Provides paging for remote wireless devices to relay wireless devices

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to techniques for providing paging for a remote wireless device to a relay wireless device in a wireless communication system. A cellular base station can receive an indication of a relay link between the relay wireless device and the remote wireless device from the relay wireless device. The cellular base station can provide paging information for the remote wireless device to the relay wireless device based at least in part on the indication of the relay link between the relay wireless device and the remote wireless device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to wireless communications, including providing paging for a remote wireless device to a relay wireless device in a wireless communication system. Background Art

[0002] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In addition, wireless communication technology has evolved from only voice communication to also include the transmission of data such as the Internet and multimedia content.

[0003] Mobile electronic devices may take the form of smartphones or tablets that are commonly carried by users. Wearable devices (also known as accessory devices) are a newer form of mobile electronic device, an example of which is the smartwatch. Additionally, low-cost, low-complexity wireless devices designed for static or dynamic deployment are rapidly increasing as part of the development of the "Internet of Things." In other words, the complexity, capabilities, traffic patterns, and other characteristics of the devices required are becoming increasingly broad. In general, it is desirable to recognize and provide improved support for a wide range of desired wireless communication characteristics. Therefore, improvements in this area are desired. Summary of the Invention

[0004]

[0014] Presented herein, inter alia, are embodiments of systems, apparatus, and methods for providing paging to a remote wireless device in a wireless communication system.

[0005] As discussed above, the number of use cases for diverse wireless devices with widely varying capabilities and usage expectations is increasing. One direction for expanding the possible use cases supported by wireless communication technologies may include a move toward low-cost and / or low-power wireless devices. The ability to support such wireless devices in establishing radio resource control connections and gaining access to cellular networks through an intermediate relay wireless device may increase the utility of such low-cost and / or low-power wireless devices.

[0006] Thus, the techniques described herein include, among other things, techniques for a cellular base station to provide a relay wireless device with paging information for a remote wireless device. The cellular base station may provide such information to the relay wireless device based, at least in part, on an indication from the relay wireless device that a relay link has been established between the relay wireless device and the remote wireless device. The paging information may be provided using dedicated signaling (e.g., when a radio resource control connection between the relay wireless device and the cellular base station is established) or during a paging occasion configured according to any of a variety of possible timing configurations. For example, the paging occasion timing may be calculated based on identification information for the relay wireless device or based on identification information for the remote wireless device in a manner known to both the relay wireless device and the cellular base station, among other possibilities. As another possibility, the cellular base station may provide the relay wireless device with paging occasion configuration information for the remote wireless device, and may determine, based on the paging occasion configuration information for the remote wireless device, the paging occasion timing of a paging occasion for providing paging information for the remote wireless device to the relay wireless device. In some cases, the cellular base station may be able to provide paging information for multiple remote wireless devices to the relay wireless device.

[0007] Also described herein are techniques for a remote wireless device to establish a relay link with a relay wireless device to facilitate communication with a cellular base station, and techniques for the relay wireless device to forward paging information to the remote wireless device via the relay link.

[0008] The techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used with many different types of devices, including, but not limited to, cellular telephones, tablet computers, accessory and / or wearable computing devices, portable media players, unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned flight controllers, automobiles and / or motor vehicles, cellular base stations and other cellular network infrastructure equipment, servers, and any of a variety of other computing devices.

[0009] This summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subject matter described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described features are merely examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following detailed description, accompanying drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] A better understanding of the present subject matter may be obtained when the following detailed description of the embodiments is considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0011] Figure 1 An exemplary wireless communication system including an accessory device according to some embodiments is shown;

[0012] Figure 2 An exemplary wireless communication system is shown in which two wireless devices can perform direct device-to-device communication according to some embodiments;

[0013] Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless device according to some embodiments;

[0014] Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary base station according to some embodiments;

[0015] Figure 5 is a communication flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for page forwarding to a remote wireless device in a wireless communication system according to some embodiments;

[0016] Figure 6 illustrates aspects of possible wireless communication relay between a remote UE, a relay UE, and a gNB according to some embodiments;

[0017] Figures 7 and 8 illustrates exemplary aspects of a possible protocol stack architecture for user plane and control plane communications in a 3GPP-based UE-to-network relay framework according to some embodiments;

[0018] Figures 9 and 10 illustrates exemplary aspects of a possible paging mechanism in a wireless communication system according to some embodiments; and

[0019] Figures 11 to 15 is a signal flow diagram illustrating various aspects of various possible example scenarios for performing page forwarding for a remote wireless device in a wireless communication system according to some embodiments.

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

[0021] Acronyms

[0022] The following acronyms are used in this disclosure.

[0023] 3GPP: Third Generation Partnership Project

[0024] 3GPP2: Third Generation Partnership Project 2

[0025] GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications

[0026] UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

[0027] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0028] NR: New Radio

[0029] IoT: Internet of Things

[0030] the term

[0031] The following are definitions of terms used in this disclosure:

[0032] Memory medium—any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media, such as CD-ROMs, floppy disks, or tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, such as hard drives or optical storage devices; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. Memory media may also include other types of non-transitory memory or combinations thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in the first computer system executing the program, or may be located in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., represented as a computer program) that can be executed by one or more processors.

[0033] Carrier Media—storage media as described above, and physical transmission media such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission media that carry signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals.

[0034] Programmable hardware elements—include various hardware devices that include multiple programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), PLDs (programmable logic devices), FPOAs (field programmable object arrays), and CPLDs (complex PLDs). Programmable function blocks can range from fine-grained (combinational logic units or lookup tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic units."

[0035] Computer system—any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), mainframe computer system, workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance, personal digital assistant (PDA), television system, grid computing system, or other device or combination of devices. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0036] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") - any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and that perform wireless communication. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smartphones (e.g., iPhones, TM , based on Android TM phones), tablets (e.g., iPad TM 、Samsung Galaxy TM ), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices or other handheld devices, cars and / or motor vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (e.g., drones), UAV controllers (UACs), etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to cover any electronic, computing and / or telecommunication device (or combination of devices) that is easily transportable by a user and capable of wireless communication.

[0037] Wireless Device—Any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communications. A wireless device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed in place. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0038] Communication Device—Any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communication, where the communication may be wired or wireless. A communication device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed in place. A wireless device is one example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0039] Base Station—The term “base station” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless communication system.

[0040] Link budget limited—includes the full scope of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a characteristic of a wireless device (e.g., UE) that exhibits limited communication capabilities or limited power relative to devices that are not link budget limited or relative to devices for which a radio access technology (RAT) standard has been developed. A link budget limited wireless device may experience relatively limited receive capability and / or transmit capability, which may be due to one or more factors, such as device design, device size, battery size, antenna size or design, transmit power, receive power, current transmission medium conditions, and / or other factors. Such devices may be referred to herein as “link budget limited” (or “link budget constrained”) devices. A device may be inherently link budget limited due to the size of the device, battery power, and / or transmit / receive power. For example, a smartwatch communicating with a base station via LTE or LTE-A may be inherently link budget limited due to its reduced transmit / receive power and / or antenna reduction. Wearable devices such as smartwatches are generally link budget limited devices. Alternatively, a device may not be inherently link budget limited, e.g., may have sufficient size, battery power, and / or transmit / receive power for normal communication over LTE or LTE-A, but may be temporarily link budget limited due to current communication conditions, e.g., a smartphone at a cell edge, etc. It is noted that the term "link budget limited" includes or encompasses power limitations, and thus a link-limited device may be considered a link budget limited device.

