Devices and apparatuses for control information monitoring in cellular communications

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to devices and apparatuses for monitoring control information for cellular communications. A wireless device may monitor a control channel for control information according to a first periodic pattern. According to the first periodic pattern, the wireless device may monitor the control channel in a designated time slot during each period of the first periodic pattern. Each period of the first periodic pattern may include a plurality of time slots. The wireless device may receive control information during a first time slot. According to the first periodic pattern, the first time slot may be the designated time slot. The control information received during the first time slot may schedule data communications. The wireless device may monitor a control channel for control information in at least one non-designated time slot according to the first periodic pattern, at least in part based on receiving control information during the designated time slot according to the first periodic pattern.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with the application date of May 10, 2019, the application number of 201910386541.5, and the title of "Devices and Apparatuses for Control Information Monitoring in Cellular Communications". Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to wireless communications, and more particularly to systems, apparatuses, and methods for providing a control information monitoring framework for cellular communications. Background Art

[0003] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting telephone calls, many mobile devices (i.e., user equipment devices or UEs) now also provide access to the Internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the Global Positioning System (GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications that utilize these functions. Additionally, there are multiple different wireless communication technologies and standards. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, UMTS (e.g., associated with the WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), BLUETOOTH TM etc.

[0004] The introduction of an increasing number of features and functions in wireless communication devices has also created a continuing need for improved wireless communication and improved wireless communication devices. Of particular importance is ensuring the accuracy of signals transmitted and received by user equipment devices (UEs) (e.g., via wireless devices such as cellular phones, base stations, and relay stations used in wireless cellular communications). In addition, increasing the functionality of UE devices can place significant strain on the battery life of UE devices. Therefore, it is also very important to reduce the power requirements of wireless communication while allowing UE devices to maintain good transmission and reception capabilities to improve communication. Thus, improvements in this area are desired. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Embodiments of apparatuses, systems, and methods for providing a control information monitoring framework for cellular communications are provided herein.

[0006] According to a control information monitoring framework, a cellular base station can provide control information to a wireless device according to a periodic monitoring configuration, such that it is expected that the wireless device monitors a control channel for control information only during a subset of each control information monitoring period. Thus, during portions of each control information monitoring period when the wireless device does not expect to monitor the control channel instead of continuously monitoring the control channel, the wireless device can reduce its power consumption by placing at least some of the wireless device components in a low-power mode (e.g., "sleep").

[0007] In addition, according to the control information monitoring framework, there can be arrangements for configuring additional opportunities for the cellular base station to provide control information, e.g., in cases where more data needs to be conveyed than can be supported by the periodic monitoring configuration.

[0008] As one possibility for an arrangement for configuring additional control information provision opportunities, whenever a cellular base station provides control information to a wireless device, this can implicitly schedule an additional control channel monitoring window for the wireless device, e.g., at a predetermined time relative to the time of providing the control information.

[0009] As another possibility for an arrangement for configuring additional control information provision opportunities, when a cellular base station provides control information to a wireless device, this triggers a modification of the periodic monitoring configuration, e.g., such that the subset of each control information monitoring period during which the wireless device is expected to monitor the control channel for control information can represent a larger proportion of each control information monitoring period.

[0010] At least according to some embodiments, such a dynamic control channel monitoring framework can result in reduced wireless device power consumption while maintaining a significant amount of network scheduling flexibility and little or no reduction in potential wireless device throughput.

[0011] Note that the techniques described herein can be implemented in and / or used with several different types of devices, including but not limited to base stations, access points, cellular phones, portable media players, tablet computers, wearable devices, and various other computing devices.

[0012] This summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subject matter described in this document. Accordingly, it should be understood that the above features are merely examples and should not be construed in any way as narrowing the scope or essence of the subject matter described herein. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description, the drawings, and the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 An exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system is shown in accordance with some embodiments

[0014] Figure 2 Shows an exemplary base station communicating with an exemplary wireless user equipment (UE) device according to some embodiments;

[0015] Figure 3 Shows an exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments;

[0016] Figure 4 Shows an exemplary block diagram of a base station according to some embodiments;

[0017] Figure 5 Is a communication flowchart showing aspects of an exemplary possible method for providing a control information monitoring framework for cellular communication according to some embodiments;

[0018] Figures 6 - 11 Shows aspects of an exemplary possible framework for control information monitoring in a cellular communication system according to some embodiments; and

[0019] Figure 12 Shows various possible frameworks for control information monitoring in a cellular communication system according to some embodiments, showing various possible exemplary wireless device control channel monitoring status options.

[0020] Although the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and the detailed description thereof are not intended to limit the invention to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. Detailed Description

[0021] Acronyms

[0022] Various acronyms are used throughout this disclosure. The definitions of the most prominent acronyms that may appear throughout this disclosure are as follows:

[0023] · UE: User Equipment

[0024] · RF: Radio Frequency

[0025] · BS: Base Station

[0026] · GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications

[0027] · UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

[0028] · LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0029] ·Nr: New Radio component

[0030] ·TX: Transmission

[0031] ·RX: Reception

[0032] ·RAT: Radio Access Technology

[0033] Terms

[0034] The following is a glossary of terms that will appear in this disclosure:

[0035] Memory medium - Any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media such as CD-ROMs, floppy disks, or magnetic tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media such as hard disk drives or optical storage devices; registers, or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of non-transitory memory or combinations thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a first computer system that executes a program, or may be located in a different second computer system that is connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter example, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer system for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media that may reside at different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as a computer program) executable by one or more processors.

[0036] Carrier medium - The memory medium as described above, as well as physical transmission media such as buses, networks, and / or other physical transmission media that convey signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals.

