Device, method and computer program

Abstract

A device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the device to at least: generate (800) a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on multiple radio frequency resources; and provide (802) the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on multiple radio frequency resources to a terminal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to apparatus, methods and computer programs for managing control channel monitoring skipping of multiple radio frequency resources in a cellular network. Background Art

[0002] A communication system can be viewed as a facility for enabling communication sessions between two or more entities (such as user terminals, base stations / access points, and / or other nodes) by providing carrier waves between the various entities involved in the communication path. For example, a communication system can be provided by a communication network and one or more compatible communication devices. A communication session may include, for example, communications for carrying data such as voice, electronic mail (email), text messages, multimedia, and / or content data. Non-limiting examples of the services provided include two-way or multi-way calls, data communications or multimedia services, and access to data network systems such as the Internet. In a wireless communication system, at least a portion of a communication session between at least two stations occurs over a wireless link.

[0003] A user can access a communication system through an appropriate communication device or terminal. The user's communication device is usually referred to as user equipment (UE) or user device. The communication device is provided with appropriate signal receiving and sending means for enabling communication, such as enabling access to a communication network or communicating directly with other users. The communication device can access a carrier provided by a station or access point and send and / or receive communications on the carrier.

[0004] Communication systems and related equipment typically operate according to a required standard or specification, which specifies what the various entities associated with the system are allowed to do and how it should be achieved. Communication protocols and / or parameters that should be used for the connection are also typically defined. An example of a communication system is UTRAN (3G radio). A radio access technology called Long Term Evolution (LTE) or Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is another example of an architecture. Another example communication system is the so-called 5G radio or New Radio (NR) access technology. Summary of the invention

[0005] According to one aspect, a device is provided, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory comprising computer code for one or more programs, the at least one memory and the computer code being configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the device to at least: generate a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on multiple radio frequency resources; and provide the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on multiple radio frequency resources to a terminal.

[0006] At least one memory and computer program code may be configured to, together with at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: generate a configuration and / or command resource for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a group of multiple radio frequencies; and provide the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the group of multiple radio frequency resources to a terminal.

[0007] The control channel may be a Physical Downlink Control Channel.

[0008] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include multiple frequency carriers, multiple component carriers, multiple frequency bands, multiple frequency bands, multiple cells, multiple serving cells and / or multiple radio access technologies.

[0009] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include some radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication of some radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0010] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include all radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources includes an indication indicating all radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0011] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating whether control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0012] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating a time period during which control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0013] The command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an instruction to trigger control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0014] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via higher layer signaling, and the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via lower layer signaling.

[0015] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided before the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0016] The terminal may be in a radio resource control connected mode.

[0017] The apparatus may be a base station.

[0018] According to one aspect, a device is provided, comprising a circuit system configured to: generate a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on multiple radio frequency resources; and provide the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on multiple radio frequency resources to a terminal.

[0019] The apparatus may include a circuit system configured to: generate a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a group of multiple radio frequency resources; and provide the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the group of multiple radio frequency resources to a terminal.

[0020] The control channel may be a Physical Downlink Control Channel.

[0021] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include multiple frequency carriers, multiple component carriers, multiple frequency bands, multiple frequency bands, multiple cells, multiple serving cells and / or multiple radio access technologies.

[0022] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include some radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication of some radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0023] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include all radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources includes an indication indicating all radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0024] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating whether control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0025] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating a time period during which control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0026] The command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an instruction to trigger control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0027] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via higher layer signaling, and the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via lower layer signaling.

[0028] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided before the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0029] The terminal may be in a radio resource control connected mode.

[0030] The apparatus may be a base station.

[0031] According to one aspect, a device is provided, comprising a component for performing the following operations: generating a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on multiple radio frequency resources; and providing the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on multiple radio frequency resources to a terminal.

[0032] The apparatus may include a component for performing the following operations: generating a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a group of multiple radio frequency resources; and providing the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the group of multiple radio frequency resources to a terminal.

[0033] The control channel may be a Physical Downlink Control Channel.

[0034] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include multiple frequency carriers, multiple component carriers, multiple frequency bands, multiple frequency bands, multiple cells, multiple serving cells and / or multiple radio access technologies.

[0035] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include some radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication of some radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0036] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include all radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources includes an indication indicating all radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0037] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating whether control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0038] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating a time period during which control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0039] The command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an instruction to trigger control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0040] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via higher layer signaling, and the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via lower layer signaling.

[0041] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided before the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0042] The terminal may be in a radio resource control connected mode.

[0043] The device may be a base station

[0044] According to one aspect, a method is provided, comprising: generating a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on multiple radio frequency resources; and providing the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on multiple radio frequency resources to a terminal.

[0045] The method may include: generating a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a group of multiple radio frequency resources; and providing the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the group of multiple radio frequency resources to the terminal.

