Timers and uplink skipping

Abstract

In one aspect, a user equipment (UE) may receive an uplink (UL) grant (e.g., a dynamic UL grant, a UL configuration grant (CG)) from the network, but may decide to skip the UL grant entirely or not send any user plane data on the UL grant. In such a case, the UE may maintain or accelerate the expiration associated with one or more timers (e.g., discontinuous reception (DRX) and bandwidth part (BWP) inactivity timers, secondary cell (SCell) deactivation timer, etc.). If the UE receives a downlink (DL) transmission from the network that does not include user plane data (e.g., DL semi-persistent scheduling (SPS)), the UE may also maintain or accelerate the expiration associated with one or more timers.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 049,876, filed on July 9, 2020, entitled “TIMERS AND UPLINK SKIPPING”; and U.S. Non-Provisional Patent Application No. 17 / 364,472, filed on June 30, 2021, entitled “TIMERS AND UPLINK SKIPPING”, both of which are assigned to the assignee of this application and are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] Generally speaking, aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, aspects of the present disclosure relate to inactivity and / or deactivation timers and uplink (UL) skipping. Certain embodiments of the techniques discussed below may make user equipment (UE) more power efficient. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems have evolved over several generations, including first-generation analog wireless telephone service (1G), second-generation (2G) digital wireless telephone service (including temporary 2.5G networks), third-generation (3G) high-speed data, internet-enabled wireless services, and fourth-generation (4G) services (e.g., LTE or WiMax). There are many different types of wireless communication systems in use today, including cellular and Personal Communications Service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Global System for Mobile Access (GSM) variants of TDMA, and the like.

[0005] The fifth generation (5G) wireless standard, known as New Radio (NR), calls for higher data transfer speeds, a greater number of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. According to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, the 5G standard is designed to provide data rates of tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users, with 1 gigabit per second provided to dozens of workers located in an office floor. To support large-scale wireless sensor deployments, hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported. Therefore, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly enhanced compared to the current 4G standard. In addition, signaling efficiency should be enhanced, and latency should be significantly reduced compared to existing standards. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The following is a brief summary of one or more aspects disclosed herein. Therefore, the following summary should not be considered a general overview of all contemplated aspects, nor should it be considered to identify key or important elements related to all contemplated aspects or to describe the scope associated with any particular aspect. Therefore, the following summary has the sole purpose of presenting, in simplified form, certain concepts related to one or more aspects of the mechanisms disclosed herein as a preface to the detailed embodiments presented later.

[0007] In 5G NR, several inactivity and deactivation timers (e.g., discontinuous reception (DRX) inactivity timer, bandwidth part (BWP) inactivity timer, secondary cell (SCell) deactivation timer, etc.) are used to help UE manage power consumption. For each timer, while the timer is running, the UE can be in one state, and when the timer expires (stops running), the UE is in another state until the timer is restarted.

[0008] Between the two states, one state is generally more power efficient. For example, if the DRX inactivity timer is running, the UE actively monitors the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), for example, to see if it has been granted UL resources for data transmission. This active monitoring may consume power. However, if the DRX inactivity timer expires, the UE can enter the DRX state, in which the UE stops monitoring the PDCCH, which can save power consumption.

[0009] Conventionally, if a UL grant is provided to a UE (e.g., a dynamic UL grant), a timer (such as a DRX inactivity timer) is restarted regardless of whether the UE actually has data to send. This means that the UE may be delayed from entering a power saving state even when it has no data to send.

[0010] At least relative to conventional techniques, embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to enabling a UE to enter a power saving state more quickly. For example, if the UE cannot utilize the authorized UL resources (e.g., the UE does not have data to send (or user plane data)), the UE may continue to run a timer instead of restarting the timer. In this way, the expiration of the timer is not delayed. In some cases, the timer may be accelerated to expire earlier. In this way, the UE can enter a power saving state earlier and is therefore more power efficient. In some other cases, if the timer is not running, i.e., has not yet been started, there is no need to start the timer first. In this way, the UE does not need to enter a power saving state at all.

[0011] One aspect relates to a method of operating a user equipment (UE). The method may include receiving an uplink (UL) grant from a network for transmitting data from the UE to the network. The method may also include determining whether a condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is satisfied. The method may also include maintaining or accelerating the expiration of one or more running timers if the condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is determined to be satisfied. Each running timer may be a timer associated with the UL grant and be running when the UL grant is received.

[0012] One aspect relates to a user equipment (UE). The UE may include means for receiving an uplink (UL) grant from a network for transmitting data from the UE to the network. The UE may also include means for determining whether a condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is satisfied. The UE may also include means for maintaining or accelerating the expiration of one or more running timers if it is determined that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is satisfied. Each running timer may be a timer associated with the UL grant and be running when the UL grant is received.

[0013] One aspect relates to a user equipment (UE). The UE may include a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver. The at least one processor may be configured to receive an uplink (UL) grant from a network for transmitting data from the UE to the network. The at least one processor may also be configured to determine whether a condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is satisfied. The at least one processor may also be configured to maintain or accelerate the expiration associated with one or more running timers if the condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is determined to be satisfied. Each running timer may be a timer associated with the UL grant and be running when the UL grant is received.

[0014] One aspect relates to a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions for a user equipment (UE) stored thereon. The instructions may cause the UE to receive an uplink (UL) grant from a network for transmitting data from the UE to the network. The instructions may also cause the UE to determine whether a condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is satisfied. The instructions may also cause the UE to maintain or accelerate the expiration associated with one or more running timers if the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is determined to be satisfied. Each running timer may be a timer associated with the UL grant and be running when the UL grant is received.

[0015] One aspect relates to a method of operating a user equipment (UE). The method may include receiving a downlink (DL) transmission from a network, the DL transmission including data. The method may also include determining whether the received data includes user plane data. The method may also include maintaining or accelerating the expiration of one or more running timers if the received data is determined to include the user plane data. Each running timer may be a timer associated with an UL grant and is running when the DL transmission is received.

[0016] One aspect relates to a user equipment (UE). The UE may include means for receiving a downlink (DL) transmission from a network, the DL transmission including data. The UE may also include means for determining whether the received data includes user-plane data. The UE may also include means for maintaining or accelerating the expiration of one or more running timers if it is determined that the received data includes the user-plane data. Each running timer may be a timer associated with an UL grant and is running when the DL transmission is received.

[0017] One aspect relates to a user equipment (UE). The UE may include a memory, at least one transceiver, and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver. The at least one processor may be configured to receive a downlink (DL) transmission from a network, the DL transmission including data. The at least one processor may also be configured to determine whether the received data includes user plane data. The at least one processor may also be configured to maintain or accelerate the expiration of one or more running timers if it is determined that the received data includes the user plane data. Each running timer may be a timer associated with an UL grant and be running when the DL transmission is received.

[0018] One aspect relates to a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions for a user equipment (UE) stored thereon. The instructions may cause the UE to receive a downlink (DL) transmission from a network, the DL transmission comprising data. The instructions may also cause the UE to determine whether the received data comprises user-plane data. The instructions may also cause the UE to maintain or accelerate the expiration of one or more running timers if it is determined that the received data comprises the user-plane data. Each running timer may be a timer associated with the UL grant and be running when the DL transmission is received.

[0019] Other objects and advantages associated with the various aspects disclosed herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on the accompanying drawings and detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The accompanying drawings are presented to aid in the description of various aspects of the present disclosure and are provided solely for illustration of the aspects and not limitation thereof.

[0021] Figure 1

[0014] An example wireless communication system in accordance with various aspects is shown.

[0022] Figure 2A and Figure 2B Example wireless network architectures according to various aspects are shown.

[0023] Figures 3A to 3C is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of components that may be employed in a wireless communication node and configured to support communications as taught herein.

[0024] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of operating a user device in accordance with various aspects is shown.

[0025] Figure 5 A flow chart illustrating another exemplary method of operating a user device in accordance with various aspects is shown.

[0026] Figure 6 A flow chart illustrating another exemplary method of operating a user device in accordance with various aspects is shown.

[0027] Figure 7 A flow chart illustrating another exemplary method of operating a user device in accordance with various aspects is shown.

[0028] Figure 8 is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating the flow of data between different units / components in an exemplary apparatus according to various aspects.

[0029] Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus employing a processing system according to various aspects.

[0030] Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of another hardware implementation for an apparatus employing a processing system according to various aspects. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Various aspects of the present disclosure are provided in the following description and associated drawings, which are directed to various examples for illustrative purposes. Alternative aspects may be designed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, well-known elements of the present disclosure will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the present disclosure.

[0032] As used herein, the words "exemplary" and / or "example" mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described herein as "exemplary" and / or "example" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Likewise, the term "aspects of the disclosure" does not require that all aspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage, or mode of operation.

[0033] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the information and signals described below may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and technologies. For example, depending in part on the specific application, in part on the desired design, in part on the corresponding technology, etc., data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips mentioned throughout the description below may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0034] Further, many aspects are described in terms of sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of a computing device. It will be appreciated that the various actions described herein may be performed by specific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)), by program instructions executed by at least one processor, or a combination of the two. Additionally, the sequences of actions described herein may be considered to be fully embodied in any form of non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a set of corresponding computer instructions stored therein that, when executed, cause or direct the associated processor of the device to perform the functions described herein. Thus, various aspects of the present disclosure may be embodied in a variety of different forms, all of which are contemplated to be within the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, for each of the aspects described herein, the corresponding form of any such aspect may be described herein as, for example, "logically configured to" perform the described actions.

[0035] As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not intended to be specific to or otherwise limited to any particular radio access technology (RAT). In general, a UE can be any wireless communication device used by a user to communicate over a wireless communication network (e.g., a mobile phone, a router, a tablet, a laptop, a tracking device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, glasses, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) headsets, etc.), a vehicle (e.g., a car, a motorcycle, a bicycle, etc.), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, etc.). A UE can be mobile or can be stationary (e.g., at certain times) and can communicate with a radio access network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" can be interchangeably referred to as an "access terminal" or "AT", "client device", "wireless device", "user equipment", "user terminal", "user station", "user terminal" or "UT", "mobile terminal", "mobile station" or variations thereof. Typically, a UE can communicate with a core network via the RAN, and through the core network, the UE can connect to external networks such as the Internet and to other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms for connecting the UE to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible, such as through a wired access network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) network (eg, based on IEEE 802.11 specifications, etc.), etc.

[0036] Depending on the network in which it is deployed, a base station may operate according to one of several RATs with which it communicates with a UE, and may alternatively be referred to as an access point (AP), a network node, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), a new radio (NR) Node B (also known as a gNB or gNodeB), etc. In addition, in some systems, a base station may provide pure edge node signaling functions, while in other systems it may provide additional control and / or network management functions. The communication link through which a UE may send signals to a base station is referred to as an uplink (UL) channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). The communication link through which a base station may send signals to a UE is referred to as a downlink (DL) or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein, the term traffic channel (TCH) may refer to either a UL / reverse or a DL / forward traffic channel.

[0037] The term "base station" may refer to a single physical transmit receive point (TRP) or multiple physical TRPs, which may or may not be co-located. For example, where the term "base station" refers to a single physical TRP, the physical TRP may be an antenna of the base station corresponding to the cell of the base station. Where the term "base station" refers to multiple co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be an antenna array of the base station (e.g., as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system or where the base station employs beamforming). Where the term "base station" refers to multiple non-co-located physical TRPs, the physical TRP may be a distributed antenna system (DAS) (a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a common source via a transmission medium) or a remote radio head (RRH) (a remote base station connected to a serving base station). Alternatively, the non-co-located physical TRP may be a serving base station that receives measurement reports from a UE and a neighbor base station whose reference RF signal the UE is measuring. Since a TRP is a point at which a base station transmits and receives wireless signals as used herein, references to transmissions from a base station or receptions at a base station are to be understood as reference to a specific TRP of the base station.

[0038] An "RF signal" comprises electromagnetic waves of a given frequency that transmit information through space between a transmitter and a receiver. As used herein, a transmitter may transmit a single "RF signal" or multiple "RF signals" to a receiver. However, due to the propagation characteristics of RF signals through multipath channels, a receiver may receive multiple "RF signals" corresponding to each transmitted RF signal. The same transmitted RF signal on different paths between a transmitter and a receiver may be referred to as a "multipath" RF signal.

[0039] According to various aspects, Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system 100 is shown. The wireless communication system 100 (which may also be referred to as a wireless wide area network (WWAN)) may include various base stations 102 and various UEs 104. The base stations 102 may include macrocell base stations (high-power cellular base stations) and / or small cell base stations (low-power cellular base stations). In one aspect, the macrocell base stations may include eNBs where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an LTE network, or gNBs where the wireless communication system 100 corresponds to an NR network, or a combination of both, and the small cell base stations may include femtocells, picocells, microcells, etc.