[0041] Processing element (or processor)—refers to any element or combination of elements capable of performing functions in a device (e.g., a user equipment device or a cellular network device). A processing element may include, for example, a processor and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, individual processors, processor arrays, circuits such as ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits), programmable hardware elements such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any of the above combinations.

[0042] Automatic—refers to an action or operation being performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or a device (e.g., a circuit, a programmable hardware element, an ASIC, etc.) without requiring user input to directly specify or execute the action or operation. Thus, the term "automatic" is in contrast to manual execution or specification of an action by a user, where the user provides input to directly perform the action. An automatic process may be initiated by user-provided input, but subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user, i.e., they are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing information, selecting checkboxes, radio selections, etc.) is manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user's actions. The form can be automatically filled out by a computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executing on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills it out without requiring any user input to specify the answers to the fields. As indicated above, a user can invoke automatic filling of a form without participating in the actual filling out of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields; they are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions that a user has taken.

[0043] Configured to—Various components may be described as being “configured to” perform one or more tasks. In such contexts, “configured to” is a broad statement that generally means “having the structure” to perform one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing the task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, “configured to” can be a broad statement that generally means “having the circuitry” to perform one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently turned on. Generally, the circuitry that forms the structure corresponding to “configured to” may include hardware circuitry.

[0044] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to." Representing a component as being configured to perform one or more tasks expressly does not invoke the sixth paragraph of section 112 of title 35 of the United States Code for that component.

[0045] Figures 1 to 2 —Wireless communication system

[0046] Figure 1 An example of a wireless cellular communication system is illustrated. It should be noted that Figure 1This represents one possibility among many, and the features of the present disclosure may be implemented by any of a variety of systems as desired. For example, the embodiments described herein may be implemented in any type of wireless device.

[0047] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a cellular base station 102 that communicates over a transmission medium with one or more wireless devices 106A, 106B, etc., and an accessory device 107. Wireless devices 106A, 106B, and 107 may be user equipment, which may be referred to herein as "user equipment" (UE) or UE devices.

[0048] Base station 102 may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site and may include hardware and / or software that enables wireless communications with UE device 106A, UE device 106B, and UE device 107. If base station 102 is implemented in the context of LTE, it may be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB." If base station 102 is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB." Base station 102 may also be equipped to communicate with network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, among various possible networks). Thus, base station 102 may facilitate communications between UE device 106 and UE device 107 and / or between UE device 106 / 107 and network 100. Also as used herein, with respect to a UE, a base station may sometimes be considered to represent the network in light of uplink and downlink communications for the UE. Therefore, a UE communicating with one or more base stations in a network may also be understood as a UE communicating with the network.

[0049] In other embodiments, the base station 102 may be configured to provide communications via one or more other wireless technologies, such as an access point supporting one or more WLAN protocols, such as 802.11a, b, g, n, ac, ad, and / or ax, or LTE in unlicensed bands (LAA).

[0050] The communication area (or coverage area) of the base station 102 may be referred to as a “cell.” The base station 102 and the UEs 106 / 107 may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs) or wireless communication technologies, such as GSM, UMTS (WCDMA, TDS-CDMA), LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), Wi-Fi, etc.

[0051] Thus, base station 102 and other similar base stations (not shown) operating according to one or more cellular communication technologies can be provided as a cell network that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UE devices 106A-106N and UE device 107 and similar devices within a geographic area via one or more cellular communication technologies.

[0052] Note that, at least in some cases, UE devices 106 / 107 may be capable of communicating using any of a variety of wireless communication technologies. For example, UE devices 106 / 107 may be configured to communicate using one or more of GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, LTE, LTE-A, NR, WLAN, Bluetooth, one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one and / or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H), etc. Other combinations of wireless communication technologies (including more than two wireless communication technologies) are also possible. Similarly, in some cases, UE devices 106 / UE devices 107 may be configured to communicate using only a single wireless communication technology.

[0053] UE 106A and UE 106B may comprise handheld devices such as smartphones or tablets, and / or may comprise any of various types of devices with cellular communication capabilities. For example, one or more of UE 106A and UE 106B may be wireless devices intended for static or dynamic deployment, such as appliances, measurement devices, control devices, and the like. UE 106B may be configured to communicate with a UE device 107, which may be referred to as an accessory device 107. Accessory device 107 may be any of various types of wireless devices, typically wearable devices with a smaller form factor and limited battery, output power, and / or communication capabilities relative to UE 106. As a common example, UE 106B may be a smartphone carried by a user, and accessory device 107 may be a smartwatch worn by the same user. UE 106B and accessory device 107 may communicate using any of various short-range communication protocols, such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. In some cases, UE 106B and accessory device 107 can utilize proximity services (ProSe) technology, for example, in a manner supported by a cellular base station, to perform direct peer-to-peer communications. For example, such ProSe communications can be performed as part of a relay link to support a radio resource control connection between accessory device 107 and BS 102, such as according to various embodiments described herein.

[0054] UE 106B may also be configured to communicate with UE 106A. For example, UE 106A and UE 106B may be able to perform direct device-to-device (D2D) communications. D2D communications may be supported by cellular base station 102 (e.g., BS 102 may facilitate discovery, as well as various possible forms of assistance), or may be performed in a manner not supported by BS 102. For example, it may be possible for UE 106A and UE 106B to arrange and perform D2D communications (e.g., including discovery communications) even when BS 102 and other cellular base stations have no coverage.

[0055] Figure 2 An exemplary BS 102 is shown communicating with a UE device 106, which in turn communicates with an accessory device 107. The UE device 106 and the accessory device 107 may be any of the following: a mobile phone, a tablet or any other type of handheld device, a smartwatch or other wearable device, a media player, a computer, a laptop, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an unmanned aerial vehicle controller (UAC), a car, or virtually any type of wireless device. In some embodiments, the accessory device may be a wireless device designed to have low cost and / or low power consumption, and may benefit from a relay link with the UE device 106 (and / or another companion device) to support communications with the BS 102. For example, in Figure 2 In the exemplary scenario of FIG, a device that utilizes a relay link with another wireless device to communicate with a cellular base station may also be referred to herein as a remote wireless device, a remote device, or a remote UE device, and a wireless device that provides such a relay link may also be referred to herein as a relay wireless device, a relay device, or a relay UE device. According to some embodiments, such BS 102, UE 106, and accessory device 107 may be configured to perform paging forwarding for a remote wireless device according to the various techniques described herein.