[0046] The control channel may be a Physical Downlink Control Channel.

[0047] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include multiple frequency carriers, multiple component carriers, multiple frequency bands, multiple frequency bands, multiple cells, multiple serving cells and / or multiple radio access technologies.

[0048] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include some radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication of some radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0049] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include all radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources includes an indication indicating all radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0050] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating whether control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0051] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating a time period during which control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0052] The command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an instruction to trigger control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0053] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via higher layer signaling, and the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via lower layer signaling.

[0054] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided before the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0055] The terminal may be in a radio resource control connected mode.

[0056] The method may be executed by a base station.

[0057] According to one aspect, a computer program comprising a computer executable code is provided, which, when executed on at least one processor, is configured to: generate a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on multiple radio frequency resources; and provide the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on multiple radio frequency resources to a terminal.

[0058] The computer program may include computer executable code configured to perform the following operations when running on at least one processor: generating a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a group of multiple radio frequency resources; and providing the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the group of multiple radio frequency resources to the terminal.

[0059] The control channel may be a Physical Downlink Control Channel.

[0060] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include multiple frequency carriers, multiple component carriers, multiple frequency bands, multiple frequency bands, multiple cells, multiple serving cells and / or multiple radio access technologies.

[0061] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include some radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication of some radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0062] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include all radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources includes an indication indicating all radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0063] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating whether control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0064] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating a time period during which control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0065] The command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an instruction to trigger control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0066] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via higher layer signaling, and the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via lower layer signaling.

[0067] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided before the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0068] The terminal may be in a radio resource control connected mode.

[0069] The at least one processor may be part of a base station.

[0070] According to one aspect, a device is provided, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory, the at least one memory comprising computer code for one or more programs, the at least one memory and the computer code being configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the device to at least: receive a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a plurality of radio frequency resources; and use the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0071] At least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, together with at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a group of multiple radio frequency resources; and use the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the group of multiple radio frequency resources.

[0072] The control channel may be a Physical Downlink Control Channel.

[0073] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include multiple frequency carriers, multiple component carriers, multiple frequency bands, multiple frequency bands, multiple cells, multiple serving cells and / or multiple radio access technologies.

[0074] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include some radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication of some radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0075] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include all radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources includes an indication indicating all radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0076] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating whether control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0077] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating a time period during which control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0078] The command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an instruction to trigger control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0079] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via higher layer signaling, and the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via lower layer signaling.

[0080] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided before the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0081] The device may be a terminal.

[0082] The terminal may be in a radio resource control connected mode.

[0083] According to one aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising a circuit system configured to: receive a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on multiple radio frequency resources; and use the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on multiple radio frequency resources.

[0084] The apparatus may include a circuit system configured to: receive a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a set of multiple radio frequency resources; and use the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the set of multiple radio frequency resources.

[0085] The control channel may be a Physical Downlink Control Channel.

[0086] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include multiple frequency carriers, multiple component carriers, multiple frequency bands, multiple frequency bands, multiple cells, multiple serving cells and / or multiple radio access technologies.

[0087] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include some radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication of some radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0088] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include all radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources includes an indication indicating all radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0089] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating whether control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0090] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating a time period during which control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0091] The command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an instruction to trigger control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0092] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via higher layer signaling, and the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via lower layer signaling.

[0093] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided before the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0094] The device may be a terminal.

[0095] The terminal may be in a radio resource control connected mode.

[0096] According to one aspect, an apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising means for receiving a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a plurality of radio frequency resources; and using the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0097] The apparatus may include means for receiving a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a set of multiple radio frequency resources; and using the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the set of multiple radio frequency resources.

[0098] The control channel may be a Physical Downlink Control Channel.

[0099] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include multiple frequency carriers, multiple component carriers, multiple frequency bands, multiple frequency bands, multiple cells, multiple serving cells and / or multiple radio access technologies.

[0100] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include some radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication of some radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0101] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include all radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources includes an indication indicating all radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0102] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating whether control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0103] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating a time period during which control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0104] The command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an instruction to trigger control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0105] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via higher layer signaling, and the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via lower layer signaling.

[0106] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided before the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0107] The device may be a terminal.

[0108] The terminal may be in a radio resource control connected mode.

[0109] According to one aspect, a method is provided, the method comprising: receiving a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a plurality of radio frequency resources; and using the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0110] The method may include: receiving a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a group of multiple radio frequency resources; and using the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the group of multiple radio frequency resources.

[0111] The control channel may be a Physical Downlink Control Channel.

[0112] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include multiple frequency carriers, multiple component carriers, multiple frequency bands, multiple frequency bands, multiple cells, multiple serving cells and / or multiple radio access technologies.