[0037] Computer system (or computer) - Any of various types of computing systems or processing systems, including personal computer systems (PCs), mainframe computer systems, workstations, network appliances, Internet appliances, personal digital assistants (PDAs), television systems, grid computing systems, or other devices or combinations of devices. Generally, the term "computer system" may be broadly defined as any device (or combination of devices) that includes at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0038] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") - Any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communication. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhoneTM , based on Android TM phones), tablet computers (e.g., iPad TM , Samsung Galaxy TM ), portable game devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM , Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), laptop computers, PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, or other handheld devices, etc. Generally, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined as including any electronic device, computing device, and / or telecommunications device (or combination of devices) that is convenient for a user to transport and capable of wireless communication.

[0039] Wireless device – Any one of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communication. A wireless device can be portable (or mobile), or it can be fixed or stationary at a certain location. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0040] Communication device – Any one of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communication, where the communication can be wired communication or wireless communication. A communication device can be portable (or mobile), or it can be fixed or stationary at a certain location. A wireless device is an example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0041] Base station (BS) – The term "base station" has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and at least includes a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used for communication as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0042] Processing element (or processor) – Refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing functions in a device (such as a user equipment device or a cellular network device). Processing elements can include, for example: a processor and associated memory, parts or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, processor arrays, circuits such as ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits), programmable hardware elements such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any one of various combinations of the above.

[0043] The term "Wi-Fi" has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication network or RAT that is served by wireless LAN (WLAN) access points and provides connectivity to the Internet through these access points. Most modern Wi-Fi networks (or WLAN networks) are based on the IEEE 802.11 standard and are marketed under the name "Wi-Fi". Wi-Fi (WLAN) networks are different from cellular networks.

[0044] Automated - refers to an action or operation that is performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., a circuit, a programmable hardware element, an ASIC, etc.) without the need for user input that directly specifies or performs the action or operation. Thus, the term "automated" is contrasted with an action or operation that is manually performed or specified by a user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automated process can be initiated by input provided by the user, but the subsequent actions that are "automated" are not specified by the user, i.e., they are not performed "manually", where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out a spreadsheet by selecting each field and providing input to specify information (e.g., by typing information, selecting checkboxes, radio component selections, etc.) is manually filling out the spreadsheet, even though the computer system must update the spreadsheet in response to the user's actions. The spreadsheet can be filled out automatically by a computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the spreadsheet and fills out the spreadsheet without any user input specifying the answers to the fields. As indicated above, the user can invoke the automatic filling out of the spreadsheet but does not participate in the actual filling out of the spreadsheet (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields but they are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions that the user has taken.

[0045] Configured to - various components can be described as "configured to" perform one or more tasks. In such contexts, "configured to" is a broad statement that generally means "having" the "structure" to perform one or more tasks during operation. Thus, even when the component is not currently performing a task, the component can be configured to perform the task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect a module to another module, even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, "configured to" can be a broad statement that generally means "having" the "circuitry" to perform one or more tasks during operation. Thus, even when the component is not currently powered on, the component can be configured to perform the task. Generally, the circuitry that forms the structure corresponding to "configured to" can include hardware circuitry.

[0046] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted to include the phrase "configured to." A component configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke the sixth paragraph of 35 U.S.C. § 112 in the interpretation of that component.

[0047] Figure 1 and Figure 2 - Exemplary communication system

[0048] Figure 1 Shown is an exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system that can implement various aspects of the present disclosure according to some embodiments. Note that Figure 1 the system is only one example of a possible system, and embodiments can be implemented in any of a variety of systems as needed.

[0049] As shown, such an exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102 that communicates with one or more (e.g., any number) user devices 106A, 106B, up to 106N via a transmission medium. Each user device may be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE) or UE device. Thus, user equipment 106 is referred to as a UE or UE device.

[0050] Base station 102 may be a transceiver base station (BTS) or cell site and may include hardware and / or software for implementing wireless communication with UEs 106A through 106N. If base station 102 is implemented in the context of LTE, it may be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB." If base station 102 is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB." Base station 102 may also be equipped to communicate with network 100 (e.g., the core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunications network such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, among various possibilities). Thus, base station 102 may facilitate communication between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell." Also as used herein, in the context of a UE, a base station may sometimes be considered to represent the network, taking into account the uplink and downlink communications of the UE. Thus, a UE communicating with one or more base stations in a network may also be interpreted as a UE communicating with the network.

[0051] Base station 102 and user equipment may be configured to communicate via a transmission medium using any one of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), which are also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (WCDMA), LTE, advanced LTE (LTE-A), LAA / LTE-U, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), Wi-Fi, WiMAX, etc.

[0052] Base station 102 and other similar base stations operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards may thus provide a network of one or more cells, which may provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping services to UE 106 and similar devices over a certain geographical area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0053] Note that UE 106 may be capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, UE106 may be configured to communicate using either or both of 3GPP cellular communication standards or 3GPP2 cellular communication standards. In some embodiments, UE 106 may be configured to use a control channel monitoring framework to perform cellular communication, such as according to the various methods described herein. UE 106 may also be configured or alternatively configured to communicate using WLAN, BLUETOOTH TM , one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one and / or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), etc. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0054] Figure 2An exemplary user equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A to 106N) communicating with a base station 102 according to some embodiments is shown. The UE 106 can be a device with wireless network connectivity, such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a wearable device, a computer, or a tablet, or substantially any type of wireless device. The UE 106 can include a processor (processing element) configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. The UE 106 can execute any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or additionally, the UE 106 can include programmable hardware elements, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), an integrated circuit, and / or any of various other possible hardware components configured to execute (e.g., individually or in combination) any of the method embodiments described herein or any part of any of the method embodiments described herein. The UE 106 can be configured to communicate using any one of a plurality of wireless communication protocols. For example, the UE 106 can be configured to communicate using two or more of CDMA 2000, LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, WLAN, or GNSS. Other combinations of wireless communication standards are also possible.