[0040] The base stations 102 may collectively form a RAN and connect to a core network 170 (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC) or a next generation core (NGC)) via backhaul links 122, and to one or more location servers 172 via the core network 170. Among other functions, the base stations 102 may also perform functions related to one or more of transmitting user data, radio channel encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, mobility control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell interference coordination, connection establishment and release, load balancing, distribution of non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS node selection, synchronization, RAN sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), user and device tracking, RAN information management (RIM), paging, positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via the EPC / NGC) via backhaul links 134, which may be wired or wireless.

[0041] Base station 102 can communicate wirelessly with UE 104. Each of base stations 102 can provide communication coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. In one aspect, one or more cells can be supported by base station 102 in each coverage area 110. A "cell" is a logical communication entity used to communicate with a base station (e.g., via some frequency resources, which are referred to as carrier frequencies, component carriers, carriers, frequency bands, etc.) and can be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCI), a virtual cell identifier (VCI)) to distinguish between cells operating via the same or different carrier frequencies. In some cases, different cells can be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or other) that can provide access to different types of UEs. Since a cell is supported by a specific base station, depending on the context, the term "cell" can refer to either or both of the logical communication entity and the base station supporting it. In some cases, the term "cell" may also refer to a geographic coverage area (eg, a sector) of a base station, so long as a carrier frequency can be detected and used for communications within some portion of geographic coverage area 110.

[0042] Although the geographic coverage areas 110 of adjacent macrocell base stations 102 may partially overlap (e.g., in a handover region), some of the geographic coverage areas 110 may be substantially overlapped by a larger geographic coverage area 110. For example, a small cell base station 102' may have a coverage area 110' that substantially overlaps with the coverage areas 110 of one or more macrocell base stations 102. A network that includes both small cell and macrocell base stations may be referred to as a heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include a home eNB (HeNB), which may provide services to a restricted group called a closed subscriber group (CSG).

[0043] The communication link 120 between the base station 102 and the UE 104 may include UL (also known as reverse link) transmissions from the UE 104 to the base station 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also known as forward link) transmissions from the base station 102 to the UE 104. The communication link 120 may utilize MIMO antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity. The communication link 120 may be over one or more carrier frequencies. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to the DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for the DL than for the UL).

[0044] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) 150 that communicates with a WLAN station (STA) 152 in an unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz) via a communication link 154. When communicating in the unlicensed spectrum, the WLAN STA 152 and / or the WLAN AP 150 may perform a clear channel assessment (CCA) or a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure prior to communication to determine whether a channel is available.

[0045] The small cell base station 102' can operate in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. When operating in the unlicensed spectrum, the small cell base station 102' can adopt LTE or NR technology and use the same 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum used by the WLAN AP 150. The small cell base station 102' adopting LTE / 5G in the unlicensed spectrum can improve the coverage of the access network and / or increase the capacity of the access network. NR in the unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as NR-U. LTE in the unlicensed spectrum can be referred to as LTE-U, License Assisted Access (LAA), or MulteFire.

[0046] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a millimeter wave (mmW) base station 180 that can operate in mmW frequencies and / or near-mmW frequencies when communicating with the UE 182. Extremely high frequencies (EHF) are part of the RF spectrum in the electromagnetic spectrum. EHF ranges from 30 GHz to 300 GHz, with wavelengths between 1 mm and 10 mm. Radio waves in this frequency band may be referred to as millimeter waves. Near-mmW frequencies extend down to frequencies of 3 GHz, with wavelengths of 100 mm. Super high frequency (SHF) frequency bands extend between 3 GHz and 30 GHz and are also referred to as centimeter waves. Communications using mmW / near-mmW radio frequency bands have high path loss and relatively short ranges. The mmW base station 180 and the UE 182 can utilize beamforming (transmitting and / or receiving) on ​​the mmW communication link 184 to compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range. Further, it will be understood that in alternative configurations, one or more base stations 102 may also transmit using mmW or near-mmW frequencies and beamforming. Therefore, it will be understood that the foregoing diagrams are merely examples and should not be construed as limiting the various aspects disclosed herein.

[0047] Transmit beamforming is a technique used to focus an RF signal in a specific direction. Traditionally, when a network node (e.g., a base station) broadcasts an RF signal, it broadcasts the signal in all directions (omnidirectionally). With transmit beamforming, the network node determines where a given target device (e.g., a UE) is located relative to the transmitting network node and projects a stronger downlink RF signal in that specific direction, thereby providing a faster (in terms of data rate) and stronger RF signal to the receiving device.

[0048] To change the directionality of an RF signal while transmitting, a network node can control the phase and relative amplitude of the RF signal at each of one or more transmitters broadcasting the RF signal. For example, a network node can use an antenna array (referred to as a "phased array" or "antenna array") that creates a beam of RF waves that can be "steered" in different directions without actually moving the antenna. Specifically, the RF currents from the transmitters are fed to a single antenna in the correct phase relationship so that the radio waves from the individual antennas add together to increase radiation in the desired direction while canceling to suppress radiation in undesired directions.

[0049] The transmit beams can be quasi-co-located, which means that the transmit beams appear to have the same parameters to a receiver (e.g., a UE) regardless of whether the transmit antennas of the network nodes themselves are physically co-located. In NR, there are four types of quasi-co-location (QCL) relationships. Specifically, a given type of QCL relationship means that certain parameters about the second reference RF signal on the second beam can be derived based on information about the source reference RF signal on the source beam. Therefore, if the source reference RF signal is QCL type A, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, and delay spread of the second reference RF signal sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type B, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and Doppler spread of the second reference RF signal sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type C, the receiver can use the source reference RF signal to estimate the Doppler shift and average delay of the second reference RF signal sent on the same channel. If the source reference RF signal is QCL type D, the receiver may use the source reference RF signal to estimate spatial reception parameters of a second reference RF signal transmitted on the same channel.

[0050] In receive beamforming, a receiver uses a receive beam to amplify the RF signal detected on a given channel. For example, the receiver may increase the gain setting and / or adjust the phase setting of the antenna array in a particular direction to amplify the RF signal received from that direction (e.g., to increase the gain level of the RF signal received from that direction). Therefore, when a receiver is said to be beamforming in a certain direction, it means that the beam gain in that direction is high relative to the beam gain along other directions, or the beam gain in that direction is the highest compared to the beam gain in that direction of all other receive beams available to the receiver. This results in the RF signal received from that direction having a stronger received signal strength (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), etc.).

[0051] The receive beams can be spatially correlated. This spatial relationship means that the parameters for the transmit beam used for the second reference signal can be derived from information about the receive beam used for the first reference signal. For example, a UE can use a specific receive beam to receive a reference downlink reference signal (e.g., a synchronization signal block (SSB)) from a base station. The UE can then form a transmit beam to send an uplink reference signal (e.g., a sounding reference signal (SRS)) to the base station based on the parameters of the receive beam.

[0052] Note that a "downlink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming the "downlink" beam. For example, if a base station is forming a downlink beam to send a reference signal to a UE, the downlink beam is a transmit beam. However, if a UE is forming a downlink beam, it is a receive beam for receiving downlink reference signals. Similarly, an "uplink" beam can be either a transmit beam or a receive beam, depending on the entity forming the "uplink" beam. For example, if a base station is forming an uplink beam, it is an uplink receive beam, and if a UE is forming an uplink beam, it is an uplink transmit beam.

[0053] In 5G, the spectrum in which wireless nodes (e.g., base stations 102 / 180, UEs 104 / 182) operate is divided into multiple frequency ranges: FR1 (from 450 MHz to 6 GHz), FR2 (from 24.25 to 52.6 GHz), FR3 (above 52.6 GHz), and FR4 (between FR1 and FR2). In a multi-carrier system such as 5G, one of the carrier frequencies is referred to as the "primary carrier" or "anchor carrier" or "primary serving cell" or "PCell," and the remaining carrier frequencies are referred to as "secondary carriers" or "secondary serving cells" or "SCells." In carrier aggregation, the anchor carrier is the carrier operating on the primary frequency (e.g., FR1) utilized by the UE 104 / 182 and the cell in which the UE 104 / 182 performs an initial radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure or initiates an RRC connection reestablishment procedure.

[0054] The primary carrier carries all common and UE-specific control channels and can be a carrier in a licensed frequency (however, this is not always the case). A secondary carrier is a carrier operating on a second frequency (e.g., FR2) that can be configured once an RRC connection is established between the UE 104 and the anchor carrier and can be used to provide additional radio resources. In some cases, a secondary carrier can be a carrier in an unlicensed frequency. The secondary carrier can contain only necessary signaling information and signals; for example, UE-specific signals may not be present in the secondary carrier, as the primary uplink and downlink carriers are typically UE-specific. This means that different UEs 104 / 182 in a cell can have different downlink primary carriers. The same is true for the uplink primary carrier. The network can change the primary carrier for any UE 104 / 182 at any time. This is done, for example, to balance the load on different carriers. Because a "serving cell" (whether a PCell or SCell) corresponds to the carrier frequency / component carrier on which a base station is communicating, the terms "cell," "serving cell," "component carrier," "carrier frequency," etc., can be used interchangeably.

[0055] For example, still referring to Figure 1 In one embodiment, one of the frequencies utilized by macrocell base station 102 may be an anchor carrier (or "PCell") and the other frequencies utilized by macrocell base station 102 and / or mmW base station 180 may be secondary carriers ("SCells"). Simultaneous transmission and / or reception of multiple carriers enables UE 104 / 182 to significantly increase its data transmission and / or reception rate. For example, two 20 MHz aggregated carriers in a multi-carrier system would theoretically result in a two-fold increase in data rate (i.e., 40 MHz) compared to that achieved by a single 20 MHz carrier.

[0056] The wireless communication system 100 may further include one or more UEs (such as UE 190) that are indirectly connected to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) or peer-to-peer (P2P) links. Figure 1In the example of FIG, UE 190 has a D2D P2P link 192 including one of UEs 104 connected to one of base stations 102 (e.g., through which UE 190 can indirectly obtain cellular connectivity) and a D2D P2P link 194 including a WLAN STA 152 connected to a WLAN AP 150 (through which UE 190 can indirectly obtain WLAN-based Internet connectivity). In one example, D2D P2P link 192 and D2D P2P link 194 can be supported using any well-known D2D RAT, such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), wait.

[0057] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a UE 164 that may communicate with the macrocell base station 102 via a communication link 120 and / or with the mmW base station 180 via a mmW communication link 184. For example, the macrocell base station 102 may support a PCell and one or more SCells for the UE 164, and the mmW base station 180 may support one or more SCells for the UE 164.

[0058] According to various aspects, Figure 2A An example wireless network architecture 200 is shown. For example, NGC 210 (also referred to as "5GC") can be functionally considered to include control plane functions 214 (e.g., UE registration, authentication, network access, gateway selection, etc.) and user plane functions 212 (e.g., UE gateway functions, access to data networks, IP routing, etc.), which operate cooperatively to form a core network. A user plane interface (NG-U) 213 and a control plane interface (NG-C) 215 connect gNB 222 to NGC 210, and more specifically, to control plane functions 214 and user plane functions 212.

[0059] In other configurations, the eNB 224 may also be connected to the NGC 210 via the NG-C 215 to the control plane function 214 and the NG-U 213 to the user plane function 212. In addition, the eNB 224 may communicate directly with the gNB 222 via the backhaul connection 223. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of the eNB 224 and the gNB 222. Either the gNB 222 or the eNB 224 may communicate with the UE 204 (e.g., Figure 1 any UE depicted in the UEs) to communicate.

[0060] Another optional aspect may include a location server 230 that can communicate with the NGC 210 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The location server 230 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each can correspond to a single server. The location server 230 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204 that can connect to the location server 230 via the core network, the NGC 210, and / or via the Internet (not shown). Furthermore, the location server 230 can be integrated into a component of the core network, or alternatively, can be external to the core network.

[0061] According to various aspects, Figure 2B Another example wireless network structure 250 is shown. For example, NGC 260 (also referred to as "5GC") can be functionally considered to include control plane functions provided by access and mobility management function (AMF) / user plane function (UPF) 264, and user plane functions provided by session management function (SMF) 262, which operate in conjunction to form a core network (i.e., NGC 260). User plane interface 263 and control plane interface 265 connect eNB 224 to NGC 260, and specifically to SMF 262 and AMF / UPF 264, respectively.

