Decoding a paging message based on multiple beams

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to decoding paging messages based on multiple beams. The present application relates to a paging mechanism. In an example, a network can periodically transmit SSBs on multiple SSB beams. A UE can receive SSBs and perform SSB-based measurements for each detected SSB beam during a DRX cycle. Based on these measurements, the UE can perform PDCCH monitoring and PDSCH decoding on at least two beams. The PDCCH monitoring can indicate a scheduled paging message from the network. The PDSCH decoding can allow the UE to determine the paging message.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application generally relates to decoding paging messages based on multiple beams. Background Technology

[0002] Fifth-generation mobile networks (5G) are wireless standards designed to improve data transmission speed, reliability, availability, and more. This standard is still under development and includes many details related to cell selection / reselection, such as how user equipment (UE) can communicate with the network to send and receive data. UEs can operate in discontinuous reception (DRX) mode to reduce their power consumption, allowing them to deactivate some components of their transmission and / or reception components for a period of time during which no data communication occurs. Summary of the Invention

[0003] According to a first aspect of this application, a method implemented by a user equipment (UE) is provided, the method comprising: receiving a plurality of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) corresponding to a plurality of beams of a base station respectively during an active state of a discontinuous reception DRX cycle; determining a plurality of measurement results corresponding to the plurality of SSBs respectively; selecting a first measurement result from the plurality of measurement results; comparing the first measurement result among the plurality of measurement results with a measurement threshold; and scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception on at least two of the plurality of beams based on the comparison indicating that the first measurement result is less than the measurement threshold and thus the coverage quality is lower than a predetermined quality level.

[0004] According to a second aspect of this application, a user equipment (UE) is provided, the UE comprising: a processing circuit configured to: receive a plurality of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) corresponding to a plurality of beams of a base station respectively during an active state of a discontinuous reception DRX cycle; determine a plurality of measurement results corresponding to the plurality of SSBs respectively; select a first measurement result from the plurality of measurement results; compare the first measurement result among the plurality of measurement results with a measurement threshold; and schedule paging monitoring and paging reception on at least two of the plurality of beams based on the comparison indicating that the first measurement result is less than the measurement threshold and thus the coverage quality is lower than a predetermined quality level.

[0005] According to a third aspect of this application, one or more non-transitory computer-readable media are provided, the one or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed on a user equipment (UE), configure the UE to perform operations including: receiving a plurality of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) corresponding to a plurality of beams of a base station during an active state of a discontinuous reception DRX cycle; determining a plurality of measurement results corresponding to the plurality of SSBs; selecting a first measurement result from the plurality of measurement results; comparing the first measurement result among the plurality of measurement results with a measurement threshold; and scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception on at least two of the plurality of beams based on the comparison indicating that the first measurement result is less than the measurement threshold and thus the coverage quality is below a predetermined quality level. Attached Figure Description

[0006] Figure 1 An example of a network environment according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0007] Figure 2 An example of a timing diagram for the DRX cycle and associated SSB reception according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0008] Figure 3 Another example is shown, illustrating the timing diagram of the DRX cycle and associated multiple SSB receptions according to some implementation schemes.

[0009] Figure 4 An example of a timing diagram for transmitting paging times and paging messages over the SSB beam is shown.

[0010] Figure 5 An example of a timing diagram for receiving paging times and paging messages on an SSB beam, according to some implementation schemes, is shown.

[0011] Figure 6 Another example of a timing diagram for receiving paging times and paging messages on an SSB beam, according to some implementation schemes, is shown.

[0012] Figure 7 Examples of operational flows and / or algorithmic structures for scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception, according to some implementation schemes, are shown.

[0013] Figure 8 Another example of the operational flow and / or algorithmic structure for scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception based on SSB measurement results is shown, according to some implementation schemes.

[0014] Figure 9 Another example of the operational flow and / or algorithmic structure for scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception based on decoding failure and decoding success, according to some implementation schemes, is shown.

[0015] Figure 10 Another example of the operational flow and / or algorithmic structure for scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception based on SSB beam subsets, according to some implementation schemes, is shown.

[0016] Figure 11 Another example of the operational flow and / or algorithmic structure for scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception based on the highest-ranked SSB beam, according to some implementation schemes, is shown.

[0017] Figure 12 Another example of the operational flow and / or algorithmic structure for scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception based on combined soft decoding information, according to some implementation schemes, is shown.

[0018] Figure 13 Another example of the operational flow and / or algorithmic structure for scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception based on SSB beam subsets and combined soft decoding information, according to some implementation schemes, is shown.

[0019] Figure 14 Another example of the operational flow and / or algorithmic structure for scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception based on the highest-ranked SSB beam and based on combined soft decoding information, according to some implementation schemes, is shown.

[0020] Figure 15 An example of a receiving component according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0021] Figure 16 Examples of UEs according to some implementation schemes are shown.

[0022] Figure 17 Examples of base stations according to some implementation schemes are shown. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The following detailed description relates to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals may be used in different drawings to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, specific details, such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, technologies, etc., are set forth for illustrative and non-limiting purposes to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of the various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various aspects of the various embodiments may be practiced in other examples departing from these specific details. In some cases, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods have been omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments with unnecessary detail. For the purposes of this document, the phrase "A or B" refers to (A), (B), or (A and B).

[0024] Typically, User Equipment (UE) can communicate with the network, such as with one or more base stations or other network nodes. To improve UE power consumption, the UE can operate in idle mode. Nevertheless, during idle mode, the network may need to pass information to the UE. In this case, the network can instruct the UE to send a paging message during a paging period, which in turn instructs the UE to execute a procedure. Similarly, to support idle mode, the UE periodically wakes up during DRX cycles to receive reference signals, such as synchronization signals (SS) / PBCH blocks (SSBs). SSBs can be transmitted on multiple SSB beams and can be used for, for example, beam selection.

[0025] Because the UE needs to be active to receive reference signals, signal reception consumes power. To improve power consumption, it may be sufficient for the UE to wake up a small number of times (e.g., once) during a DRX cycle to receive SSBs, perform SSB measurements, and determine the performance metrics of the SSBs (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and / or reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements) for each SSB. If one of the SSBs has good SSB coverage (e.g., associated with a performance metric greater than a metric threshold), paging mechanisms (e.g., including either or both of paging detection and paging reception) can be scheduled on that SSB. Otherwise, paging mechanisms can be scheduled on multiple SSBs without requiring multiple wake-ups and SSB receptions. Thus, if good SSB coverage exists (indicated by the performance metrics of the SSBs), the UE can support paging mechanisms on one SSB; otherwise, if no single good SSB coverage exists, the UE can support paging mechanisms on multiple SSBs. By reducing the number of times the UE needs to wake up for SSB reception, the UE's total power consumption can be reduced.

[0026] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure.

[0027] As used herein, the term "circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes: hardware components such as electronic circuits, logic circuits, processors (shared, dedicated, or grouped) or memories (shared, dedicated, or grouped), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable devices (FPDs) (e.g., field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), complex PLDs (CPLDs), high-capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), structured ASICs, or programmable system-on-a-chip (SoCs)), or digital signal processors (DSPs) configured to provide said functions. In some embodiments, the circuit may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of said functions. The term "circuit" may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements and program code for performing the functions (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system). In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a particular type of circuit.

[0028] As used herein, the term "processor circuit" means, is part of, or includes the following: a circuit capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations or recording, storing, or transmitting digital data. The term "processor circuit" may also refer to an application processor, baseband processor, central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit, single-core processor, dual-core processor, triple-core processor, quad-core processor, or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, and / or functional procedures).

[0029] As used herein, the term "interface circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a circuit that enables the exchange of information between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuit" can refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as buses, I / O interfaces, peripheral component interfaces, network interface cards, etc.

[0030] As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to equipment of a remote user that has radio communication capabilities and can describe network resources in a communication network. Furthermore, the term "user equipment" or "UE" can be considered synonymous and can be referred to as a client, mobile phone, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Additionally, the term "user equipment" or "UE" can include any type of wireless / wired equipment or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0031] As used herein, the term "base station" refers to a device with radio communication capabilities that is a network node (or more simply, the network) in a communication network and can be configured as an access node within the communication network. The UE's access to the communication network can be managed at least partially by the base station, thereby connecting the UE to the base station to access the communication network. Depending on the Radio Access Technology (RAT), a base station may be referred to as a gNodeB (gNB), eNodeB (eNB), access point, etc.

[0032] As used herein, the term "computer system" means any type of interconnected electronic device, computer device, or component thereof. Additionally, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to the various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to each other. Furthermore, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to multiple computer devices or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled to each other and configured to share computing resources or network resources.

[0033] As used herein, the term "resource" refers to physical or virtual devices, physical or virtual components within a computing environment, or physical or virtual components within a specific device, such as computer equipment, mechanical equipment, memory space, processor / CPU time, processor / CPU utilization, processor and accelerator load, hardware time or utilization, power supply, input / output operations, port or network sockets, channel / link allocation, throughput, memory utilization, storage, network, databases and applications, units of workload, etc. "Hardware resource" can refer to computing, storage, or networking resources provided by physical hardware components. "Virtualized resource" can refer to computing, storage, or networking resources provided by virtualization infrastructure to applications, devices, systems, etc. The terms "network resource" or "communication resource" can refer to resources that computer equipment / systems can access via a communication network. The term "system resource" can refer to any kind of shared entity providing services and can include computing or network resources. System resources can be considered as a coherent set of functions, network data objects, or services accessible through a server, wherein such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and are clearly identifiable.

[0034] As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any tangible or intangible transmission medium used for transmitting data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous or equivalent with "communication channel," "data communication channel," "transmission channel," "data transmission channel," "access channel," "data access channel," "link," "data link," "carrier," "radio frequency carrier," or any other similar term indicating a path or medium through which data is transmitted. Additionally, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection between two devices used for transmitting and receiving information.

