Multi-cdrx configuration and dynamic configuration switching for xr traffic

Abstract

A method for a user equipment (UE) is provided. The UE obtains a discontinuous reception (DRX) switch command from a network device, and switches from a current first connected mode DRX (cDRX) configuration to a different second cDRX configuration based on the DRX switch command. Each of the first cDRX configuration and the second cDRX configuration is a configuration selected from a group consisting of: a default cDRX configuration; and at least one non-default cDRX configuration. Each non-default cDRX configuration of the at least one non-default cDRX configuration includes a cDRX periodicity and a cDRX offset corresponding to a periodicity and an offset, respectively, of a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or a configured grant (CG) configuration.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates generally to wireless communication systems, and more specifically to configuration and dynamic configuration switching of multi-connected mode discontinuous reception (DRX) (connected mode DRX, cDRX) for XR services. Background Technology

[0002] Wireless mobile communication technologies use various standards and protocols to transmit data between base stations and wireless mobile devices. Wireless communication system standards and protocols may include the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE); the 5th Generation (5G) 3GPP New Radio (NR) standard; the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard, commonly referred to by the industry organization as Global Microwave Access Interoperability (WiMAX); and the IEEE 802.11 standard for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), commonly referred to by the industry organization as Wi-Fi. In the 3GPP Radio Access Network (RAN) of an LTE system, a base station may include RAN nodes such as an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly referred to as an Evolved Node B, Enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB) and / or a Radio Network Controller (RNC) in the E-UTRAN, which communicates with wireless communication equipment called User Equipment (UE). In a fifth-generation (5G) wireless RAN, RAN nodes may include 5G nodes, New Radio (NR) nodes, or g node B (gNB), which communicate with wireless communication equipment (also known as user equipment (UE)). Summary of the Invention

[0003] According to an aspect of this disclosure, a method for a user equipment (UE) is provided, the method comprising: obtaining a discontinuous reception DRX handover command from a network device; and, based on the DRX handover command, switching from a current first connectivity mode DRX (cDRX) configuration to a different second cDRX configuration. Each of the first cDRX configuration and the second cDRX configuration is a configuration selected from the group consisting of: a default cDRX configuration; and at least one non-default cDRX configuration, and each of the at least one non-default cDRX configuration includes a cDRX periodicity and a cDRX offset corresponding to the periodicity and offset of a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or configured grant (CG) configuration, respectively.

[0004] According to an aspect of this disclosure, a method for a network device is provided, the method comprising: monitoring the activation or deactivation of a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or configuration authorization (CG) configuration; and, based on the activation or deactivation of the SPS or CG configuration, transmitting a discontinuous reception (DRX) handover command to a user equipment (UE) to cause the UE to switch from a current first connectivity mode DRX (cDRX) configuration to a different second cDRX configuration. Each of the first cDRX configuration and the second cDRX configuration is a configuration selected from the group consisting of: a default cDRX configuration; and at least one non-default cDRX configuration, and each of the at least one non-default cDRX configuration includes a cDRX periodicity and a cDRX offset corresponding respectively to the periodicity and offset of the SPS or CG configuration.

[0005] According to aspects of this disclosure, an apparatus for a user equipment (UE) is provided, the apparatus including one or more processors configured to perform steps of the method according to this disclosure.

[0006] According to aspects of this disclosure, an apparatus for a network device is provided, the apparatus including one or more processors configured to perform steps of the method according to this disclosure.

[0007] According to an aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided that stores computer programs thereon, which, when executed by one or more processors, cause a device to perform the steps of a method according to the steps of performing the method according to this disclosure.

[0008] According to an aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus for a communication device is provided, the apparatus including components for performing steps of a method according to the steps of performing a method according to this disclosure.

[0009] According to an aspect of this disclosure, a computer program product is provided, comprising computer programs that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a device to perform the steps of the method according to this disclosure. Attached Figure Description

[0010] The features and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the features of this disclosure by way of example.

[0011] Figure 1 It is a block diagram of a system including base stations and user equipment (UE) according to some implementation schemes.

[0012] Figure 2 A flowchart of an exemplary method for a user device according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0013] Figure 3 An exemplary alignment of periodicity and offset between the cDRX configuration and the SPS / CG configuration is shown.

[0014] Figure 4 An exemplary switching process is shown using MAC CE as a switching command.

[0015] Figure 5 An exemplary switching process is shown where DCI is used as a switching command.