[0062] In other configurations, the gNB 222 may also be connected to the NGC 260 via a control plane interface 265 to the AMF / UPF 264 and a user plane interface 263 to the SMF 262. In addition, the eNB 224 may communicate directly with the gNB 222 via a backhaul connection 223, regardless of whether the gNB has a direct connection to the NGC 260. In some configurations, the new RAN 220 may have only one or more gNBs 222, while other configurations include one or more of both eNBs 224 and gNBs 222. The gNB 222 or ng-eNB 224 may communicate with the UE 204 (e.g., Figure 1 The base stations of the new RAN 220 communicate with the AMF side of the AMF / UPF 264 over the N2 interface and communicate with the UPF side of the AMF / UPF 264 over the N3 interface.

[0063] The functions of the AMF may include registration management, connection management, reachability management, mobility management, lawful interception, transmission of session management (SM) messages between the UE 204 and the SMF 262, transparent proxy services for routing SM messages, access authentication and access authorization, transmission of short message service (SMS) messages between the UE 204 and a short message service function (SMSF) (not shown), and a security anchor function (SEAF).

[0064] The AMF may also interact with an Authentication Server Function (AUSF) (not shown) and the UE 204, and receive intermediate keys established as a result of the authentication process of the UE 204. In the case of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) based authentication, the AMF may retrieve security material from the AUSF.

[0065] The functions of the AMF may also include security context management (SCM). The SCM may receive keys from the SEAF, which the SCM uses to derive access network-specific keys. The functions of the AMF also include location service management for management services, transmission of location service messages between the UE 204 and the location management function (LMF) 270, and transmission of location service messages between the new RAN 220 and the LMF 270, allocation of EPS bearer identifiers for interworking with the Evolved Packet System (EPS), and notification of UE 204 mobility events. In addition, the AMF also supports functions for non-3GPP access networks.

[0066] The functions of the UPF may include: acting as an anchor point for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (where applicable), acting as an external protocol data unit (PDU) session point for interconnection to a data network (not shown), providing packet routing and forwarding, packet inspection, user plane policy rule enforcement (e.g., gating, redirection, traffic steering), lawful interception (user plane collection), traffic utilization reporting, quality of service (QoS) processing for the user plane (e.g., UL / DL rate enforcement, reflective QoS marking in DL), UL traffic verification (service data flow (SDF) to QoS flow mapping), transmission level packet marking in UL and DL, DL packet buffering and DL data notification triggering, and sending and forwarding one or more "end flags" to the source RAN node.

[0067] The functions of the SMF 262 may include session management, UE Internet Protocol (IP) address allocation and management, selection and control of user plane functions, configuration of traffic steering at the UPF to route traffic to the correct destination, control of part of policy implementation and QoS, and downlink data notification. The interface over which the SMF 262 communicates with the AMF side of the AMF / UPF 264 is called the N11 interface.

[0068] Another optional aspect may include an LMF 270 that can communicate with the NGC 260 to provide location assistance to the UE 204. The LMF 270 can be implemented as multiple separate servers (e.g., physically separate servers, different software modules on a single server, different software modules distributed across multiple physical servers, etc.), or alternatively, each can correspond to a single server. The LMF 270 can be configured to support one or more location services for the UE 204, which can connect to the LMF 270 via the core network, the NGC 260, and / or via the Internet (not shown).

[0069] Figure 3A 、 3B 3C illustrate several example components (represented by corresponding blocks) that may be incorporated into a UE 302 (which may correspond to any of the UEs described herein), a base station 304 (which may correspond to any of the base stations described herein), and a network entity 306 (which may correspond to or embody any of the network functions described herein, including location server 230 and LMF 270) to support file transfer operations as taught herein. It will be appreciated that these components may be implemented in different types of devices in different implementations (e.g., in an ASIC, in a system on a chip (SoC), etc.). The components shown may also be incorporated into other devices in a communication system. For example, other devices in the system may include components similar to those described to provide similar functionality. In addition, a given device may include one or more of the components. For example, a device may include multiple transceiver components that enable the device to operate on multiple carriers and / or communicate via different technologies.

[0070] UE 302 and base station 304 may each include a wireless wide area network (WWAN) transceiver 310 and 350, respectively, configured to communicate via one or more wireless communication networks (not shown) (such as NR networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, etc.). WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be connected to one or more antennas 316 and 356, respectively, to communicate with other network nodes (such as other UEs, access points, base stations (e.g., eNBs, gNBs), etc.) via at least one designated RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, GSM, etc.) over a wireless communication medium of interest (e.g., a certain set of time / frequency resources in a particular spectrum). WWAN transceivers 310 and 350 may be configured differently to transmit and encode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.), respectively, and conversely, receive and decode signals 318 and 358 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.), respectively, according to the designated RAT. Specifically, transceivers 310 and 350 include one or more transmitters 314 and 354, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 318 and 358, respectively, and one or more receivers 312 and 352, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 318 and 358, respectively.

[0071] At least in some cases, the UE 302 and the base station 304 can include wireless local area network (WLAN) transceivers 320 and 360, respectively. The WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 can be connected to one or more antennas 326 and 366, respectively, for communicating over a wireless communication medium of interest via at least one designated RAT (e.g., WiFi, LTE-D, The WLAN transceivers 320 and 360 may be configured to transmit and encode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, etc.) and, conversely, receive and decode signals 328 and 368 (e.g., messages, indications, information, pilots, etc.) according to a designated RAT. Specifically, the transceivers 320 and 360 may include one or more transmitters 324 and 364, respectively, for transmitting and encoding signals 328 and 368, respectively, and one or more receivers 322 and 362, respectively, for receiving and decoding signals 328 and 368, respectively.

[0072] The transceiver circuitry including the transmitter and receiver may comprise an integrated device in some implementations (e.g., the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry embodied as a single communication device), may comprise separate transmitter devices and separate receiver devices in some implementations, or may be embodied in other ways in other implementations. In one aspect, the transmitter may comprise or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 336, and 376) (such as an antenna array), which allows the corresponding device to perform transmit "beamforming" as described herein. Similarly, the receiver may comprise or be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 336, and 376) (such as an antenna array), which allows the corresponding device to perform receive beamforming as described herein. In one aspect, the transmitter and receiver may share the same multiple antennas (e.g., antennas 316, 336, and 376) so that the corresponding device can only receive or transmit at a given time, rather than simultaneously. The wireless communication devices of apparatuses 302 and / or 304 (eg, one or both of transceivers 310 and 320 and / or 350 and 360 ) may further include a network listening module (NLM) or the like for performing various measurements.

[0073] At least in some cases, devices 302 and 304 may also include satellite positioning system (SPS) receivers 330 and 370. SPS receivers 330 and 370 may be connected to one or more antennas 336 and 376, respectively, for receiving SPS signals 338 and 378, respectively, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) signals, Galileo signals, BeiDou signals, Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NAVIC), Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), etc. SPS receivers 330 and 370 may include any suitable hardware and / or software for receiving and processing SPS signals 338 and 378, respectively. SPS receivers 330 and 370 request information and operations from other systems as needed, and use measurements obtained through any suitable SPS algorithm to perform the calculations required to determine the position of devices 302 and 304.

[0074] Each of the base station 304 and the network entity 306 may include at least one network interface 380 and 390 for communicating with other network entities. For example, the network interfaces 380 and 390 (e.g., one or more network access ports) may be configured to communicate with one or more network entities via a wired-based backhaul connection or a wireless backhaul connection. In some aspects, the network interfaces 380 and 390 may be implemented as transceivers configured to support wired-based signal communication or wireless signal communication. This communication may involve, for example, sending and receiving messages, parameters, or other types of information.

[0075] Apparatuses 302, 304, and 306 may include other components that may be used in conjunction with the operations disclosed herein. UE 302 may include processor circuitry implementing a processing system 332 for providing other processing functionality. Base station 304 may include a processing system 384 for providing processing functionality. Network entity 306 may include a processing system 394 for providing processing functionality. In one aspect, processing systems 332, 384, and 394 may include, for example, one or more general-purpose processors, multi-core processors, ASICs, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices or processing circuitry.

[0076] Apparatuses 302, 304, and 306 may include memory circuitry implementing memory components 340, 386, and 396 (e.g., each including a memory device) for maintaining information (e.g., information indicating reserved resources, thresholds, parameters, etc.). In some cases, apparatuses 302, 304, and / or 306 may include timer modules 342, 388, and 389, respectively. Timer modules 342, 388, and 389 may each be included as part of or coupled to processing system 332, which, when executed, cause apparatuses 302, 304, and / or 306 to perform the functionality described herein. Alternatively, timer modules 342, 388, and 389 may be memory modules (e.g., stored in memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively) stored in memory components 340, 386, and 396, respectively. Figure 3A -C), which, when executed by processing systems 332, 384 and 394, respectively, causes devices 302, 304 and / or 306 to perform the functions described herein.

[0077] The UE 302 may include one or more sensors 344 coupled to the processing system 332 to provide motion and / or orientation information independent of motion data derived from signals received by the WWAN transceiver 310, the WLAN transceiver 320, and / or the GPS receiver 330. By way of example, the sensors 344 may include an accelerometer (e.g., a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), an altimeter (e.g., a barometric altimeter), and / or any other type of motion detection sensor. Furthermore, the sensors 344 may include multiple different types of devices and combine the outputs of the devices to provide motion information. For example, the sensors 344 may use a combination of a multi-axis accelerometer and an orientation sensor to provide the ability to calculate position in a 2D and / or 3D coordinate system.

[0078] In addition, UE 302 may include a user interface 346 for providing indications to the user (e.g., auditory and / or visual indications) and / or for receiving user input (e.g., when the user activates a sensing device such as a keyboard, touch screen, microphone, etc.). Although not shown, apparatuses 304 and 306 may also include a user interface.

[0079] Referring to the processing system 384 in more detail, in the downlink, IP packets from the network entity 306 may be provided to the processing system 384. The processing system 384 may implement functions for the RRC layer, the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. The processing system 384 may provide: RRC layer functions associated with: broadcasting of system information (e.g., Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), RRC connection control (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with: header compression / decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support functions; RLC layer functions associated with: transmission of upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC service data units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with: mapping between logical channels and transport channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0080] The transmitter 354 and receiver 352 may implement layer 1 functions associated with various signal processing functions. Layer 1, which includes the physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transmission channel, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of the transmission channel, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto the physical channel, modulation / demodulation of the physical channel, and MIMO antenna processing. The transmitter 354 may handle the mapping to the signal constellation based on various modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), M-phase shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) subcarriers, multiplexed with reference signals (e.g., pilots) in the time and / or frequency domains, and then combined together using an inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channel for carrying the time-domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream may be spatially precoded to generate multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator may be used to determine the coding and modulation schemes, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimates may be derived based on a reference signal and / or channel condition feedback transmitted by the UE 302. Each spatial stream may then be provided to one or more different antennas 356. The transmitter 354 may modulate an RF carrier using the respective spatial stream for transmission.

[0081] At UE 302, receiver 312 may receive a signal via its respective antenna 316. Receiver 312 may recover the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provide the information to processing system 332. Transmitter 314 and receiver 312 may implement Layer 1 functionality associated with various signal processing functions. Receiver 312 may perform spatial processing on the information to recover any spatial streams destined for UE 302. If multiple spatial streams are destined for UE 302, they may be combined into a single OFDM symbol stream by receiver 312. Receiver 312 may then convert the OFDM symbol stream from the time domain to the frequency domain using a fast Fourier transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal may include a separate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. By determining the most likely signal constellation point transmitted by base station 304, the symbols and reference signals on each subcarrier may be recovered and demodulated. These soft decisions may be based on channel estimates calculated by a channel estimator. The soft decisions may then be decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signals originally sent on the physical channel by base station 304. The data and control signals may then be provided to processing system 332, which may implement layer 3 and layer 2 functionality.

[0082] In the UL, the processing system 332 can provide demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the core network. The processing system 332 can also be responsible for error detection.

[0083] Similar to the functions described in conjunction with DL transmissions performed by the base station 304, the processing system 332 can provide: RRC layer functions associated with the following: system information (e.g., MIB, SIB) acquisition, RRC connection, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer functions associated with the following: header compression / decompression, and security (encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification); RLC layer functions associated with the following: transmission of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functions associated with the following: mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel prioritization.

[0084] The transmitter 314 may select an appropriate coding and modulation scheme and facilitate spatial processing using channel estimates derived by a channel estimator based on a reference signal or feedback sent by the base station 304. The spatial streams generated by the transmitter 314 may be provided to different antennas 316. The transmitter 314 may modulate an RF carrier with the respective spatial streams for transmission.