[0035] As used in this article, the terms "instantiate" and "instantiate" refer to the creation of an instance. "Instance" also refers to the concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0036] The term "connection" can mean that two or more elements at a common communication protocol layer have an established signaling relationship with each other through a communication channel, link, interface or reference point.

[0037] As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment or infrastructure used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered synonymous with or referred to as networked computers, network hardware, network equipment, network nodes, virtualized network functions, etc.

[0038] The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to the individual content or data element containing the content of an information element. An information element may include one or more additional information elements.

[0039] Figure 1 A network environment 100 according to some implementation schemes is illustrated. Network environment 100 may include UE 104 and gNB 108. gNB 108 may be a base station providing a radio access cell (e.g., a 3GPP New Radio (NR) cell) through which UE 104 can communicate with gNB 108. UE 104 and gNB 108 can communicate via an air interface compatible with 3GPP technical specifications, such as those defining the fifth-generation (5G) NR system standard.

[0040] The gNB 108 transmits information (e.g., data and control signaling) in the downlink direction by mapping logical channels onto transport channels and transport channels onto physical channels. Logical channels can transmit data between the Radio Link Control (RLC) and MAC layers; transport channels can transmit data between the MAC and PHY layers; and physical channels can transmit information across the air interface. Physical channels may include the Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), and the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

[0041] The PBCH can be used to broadcast system information that UE 104 can use for initial access to the serving cell. The PBCH can be transmitted in the SSB block along with the Physical Synchronization Signal (PSS) and the Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS). The SSB can be used by UE 104 during the cell search process (including cell selection and reselection) and for beam selection.

[0042] PDSCH can be used to transmit end-user application data, signaling radio bearer (SRB) messages, system information messages (except for MIBs, etc.), and paging messages.

[0043] The PDCCH can transmit the DCI used by the gNB 108 scheduler to allocate both uplink and downlink resources. The DCI can also be used to provide uplink power control commands, configure time slot formats, or indicate that preemption has occurred.

[0044] The gNB 108 can also transmit various reference signals to the UE 104. These reference signals may include demodulation reference signals (DMRS) for the PBCH, PDCCH, and PDSCH. The UE 104 can compare the received version of the DMRS with a known sequence of transmitted DMRS to estimate the impact of the propagation channel. The UE 104 can then apply the inverse channel of the propagation channel during the demodulation process corresponding to the physical channel transmission.

[0045] The reference signal may also include a Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS). The CSI-RS can be a multi-purpose downlink transmit that can be used for CSI reporting, beam management, connectivity mode mobility, radio link failure detection, beam failure detection and recovery, and fine-tuning of time and frequency synchronization.

[0046] Reference signals and information from the physical channel can be mapped to resources in the resource grid. For a given antenna port, subcarrier spacing configuration, and transmit direction (e.g., downlink or uplink), there exists a resource grid. The basic unit of the NR downlink resource grid can be a resource element, which can be defined by a subcarrier in the frequency domain and an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol in the time domain. Twelve consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain can constitute a physical resource block (PRB). A resource element group (REG) can include a PRB in the frequency domain and an OFDM symbol in the time domain, for example, twelve resource elements. A control channel element (CCE) can represent a set of resources used to transmit the PDCCH. One CCE can be mapped to multiple REGs, for example, six REGs.

[0047] UE 104 can transmit data and control information to gNB 108 using physical uplink channels. Different types of physical uplink channels are possible, including, for example, the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) and the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH). However, the PUCCH carries control information (such as uplink control information (UCI)) from UE 104 to gNB 108, while the PUSCH carries data services (e.g., end-user application data) and may carry UCI.

[0048] UE 104 and gNB 108 can perform beam management operations to identify and maintain the desired beams for transmission in both the uplink and downlink directions. Beam management can be applied to both PDSCH and PDCCH in the downlink direction, and both PUSCH and PUCCH in the uplink direction.

[0049] In one example, communication with the gNB 108 and / or the base station can utilize channels in Frequency Range 1 (FR1), Frequency Range 2 (FR2), and / or higher frequency ranges (FRH). The FR1 band includes both licensed and unlicensed bands. The NR unlicensed band (NR-U) includes spectrum shared with other types of Radio Access Technologies (RATs) (e.g., LTE-LAA, WiFi, etc.). A Listen-Before-Speak (LBT) process can be used to avoid or minimize conflicts between different RATs in the NR-U, whereby the device should apply a Clear Channel Assessment (CCA) check before using the channel.

[0050] To improve the power consumption of UE 104, UE 104 can operate in idle mode. To support idle mode, UE 104 can perform several mechanisms. One mechanism involves SSB measurement. Specifically, during idle mode, UE 104 remains in a sleep mode of DRX cycles (e.g., sleep state or deactivated state) and periodically wakes up (e.g., wake-up state or active state) to receive SSBs. SSB measurements are derived for various reasons, including beam selection. Another mechanism involves paging. For example, during idle mode, the network may need to pass information to UE 104. In this case, the network (e.g., gNB 108) can send a DCI to UE 104 at the paging time to indicate a paging message to the UE, which in turn indicates the procedure to be performed to UE 104. The paging message (if present) can be repeatedly transmitted on multiple SSB beams (e.g., each SSB beam can be used to transmit the DCI and the paging message (if present) at the paging time). When using both mechanisms (e.g., beam selection and paging), UE 104 can be woken up to receive one or more SSBs for each beam, and then the monitoring of paging times for DCI and / or the detection of paging messages can be scheduled on one or more SSB beams. By reducing the number of times UE 104 needs to be woken up, the power consumption of UE 104 can be improved. This reduction can be achieved by using a single beam when beam coverage permits, and otherwise using at least two beams for the paging mechanism. These and other functions are described in conjunction with the accompanying figures.

[0051] Figure 2 An example timing diagram 200 of DRX cycle and associated SSB reception according to some implementation schemes is shown. The diagram illustrates the UE (e.g., Figure 1How can UE 104 receive SSB to support the performance of SSB measurements? SSB reception can correspond to the direct beam coverage area, such as... Figure 5 As further illustrated, due to the direct beam coverage, the coverage quality can be relatively high (e.g., as indicated by SNR or RSRP measurements determined based on the SSB). Because of this relatively high quality, a single SSB receiver may be sufficient.

[0052] exist Figure 2 In the illustration, the UE can operate in idle mode, where no data is being communicated with the network. During a DRX cycle, the UE can deactivate (e.g., turn off or enter power-saving mode) some or all of its RF components (e.g., transmit and / or receive components) to reduce its power consumption. Nevertheless, the UE can wake up to receive SSBs transmitted from the network. Therefore, the DRX cycle can be divided into several sub-cycles: deep sleep cycle, active state cycle, and shallow sleep cycle. The deep sleep cycle is associated with the lowest power consumption of the UE during the DRX cycle, while the active state cycle is associated with the highest power consumption. Specifically, during a deep sleep cycle, the RF components are deactivated, and the UE does not receive or transmit to the network. During an active state cycle, the UE is woken up (e.g., its RF components are activated) to enable reception and / or transmission. A shallow sleep cycle can occur after an active state cycle, thereby deactivating some, but not all, of the RF components (e.g., so that if the UE needs to re-enter the active state cycle, switching from a shallow sleep cycle to an active state cycle is relatively faster than equivalently switching from a deep sleep cycle to an active state cycle; for example, considering the smaller subset of RF components deactivated in a shallow sleep cycle, RF tuning can be faster).

[0053] In the example, during the active state cycle, the UE is in an active state, which enables it to receive reference signals, such as... Figure 2 The SSB is shown. Typically, SSBs are transmitted periodically by the network (e.g., approximately every tens of milliseconds, such as every twenty milliseconds). The UE wakes up to receive the SSB for frequency and timing tracking purposes. This tracking can be used to facilitate paging mechanisms. A time window can be pre-configured during which the UE wakes up (e.g., equivalently, needs to be active). For example, this time window could be an SSB Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) window.

[0054] exist Figure 2In the illustration, the UE can receive and perform SSB measurements on the SSB to determine coverage quality, such as SNR or RSRP. Given that relatively high coverage quality is detected (e.g., SNR or RSRP is greater than a metric threshold), the UE does not need to wake up multiple times to receive the SSB. Instead, an active state cycle can be followed by a shallow sleep cycle (or even a deep sleep cycle).

[0055] Other examples Figure 2 As shown, the paging time can be transmitted to the UE from the network. Typically, the paging time can be the PDCCH monitoring time, allowing the UE to perform blind decoding within the PDCCH search space to determine the paging time. This paging time may include the DCI that schedules the paging message on the PDSCH. Similarly, the resources of the PDSCH (e.g., scheduled resource elements) can carry (e.g., encoded) information about the paging message. If the paging message is scheduled (e.g., as indicated by the DCI), the UE can decode the paging message from the resources of the PDSCH.

[0056] exist Figure 2 In a specific illustration, a first PDCCH monitoring moment is sent before the UE enters a deep sleep cycle. The UE enters a deep sleep cycle if no DCI is detected at this PDCCH monitoring moment. Subsequently, a second PDCCH monitoring moment is sent to the UE when it may have exited the DRX cycle. Considering frequency and timing tracking based on a single SSB reception, the UE can detect this second PDCCH monitoring moment, then determine to schedule a paging message on the PDSCH, and decode the paging message based on the scheduling resources of the PDSCH carrying the paging message and execute the procedures indicated in the decoded paging message.

[0057] Figure 3 Another example of a timing diagram 300 showing the DRX cycle and associated multiple SSB reception according to some implementation schemes is illustrated. This diagram shows the UE (e.g., Figure 1 How can a UE (104) receive multiple SSBs to support the performance of SSB measurements? SSB reception can correspond to indirect beam coverage, such as... Figure 6 As further illustrated, due to the indirect beam coverage area, the coverage quality may be relatively low (e.g., as indicated by SNR or RSRP measurements). Because of the relatively low quality, multiple SSBs may be required for reception.