[0055] The UE 106 can include one or more antennas for communicating according to one or more RAT standards using one or more wireless communication protocols. In some embodiments, the UE 106 can share one or more portions of a receive chain and / or a transmit chain among multiple wireless communication standards; the shared radio components can include a single antenna or can include multiple antennas for performing wireless communication (e.g., for MIMO). Generally, the radio components can include any combination of a baseband processor, analog RF signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio components can implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains using the foregoing hardware.

[0056] In some embodiments, the UE 106 can include separate transmit chains and / or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol it is configured to communicate with. As another possibility, the UE 106 can include one or more radio components shared among multiple wireless communication protocols and one or more radio components uniquely used by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE 106 can include shared radio components for communicating using any of LTE or CDMA2000 1xRTT (or LTE or NR, LTE or GSM), and radio components for using Wi-Fi and BLUETOOTH TMSeparate radio components for communicating with each of them. Other configurations are also possible.

[0057] Figure 3 -Block diagram of an exemplary UE device

[0058] Figure 3 FIG. shows a block diagram of an exemplary UE 106 according to some embodiments. As shown, the UE 106 may include a system on a chip (SOC) 300, which may include portions for various purposes. For example, as shown, the SOC 300 may include one or more processors 302 that may execute program instructions for the UE 106, and a display circuit 304 that may perform graphics processing and provide a display signal to a display 360. The one or more processors 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receive addresses from the one or more processors 302 and translate those addresses into locations in a memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310) and / or other circuits or devices, such as the display circuit 304, radio components 330, connector I / F 320, and / or display 340. The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor 302.

[0059] As shown, the SOC 300 may be coupled to various other circuits of the UE 106. For example, the UE 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash 310), a connector interface 320 (e.g., for coupling to a computer system, docking station, charging station, etc.), a display 360, and wireless communication circuitry 330 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR, CDMA2000, BLUETOOTH TM , Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.). The UE device 106 may include at least one antenna (e.g., 335a), and may include multiple antennas (e.g., as shown by antennas 335a and 335b), for performing wireless communication with a base station and / or other devices. Antennas 335a and 335b are shown by way of example, and the UE device 106 may include fewer or more antennas. Generally, one or more antennas are collectively referred to as antenna 335. For example, the UE device 106 may perform wireless communication using the antenna 335 via the radio circuitry 330. As described above, in some embodiments, the UE may be configured to perform wireless communication using multiple wireless communication standards.

[0060] UE 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing the methods of UE 106 to perform cellular communication using a control information monitoring framework such as further described hereinbelow. One or more processors 302 of the UE device 106 may be configured to implement part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). In other embodiments, one or more processors 302 may be configured as programmable hardware elements such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Additionally, as Figure 3 shown, one or more processors 302 may be coupled to and / or may interoperate with other components to perform cellular communication using a control information monitoring framework according to various embodiments disclosed herein. One or more processors 302 may also implement various other applications and / or end-user applications running on the UE 106.

[0061] In some embodiments, the radio component 330 may include independent controllers dedicated to controlling communication for various respective RAT standards. For example, as Figure 3 shown, the radio component 330 may include a Wi-Fi controller 352, a cellular controller (e.g., an LTE and / or LTE-A controller) 354, and a BLUETOOTH TM controller 356, and in at least some embodiments, one or more or all of these controllers may be implemented as respective integrated circuits (simply referred to as ICs or chips) that communicate with each other and with the SOC 300 (more specifically with one or more processors 302). For example, the Wi-Fi controller 352 may communicate with the cellular controller 354 via a cellular-ISM link or a WCI interface, and / or the BLUETOOTH TM controller 356 may communicate with the cellular controller 354 via a cellular-ISM link or the like. Although three independent controllers are shown within the radio component 330, other embodiments may be implemented in the UE device 106 with fewer or more similar controllers for various different RATs.

[0062] Additionally, embodiments are envisioned in which a controller may implement functions associated with multiple radio access technologies. For example, according to some embodiments, in addition to the hardware and / or software components for performing cellular communication, the cellular controller 354 may also include hardware and / or software components for performing one or more activities associated with Wi-Fi, such as Wi-Fi preamble detection, and / or generation and transmission of Wi-Fi physical layer preamble signals.

[0063] Figure 4 -Block diagram of an exemplary base station

[0064] Figure 4 FIG. shows a block diagram of an exemplary base station 102 according to some embodiments. Note that Figure 4 the base station shown is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, base station 102 may include one or more processors 404 that may execute program instructions for base station 102. The one or more processors 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 (which may be configured to receive addresses from the one or more processors 404 and translate those addresses into locations in a memory, such as memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450) or other circuitry or devices.

[0065] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. The network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to a plurality of devices, such as UE device 106, to the telephone network as described above in Figure 1 and Figure 2 . The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also be configured or alternatively configured to couple to a cellular network, such as the core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to a plurality of devices, such as UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to the telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide the telephone network (e.g., among other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0066] Base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. One or more antennas 434 may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may also be configured to communicate with UE device 106 via radio component 430. One or more antennas 434 communicate with radio component 430 via communication link 432. Communication link 432 may be a receive link, a transmit link, or both. Radio component 430 may be designed to communicate via various radio communication standards, including but not limited to NR, LTE, LTE-A, WCDMA, CDMA2000, etc. Processor 404 of base station 102 may be configured to implement and / or support the implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or a combination thereof. In the case of some RATs (e.g., Wi-Fi), base station 102 may be designed as an access point (AP), in which case network port 470 may be implemented to provide access to a wide area network and / or one or more local area networks. For example, it may include at least one Ethernet port, and radio component 430 may be designed to communicate according to the Wi-Fi standard. Base station 102 may operate according to various methods as disclosed herein to perform cellular communication according to a control information monitoring framework.