[0016] Figure 6 A flowchart of an exemplary method for a network device according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0017] Figure 7 An exemplary block diagram of an apparatus for a UE according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0018] Figure 8 An exemplary block diagram of an apparatus for a network device according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0019] Figure 9 Exemplary components of a device according to some implementation schemes are shown.

[0020] Figure 10 An exemplary interface of a baseband circuit according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0021] Figure 11 The components are shown according to some implementation schemes.

[0022] Figure 12 The architecture of a wireless network according to some implementation schemes is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0023] In this disclosure, a "base station" may include RAN nodes such as an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) node B (also commonly referred to as an evolved node B, enhanced node B, eNodeB, or eNB) and / or a Radio Network Controller (RNC) and / or a 5G node, a New Radio (NR) node, or a gNodeB (gNB), which communicates with wireless communication equipment also referred to as a User Equipment (UE). Although some examples may be described with reference to any of E-UTRAN node B, eNB, RNC, and / or gNB, such equipment can be replaced by any type of base station.

[0024] In wireless communication, the Media Access Control (MAC) entity can be configured by an RRC with DRX functionality. The DRX function controls the UE's PDCCH monitoring activities for the MAC entity's C-RNTI, CS-RNTI, INT-RNTI, SFI-RNTI, SP-CSI-RNTI, TPC-PUCCH-RNTI, TPC-PUSCH-RNTI, and TPC-SRS-RNTI. When using DRX operation, the MAC entity will also monitor the PDCCH according to the requirements in other sub-clauses of this specification. When in RRC_CONNECTED mode, if DRX is configured, the MAC entity can perform discontinuous PDCCH monitoring using the DRX operation specified in this sub-clause for all active serving cells; otherwise, the MAC entity will monitor the PDCCH as specified in TS 38.213. Connected-mode DRX can be referred to as cDRX.

[0025] Figure 1 A wireless network 100 according to some embodiments is shown. The wireless network 100 includes a UE 101 and a base station 150 connected via an air interface 190.

[0026] UE 101 and any other UE in the system can be, for example, a laptop computer, smartphone, tablet computer, printer, machine-type device, such as a smart meter or dedicated device for healthcare monitoring, remote security monitoring, intelligent transportation systems, or any other wireless device with or without a user interface. Base station 150 provides UE 101 with network connectivity to a wider network (not shown) via air interface 190 within the base station service area provided by base station 150. In some embodiments, such a wider network can be a wide area network operated by a cellular network provider, or it can be the Internet. Each base station service area associated with base station 150 is supported by an antenna integrated with base station 150. The service area is divided into multiple sectors associated with certain antennas. Such sectors can be physically associated with fixed antennas, or can be assigned to physical areas with tunable antennas or antenna configurations that can be adjusted during beamforming to direct signals to a particular sector. For example, one implementation of base station 150 includes three sectors, each covering a 120-degree area, wherein the antenna array is pointed at each sector to provide 360-degree coverage around base station 150.

[0027] UE 101 includes control circuitry 105 coupled to transmit circuitry 110 and receive circuitry 115. Transmit circuitry 110 and receive circuitry 115 may each be coupled to one or more antennas. Control circuitry 105 may be adapted to perform operations associated with MTC. In some embodiments, control circuitry 105 of UE 101 may perform calculations or initiate measurements associated with air interface 190 to determine the channel quality of an available connection to base station 150. These calculations may be performed in conjunction with control circuitry 155 of base station 150. Transmit circuitry 110 and receive circuitry 115 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively. Control circuitry 105 may be adapted or configured to perform various operations, such as the various UE-related operations described elsewhere in this disclosure. Transmit circuitry 110 may transmit multiple multiplexed uplink physical channels. These multiple uplink physical channels may be multiplexed according to time division multiplexing (TDM) or frequency division multiplexing (FDM). Transmit circuitry 110 may be configured to receive block data from control circuitry 105 for transmission across air interface 190. Similarly, receiving circuitry 115 can receive multiple multiplexed downlink physical channels from air interface 190 and relay these physical channels to control circuitry 105. Uplink and downlink physical channels can be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM. Transmitting circuitry 110 and receiving circuitry 115 can transmit and receive structured control data and content data (e.g., messages, images, video, etc.) within data blocks carried by the physical channels.

[0028] Figure 1 A base station 150 according to various embodiments is also shown. The base station 150 circuitry may include control circuitry 155 coupled to transmitting circuitry 160 and receiving circuitry 165. The transmitting circuitry 160 and receiving circuitry 165 may each be coupled to one or more antennas, which may be used for communication via air interface 190.