[0058] exist Figure 3 In the diagram, the UE can operate in idle mode, where no data is being communicated with the network. During a DRX cycle, the UE can deactivate some or all of its RF components to reduce power consumption. Nevertheless, the UE can wake up to receive SSBs transmitted from the network. Here, and unlike... Figure 2As illustrated in the diagram, the UE may determine relatively low coverage quality (e.g., based on SNR and / or RSRP measurements determined according to one or more SSBs). In this case, the UE needs to wake up several times to obtain better frequency and timing offset estimation quality. Generally, satisfactory paging message decoding requires good frequency and timing estimation. This may be especially true for PDSCHs with six or seven symbols long and a single-symbol DMRS of mapping type A. Specifically, a single-symbol DMRS may not provide refined frequency estimation, and a longer PDSCH time span results in a larger relative phase shift between the start and end symbols of the PDSCH (e.g., the paging message symbol).

[0059] Due to relatively low coverage quality, the UE wakes up more often (and...). Figure 2 (Compared to the diagram) to receive multiple SSBs in order to improve frequency and timing tracking. Figure 3 An example where the UE is woken up three times is shown (although different numbers are possible). Therefore, the DRX cycle includes a deep sleep cycle, followed by a first active state cycle where the UE receives a first SSB, followed by a first shallow sleep cycle, and then (e.g., according to the SSB transmission periodicity) a second active state cycle where the UE receives a second SSB, followed by a second shallow sleep cycle, and then a third active state cycle where the UE receives a third SSB, followed by a third shallow sleep cycle. Figure 2 Compared to the timing diagram 200, the UE is woken up twice here for SSB reception, which results in a relative increase in the UE's power consumption.

[0060] Therefore, poor coverage quality can result in multiple UE wake-ups. Furthermore, multiple UE wake-ups can lead to shorter total sleep time, shorter efficient deep sleep time, and / or more baseband processing time. In other words, additional current consumption may be required.

[0061] Similarly, Figure 3 As shown, a first PDCCH monitoring moment is sent to the UE before it enters a deep sleep cycle. If no DCI is detected at this PDCCH monitoring moment, the UE enters a deep sleep cycle. Subsequently, a second PDCCH monitoring moment is sent to the UE when it may have exited the DRX cycle. Considering refined frequency and timing tracking based on multiple SSB receptions, the UE can detect the DCI at this second PDCCH monitoring moment. The UE then determines to schedule a paging message on the PDSCH, and decodes the paging message based on the scheduling resources of the PDSCH carrying the paging message, executing the procedures indicated in the decoded paging message.

[0062] Figure 4An example of a timing diagram 400 for transmitting paging times and paging messages over an SSB beam, according to some embodiments, is shown. As shown, network node 402 (e.g., Figure 1 The gNB 108 can use multiple SSB beams to direct the UE (e.g., Figure 1 UE 104) transmits paging time and paging message.

[0063] Typically, network node 402 can transmit multiple SSBs within a burst set period, where each SSB may be in a different beam. These beams are referred to herein as SSB beams (e.g., analog beams dedicated to a particular SSB). The UE performs a beam scan to select one or more SSB beams (e.g., the SSB beam with the highest performance metric among the SSB beams, where the performance metric is determined based on the SSB) for communication with network node 402.

[0064] exist Figure 4 In the diagram, network node 402 performs beam scanning to burst-transmit SSB beams in a predetermined direction at regular intervals. These SSB beams are indexed by SSB beam indexing. i "Index ( Figure 2 The text is presented as " i (Equal to "0", "1", and "2"). The SSB carries the PSS, SSS, and PBCH and repeats in the burst SSB beam, and the SS burst repeats periodically. For carriers below 3 GHz, a cell can be covered by up to four SSB beams, and for carriers in the 3 GHz-6 GHz range, a cell can be covered by up to eight SSB beams.

[0065] like Figure 4 As shown at the bottom, the SSB occupies multiple symbols in the time slot (as an illustrative example). Figure 4 This shows that each SSB occupies four symbols in time slot "n". Furthermore, SSBs on different SSB beams can be transmitted end-to-end in a cluster, as shown below. For example, and refer to... Figure 4 As illustrated, SSB0 and SSB1 are transmitted in the first time slot, and SSB2 and SSB3 are transmitted in the immediately following second time slot with index "n+1". Transmission can be repeated periodically in other time slots, such as in the first time slot carrying SSB0 and SSB1 and in the second time slot carrying SSB2 and SSB3.

[0066] Network node 402 transmits paging messages on all deployed beams within the cell to ensure that the UE receives the paging message regardless of its location within the cell (e.g., to increase or maximize the likelihood). For example, the paging time is transmitted in the resource elements of the PDCCH search space on each beam. Additionally, the paging message is transmitted in the resource elements of the PDSCH on each beam.

[0067] exist Figure 4 The diagram shows three SSB beams (SSB3 is only shown in the bottom part of the diagram, and the description of these three SSB beams is equivalent to that of the beam carrying SSB3). The paging time and paging message are each transmitted three times, once on each of the three SSB beams. Figure 4 The paging times and paging messages on the SSB0 beam are shown, respectively illustrated as PDCCH monitoring on the SSB0 beam and PDSCH carrying paging messages on the SSB0 beam. Similarly, in Figure 4 The paging times and paging messages on the SSB1 beam are shown, respectively, as PDCCH monitoring on the SSB1 beam and PDSCH carrying paging messages on the SSB1 beam. Additionally, in Figure 4 The paging times and paging messages on the SSB2 beam are shown, which are respectively shown as PDCCH monitoring on the SSB2 beam and PDSCH carrying paging messages on the SSB2 beam.

[0068] Timing diagram 400 illustrates an example where the UE first receives the paging time and paging message on the SSB0 beam, then receives the paging time and paging message on the SSB1 beam, and then receives the paging time and paging message on the SSB2 beam. However, variations of timing diagram 400 are possible and can depend on, for example, the RF environment and / or the UE's location within the cell. Typically, the paging time on an SSB beam precedes the paging message on the same SSB beam. However, the paging time on the first SSB beam may precede or follow the paging time or paging message on the second SSB beam. Additionally or alternatively, the paging message on the first SSB beam may precede or follow the paging time or paging message on the second SSB beam.

[0069] Figure 5 An example timing diagram 500 for receiving paging times and paging messages on an SSB beam, according to some implementation schemes, is shown. As shown, UE 502 (e.g., Figure 1 The UE 104 can receive signals from network nodes (e.g., on multiple SSB beams) Figure 1The paging time and paging message are transmitted by the gNB 108. Due to the direct beam coverage of one of the beams in the SSB beam, the coverage quality may be relatively high (e.g., as indicated by SNR or RSRP measurements determined based on the SSB). Due to the relatively high quality, it may be sufficient for the UE 502 to monitor the paging time and decode the paging message on the single beam associated with this direct coverage area.

[0070] Typically, in idle mode, UE 502 performs measurements on the SSBs received in the SSB beam to determine the optimal SSB beam set. SSB reception, measurement, and SSB beam determination can be repeated periodically to support beam selection / reselection.

[0071] exist Figure 5 In the illustration, UE 502 is within the coverage area of ​​a specific SSB beam (shown as SSB0 beam). Therefore, SSB measurements for this specific SSB beam indicate high coverage quality (e.g., SNR and / or RSRP determined based on measurements of SSBs received on the SSB0 beam are greater than a measurement threshold). For this reason, UE 502 does not need to wake up multiple times to receive multiple SSBs on a specific SSB beam. Instead, receiving a single SSB may be sufficient to achieve good frequency and timing tracking.

[0072] Additionally, the UE can receive paging times and paging messages on each SSB beam. Similar to... Figure 4 The paging time and paging message on each SSB beam are shown here as PDCCH monitoring on SSB0 beam and PDSCH carrying paging message on SSB0 beam, PDCCH monitoring on SSB1 beam and PDSCH carrying paging message on SSB1 beam, and PDCCH monitoring on SSB2 beam and PDSCH carrying paging message on SSB2 beam.

[0073] Because UE 502 is within the coverage area of ​​the SSB0 beam, it may be sufficient for UE 502 to monitor the paging time on the SSB0 beam (e.g., by performing blind decoding in the search space of the PDCCH on the SSB0 beam) to determine whether a paging message should be scheduled for UE 502. If so, it may also be sufficient for UE 502 to decode the paging message on the SSB0 beam (e.g., by decoding the resources of the PDSCH on SSB0, which carry the paging message information). UE 502 may not need to monitor the paging time and / or decode the paging message on the SSB1 or SSB2 beams, as indicated by the two "X" marks on timing diagram 500.

[0074] Figure 6Another example of a timing diagram 600 for receiving paging times and paging messages on an SSB beam, according to some implementation schemes, is shown. As shown, UE 602 (e.g., Figure 1 The UE 104 can receive signals from network nodes (e.g., on multiple SSB beams) Figure 1 The paging time and paging message are transmitted via gNB 108. Due to the indirect beam coverage, the coverage quality may be relatively low (e.g., as indicated by SNR or RSRP measurements determined based on SSB). Due to the relatively low quality, UE 502 may not be able to monitor the paging time and decode the paging message on a single beam. Instead, paging monitoring and paging reception can be scheduled on at least two SSB beams.

[0075] exist Figure 6 In the illustration, UE 602 is not located within the coverage area of ​​a specific SSB beam. Instead, UE 602 is located between the SSB coverage areas of multiple SSB beams (e.g., Figure 6 UE 602 is shown as being located between the SSB0 and SSB2 beams. This may be due to the mobility of UE 602. In this case, SSB measurements for each SSB beam may indicate low coverage quality (e.g., SNR and / or RSRP determined based on measurements of SSBs received on each SSB beam are less than the measurement threshold).