[0085] At the base station 304, the UL transmission may be processed in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the receiver functionality at the UE 302. The receiver 352 may receive the signal via its respective antenna 356. The receiver 352 may recover the information modulated onto the RF carrier and provide the information to a processing system 384.

[0086] In the UL, the processing system 384 can provide demultiplexing between transport channels and logical channels, packet reassembly, decryption, header decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets from the UE 302. The IP packets from the processing system 384 can be provided to the core network. The processing system 384 can also be responsible for error detection.

[0087] For convenience, in Figure 3A -C shows devices 302, 304 and / or 306 as including various components that can be configured according to various examples described herein. However, it will be appreciated that the blocks shown can have different functions in different designs.

[0088] The various components of devices 302 , 304 , and 306 may communicate with one another over data buses 334 , 382 , and 392 , respectively. Figure 3A -C components can be implemented in various ways. In some aspects, Figure 3A The components of -C may be implemented in one or more circuits, such as, for example, one or more processors and / or one or more ASICs (which may include one or more processors). Here, each circuit may use and / or incorporate at least one memory component for storing information or executable code used by the circuit to provide such functionality. For example, some or all of the functions represented by blocks 310 to 346 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of UE 302 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriately configuring the processor components).

[0089] Similarly, some or all of the functions represented by blocks 350 to 384 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of the base station 304 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriately configuring the processor components). Furthermore, some or all of the functions represented by blocks 390 to 396 may be implemented by the processor and memory components of the network entity 306 (e.g., by executing appropriate code and / or by appropriately configuring the processor components).

[0090] For simplicity, various operations, actions, and / or functions are described herein as being performed “by a UE,” “by a base station,” “by a positioning entity,” etc. However, as will be appreciated, such operations, actions, and / or functions may actually be performed by specific components or combinations of components of the UE, base station, positioning entity, etc., such as the processing systems 332, 384, 394, the transceivers 310, 320, 350, and 360, the memory components 340, 386, and 396, the timer modules 342, 388, and / or 389, etc.

[0091] In NR, several inactivity and deactivation timers are used to help UE manage power consumption. The following lists some of the timers along with their triggering conditions and UE behavior upon expiration:

[0092] Discontinuous Reception (DRX) Inactivity Timer:

[0093] Trigger conditions:

[0094] Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) indication for new UL / DL data transmission;

[0095] Behavior at maturity:

[0096] The UE enters the DRX state, i.e. stops monitoring the PDCCH;

[0097] Bandwidth Part (BWP) Inactivity Timer:

[0098] Trigger conditions:

[0099] PDCCH indication for new UL / DL data transmission;

[0100] New data transmission via UL Configuration Grant (CG) or DL ​​Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS);

[0101] Behavior at maturity:

[0102] ·The UE switches to the default BWP (if configured) or the initial BWP (if no default BWP is configured). Typically, the default

[0103] The / initial BWP has a narrower bandwidth than the active BWP, making the default / initial BWP more power efficient;

[0104] Secondary cell (SCell) deactivation timer:

[0105] Trigger conditions:

[0106] PDCCH indication for new UL / DL data transmission;

[0107] New data transmission via UL CG or DL ​​SPS;

[0108] Behavior at maturity:

[0109] The UE deactivates the corresponding SCell.

[0110] Furthermore, in NR, if a dynamic UL grant for new data transmission is provided to a UE, but the UE has no data to send, and the skipUplinkTxDynamic flag is enabled, the UE is allowed to skip the grant, i.e., not send anything.

[0111] Currently, regardless of whether a dynamic UL grant is skipped, the inactivity and deactivation timers are restarted. When an UL grant is skipped, this means no data will be sent. This suggests that the UE may be allowed to enter a more power-efficient state more quickly. Unfortunately, when the timer is restarted, the UE is delayed in entering a power-efficient state, which may result in unnecessary power consumption. Therefore, restarting the timer may be less power-efficient.

[0112] To address this issue, it is proposed to improve the UE's power efficiency by maintaining or even accelerating the expiration of timers associated with skipping UL grants. In this way, the UE is not delayed in entering a power-saving state. In fact, in some cases, the UE's entry into a power-efficient state can be accelerated. In some other cases, if the timers were not initially running (for example, they may have expired), there is no need to start the timers at all. In this way, the UE does not need to enter a power-saving state.

[0113] In one aspect, the proposed technique can be extended to improve UE power efficiency in situations where user plane data is skipped and / or user plane data is not received (e.g., in DL semi-persistent scheduling (DL SPS)). In another aspect, the proposed technique can be extended to incorporate other types of UL grants (dynamic, configured grant (CG), etc.).

[0114] Figure 4 A flow chart illustrating an example method 400 of operating a UE, for example, to enhance power efficiency, in accordance with one or more aspects. The UE may be any of the UEs described above (eg, UE 104, UE 204, UE 302).

[0115] In block 410, the UE (e.g., receiver 312, receiver 322, processing system 332, memory 340, timer module 342, etc.) may receive a UL grant for transmitting data from the UE to the network. For example, the base station 304 (e.g., gNB) may send the UL grant to the UE. The UL grant may be a dynamic UL grant or a UL configuration grant (UL CG). As will be discussed further below, if the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant, the expiration of timers associated with timers (such as a DRX inactivity timer, a BWP inactivity timer, an SCell deactivation timer, etc.) may be maintained or accelerated.

[0116] In block 420, the UE (e.g., the processing system 332, the memory 340, the timer module 342, etc.) may determine to skip transmission of at least one data type on the UL grant. If the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant, one way to implement block 420 may be to skip the UL grant entirely. In one example, if the UE does not have any data type to transmit, the UE may determine to skip the dynamic UL grant.

[0117] In another example, the UE may determine to skip a dynamic UL grant if there is no data of any type to be sent and if N consecutive previous dynamic UL grants have been skipped. In this example, N may be referred to as representing the number of consecutive dynamic UL grants for which the behavior of the UE may be conventional. That is, for N consecutive dynamic UL grants, the timer may be restarted even if those grants are skipped. However, if the N+1th consecutive dynamic UL grant is skipped, the expiration associated with one or more timers may be maintained or accelerated. For example, if N=1, then on the second consecutive dynamic UL grant (which is the current dynamic UL grant), the expiration of the timer may be maintained or accelerated instead of restarting the timer.

[0118] In another example, if there is no data of any type to be transmitted and if M consecutive previous UL time slots, all of which have dynamic UL grants, are skipped, the UE may determine to skip the dynamic UL grant. In this example, M may be referred to as representing the number of consecutive time slots in which the UE may behave normally, skipping the dynamic UL grant. However, if the M+1th consecutive time slot with a dynamic UL grant is skipped, the expiration associated with one or more timers may be maintained or accelerated, rather than restarting the timers.

[0119] If the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant, another way to implement block 420 may be to skip transmission of user plane data on the dynamic UL grant. In one aspect, a MAC SDU containing only data from a dedicated service logical channel may be considered an example of user plane data. In this aspect, if there are no MAC SDUs containing data from a dedicated service logical channel, it may be determined that there is no user plane data. In one example, if the UE has no user plane data to send, the UE may determine to skip transmission of user plane data on the dynamic UL grant.

[0120] In another example, if there is no user plane data to be sent, and if no user plane data has been sent on N consecutive previous dynamic UL grants, the UE may determine to skip the transmission of user plane data on the dynamic UL grant. Here, N may be referred to as representing the number of consecutive dynamic UL grants for which the behavior of the UE may be conventional. That is, for N consecutive dynamic UL grants, the timer may be restarted even if no user plane data was sent in those grants. Note that in one aspect, skipping the dynamic UL grant altogether may count as no user plane data transmission. However, if no user plane data is sent on the N+1th consecutive dynamic UL grant, the expiration associated with one or more timers may be maintained or accelerated. It should be noted that the N discussed here in the context of dynamic UL grants and user plane data may be the same as or different from the N discussed above in the context of dynamic UL grants and any type of data.

[0121] In another example, if there is no user plane data to be sent, and if no user plane data has been sent on M consecutive previous UL timeslots with a dynamic UL grant, the UE may determine to skip the dynamic UL grant. Here, M may be referred to as representing the number of consecutive timeslots with a dynamic UL grant with no user plane data transmission, where the UE's behavior may be conventional. Again, in one aspect, skipping the dynamic UL grant altogether may count as no user plane data transmission. However, if no user plane data is sent on the M+1th consecutive timeslot with a dynamic UL grant, the expiration associated with one or more timers may be maintained or accelerated rather than restarting the timers. It should be noted that the M discussed here in the context of dynamic UL grant and user plane data may be the same as or different from the M discussed above in the context of dynamic UL grant and any type of data.

[0122] If the UL grant is a UL CG grant, one way to implement block 420 may be to skip transmission of user plane data on the UL CG. In one example, the UE may determine to skip transmission of user plane data on the UL CG if the UE has no user plane data to send.

[0123] In another example, if there is no user plane data to be sent and if user plane data has not been sent on N consecutive previous UL CGs, the UE may determine to skip transmission of user plane data on a UL CG. Here, N may be referred to as representing the number of consecutive UL CGs where the behavior of the UE may be conventional. However, if no user plane data is sent on the N+1th consecutive UL CG, the expiration associated with one or more timers may be maintained or accelerated. It should be noted that the N discussed here in the context of UL CG and user plane data may be the same or different from the N discussed in the context of dynamic UL grants and any type of data, and / or may be the same or different from the N discussed in the context of dynamic UL grants and user plane data.

[0124] In another example, the UE may determine to skip the dynamic UL grant if there is no user plane data to be sent and if user plane data has not been sent on M consecutive previous UL time slots with a UL CG. Here, M may be referred to as representing the number of consecutive time slots with a UL CG without user plane data transmission, where the behavior of the UE may be conventional. However, if no user plane data is sent on the M+1th consecutive time slot with a UL CG, the expiration associated with one or more timers may be maintained or accelerated instead of restarting the timers. It should be noted that the M discussed here in the context of UL CG and user plane data may be the same or different from the M discussed in the context of dynamic UL grant and any type of data, and / or may be the same or different from the M discussed in the context of dynamic UL grant and user plane data.

[0125] In block 430, the UE (e.g., the processing system 332, the memory 340, the timer module 342, etc.) may maintain or accelerate the expiration associated with one or more timers based on the determination made in block 420. That is, if it is determined in block 420 to skip transmission of data of at least one data type on the UL grant, the expiration associated with one or more timers (e.g., a DRX inactivity timer, a BWP inactivity timer, an SCell inactivity timer, etc.) may be maintained or accelerated. On the other hand, if any of the one or more timers are not running, e.g., have expired, the non-running timers may be delayed or otherwise prevented from starting.

[0126] In one aspect, block 430 may be implemented by the UE maintaining the expiration of one or more timers, for example, by continuing to run the one or more timers in association with one or more corresponding unchanged expiration times. For example, if the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant and the UE determines to skip the dynamic UL grant, the UE may continue to run the DRX inactivity timer, the BWP inactivity timer, and / or the SCell deactivation timer, such that their respective expiration times are unchanged. Alternatively, if any of the DRX inactivity timer, the BWP inactivity timer, and / or the SCell deactivation timer is not currently running, then these timers may be delayed or otherwise prevented from starting.

[0127] If the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant and the UE determines to skip transmission of user plane data on the dynamic UL grant, the UE may continue to run the BWP inactivity timer and / or the SCell deactivation timer so that their respective expiration times remain unchanged. Alternatively, if the BWP inactivity timer and / or the SCell inactivity timer is not currently running, these timers may be delayed or otherwise prevented from starting.

[0128] If the UL grant is a UL CG, the UE may continue to run the BWP inactivity timer and / or the SCell deactivation timer so that their expiration times remain unchanged. Alternatively, if the BWP inactivity timer and / or the SCell inactivity timer are not currently running, these timers may be delayed or otherwise prevented from starting.

[0129] In another aspect, block 430 may be implemented by the UE accelerating the expiration of one or more timers, for example, by shortening the amount of time until the one or more timers expire. In one aspect, if the UE determines in block 420 to skip data transmission, the UE may accelerate one of the one or more timers in block 430. However, it should be noted that simultaneity between blocks 420 and 430 is permitted but not required. That is, if the UE determines in block 420 to skip data transmission, the UE need not immediately follow up by accelerating the expiration of one or more timers. The UE may perform other tasks and return before any of the one or more timers expire at the previous expiration time to accelerate the expiration of the timers in block 430.