[0067] Figure 5 - Control Information Monitoring Framework for Cellular Communication

[0068] Figure 5 is a communication flowchart according to some embodiments, which shows a method for a wireless device (e.g., a cellular base station and a wireless user equipment (UE) device, as shown, as a possibility) to perform cellular communication using a control information monitoring framework.

[0069] Figure 5 Aspects of the method may be implemented by a wireless device and a cellular base station (such as UE 106 and BS 102 shown in various figures herein), or more generally, may be implemented in combination with any of the computer circuits, systems, elements, or components shown in the above figures as needed. For example, the processor (and / or other hardware) of such a device may be configured to cause the device to implement any combination of the shown method elements and / or other method elements.

[0070] Note that although the description has been made in terms of communication technologies and / or features related to the use of LTE, LTE-A, NR, and / or 3GPP specification documents Figure 5At least some elements of the method, but such description is not intended to limit the present disclosure and may be used in any suitable wireless communication system as needed. Figure 5 Aspects of the method.

[0071] In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed simultaneously in an order different from the order shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be executed as needed. As shown, Figure 5 The method of can operate as follows.

[0072] In 502, the wireless device may monitor a control channel according to a periodic pattern. The wireless device may monitor the control channel for control information that the serving base station may provide, for example, to schedule downlink or uplink data communication or acknowledgments, or for any of a variety of other possible purposes. For example, the control channel may be a physical downlink control channel (e.g., NR-PDCCH if the serving base station is a 5G Nr base station, or LTE-PDCCH if the serving base station is an LTE base station), and the base station may use it to provide control information to schedule resources for the wireless device's physical downlink shared channel or physical uplink shared channel for downlink data communication, uplink data communication, or acknowledgments.

[0073] Performing control channel monitoring according to the first periodic pattern may include monitoring the control channel in a specified time slot (or group of time slots) during each period of the first periodic pattern. Each period of the first periodic pattern may include a plurality of communication time slots. It is possible that if the cellular base station does not provide control information to the wireless device on the control channel in the specified time slot during a given period, the base station may also not provide the control information for the remaining time slots of that period to the wireless device on the control channel (e.g., according to the cellular communication standard specifications of the cellular communication technology used by the wireless device and the base station, configuration information provided by the base station and / or any of a variety of other possible arrangements / protocols). Thus, at least according to some embodiments, even if the wireless device does not monitor the control channel during those time slots, the wireless device does not miss any control information, and thus if no control information is detected on the control channel during one or more specified time slots according to the first periodic pattern, the wireless device is also able to enter a low-power (e.g., sleep) mode according to the first periodic pattern until the next specified time slot.

[0074] In 504, the base station may use a control channel to provide control information to the wireless device during a first time slot, which may be a specified time slot according to a first periodic pattern. The wireless device may monitor the control channel during the first time slot (e.g., according to the first periodic pattern) and may thus be able to detect and receive the control information. The control information received during the first time slot may schedule data communications, such as uplink data communications or downlink data communications or acknowledgments, as described above. Data communications may also be scheduled for the first time slot, or may be scheduled for subsequent time slots (e.g., same time slot scheduling or cross time slot scheduling may be used).

[0075] In 506, the wireless device monitors a control channel for control information in at least one time slot not specified according to the first periodic pattern. Such monitoring of the control channel, in addition to those time slots specified according to the periodic pattern, may be at least partially based on a wireless device that has received control information during a specified time slot according to the first periodic pattern (e.g., the first time slot). For example, receiving control information while monitoring the control channel according to the first periodic pattern may trigger opportunistic monitoring of one or more additional time slots by the wireless device, and / or may trigger a transition (e.g., temporary) to a second phase of periodic monitoring of the control channel. Such additional monitoring may help support the possibility of providing more data communication opportunities to the wireless device, which may improve data throughput for the wireless device and / or increase the overall network resource utilization efficiency, including various possible beneficial effects.

[0076] The wireless device may perform such additional control channel monitoring in a manner known to the base station (e.g., configured by the base station or otherwise configured according to some pre - protocol with the base station). Thus, the cellular base station may expect the wireless device to monitor the control channel in at least one time slot not specified according to the first periodic pattern. Accordingly, in 508, the base station may provide control information during a time slot that is not a time slot specified according to the first periodic pattern (e.g., the base station expects the wireless device to monitor the control channel). Since the wireless device may monitor the control channel during this time slot, the wireless device may be able to detect and receive control information during a time slot that is not a time slot specified according to the first periodic pattern.

[0077] Any one of a variety of possible configurations can be used for additional control channel monitoring, such that the wireless device and the base station can mutually sense one or more time slots in which control information can be provided to the wireless device in addition to those specified according to the first periodic pattern. As one possibility, an opportunistic control channel monitoring / scheduling arrangement can be used, e.g., such that the wireless device can monitor the control channel in a time slot occurring at a specified interval after the time slot in which control information is provided, such as the same time slot in which data communication is scheduled (e.g., if cross-slot scheduling is used), the time slot occurring immediately after the time slot in which the scheduled data communication occurs, or any other time slot related to the provision of control information that can be pre-determined by both the wireless device and the cellular base station. For example, as one possibility, monitoring the control channel for control information in at least one time slot not specified according to the first periodic pattern can include monitoring the control channel in a second time slot occurring at a specified time interval after the first time slot. For any number of additional potential scheduling opportunities, such opportunistic monitoring can be chained; e.g., the base station can provide control information during a second time slot in which data communication is scheduled, in which case, according to such a framework, the wireless device can further monitor the control channel during a third time slot occurring at a specified interval after the second time slot.