[0056] UE 106 and accessory device 107 may each include a device or integrated circuit known as a cellular modem for facilitating cellular communications. The cellular modem may include one or more processors (processing elements) configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory and / or various hardware components described herein. UE 106 and / or accessory device 107 may each perform any of the method implementations described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, UE 106 and / or accessory device 107 may include a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), an integrated circuit, and / or any of various other possible hardware components, configured to (e.g., individually or in combination) perform any of the method implementations described herein or any portion of any of the method implementations described herein. The cellular modem described herein may be used in a UE device as defined herein, a wireless device as defined herein, or a communication device as defined herein. The cellular modem described herein may also be used in a base station or other similar network-side device.

[0057] The UE 106 and / or the accessory device 107 may include one or more antennas for communicating in accordance with one or more RAT standards using one or more wireless communication protocols. In some embodiments, one or both of the UE 106 or the accessory device 107 may be configured to communicate using a single shared radio. The shared radio may be coupled to a single antenna, or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communications. Generally, the radio may include any combination of a baseband processor, analog radio frequency (RF) signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio may implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains using the aforementioned hardware.

[0058] Alternatively, UE 106 and / or accessory device 107 may include two or more radios. For example, in some embodiments, UE 106 and / or accessory device 107 may include a separate transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including separate antennas and other radios) for each wireless communication protocol with which it is configured to communicate. As another possibility, UE 106 and / or accessory device 107 may include one or more radios shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radios used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 and / or accessory device 107 may include a shared radio for communicating using either LTE or CDMA2000 1xRTT (or LTE or NR, or LTE or GSM), and a shared radio for communicating using Wi-Fi and BLUETOOTH. TM A separate radio component for each of the two devices to communicate. Other configurations are also possible.

[0059] Figure 3 —Block diagram of UE equipment

[0060] Figure 3 A possible block diagram of a UE device, such as UE device 106 or UE device 107, is shown. As shown, UE device 106 / 107 may include a system on a chip (SOC) 300, which may include components for various purposes. For example, as shown, SOC 300 may include a processor 302, which may execute program instructions for UE device 106 / 107, and display circuitry 304, which may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to display 360. SOC 300 may also include motion sensing circuitry 370, which may detect motion of UE 106, for example, using a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and / or any of various other motion sensing components. Processor 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receive addresses from processor 302 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, flash memory 310) and / or other circuits or devices, such as display circuit 304, radio 330, I / F 320, and / or display 360. MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, MMU 340 may be included as part of processor 302.

[0061] As shown, the SOC 300 may be coupled to various other circuits of the UE 106 / 107. For example, the UE 106 / 107 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), a connector interface 320 (e.g., for coupling to a computer system, a docking station, a charging station, etc.), a display 360, and wireless communication circuitry 330 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, etc.).

[0062] The UE device 106 / 107 may include at least one antenna and, in some embodiments, may include multiple antennas 335a and 335b for performing wireless communications with a base station and / or other devices. For example, the UE device 106 / 107 may use antennas 335a and 335b to perform wireless communications. As described above, the UE device 106 / 107 may, in some embodiments, be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards or radio access technologies (RATs).

[0063] Wireless communication circuitry 330 may include Wi-Fi logic 332, a cellular modem 334, and Bluetooth logic 336. Wi-Fi logic 332 is configured to enable UE device 106 / 107 to perform Wi-Fi communications over an 802.11 network. Bluetooth logic 336 is configured to enable UE device 106 / 107 to perform Bluetooth communications. Cellular modem 334 may be a relatively low-power cellular modem capable of performing cellular communications according to one or more cellular communication technologies.

[0064] As described herein, the UE 106 / 107 may include hardware components and software components for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processor 302 of the UE device 106 / 107 may be configured to implement part or all of the methods described herein. In other embodiments, the processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). In addition, the processor 302 may be coupled to a processor such as a processor 106 / 107. Figure 3The other components shown and / or may interoperate with such other components to perform page forwarding for remote wireless devices in accordance with various embodiments disclosed herein. The processor 302 may also implement various other applications and / or end-user applications running on the UE 106. Alternatively or in addition, one or more components of the wireless communication circuitry 330 (e.g., the cellular modem 334) of the UE device 106 / 107 may be configured as a processor that executes program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), configured as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), and / or using dedicated hardware components that may include an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) to implement part or all of the methods described herein.

[0065] Figure 4 —Block diagram of a base station

[0066] Figure 4 1 shows an exemplary block diagram of a base station 102 according to some embodiments. Note that Figure 4 The base station 102 is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor 404 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuit or device that may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 404 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0067] The base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Figure 1 and Figure 2 As described in , the network port 470 can be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide multiple devices, such as the UE devices 106 / 107 , with access to the telephone network.

[0068] The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to a plurality of devices, such as the UE devices 106 / 107. For example, the core network may include, for example, a mobility management entity (MME) for providing mobility management services, a serving gateway (SGW) and / or a packet data network gateway (PGW) for providing external data connections, such as to the Internet, and the like. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., between other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0069] Base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. One or more antennas 434 may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with UE devices 106 / 107 via radio 430. Antenna 434 communicates with radio 430 via communication chain 432. Communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. Radio 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to LTE, LTE-A, NR, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, and the like.

[0070] Base station 102 may be configured to communicate wirelessly using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, base station 102 may include multiple radios that may enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio for communicating according to LTE and a Wi-Fi radio for communicating according to Wi-Fi. In such a case, base station 102 may be capable of operating as both an LTE base station and a Wi-Fi access point. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multimode radio capable of communicating according to any of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., LTE and NR, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0071] As further described later herein, BS 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting specific implementations of the features described herein. According to some embodiments, the processor 404 of base station 102 may be configured to implement part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or additionally), in combination with one or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470, the processor 404 of BS 102 may be configured to implement or support implementation of paging forwarding for remote wireless devices according to various embodiments described herein, and / or any of the various other features of the features described herein.

[0072] Figure 5 -Communication Flowchart

[0073] Figure 5is a communication flow diagram illustrating a method for forwarding a page to a remote wireless device in a wireless communication system according to some embodiments. In various embodiments, some of the elements of the illustrated method may be performed concurrently in a different order than shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as needed.

[0074] Figure 5 Aspects of the method may be performed by a wireless device and / or a cellular base station, such as in Figures 1 to 4 Shown in and relative to Figures 1 to 4 The described UE 106A-106B or 107 and / or BS 102 may be implemented, or more generally implemented in combination with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements or components shown in the above figures as needed. For example, the processor (and / or other hardware) of such a device may be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the method elements shown and / or other method elements.

[0075] It is noted that although the present invention is described in a manner involving the use of communication techniques and / or features associated with LTE, NR and / or 3GPP specification documents, Figure 5 At least some elements of the method, but this description is not intended to limit the present disclosure and can be used in any suitable wireless communication system as needed Figure 5 Aspects of the Method As shown in the figure, the method can be operated as follows.