[0113] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include some radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication of some radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0114] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include all radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources includes an indication of all radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0115] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating whether control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0116] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating a time period during which control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0117] The command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an instruction to trigger control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0118] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via higher layer signaling, and the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via lower layer signaling.

[0119] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided before the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0120] The method may be executed by a terminal.

[0121] The terminal may be in a radio resource control connected mode.

[0122] According to one aspect, a computer program comprising computer executable code is provided, which, when executed on at least one processor, is configured to: receive a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on multiple radio frequency resources; and use the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on multiple radio frequency resources.

[0123] The computer program may include computer executable code configured to perform the following operations when running on at least one processor: receiving a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a group of multiple radio frequency resources; and using the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the group of multiple radio frequency resources.

[0124] The control channel may be a Physical Downlink Control Channel.

[0125] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include multiple frequency carriers, multiple component carriers, multiple frequency bands, multiple frequency bands, multiple cells, multiple serving cells and / or multiple radio access technologies.

[0126] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include some radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication of some radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0127] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include all radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources includes an indication indicating all radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0128] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating whether control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0129] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating a time period during which control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0130] The command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an instruction to trigger control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0131] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via higher layer signaling, and the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via lower layer signaling.

[0132] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided before the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0133] The at least one processor may be part of the terminal.

[0134] The terminal may be in a radio resource control connected mode.

[0135] According to one aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, the computer-readable medium including program instructions stored thereon, the program instructions being used to execute at least one of the above methods.

[0136] According to one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, the non-transitory computer-readable medium including program instructions stored thereon, the program instructions being used to execute at least one of the above methods.

[0137] According to one aspect, a non-volatile tangible storage medium is provided, the non-volatile tangible storage medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for executing at least one of the above methods.

[0138] In the above, many different aspects have been described. It should be understood that other aspects can be provided by combining any two or more of the above aspects.

[0139] Various other aspects are also described in the following detailed description and appended claims.

[0140] Abbreviations

[0141] AF: Application Function

[0142] AUSF: Authentication Server Function

[0143] AMF: Access Management Function

[0144] BFR: Beam Failure Restoration

[0145] BS: Base Station

[0146] BWP: Bandwidth Part

[0147] C-DRX: Connected Mode Discontinuous Reception CU: Centralized Unit

[0148] DCI: Downlink Control Information

[0149] DN: Data Network

[0150] DRX: Discontinuous Reception

[0151] DU: Distributed Unit

[0152] GNB: gNodeB GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications

[0153] HSS: Home Subscriber Server

[0154] IE: Information Element

[0155] IoT: Internet of Things

[0156] IP: Internet Protocol

[0157] L2: Layer 2 LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0158] MAC: Media Access Control

[0159] NEF: Network Exposure Function

[0160] NR: New Radio

[0161] MS: Mobile Station

[0162] MTC: Machine Type Communication PDCCH: Physical Downlink Control Channel PHY: Physical Layer

[0163] RA: Random Access

[0164] RAM: Random Access Memory

[0165] RAN: Radio Access Network

[0166] RF: Radio Frequency

[0167] ROM: Read Only Memory

[0168] RRM: Radio Resource Management

[0169] SI: Research Projects

[0170] SIB: System Information Block

[0171] SMF: Session Management Function

[0172] SR: Scheduling Request

[0173] UDM: User Data Management

[0174] UE: User Equipment

[0175] UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

[0176] USB: Universal Serial Bus

[0177] WI: Work Item

[0178] WUS: wake-up signal

[0179] 3GPP: Third Generation Partnership Project

[0180] 5G: Fifth Generation

[0181] 5GC: 5G core network

[0182] 5GRAN: 5G Radio Access Network

[0183] 5GS: 5G System BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0184] Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0185] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a 5G system (5GS) is shown;

[0186] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a control device is shown;

[0187] Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of a terminal;

[0188] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing PDCCH monitoring skipping based on DCI is shown;

[0189] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a signaling diagram showing a procedure, wherein a Next Generation Node B configures a user equipment with a plurality of groups including a plurality of serving cells for which physical downlink control channel monitoring skipping is allowed, and wherein the Next Generation Node B triggers a physical downlink control channel monitoring skipping of one of the plurality of groups including the plurality of serving cells at the user equipment;

[0190] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a signaling diagram illustrating a procedure, wherein a next generation Node B configures a user equipment with a plurality of downlink control information associated with a plurality of serving cells for which physical downlink control channel monitoring skipping is allowed, and wherein the next generation Node B triggers physical downlink control channel monitoring skipping of one of the plurality of downlink control information associated with the plurality of serving cells at the user equipment;

[0191] Figure 7 A schematic diagram showing a signaling diagram of a procedure in which a Next Generation Node B triggers physical downlink control channel monitoring skipping of multiple serving cells at a user equipment;

[0192] Figure 8 A schematic diagram showing a method for managing skip control channel monitoring of multiple radio frequency resources in a cellular network performed by a base station (eg, a next generation Node B);

[0193] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram showing a method for managing skip control channel monitoring of multiple radio frequency resources in a cellular network performed by a terminal (eg, user equipment); and

[0194] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of a non-volatile storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, allow the processor to perform a Figure 8 and Fig. 9 Any one or more of the steps of the method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0195] In the following, certain embodiments are explained with reference to a mobile communication device capable of communicating via a wireless cellular system and a mobile communication system serving such a mobile communication device. Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 Certain general principles of wireless communication systems, their access systems and mobile communication devices are briefly explained to help understand the technology underlying the described examples.