[0076] To handle this situation, several options may exist. In a first option, UE 602 can wake up multiple times to receive multiple SSBs on each SSB beam and improve its frequency and timing tracking. UE 602 can then select the optimal SSB beam to subsequently monitor the paging time and decode the paging message on the optimal SSB beam. In a second option, UE 602 does not need to wake up multiple times. Instead, UE 602 can utilize the same paging time and paging message on all SSB beams. Under the second option, UE 602 can monitor the paging time and decode the paging message on at least two SSB beams. Compared to the first option, the second option can improve the power consumption of UE 602, and will be further described in this disclosure. In one example of this second option, PDCCH monitoring and / or PDSCH decoding for paging can be performed separately and independently on the at least two SSB beams. In another example of this second option, soft decoding information from PDSCH decoding on one of the at least two beams can be used for PDSCH decoding on the other of the at least two SSB beams. For example, combining log-likelihood ratio (LLR) information from the current PDSCH reception with LLR information from the previous PDSCH reception for PDCSH decoding further increases the likelihood of successful decoding (e.g., cyclic redundancy check (CRC) passing).

[0077] Similar to Figure 4 The paging times and paging messages on each SSB beam are shown here as follows: PDCCH monitoring and PDSCH carrying the paging message on SSB0 beam; PDCCH monitoring and PDSCH carrying the paging message on SSB1 beam; and PDCCH monitoring and PDSCH carrying the paging message on SSB2 beam. Because UE 602 is not in direct coverage (e.g., unlike...), Figure 5(As illustrated in the diagram), UE 602 is operating under low SNR and / or RSRP conditions that can be detected by UE 602 via SSB measurements. Therefore, PDCCH monitoring and / or PDSCH decoding for paging can be performed individually and independently on multiple SSB beams or by combining LLRs on these multiple SSB beams. Furthermore, because UE 602 is located between the coverage areas of the SSB0 beam and the SSB2 beam, the SSB1 beam is a much weaker beam than these two SSB beams. In this case, the weaker SSB beam or the undetected SSB beam (e.g., the SSB1 beam) can be eliminated from PDCCH monitoring and / or PDSCH decoding on these multiple SSB beams. As indicated by the “X” marking in timing diagram 600, PDCCH monitoring and / or PDSCH decoding are performed on the SSB0 and SSB2 beams but not on the SSB1 beam. Paging messages will be successfully received as long as one of the PDSCHs can be successfully decoded.

[0078] Therefore, the need for multiple wake-ups to receive the SSB can be reduced by increasing the decoding success rate through multiple decoding attempts. This translates to reduced current consumption of the UE 602. When PDSCH decoding based on reception on the first SSB beam fails, the impact associated with reception on the second SSB beam can be mitigated by triggering a second reception on the second SSB beam. These and other functions are further described in the following figures.

[0079] Figure 7 Examples of operational flows and / or algorithmic structures 700 for scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception according to some implementation schemes are shown. Typically, the UE (e.g., Figure 1 UE 104 may support paging mechanisms on multiple SSB beams, where the base station (e.g., gNB 108) or, more generally, the network may transmit SSBs, paging times, and paging messages to the UE on these multiple SSB beams. UE 104 may be, for example, UE 104, UE 1600, or even the operation procedure / algorithm structure 700 may be implemented by components of the UE such as processor 1604.

[0080] The operation flow / algorithm structure 700 may include: at 702, during the active state of the DRX cycle, receiving multiple SSBs corresponding to multiple beams of the base station. For example, the UE is operating in idle mode and enters a sleep state (e.g., deep sleep state) within the DRX cycle. The UE then wakes up during a time window within the DRX cycle (e.g., during the SMTC cycle) to receive SSBs on each SSB beam. The UE does not need to wake up multiple times to receive multiple SSBs on each SSB beam.

[0081] The operation flow / algorithm structure 700 may include, at 704, determining multiple measurement results corresponding to the plurality of SSBs respectively. For example, the UE performs SSB measurements for each SSB received on each SSB beam. Based on these measurement results, the UE can determine the SNR and / or RSRP for each SSB beam.

[0082] The operation flow / algorithm structure 700 may include, at 706, selecting a first measurement result from the plurality of measurement results. For example, the UE selects the best SSB measurement result, such as maximum SNR or maximum RSRP. This best measurement result is associated with a specific SSB beam, which may be referred to as the optimal SSB beam.

[0083] The operation flow / algorithm structure 700 may include, at 708, comparing a first measurement result among the plurality of measurement results with a measurement threshold. For example, the measurement threshold may include an SSB measurement threshold (e.g., an SNR threshold and / or an RSRP threshold). The SSB measurement threshold may be pre-stored in the UE's memory and may be defined, for example, in a UE-compatible and compliant technical specification. The comparison may indicate that the first measurement result (e.g., the best SSB measurement result) indicates indirect SSB beam coverage (e.g., low SNR conditions and / or low RSRP conditions). This is possible when the SSB measurement result is below the SSB measurement threshold.

[0084] The operation flow / algorithm structure 700 may include, at 710, scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception on at least two of the plurality of beams based on the comparison. For example, due to the coverage of the indirect SSB beams, the UE may schedule (e.g., based on RRC configuration) the execution of blind decoding of the PDCCH search space on at least two SSB beams. If the decoding (e.g., the decoded DCI) indicates the scheduling of paging messages, the UE may schedule the decoding of PDSCH resources on the at least two SSB beams, wherein these resources are determined based on the scheduling indicated by the DCI.

[0085] At point 808, if the first measurement indicates direct beam coverage (e.g., good SNR and / or good RSRP conditions, whereby the SSB measurement result is greater than the SSB measurement threshold), it is not necessary to perform paging monitoring and paging reception on multiple SSB beams. Instead, paging monitoring and paging reception can be scheduled on the optimal SSB beam.

[0086] Figure 8 Another example of an operational flow and / or algorithmic structure 800 for scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception based on SSB measurement results, according to some implementation schemes, is shown. The operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may be... Figure 7A more detailed and specific implementation example of the operation process / algorithm structure 700.

[0087] The operation flow / algorithm structure 800 may include: at 802, performing SSB search and measurement. For example, the base station periodically transmits SSBs on each SSB beam. The UE can wake up during a DRX cycle to receive SSBs on each SSB beam and perform SSB measurement for each received SSB. As explained above, the UE does not need to wake up multiple times during a DRX cycle to receive multiple SSBs on each SSB beam. Instead, receiving a single SSB per SSB beam may be sufficient.

[0088] The operation flow / algorithm structure 800 may include, at 804, ranking the detected SSB beams according to performance metrics. For example, a performance metric may be defined for each detected SSB beam and the two may be correlated. The performance metric for the SSB beam may include SSB measurement results determined from the SSBs transmitted on the SSB beam, such as SNR and / or RSRP. The SSB beams may be ranked in descending order according to their corresponding SSB measurement results to determine the best beam (e.g., the highest-ranked SSB beam), the second best beam (e.g., the second-highest-ranked SSB beam), etc.

[0089] Operation flow / algorithm structure 800 may include: at 806, determining whether the performance metric of the optimal SSB beam is greater than a threshold. For example, the threshold may include an SSB measurement threshold (e.g., an SNR threshold and / or an RSRP threshold). The SSB measurement threshold may be pre-stored in the UE's memory and may be defined, for example, in a UE-compatible and compliant technical specification. If the performance metric is greater than the threshold, the UE may determine that it is within the direct beam coverage area. In this case, operation 810 follows operation 806 (as indicated by "Yes" above the arrow). Otherwise, operation 820 follows operation 806 (as indicated by "No" above the arrow).

[0090] The operation flow / algorithm structure 800 may include, at 810, scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception on the optimal SSB beam. For example, due to direct beam coverage, it may be sufficient for the UE to perform PDCCH monitoring and PDSCH decoding only on the optimal SSB beam. In this case, the UE can schedule (e.g., based on RRC configuration) on the optimal SSB beam to perform blind decoding of the PDCCH search space. If the decoding (e.g., decoded DCI) indicates the scheduling of paging messages, the UE can also schedule the decoding of PDSCH resources on the optimal SSB beam, where these resources are determined based on the scheduling indicated by the DCI.

[0091] The operation flow / algorithm structure 800 may include, at 820, scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception on the optimal SSB beam and other SSB beams. For example, paging monitoring may be performed on at least two SSB beams including the optimal SSB beam or on all detected SSB beams. Due to the coverage of the indirect SSB beams, the UE may schedule (e.g., based on RRC configuration) the execution of blind decoding of the PDCCH search space on the at least two SSB beams or all detected SSB beams. If the decoding (e.g., the decoded DCI) indicates the scheduling of paging messages, the UE may schedule the decoding of PDSCH resources on the at least two SSB beams or all detected SSB beams, wherein these resources are determined based on the scheduling indicated by the DCI.

[0092] Figure 9 Another example of an operational flow and / or algorithmic structure 900 for scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception based on decoding failure and decoding success, according to some implementation schemes, is shown. The operational flow / algorithm structure 900 may be... Figure 7 A more detailed example of the implementation of the operation flow / algorithm structure 700 is provided. Some aspects of the operation flow / algorithm structure 900 are similar to their corresponding aspects in the operation flow / algorithm structure 800. For the sake of brevity, the similarities will not be repeated here. Specifically, the UE can schedule paging monitoring and paging reception on at least two SSBs (e.g., in the case of indirect beam coverage) as in the operation flow / algorithm structure 800. However, if PDSCH decoding is successful on one of the SSB beams, PDCCH monitoring and / or PDSCH decoding can be stopped on one or more of the remaining SSB beams of the at least two SSB beams.

[0093] Operational flow / algorithm structure 900 may include: at 902, performing SSB search and measurement. Operational flow / algorithm structure 900 may include: at 904, ranking the detected SSB beams according to performance metrics. Operational flow / algorithm structure 900 may include: at 906, determining whether the performance metric of the optimal SSB beam is greater than a threshold. If yes, then operation 910 follows operation 906 (as indicated by "Yes" above the arrow). Otherwise, operation 920 follows operation 906 (as indicated by "No" above the arrow). Operational flow / algorithm structure 900 may include: at 910, scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception on the optimal SSB beam. Operational flow / algorithm structure 900 may include: at 920, scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception on the optimal SSB beam and other SSB beams.

