also have different DRX inactivity timers 5061 and 5062, as configured by drx-InactivityTimer for FR1 and drx-InactivityTimer2 for FR2 (drx-InactivityTimer2 is used herein to refer to a parameter that operates for the second DRX configuration in the same manner as the drx-InactivityTimer of the first DRX configuration). Therefore, different DRX configurations may be employed, for example, to provide more activity time for physical downlink control channel monitoring (PDCCH) and the like on the FR1 cell than on the FR2 cell.

[0078] RAN2 reached the following agreement, conditional on RAN1 (RAN WG1) accepting that: (a) separate drx-InactivityTimer and drx-onDurationTimer may be configured for secondary DRX groups (RAN2 understands that this has zero or almost zero impact in RAN1 and RAN4 (RAN WG4)); (b) the combination of cross-carrier scheduling and secondary DRX groups is not supported; (c) for further study (FFS), if the timer of the FR2 DRX configuration is shorter than the timer of the FR1 DRX configuration; and (d) the intention is to apply the secondary DRX configuration to FR2 and the existing DRX configuration to FR1.

[0079] However, in RAN4 Technical Specification (TS) 38.133, dual DRX in dual connectivity (DC) mode has the following conditions when interrupted: (a) in NR DC, when both the PCell (primary cell) and the PSCell (primary SCell (secondary cell)) are in DRX, interruption is not allowed; and (b) the UE capabilities should be carefully considered before configuring dual DRX from the network, and therefore new mechanisms can be introduced for both the network and the UE to support the dual DRX.

[0080] To address these issues, various embodiments may employ one or more techniques discussed herein, which may facilitate dual DRX operation of UEs according to various embodiments discussed herein. A first set of techniques may be employed based on the UE's ability to support independent measurement gaps (MGs) for different frequency ranges (e.g., FR1 and FR2) to configure dual DRX for the UE for one or more FR1 cells (e.g., using a first DRX configuration) and one or more FR2 cells (e.g., using a second DRX configuration). A second set of techniques may be employed based on the UE's ability to support independent DRX configurations for each frequency band combination (BC) to configure dual (or multiple) DRX for the UE for one or more cells of the first frequency band (e.g., using a first DRX configuration) and one or more cells of the second frequency band (e.g., using a second DRX configuration), and optionally one or more cells of at least one additional frequency band (e.g., using at least one additional DRX configuration). Various embodiments may employ one or more techniques from the first set of techniques and / or the second set of techniques.

[0081] Independent DRX configuration for UEs with independent measurement gap (MG) capability

[0082] The first group of techniques includes techniques related to techniques that facilitate configuring two independent DRX configurations (e.g., a first DRX configuration for one or more FR1 cells and a second DRX configuration for one or more FR2 cells, etc.) based on the ability of the UE to support independent measurement gaps (MGs) (also referred to herein as per-FRMGs) for different frequency ranges (e.g., FR1 and FR2). UE ) and network (NW) perspectives to discuss the technologies in the first group of technologies, for example, via a gNB (e.g., including system 400 gNB )kick in.

[0083] From the UE's perspective, the UE may have the capability to support independent MG configurations for FR1 and FR2, which may allow the UE to support per-FR DRX configurations, e.g., dual DRX configurations that are not interrupted in FR1+FR2 CA. The UE may inform the network of the capability via a UE capability information message sent to the network via higher layer signaling (e.g., radio resource control (RRC)). In various embodiments, for a dual DRX configuration according to the first set of techniques, a first DRX configuration may be applied to a FR1 component carrier (CC), and a second DRX configuration (which may be different from the first DRX configuration, but need not be) may be applied to a FR2 CC. For example, the first DRX configuration and the second DRX configuration may have different values ​​for one or more of drx-onDurationTimer, drx-InactivityTimer, and / or one or more other DRX parameters (but need not be so). In various embodiments, the two DRX configurations may configure the same DRX cycle for FR1 and FR2 in terms of length and start (but in some embodiments, this may change).

[0084] The UE may independently operate the associated RF circuit for each FR in conjunction with the two DRX configurations. For each of FR1 and FR2, the UE may turn on the associated RF circuit of the FR to transition from a DRX inactive state to a DRX active state, or from a DRX state to a non-DRX state. Similarly, for each of FR1 and FR2, the UE may turn off the associated RF circuit of the FR to transition from a DRX active state to a DRX inactive state, or from a non-DRX state to a DRX state. For each of FR1 and FR2, the UE may turn off or turn on the associated RF circuit without causing an interruption in transmission or reception through the other FR.

[0085] See also Figure 6 , shows an exemplary timing diagram illustrating operation of a UE with different DRX configurations for FR1 and FR2, the UE being capable of independent MG for FR1 and FR2 (or per-FR MG), according to various embodiments discussed herein. Figure 6Similar to Figure 5 , where the FR1 cell and FR2 cell of the UE are configured to have the same DRX cycle, but with different values ​​of drx-InactivityTimer and drx-onDurationTimer, but also shows the operation of the associated RF circuits for FR1 and FR2 of the UE capable of supporting each FR MG. Figure 6 6001-6061 and 6002-6062 are similar to Figure 5 5001-5061 and 5002-5062.