[0029] Control circuitry 155 can be adapted to perform operations associated with the MTC. Transmit circuitry 160 and receive circuitry 165 can be adapted to transmit and receive data respectively within a narrow system bandwidth, which is narrower than the standard bandwidth used for personal communications. In some embodiments, for example, the transmission bandwidth can be set to or close to 1.4 MHz. In other embodiments, other bandwidths can be used. Control circuitry 155 can perform various operations, such as those associated with the base station described elsewhere in this disclosure.

[0030] Within a narrow system bandwidth, the transmitting circuit 160 can transmit multiple multiplexed downlink physical channels. These multiple downlink physical channels can be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM. The transmitting circuit 160 can transmit these multiple multiplexed downlink physical channels in a downlink superframe consisting of multiple downlink subframes.

[0031] Within a narrow system bandwidth, receiver circuit 165 can receive multiple multiplexed uplink physical channels. These multiple uplink physical channels can be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM. Receiver circuit 165 can receive these multiple multiplexed uplink physical channels in an uplink superframe composed of multiple uplink subframes.

[0032] As further described below, control circuits 105 and 155 may be involved in measuring the channel quality of air interface 190. Channel quality may be based, for example, on physical barriers between UE 101 and base station 150, electromagnetic interference from other sources, reflections, or indirect paths between UE 101 and base station 150, or other such signal noise sources. Based on channel quality, multiple retransmissions of data blocks can be scheduled, allowing transmitting circuit 110 to transmit multiple copies of the same data, and receiving circuit 115 to receive multiple copies of the same data.

[0033] The UE and network device described in the following implementation scheme can be provided by Figure 1 This is implemented using UE 101 and base station 150 as described in the document.

[0034] Figure 2 A flowchart of an exemplary method for a user device according to some implementation schemes is shown. Figure 2 The method 200 shown can be derived from Figure 1 Implemented using UE 101 as described in [the document].

[0035] In some implementations, the method 200 for the UE may include the following steps: S202, obtaining a discontinuous reception DRX handover command from a network device; S204, based on the DRX handover command, switching from a current first connectivity mode DRX (cDRX) configuration to a different second cDRX configuration, each of the first and second cDRX configurations being selected from a group consisting of a default cDRX configuration and at least one non-default cDRX configuration, each of the at least one non-default cDRX configurations including a cDRX periodicity and a cDRX offset corresponding to the periodicity and offset of a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or configuration authorization (CG) configuration, respectively.

[0036] UE power saving has become a key design optimization aspect for XR services. To achieve this, it is desirable to align cDRX with XR SPS services, enabling the UE to wake up once and complete DG, SPS / CG, as well as DL measurement, RLM measurement, and other CSI feedback. On the other hand, waking the UE for SPS services outside of cDRX consumes more power. According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the UE's wake-up and sleep modes can be switched to align with the SPS or CG configuration to promote UE power saving.

[0037] Each step of method 200 will be described in detail below.

[0038] In step S202, a discontinuous reception (DRX) handover command is obtained from the network device.

[0039] In step S204, based on the DRX switching command, the system switches from the current first connection mode DRX (cDRX) configuration to a different second cDRX configuration. Each of the first and second cDRX configurations is selected from a group consisting of at least one non-default cDRX configuration and a default cDRX configuration. Each of the at least one non-default cDRX configurations includes a cDRX periodicity and a cDRX offset corresponding to the periodicity and offset of a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or configuration authorization (CG) configuration, respectively.

[0040] When a cDRX group is configured, such as in version 15 (R15) of the standard, multiple cDRX configurations can be configured within that group. Each cell can be configured with multiple cDRX configurations, and one cDRX configuration is active at a time.

[0041] According to some implementation schemes, each of the at least one non-default cDRX configurations differs from the default cDRX configuration in one or more parameters, which are selected from a group consisting of: DRX enable duration timer, DRX inactivity timer, DRX slot offset, and DRX retransmission timer. For example, the default cDRX configuration can be configured with a longer period, resulting in a lower wake-up frequency. At least one different non-default cDRX configuration can be configured, each with an offset and periodicity aligned with a possible SPS or CG configuration.

[0042] According to other implementations, at least one of the following DRX parameters, and in some examples all of them, may differ for different cDRX configurations:

[0043] -DRX enables the duration timer, drx-onDurationTimer;

[0044] -DRX Inactivity Timer;

[0045] -DRX slot offset, drx-SlotOffset;

[0046] -DRX retransmission timers, which may include, for example, a DRX retransmission timer drx-RetransmissionTimerDL for downlink (DL) transmission and a DRX retransmission timer drx-RetransmissionTimerUL for uplink (UL) transmission.