[0196] Figure 1A schematic diagram of a 5G system (5GS) is shown. The 5GS may include a terminal, a 5G radio access network (5GRAN), a 5G core network (5GC), one or more application functions (AFs), and one or more data networks (DNs).

[0197] The 5G RAN may include one or more gNodeB (GNB) distributed unit functions connected to one or more gNodeB (GNB) centralized unit functions.

[0198] 5GC may include access management function (AMF), session management function (SMF), authentication server function (AUSF), user data management (UDM), user plane function (UPF) and / or network exposure function (NEF).

[0199] Figure 2 shows the control method for Figure 1 An example of a control device 200 for the functions of a 5GRAN or 5GC shown. The control device may include at least one random access memory (RAM) 211a, at least one read-only memory (ROM) 211b, at least one processor 212, 213 and an input / output interface 214. At least one processor 212, 213 may be coupled to the RAM 211a and the ROM 211b. At least one processor 212, 213 may be configured to execute appropriate software code 215. The software code 215 may, for example, allow one or more steps to be executed to perform one or more aspects of the present invention. The software code 215 may be stored in the ROM 211b. The control device 200 may be interconnected with another control device 200 that controls another function of a 5GRAN or 5GC. In some embodiments, each function of a 5GRAN or 5GC includes a control device 200. In an alternative embodiment, two or more functions of a 5GRAN or 5GC may share a control device.

[0200] Figure 3 An example of a terminal 300 is shown, such as Figure 1 The terminal shown. The terminal 300 can be provided by any device capable of sending and receiving radio signals. Non-limiting examples include user equipment, a mobile station (MS) or a mobile device (such as a mobile phone or a so-called "smart phone"), a personal data assistant (PDA) or a tablet computer equipped with a wireless interface card or other wireless interface facilities (e.g., a USB dongle), a machine type communication (MTC) device, an Internet of Things (IoT) type communication device, or any combination of these. The terminal 300 can, for example, provide data communication for bearer communication. The communication can be one or more of voice, electronic mail (email), text message, multimedia, data, machine data, etc.

[0201] The terminal 300 may receive signals over the air or radio interface 307 via suitable means for receiving, and may transmit signals via suitable means for transmitting radio signals. Figure 3 In the mobile device, the transceiver arrangement is schematically designated by block 306. The transceiver arrangement 306 may be provided, for example, by a radio part and an associated antenna arrangement. The antenna arrangement may be arranged internally or externally to the mobile device.

[0202] The terminal 300 may be equipped with at least one processor 301, at least one memory ROM 302a, at least one RAM 302b and possibly other components 303 for software and hardware assisted execution of the tasks that the terminal 300 is designed to perform, including controlling access to and communication with access systems and other communication devices. The at least one processor 301 is coupled to the RAM 302a and the ROM 211b. The at least one processor 301 may be configured to execute appropriate software code 308. The software code 308 may, for example, allow execution of one or more aspects of the present invention. The software code 308 may be stored in the ROM 302b.

[0203] The processor, storage device and other related control devices may be arranged on an appropriate circuit board and / or in a chipset. This feature is indicated by reference numeral 304. The device may optionally have a user interface, such as a keyboard 305, a touch-sensitive screen or tablet, a combination thereof, etc. Optionally, one or more of a display, a speaker and a microphone may be provided depending on the type of device.

[0204] One or more of the following aspects relate to performing energy saving in 5GS. However, it should be understood that similar aspects may relate to other systems.

[0205] Various techniques have been proposed to perform energy saving in 5GS, including wake-up signaling (WUS), skipping physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring, or discontinuous reception (DRX).

[0206] WUS and skipping PDCCH monitoring are discussed in Energy Saving Study (SI) RP-181463. DRX has supported energy saving since LTE Rel-8 and NR.

[0207] With skipping PDCCH monitoring, downlink control information (DCI) may be used to instruct the UE to skip PDCCH monitoring during certain periods.

[0208] With DRX, the DRX cycle can periodically keep the UE awake during the OnDuration in case data transmission may be required. When data transmission is ongoing, the active time can be extended by scheduling the UE with an inactivity timer.