[0086] The associated RF circuitry of FR1 can be found at Figure 6 It is turned on at the beginning of each of the three DRX cycles shown, as shown at 6101, 6201 and 6301, and can be turned off at the end of the active time of each of the three DRX cycles, as shown at 6121, 6221 and 6321. This can save power compared to continuous operation on FR1, and can be done independently of the associated RF circuits of FR2, i.e., without causing interruption of transmission or reception on FR2.

[0087] Similarly, the associated RF circuitry of FR2 may be Figure 6 It is turned on at the beginning of each of the three DRX cycles shown, as shown at 6102, 6202 and 6302, and can be turned off at the end of the active time of each of the three DRX cycles, as shown at 6122, 6222 and 6322. This can save power compared to continuous operation on FR2, and can be done independently of the associated RF circuits of FR1, i.e., without causing interruption of transmission or reception on FR1.

[0088] In addition, although Figure 6 The example in shows both a FR1 CC and a FR2 CC in DRX mode, but in various embodiments, the first set of techniques may also be employed in conjunction with only one of the FR1 CC or FR2 CC in DRX mode, thereby providing power savings relative to the FR in DRX mode without interrupting transmission or reception of the FR CC that is not in DRX mode.

[0089] From a network perspective, the network may use the UE capability of independent measurement gaps (or per FR MG) (e.g., indicated via UE capability information) to determine whether DRX may be configured per FR for the UE. In various embodiments, the UE capability of independent measurement gaps may be used to determine whether dual DRX groups may be configured for UEs on FR1 CC and FR2 CC (e.g., via a UE capability information from system 400). gNBIn the same or other embodiments, the UE capability of independent measurement gaps may be used to determine whether DRX may be configured on a CC in one FR (e.g., FR1 or FR2) but not on a CC in another FR (e.g., FR2 or FR1, respectively).

[0090] In various embodiments, when dual DRX groups are configured for FR1 and FR2, the configuration of the DRX groups may be selected to ensure that the DRX duration boundaries are aligned in the time domain for both FR1 CCs and FR2 CCs. In such embodiments, the DRX periodicity may be the same between the two DRX configurations for FR1 CCs and FR2 CCs. However, in those embodiments and in other embodiments, the DRX duration or active window may be different between the two DRX groups. In addition, for dual DRX configurations according to the first group of techniques, the network (e.g., gNB, etc.) may expect that there will be no interruption of RF adjustments (e.g., turning on or off RF circuits, etc.) on a CC of one FR (e.g., FR1 or FR2) to a CC of another FR (e.g., FR2 or FR1, respectively).

[0091] In various embodiments, when DRX is configured for only one FR for a UE with FR1+FR2 CA (e.g., the network configures DRX for only the CC of one FR (e.g., FR1 or FR2) and not the CC of another FR (e.g., FR2 or FR1, respectively), the network may maintain normal scheduling on the CC for which DRX is not configured (e.g., FR2 or FR1, respectively) and it can be expected that there will be no interruption in RF regulation from the CC for which DRX is configured (e.g., FR1 or FR2, respectively).

[0092] See also Figure 7 , shows a flow chart of an exemplary method that can be employed at a UE according to various embodiments discussed herein, which facilitates operation of different DRX configurations of FR1 and FR2. In other aspects, a machine-readable medium may store instructions associated with method 700, which when executed may cause a UE (e.g., using system 400) to UE )Execute the actions of method 700.

[0093] At 710, UE capability information may be transmitted to the gNB, wherein the UE capability information indicates that the UE supports per-FR MG (or independent MG for FR1 and FR2).

[0094] At 720, the UE may be configured with one or more of a DRX configuration for FR1 (e.g., which may be used for CCs on FR1) or a DRX configuration for FR2 (e.g., which may be used for CCs on FR2). Various characteristics (e.g., parameters, etc.) of these DRX configurations may be configured independently of each other, as described in more detail herein.

[0095] At 730, the UE may communicate via carrier aggregation (CA) over FR1 and FR2, involving at least one CC on FR1 and at least one CC on FR2.

[0096] At 740, the UE may operate on FR1 and / or FR2 based on the configured DRX configuration, which may include one or more of: turning on and / or turning off associated RF circuits (e.g., for FR1 and / or FR2) to save power without interrupting communications through FR2 and / or FR1, respectively (e.g., if configured, performing DRX operations on FR1 without interrupting communications through FR2, and / or if configured, performing DRX operations on FR2 without interrupting communications through FR1).

[0097] Additionally or alternatively, the method 700 may include the following: UE Various embodiments and one or more other actions described by the first set of techniques.

[0098] See also Figure 8 , a flow chart of an exemplary method that can be employed at a gNB according to various embodiments discussed herein, the method facilitating configuring a UE with different DRX configurations for FR1 and FR2. In other aspects, a machine-readable medium may store instructions associated with method 800, which when executed may cause a gNB (e.g., using system 400 gNB )Execute the actions of method 800.