[0094] Operational flow / algorithm structure 900 may include: at 922, if a PDSCH decoding passes the CRC, then paging monitoring and / or paging reception on other SSB beams are stopped. For example, the UE may successfully decode a paging message carried in a PDSCH resource on one SSB beam. Decoding success can be determined based on a passing CRC. In this case, by decoding the paging message on a resource element of another PDSCH on another SSB beam, no additional information can be obtained. In this case, scheduling PDSCH decoding (or multiple remaining beams that have not yet been decoded) on the other SSB beam can be stopped. Similarly, if PDCCH monitoring has not yet been performed on the remaining beams in the SSB beam, then PDCCH monitoring can also be stopped.

[0095] Figure 10 Another example of an operational flow and / or algorithmic structure 1000 for scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception based on SSB beam subsets, according to some implementation schemes, is shown. The operational flow / algorithm structure 1000 may be... Figure 7 A more detailed example of the implementation of the operation flow / algorithm structure 700 is provided. Some aspects of the operation flow / algorithm structure 1000 are similar to their corresponding aspects in operation flow / algorithm structures 800-900. For the sake of brevity, the similarities will not be repeated here. Specifically, the UE can schedule paging detection and paging reception on at least two SSBs (e.g., in the case of indirect beam coverage), as in operation flow / algorithm structures 800 or 900. However, instead of doing so on all detected SSB beams, a subset of the SSB beams is used.

[0096] Operational flow / algorithm structure 1000 may include: at 1002, performing SSB search and measurement. Operational flow / algorithm structure 1000 may include: at 1004, sorting the detected SSB beams according to performance metrics. Operational flow / algorithm structure 1000 may include: at 1006, determining whether the performance metric of the optimal SSB beam is greater than a threshold (e.g., a first threshold). If yes, then operation 1010 follows operation 1006 (as indicated by "Yes" above the arrow). Otherwise, operation 1018 follows operation 1006 (as indicated by "No" above the arrow). Operational flow / algorithm structure 1000 may include: at 1010, scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception on the optimal SSB beam.

[0097] Operation flow / algorithm structure 1000 may include: at 1018, selecting each having a value greater than or equal to another threshold (e.g., Figure 10The SSB beams shown are quantified by a second threshold (Threshold_Low). In the example, the second threshold is less than the first threshold used at operation 1006. The second threshold can also be an SSB measurement threshold (e.g., an SNR threshold and / or an RSRP threshold). This SSB measurement threshold can be pre-stored in the UE's memory and can be defined, for example, in a UE-compatible and compliant technical specification. Therefore, only a subset of SSB beams, each with an SSB measurement result greater than the second threshold, are selected. The remaining SSB beams are not selected. By using a subset of the detected SSB beams, the processing required to support PDCCH monitoring and PDSCH decoding can be reduced.

[0098] Operational procedure / algorithm structure 1000 may include: at 1020, scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception on the optimal SSB beam and other SSB beams (e.g., these beams belong to this subset). Operational procedure / algorithm structure 1000 may include: at 1022, if a PDSCH decodes through CRC, stopping paging monitoring and / or paging reception on other SSB beams.

[0099] Figure 11 Another example of an operational flow and / or algorithmic structure 1100 for scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception based on the highest-ranking SSB beam, according to some implementation schemes, is shown. Operational flow / algorithm structure 1100 may be... Figure 7 A more detailed example of the implementation of the operation flow / algorithm structure 700 is provided. Some aspects of the operation flow / algorithm structure 1100 are similar to their corresponding aspects in operation flow / algorithm structures 800-1000. For the sake of brevity, the similarities will not be repeated here. Specifically, the UE can schedule paging monitoring and paging reception on at least two SSBs (e.g., in the case of indirect beam coverage), as in operation flow / algorithm structures 800, 900, or 1000. However, this scheduling can be limited to the best SSB beam and the second-best SSB beam, since the probability of successful PDSCH decoding is highest on these two SSB beams, and PDSCH decoding on the remaining SSB beams may be unnecessary or omitted for ease of implementation.

[0100] Operational flow / algorithm structure 1100 may include: at 1102, performing SSB search and measurement. Operational flow / algorithm structure 1100 may include: at 1104, sorting the detected SSB beams according to performance metrics. Operational flow / algorithm structure 1100 may include: at 1106, determining whether the performance metric of the optimal SSB beam is greater than a threshold (e.g., a first threshold). If yes, then operation 1110 follows operation 1106 (as indicated by "Yes" above the arrow). Otherwise, operation 1118 follows operation 1106 (as indicated by "No" above the arrow). Operational flow / algorithm structure 1100 may include: at 1110, scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception on the optimal SSB beam.

[0101] Operation flow / algorithm structure 1100 may include: at 1118, selecting a value greater than or equal to another threshold (e.g., Figure 11 The second-best SSB beam is shown as a metric of Threshold_Low. Except that the selected subset is limited to the best and second-best SSB beams, this operation can be similar to operation 1018 of operation flow / algorithm structure 1000.

[0102] Operational procedure / algorithm structure 1000 may include: at 1020, scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception on the optimal SSB beam and other SSB beams (e.g., these beams belong to this subset). Operational procedure / algorithm structure 1000 may include: at 1022, if a PDSCH decodes through CRC, stopping paging monitoring and / or paging reception on other SSB beams.

[0103] Figure 12 Another example of an operational flow and / or algorithmic structure 1200 for scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception based on combined soft decoding information, according to some implementation schemes, is shown. Operational flow / algorithm structure 1200 may be... Figure 7 A more detailed example of the implementation of the operation flow / algorithm structure 700 is provided. Some aspects of the operation flow / algorithm structure 1200 are similar to their corresponding aspects in operation flow / algorithm structures 800-900. For the sake of brevity, the similarities will not be repeated here. Specifically, the UE can schedule paging monitoring and paging reception on at least two SSBs (e.g., in the case of indirect beam coverage), as in operation flow / algorithm structures 800 or 900. However, instead of performing independent decoding on each SSB beam, soft decoding information (such as LLR information) output from PDSCH decoding on another SSB beam can be used in PDSCH decoding on one SSB beam. In this way, soft decoding information from PDSCH decoding on multiple beams can be combined.

[0104] Operational flow / algorithm structure 1200 may include: at 1202, performing SSB search and measurement. Operational flow / algorithm structure 1200 may include: at 1204, sorting the detected SSB beams according to performance metrics. Operational flow / algorithm structure 1200 may include: at 1206, determining whether the performance metric of the optimal SSB beam is greater than a threshold (e.g., a first threshold). If yes, then operation 1210 follows operation 1206 (as indicated by "Yes" above the arrow). Otherwise, operation 1220 follows operation 1206 (as indicated by "No" above the arrow). Operational flow / algorithm structure 1200 may include: at 1210, scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception on the optimal SSB beam. Operational flow / algorithm structure 1200 may include: at 1220, scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception on the optimal SSB beam and other SSB beams (e.g., these beams belong to this subset).

[0105] Operation flow / algorithm structure 1200 may include: at 1222, determining whether PDSCH decoding passed the CRC check. For example, each time decoding is performed on the PDSCH, the decoded CRC is checked to determine whether decoding was successful or failed. Successful decoding corresponds to a passed CRC check. Otherwise, decoding failure is determined. If decoding failure is determined, operation 1230 follows operation 1222 (as indicated by "No" above the arrow). Otherwise, operation 1240 follows operation 1222 (as indicated by "Yes" above the arrow).

[0106] The operation flow / algorithm structure 1200 may include: at 1230, performing LLR combination for the next PDSCH decoding. For example, PDSCH decoding uses quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check (QC-LDPC) decoding. QC-LDPC decoding is performed on the SSB beam for each paging message. LLR information is used in this decoding. Furthermore, this LLR information is used as soft decoding information to begin the next QC-LDPC decoding of the paging message on the next SSB beam (e.g., the LLR information of the next QC-LDPC decoding is initialized to the LLR information of the previous QC-LDPC decoding). Similarly, if the next decoding also results in a CRC failure, the LLR information obtained from that decoding and optionally from the previous decoding can be used as soft decoding information to begin the next QC-LDPC decoding of the paging message on the next SSB beam after that, and so on.

[0107] The operation procedure / algorithm structure 1200 may include: at 1240, stopping paging monitoring and / or paging reception on other SSB beams.

[0108] Figure 13Another example of an operational flow and / or algorithmic structure 1300 for scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception based on SSB beam subsets and combined soft decoding information, according to some implementation schemes, is shown. Operational flow / algorithm structure 1300 may be... Figure 7 A more detailed example of the implementation of the operation flow / algorithm structure 700 is provided. Some aspects of the operation flow / algorithm structure 1300 are similar to their corresponding aspects in operation flow / algorithm structures 800, 1000, or 1200. For the sake of brevity, the similarities will not be repeated here. Specifically, the UE can schedule paging detection and paging reception on at least two SSBs (e.g., in the case of indirect beam coverage), as in operation flow / algorithm structure 800. However, as in operation flow / algorithm structure 1200, instead of performing independent decoding on each SSB beam, soft decoding information (such as LLR information) output from PDSCH decoding on another SSB beam can be used in the PDSCH decoding on one SSB beam. However, as in operation flow / algorithm structure 1000, this is not done on all detected SSB beams, but rather a subset of SSB beams is used.

[0109] Operational flow / algorithm structure 1300 may include: at 1302, performing SSB search and measurement. Operational flow / algorithm structure 1300 may include: at 1304, sorting the detected SSB beams according to performance metrics. Operational flow / algorithm structure 1300 may include: at 1306, determining whether the performance metric of the optimal SSB beam is greater than a threshold (e.g., a first threshold). If yes, then operation 1310 follows operation 1306 (as indicated by "Yes" above the arrow). Otherwise, operation 1318 follows operation 1306 (as indicated by "No" above the arrow). Operational flow / algorithm structure 1300 may include: at 1310, scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception on the optimal SSB beam.