[0130] As an illustration, if the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant and the UE determines to skip the dynamic UL grant, the UE may shorten (e.g., simultaneously with or later than block 420) the expiration of the DRX inactivity timer, the BWP inactivity timer, and / or the SCell deactivation timer so that their respective expiration times are reached more quickly. Alternatively, if any of the DRX inactivity timer, the BWP inactivity timer, and / or the SCell deactivation timer is not currently running, these timers may be delayed or otherwise prevented from starting.

[0131] If the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant and the UE determines to skip transmission of user plane data on the dynamic UL grant, the UE may shorten (e.g., simultaneously with or later than block 420) the BWP inactivity timer and / or the SCell deactivation timer so that its expiration time is reached sooner. If the UL grant is a UL CG, the UE may shorten (e.g., simultaneously with or later than block 420) the BWP inactivity timer and / or the SCell deactivation timer so that its expiration time is reached sooner. In one aspect, the UE may stop one or more timers, which will have the effect of immediately expiring the timers. In one aspect, the time for shortening the timers may be set within the UE. Alternatively or in addition, the network (e.g., the base station 304 and / or the network entity 306, e.g., via its timer modules 388, 389) may configure the UE with the shortening amount of the timers.

[0132] In another aspect, block 430 may be implemented by the UE accelerating the expiration of one or more timers, for example, by replacing one or more timers (e.g., simultaneously with or shortly after block 420) with one or more replacement timers associated with shorter respective expiration times. For example, if the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant and the UE determines to skip transmission of user plane data on the dynamic UL grant, the UE may replace the DRX inactivity timer, the BWP inactivity timer, and / or the SCell deactivation timer with their replacement timers (e.g., replacing drxInactivityTimer with drxInactivityTimerShort, replacing bwpInactivityTimer with bwpInactivityTimerShort, replacing scellDeactivationTimer with scellDeactivationTimerShort, etc.). If the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant and the UE determines to skip transmission of user plane data on the dynamic UL grant, the UE may replace the BWP inactivity timer and / or the SCell deactivation timer with their replacement timers. If the UL grant is a UL CG, the UE may replace the BWP inactivity timer and / or the SCell deactivation timer with their replacement timers. In one aspect, the replacement timer and / or its shortened expiration time may be set within the UE. Alternatively or in addition, the network (e.g., base station 304 and / or network entity 306, e.g., via its timer modules 388, 389) may configure the UE with the replacement timer and / or its shortened expiration time.

[0133] Figure 5 A flow chart is shown of another example method 500 for operating a UE, e.g., to enhance power efficiency, according to one or more aspects. In block 510, the UE (e.g., receiver 312, receiver 322, processing system 332, memory 340, timer module 342, etc.) may receive a DL transmission from a network (e.g., base station 304). The DL transmission may include data. DL semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) may be an example of a DL transmission.

[0134] In block 520, the UE (e.g., processing system 332, memory 340, timer module 342, etc.) may determine that the received DL transmission does not include any user plane data. For example, the UE may check whether there are any MAC SDUs in the received DL SPS. If no MAC SDUs are present, the UE may determine that the received data does not include any user plane data.

[0135] In block 530, the UE (e.g., processing system 332, memory 340, timer module 342, etc.) may maintain or accelerate the expiration associated with the one or more timers based on the determination made in block 520. That is, if it is determined in block 520 that the received data does not include any user plane data, then in block 530, the expiration associated with the one or more timers may be maintained or accelerated.

[0136] In one aspect, block 530 may be implemented by the UE maintaining the expiration of one or more timers, e.g., by continuing to run the one or more timers in association with one or more corresponding unchanged expiration times. For example, the UE may continue to run the BWP inactivity timer and / or the SCell deactivation timer such that their expiration times do not change.

[0137] In another aspect, block 530 may be implemented by the UE accelerating the expiration of one or more timers, e.g., by shortening the amount of time until expiration of the one or more timers is reached. Again, accelerating the one or more timers may occur at any time prior to expiration of the one or more timers at a previous expiration time.

[0138] For example, the UE may shorten (e.g., simultaneously with or shortly after block 520) the BWP inactivity timer and / or the SCell deactivation timer so that their expiration times are reached more quickly. The shortening may take the form of stopping one or more timers, which may result in the timers expiring immediately. The amount by which the timers are shortened may be configured within the UE. Alternatively or in addition, the network (e.g., base station 304 and / or network entity 306, e.g., via its timer modules 388, 389) may configure the UE with the shortening amount for the timers.

[0139] In another aspect, block 530 can be implemented by the UE accelerating the expiration of one or more timers, for example, by replacing one or more timers (e.g., simultaneously with or later than block 520) with one or more replacement timers associated with shorter respective expiration times. For example, the UE can replace the BWP inactivity timer and / or the SCell deactivation timer with their replacement timers. The replacement timers and / or their shortened expiration times can be set within the UE. Alternatively or in addition, the network (e.g., the base station 304 and / or the network entity 306, e.g., via its timer modules 388, 389) can configure the UE with the replacement timers and / or their shortened expiration times.

[0140] Figure 6Another flow chart illustrates an example method 600 for operating a UE, for example, to enhance power efficiency, according to one or more aspects. The UE may be any of the UEs described above (e.g., UE 104, UE 204, UE 302). From one perspective, method 600 may be viewed as a generalized version of method 400.

[0141] In block 610, the UE (e.g., receiver 312, receiver 322, processing system 332, memory 340, timer module 342, etc.) may receive an UL grant from the network. For example, base station 304 (e.g., gNB) may send an UL grant to the UE. The UL grant may be used to transmit data from the UE to the network. That is, the UL grant may specify UL resources (e.g., control and / or shared channel resources) for use by the UE. The UL grant may be a dynamic UL grant or a UL configuration grant (UL CG). As indicated, if the timer is running, the timer associated with the UL grant (e.g., dynamic UL grant, UL CG, etc.) may be maintained or accelerated. However, if the timer is not running, the timer need not be started at all. Examples of such timers include a DRX inactivity timer, a BWP inactivity timer, an SCell deactivation timer, etc.

[0142] Note that any timer associated with the UL grant may be running when the UL grant is received. Furthermore, any such timer may not be running. For ease of reference and description, such timers running at the time of the UL grant may be referred to as "running" timers, and timers not running at the time of the UL grant may be referred to as "non-running" timers.

[0143] In block 620, the UE (e.g., processing system 332, memory 340, timer module 342, etc.) may determine whether a condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is met. The UE may perform a similar operation to that described in the preceding example. Figure 4 Such a determination may be made by way of block 420 of FIG. In one aspect, the UL grant may be a dynamic UL grant. In one example, if the UE does not have any type of data to transmit on the dynamic UL grant, then in block 620 the UE may determine that the condition is met. In this example, if there is any type of data to transmit, then the UE may determine that the condition is not met.

[0144] Alternatively, the UE may make a determination based on something other than whether there is any type of data to be sent. For example, the UE may determine that the condition is met if both of the following are true: the UE does not have any type of data to be sent; and N consecutive previous dynamic UL grants have been skipped, i.e., no data of any type was sent in the N consecutive previous dynamic UL grants. Again, N may represent the number of consecutive dynamic UL grants in which the UE's behavior may be conventional. In this example, if one or both of the above are not true, the UE may determine that the condition is not met. That is, if the UE has any type of data to be sent and / or if the number of consecutive previous dynamic UL grants that have been skipped is less than N, the UE may determine that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is not met.

[0145] In another example, the UE may determine that the condition is met if both of the following are true: the UE does not have any type of data to transmit; and M consecutive previous UL time slots, all of which have dynamic UL grants, have been skipped, i.e., no data of any type was transmitted in the M consecutive previous time slots, all of which have dynamic UL grants. Again, M may represent the number of consecutive time slots in which dynamic UL grants were skipped, where the UE's behavior may be conventional. In this example, if one or both of the above are not true, the UE may determine that the condition is not met. That is, if the UE has any type of data to transmit and / or if the number of consecutive previous UL time slots with dynamic UL grants that have been skipped is less than M, the UE may determine that the condition is not met.

[0146] If the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant, another way to implement block 620 may be to focus on the transmission of user plane data. Recall that a MAC SDU containing data from a dedicated service logical channel can be considered an example of user plane data. In this regard, if there is no MAC SDU containing data from a dedicated service logical channel, it can be determined that there is no user plane data. In one example, if the UE has no user plane data to transmit on the dynamic UL grant, the UE may determine that the condition is met. In this example, if there is user plane data to transmit, the UE may determine that the condition is not met.

[0147] In another example, the UE may determine that the condition is met if both of the following are true: the UE has no user plane data to send; and no user plane data has been sent in N consecutive previous dynamic UL grants. In this example, if one or both of the above are not true, the UE may determine that the condition is not met. That is, if the UE has user plane data to send and / or if the number of consecutive previous dynamic UL grants that have been skipped is less than N, the UE may determine that the condition is not met. Note that N discussed here in the context of dynamic UL grants and user plane data may be the same as or different from N discussed above in the context of dynamic UL grants and any type of data.

[0148] In another example, the UE may determine that the condition is met if both of the following are true: the UE has no user plane data to send; and no user plane data was sent in M ​​consecutive previous UL time slots that all had dynamic grants. In this example, the UE may determine that the condition is not met if one or both of the above conditions are not true. That is, if the UE has user plane data to send, and / or if the number of consecutive previous UL time slots with dynamic UL grants that have been skipped is less than M, the UE may determine that the condition is not met. Note that M discussed here in the context of dynamic UL grants and user plane data may be the same as or different from M discussed above in the context of dynamic UL grants and any type of data.

[0149] If the UL grant is a UL CG grant, the UE may implement block 620 based on whether there is user plane data that can be sent on the UL CG. In one example, if the UE does not have user plane data to send on the UL CG, the UE may determine that the condition is met. In this example, if there is user plane data to send, the UE may determine that the condition is not met.

[0150] In another example, the UE may determine that the condition is met if both of the following are true: the UE has no user plane data to send on the UL CG; and no user plane data has been sent in N consecutive previous UL CGs, i.e., skipped. In this example, the UE may determine that the condition is not met if one or both of the above are not true. That is, if the UE has user plane data to send, and / or if the number of consecutive previous UL CGs that have been skipped is less than N, the UE may determine that the condition is not met. Note that the N discussed here in the context of UL CG and user plane data may be the same as or different from the N discussed in the context of dynamic UL grant and any type of data, and / or may be the same as or different from the N discussed in the context of dynamic UL grant and user plane data.

[0151] In another example, the UE may determine that the condition is met if both of the following are true: the UE has no user plane data to send on the ULCG; and no user plane data is sent in M ​​consecutive previous UL time slots that all have a UL CG. In this example, the UE may determine that the condition is not met if one or both of the above are not true. That is, if the UE has user plane data to send, and / or if the number of consecutive previous UL time slots with UL CG that have been skipped is less than M, the UE may determine that the condition is not met. Note that the M discussed here in the context of UL CG and user plane data may be the same as or different from the M discussed in the context of dynamic UL grant and any type of data, and / or may be the same as or different from the M discussed in the context of dynamic UL grant and user plane data.

[0152] If it is determined that the condition is met ("yes" branch from block 620), then in block 630, the UE (e.g., processing system 332, memory 340, timer module 342, etc.) may maintain or accelerate the expiration associated with one or more running timers. An example of how the UE may maintain or accelerate the expiration associated with the running timers is described above with respect to block 430, and therefore, for the sake of brevity, will not be repeated here.

[0153] Alternatively or in addition, in block 640, the UE may delay or otherwise prevent the inactivity timer from starting. In one aspect, this may be passive, in that the UE simply does not interfere with the inactivity timer. However, in another aspect, this may be active, in that the UE takes proactive steps to delay / prevent the inactivity timer from starting. For example, there may be a mechanism and / or protocol that automatically starts one or more inactivity timers upon receiving an UL grant. In such a case, the UE may override the automatic activation of such a mechanism / protocol.

[0154] On the other hand, in block 620, if it is determined that the conditions for maintaining or accelerating a timer are not met ("No" branch from block 620), then in block 650, the UE may restart any or all of the one or more running timers. Alternatively or additionally, in block 660, the UE may start any or all of the one or more non-running timers.

[0155] Figure 7 A flow chart is shown of another example method 700 of operating a UE to, for example, enhance power efficiency in accordance with one or more aspects. From one perspective, method 700 can be viewed as a generalized version of method 500.

[0156] In block 710, the UE (e.g., receiver 312, receiver 322, processing system 332, memory 340, timer module 342, etc.) may receive a DL transmission from the network (e.g., base station 304). The DL transmission may include data. DL semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) may be an example of a DL transmission.