[0076] In 502, a wireless device ("first wireless device" or "relay wireless device") 106 may establish a relay link with another wireless device ("second wireless device" or "remote wireless device") 107. The relay link may include a device-to-device (D2D) or peer-to-peer (P2P) link, such as a wireless link based on cellular proximity services (ProSe), or any of various other such types of wireless links. According to some embodiments, the relay link may be configured to relay cellular communications between the remote wireless device and the cellular base station 102 via the relay wireless device, for example, in a scenario where the remote wireless device may have more limited wireless communication capabilities (e.g., battery power constraints, transmission power constraints, etc.) than the relay wireless device, so that the remote wireless device can benefit from the use of the communication capabilities of the relay wireless device.

[0077] The remote wireless device may be any of various types of wireless devices capable of indirectly performing wireless communications with a cellular base station via an intermediate relay wireless device. As one possibility, the remote wireless device may be an accessory device, such as a smartwatch or other wearable device configured as a low-cost and / or low-power wireless device. The relay wireless device may be any of various types of wireless devices capable of supporting wireless communications between the remote wireless device and the cellular base station by acting as an intermediate relay wireless device. As one possibility, the relay wireless device may be a smartphone capable of acting as a companion device to the remote wireless device. Many other types of wireless devices may also function as remote wireless devices and / or relay wireless devices. The cellular base station may be any of various types of base stations capable of indirectly performing wireless communications with the remote wireless device via an intermediate relay wireless device and capable of providing access to a cellular network. As one possibility, the cellular base station may be a 3GPP 5G NR gNB. Alternatively (or in addition), the cellular base station may be capable of operating according to any of various other possible cellular communication standards.

[0078] Establishing a relay link can be performed in any of a variety of possible ways. According to at least some embodiments, the relay wireless device can transmit a discovery broadcast message (e.g., based on an event-driven or periodic trigger) indicating that the relay wireless device is capable of providing a relay link with a cellular base station for the remote wireless device. The remote wireless device can receive the discovery broadcast message from the relay wireless device (and potentially can receive the discovery broadcast message from one or more other wireless devices capable of supporting a relay link with a cellular base station). The remote wireless device can perform link selection to determine a wireless device with which to attempt to establish a relay link for relaying cellular communications between the remote wireless device and the cellular base station, and can select the relay wireless device based at least in part on the discovery broadcast message received from the relay wireless device.

[0079] Upon selecting the relay wireless device, the remote wireless device may provide an access request to the relay wireless device, which may include any of various possible types of information (e.g., wireless device identification information, requested relay link configuration parameters, etc.). If the relay wireless device accepts the access request, the relay wireless device may provide an indication that the access request was accepted, which may similarly include any of various possible types of information (e.g., relay link identification information, relay link configuration parameters, etc.). Note that many alternatives and / or variations of this exemplary process for establishing a relay link are possible.

[0080] At 504, the relay wireless device may provide an indication of the relay link to the cellular base station. This may include providing any of various possible types of information regarding the relay link and / or the remote wireless device in any of various possible manners. In at least some cases, this may include providing access information to the remote wireless device to facilitate access by the remote wireless device to a cellular network accessible via the cellular base station. The indication may be configured, at least in part, to facilitate providing paging information intended for the remote wireless device to the relay wireless device, such as being forwarded to the remote wireless device via a relay link established between the relay wireless device and the remote wireless device. In other words, according to at least some embodiments, the remote wireless device, the relay wireless device, and the cellular base station may configure an arrangement in which the cellular base station indirectly provides paging information to the remote wireless device via the relay wireless device. According to at least some embodiments, such an arrangement may allow the remote wireless device to receive cellular paging information that it may otherwise be unable to receive (e.g., due to wireless communication capability constraints) and may be used in conjunction with other such wireless communication relay technologies to support cellular communication performance between the remote wireless device and the cellular base station even when the remote wireless device and the cellular base station are unable to communicate directly with each other.

[0081] In 506, the cellular base station may provide paging information for the remote wireless device to the relay wireless device, for example, according to a paging information relay arrangement configured between the remote wireless device, the relay wireless device, and the cellular base station. According to at least some embodiments, the paging information may include one or more paging messages and / or other information configured to be delivered to the remote wireless device when the remote wireless device is operating in a radio resource control (RRC) idle or RRC inactive mode. For example, the paging information may include one or more downlink and / or uplink grants, and / or other information indicating (re)establishment of an RRC connection to perform data communications with the cellular network, among other possibilities.

[0082] Paging information for the remote wireless device may be provided to the relay wireless device in any of a variety of possible manners and / or times. As one possibility, when an RRC connection is established between the relay wireless device and the cellular base station, the paging information for the remote wireless device may be provided to the relay wireless device from the cellular base station via dedicated signaling. As another possibility, the paging information for the remote wireless device may be provided to the relay wireless device from the cellular base station during a paging occasion configured based on identification information for the remote wireless device. For example, in this scenario, the relay wireless device may receive the paging information for the remote wireless device at a different paging occasion than when the relay wireless device receives paging information for the relay wireless device itself. As another possibility, the paging information for the remote wireless device may be provided to the relay wireless device from the cellular base station during a paging occasion configured based on identification information for the relay wireless device. In this scenario, the relay wireless device may receive the paging information for the remote wireless device at the same paging occasion as when the relay wireless device receives paging information for the relay wireless device itself. As another possibility, the cellular base station may provide the relay wireless device with paging occasion configuration information for the remote wireless device, and the cellular base station may provide the relay wireless device with paging information for the remote wireless device during a paging occasion configured according to the paging occasion configuration information for the remote wireless device. Note that any of these methods may also be used when the relay wireless device provides cellular communication relay services to multiple remote wireless devices. For example, the relay wireless device may also establish another relay link with another remote wireless device, provide an indication of the relay link to the cellular base station, and receive paging information for the remote wireless device from the cellular base station during a paging occasion configured according to any one of the identification information for the remote wireless device, the identification information for the relay wireless device, or the paging occasion configuration information for the remote wireless device.

[0083] At 508, the relay wireless device may provide paging information to the remote wireless device. The paging information may be provided in any of a variety of possible ways. As one possibility, the paging information may be provided from the relay wireless device to the remote wireless device during a paging occasion configured according to paging occasion configuration information for the relay link between the relay wireless device and the remote wireless device. This paging occasion configuration information for the relay link between the relay wireless device and the remote wireless device may be provided by the relay wireless device to the remote wireless device, for example, when the relay link is established. The paging occasion configuration information may include an explicit indication of one or more paging occasions and / or an implicit indication of one or more paging occasions, such as information based on which the remote wireless device can determine when to schedule a paging occasion for the relay link. For example, in some cases, the paging occasion may be scheduled based on relay link identification information, which may be provided during relay link establishment in a manner known to both the remote wireless device and the relay wireless device (e.g., specified in accordance with 3GPP or otherwise mutually agreed upon).