[0099] At 810, UE capability information can be received from a UE, wherein the UE capability information indicates that the UE supports per-FR MG (or independent MGs for FR1 and FR2).

[0100] At 820, the UE may be configured with one or more of a DRX configuration for FR1 (e.g., which may be used for CCs on FR1) or a DRX configuration for FR2 (e.g., which may be used for CCs on FR2). Various characteristics (e.g., parameters, etc.) of these DRX configurations may be configured independently of each other, as described in more detail herein.

[0101] At 830, the gNB may operate in FR1 and / or FR2 based on the DRX configuration configured at 820 (e.g., scheduling, transmitting and / or receiving DL and / or UL control and data based on the associated DRX cycle and active time of the UE in FR1 and / or FR2, etc.).

[0102] At 840, the gNB may communicate with the UE via carrier aggregation over FR1 and FR2 (e.g., and schedule communications, etc.) based on the assumption that UE operation according to the DRX configuration on FR1 and / or FR2 will not cause interruption of communications over FR2 and / or FR1, respectively.

[0103] Additionally or alternatively, the method 800 may include the following: gNB Various embodiments and one or more other actions described by the first set of techniques.

[0104] Independent DRX configuration based on each band combination (BC) capability

[0105] The first group of techniques includes techniques related to techniques that facilitate configuring two or more independent DRX configurations (e.g., a first DRX configuration for one or more cells in a first frequency band (e.g., frequency band A) and a second DRX configuration for one or more cells in a second frequency band (e.g., frequency band B), etc.) based on the ability of the UE to support independent DRX configurations for a given frequency band combination (also referred to herein as per FRMG). UE ) and network (NW) perspectives to discuss the technologies in the second group of technologies, for example, via a gNB (e.g., including system 400 gNB )kick in.

[0106] From the perspective of the UE, the UE may have the ability to support independent DRX configurations (e.g., dual DRX configurations) for each band combination (BC) of one or more BCs without interrupting CA of a first band (e.g., band A) and a second band (e.g., band B). A given UE may potentially support independent DRX for two or more BCs, and the operation with respect to each BC may be as described in conjunction with the second set of techniques. Therefore, for ease of discussion, a single BC is discussed in conjunction with various implementations, even though independent DRX is potentially supported for more than one BC. The UE may notify the network of the capability via a UE capability information message sent to the network via higher layer signaling (e.g., radio resource control (RRC)). When the UE operates CA of one or more first CCs with one or more second CCs and supports independent DRX for BCs of the first frequency band and the second frequency band, the UE capable of supporting independent DRX for a given BC may implement two separate DRX configurations on the given BC, for example, a first DRX configuration on one or more first CCs of the first frequency band (for example, band A) and a second DRX configuration on one or more second CCs of the second frequency band (for example, band B) (which may be different, but not necessarily). Although referred to herein as a first frequency band (for example, or band A) and a second frequency band (for example, or band B), in various embodiments, it should be understood that the first frequency band (for example, or band A) and the second frequency band (for example, or band B) may be the same frequency band or different frequency bands, and if they are different frequency bands, they may be within the same FR (for example, FR1 or FR2) or different FRs (for example, FR1 and FR2).

[0107] For a given set of configured CCs for a UE, the UE may apply different DRX configurations for different CCs, as long as the UE can support independent DRX for a combination of these CCs. For a dual DRX configuration or a multi-DRX configuration according to the second group of techniques, different DRX configurations may be applied for different CCs. For example, the first DRX configuration and the second DRX configuration may have different values ​​for one or more of drx-onDurationTimer, drx-InactivityTimer, and / or one or more other DRX parameters (but not necessarily). CCs with independent DRX configurations may include two or more CCs in different frequency bands (inter-band CA) and / or two or more CCs in the same frequency band (intra-band CA).

[0108] Assuming that the combination of multiple groups of CCs is a group of CCs for which the UE supports independent DRX configurations, the UE may independently operate the associated RF circuits for each of the two groups (or more groups) of CCs in combination with the two (or more) DRX configurations. For each group of CCs associated with a given DRX configuration, the UE may turn on the associated RF circuits of the group of CCs to transition from a DRX inactive state to a DRX active state, or from a DRX state to a non-DRX state. Similarly, for each group of CCs associated with a given DRX configuration, the UE may turn off the associated RF circuits of the group of CCs to transition from a DRX active state to a DRX inactive state, or from a non-DRX state to a DRX state. For each group of CCs associated with a given DRX configuration, the UE may turn off or turn on the associated RF circuits without causing an interruption in transmission or reception through another group of CCs.