[0157] In block 720, the UE (e.g., processing system 332, memory 340, timer module 342, etc.) may determine whether the received data includes any user plane data. For example, the UE may check whether there are any MAC SDUs in the received DL SPS. If no MAC SDUs are present, the UE may determine that the received data does not include any user plane data. If a MAC SDU is present, the UE may determine that the received data does include user plane data.

[0158] If it is determined that the received data does not include user plane data ("No" branch of block 720), then in block 730, the UE (e.g., processing system 332, memory 340, timer module 342, etc.) may maintain or accelerate the expiration associated with one or more running timers based on the determination made in block 720. That is, if it is determined that the received DL transmission does not include any user plane data, then the expiration associated with one or more timers may be maintained or accelerated in block 730. An example of how the UE may maintain or accelerate the expiration associated with the running timers is described above with respect to block 530, and therefore, for the sake of brevity, will not be repeated here.

[0159] Alternatively or in addition, in block 740, the UE may delay or otherwise prevent the inactive timers from starting. In one aspect, this may be passive, in that the UE simply does not interfere with the inactive timers. However, in another aspect, this may be active, in that the UE takes active steps to delay / prevent the inactive timers from starting. For example, there may be a mechanism and / or protocol that automatically starts one or more inactive timers, such as upon receiving a DL grant. In such a case, the UE may override the automatic activation of such a mechanism / protocol.

[0160] On the other hand, if it is determined that the received data does include user plane data ("yes" branch from block 720), then the UE may restart one or more running timers in block 750. Alternatively or additionally, in block 760, the UE may start any one or more non-running timers.

[0161] Figure 88 is a conceptual data flow diagram 800 illustrating an example of data flow between different units / components in exemplary apparatuses 802 and 880 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Apparatus 802 may be a UE (e.g., UE 104, UE 204, UE 302) in communication with apparatus 880, which may be a network device (e.g., BS 102, gNB 222, eNB 224, BS 304, network entity 306).

[0162] The apparatus 802 may include a sending component 804, which may correspond to Figure 3A The transmitter circuit in the device 302 depicted in FIG includes the transmitter 314, the transmitter 324, the antenna 316, the antenna 326, the processing system 332, the memory 340, etc. The device 802 may also include a timer component 806, which may correspond to the timer component 806. Figure 3A The processor circuit in the device 302 depicted in FIG includes a processing system 332, a memory 340, etc. The device 802 may also include a receiving component 808, which may correspond to the following. Figure 3A The receiving circuit of the device 302 depicted in FIG. 3 includes a receiver 312 , a receiver 322 , an antenna 316 , an antenna 326 , a processing system 332 , a memory 340 , and the like.

[0163] The apparatus 880 may include a receiving component 882, which may correspond to Figure 3B Receiver circuitry in the apparatus 304 depicted in FIG, including receiver 352, receiver 362, antenna 356, antenna 366, network interface 380, processing system 382, ​​memory 386, etc. Alternatively or in addition, receiving component 882 may correspond to Figure 3C The receiver circuit in the device 306 depicted in FIG includes a network interface 390, a processing system 394, a memory 396, etc. The device 880 may also include a timer component 884, which may correspond to the following example: Figure 3B The processor circuit in the device 304 depicted in FIG, including the processing system 384, the memory 386, etc. Alternatively or in addition, the timer component 884 can correspond to Figure 3C The processor circuit in the device 306 depicted in FIG. 3 includes a processing system 394, a memory 396, etc. The device 880 may include a sending component 886, which may correspond to Figure 3B The transmitter circuit in the device 304 depicted in FIG, including the transmitter 354, the transmitter 364, the antenna 356, the antenna 366, the network interface 380, the processing system 382, ​​the memory 386, etc. Alternatively or in addition, the sending component 886 may correspond to Figure 3C The receiver circuit in the device 306 depicted in FIG. 3 includes a network interface 390 , a processing system 394 , a memory 396 , and the like.

[0164] Reference Figure 8 , UE 802 (e.g., receiving component 808) can receive an UL grant (e.g., a dynamic UL grant, a UL CG) and / or a DL transmission (e.g., a DL SPS) transmitted from network component 880 (e.g., transmitting component 886). If an UL grant and / or DL ​​transmission is received, UE 802 (e.g., timer component 806) can determine to skip UL transmission of data of at least one data type. More generally, UE 802 (e.g., timer component 806) can determine whether a condition for maintaining or accelerating one or more running timers is met. For example, if a dynamic UL grant is received and the UE does not have any type of data to transmit, timer component 806 can determine that the condition is met and, therefore, instruct transmitting component 804 to skip the dynamic UL grant entirely. As another example, if a dynamic UL grant is received but the UE does not have user plane data to transmit, timer component 806 can determine that the condition is met and, therefore, instruct transmitting component 804 to skip transmission of user plane data on the dynamic UL grant. As another example, if a UL CG is received but the UE has no user plane data to send on the configured UL CG, the timer component 806 can determine that the condition is met and, therefore, instruct the transmitting component 804 to skip the transmission of user plane data on the dynamic UL grant. Because the UL transmission can be skipped, the UL transmission from the UE 802 (e.g., the transmitting component 804) to the network component 880 (e.g., the receiving component 882) is represented by a dashed line to show that the UL transmission can be optional.

[0165] If an UL grant and / or DL ​​transmission is received, the UE 802 (e.g., timer component 806) may maintain or accelerate the expiration associated with one or more running timers. In one aspect, if a dynamic UL grant is received and a determination is made to skip the dynamic UL grant entirely, the timer component 802 may maintain or accelerate the expiration associated with the DRX inactivity timer, the BWP inactivity timer, and / or the SCell deactivation timer. In another aspect, if a dynamic UL grant is received and a determination is made to skip transmission of user plane data, the timer component 802 may maintain or accelerate the expiration associated with the BWP inactivity timer and / or the SCell deactivation timer. In another aspect, if a UL CG is received and a determination is made to skip transmission of user plane data, the timer component 802 may maintain or accelerate the expiration associated with the BWP inactivity timer and / or the SCell deactivation timer. In yet another aspect, if a DL SPS does not include user plane data, the timer component 802 may maintain or accelerate the expiration associated with the BWP inactivity timer and / or the SCell deactivation timer.

[0166] The UE 802 (e.g., the timer component 806) can maintain the one or more timers by continuing to run the one or more timers in association with one or more corresponding unchanged expiration times. Alternatively, the UE 802 (e.g., the timer component 806) can accelerate the expiration of the one or more timers by shortening the amount of time until the expiration of the one or more timers. In another alternative, the UE 802 (e.g., the timer component 806) can accelerate the expiration of the one or more timers by replacing the one or more timers with one or more replacement timers associated with shorter corresponding expiration times.

[0167] In one aspect, the configuration of timer component 806 can be set within UE 802. Alternatively or additionally, network component 880 (e.g., timer component 884) can send a timer configuration message (e.g., via sending component 886) to configure timer component 806.

[0168] One or more components of the apparatus 802 may be executed in the above Figure 4-7 Each box in the algorithm of the flowchart. Therefore, in the above Figure 4-7 Each block in the flowchart of can be performed by a component, and the apparatus 802 may include one or more of those components. The component can be one or more hardware components specifically configured to perform the process / algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to perform the process / algorithm, stored in a computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

[0169] Figure 9 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for apparatus 802 employing a processing system 914. Processing system 914 may be implemented using a bus architecture, generally represented by bus 924. Bus 924 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges, depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of processing system 914. Bus 924 links together various circuits, including one or more processors and / or hardware components, represented by processor 904, components 804, 806, and 808, and computer-readable media / memory 906. Bus 924 may also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and, therefore, will not be described any further.

[0170] The processing system 914 may be coupled to the transceiver 910, which in turn may be coupled to one or more antennas 920. The transceiver 910 may provide a means for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium. The transceiver 910 may receive signals from the one or more antennas 920, extract information from the received signals, and provide the extracted information to the processing system 914 (specifically, the receiving component 808). Furthermore, the transceiver 910 may receive information from the processing system 914 (specifically, from the transmitting component 804) and, based on the received information, generate signals to be applied to the one or more antennas 920. The processing system 914 may include a processor 904 coupled to a computer-readable medium / memory 906. The processor 904 may be responsible for general processing, including executing software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory 906. When executed by the processor 904, the software may cause the processing system 914 to perform the various functions described above for any particular device. The computer-readable medium / memory 906 may also be used to store data manipulated by the processor 904 when executing the software. The processing system 914 may also include at least one of the components 804, 806, and 808. The component may be a software component running in the processor 904, located / stored in the computer-readable medium / memory 906, one or more hardware components coupled to the processor 904, or some combination thereof. The processing system 914 may be a component of the UE 104, the UE 204, or the apparatus 302.

[0171] In one configuration, an apparatus 802 (e.g., a UE) may include: means for receiving an uplink (UL) grant from a network for sending data from the UE to the network; means for determining whether a condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is satisfied; and means for maintaining or accelerating an expiration associated with one or more running timers if it is determined that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is satisfied, each running timer being a timer associated with the UL grant and being running when the UL grant is received.

[0172] In another configuration, the apparatus 802 (e.g., a UE) may include: a unit for receiving a downlink (DL) transmission from a network, the DL transmission including data; a unit for determining whether the received data includes user plane data; and a unit for maintaining or accelerating the expiration associated with one or more running timers if it is determined that the received data includes user plane data, each running timer being a timer associated with the UL transmission and being running when the DL transmission is received.

[0173] The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned components of the apparatus 802 and / or a processing system 914 of the apparatus 802 configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. The processing system 914 may include a transceiver 310 (including a transmitter 314 and a receiver 312), a transceiver 320 (including a transmitter 324 and a receiver 322), an antenna 316, an antenna 326, a processing system 332, a memory 340, and a timer module 342.

[0174] Figure 10 FIG1000 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus 880 employing a processing system 1014. The processing system 1014 may be implemented using a bus architecture, generally represented by a bus 1024. The bus 1024 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges, depending on the specific application and overall design constraints of the processing system 1014. The bus 1024 links together various circuits, including one or more processors and / or hardware components represented by the processor 1004, components 882, 884, and 896, and computer-readable media / memory 1006. The bus 1024 may also link various other circuits, such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and, therefore, will not be described any further.

[0175] The processing system 1014 can be coupled to the transceiver 1010, which in turn can be coupled to one or more antennas 1020. The transceiver 1010 can provide a means for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium. The transceiver 1010 can receive signals from the one or more antennas 1020, extract information from the received signals, and provide the extracted information to the processing system 1014 (specifically, the receiving component 882). In addition, the transceiver 1010 can receive information from the processing system 1014 (specifically, the transmitting component 886) and generate signals to be applied to the one or more antennas 1020 based on the received information. The processing system 1014 can include a processor 1004 coupled to a computer-readable medium / memory 1006. The processor 1004 can be responsible for general processing, including executing software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory 1006. When executed by the processor 1004, the software can cause the processing system 1014 to perform the various functions described above for any particular device. Computer-readable medium / memory 1006 may also be used to store data manipulated by processor 1004 when executing software. Processing system 1014 may also include at least one of components 882, 884, and 886. These components may be software components running on processor 1004, located / stored in computer-readable medium / memory 1006, one or more hardware components coupled to processor 1004, or some combination thereof. Processing system 1014 may be a component of BS 102, gNB 222, eNB 224, device 304, or device 306. Processing system 1014 may include transceiver 350 (including transmitter 354 and receiver 352), transceiver 360 (including transmitter 364 and receiver 362), antenna 356, antenna 366, network interface 380, processing system 384, memory 386, and timer module 388. Alternatively or additionally, the processing system 1014 may include a network interface 390 , a processing system 394 , a memory 396 , and a timer module 389 .

[0176] In one configuration, the apparatus 880 (eg, a BS or core network device) may include means for sending an UL grant (eg, a dynamic UL grant, UL CG, etc.) and / or a DL SPS to one or more UEs. The apparatus 880 may also include means for configuring a timer component of the UE.

[0177] Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0178] Clause 1: A method of a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving an uplink (UL) grant from a network for sending data from the UE to the network; determining whether a condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is satisfied; and if it is determined that the condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is satisfied, maintaining or accelerating the expiration associated with one or more running timers, each running timer being a timer associated with the UL grant and being running when the UL grant is received.

[0179] Clause 2: The method according to Clause 1 further includes: if it is determined that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is not met, performing the following operations: restarting the one or more running timers; or starting one or more non-running timers, each non-running timer is a timer associated with the UL authorization and is not running when the UL authorization is received; or both.