[0078] As another possibility, a multi-stage control channel monitoring / scheduling arrangement can be used. For example, providing control information during a specified time slot according to the first periodic pattern can trigger the wireless device (e.g., temporarily) to monitor the control channel according to a second periodic pattern. The second periodic pattern can include more intensive control channel monitoring than the first periodic pattern (e.g., a higher proportion of the time slots designated to be monitored by the wireless device); e.g., among various possibilities, the second periodic pattern can have a shorter period than the first periodic pattern, or can include a larger number of time slots designated as the time slots to be monitored by the wireless device during each period. Thus, the wireless device can monitor the control channel according to the second periodic pattern at least partially based on receiving control information during a specified time slot according to the first periodic pattern according to such a framework. The wireless device can monitor the control channel according to the second periodic pattern for a specific specified period of time (e.g., for one or more cycles according to the first periodic pattern, as one possibility), and can subsequently resume monitoring the control channel according to the first periodic pattern.

[0079] Note that the duration of monitoring the control channel according to the second periodic pattern can be extended, e.g., if the base station provides control information during the time slot of the specified time slot according to the first periodic pattern (or possibly if the base station provides control information during any time slot), and the wireless device has monitored the control channel according to the second periodic pattern (if required).

[0080] It should also be noted that, if needed, a time offset can be applied after receiving control information during a specified time slot according to a first periodic pattern (e.g., a first time slot) before the wireless device starts monitoring the control channel according to a second periodic pattern. This can provide additional time for the wireless device (e.g., having hardware or other limitations that may make it difficult or impossible to do so more quickly) to transition to a more intensive control channel monitoring mode.

[0081] If needed, such a multi-stage control channel monitoring framework can also include any number of additional stages. For example, if control information is received during a specified time slot according to a second periodic pattern and the specified time slot according to the second periodic pattern is not specified according to the first periodic pattern, the wireless device can be configured to monitor the control channel according to a third periodic pattern (e.g., having a more intensive control channel monitoring frequency such that the third periodic pattern has a shorter period than the second periodic pattern and / or includes a greater number of time slots than the second periodic pattern, where the time slots are specified as the time slots for the wireless device to monitor during each period). Once configured in this way, the wireless device can monitor the control channel according to the third periodic pattern for a specific specified duration (e.g., in various possibilities, one or more periods according to the first periodic pattern or the second periodic pattern) and can subsequently resume monitoring the control channel according to the second (or possibly the first) periodic pattern.

[0082] Thus, according to such a multi-stage periodic monitoring framework, the provision of control information by the base station during a time slot that is not a time slot specified according to the first periodic pattern can occur during the specified time slot according to the second periodic pattern (or even the third periodic pattern).

[0083] Figures 6 - 12 -Additional information

[0084] There is provided Figures 6 - 12 and the information below, which illustrates further considerations and possible implementation details related to Figure 5 a method and is not intended to limit the present disclosure generally. Various variations and alternatives of the details provided below are possible and should be considered to fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0085] A cellular communication system can provide a range of operating configurations, at least some of which can generally be associated with different control channel monitoring frequencies. For example, many cellular communication systems can support an idle mode (e.g., where the paging channel is periodically monitored to determine whether a wireless device should transition to a connected mode) and a connected mode. Even within such a framework, there can be multiple operating configurations for either or both of such operating modes. For example, different idle mode configurations with different discontinuous reception (DRX) periods are possible.

[0086] Within the connected mode, one possible operating configuration may include a configuration in which the wireless device continuously monitors a control channel (e.g., PDCCH). For example, in each subframe or time slot (or according to other time units of the cellular communication system), there may be a portion where the control channel is provided, and each wireless device in the connected mode may participate in wireless reception activities during at least that portion of each subframe or time slot. This can provide maximum scheduling flexibility for the network. For example, from the perspective of the network scheduler, scheduling flexibility can increase when a larger proportion of the wireless devices served by the network are available for scheduling at any given time instance.

[0087] However, in some cases, such an arrangement may cause the wireless device to perform a large number of reception activities (e.g., including blind decoding of the control channel) from the perspective of the wireless device without any effective purpose. For example, if the wireless device does not have sufficient data communication needs to perform data communication in each subframe or time slot, and / or if the network is sufficiently loaded such that the wireless device does not have sufficient network resources to perform data communication in each subframe or time slot, there may be at least some subframes or time slots in which the wireless device monitors the control channel without receiving any grants, and thus consumes power (e.g., powering the RF and processing components to monitor and blind decode the control channel) without achieving any actual throughput.

[0088] Therefore, at least according to some embodiments, it is desirable to provide an operating configuration that can reduce the power consumption of the wireless device for control channel monitoring, preferably while minimizing the degradation of scheduling flexibility.

[0089] As one possible such method, a periodic monitoring configuration can be provided, e.g., in which the wireless device is configured to periodically monitor the control channel. Figure 6 An exemplary possible cellular communication timeline according to some embodiments is shown, in which this method is used, where the control channel is PDCCH, PDSCH is used for downlink data communication, and PUSCH is used for uplink data communication. As shown, according to some embodiments, the UE may be configured to monitor the PDCCH with a period P to save power. Thus, the UE may monitor the PDCCH every P time slots. The network may be able to schedule the UE's PDSCH / PUSCH / ACK communication by using the PDCCH to provide downlink control information (DCI) to the UE. Such communication may be scheduled in the same time slot that provides the DCI, or in subsequent time slots, e.g., using K0 / K1 / K2 values configured to indicate such information. For example, in Figure 6 the scenario shown, the K0 value for scheduling the PDSCH may be greater than 0 (e.g., 1, in which case there may be 1 time slot between the time when the DCI scheduling the PDSCH is provided and the time when the communication using the PDSCH is performed).

[0090] In such frameworks, if a UE does not detect any control information for the UE on a PDCCH in a specified PDCCH monitoring time slot, the UE may be able to enter a lower power state until the next PDCCH monitoring time slot. Such frameworks can significantly reduce the power consumption of wireless devices, but can also limit network scheduling flexibility, and at least according to some implementations, the maximum possible throughput may be limited by a factor P.