[0084] Based on the paging information, the remote wireless device may receive downlink communications from the cellular base station, transmit uplink communications to the cellular base station, and / or otherwise perform cellular communications with the cellular base station in accordance with any downlink grants, uplink grants, and / or other information provided in the paging information. According to various embodiments, such subsequent communications may be performed directly between the remote wireless device and the cellular base station, or indirectly via a relay wireless device.

[0085] Thus, using the techniques described herein, it is possible for a remote wireless device to receive a paging message from a cellular network via a relay wireless device. According to at least some embodiments, such techniques (possibly in combination with other techniques for relaying wireless communications between a remote wireless device and a cellular base station via a relay wireless device) can be used to support cellular communications for a wider range of types of wireless devices, for example, potentially helping to further expand the range of possible wireless devices capable of utilizing cellular communications to lower cost and / or lower power wireless devices, among other possible benefits.

[0086] Figures 6 to 15 and additional information

[0087] supply Figures 6 to 15 and the additional information below, which illustrates the Figure 5 Further considerations and possible implementation details of the method are not intended to limit the present disclosure as a whole. Various variations and alternatives to the details provided below are possible and should be considered to fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0088] 3GPP 5G NR cellular communication technology is being developed for a variety of uses, including enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine type communications (mMTC). mMTC use cases may include widespread deployment of wireless devices designed to have relatively low cost and / or low power consumption. Such devices may include wearable devices, devices, process control devices, measurement devices, and / or any of a variety of other types of devices. In at least some embodiments (e.g., in some cases, wearable devices), it may be the case that such devices may typically be relatively close to another wireless device (e.g., in some cases, a smartphone) that can serve as a relay for communicating with a cellular network. Therefore, in at least some embodiments, it may be advantageous to support a UE to NW communication relay framework, for example, to help support the operation of low cost and / or low power wireless devices that can benefit from such a framework. For example, Figure 6 Aspects of one possible exemplary wireless communication relay between a remote UE 602, a relay UE 604, and a cellular base station 606 are shown. As shown, in the illustrated scenario, the remote UE 602 can communicate with the cellular base station 606 via a relay link between the remote UE 606 and the relay UE 602 and a Uu link between the relay UE 604 and the cellular base station 604.

[0089] According to various implementations, there may be multiple possible types of UE-to-NW relay frameworks. As one possibility, at least in some cases, layer 3 relaying may be used, which can be implemented without impacting the access stratum communication layer. As another possibility, layer 2 relaying may be used, for example, by establishing and maintaining a radio resource control connection that terminates between a remote UE and a cellular base station. Figures 7 and 8 Exemplary aspects of a possible protocol stack architecture for user plane and control plane communications in a 3GPP based UE to network relay framework, where communication relay is implemented at Layer 2, are shown according to some embodiments.

[0090] More specifically, Figure 7 1 shows a user plane radio protocol stack for a Layer 2 UE to network relay that utilizes a PC5 interface between a remote UE 702 and a relay UE 704 to provide a communication link between the remote UE 702 and the eNB 706, and to a core network 708 that provides access to the eNB 706. Similarly, Figure 8The control plane radio protocol stack for a Layer 2 UE-to-network relay is shown, which utilizes a PC5 interface between a remote UE 802 and a relay UE 804 to provide a communication link between the remote UE 802 and an eNB 806, and to provide a communication link to a core network 808 that provides access to the eNB 806. As shown, the relay can be implemented above the RLC sublayer. The Uu PDCP and RRC links can terminate between the remote UE and the eNB, while the RLC, MAC, and PHY, as well as non-3GPP transport layers, terminate in each link (e.g., the link between the remote UE and the relay UE, and the link between the relay UE and the eNB).

[0091] According to some embodiments, a cellular communication system may utilize a paging mechanism to provide notifications to UE devices when they are in RRC idle or inactive mode. According to such a paging mechanism, at least as one possibility, the UE device may be configured to monitor a paging channel during certain designated paging occasions when operating in RRC idle or inactive mode, and the cellular base station serving the UE may provide any paging information to the UE device during those paging occasions. The paging occasions may be derived by both the UE and the cellular base station according to one or more formulas, which may be based at least in part on identification information of the UE. For example, as one possibility, it may be the case that the following formula (e.g., according to 3GPP TS36.304) may be used to derive a paging frame (PF) in which one or more paging occasions (PO) occur for the UE:

[0092] PF=(SFN+PF_offset)mod T=(T div N)*(UE_ID mod N)

[0093] Furthermore, the paging occasions within such a paging frame (e.g., a set of PDCCH monitoring occasions where paging downlink control information may be sent, each of which may include multiple slots) may be derived using the following formula (e.g., according to 3GPP TS 36.304):

[0094] PO=i_s–floor(UE_ID / N)mod Ns

[0095] Note that, at least according to some embodiments, in multi-beam operation, the length of one paging occasion may include one period of beam scanning, and the UE may be able to assume that the same paging message is repeated in all beams of the scanning pattern. At least in some cases, such a paging mechanism may support the first PDCCH monitoring occasion of each paging occasion in the paging frame being configured, for example, for configuration flexibility.

[0096] Note that at least some paging parameters may be different for different operating modes. For example, in some cases, 5G-S-TMSI may be used as the UE ID for paging to support core network (CN) initiated paging in RRC idle. In this case, at least as one possibility, the paging discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle may be the shorter of a default cycle or a UE-specific cycle configured via non-access stratum (NAS) signaling. As another example, in some cases, I-RNTI may be used as the UE ID for paging to support radio access network (RAN) initiated paging in RRC inactive. In this case, at least as one possibility, the paging DRX cycle may be the shorter of a default cycle, a UE-specific cycle configured via NAS signaling, or a RAN-specific cycle configured via RRC signaling.

[0097] Figures 9 and 10 1 shows exemplary aspects of such a possible paging mechanism in a wireless communication system according to some embodiments. Figure 9 In the exemplary scenario shown in , a UE may be configured with two paging occasions in a paging frame, each of which may include four PDCCH monitoring occasions. This paging configuration may be configured using the following, at least according to some embodiments: paging-SearchSpace configuration (periodicity: 5 slots; offset: 0; duration: 2 slots; monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot: 00100000100000; CORESET-time-duration: 4 OFDM symbols); nB-2T; reference frame determined by the UE: SFN "F1"; number of SSBs = 4; i_s = 0 indicating PDCCH monitoring occasions 0, 1, 2, 3 for the first PO; and i_s = 1 indicating PDCCH monitoring occasions 4, 5, 6, 7 for the second PO. Figure 10 Another example of a possible configuration of groups / bursts of PDCCH monitoring occasions forming paging occasions within a paging frame is shown, for example, where an index value associated with a first PDCCH monitoring occasion of a paging occasion can be used to determine and / or indicate a configured paging occasion within a paging frame.