[0180] Clause 3: A method according to any of clauses 1-2, wherein the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant, and wherein, in the determination, if there is no data of any type to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the UE determines that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is met.

[0181] Clause 4: A method according to any of clauses 1-2, wherein the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant, and wherein, in the determining, the UE determines that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is met if there is no data of any type to be sent on the dynamic UL grant and no data of any type has been sent in N consecutive previous dynamic UL grants.

[0182] Clause 5: A method according to any of clauses 1-2, wherein the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant, and wherein, in the determination, the UE determines that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is met if there is no data of any type to be sent on the dynamic UL grant and no data of any type has been sent in M ​​consecutive previous UL time slots that all have dynamic UL grants.

[0183] Clause 6: A method according to any of clauses 1-2, wherein the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant, and wherein, in the determining, if there is no user plane data to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the UE determines that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is met.

[0184] Clause 7: A method according to any of clauses 1-2, wherein the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant, and wherein, in the determining, the UE determines that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is met if there is no user plane data to be sent on the dynamic UL grant and no user plane data has been sent in N consecutive previous dynamic UL grants.

[0185] Clause 8: A method according to any of clauses 1-2, wherein the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant, and wherein, in the determining, the UE determines that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is met if there is no user plane data to be sent and no user plane data has been sent in M ​​consecutive previous UL time slots all with dynamic UL grants.

[0186] Clause 9: A method according to any one of clauses 1-2, wherein the UL grant is a UL configuration grant (CG), and wherein, in the determination, if there is no user plane data to be sent on the UL CG, the UE determines that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is met.

[0187] Clause 10: A method according to any one of clauses 1-2, wherein the UL grant is a UL configuration grant (CG), and wherein, in the determination, if there is no user plane data to be sent on the UL CG and no user plane data has been sent on N consecutive previous UL CGs, the UE determines that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is met.

[0188] Clause 11: A method according to any one of clauses 1-2, wherein the UL grant is a UL configuration grant (CG), and wherein, in the determination, if there is no user plane data to be sent on the UL CG and no user plane data is sent on M consecutive previous UL time slots all having UL CGs, then the UE determines that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is met.

[0189] Clause 12: A method according to any of clauses 1-11, wherein, in said maintaining or accelerating, said UE maintains said expiry of said one or more running timers by continuing to run said one or more running timers in association with one or more corresponding unchanged expiry times.

[0190] Clause 13: A method according to clause 12, wherein if the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant and the UE determines that there is no data of any type to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the UE maintains the expiration of any one or more of a discontinuous reception (DRX) inactivity timer, a bandwidth part (BWP) inactivity timer, and a secondary cell (SCell) deactivation timer, or wherein if the UL grant is the dynamic UL grant and the UE determines that there is no user plane data to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the UE maintains the expiration of any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer, or wherein if the UL grant is a UL configuration grant (CG) and the UE determines that there is no user plane data to be sent on the UL CG, the UE maintains the expiration of any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer.

[0191] Clause 14: A method as set forth in any of clauses 1-11, wherein, in said maintaining or accelerating, said UE accelerates said expiry of said one or more running timers by shortening said expiry of said one or more running timers.

[0192] Clause 15: A method according to clause 14, wherein, if the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant and the UE determines that there is no data of any type to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the UE shortens the amount of time until expiration of any one or more of a discontinuous reception (DRX) inactivity timer, a bandwidth part (BWP) inactivity timer, and a secondary cell (SCell) deactivation timer, or wherein, if the UL grant is the dynamic UL grant and the UE determines that there is no user plane data to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the UE shortens the amount of time until expiration of any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer, or wherein, if the UL grant is a UL configuration grant (CG) and the UE determines that there is no user plane data to be sent on the UL CG, the UE shortens the amount of time until expiration of any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer.

[0193] Clause 16: A method according to any of clauses 1-11, wherein, in the maintaining or accelerating, the UE accelerates the expiration of the one or more running timers by replacing the one or more running timers with one or more replacement timers associated with one or more shorter corresponding expiration times.

[0194] Clause 17: A method according to clause 16, wherein, if the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant and the UE determines that there is no data of any type to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the UE replaces any one or more of a discontinuous reception (DRX) inactivity timer, a bandwidth part (BWP) inactivity timer, and a secondary cell (SCell) deactivation timer with their corresponding replacement timers, or wherein, if the UL grant is the dynamic UL grant and the UE determines that there is no user plane data to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the UE replaces any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer with their corresponding replacement timers, or wherein, if the UL grant is a UL configuration grant (CG) and the UE determines that there is no user plane data to be sent on the UL CG, the UE replaces any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer with their corresponding replacement timers.

[0195] Clause 18: User equipment comprising at least one means for performing the method according to any of clauses 1-17.

[0196] Clause 19: A user equipment comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, the processor and the memory being configured to perform the method according to any one of clauses 1-17.

[0197] Clause 20: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for a user device, comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the user device to perform the method according to any of clauses 1-17.

[0198] Clause 21: A method of a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving a downlink (DL) transmission from a network, the DL transmission comprising data; determining whether the received data comprises user plane data; and if it is determined that the received data comprises the user plane data, maintaining or accelerating the expiration associated with one or more running timers, each running timer being a timer associated with an UL grant and being running when the DL transmission is received.

[0199] Clause 22: The method according to clause 21 further includes: if it is determined that the received data includes the user plane data, performing the following operations: restarting the one or more running timers; or starting one or more non-running timers, each non-running timer is a timer associated with the UL authorization and is not running when the UL authorization is received; or both.

[0200] Clause 23: A method as set forth in any of clauses 21-22, wherein the DL transmission is a DL Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS).

[0201] Clause 24: The method of clause 23, wherein, in the determining, if the DL SPS does not include user plane data, the UE determines that the data does not include the user plane data.

[0202] Clause 25: A method according to any of clauses 21-24, wherein, in said maintaining or accelerating, said UE maintains said expiry of said one or more running timers by continuing to run said one or more running timers in association with one or more corresponding unchanged expiry times.

[0203] Clause 26: The method of clause 25, wherein the UE maintains the expiration of any one or more of a bandwidth part (BWP) inactivity timer and a secondary cell (SCell) deactivation timer.

[0204] Clause 27: A method as set out in any of clauses 21-26, wherein, in said maintaining or accelerating, said UE accelerates said expiry of said one or more running timers by shortening said expiry of said one or more running timers.

[0205] Clause 28: The method of clause 27, wherein the UE shortens the expiration of any one or more of a bandwidth part (BWP) inactivity timer and a secondary cell (SCell) deactivation timer.

[0206] Clause 29: A method according to any of clauses 21-28, wherein, in the maintaining or accelerating, the UE accelerates the expiration of the one or more running timers by replacing the one or more running timers with one or more replacement timers associated with one or more shorter corresponding expiration times.

[0207] Clause 30: A method according to clause 29, wherein the UE replaces any one or more of a bandwidth part (BWP) inactivity timer and a secondary cell (SCell) deactivation timer with their corresponding replacement timers,

[0208] Clause 31: A user equipment comprising at least one means for performing the method according to any of clauses 21-30.

[0209] Clause 32: A user equipment comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, the processor and the memory being configured to perform the method according to any of clauses 21-30.

[0210] Clause 33: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for a user device, comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the user device to perform the method according to any of clauses 21-30.

[0211] Clause 34: A method of a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving an uplink (UL) grant for sending data from the UE to a network; determining to skip transmission of data of at least one data type on the UL grant; and maintaining or accelerating expiration associated with one or more timers based on determining to skip the transmission.

[0212] Clause 35: The method of clause 34, wherein the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant.

[0213] Clause 36: A method as set out in any of clauses 34-35, wherein, in said determining, if there is no data of any type to be sent, the UE determines to skip the dynamic UL grant.

[0214] Clause 37: A method according to any of clauses 34-35, wherein, in the determining, the UE determines to skip the dynamic UL grant if there is no data of any type to send and if N consecutive previous dynamic UL grants have been skipped.

[0215] Clause 38: A method according to any of clauses 34-35, wherein in the determining, the UE determines to skip the dynamic UL grant if there is no data of any type to be sent and if M consecutive previous UL time slots all having dynamic UL grants are skipped.

[0216] Clause 39: A method as set out in any of clauses 34-35, wherein, in said determining, if there is no user plane data to send, the UE determines to skip transmission of the user plane data on the dynamic UL grant.

[0217] Clause 40: A method according to clauses 34-35, wherein, in the determining, if there is no user plane data to be sent and if no user plane data has been sent on N consecutive previous dynamic UL grants, the UE determines to skip transmission of the user plane data on the dynamic UL grant.

[0218] Clause 41: A method according to clauses 34-35, wherein, in the determining, if there is no user plane data to be sent and if M consecutive previous UL time slots all have a dynamic UL grant on which no user plane data is sent, the UE determines to skip the transmission of the user plane data on the dynamic UL grant.

[0219] Clause 42: The method of clause 34, wherein the UL grant is a UL Configuration Grant (CG).

[0220] Clause 43: A method according to any of clauses 41-42, wherein, in the determining, if there is no user plane data to be sent, the UE determines to skip transmission of the user plane data on the UL CG.

[0221] Clause 44: A method according to clauses 41-42, wherein, in the determination, if there is no user plane data to be sent and if no user plane data has been sent on N consecutive previous UL CGs, the UE determines to skip the transmission of the user plane data on the UL CG.

[0222] Clause 45: A method according to clauses 41-42, wherein, in the determination, if there is no user plane data to be sent and if M consecutive previous UL time slots all have a UL CG on which no user plane data is sent, the UE determines to skip the transmission of the user plane data on the UL CG.

[0223] Clause 46: A method according to any of clauses 34-45, wherein, in said maintaining or accelerating, said UE maintains said expiry of said one or more timers by continuing to run said one or more timers in association with one or more corresponding unchanged expiry times.

[0224] Clause 47: A method according to clause 46, wherein, if the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant and the UE determines to skip the dynamic UL grant, the UE maintains the expiration of any one or more of a discontinuous reception (DRX) inactivity timer, a bandwidth part (BWP) inactivity timer, and a secondary cell (SCell) deactivation timer, or wherein, if the UL grant is the dynamic UL grant and the UE determines to skip transmission of user plane data on the dynamic UL grant, the UE maintains the expiration of any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer, or wherein, if the UL grant is a UL configuration grant (CG), the UE maintains the expiration of any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer.

[0225] Clause 48: A method as set out in any of clauses 34-35, wherein, in said maintaining or accelerating, said UE accelerates said expiry of said one or more timers by shortening an amount of time until expiry of said one or more timers is reached.

[0226] Clause 49: A method according to clause 48, wherein, if the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant and the UE determines to skip the dynamic UL grant, the UE shortens the amount of time until expiration of any one or more of a discontinuous reception (DRX) inactivity timer, a bandwidth part (BWP) inactivity timer, and a secondary cell (SCell) deactivation timer, or wherein, if the UL grant is the dynamic UL grant and the UE determines to skip transmission of user plane data on the dynamic UL grant, the UE shortens the amount of time until expiration of any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer, or wherein, if the UL grant is a UL configuration grant (CG), the UE shortens the amount of time until expiration of any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer.

[0227] Clause 50: A method according to any of clauses 34-45, wherein, in the maintaining or accelerating, the UE accelerates the expiration of the one or more timers by replacing the one or more timers with one or more replacement timers associated with one or more shorter corresponding expiration times.

[0228] Clause 51: A method according to clause 50, wherein, if the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant and the UE determines to skip the dynamic UL grant, the UE replaces any one or more of a discontinuous reception (DRX) inactivity timer, a bandwidth part (BWP) inactivity timer, and a secondary cell (SCell) deactivation timer with their corresponding replacement timers, or wherein, if the UL grant is the dynamic UL grant and the UE determines to skip transmission of user plane data on the dynamic UL grant, the UE replaces any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer with their corresponding replacement timers, or wherein, if the UL grant is a UL configuration grant (CG), the UE replaces any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer with their corresponding replacement timers.

[0229] Clause 52: A user equipment comprising at least one means for performing the method according to any of clauses 34-51.

[0230] Clause 53: A user equipment comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, the processor and the memory being configured to perform the method according to any of clauses 34-51.

[0231] Clause 54: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for a user device, comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the user device to perform the method according to any of clauses 34-51.

[0232] Clause 55: A method of a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving a downlink (DL) transmission from a network, the DL transmission comprising data; determining that the data does not include user plane data; and maintaining or accelerating expiration associated with one or more timers based on determining that the data does not include the user plane data.