[0109] See also Fig. 9 , shows an exemplary timing diagram showing the operation of different DRX configurations for a first CC (CC1) on a first frequency band (Band A) and for a second CC (CC2) on a second frequency band (Band B) for a UE capable of independent DRX configuration for band combination A+B according to various embodiments discussed herein. Fig. 9 Similar to Figure 6 , where CC1 and CC2 are configured with the same DRX cycle for the UE, but with different values ​​of drx-InactivityTimer and drx-onDurationTimer, and also illustrates the operation of the associated RF circuits of band A and band B for a UE capable of supporting independent DRX configurations for bands A and B. Fig. 9 9001-9321 and 9002-9322 are similar to Figure 6 6001-6321 and 6002-6322 in , but for CC1 on Band A instead of FR1 and CC2 on Band B instead of FR2 respectively.

[0110] The associated RF circuitry of CC1 on Band A can be Fig. 9 It is turned on at the beginning of each of the three DRX cycles shown, as shown at 9101, 9201 and 9301, and can be turned off at the end of the active time of each of the three DRX cycles, as shown at 9121, 9221 and 9321. This can save power compared to continuous operation on CC1, and can be done independently of the associated RF circuits of CC2 on band B, i.e., without causing interruption of transmission or reception on CC2.

[0111] Similarly, the associated RF circuitry of CC2 on Band B may be Fig. 9It is turned on at the beginning of each of the three DRX cycles shown, as shown at 9102, 9202 and 9302, and can be turned off at the end of the active time of each of the three DRX cycles, as shown at 9122, 9222 and 9322. This can save power compared to continuous operation on CC2, and can be done independently of the associated RF circuits of CC1 on frequency band A, i.e., without causing interruption of transmission or reception on CC1.

[0112] In addition, although Fig. 9 The example in shows both CC1 on band A and CC2 on band B in DRX mode, but in various embodiments, the second set of techniques may also be employed in conjunction with a DRX mode employed in only one of the supported BC bands, thereby providing power savings relative to the CC in DRX mode without interrupting transmission or reception of CCs in bands that are not in DRX mode.

[0113] See also Fig.10 , shows an exemplary timing diagram showing the operation of different DRX configurations for a first CC (CC1) on a first frequency band (Band A), for a second CC (CC2) on a second frequency band (Band B), and for a third CC (CC3) on a third frequency band (Band C) for a UE capable of independent DRX configuration for frequency band combination A+B+C according to various embodiments discussed herein. Fig.10 Similar to Fig. 9 , wherein CC1 and CC3 are configured with first values ​​of drx-InactivityTimer and drx-onDurationTimer, and CC2 is configured with different second values ​​of drx-InactivityTimer and drx-onDurationTimer, and each of CC1, CC2 and CC3 has a different DRX cycle. Fig.10 , 10001-10321 and 10002-10322 are similar to Fig. 9 9001-9321 and 9002-9322 in , and 10003-10323 are similar to 10001-10321 and 10002-10322, but for CC3 instead of CC1 or CC2. Fig.10 In the embodiment, each of CC1, CC2 and CC3 has a different DRX cycle, with the same length but a different start. In various embodiments, other DRX parameters may vary between independent DRX configurations; for example, a short DRX cycle may be optionally configured on one or more CCs (e.g., all, some but not all, etc.) that the UE supports independent DRX configurations.

[0114] From a network perspective, the network (e.g., communicating with the UE via a gNB) may use the UE capability of independent DRX per BC (e.g., indicated via UE capability information) to determine whether DRX may be configured on different CCs of the UE (e.g., based on whether those CCs are aligned with BCs that the UE supports independent DRX). In various embodiments, the UE capability of independent DRX per BC may be used to determine whether dual DRX groups may be configured for UEs on different CCs, where for the UE, those CCs may be intra-band CA (e.g., where the supported BC provides independent DRX for two or more CCs of the band, such as an exemplary BC of A+A, etc.) or inter-band CA (e.g., where the supported BC provides independent DRX for a CC of a first band and a CC of a different second band, such as an exemplary BC of A+B, etc.). As a specific example, if the UE supports independent DRX for band A+B BCs and is configured for CA for CC1 and CC2 on band A, and is configured for CA for CC3 on band B, the network may configure one DRX for CC1 and CC2 and another DRX for CC3. In the same or other embodiments, the network (e.g., communicating with the UE via a gNB) may use the UE capability of independent DRX per BC to determine whether DRX may be configured on some CCs but not on other CCs. As with dual (or multiple, e.g., triple, etc.) DRX configurations, those CCs may be intra-band CA or inter-band CA for the UE.

[0115] - If multiple DRX groups are configured for different CCs, the network may expect that there will not be any interruption in RF regulation from one group of CCs (e.g., configured with a first DRX configuration) to another group of CCs (e.g., configured with a second DRX configuration, not configured for DRX, etc.), where each group of CCs may include CCs configured with the same DRX configuration. In a scenario where DRX is configured for only one group of CCs of the UE (e.g., for a first group of CCs and a second group of CCs for which the UE supports independent DRX, the network configures DRX for the first group of CCs but not for the second group of CCs), the network may maintain normal scheduling on CCs that are not configured with DRX (e.g., the second group of CCs), and the network may expect that there will not be any interruption in RF regulation (e.g., turning on or off associated RF circuits) from CCs that are configured with DRX (e.g., the first group of CCs).