[0047] -DRX cycle start offset, drx-CycleStartOffset, or optionally, drx-LongCycleStartOffset in scenarios where there is a non-integer periodicity in cDRX configurations with potentially shorter DRX cycles;

[0048] - Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Round Trip Time (RTT) timers, which may include: a HARQRTT timer for DL ​​transmissions, drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL; and a HARQ RTT timer for UL transmissions, drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerUL;

[0049] - Shorter DRX cycles, drx-Short Cycle, optionally in scenarios with non-integer periodicity in cDRX configurations where potentially shorter DRX cycles exist; and

[0050] - A shorter DRX cycle timer, drx-ShortCycleTimer, is optionally available in scenarios where the cDRX configuration has non-integer periodicity and potentially shorter DRX cycles.

[0051] Enabling non-integer cDRX periodicity is a solution for aligning cDRX configuration with XR services. For XR services, audio and video streams can be generated at intervals that are not integer multiples of the NR base timing. For example, video stream generation could be 60 frames per second. In this regard, one approach to non-integer periodicity in cDRX configuration could involve either using long and short DRXs together to match XR services, or using WUS (DCI format 2-6) to indicate XR service changes.

[0052] The DRX switching command can be a Media Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) or a Downlink Control Information (DCI), including unscheduled DCI or scheduled DCI. The DRX switching command can indicate a second cDRX configuration, such as the number or indicator of the new cDRX configuration to be enabled. Alternatively, in the presence of a default configuration and a non-default configuration, the DRX switching command can be a trigger, and switching from the first cDRX configuration to the second cDRX configuration can include: switching the state of the cDRX configuration after receiving the command.

[0053] 3GPP Release 16 (R16) provides a cDRX configuration architecture in R16 that allows for the configuration of one or two cDRX groups. The serving cell (SC) of a MAC entity can be configured by the RRC into two DRX groups with separate DRX parameters. When no secondary DRX group is configured by the RRC, only one DRX group is used, and all serving cells belong to that single DRX group. When two DRX groups are configured, each serving cell is uniquely assigned to either of the two groups.

[0054] For each of the two DRX groups, the following DRX parameters can be configured separately:

[0055] - Enable DRX duration timer, drx-onDurationTimer; and

[0056] -DRX Inactivity Timer, drx-InactivityTimer.

[0057] The DRX parameters shared by the DRX group may include:

[0058] -DRX slot offset, drx-SlotOffset;

[0059] -DRX retransmission timers, which may include, for example, a DRX retransmission timer drx-RetransmissionTimerDL for downlink (DL) transmission and a DRX retransmission timer drx-RetransmissionTimerUL for uplink (UL) transmission.

[0060] -DRX cycle start offset, drx-CycleStartOffset, or optionally, drx-LongCycleStartOffset in scenarios where there is a non-integer periodicity in cDRX configurations with potentially shorter DRX cycles;

[0061] - Shorter DRX cycles, drx-Short Cycle, optionally in scenarios with non-integer periodicity in cDRX configurations where potentially shorter DRX cycles exist;

[0062] - A shorter DRX cycle timer, drx-ShortCycleTimer, optionally for scenarios with non-integer periodicity in cDRX configurations where potentially shorter DRX cycles exist; and

[0063] - Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Round Trip Time (RTT) timers, which may include: a HARQ RTT timer for DL ​​transmission, drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL; and a HARQ RTT timer for UL transmission, drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerUL.

[0064] According to some implementation schemes of this disclosure, when two cDRX groups are configured, each cDRX group can be configured with multiple cDRX configurations, where each cell can still belong to one cDRX group and can be configured with multiple cDRX configurations simultaneously. Similarly, each cDRX group has one cDRX configuration active at a time.

[0065] Depending on the implementation, at least one of the following DRX parameters, and in some examples all of them, may differ for different cDRX configurations:

[0066] -DRX enables the duration timer, drx-onDurationTimer;

[0067] -DRX Inactivity Timer;

[0068] -DRX slot offset, drx-SlotOffset;

[0069] -DRX retransmission timers, which may include, for example, a DRX retransmission timer drx-RetransmissionTimerDL for downlink (DL) transmission and a DRX retransmission timer drx-RetransmissionTimerUL for uplink (UL) transmission.