[0209] With WUS, the WUS opportunity can be configured before OnDuration with a certain offset, and the UE can perform monitoring during OnDuration if there is a WUS to instruct the UE to do so. There may be unresolved issues as to whether the WUS should explicitly indicate whether the UE should perform monitoring during OnDuration and / or implicitly indicate whether the UE should perform monitoring during OnDuration (i.e., whether the absence of a WUS implicitly indicates that the UE should give up performing monitoring during OnDuration).

[0210] Based on scheduling decisions and / or lack of data in the buffer, the DCI may command the UE to skip PDCCH monitoring at one or more occasions. How to indicate the extent of skipping PDCCH monitoring (number of occasions, time period, etc.), and whether the extent of skipping PDCCH monitoring is configured by radio resource control (RRC) and / or dynamically indicated in the DCI is for further study.

[0211] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of PDCCH monitoring skipping based on DCI is shown. The UE may avoid skipping PDCCH monitoring during a scheduled period and may skip PDCCH monitoring during a non-scheduled period. The non-scheduled period may include N PDCCH opportunities, where N is an integer equal to or greater than 1.

[0212] RAN2 agreed to the following at the RAN2#105bis meeting. The UE may indicate to the network a preference for transitioning out of RRC connected (RRC_CONNECTED) mode. Further study may be conducted on what UE assistance may be provided and for what scenarios. UE assistance for DRX configuration will be studied. RAN2 will study the impact of wake-up signaling on connected mode DRX (C-DRX). Wake-up signaling may be linked to C-DRX and may only be configured when C-DRX is configured. If WUS is not configured, legacy operation may apply. If WUS is configured, the UE may monitor for WUS timing at a known offset before OnDuration C-DRX. The offset may be discussed by RAN1.

[0213] Starting from RAN2#106, consensus has been reached on the WI recommendations for the work item (WI) objectives. Higher layer processes that support DCI-based PDCCH monitoring skipping (which may include DCI-based PDCCH monitoring skipping period adaptation) are studied to achieve a reduction in PDCCH monitoring / decoding (Section 5.1.5). If enabled, it can be assumed that DCI-based PDCCH monitoring skipping can be configured with or without C-DRX. However, RAN2 has not reached a consensus on the benefits of using PDCCH monitoring skipping without C-DRX. DCI-based PDCCH monitoring skipping may be intended to operate on a short time scale (i.e., a shorter time scale than Layer 2 (L2) C-DRX). In this case, it has not been determined that DCI-based PDCCH monitoring skipping can replicate C-DRX functionality. The general understanding is that DCI-based PDCCH monitoring skipping should be a physical layer (PHY) process with minimal impact (if any) on the media access control (MAC) layer. MAC timers may not be affected by the DCI-based PDCCH monitoring skip command, except for timers related to uplink triggered activities (e.g., random access (RA), scheduling request (SR), and beam failure recovery (BFR)), which should be resolved in the WI phase, i.e., how / whether the DCI-based PDCCH monitoring skip command affects L2 operation when a RA or SR procedure is in progress.

[0214] In carrier aggregation operation, the UE will have multiple serving carriers, and to maximize the benefits of energy saving, it may be desirable to be able to configure PDCCH monitoring skipping for multiple serving carriers individually for each serving carrier.

[0215] In order to make PDCCH monitoring skipping controllable with greater granularity, the gNB may configure the UE to perform PDCCH monitoring skipping as follows.

[0216] The gNB may configure a set of multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies for which PDCCH monitoring skipping is valid (i.e., allowed).

[0217] The set of multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies for which PDCCH monitoring skipping is valid may include some or all carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies for which PDCCH is present.

[0218] The gNB may configure a single time period during which PDCCH monitoring skipping is valid for the set of multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies (i.e., a common time period for multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies).

[0219] Alternatively, the gNB may configure multiple time periods during which PDCCH monitoring skipping for the set of multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies is valid (i.e., individual time periods for multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies).

[0220] The gNB may command a PDCCH monitoring skip that triggers the set of multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies configured by the gNB.

[0221] The gNB may provide to the UE this configuration and / or command for performing PDCCH monitoring skipping for multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, bands, and / or radio access technologies. The configuration may be provided via higher layer (e.g., MAC or RRC) signaling. The configuration may be provided via one or more information elements (IEs). The command may be provided via lower layer (e.g., PHY) signaling. The configuration may be provided prior to the command. Alternatively, the configuration may be provided concurrently with the command or after the command.

[0222] The UE may perform PDCCH monitoring skipping for the set of multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies based on the configuration and / or command.

[0223] In one implementation, the gNB may configure multiple groups of multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies among multiple groups of multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies for which PDCCH monitoring skipping is valid (i.e., allowed).

[0224] The multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies for which PDCCH monitoring skipping is valid may include some or all of the carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies for which the PDCCH exists.

[0225] The gNB may configure multiple groups of multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies for which PDCCH monitoring skipping is invalid (i.e. not allowed).