[0110] Operation flow / algorithm structure 1300 may include: at 1318, selecting each having a value greater than or equal to another threshold (e.g., Figure 13 The SSB beam is shown as a second threshold (Threshold_Low). Operational flow / algorithm structure 1300 may include: at 1320, scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception on the optimal SSB beam and other SSB beams (e.g., these beams belong to this subset). Operational flow / algorithm structure 1300 may include: at 1322, determining whether PDSCH decoding passes CRC. If decoding is determined to have failed, operation 1330 follows operation 1322 (as indicated by "No" above the arrow). Otherwise, operation 1340 follows operation 1322 (as indicated by "Yes" above the arrow).

[0111] Operational procedure / algorithm structure 1300 may include: at 1330, performing LLR combination for the next PDSCH decoding. Operational procedure / algorithm structure 1300 may include: at 1340, stopping paging monitoring and / or paging reception on other SSB beams.

[0112] Figure 14 Another example of an operational flow and / or algorithmic structure for scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception based on the highest-ranked SSB beam and combined soft decoding information, according to some implementation schemes, is shown. Operational flow / algorithm structure 1400 may be... Figure 7 A more detailed example of the implementation of the operation flow / algorithm structure 700 is provided. Some aspects of the operation flow / algorithm structure 1400 are similar to their corresponding aspects in operation flow / algorithm structures 800-1300. For the sake of brevity, the similarities will not be repeated here. Specifically, the UE can schedule paging detection and paging reception on at least two SSBs (e.g., in the case of indirect beam coverage), as in operation flow / algorithm structures 800, 1100, or 1200. However, as in operation flow / algorithm structure 1200, instead of performing independent decoding on each SSB beam, soft decoding information (such as LLR information) output from PDSCH decoding on another SSB beam can be used in the PDSCH decoding on one SSB beam. However, as in operation flow / algorithm structure 1100, this is not done on all detected SSB beams, but rather the best and second-best SSB beams are used.

[0113] Operational flow / algorithm structure 1400 may include: at 1402, performing SSB search and measurement. Operational flow / algorithm structure 1400 may include: at 1404, sorting the detected SSB beams according to performance metrics. Operational flow / algorithm structure 1400 may include: at 1406, determining whether the performance metric of the optimal SSB beam is greater than a threshold (e.g., a first threshold). If yes, then operation 1410 follows operation 1406 (as indicated by "Yes" above the arrow). Otherwise, operation 1418 follows operation 1406 (as indicated by "No" above the arrow). Operational flow / algorithm structure 1400 may include: at 1410, scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception on the optimal SSB beam.

[0114] Operation flow / algorithm structure 1400 may include: at 1418, selecting a value greater than or equal to another threshold (e.g., Figure 11The second-best SSB beam is shown as a metric for Threshold_Low. Operational flow / algorithm structure 1400 may include: at 1420, scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception on the best SSB beam and other SSB beams (e.g., these beams belong to this subset). Operational flow / algorithm structure 1400 may include: at 1422, determining whether PDSCH decoding passes CRC. If decoding is determined to have failed, operation 1430 follows operation 1422 (as indicated by "No" above the arrow). Otherwise, operation 1440 follows operation 1422 (as indicated by "Yes" above the arrow).

[0115] Operational procedure / algorithm structure 1400 may include: at 1430, performing LLR combining for the next PDSCH decoding. Operational procedure / algorithm structure 1400 may include: at 1440, stopping paging monitoring and / or paging reception on other SSB beams.

[0116] In some or all of the above operational procedures / algorithm structures, one or more additional or alternative criteria may be used to schedule and / or stop paging monitoring and / or paging reception. Examples of such criteria include relative strength / weakness (e.g., as indicated by ranking based on performance metrics), timing of paging moments, and timing of paging messages.

[0117] In the example using the above standard, if the PDCCH monitoring time (e.g., a paging time example) arrives first on the weaker SSB beam, the UE needs to attempt to decode the DCI on that SSB beam first, so as not to miss the potential combination of LLR information determined from the scheduled PDSCH decoding (if applicable) and the PDSCH decoding on the other SSB beam. For illustration, and referring to... Figure 4 In timing diagram 400, it is assumed that the SSB0 beam is weaker than the SSB1 beam. In this case, the UE does not abandon paging monitoring and paging reception on the SSB0 beam. Instead, paging monitoring and paging reception are performed on the SSB0 beam, and if the decoding of the paging message fails (e.g., CRC failure), the LLR information decoded from the paging message can be used subsequently in the PDSCH decoding of the paging message on the SSB1 beam.

[0118] In another example using the above standard, if the PDCCH monitoring time on the strongest beam (e.g., the best SSB beam, or more generally, a relatively stronger SSB beam) arrives first and DCI is detected, the UE can further compare the arrival time of that PDCCH monitoring time with the arrival time of the PDSCH decoding on the weaker beam. Based on this comparison, one of two behaviors can be followed. In the first behavior, if the PDCCH monitoring time on the weaker SSB beam arrives earlier than the scheduled PDSCH decoding on the stronger / strongest beam, the UE schedules PDCCH monitoring first on the weaker SSB beam to prepare for possible PDSCH decoding on the weaker SSB beam (e.g., in the case where PDSCH decoding on the stronger / strongest SSB beam fails CRC). In the second action, if the PDCCH monitoring time on the weaker SSB beam arrives later than the scheduled PDSCH decoding on the stronger / strongest beam, then the UE schedules PDCCH monitoring on the weaker SSB beam only if the PDSCH decoding on the stronger / strongest SSB beam fails (e.g., fails CRC).

[0119] For illustration, and for reference Figure 4 In the timing diagram 400, it is assumed that the SSB0 beam is stronger than the SSB1 beam. In this case, the UE has already detected the DCI scheduling PDSCH decoding on the SSB0 beam. In the illustration of the first row, it is assumed that the PDCCH monitoring on the SSB1 beam arrives earlier than the scheduled PDSCH decoding on the SSB0 beam. In this case, the UE performs PDCCH monitoring on the SSB1 beam to determine the scheduling of PDSCH decoding also on the SSB1 beam. The UE performs PDSCH decoding on the SSB1 beam only if PDSCH decoding on the SSB0 beam fails. In the illustration of the second row, it is assumed that the PDCCH monitoring on the SSB1 beam arrives later than the scheduled PDSCH decoding on the SSB0 beam. In this case, the UE performs PDCCH monitoring on the SSB1 beam only if PDSCH decoding on the SSB0 beam fails.

[0120] In the example using the above standard, if PDSCH decoding on a weaker SSB beam is scheduled after PDSCH decoding on a stronger SSB beam, then a second decoding attempt with LLR combinations (e.g., PDSCH decoding on the weaker SSB beam) is scheduled only after the CRC fails in the first attempt. For illustration, and referring to... Figure 4The timing diagram 400 assumes that the SSB0 beam is stronger than the SSB1 beam. It also assumes that PDSCH decoding on the SSB0 beam is scheduled to occur before PDSCH decoding on the SSB1 beam. In this case, the UE does not relinquish paging monitoring and paging reception on the SSB0 beam. Instead, the UE only performs PDSCH decoding on the SSB1 beam after a failure in PDSCH decoding on the SSB0 beam, and this subsequent PDSCH decoding on the SSB1 beam uses LLR information from the previously failed PDSCH decoding on the SSB0 beam.

[0121] Figure 15 A receiving component 1500 of a UE 104 according to some embodiments is shown. The receiving component 1500 may include an antenna panel 1504 that includes a plurality of antenna elements. The panel 1504 is shown as having four antenna elements, but other embodiments may include other numbers.

[0122] Antenna panel 1504 can be coupled to an analog beamforming (BF) component, which includes a plurality of phase shifters 1508(1)-1508(4). Phase shifters 1508(1)-1508(4) can be coupled to a radio frequency (RF) chain 1512. RF chain 1512 can amplify received analog RF signals, downconvert RF signals to baseband, and convert analog baseband signals into digital baseband signals that can be provided to a baseband processor for further processing.

[0123] In various implementations, control circuitry residing in the baseband processor may provide phase shift weights (e.g., W1-W4) to phase shifters 1508(1)-1508(4) to provide a receive beam at antenna panel 1504; these phase shift weights may represent phase shift values. These phase shift weights may be determined based on channel-based beamforming.

[0124] Figure 16 A UE 1600 according to some implementation schemes is shown. UE 1600 may be similar to Figure 1 The UE 104 is essentially interchangeable with it.

[0125] Similar to the description above relative to UE 104, UE 1600 can be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a mobile phone, computer, tablet, industrial wireless sensors (e.g., microphones, carbon dioxide sensors, pressure sensors, humidity sensors, thermometers, motion sensors, accelerometers, laser scanners, fluid level sensors, stock sensors, voltmeters / ammeters, and actuators), video surveillance / monitoring devices (e.g., cameras and camcorders), wearable devices, or loosely coupled IoT devices. In some embodiments, the UE can be a reduced-capacity UE or an NR-Light UE.

[0126] UE 1600 may include a processor 1604, RF interface circuitry 1608, memory / storage device 1612, user interface circuitry 1616, sensor 1620, drive circuitry 1622, power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 1626, and battery 1628. Components of UE 1600 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions of integrated circuits, discrete electronic devices, or other modules such as logic components, hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof. Figure 16 The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of some of the components of the UE 1600. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other specific implementations.

[0127] Components of the UE 1600 can be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1632, which can represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or extension), transmission line, trace, optical connector, etc., allowing various circuit components (on common or different chips or chipsets) to interact with each other.

[0128] Processor 1604 may include processor circuitry such as baseband processor circuitry (BB) 1604A, central processing unit circuitry (CPU) 1604B, and graphics processing unit circuitry (GPU) 1604C. Processor 1604 may include any type of circuitry or processor circuitry that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions, such as program code, software modules, or functional processes from memory / storage device 1612, to cause UE 1600 to perform the operations described herein.