[0116] See also Fig.11 , shows a flow chart of an exemplary method that can be employed at a UE according to various embodiments discussed herein, the method facilitating operation of independent DRX configurations for a first set of CCs and a second set of CCs based on supported frequency band combinations. In other aspects, a machine-readable medium may store instructions associated with method 1100, which when executed may cause a UE (e.g., using system 400UE )Execute the actions of method 1100.

[0117] At 1110, UE capability information may be transmitted to the gNB, wherein the UE capability information indicates that the UE supports independent DRX configuration for frequency bands of a given band combination (BC).

[0118] At 1120, the UE may be configured with one or more of a first DRX configuration for one or more first CCs of a first frequency band of BC, a second DRX configuration for one or more second CCs of a second frequency band of BC, etc. Various characteristics (e.g., parameters, etc.) of these DRX configurations may be configured independently of each other, as described in more detail herein.

[0119] At 1130, the UE may communicate via carrier aggregation (CA) via a first CC, a second CC, etc., involving at least one first CC on a first frequency band and at least one second CC (different from the first CC) on a second frequency band (wherein, in various embodiments, the first frequency band and the second frequency band may be the same or different).

[0120] At 1140, the UE may operate any of the first CC, the second CC, etc. configured with DRX based on the configured DRX configuration, which configuration may include one or more of the following: turning on and / or turning off associated RF circuits (e.g., for any of the first CC, the second CC, etc. configured with DRX) to save power without interrupting communications through other CCs (e.g., if configured, performing DRX operations on the first CC without interrupting communications through the second CC, and / or if configured, performing DRX operations on the second CC without interrupting communications through the first CC).

[0121] Additionally or alternatively, the method 1100 may include the following: UE Various embodiments and one or more other actions described by the second set of techniques.

[0122] See also Fig.12 , a flow chart of an exemplary method that can be employed at a gNB according to various embodiments discussed herein to facilitate configuring a UE with independent DRX configurations for a first set of CCs and a second set of CCs based on supported frequency band combinations. In other aspects, a machine-readable medium may store instructions associated with method 1200 that, when executed, may cause a gNB (e.g., using system 400 gNB )Execute the actions of method 1200.

[0123] At 1210, UE capability information can be received from a UE, wherein the UE capability information indicates that the UE supports independent DRX configurations for frequency bands of a given band combination (BC).

[0124] At 1120, the UE may be configured with one or more of a first DRX configuration for one or more first CCs of a first frequency band of BC, a second DRX configuration for one or more second CCs of a second frequency band of BC, etc. Various characteristics (e.g., parameters, etc.) of these DRX configurations may be configured independently of each other, as described in more detail herein.

[0125] At 1130, the gNB may operate on any of the first CC, the second CC, etc. configured with DRX based on the DRX configuration configured at 1120 (e.g., scheduling, transmitting and / or receiving DL and / or UL control and data based on the associated DRX cycle and active time, etc. of the UE configured with DRX).

[0126] At 1140, the gNB may communicate with the UE (e.g., and schedule communications, etc.) via carrier aggregation through the first CC, the second CC, etc. based on the assumption that UE operation according to the DRX configuration on any of the first CC, the second CC, etc., for which DRX is configured will not cause interruption of communication through any other CC.

[0127] Additionally or alternatively, the method 1200 may include the following: gNB Various embodiments and one or more other actions described by the second set of techniques.

[0128] Additional Embodiments

[0129] The examples herein may include subject matter, such as a method, components for performing actions or blocks of the method, and at least one machine-readable medium including executable instructions that, when executed by a machine (e.g., a processor with memory, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.), cause the machine to perform actions of a method or apparatus or system for concurrent communication using multiple communication technologies according to the described embodiments and examples.

[0130] Embodiment 1 is a device configured to be employed in a user equipment (UE), the device comprising: one or more processors, the one or more processors configured to: generate UE capability information, the UE capability information comprising an indication that the UE supports one or more of independent measurement gaps (MGs) or MGs per frequency range (per FR); process first configuration signaling, the first configuration signaling configuring a first discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for one of FR1 or FR2; communicate through FR1 and FR2 via carrier aggregation (CA); and operate in one of FR1 or FR2 based on the first DRX configuration without causing interruption of communication through the other of FR1 or FR2.

[0131] Embodiment 2 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to turn on a radio frequency (RF) circuit associated with one of FR1 or FR2 during an active time of a DRX cycle of the first DRX configuration.

[0132] Embodiment 3 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 1-2, wherein one or more processors are further configured to shut down radio frequency (RF) circuits associated with one of FR1 or FR2 during at least a portion of a DRX cycle of a first DRX configuration other than active time of the DRX cycle.

[0133] Embodiment 4 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 1-3, wherein one or more processors are further configured to: process second configuration signaling that configures a second discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for the other of FR1 or FR2; and operate in the other of FR1 or FR2 based on the second DRX configuration without causing interruption of communications through one of FR1 or FR2.