[0226] The plurality of carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies for which PDCCH monitoring skipping is invalid may include some or all of the carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies for which PDCCH exists.

[0227] The gNB may configure a single time period during which PDCCH monitoring skipping is valid for multiple groups of multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies (i.e., a common time period for multiple groups of multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies).

[0228] Alternatively, the gNB may configure multiple time periods during which PDCCH monitoring skipping is valid for multiple groups of multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies (i.e., individual time periods for multiple groups of multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies).

[0229] The gNB may command PDCCH monitoring skipping to be triggered for multiple groups of multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies configured by the gNB.

[0230] The gNB may provide the configuration and / or command for performing PDCCH monitoring skipping for multiple groups of multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands, and / or radio access technologies. The configuration may be provided via higher layer (e.g., MAC or RRC) signaling. The configuration may be provided via one or more information elements (IEs). The command may be provided via lower layer (e.g., PHY) signaling. The configuration may be provided prior to the command. Alternatively, the configuration may be provided concurrently with the command or after the command.

[0231] The UE may perform PDCCH monitoring skipping for multiple groups of carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies based on the configuration and / or command.

[0232] Figure 5A schematic diagram of a signaling diagram of a process is shown, wherein a gNB configures a UE with multiple groups of serving cells for which PDCCH monitoring skipping is allowed, and wherein the gNB triggers PDCCH monitoring skipping for one group of the multiple groups of serving cells at the UE.

[0233] In step 500, the UE may operate in RRC_CONNECTED mode.

[0234] In step 502, the gNB may provide the UE with a configuration for performing PDCCH monitoring skipping. The configuration may include an indication that group 1 includes serving cells 1, 3, and 5 and group 2 includes serving cells 2 and 4. Serving cells 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 may be serving cells where PDCCH exists. The gNB may also provide the UE with an indication that PDCCH monitoring skipping of group 1 and group 2 is valid. The configuration may be provided via higher layer signaling.

[0235] In step 504, the gNB may provide a command to the UE for performing PDCCH monitoring skipping. The command may include an indication to trigger PDCCH monitoring skipping on serving cells 1, 3, and 5. The indication may be a DCI associated with group 1. The command may be provided via lower layer signaling.

[0236] In step 506, the UE may perform PDCCH monitoring skipping based on the configuration and command. The UE may perform PDCCH monitoring skipping of serving cells 1, 3, and 5.

[0237] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a signaling diagram of a process is shown, wherein a gNB configures a UE with multiple DCIs associated with multiple serving cells for which PDCCH monitoring skipping is allowed, and wherein the gNB triggers PDCCH monitoring skipping of one of the multiple DCIs associated with the multiple serving cells at the UE.

[0238] In step 600, the UE may operate in RRC_CONNECTED mode.

[0239] In step 602, the gNB may provide the UE with a configuration for performing PDCCH monitoring skipping. The configuration may include an indication that DCI1 is associated with serving cells 1, 3, and 5 and DCI2 is associated with serving cells 2 and 4. Serving cells 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 may be serving cells where PDCCH exists. The gNB may also provide the UE with an indication that PDCCH monitoring skipping of DCI1 and DCI2 is valid. The configuration may be provided via higher layer signaling.

[0240] In step 604, the gNB may provide a command to the UE for performing PDCCH monitoring skipping. The command may include an indication to trigger PDCCH monitoring skipping on serving cells 1, 3, and 5. The indication may be DCI1 associated with serving cells 1, 3, and 5. The command may be provided via lower layer signaling.

[0241] In step 606, the UE may perform PDCCH monitoring skipping based on the configuration and command. The UE may perform PDCCH monitoring skipping of serving cells 1, 3, and 5.

[0242] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a signalling diagram showing the procedure in which the gNB triggers PDCCH monitoring skipping of multiple serving cells at a UE.

[0243] In step 700, the UE may operate in RRC_CONNECTED mode.

[0244] In step 702, the gNB may provide a command to the UE for performing PDCCH monitoring skipping. The command may include an indication to trigger PDCCH monitoring skipping of a specific serving cell. The indication may include a bitmap. The command may be provided via lower layer signaling.

[0245] In step 704, the UE may perform PDCCH monitoring skipping based on the command. The UE may perform PDCCH monitoring skipping of a specific serving cell for a duration X, where X is a time period configured in the UE via lower layer signaling (eg, individually or by command) or via higher layer signaling.

[0246] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a method for managing skip control channel monitoring of multiple radio frequency resources in a cellular network performed by a base station (e.g., a gNB) is shown.

[0247] In step 800, the base station may generate a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a plurality of radio frequency resources. In one implementation, the base station may generate a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a group of a plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0248] The control channel may be a PDCCH.