[0098] For a direct cellular link between a wireless device and a cellular base station, pages may be delivered by the network via a Uu link. The wireless device may perform monitoring for pages during a paging opportunity for the wireless device, for example, as calculated based on the wireless device's 5G-S-TMSI during an idle DRX cycle of the wireless device, such as during Figures 9 and 10In the exemplary scenario shown and described in FIG. In the case of L2 UE to NW relay, the relay UE can forward or relay paging received from the network to the remote UE via the relay link. However, there is currently no paging forwarding mechanism for relay UEs specified in the 3GPP standard. Therefore, it may be beneficial to provide such a paging forwarding mechanism for remote wireless devices.

[0099] The paging forwarding mechanism may allow an idle or inactive remote UE to receive a paging message from a relay UE to which the remote UE is linked. In particular, at least according to some embodiments, if a remote UE is linked to a relay UE, the remote UE may receive paging from the relay UE via the relay link. The remote UE may monitor paging via the relay link at a relay link paging opportunity (e.g., the relay link paging opportunity may be allocated by the relay UE or calculated based on the relay link ID of the remote UE or the S-TMSI of the remote UE). The relay UE may receive paging of the remote UE from the network and forward the paging to the remote UE via the relay link. The relay UE may only monitor and forward paging for the linked remote UE in the Uu link; the relay UE may be aware of the linked idle / inactive remote UE.

[0100] There may be several options for when and how the relay UE receives paging for the linked remote UE in the Uu link from the network side. As one possibility, for example, if the relay UE is operating in an RRC connection, the network may transmit the paging of the remote UE to the linked relay UE via dedicated signaling. As another possibility, the network may transmit the paging of the remote UE during a paging occasion, wherein the paging occasion is calculated based on the remote UE ID. As yet another possibility, the network may transmit the paging of the remote UE during a paging occasion, wherein the paging occasion is calculated based on the relay UE ID. As yet another possibility, the network may transmit the paging of the remote UE during a special paging occasion configured for the relay UE to perform paging reception for the linked remote UE. Other techniques are also possible.

[0101] Figures 11 to 15 is a signal flow diagram showing further details of various possible such paging forwarding techniques. Figure 11Aspects of an exemplary scenario are shown in which a relay UE 1104 receives a page for a remote UE 1102 from a gNB 1106 via a Uu link and forwards the page to the remote UE 1102 via the relay link, in accordance with some embodiments. As shown, in the illustrated scenario, at 1108, the remote UE may be operating in RRC Inactive or RRC Idle. At 1110, the remote UE may provide an access request to the relay UE, e.g., to establish a relay link for communicating with the gNB. At 1112, the relay UE may accept the access request, including providing various relay link configuration information, such as relay link identification information, which may be used, for example, to determine when to schedule paging occasions for the relay link. Note that the distribution of paging occasions on the Uu link and the relay link may be different, e.g., as described herein with respect to Figures 12 to 15 As further described. After establishing the relay link, the relay UE may become aware of the remote UE in 1114 and may provide the remote UE's access information to the gNB in 1116. Based on the provided information about the remote UE, the gNB may provide the paging information to the relay UE in 1118 when it has paging information for the remote UE. During relay link paging occasions, the remote UE may monitor the relay link for paging information in 1120, 1122, and 1124. In 1122, the relay UE may forward the paging information received from the gNB to the remote UE, and the remote UE may thus receive the paging information during the relay link paging occasion. In 1126, the remote UE may provide a leave indication to the relay UE. In 1128, the gNB may attempt to provide further paging information for the remote UE to the relay UE, but since the remote UE may no longer be linked to the relay UE, it may be the case that the relay UE stops forwarding pages to the remote UE and only monitors its own pages in the Uu link.

[0102] Figure 12Aspects of an example scenario are shown in which a relay UE 1204 receives a page for a remote UE 1202 from a gNB 1206 via a Uu link via RRC dedicated signaling and forwards the page to the remote UE 1202 via the relay link, according to some embodiments. As shown, in the illustrated scenario, the remote UE may operate in RRC Inactive or RRC Idle mode (1208), while the relay UE may operate in RRC Connected mode (1210). In 1212, the remote UE may provide an access request to the relay UE, e.g., to establish a relay link for communication with the gNB. In 1214, the relay UE may accept the access request, including providing various relay link configuration information, such as relay link identification information. After the relay link is established, in 1216, the relay UE may become aware of the remote UE and may provide the gNB with access information for the remote UE (e.g., via RRC dedicated signaling). Based on the provided information about the remote UE, in 1218, when the gNB has paging information for the remote UE, the gNB may provide the paging information to the relay UE via RRC dedicated signaling. In 1220, during a relay link paging occasion, the relay UE may forward the paging information received from the gNB to the remote UE. The remote UE may monitor the relay link during the relay link paging occasion to obtain the paging information, and thus the remote UE may receive the paging information.

[0103] Figure 13 Aspects of an example scenario are shown in which a relay UE 1304 receives a page for a remote UE 1302 from a gNB 1306 via a Uu link during a paging occasion calculated based on the UE ID of the remote UE 1302 and forwards the page to the remote UE 1302 via a relay link, according to some embodiments. As shown, in the illustrated scenario, at 1308, the remote UE may be operating in RRC Inactive or RRC Idle mode. At 1310, the remote UE may provide an access request to the relay UE, e.g., to establish a relay link for communication with the gNB. At 1312, the relay UE may accept the access request, including providing various relay link configuration information, such as relay link identification information. The relay UE may provide the gNB with the remote UE's access information, and accordingly, at 1314, when the gNB has paging information for the remote UE, the gNB may provide the paging information to the relay UE during a paging occasion calculated based on the UE ID of the remote UE. For example, the S-TMSI of the remote UE may be used to calculate the paging occasion at which the gNB provides the relay UE with paging information for the remote UE. Note that, at least according to some embodiments, alternatively, it may be the case that: Figure 13In the scenario shown in FIG13 , the relay UE does not need to provide the remote UE's access information to the gNB, for example, because the paging occasion for providing paging information for the remote UE may have already been calculated based on the remote UE ID. In 1316 , the remote UE may attempt to receive paging information directly from the gNB, for example, on a best-effort basis. In 1318 , during a relay link paging occasion, the relay UE may forward the paging information received from the gNB to the remote UE. The remote UE may monitor the relay link for paging information during the relay link paging occasion, and thus the remote UE may receive the paging information (e.g., if the remote UE was not already able to receive paging information during a remote UE paging occasion on the Uu link). In 1320 , when the gNB has paging information for the relay UE, the gNB may provide the paging information to the relay UE during a paging occasion calculated based on the relay UE's UE ID (e.g., a paging occasion different from the paging occasion calculated based on the remote UE's UE ID).