[0091] Figure 7 An exemplary possible cellular communication timeline is shown, where another possible method is used, where a periodic monitoring configuration is also used, but it is also possible to schedule multiple transport blocks (TBs) in a single DCI communication or in multiple DCIs in a time slot. As shown, according to some implementations, a UE may be configured to monitor a PDCCH with a period P to save power. Thus, the UE may monitor the PDCCH every P time slots. When using the PDCCH to provide DCI, the DCI may schedule multiple TBs, for example, using one PDSCH portion of a time slot to transmit one TB. The UE may also receive multiple DCIs in a time slot, where the multiple DCIs schedule multiple PDSCH communications across multiple time slots. Among various possibilities, according to such frameworks, acknowledgments for TBs may be bundled together (XOR operation), and each DCI is sent only once, or may be sent multiple times (e.g., based on each TB). At least according to some implementations, such an arrangement can mitigate the throughput limitation of periodic PDCCH monitoring. However, at least in some cases, providing a DCI format that can schedule multiple TBs can also represent a substantial design challenge.

[0092] Figure 8 An exemplary possible cellular communication timeline is shown, where another possible method is also used, where a periodic monitoring configuration is used, and where additional opportunistic PDCCH monitoring opportunities are provided. According to the shown arrangement, a UE may be configured to monitor a PDCCH with a period P to save power. Thus, the UE may monitor the PDCCH every P time slots. Similar to Figures 6 - 7 the arrangement, if a UE does not detect any control information for the UE on a PDCCH in a specified PDCCH monitoring time slot, the UE may be able to enter a low power state until the next PDCCH monitoring time slot is detected. If the UE does receive an authorization for PDSCH downlink communication, PUSCH uplink communication, or an indication to transmit an ACK in a given time slot (“N”), the UE may be configured to additionally monitor the PDCCH in one or more specified time slots (e.g., N, N + 1, etc.). When scheduling for PDSCH scheduling across time slots (e.g., such as in Figure 8In the scenarios shown) and other possibilities, such methods can work well. The network can be aware of this opportunistic additional PDCCH monitoring and may thus be able to provide additional grants, which can give the gNB (e.g., in an NR environment) additional opportunities to schedule the UE while minimally increasing the power consumption of the UE for PDCCH monitoring. If the gNB continues to provide grants to the UE, for example, such that bursty communications with multiple grants can be provided over a relatively short window, such opportunistic additional PDCCH monitoring opportunities can further occur.

[0093] At least according to some embodiments, such methods can also mitigate throughput limitations on periodic PDCCH monitoring and, at least in some cases, can be implemented using DCI formats configured to schedule a single TB. Since the additional PDCCH monitoring can be performed opportunistically in such methods, the additional power consumed by the additional PDCCH monitoring can be lower than the additional power consumption that might be introduced by simply reducing the monitoring periodicity.

[0094] As another possible method, a multi-stage PDCCH monitoring arrangement can be used. According to such an arrangement, the UE can be configured to monitor the PDCCH with a period P to save power. Thus, the UE can monitor the PDCCH every P time slots. The UE can also be configured to have another possible period P' (e.g., with 1 <= P' <= P), and a duration with dense PDCCH monitoring parameter K (e.g., >= 1).

[0095] Similar to Figures 6 - 8 the arrangement, if the UE does not detect any control information of the UE on the PDCCH in the designated PDCCH monitoring time slot, the UE may be able to enter a low-power state until the next PDCCH monitoring time slot. If any PDCCH for data scheduling is detected in the designated PDCCH monitoring time slot, in the next K periods, the UE can change its PDCCH monitoring period from P to P', e.g., such that the UE can monitor the PDCCH at one or more additional opportunities in the next K periods.

[0096] Figures 9 - 10 shows an exemplary possible cellular communication timeline in which such methods are used. In Figure 9 the example, P = 4, P' = 1, and K = 2. Thus, in this example, upon detecting data scheduling in the PDCCH, the UE can monitor the PDCCH in each time slot for K * P (e.g., 8 in the illustrated example) time slots. In Figure 10In the example, P = 4, P' = 2, and K = 1. Thus, in this example, when detecting data scheduling in the PDCCH, the UE can monitor the PDCCH in every other time slot to obtain K*P (e.g., 4 in the illustrated example) time slots. In each of these examples, during these additional PDCCH monitoring time slots, the gNB can thus have more opportunities to schedule the data communication of this UE.

[0097] Note that if needed, an implicit indication scheme can be used to trigger or extend the duration of intensive PDCCH monitoring. For example, an authorized reception event that occurs only at the PDCCH monitoring time slots associated with the initial period P can be regarded as triggering or extending the duration of intensive PDCCH monitoring, and any authorized reception event that occurs between those Pth time slots will not introduce additional PDCCH monitoring in the next period. Alternatively, if needed, a scheme can be used in which when the UE detects the PDCCH, regardless of the time slot position where the PDCCH is detected, it triggers or extends the additional PDCCH monitoring performed by the UE.

[0098] If needed, an "action time" or bias can also be introduced to such methods. For example, there may be a delay between the duration of triggering more intensive PDCCH monitoring and actually performing PDCCH monitoring at a higher intensive rate of PDCCH monitoring. Figure 11 An exemplary possible cellular communication timeline in which such methods are used is shown. In the illustrated example, similar to Figure 10 , the parameter values of P = 4, P' = 2, and K = 1 can be used. Additionally, a bias of 4 time slots (e.g., equal to 1*P) can be introduced after detecting the PDCCH before the period of starting more intensive PDCCH monitoring. Among various possibilities, such techniques may be useful if the network desires a longer inter-scheduling time between two packets provided to the UE.

[0099] Note that although Figures 9 - 11 is an illustrative two-stage method, a multi-stage method with more than two stages of PDCCH monitoring is also possible. For example, if needed, a third stage can be introduced (e.g., with a monitoring periodicity of P", where 1 <= P" <= P', for potentially more intensive PDCCH monitoring). Such a stage can be triggered by the UE receiving authorization during the additional PDCCH monitoring time slots associated with the second stage, as one possibility or in any of various other ways as needed. Similarly, any number of additional stages can be introduced if needed.