[0249] The plurality of radio frequency resources include a plurality of frequency carriers, a plurality of component carriers, a plurality of frequency bands, a plurality of frequency bands, a plurality of cells, a plurality of serving cells and / or a plurality of radio access technologies.

[0250] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include some radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set where the control channel exists. Then, the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication of only some radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0251] Alternatively, the plurality of radio frequency resources may include all radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set where the control channel exists. Then, the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating all radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0252] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating whether control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0253] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating a time period during which control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0254] The command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an instruction to trigger control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0255] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via higher layer signaling, and the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via lower layer signaling.

[0256] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided before the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0257] The terminal may be in a radio resource control connected mode.

[0258] In step 802, the base station may provide the terminal with the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on multiple radio frequency resources. In one implementation, the base station may provide the terminal with the configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a group of multiple radio frequency resources.

[0259] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram is shown of a method for managing skipping control channel monitoring of multiple radio frequency resources in a cellular network, performed by a terminal (eg, UE).

[0260] In step 900, the terminal may receive a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a plurality of radio frequency resources. In one implementation, the terminal may receive a configuration and / or command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on a group of a plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0261] The control channel may be a PDCCH.

[0262] The plurality of radio frequency resources include a plurality of frequency carriers, a plurality of component carriers, a plurality of frequency bands, a plurality of frequency bands, a plurality of cells, a plurality of serving cells and / or a plurality of radio access technologies.

[0263] The plurality of radio frequency resources may include some radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set where the control channel exists. Then, the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication of only some radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0264] Alternatively, the plurality of radio frequency resources may include all radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set where the control channel exists. Then, the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating all radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

[0265] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating whether control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0266] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an indication indicating a time period during which control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed.

[0267] The command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may include an instruction to trigger control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0268] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via higher layer signaling, and the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided via lower layer signaling.

[0269] The configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources may be provided before the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources.

[0270] The terminal may be in a radio resource control connected mode.

[0271] In step 902, the terminal may use the configuration and / or command to skip control channel monitoring on multiple radio frequency resources. In one implementation, the terminal may use the configuration and / or command to skip control channel monitoring on the group of multiple radio frequency resources.

[0272] Fig.10 Schematic diagram of non-volatile storage media 1000a (e.g., a computer disk (CD) or digital versatile disk (DVD)) and 1000b (e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) memory stick) storing instructions and / or parameters 1002 that, when executed by a processor, allow the processor to perform Figure 8 and Fig. 9 One or more of the steps of the method.

[0273] The above aspects are advantageous because they allow PDDCH monitoring skipping to be used for multiple carriers, component carriers, cells, serving cells, frequency ranges, frequency bands and / or radio access technologies, rather than using PDDCH monitoring skipping for a single carrier, component carrier, cell, serving cell, frequency range, frequency band and / or radio access technology.

[0274] The above aspects are advantageous as they allow UE battery saving benefits to be gained from efficient PDCCH monitoring skipping.

[0275] The above aspects are advantageous as they allow for a PDCCH monitoring skipping feature in a hybrid setup where not all cells support PDCCH monitoring skipping (ie, PDCCH monitoring skipping may only be used for cells that support PDCCH monitoring skipping).

[0276] It should be understood that although the above aspects have been described with respect to an indication indicating skipping of control channel (such as PDCCH) monitoring, it can be applied to an indication indicating whether to monitor a control channel (e.g., a WUS indication). In this case, for example, the WUS indication may indicate that the UE monitors the PDCCH on certain frequency resources rather than all frequency resources. Therefore, it should be understood that the WUS may be an indication indicating skipping of control channel monitoring.

[0277] It should be understood that although the above aspect has been described with respect to 5GS, it may be applicable to other systems.

[0278] It should also be appreciated that although the above aspect has been described with respect to the PDCCH, it may be applied to other control channels.

[0279] Note that while the above describes exemplifying embodiments, there are several variations and modifications which may be made to the disclosed solution without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0280] Therefore, the embodiments may vary within the scope of the appended claims. In general, some embodiments may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, but the embodiments are not limited thereto. Although various embodiments may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it is well understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0281] The embodiments may be implemented by computer software stored in a memory and executable by at least one data processor of the entity involved, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. Further, in this regard, it should be noted that any process (e.g., Figure 8 and Fig. 9 The software may be stored on physical media such as memory chips or memory blocks implemented within the processor, magnetic media such as hard disk or floppy disks, and optical media such as DVD and its data variants CD.

[0282] The memory may be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. The data processor may be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a gate-level circuit, and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture.

[0283] Alternatively or additionally, some embodiments may be implemented using a circuit system. The circuit system may be configured to perform one or more of the previously described functions and / or method steps. The circuit system may be provided in a base station and / or a communication device.