[0104] Figure 14Aspects of an example scenario are shown in which a relay UE 1404 receives a page for a remote UE 1402 from a gNB 1406 via a Uu link during a paging occasion calculated based on the UE ID of the relay UE 1404 and forwards the page to the remote UE 1402 via a relay link, according to some embodiments. As shown, in the illustrated scenario, at 1408, the remote UE may be operating in RRC Inactive or RRC Idle mode. At 1410, the remote UE may provide an access request to the relay UE, e.g., to establish a relay link for communication with the gNB. At 1412, the relay UE may accept the access request, including providing various relay link configuration information, such as relay link identification information, and potential paging occasion information for the relay UE. In 1414, the relay UE may provide the remote UE's access information to the gNB, and accordingly, in 1416, when the gNB has paging information for the remote UE, the gNB may provide the paging information to the relay UE during a paging occasion calculated based on the relay UE's UE ID. For example, the relay UE's S-TMSI may be used to calculate the paging occasion at which the gNB provides the relay UE's paging information to the relay UE. Note that any paging information for the relay UE may also be provided during a paging occasion calculated based on the relay UE's UE ID. In 1418, if the relay UE provides the remote UE with paging occasion information for the relay UE, the remote UE may attempt to receive the paging information directly from the gNB, for example, on a best-effort basis. In 1420, during the relay link paging occasion, the relay UE may forward the paging information received from the gNB to the remote UE. The remote UE may monitor the relay link for paging information during the relay link paging occasion, and thus the remote UE may receive the paging information (eg, if the remote UE has not been able to receive the paging information during the relay UE paging occasion on the Uu link).

[0105] Figure 15Aspects of an exemplary scenario are shown in which a relay UE 1506 receives pages for multiple remote UEs 1502, 1504 from a gNB 1508 via a Uu link during a paging opportunity configured for receiving paging information for remote UEs and forwards the pages to the remote UEs 1502, 1504 via a relay link with each respective remote UE, according to some embodiments. As shown, in the illustrated scenario, a first remote UE 1502 may be operating in RRC Inactive or RRC Idle (1510), and a second remote UE 1504 may also be operating in RRC Inactive or RRC Idle (1512). In 1514, the gNB may provide remote UE paging occasion configuration information to the relay UE, which may configure a paging occasion location at which the gNB will provide paging information for the remote UE to the relay UE (and potentially also to the remote UE). In 1516, the first remote UE may provide an access request to the relay UE, e.g., to establish a relay link for communication with the gNB. In 1518, the relay UE may accept the access request, including providing various relay link configuration information, such as relay link identification information, and potentially configured remote UE paging occasion information. In 1520, the relay UE may provide the gNB with access information for the first remote UE. Similarly, in 1522, the second remote UE may provide an access request to the relay UE. In 1524, the relay UE may accept the access request, and in 1526, the relay UE may provide the gNB with access information for the second remote UE. In 1528, when the gNB has paging information for the first and / or second remote UE, the gNB may provide the paging information to the relay UE during a paging occasion configured to provide paging information for the remote UEs. Note that if configured remote UE paging occasion information is provided to the first and / or second remote UE, the first and / or second remote UE may also attempt to receive paging information directly from the gNB, for example, on a best-effort basis. In 1530, during a relay link paging occasion for the first remote UE, the relay UE may forward any paging information received from the gNB for the first remote UE to the first remote UE. The first remote UE may monitor the relay link for paging information during this relay link paging occasion, and thus the first remote UE may receive the paging information (e.g., if the first remote UE is not yet able to receive the paging information). Similarly, in 1532, during a relay link paging occasion for the second remote UE, the relay UE may forward any paging information received from the gNB for the second remote UE to the second remote UE. The second remote UE may monitor the relay link for paging information during this relay link paging occasion, and thus the second remote UE may receive the paging information (e.g., if the second remote UE is not yet able to receive the paging information).Note that although the paging occasions for the remote UEs on their respective relay links are shown as occurring at different times, the relay link paging occasions for the remote UEs linked to the relay UE may also occur at the same time. Note also that according to . Figure 15 The method shown in , similar to Figure 13 , it may be the case that the relay UE receives a paging message for the relay UE at a paging occasion different from the paging occasion configured for receiving paging information for the remote UE; for example, although Figure 15 Not shown, but in Figure 15 In the scenario, the situation may be that the relay UE receives the paging message for the relay UE at the paging occasion calculated based on the UE ID of the relay UE.

[0106] Therefore, at least according to some embodiments, using the techniques described herein, it is possible for a relay UE to forward paging for a remote UE via a relay link, for example including providing techniques for determining when the relay UE starts and stops forwarding paging in its relay link, which paging messages are forwarded in its relay link, how the relay UE obtains paging messages to be forwarded from the network, and how the remote UE receives the forwarded paging messages via the relay link.

[0107] In the following, additional exemplary embodiments are provided.

[0108] One set of embodiments may include an apparatus comprising: a processor configured to cause a cellular base station to: receive, from a first wireless device, an indication of a relay link between the first wireless device and a second wireless device; and provide, to the first wireless device, paging information for the second wireless device based at least in part on the indication of the relay link between the first wireless device and the second wireless device.

[0109] According to some embodiments, the paging information for the second wireless device is provided via dedicated signaling when a radio resource control (RRC) connection is established between the first wireless device and the cellular base station.

[0110] According to some embodiments, the paging information for the second wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured based on identification information for the second wireless device.

[0111] According to some embodiments, the paging information for the second wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured based on identification information for the first wireless device.

[0112] According to some embodiments, the processor is further configured to cause the cellular base station to: provide paging occasion configuration information for a remote wireless device to the first wireless device, wherein the paging information for the second wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured according to the paging occasion configuration information for the remote wireless device.

[0113] According to some embodiments, the processor is further configured to cause the cellular base station to: receive an indication of a relay link between the first wireless device and a third wireless device from the first wireless device; and provide paging information for the third wireless device to the first wireless device based at least in part on the indication of the relay link between the first wireless device and the third wireless device; wherein the paging information for the third wireless device is provided during a paging opportunity configured according to the paging opportunity configuration information for the remote wireless device.

[0114] According to some embodiments, the processor is further configured to cause the cellular base station to: provide paging information for the first wireless device to the first wireless device during a paging occasion configured based on identification information for the first wireless device.

[0115] According to some embodiments, the processor is further configured to cause the cellular base station to: receive an indication from the first wireless device that the relay link between the first wireless device and the second wireless device has been released; and stop providing paging information for the second wireless device to the first wireless device based at least in part on the indication that the relay link between the first wireless device and the second wireless device has been released.

[0116] Another set of embodiments may include a cellular base station comprising: an antenna; a radio component operably coupled to the antenna; and a processor operably coupled to the radio component; wherein the cellular base station is configured to: receive an indication of a relay link between a first wireless device and a second wireless device from the first wireless device; and provide paging information for the second wireless device to the first wireless device based at least in part on the indication of the relay link between the first wireless device and the second wireless device.

[0117] According to some embodiments, the paging information for the second wireless device is provided via dedicated signaling when a radio resource control (RRC) connection is established between the first wireless device and the cellular base station.

[0118] According to some embodiments, the paging information for the second wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured based on identification information for the second wireless device.

[0119] According to some embodiments, the paging information for the second wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured based on identification information for the first wireless device.

[0120] According to some embodiments, the cellular base station is further configured to: provide paging occasion configuration information for a remote wireless device to the first wireless device, wherein the paging information for the second wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured according to the paging occasion configuration information for the remote wireless device.