[0129] In some implementations, the baseband processor circuit 1604A can access the communication protocol stack 1636 in the memory / storage device 1612 to communicate over a 3GPP-compliant network. Generally, the baseband processor circuit 1604A can access the communication protocol stack to perform the following operations: user plane functions at the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP, and PDU layers; and control plane functions at the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC, and Non-Access Stratum (NAS) layers. In some implementations, PHY layer operations may additionally / optionally be performed by components of the RF interface circuit 1608.

[0130] The baseband processor circuit 1604A can generate or process baseband signals or waveforms carrying information in a 3GPP-compliant network. In some implementations, the waveforms used for NR can be based on cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM) in the uplink or downlink, and Discrete Fourier Transform Extended OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) in the uplink.

[0131] The baseband processor circuit 1604A can also access group information from the memory / storage device 1612 to determine multiple repeated search space groups in which PDCCHs can be emitted.

[0132] The memory / storage device 1612 may include any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that can be distributed throughout the UE 1600. In some embodiments, some of the memory / storage devices 1612 may be located on the processor 1604 itself (e.g., L1 cache and L2 cache), while other memory / storage devices 1612 may be located external to the processor 1604 but accessible via a memory interface. The memory / storage device 1612 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0133] The RF interface circuitry 1608 may include transceiver circuitry and a radio frequency front-end module (RFEM), which allows the UE 1600 to communicate with other devices via a radio access network. The RF interface circuitry 1608 may include various components arranged in the transmit or receive path. These components may include switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuitry, control circuitry, etc.

[0134] In the receiving path, the RFEM can receive the radiated signal from the air interface via antenna 1624 and continue to filter and amplify the signal (using a low-noise amplifier). This signal can be provided to the receiver of the transceiver, which downconverts the RF signal into a baseband signal that is provided to the baseband processor of processor 1604.

[0135] In the transmission path, the transceiver's transmitter upconverts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides the RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM can then amplify the RF signal using a power amplifier before it is radiated across the air interface via antenna 1624.

[0136] In various implementations, the RF interface circuit 1608 can be configured to transmit / receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technology.

[0137] Antenna 1624 may include multiple antenna elements, each of which converts an electrical signal into radio waves to travel through the air and converts received radio waves back into electrical signals. These antenna elements may be arranged in one or more antenna panels. Antenna 1624 may have omnidirectional, directional, or combinations thereof antenna panels to enable beamforming and multiple-input / multiple-output communication. Antenna 1624 may include a microstrip antenna, a printed antenna fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, a patch antenna, a phased array antenna, etc. Antenna 1624 may have one or more panels designed for a specific frequency band included in FR1 or FR2.

[0138] User interface circuitry 1616 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable users to interact with UE 1600. User interface circuitry 1616 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. Input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for accepting input, particularly including one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touchscreen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, etc. Output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for displaying information or otherwise conveying information, such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information. Output device circuitry may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, particularly including one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary status indicators such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and multi-character visual outputs), or more complex outputs such as display devices or touchscreens (e.g., liquid crystal displays (LCDs), LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), where the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc., is generated or produced by the operation of UE 1600.

[0139] Sensor 1620 may include devices, modules, or subsystems intended to detect events or changes in their environment and transmit information about the detected events (sensor data) to other devices, modules, subsystems, etc. Examples of such sensors include, in particular, inertial measurement units including: accelerometers; gyroscopes; or magnetometers; microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) or nanoelectromechanical systems including: triaxial accelerometers; triaxial gyroscopes; or magnetometers; level sensors; flow sensors; temperature sensors (e.g., thermistors); pressure sensors; barometric pressure sensors; gravimeters; altimeters; image capture devices (e.g., cameras or lensless aperture sensors); light detection and ranging sensors; proximity sensors (e.g., infrared radiation detectors, etc.); depth sensors; ambient light sensors; ultrasonic transceivers; microphones or other similar audio capture devices; etc.

[0140] The driving circuitry 1622 may include software and hardware elements for controlling specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 1600. The driving circuitry 1622 may include various drivers that allow other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may exist within or be connected to the UE 1600. For example, the driving circuitry 1622 may include: a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device; a touchscreen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touchscreen interface; a sensor driver for acquiring sensor readings of sensor 1620 and controlling and allowing access to sensor 1620; a driver for acquiring actuator positions of electromechanical components or controlling and allowing access to electromechanical components; a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device; and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0141] The PMIC 1626 manages the power supplied to various components of the UE 1600. Specifically, relative to the processor 1604, the PMIC 1626 controls power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0142] In some implementations, the PMIC 1626 can control or otherwise become part of various power-saving mechanisms of the UE 1600. For example, if the platform UE is in the RRC_Connected state, where it remains connected to the RAN node as it anticipates receiving traffic soon, it can enter a state known as Discontinuous Receive Mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the UE 1600 can power down for short intervals to conserve power. If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period, the UE 1600 can transition to the RRC_Idle state, where the device disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The UE 1600 enters a very low-power state and performs paging, where the device periodically wakes up again to listen to the network and then power down again. The UE 1600 may not receive data in this state; to receive data, the platform must transition back to the RRC_Connected state. Additional power-saving modes can allow the device to be unable to use the network for longer than the paging interval (ranging from a few seconds to several hours). During this period, the device is completely unable to connect to the network and can be completely powered off. Any data sent during this time will result in significant latency, which is assumed to be acceptable.

[0143] Battery 1628 can power UE 1600, but in some examples, UE 1600 may be mounted in a fixed location and may have a power source coupled to the mains. Battery 1628 may be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some specific implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, battery 1628 may be a typical lead-acid automotive battery.

[0144] Figure 17 A gNB 1700 according to some implementation schemes is shown. The gNB node 1700 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with the gNB 108.

[0145] The gNB 1700 may include a processor 1704, an RF interface circuit 1708, a core network (CN) interface circuit 1712, and a memory / storage device circuit 1716.

[0146] The gNB 1700 components can be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1728.

[0147] The processor 1704, RF interface circuit 1708, memory / storage device circuit 1716 (including communication protocol stack 1710), antenna 1724, and interconnect 1728 are similar to those in the reference. Figure 15 Similar named elements are shown and described.

[0148] The CN interface circuit 1712 provides connectivity to a core network (e.g., a 5GC using a 5G core network (5GC) compatible network interface protocol, such as Carrier Ethernet, or some other suitable protocol). Network connectivity can be provided to / from the gNB 1700 via fiber optic or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuit 1712 may include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN interface circuit 1712 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0149] As is widely recognized, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally accepted to meet or exceed industry or governmental requirements for protecting user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to users.

[0150] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods as described in the Examples section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples below. Similarly, circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc., described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples shown in the Examples section below.

[0151] Example

[0152] Further exemplary implementations are provided in the following sections.

[0153] Example 1 includes a method implemented by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving a plurality of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) corresponding to a plurality of beams of a base station during an active state of a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle; determining a plurality of measurement results corresponding to the plurality of SSBs; selecting a first measurement result from the plurality of measurement results; comparing the first measurement result among the plurality of measurement results with a measurement threshold; and scheduling paging monitoring and paging reception on at least two of the plurality of beams based on the comparison.

[0154] Example 2 includes the method according to Example 1, wherein the first measurement result includes a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurement result or a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement result determined based on a first SSB corresponding to a first beam among the plurality of SSBs, wherein the paging monitoring includes monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) at the paging time on the first beam, and wherein the paging reception includes decoding the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) of the paging message on the first beam.

[0155] Example 3 includes the method according to any of the foregoing examples, the method further comprising: selecting the first measurement result based on determining that the first measurement result is the largest among the plurality of measurement results.

[0156] Example 4 includes the method according to any of the foregoing embodiments, the method further comprising: performing physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) decoding of a paging message on one of the at least two beams; determining successful decoding of the paging message; and stopping at least one of the paging monitoring or the paging reception on the other of the at least two beams.

[0157] Example 5 includes the method according to any of the foregoing embodiments, wherein the measurement threshold is a first measurement threshold, and wherein the method further includes: selecting the at least two beams by determining that each measurement result corresponding to the at least two beams is between a second measurement threshold and the first measurement threshold, wherein the second measurement threshold is less than the first measurement threshold.

[0158] Example 6 includes the method according to any of the foregoing examples, the method further comprising: sorting the plurality of beams based on the plurality of measurement results; and selecting the highest-ranked beam and the second-highest-ranked beam, wherein the paging monitoring and the paging reception are scheduled only on the highest-ranked beam and the second-highest-ranked beam.

[0159] Example 7 includes the method according to any of the foregoing embodiments, the method further comprising: performing first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) decoding of a first paging message on a first beam of the at least two beams based on first soft decoding information; and performing second PDSCH decoding of a second instance of the paging message on a second beam of the at least two beams based on second soft decoding information, wherein the second soft decoding information is based on the first soft decoding information.

[0160] Example 8 includes the method according to Example 7, wherein the first soft decoding information and the second soft decoding information respectively include a first log-likelihood ratio (LLR) information and a second LLR information, and wherein the second PDSCH decoding is performed using a combination of the first LLR information and the second LLR information.

[0161] Example 9 includes the method according to Example 7, the method further comprising: determining that the decoding of the first instance of the paging message has failed, wherein the second PDSCH decoding is performed based on the decoding failure.

[0162] Example 10 includes the method according to any of the foregoing embodiments, the method further comprising: performing a first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) decoding of a first instance of a paging message on a first beam of the at least two beams; determining whether the first instance of the paging message has failed to decode or has been successfully decoded; and performing a second PDSCH decoding of a second instance of the paging message on a second beam of the at least two beams based on determining that the decoding has failed, or skipping the second PDSCH decoding based on determining that the decoding has been successful.

[0163] Example 11 includes the method according to Example 10, wherein the decoding failure or decoding success is determined based on the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the first instance of the paging message.