[0284] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0285] (a) pure hardware circuit implementation (such as implementation using only analog and / or digital circuit systems);

[0286] (b) A combination of hardware circuits and software, such as:

[0287] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and

[0288] (ii) hardware processor(s) (including digital signal processor(s)), software and any portion of memory(s) with software that work together to cause an apparatus (such as a communications device or base station) to perform the various previously described functions; and (c) hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portion(s) of microprocessor(s), which require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but the software may be absent when not required for operation.

[0289] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example, an integrated device.

[0290] The foregoing description provides a complete and informative description of some embodiments by way of exemplary and non-limiting examples. However, various modifications and adaptations may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant art in view of the foregoing description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. However, all such and similar modifications of the teachings will still fall within the scope defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A communication device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code; The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: generating a configuration including an indication that control channel monitoring skipping for a plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed; providing the configuration including the indication that control channel monitoring skipping of the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed to the terminal via higher layer signaling, the higher layer signaling being radio resource control (RRC) signaling or medium access control (MAC) signaling; generating a command for triggering skipping of control channel monitoring of the plurality of radio frequency resources; as well as providing the command for triggering skipping of control channel monitoring of the plurality of radio frequency resources to the terminal via lower layer signaling, the lower layer signaling being physical (PHY) signaling, Wherein the configuration is provided before the command.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: generating a configuration including an indication that control channel monitoring skipping is allowed for a set of a plurality of radio frequency resources; providing, to the terminal, the configuration including the indication indicating that control channel monitoring skipping for the set of multiple radio frequency resources is allowed; generating a command for triggering skipping of control channel monitoring of the set of multiple radio frequency resources; as well as The command for triggering skipping of control channel monitoring of the set of multiple radio frequency resources is provided to the terminal.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control channel is a physical downlink control channel. 4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of radio frequency resources comprises a plurality of frequency carriers, a plurality of component carriers, a plurality of frequency bands, a plurality of cells, a plurality of serving cells, and / or a plurality of radio access technologies.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of radio frequency resources include some radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and wherein the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources includes an indication of some radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of radio frequency resources include all radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and wherein the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources includes an indication indicating all radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the configuration comprises: An indication of a time period during which control channel monitoring of the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed to be skipped. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the terminal is in a radio resource control connected mode.

9. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the apparatus is a base station.

10. A communication device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory including computer program code; The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receiving, via higher layer signaling, a configuration including an indication that control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed, the higher layer signaling being radio resource control (RRC) signaling or medium access control (MAC) signaling; receiving, via lower layer signaling, a command for triggering skipping of control channel monitoring of the plurality of radio frequency resources, the lower layer signaling being physical (PHY) signaling; as well as using the configuration and the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources, wherein the configuration is received prior to the command.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receiving a configuration and / or command including said indication that control channel monitoring skipping for a set of a plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed; receiving a command for triggering skipping of control channel monitoring of the set of multiple radio frequency resources; as well as The configuration and the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the set of the plurality of radio frequency resources are used.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the control channel is a physical downlink control channel.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the plurality of radio frequency resources comprises a plurality of frequency carriers, a plurality of component carriers, a plurality of frequency bands, a plurality of cells, a plurality of serving cells, and / or a plurality of radio access technologies.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the plurality of radio frequency resources include some radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and wherein the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources includes an indication indicating some radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the plurality of radio frequency resources include all radio frequency resources in a radio frequency resource set, and wherein the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources includes an indication indicating all radio frequency resources in the radio frequency resource set.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the configuration for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources comprises: An indication of a time period during which control channel monitoring of the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed to be skipped. The device according to claim 10 , wherein the device is a terminal.

18. The apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 17, wherein the apparatus is in a radio resource control connected mode.

19. A communication method, comprising: generating a configuration including an indication that control channel monitoring skipping for a plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed; providing the configuration including the indication that control channel monitoring skipping of the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed to the terminal via higher layer signaling, the higher layer signaling being radio resource control (RRC) signaling or medium access control (MAC) signaling; generating a command for triggering skipping of control channel monitoring of the plurality of radio frequency resources; as well as The command for triggering skipping of control channel monitoring of the plurality of radio frequency resources is provided to the terminal via lower layer signaling, wherein the lower layer signaling is physical (PHY) signaling. Wherein the configuration is provided before the command.

20. A communication method, comprising: receiving, via higher layer signaling, a configuration including an indication that control channel monitoring skipping for the plurality of radio frequency resources is allowed, the higher layer signaling being radio resource control (RRC) signaling or medium access control (MAC) signaling; receiving, via lower layer signaling, a command for triggering skipping of control channel monitoring of the plurality of radio frequency resources, the lower layer signaling being physical (PHY) signaling; as well as using the configuration and the command for performing control channel monitoring skipping on the plurality of radio frequency resources, wherein the configuration is received prior to the command.

21. A computer program product comprising computer executable instructions which, when executed on one or more processors, perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 19 and 20.

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