[0121] According to some embodiments, the cellular base station is further configured to: receive an indication of a relay link between the first wireless device and a third wireless device from the first wireless device; and provide paging information for the third wireless device to the first wireless device based at least in part on the indication of the relay link between the first wireless device and the third wireless device; wherein the paging information for the third wireless device is provided during a paging opportunity configured according to the paging opportunity configuration information for the remote wireless device.

[0122] Yet another set of embodiments may include a method comprising: receiving, by a cellular base station: an indication of a relay link between a first wireless device and a second wireless device from a first wireless device; and providing, to the first wireless device, paging information for the second wireless device based at least in part on the indication of the relay link between the first wireless device and the second wireless device.

[0123] According to some embodiments, the paging information for the second wireless device is provided via dedicated signaling when a radio resource control (RRC) connection is established between the first wireless device and the cellular base station.

[0124] According to some embodiments, the paging information for the second wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured based on identification information for the second wireless device.

[0125] According to some embodiments, the paging information for the second wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured based on identification information for the first wireless device.

[0126] According to some embodiments, the method further comprises providing paging occasion configuration information for a remote wireless device to the first wireless device, wherein the paging information for the second wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured according to the paging occasion configuration information for the remote wireless device.

[0127] According to some embodiments, the method also includes: receiving an indication of a relay link between the first wireless device and a third wireless device from the first wireless device; and providing paging information for the third wireless device to the first wireless device based at least in part on the indication of the relay link between the first wireless device and the third wireless device; wherein the paging information for the third wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured according to the paging occasion configuration information for the remote wireless device.

[0128] Yet another example embodiment may include a method comprising: performing, by a wireless device: any or all of the foregoing examples.

[0129] Another example embodiment may include a wireless device comprising: an antenna; a radio coupled to the antenna; and a processing element operatively coupled to the radio, wherein the device is configured to implement any or all of the foregoing examples.

[0130] Another example embodiment may include an apparatus comprising a processing element configured to cause a wireless device to implement any or all of the foregoing examples.

[0131] Another exemplary set of embodiments may include a non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium including program instructions that, when executed at a device, cause the device to implement any or all portions of any of the foregoing examples.

[0132] Another exemplary set of embodiments may include a computer program comprising instructions for performing any or all portions of any of the foregoing examples.

[0133] Another exemplary set of embodiments may include an apparatus comprising means for performing any or all of the elements of any of the preceding examples.

[0134] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0135] In addition to the exemplary embodiments described above, further embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0136] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein the program instructions, if executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method, such as any one of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein or any combination of such subsets.

[0137] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., UE 106 or 107) may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, wherein the program instructions may be executed to implement any of the various method embodiments described herein (or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of various forms.

[0138] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a processor configured to cause the cellular base station to: receiving, from a first wireless device, an indication of a relay link between the first wireless device and a second wireless device; providing, to the first wireless device, paging information for the second wireless device based at least in part on the indication of the relay link between the first wireless device and the second wireless device; as well as When the first wireless device provides the second wireless device with paging occasion information for the first wireless device, the paging information is directly sent to the second wireless device.

2. The device according to claim 1, The paging information for the second wireless device is provided via dedicated signaling when a radio resource control (RRC) connection is established between the first wireless device and the cellular base station.

3. The device according to claim 1, The paging information for the second wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured based on identification information for the second wireless device.

4. The device according to claim 1, The paging information for the second wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured based on identification information for the first wireless device.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause the cellular base station to: providing paging occasion configuration information for a remote wireless device to the first wireless device, The paging information for the second wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured according to the paging occasion configuration information for the remote wireless device.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause the cellular base station to: receiving, from the first wireless device, an indication of a relay link between the first wireless device and a third wireless device; and providing, to the first wireless device, paging information for the third wireless device based at least in part on the indication of the relay link between the first wireless device and the third wireless device; The paging information for the third wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured according to the paging occasion configuration information for the remote wireless device.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause the cellular base station to: During a paging occasion configured based on the identification information for the first wireless device, paging information for the first wireless device is provided to the first wireless device.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to cause the cellular base station to: receiving an indication from the first wireless device that the relay link between the first wireless device and the second wireless device has been released; and Providing paging information for the second wireless device to the first wireless device is stopped based at least in part on the indication that the relay link between the first wireless device and the second wireless device has been released.

9. A cellular base station, comprising: antenna; a radio operatively coupled to the antenna; as well as a processor operatively coupled to the radio; The cellular base station is configured to: receiving, from a first wireless device, an indication of a relay link between the first wireless device and a second wireless device; providing, to the first wireless device, paging information for the second wireless device based at least in part on the indication of the relay link between the first wireless device and the second wireless device; as well as When the first wireless device provides the second wireless device with paging occasion information for the first wireless device, the paging information is directly sent to the second wireless device.

10. The cellular base station according to claim 9, The paging information for the second wireless device is provided via dedicated signaling when a radio resource control (RRC) connection is established between the first wireless device and the cellular base station.

11. The cellular base station according to claim 9, The paging information for the second wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured based on identification information for the second wireless device.

12. The cellular base station according to claim 9, The paging information for the second wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured based on identification information for the first wireless device.

13. The cellular base station of claim 9, wherein the cellular base station is further configured to: providing paging occasion configuration information for a remote wireless device to the first wireless device, The paging information for the second wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured according to the paging occasion configuration information for the remote wireless device.

14. The cellular base station of claim 13, wherein the cellular base station is further configured to: receiving, from the first wireless device, an indication of a relay link between the first wireless device and a third wireless device; and providing, to the first wireless device, paging information for the third wireless device based at least in part on the indication of the relay link between the first wireless device and the third wireless device; The paging information for the third wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured according to the paging occasion configuration information for the remote wireless device.

15. A method for wireless communication, comprising: By cellular base station: receiving, from a first wireless device, an indication of a relay link between the first wireless device and a second wireless device; providing, to the first wireless device, paging information for the second wireless device based at least in part on the indication of the relay link between the first wireless device and the second wireless device; as well as When the first wireless device provides the second wireless device with paging occasion information for the first wireless device, the paging information is directly sent to the second wireless device.

16. The method according to claim 15, The paging information for the second wireless device is provided via dedicated signaling when a radio resource control (RRC) connection is established between the first wireless device and the cellular base station.

17. The method according to claim 15, The paging information for the second wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured based on identification information for the second wireless device.

18. The method according to claim 15, The paging information for the second wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured based on identification information for the first wireless device.

19. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: providing paging occasion configuration information for a remote wireless device to the first wireless device, The paging information for the second wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured according to the paging occasion configuration information for the remote wireless device.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the method further comprises: receiving, from the first wireless device, an indication of a relay link between the first wireless device and a third wireless device; as well as providing, to the first wireless device, paging information for the third wireless device based at least in part on the indication of the relay link between the first wireless device and the third wireless device; The paging information for the third wireless device is provided during a paging occasion configured according to the paging occasion configuration information for the remote wireless device.

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