[0100] Figure 12Shows a high-level view of possible UE states for PDCCH monitoring according to various methods described herein, at least according to some embodiments. As shown, according to a periodic framework, a UE may be able to continuously monitor the PDCCH when in the active state (e.g., monitor the PDCCH in each time slot), or periodically monitor the PDCCH (e.g., such as the PDCCH shown and described herein with respect to Figure 6 as shown and described). The UE may also be able to operate in the C-DRX state, in which short C-DRX monitoring modes and long C-DRX monitoring modes are possible. The UE may further be able to operate in the idle mode.

[0101] According to a periodic + opportunistic framework, a UE may be able to continuously monitor the PDCCH when in the active state, or periodically and opportunistically monitor the PDCCH (e.g., such as the PDCCH shown and described herein with respect to Figure 8 as shown and described). The UE can also operate in the C-DRX state and the idle mode in such a framework.

[0102] According to a multi-stage framework, a UE may be able to continuously monitor the PDCCH when in the active state, or be able to periodically monitor the PDCCH according to any one of two or more periodic monitoring modes (e.g., such as the PDCCH shown and described herein with respect to Figures 9 - 11 as shown and described). The UE can also operate in the C-DRX state and the idle mode in such a framework.

[0103] In the following, additional exemplary embodiments are provided.

[0104] A set of embodiments may include a method that includes: operating by a wireless device to: monitor a control channel for control information according to a first periodic pattern, wherein according to the first periodic pattern, the wireless device monitors the control channel in a designated time slot during each period of the first periodic pattern, wherein each period of the first periodic pattern includes a plurality of time slots; receive control information during a first time slot, wherein the first time slot includes the designated time slot according to the first periodic pattern, wherein the control information received during the first time slot schedules data communication; and monitor a control channel for control information in at least one time slot at least partially based on receiving the control information during the designated time slot according to the first periodic pattern, wherein the at least one time slot is not designated according to the first periodic pattern.

[0105] According to some embodiments, monitoring a control channel for control information in at least one non-designated time slot according to the first periodic pattern includes monitoring the control channel in a second time slot, wherein the second time slot immediately follows the time slot that schedules data communication.

[0106] According to some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving control information during a second time slot, wherein monitoring a control channel for control information in at least one unspecified time slot according to a first periodic pattern further includes monitoring the control channel in a third time slot at least in part based on receiving the control information during the second time slot.

[0107] According to some embodiments, the method further includes: monitoring a control channel according to a second periodic pattern at least in part based on receiving control information during a specified time slot according to a first periodic pattern, wherein the second periodic pattern has a shorter period than the first periodic pattern, and wherein monitoring a control channel for control information in at least one unspecified time slot according to the first periodic pattern includes monitoring the control channel for control information in a specified time slot according to the second periodic pattern.

[0108] According to some embodiments, monitoring the control channel according to the second periodic pattern is performed for a specified duration, and the method further includes: resuming monitoring of the control channel according to the first periodic pattern after the specified duration.

[0109] According to some embodiments, after receiving control information during a specified time slot according to the first periodic pattern, the specified duration occurs at a time offset.

[0110] According to some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving control information during a specified time slot according to a second periodic pattern, the specified time slot according to the second periodic pattern not being a specified time slot according to the first periodic pattern, and monitoring a control channel according to a third periodic pattern at least in part based on receiving the control information during the specified time slot according to the second periodic pattern, the specified time slot according to the second periodic pattern not being a specified time slot according to the first periodic pattern, wherein the third periodic pattern has a shorter period than the second periodic pattern.

[0111] Another set of embodiments may include a method that includes: operating by a cellular base station to: provide control information to a wireless device according to a first periodic pattern, wherein according to the first periodic pattern, if the cellular base station uses a control channel in a specified time slot during a period of the first periodic pattern to provide control information to the wireless device, the cellular base station also does not use the control channels of the remaining time slots of the period to provide control information to the wireless device; use a control channel to provide control information to the wireless device during a first time slot, wherein the first time slot includes a specified time slot according to the first periodic pattern, and wherein the control information provided during the first time slot schedules data communication; and use a control channel to provide control information to the wireless device in at least one unspecified time slot according to the first periodic pattern at least in part based on providing control information to the wireless device during the specified time slot according to the first periodic pattern.

[0112] According to some embodiments, providing control information to a wireless device using a control channel in at least one time slot not specified according to a first periodic pattern includes providing control information to the wireless device using the control channel in a second time slot, where the second time slot immediately follows a time slot in which data communication is scheduled.

[0113] According to some embodiments, providing control information to a wireless device on a control channel in at least one time slot not specified according to a first periodic pattern further includes providing control information to the wireless device using the control channel in a third time slot, at least in part based on providing control information during the second time slot.

[0114] According to some embodiments, the method further includes: providing control information to the wireless device according to a second periodic pattern, at least in part based on providing control information to the wireless device using the control channel during a specified time slot according to a first periodic pattern, where the second periodic pattern has a shorter period than the first periodic pattern, and where providing control information to the wireless device using the control channel in at least one time slot not specified according to the first periodic pattern includes providing control information to the wireless device using the control channel in a specified time slot according to the second periodic pattern.

[0115] According to some embodiments, providing control information to the wireless device according to a second periodic pattern is performed for a specified duration, where the method further includes: after the specified duration, resuming providing control information to the wireless device according to the first periodic pattern.

[0116] According to some embodiments, after providing control information to the wireless device during a specified time slot according to a first periodic pattern, the specified duration occurs at a time offset.