[0233] Clause 56: The method of clause 55, wherein the DL transmission is DL semi-persistent scheduling (SPS).

[0234] Clause 57: A method as set out in any of clauses 55-56, wherein, in said determining, if said DL SPS does not include said user plane data, then said UE determines that said data does not include said user plane data.

[0235] Clause 58: A method according to any of clauses 55-57, wherein, in said maintaining or accelerating, said UE maintains said expiry of said one or more timers by continuing to run said one or more timers in association with one or more corresponding unchanged expiry times.

[0236] Clause 59: The method of clause 58, wherein the UE maintains the expiration of any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer.

[0237] Clause 60: A method as set out in any of clauses 55-57, wherein, in said maintaining or accelerating, said UE accelerates said expiry of said one or more timers by shortening an amount of time until said expiry of said one or more timers is reached.

[0238] Clause 61: The method of clause 60, wherein the UE shortens the amount of time until expiration of any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer.

[0239] Clause 62: A method according to any of clauses 55-57, wherein, in the maintaining or accelerating, the UE accelerates the expiration of the one or more timers by replacing the one or more timers with one or more replacement timers associated with one or more shorter corresponding expiration times.

[0240] Clause 63: The method of clause 62, wherein the UE replaces any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer with their corresponding replacement timers.

[0241] Clause 64: A user equipment comprising at least one means for performing the method according to any of clauses 55-63.

[0242] Clause 65: A user equipment comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, the processor and the memory configured to perform the method according to any of clauses 55-63.

[0243] Clause 73: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for a user device, comprising a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the user device to perform the method according to any of clauses 55-63.

[0244] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips mentioned throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0245] Further, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmic steps described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein can be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination thereof. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, the functions of the various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been generally described above. Whether such functions are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the entire system. A skilled person can implement the described functions in an alternative manner for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of this disclosure.

[0246] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or executed using a general purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, an FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0247] The methods, sequences and / or algorithms described in conjunction with the various aspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. The software module may be located in a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), a register, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. In an alternative approach, the storage medium may be integrated into the processor. The processor and the storage medium may be located in an ASIC. The ASIC may be located in a user terminal (e.g., UE). In an alternative approach, the processor and the storage medium may be present in the user terminal as discrete components.

[0248] In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions can be stored in a computer-readable medium or sent therethrough as one or more instructions or codes. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, and the communication media include any media that promotes the transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Storage media can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or can be used to carry or store desired program code and any other medium that can be accessed by a computer in the form of an instruction or data structure. In addition, any connection is appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is sent from a website, server or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) or wireless technology (such as infrared, radio and microwave), then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL or wireless technology (such as infrared, radio and microwave) are included in the definition of medium. As used herein, disk and disc include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc, where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0249] Although the disclosure above illustrates the illustrative aspects of the present disclosure, it should be noted that, without departing from the scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims, various changes and modifications may be made herein. The functions, steps and / or actions of the method claims according to the various aspects of the disclosure described herein do not need to be performed in any particular order. In addition, although the elements of the present disclosure can be described or claimed in the singular, unless expressly stated to be limited to the singular, the plural form is intended.

Claims

1. A method of a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving an uplink (UL) grant from a network for sending data from the UE to the network; determining whether a condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is satisfied; as well as If it is determined that the condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is satisfied, maintaining or accelerating the expiration associated with one or more running timers, each running timer being a timer associated with the UL grant and being running when the UL grant is received, Wherein, determining whether a condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is satisfied comprises one of the following: The UL grant is a dynamic UL grant, and the UE determines that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is satisfied if there is no data of any type to be sent on the dynamic UL grant and one or both of the following are true: no data of any type was sent in N consecutive previous dynamic UL grants, or no data of any type was sent in M ​​consecutive previous UL time slots that all had dynamic UL grants; The UL grant is a dynamic UL grant or a UL configuration grant (CG), and the UE determines that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is satisfied if there is no user plane data to be sent on the UL grant and one or both of the following are true: no user plane data was sent in N consecutive previous UL grants of the same type as the UL grant, or no user plane data was sent in M ​​consecutive previous UL time slots all having UL grants of the same type as the UL grant.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: If it is determined that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is not satisfied, the following operations are performed: restarting the one or more running timers; or starting one or more non-running timers, each non-running timer being a timer associated with the UL grant and not running when the UL grant is received; or Both.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein In the maintaining or accelerating, the UE maintains the expiration of the one or more running timers by continuing to run the one or more running timers in association with one or more corresponding unchanged expiration times.

4. The method according to claim 3, in, If the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant and the UE determines that there is no data of any type to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the UE maintains the expiration of any one or more of a discontinuous reception (DRX) inactivity timer, a bandwidth part (BWP) inactivity timer, and a secondary cell (SCell) deactivation timer, or wherein if the UL grant is the dynamic UL grant and the UE determines that there is no user plane data to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the UE maintains the expiration of any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer, or Wherein, if the UL grant is a UL configuration grant (CG) and the UE determines that there is no user plane data to be sent on the UL CG, the UE maintains the expiration of any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein In the maintaining or accelerating, the UE accelerates the expiration of the one or more running timers by shortening the expiration of the one or more running timers.

6. The method according to claim 5, in, If the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant and the UE determines that there is no data of any type to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the UE shortens the amount of time until expiration of any one or more of a discontinuous reception (DRX) inactivity timer, a bandwidth part (BWP) inactivity timer, and a secondary cell (SCell) deactivation timer, or wherein if the UL grant is the dynamic UL grant and the UE determines that there is no user plane data to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the UE shortens the amount of time until expiration of any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer, or Wherein, if the UL grant is a UL configuration grant (CG) and the UE determines that there is no user plane data to be sent on the UL CG, the UE shortens the amount of time until expiration of any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein In the maintaining or accelerating, the UE accelerates the expiration of the one or more running timers by replacing the one or more running timers with one or more replacement timers associated with one or more shorter corresponding expiration times.

8. The method according to claim 7, in, If the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant and the UE determines that there is no data of any type to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the UE replaces any one or more of a discontinuous reception (DRX) inactivity timer, a bandwidth part (BWP) inactivity timer, and a secondary cell (SCell) deactivation timer with their corresponding replacement timers, or wherein, if the UL grant is the dynamic UL grant and the UE determines that there is no user plane data to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the UE replaces any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer with their corresponding replacement timers, or Wherein, if the UL grant is a UL configuration grant (CG) and the UE determines that there is no user plane data to be sent on the UL CG, the UE replaces any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer with their corresponding replacement timers.

9. A user equipment (UE), comprising: Memory; at least one transceiver; as well as at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to: receiving an uplink (UL) grant from a network for sending data from the UE to the network; determining whether a condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is satisfied; as well as If it is determined that the condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is satisfied, maintaining or accelerating the expiration associated with one or more running timers, each running timer being a timer associated with the UL grant and being running when the UL grant is received, The at least one processor is configured to determine whether a condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is satisfied by one of the following: The UL grant is a dynamic UL grant, and determining that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is satisfied if there is no data of any type to be sent on the dynamic UL grant and one or both of the following are true: no data of any type was sent in N consecutive previous dynamic UL grants, or no data of any type was sent in M ​​consecutive previous UL time slots that all had dynamic UL grants; The UL grant is a dynamic UL grant or a UL Configuration Grant (CG), and if there is no user plane data to be sent on the UL grant, and one or both of the following are true, determining that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is satisfied: No user plane data was sent in N consecutive previous UL grants of the same UL grant type as the UL grant, or no user plane data was sent on M consecutive previous UL time slots all having UL grants of the same UL grant type as the UL grant.

10. The UE according to claim 9, wherein: If it is determined that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is not satisfied, the at least one processor is further configured to: restarting the one or more running timers; or starting one or more non-running timers, each non-running timer being a timer associated with the UL grant and not running when the UL grant is received; or Both.

11. The UE according to claim 9, wherein: The at least one processor is configured to maintain the expiration of the one or more running timers by continuing to run the one or more running timers in association with one or more corresponding unchanged expiration times.

12. The UE according to claim 11, in, If the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant and the UE determines that there is no data of any type to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the at least one processor is configured to maintain the expiration of any one or more of a discontinuous reception (DRX) inactivity timer, a bandwidth part (BWP) inactivity timer, and a secondary cell (SCell) deactivation timer, or wherein if the UL grant is the dynamic UL grant and the UE determines that there is no user plane data to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the at least one processor is configured to maintain the expiration of any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer, or Wherein, if the UL grant is a UL configuration grant (CG) and the UE determines that there is no user plane data to be sent on the UL CG, the at least one processor is configured to maintain the expiration of any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer.

13. The UE according to claim 9, wherein: The at least one processor is configured to accelerate the expiration of the one or more running timers by shortening the expiration of the one or more running timers.

14. The UE according to claim 13, in, If the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant and the UE determines that there is no data of any type to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the at least one processor is configured to shorten an amount of time until expiration of any one or more of a discontinuous reception (DRX) inactivity timer, a bandwidth part (BWP) inactivity timer, and a secondary cell (SCell) deactivation timer, or wherein if the UL grant is the dynamic UL grant and the UE determines that there is no user plane data to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the at least one processor is configured to shorten the amount of time until expiration of any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer, or Wherein, if the UL grant is a UL configuration grant (CG) and the UE determines that there is no user plane data to be sent on the UL CG, the at least one processor is configured to shorten the amount of time until expiration of any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer.

15. The UE according to claim 9, wherein: The at least one processor is configured to accelerate the expiration of the one or more running timers by replacing the one or more running timers with one or more replacement timers associated with one or more shorter respective expiration times.

16. The UE according to claim 15, in, If the UL grant is a dynamic UL grant and the UE determines that there is no data of any type to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the at least one processor is configured to replace any one or more of a discontinuous reception (DRX) inactivity timer, a bandwidth part (BWP) inactivity timer, and a secondary cell (SCell) deactivation timer with their corresponding replacement timers, or wherein, if the UL grant is the dynamic UL grant and the UE determines that there is no user plane data to be sent on the dynamic UL grant, the at least one processor is configured to replace any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer with their corresponding replacement timers, or Wherein, if the UL grant is a UL configuration grant (CG) and the UE determines that there is no user plane data to be sent on the UL CG, the at least one processor is configured to replace any one or more of the BWP inactivity timer and the SCell deactivation timer with their corresponding alternative timers.

17. A user equipment (UE), comprising: means for receiving, from a network, an uplink (UL) grant for transmitting data from the UE to the network; means for determining whether a condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is satisfied; as well as means for maintaining or accelerating the expiration of one or more running timers if it is determined that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timers is satisfied, each running timer being a timer associated with the UL grant and being running upon receipt of the UL grant, Wherein, the means for determining whether a condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is satisfied comprises means for one of the following: The UL grant is a dynamic UL grant, and determining that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is satisfied if there is no data of any type to be sent on the dynamic UL grant and one or both of the following are true: no data of any type was sent in N consecutive previous dynamic UL grants, or no data of any type was sent in M ​​consecutive previous UL time slots that all had dynamic UL grants; The UL grant is a dynamic UL grant or a UL Configuration Grant (CG), and if there is no user plane data to be sent on the UL grant, and one or both of the following are true, determining that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is satisfied: No user plane data was sent in N consecutive previous UL grants of the same UL grant type as the UL grant, or no user plane data was sent on M consecutive previous UL time slots all having UL grants of the same UL grant type as the UL grant.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for a user equipment (UE), the instructions causing the UE to: receiving an uplink (UL) grant from a network for sending data from the UE to the network; determining whether a condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is satisfied; and If it is determined that the condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is satisfied, maintaining or accelerating the expiration associated with one or more running timers, each running timer being a timer associated with the UL grant and being running when the UL grant is received, in, The instructions for causing the UE to determine whether a condition for maintaining or accelerating a timer is satisfied include instructions for causing the UE to do one of the following: the UL grant being a dynamic UL grant, and determining that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is satisfied if there is no data of any type to be sent on the dynamic UL grant and one or both of the following are true: no data of any type was sent in N consecutive previous dynamic UL grants, or no data of any type was sent in M ​​consecutive previous UL time slots that all had dynamic UL grants; The UL grant is a dynamic UL grant or a UL configuration grant (CG), and if there is no user plane data to be sent on the UL grant, and one or both of the following are true, it is determined that the condition for maintaining or accelerating the timer is satisfied: no user plane data was sent in N consecutive previous UL grants of the same type as the UL grant, or no user plane data was sent in M ​​consecutive previous UL time slots all having UL grants of the same type as the UL grant.

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