[0164] Example 12 includes the method according to Example 11, wherein the second PDSCH decoding is performed based on a combination of a first log-likelihood ratio (LLR) information from the first PDSCH decoding and a second LLR information from the second PDSCH decoding.

[0165] Example 13 includes the method according to any of the foregoing embodiments, the method further comprising: determining that a first beam of the at least two beams is associated with the first measurement result, the first measurement result being greater than the measurement result of a second beam of the at least two beams; performing a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring on the first beam to decode a first downlink control information (DCI), the first DCI indicating a first schedule for decoding a first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) for a first instance of a paging message; and performing a second PDCCH monitoring on the second beam to decode a second DCI, the second DCI indicating a second schedule for decoding a second PDSCH for a second instance of the paging message.

[0166] Example 14 includes the method according to any of the foregoing embodiments, the method further comprising: determining that a first beam of the at least two beams is associated with the first measurement result, the first measurement result being greater than the measurement result of a second beam of the at least two beams; performing a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring on the first beam to decode a first downlink control information (DCI), the first DCI indicating a first scheduling for decoding a first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) of a first instance of a paging message; determining that decoding of the first instance of the paging message has failed; and, based on the decoding failure, performing a second PDCCH monitoring on the second beam after decoding the first PDSCH to decode a second DCI, the second DCI indicating a second scheduling for decoding a second PDSCH of a second instance of the paging message on the second beam.

[0167] Example 15 includes the method according to any of the foregoing embodiments, the method further comprising: determining that a first beam of the at least two beams is associated with the first measurement result, the first measurement result being greater than the measurement result of a second beam of the at least two beams; performing a first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) decoding on the first beam to decode a first instance of a paging message; determining that the decoding of the first instance of the paging message has failed; and performing a second PDSCH decoding on the second beam after the first PDSCH decoding based on the decoding failure to decode a second instance of the paging message.

[0168] Example 16 includes the method according to Example 15, wherein the second instance of the paging message is decoded based on combining first soft decoding information for decoding the first PDSCH and second soft decoding information for decoding the second PDSCH.

[0169] Example 17 includes a UE comprising means for performing one or more elements of the methods described or associated with any of Examples 1 to 16.

[0170] Example 18 includes one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, the one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, cause the UE to perform one or more elements of the methods described or associated with any of Examples 1 to 16.

[0171] Example 19 includes a UE comprising logic, modules, or circuitry for performing one or more elements of the methods described or associated with any of Examples 1 to 16.

[0172] Example 20 includes a UE comprising one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, the one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of the methods described or associated with any of Examples 1 to 16.

[0173] Example 21 includes a UE comprising means for performing one or more elements of the methods described or associated with any of Examples 1 to 16.

[0174] Unless otherwise expressly stated, any of the examples above may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples). The foregoing description of one or more specific embodiments provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. In light of the teachings above, modifications and variations are possible, or modifications and variations may be derived from practice of various embodiments.

[0175] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the disclosure is fully understood. This disclosure is intended to render the following claims as encompassing all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: During the active state of the discontinuous reception DRX cycle, multiple synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) corresponding to multiple beams of the base station are received. Determine multiple measurement results corresponding to the multiple SSBs respectively; Select the first measurement result from the plurality of measurement results; The first measurement result among the plurality of measurement results is compared with a measurement threshold; as well as Based on the comparison indicating that the first measurement result is less than the measurement threshold, resulting in coverage quality below a predetermined quality level, paging monitoring and paging reception are scheduled on at least two of the plurality of beams. The method further includes: The first beam of the at least two beams is determined to be associated with the first measurement result, and the first measurement result is greater than the measurement result of the second beam of the at least two beams; Perform first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring on the first beam to decode first downlink control information (DCI), the first DCI indicating a first scheduling of decoding a first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) for a first instance of a paging message; and A second PDCCH monitoring is performed on the second beam to decode a second DCI, the second DCI indicating a second scheduling of second PDSCH decoding for a second instance of the paging message.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first measurement result includes a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurement result or a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement result determined based on a first SSB corresponding to a first beam among the plurality of SSBs, wherein the paging monitoring includes monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) at the paging time on the first beam, and wherein the paging reception includes decoding the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) of the paging message on the first beam.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: The first measurement result is selected based on the determination that the first measurement result is the largest among the plurality of measurement results.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: Physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) decoding of paging messages is performed on one of the at least two beams; Confirm successful decoding of the paging message; as well as Stop paging monitoring or paging reception on at least one of the other of the at least two beams.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the measurement threshold is a first measurement threshold, and wherein the method further comprises: The at least two beams are selected by determining the respective measurement results corresponding to the at least two beams between a second measurement threshold and a first measurement threshold, wherein the second measurement threshold is less than the first measurement threshold.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: The multiple beams are sorted based on the multiple measurement results; as well as Select the highest-ranked beam and the second-highest-ranked beam, wherein paging monitoring and paging reception are scheduled only on the highest-ranked beam and the second-highest-ranked beam.

7. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: Based on the first soft decoding information, perform first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) decoding of the first instance of the paging message on the first beam of the at least two beams; as well as A second PDSCH decoding of a second instance of the paging message is performed on a second beam of the at least two beams based on second soft decoding information, wherein the second soft decoding information is based on the first soft decoding information.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first soft decoding information and the second soft decoding information respectively include a first log-likelihood ratio (LLR) information and a second LLR information, and wherein the second PDSCH decoding is performed using a combination of the first LLR information and the second LLR information.

9. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: Decoding of the first instance of the paging message is determined to have failed, wherein the second PDSCH decoding is performed based on the decoding failure.

10. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: Perform first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) decoding of a first instance of a paging message on the first of the at least two beams; Determine whether the first instance of the paging message failed to decode or succeeded in decoding; as well as Based on the determination that the decoding has failed, a second PDSCH decoding of a second instance of the paging message is performed on the second beam of the at least two beams, or The second PDSCH decoding is skipped based on the confirmation that the decoding was successful.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the decoding failure or decoding success is determined based on the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the first instance of the paging message.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the second PDSCH decoding is performed based on a combination of the first log-likelihood ratio (LLR) information of the first PDSCH decoding and the second LLR information of the second PDSCH decoding.

13. A user equipment (UE), the UE comprising: Processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to: During the active state of the discontinuous reception DRX cycle, multiple synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) corresponding to multiple beams of the base station are received. Determine multiple measurement results corresponding to the multiple SSBs respectively; Select the first measurement result from the plurality of measurement results; The first measurement result among the plurality of measurement results is compared with a measurement threshold; as well as Based on the comparison indicating that the first measurement result is less than the measurement threshold, resulting in coverage quality below a predetermined quality level, paging monitoring and paging reception are scheduled on at least two of the plurality of beams. The processing circuit is further configured as follows: The first beam of the at least two beams is determined to be associated with the first measurement result, and the first measurement result is greater than the measurement result of the second beam of the at least two beams; Perform first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring on the first beam to decode first downlink control information (DCI), the first DCI indicating a first scheduling of decoding a first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) for a first instance of a paging message; and A second PDCCH monitoring is performed on the second beam to decode a second DCI, the second DCI indicating a second scheduling of second PDSCH decoding for a second instance of the paging message.

14. The UE of claim 13, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: Based on the first soft decoding information, perform first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) decoding on the first beam of the at least two beams to perform first instance of the paging message; and Based on the first and second software decoding information, a second PDSCH decoding of a second instance of the paging message is performed on the second beam of the at least two beams.

15. The UE according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: The first beam of the at least two beams is determined to be associated with the first measurement result, and the first measurement result is greater than the measurement result of the second beam of the at least two beams; Perform first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring on the first beam to decode first downlink control information (DCI), the first DCI indicating a first scheduling of decoding first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) for a first instance of a paging message; Determining that the decoding of the first instance of the paging message failed; and Based on the decoding failure, a second PDCCH monitoring is performed on the second beam after the first PDSCH decoding to decode a second DCI, the second DCI indicating a second scheduling of second PDSCH decoding for a second instance of the paging message on the second beam.

16. The UE according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: The first beam of the at least two beams is determined to be associated with the first measurement result, and the first measurement result is greater than the measurement result of the second beam of the at least two beams; Perform first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) decoding on the first beam to decode a first instance of a paging message; Determining that the decoding of the first instance of the paging message failed; and Based on the decoding failure, a second PDSCH decoding is performed on the second beam after the first PDSCH decoding to decode a second instance of the paging message.

17. The UE of claim 16, wherein the second instance of the paging message is decoded based on a combination of first soft decoding information for decoding the first PDSCH and second soft decoding information for decoding the second PDSCH.

18. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media, the one or more computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed on a user equipment (UE), configure the UE to perform operations including: During the active state of the discontinuous reception DRX cycle, multiple synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) corresponding to multiple beams of the base station are received. Determine multiple measurement results corresponding to the multiple SSBs respectively; Select the first measurement result from the plurality of measurement results; The first measurement result among the plurality of measurement results is compared with a measurement threshold; as well as Based on the comparison indicating that the first measurement result is less than the measurement threshold, resulting in coverage quality below a predetermined quality level, paging monitoring and paging reception are scheduled on at least two of the plurality of beams. When the instructions are executed on the UE, the UE is further configured to perform operations including the following: The first beam of the at least two beams is determined to be associated with the first measurement result, and the first measurement result is greater than the measurement result of the second beam of the at least two beams; Perform first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring on the first beam to decode first downlink control information (DCI), the first DCI indicating a first scheduling of decoding a first physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) for a first instance of a paging message; and A second PDCCH monitoring is performed on the second beam to decode a second DCI, the second DCI indicating a second scheduling of second PDSCH decoding for a second instance of the paging message.

19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 18, wherein the first measurement result includes a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) measurement or a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement determined based on a first SSB corresponding to a first beam of the plurality of SSBs, wherein the paging monitoring includes monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) at the paging time on the first beam, and wherein the paging reception includes decoding the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) of the paging message on the first beam.

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