[0117] According to some embodiments, the method further includes: providing control information to the wireless device using the control channel during a specified time slot according to a second periodic pattern, where the specified time slot according to the second periodic pattern is not the specified time slot according to the first periodic pattern; and providing control information to the wireless device according to a third periodic pattern, at least in part based on providing control information to the wireless device using the control channel during the specified time slot according to the second periodic pattern, where the specified time slot according to the second periodic pattern is not the specified time slot according to the first periodic pattern, and where the third periodic pattern has a shorter period than the second periodic pattern.

[0118] According to some embodiments, the control channel includes a Physical Downlink Control Channel.

[0119] According to some embodiments, the data communication includes one of the following: downlink data communication; uplink data communication; or acknowledgement communication.

[0120] Another exemplary embodiment may include a device that includes: an antenna; radio components coupled to the antenna; and a processing element operatively coupled to the radio components, wherein the device is configured to implement any part or all of the foregoing examples.

[0121] A further exemplary embodiment may include a non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium including program instructions that, when executed at a device, cause the device to implement any part or all of any of the foregoing examples.

[0122] Yet another exemplary embodiment may include a computer program including instructions for performing any part or all of any of the foregoing examples.

[0123] Still another exemplary embodiment may include an apparatus that includes means for performing any element or all of the elements of any of the foregoing examples.

[0124] Another group of exemplary embodiments may include an apparatus that includes a processing element configured to cause a wireless device to perform any or all of the elements of any of the foregoing examples.

[0125] It is well known that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of inadvertent or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to users.

[0126] Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, in some embodiments, the present invention may be implemented as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or a computer system. In other embodiments, the present invention may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as an ASIC. In other embodiments, the present invention may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as an FPGA.

[0127] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory memory element) may be configured to store program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system is caused to perform a method, such as any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0128] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE) may be configured to include a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium (or memory elements), where the memory medium stores program instructions, where the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, where the program instructions are executable to implement any one of the various method embodiments described herein (or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any one of a variety of forms.

[0129] While the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully understood. The present invention is intended that the following claims be construed to cover all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising: at a wireless device: receiving from a base station: a first control information monitoring configuration including a first periodic pattern, the first periodic pattern including first one or more time slots for monitoring during each period of the first periodic pattern, and a second control information monitoring configuration including a second periodic pattern, the second periodic pattern including second one or more time slots for monitoring during each period of the second periodic pattern, wherein the second periodic pattern has a shorter period than the first periodic pattern; monitoring a control channel for control information from the base station according to the first periodic pattern based on the first control information monitoring configuration, wherein according to the first periodic pattern, the wireless device monitors the control channel in a portion of each of the first one or more time slots during each period of the first periodic pattern; in response to receiving first control information during monitoring of the control channel according to the first periodic pattern, triggering control channel monitoring according to the second periodic pattern based on the second control information monitoring configuration to replace monitoring of the control channel according to the first periodic pattern, wherein the control channel monitoring according to the second periodic pattern includes monitoring the control channel in a portion of each of the second one or more time slots during each period of the second periodic pattern; and monitoring the control channel for control information from the base station according to the second periodic pattern.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein monitoring the control channel for control information from the base station according to the second periodic pattern includes monitoring the control channel in a fourth time slot, wherein the fourth time slot immediately follows the time slot in which the first control information schedules data communication.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the method further comprises: receiving second control information during the fourth time slot, wherein monitoring the control channel for control information from the base station according to the second periodic pattern further includes monitoring the control channel in a sixth time slot at least partially based on receiving the second control information during the fourth time slot.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein monitoring of the control channel is performed according to the second periodic pattern for a specified duration, wherein the method further comprises: after the specified duration, resuming monitoring of the control channel according to the first periodic pattern.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the specified duration occurs at a time offset after receiving the first control information.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: receiving second control information during a fourth time slot of the second one or more time slots according to the second periodic pattern, the fourth time slot not being a time slot among the first one or more time slots according to the first periodic pattern.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the method further comprises: Monitoring the control channel according to a third periodic pattern, at least in part based on receiving second control information during a fourth time slot according to the second periodic pattern, wherein the third periodic pattern has a shorter period than the second periodic pattern.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: Operating in a low power state at least for a third time slot during each period of a first periodic pattern.

9. A method for wireless communication, comprising: At a base station: Providing to a wireless device: A first control information monitoring configuration including a first periodic pattern, the first periodic pattern including first one or more time slots for monitoring during each period of the first periodic pattern, and A second control information monitoring configuration including a second periodic pattern, the second periodic pattern including second one or more time slots for monitoring during each period of the second periodic pattern, wherein the second periodic pattern has a shorter period than the first periodic pattern; Providing first control information to the wireless device during a third time slot among the first one or more time slots according to the first periodic pattern based on the first control information monitoring configuration; And In response to providing the first control information during the third time slot, providing second control information to the wireless device according to the second periodic pattern based on the second control information monitoring configuration, wherein providing the second control information according to the second periodic pattern includes providing the second control information during a fourth time slot among the second one or more time slots, wherein the fourth time slot is after the third time slot.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the fourth time slot is immediately after the time slot in which the first control information schedules data communication.

11. The method according to claim 9, further comprises: Providing third control information during a fifth time slot, at least in part based on providing the third control information during the fourth time slot.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the second periodic pattern is used for a specified duration, wherein the method further comprises: Restoring the first periodic pattern after the specified duration.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the specified duration occurs at a time offset after providing the first control information.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the specified duration is indicated by the first control information monitoring configuration.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processing element of a base station, cause the base station to implement the method according to any one of claims 9-14.

16. An electronic device, including a processing element configured to cause a user equipment UE to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-8.

17. An electronic device, including a processing element configured to cause a base station to execute the method according to any one of claims 9-14.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processing element of a user equipment UE, cause the UE to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-8.

19. A user equipment UE, comprising: radio components; and a processing element operably coupled to the radio components and configured to cause the UE to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-8.

20. A base station, comprising: radio components; and a processing element operably coupled to the radio components and configured to cause the base station to perform the method according to any one of claims 9-14.

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