[0134] Embodiment 5 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiment 4, wherein both the first DRX configuration and the second DRX configuration employ a common DRX cycle.

[0135] Embodiment 6 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 4-5, wherein the first DRX configuration includes a first drx-onDurationTimer parameter having a first value, and wherein the second DRX configuration includes a second drx-onDurationTimer parameter having a second value different from the first value.

[0136] Embodiment 7 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 4-6, wherein the first DRX configuration includes a first drx-InactivityTimer parameter having a first value, and wherein the second DRX configuration includes a second drx-InactivityTimer parameter having a second value different from the first value.

[0137] Embodiment 8 is a device configured to be adopted in a next generation Node B (gNB), the device comprising: one or more processors, the one or more processors configured to: process user equipment (UE) capability information, the UE capability information comprising an indication that the UE supports one or more of independent measurement gaps (MGs) or per frequency range (per FR) MGs; generate a first configuration signaling, the first configuration signaling configuring a first discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for one of FR1 or FR2; operate in one of FR1 or FR2 based on the first DRX configuration; and communicate with the UE via carrier aggregation (CA) through FR1 and FR2 based on the assumption that the first DRX configuration will not cause interruption of communication of the UE through the other of FR1 or FR2.

[0138] Embodiment 9 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiment 8, wherein one or more processors are further configured to: generate second configuration signaling that configures a second discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for the other of FR1 or FR2; and operate in the other of FR1 or FR2 based on the second DRX configuration, wherein communication with the UE via CA through FR1 and FR2 is further based on the assumption that the second DRX configuration will not cause interruption of communication by the UE through one of FR1 or FR2.

[0139] Embodiment 10 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiment 9, wherein both the first DRX configuration and the second DRX configuration employ a common DRX cycle.

[0140] Embodiment 11 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 9-10, wherein the first DRX configuration includes a first drx-onDurationTimer parameter having a first value, and wherein the second DRX configuration includes a second drx-onDurationTimer parameter having a second value different from the first value.

[0141] Embodiment 12 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 9-11, wherein the first DRX configuration includes a first drx-InactivityTimer parameter having a first value, and wherein the second DRX configuration includes a second drx-InactivityTimer parameter having a second value different from the first value.

[0142] Embodiment 13 is a device configured to be adopted in a user equipment (UE), the device comprising: one or more processors, the one or more processors being configured to: generate UE capability information, the UE capability information comprising an indication that the UE supports an independent discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for a frequency band combination (BC) comprising a first frequency band and a second frequency band; process a first configuration signaling, the first configuration signaling configuring a first discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for a first group of component carriers (CCs) in a first frequency band; communicate through a first group of CCs in a first frequency band and a second group of CCs in a second frequency band via carrier aggregation (CA); and operate the first group of CCs in the first frequency band based on the first DRX configuration without causing interruption of communication through the second group of CCs in the second frequency band.

[0143] Embodiment 14 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiment 13, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to turn on a radio frequency (RF) circuit associated with a first set of CCs in a first frequency band during an active time of a DRX cycle of a first DRX configuration.

[0144] Embodiment 15 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 13-14, wherein one or more processors are further configured to shut down radio frequency (RF) circuits associated with a first group of CCs in a first frequency band during at least a portion of a DRX cycle of a first DRX configuration other than an active time of the DRX cycle.

[0145] Embodiment 16 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiments 13-15, wherein one or more processors are further configured to: process second configuration signaling that configures a second discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for a second group of CCs in a second frequency band; and operate the second group of CCs in the second frequency band based on the second DRX configuration without causing communication interruption through the first group of CCs in the first frequency band.

[0146] Embodiment 17 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiment 16, wherein both the first DRX configuration and the second DRX configuration employ a common DRX cycle.

[0147] Embodiment 18 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 16-17, wherein the first DRX configuration includes a first drx-onDurationTimer parameter having a first value, and wherein the second DRX configuration includes a second drx-onDurationTimer parameter having a second value different from the first value.

[0148] Embodiment 19 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 16-18, wherein the first DRX configuration includes a first drx-InactivityTimer parameter having a first value, and wherein the second DRX configuration includes a second drx-InactivityTimer parameter having a second value different from the first value.

[0149] Embodiment 20 is a device configured to be adopted in a next generation Node B (gNB), the device comprising: one or more processors, the one or more processors being configured to: process user equipment (UE) capability information, the UE capability information comprising an indication that the UE supports an independent discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for a frequency band combination (BC) comprising a first frequency band and a second frequency band; generate a first configuration signaling, the first configuration signaling configuring a first discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for a first group of component carriers (CCs) in a first frequency band; operate a first group of CCs in the first frequency band based on the first DRX configuration; and communicate with the UE via carrier aggregation (CA) through a first group of CCs in the first frequency band and a second group of CCs in the second frequency band based on the assumption that the first DRX configuration will not cause interruption of communication of the UE through a second group of CCs in the second frequency band.

[0150] Embodiment 21 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiment 20, wherein one or more processors are further configured to: generate second configuration signaling that configures a second discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for a second group of CCs in a second frequency band; and operate a second group of CCs in a second frequency band based on the second DRX configuration, wherein communication with the UE is further based on the assumption that the second DRX configuration will not cause interruption of communication by the UE through the first group of CCs in the first frequency band.

[0151] Embodiment 22 includes the subject matter of any variation of any one of Embodiment 21, wherein both the first DRX configuration and the second DRX configuration employ a common DRX cycle.

[0152] Embodiment 23 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 21-22, wherein the first DRX configuration includes a first drx-onDurationTimer parameter having a first value, and wherein the second DRX configuration includes a second drx-onDurationTimer parameter having a second value different from the first value.

[0153] Embodiment 24 includes the subject matter of any variation of any of Embodiments 21-23, wherein the first DRX configuration includes a first drx-InactivityTimer parameter having a first value, and wherein the second DRX configuration includes a second drx-InactivityTimer parameter having a second value different from the first value.

[0154] Embodiment 25 includes an apparatus comprising means for performing any of the described operations of embodiments 1-24.

[0155] Embodiment 26 includes a machine-readable medium storing instructions for execution by a processor to perform any of the described operations of Embodiments 1-24.

[0156] Embodiment 27 includes an apparatus comprising: a memory interface; and a processing circuit configured to: perform any of the described operations of embodiments 1-24.

[0157] The above description of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, including the contents described in the abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. Although specific embodiments and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications can be considered within the scope of such embodiments and examples as can be appreciated by those skilled in the relevant art.

[0158] In this regard, although the subject matter disclosed in the present invention has been described in conjunction with various embodiments and corresponding drawings, it should be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiments to perform the same, similar, alternative or alternative functions of the disclosed subject matter without departing from the described embodiments. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but should be interpreted according to the breadth and scope of the following claims.

[0159] In particular, with respect to the various functions performed by the above-described components or structures (assemblies, devices, circuits, systems, etc.), unless otherwise specified, the terms used to describe such components (including references to "members") are intended to correspond to any component or structure that performs the specified functions of the components (e.g., functionally equivalent), even if not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structures that perform the functions in the exemplary implementations shown herein. In addition, while particular features have been disclosed with respect to only one of a plurality of implementations, for any given or particular application, such features may be combined with one or more other features of other implementations, which may be desirable and advantageous.

Claims

1. A user equipment UE, comprising: Memory; Transceiver; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being configured to, when executing instructions stored in the memory, cause the UE to: transmitting, via the transceiver, UE capability information, the UE capability information comprising an indication that the UE supports one or more of independent measurement gaps MG or per frequency range FR MG of a first frequency range and a second frequency range; In response to the transmitted UE capability information, receiving, via the transceiver, first configuration signaling, the first configuration signaling configuring a first discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for a first frequency range; as well as The transceiver communicates via a first frequency range and a second frequency range via carrier aggregation (CA), wherein the communication via the first frequency range includes communication based on the first DRX configuration without causing interruption of the communication via the second frequency range.

2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to enable the UE to turn on a radio frequency (RF) circuit of the transceiver associated with a first frequency range during an active time of a DRX cycle of the first DRX configuration.

3. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to turn off a radio frequency (RF) circuit of the transceiver associated with a first frequency range during at least a portion of the DRX cycle of the first DRX configuration except for an active time of the DRX cycle; and / or The first frequency range includes one of a frequency range 1 (FR1) or a frequency range 2 (FR2), and the second frequency range includes the other of the frequency range 1 (FR1) or the frequency range 2 (FR2).

4. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: In response to the transmitted UE capability information, second configuration signaling is received via the transceiver, the second configuration signaling configuring a second DRX configuration for the second frequency range, wherein communication over the second frequency range includes communication based on the second DRX configuration without causing interruption of communication over the first frequency range. 5 . The UE according to claim 4 , wherein both the first DRX configuration and the second DRX configuration adopt a common DRX cycle.

6. The UE of claim 4, wherein the first DRX configuration comprises a first drx-onDurationTimer parameter having a first value, and wherein the second DRX configuration comprises a second drx-onDurationTimer parameter having a second value different from the first value.

7. The UE of claim 4, wherein the first DRX configuration comprises a first drx-InactivityTimer parameter having a first value, and wherein the second DRX configuration comprises a second drx-InactivityTimer parameter having a second value different from the first value.

8. A base station, comprising: Memory; Transceiver; and one or more processors configured to, when executing instructions stored in the memory, cause the base station to: receiving, via the transceiver, user equipment UE capability information, the UE capability information comprising an indication that the UE supports one or more of independent measurement gaps MG or per frequency range FR MGs of a first frequency range and a second frequency range; In response to the received UE capability information, transmitting, via the transceiver, first configuration signaling, the first configuration signaling configuring a first discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for a first frequency range; as well as Via the transceiver, communicate with the UE via carrier aggregation CA via a first frequency range and a second frequency range, wherein the communication via the first frequency range includes communication based on the first DRX configuration and based on the following assumption: the first DRX configuration will not cause the UE's communication via the second frequency range to be interrupted.

9. The base station of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the base station to: In response to the received UE capability information, transmitting, via the transceiver, second configuration signaling, the second configuration signaling configuring a second DRX configuration for a second frequency range; The communicating with the UE via the second frequency range includes communicating based on the second DRX configuration and based on the following assumption: the second DRX configuration will not cause interruption of the communication performed by the UE via the first frequency range.

10. The base station according to claim 9, wherein the first DRX configuration and the second DRX configuration both adopt a common DRX cycle; and / or The first frequency range includes one of a frequency range 1 (FR1) or a frequency range 2 (FR2), and the second frequency range includes the other of the frequency range 1 (FR1) or the frequency range 2 (FR2).

11. The base station of claim 9, wherein the first DRX configuration comprises a first drx-onDurationTimer parameter having a first value, and wherein the second DRX configuration comprises a second drx-onDurationTimer parameter having a second value different from the first value.

12. The base station of claim 9, wherein the first DRX configuration comprises a first drx-InactivityTimer parameter having a first value, and wherein the second DRX configuration comprises a second drx-InactivityTimer parameter having a second value different from the first value.

13. A user equipment UE, comprising: Memory; Transceiver; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being configured to, when executing instructions stored in the memory, cause the UE to: transmitting, via the transceiver, UE capability information, the UE capability information comprising an indication that the UE supports a standalone discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for a frequency band combination BC comprising a first frequency band and a second frequency band; In response to the transmitted UE capability information, receiving, via the transceiver, first configuration signaling, the first configuration signaling configuring a first DRX configuration for a first group of component carriers CC in the first frequency band; as well as Via the transceiver, communication is performed via the first group of CCs in the first frequency band and the second group of CCs in the second frequency band via carrier aggregation CA, wherein communication via the first group of CCs in the first frequency band includes communication based on the first DRX configuration without causing interruption of communication via the second group of CCs in the second frequency band.

14. The UE of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to turn on a radio frequency (RF) circuit of the transceiver associated with the first group of CCs in the first frequency band during an active time of a DRX cycle of the first DRX configuration.

15. The UE according to claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to shut down a radio frequency (RF) circuit of the transceiver associated with the first group of CCs in the first frequency band within at least a portion of the DRX cycle of the first DRX configuration except for an active time of the DRX cycle.

16. The UE of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the UE to: In response to the transmitted UE capability information, second configuration signaling is received via the transceiver, and the second configuration signaling configures a second DRX configuration for the second group of CCs in the second frequency band, wherein communication through the second group of CCs in the second frequency band includes communication based on the second DRX configuration without causing interruption of communication through the first group of CCs in the first frequency band. 17 . The UE according to claim 16 , wherein the first DRX configuration and the second DRX configuration both adopt a common DRX cycle.

18. The UE of claim 16, wherein the first DRX configuration comprises a first drx-onDurationTimer parameter having a first value, and wherein the second DRX configuration comprises a second drx-onDurationTimer parameter having a second value different from the first value.

19. The UE of claim 16, wherein the first DRX configuration comprises a first drx-InactivityTimer parameter having a first value, and wherein the second DRX configuration comprises a second drx-InactivityTimer parameter having a second value different from the first value.

20. A base station, comprising: Memory; Transceiver; and one or more processors configured to, when executing instructions stored in the memory, cause the base station to: receiving, via the transceiver, user equipment UE capability information, the UE capability information comprising an indication that the UE supports a standalone discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for a frequency band combination BC comprising a first frequency band and a second frequency band; In response to the received UE capability information, transmitting, via the transceiver, first configuration signaling, the first configuration signaling configuring a first DRX configuration for a first group of component carriers CC in the first frequency band; as well as Via the transceiver, communicate with the UE via carrier aggregation CA through the first group of CCs in the first frequency band and the second group of CCs in the second frequency band, wherein the communication through the first group of CCs includes communication based on the first DRX configuration and based on the following assumption: the first DRX configuration will not cause the UE's communication through the second group of CCs in the second frequency band to be interrupted.

21. The base station of claim 20, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the base station to: In response to the received UE capability information, second configuration signaling is transmitted via the transceiver, wherein the second configuration signaling configures a second DRX configuration for the second group of CCs in the second frequency band, wherein communication through the second group of CCs includes communication based on the second DRX configuration and based on the following assumption: the second DRX configuration will not cause the UE to interrupt communication through the first group of CCs in the first frequency band.

22. The base station according to claim 21, wherein the first DRX configuration and the second DRX configuration both adopt a common DRX cycle.

23. The base station of claim 21, wherein the first DRX configuration comprises a first drx-onDurationTimer parameter having a first value, and wherein the second DRX configuration comprises a second drx-onDurationTimer parameter having a second value different from the first value.

24. The base station of claim 21, wherein the first DRX configuration comprises a first drx-InactivityTimer parameter having a first value, and wherein the second DRX configuration comprises a second drx-InactivityTimer parameter having a second value different from the first value.

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