[0070] -DRX cycle start offset, drx-CycleStartOffset, or optionally, drx-LongCycleStartOffset in scenarios where there is a non-integer periodicity in cDRX configurations with potentially shorter DRX cycles;

[0071] - Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Round Trip Time (RTT) timers, which may include: a HARQRTT timer for DL ​​transmissions, drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL; and a HARQ RTT timer for UL transmissions, drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerUL;

[0072] - Shorter DRX cycles, drx-Short Cycle, optionally in scenarios with non-integer periodicity in cDRX configurations where potentially shorter DRX cycles exist; and

[0073] - A shorter DRX cycle timer, drx-ShortCycleTimer, is optionally available in scenarios where the cDRX configuration has non-integer periodicity and potentially shorter DRX cycles.

[0074] According to some implementation schemes, when two cDRX groups are configured, obtaining the DRX switching command includes obtaining the DRX switching command for each cDRX group, and switching to the second cDRX configuration includes switching from the current first cDRX configuration to the second cDRX configuration for each cDRX group.

[0075] In some implementations, switching to a second cDRX configuration includes, for each cDRX group:

[0076] - Stop the DRX enable duration timer for the first cDRX configuration used in this cDRX group;

[0077] - Stop the DRX inactivity timer for the first cDRX configuration used in this cDRX group; and

[0078] - At the offset updated based on the second cDRX configuration of the cDRX group, start a new DRX enable duration timer for the second cDRX configuration.

[0079] Alternatively, the DRX switching command indicates a pair of cDRX configurations for the two groups. For example, the paired configurations can be named or addressed using the same indicator, so when a DRX switching command indicating that indicator is received, both pairs of configurations can be enabled, one pair per cDRX group. Alternatively, the paired configurations can be addressed using a pair of corresponding indicators, and a DRX switching command can indicate that pair of indicators. In such an implementation, the paired cDRX configurations can share the same slot offset, DRX retransmission timer, and DRX start offset.

[0080] In a further additional example, paired cDRX configurations for two R16 cDRX groups can share the following parameters with the same values:

[0081] -DRX slot offset, drx-SlotOffset;

[0082] -DRX retransmission timers, which may include, for example, a DRX retransmission timer drx-RetransmissionTimerDL for downlink (DL) transmission and a DRX retransmission timer drx-RetransmissionTimerUL for uplink (UL) transmission.

[0083] -DRX cycle start offset, drx-CycleStartOffset, or optionally, drx-LongCycleStartOffset in scenarios where there is a non-integer periodicity in cDRX configurations with potentially shorter DRX cycles;

[0084] - Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Round Trip Time (RTT) timers, which may include: a HARQRTT timer for DL ​​transmissions, drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL; and a HARQ RTT timer for UL transmissions, drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerUL;

[0085] - Shorter DRX cycles, drx-Short Cycle, optionally in scenarios with non-integer periodicity in cDRX configurations where potentially shorter DRX cycles exist; and

[0086] - A shorter DRX cycle timer, drx-ShortCycleTimer, is optionally available in scenarios where the cDRX configuration has non-integer periodicity and potentially shorter DRX cycles.

[0087] Figure 3 An exemplary alignment of periodicity and offset between the cDRX configuration and the SPS configuration is shown.

[0088] According to some implementations, the default cDRX configuration includes the DRX start offset drx-StartOffset, which is represented by the following equation:

[0089] drx-StartOffset = [(SFN×10) + subframe number] modulo (drx_cycle),

[0090] Where SFN is the system frame number, and drx_cycle is the cycle configured in cDRX.

[0091] Alternatively, in scenarios with non-integer periodicity in cDRX configurations that have both longer and shorter DRX cycles,

[0092] For longer DRX loops, the duration timer drx-onDurationTimer is started at the offset drx-StartOffset, and is expressed by the following equation:

[0093] drx-StartOffset = [(SFN×10) + subframe number] modulo (drx-LongCycle)

[0094] Where SFN is the system frame number, and drx-LongCycle is the longer DRX cycle configured in cDRX.

[0095] For shorter DRX cycles, starting from the subframe, after drx-SlotOffset, the duration timer drx-onDurationTimer begins to start, and the offset drx-StartOffset is represented by the following equation:

[0096] drx-StartOffset = [(SFN×10) + subframe number] modulo (drx-ShortCycle)

[0097] Where SFN is the system frame number, and drx-ShortCycle is the shorter DRX cycle configured in cDRX.

[0098] Conversely, for SPS configuration, after downlink allocation is configured for SPS, the MAC entity will sequentially consider the Nth downlink allocation occurring in the following time slots:

[0099] (numberOfSlotsPerFrame × SFN + slot number in the frame) = [(numberOfSlotsPerFrame × SFNstarttime + slotstarttime) + N × periodicity × numberOfSlotsPerFrame / 10] modulo (1024 × numberOfSlotsPerFrame)

[0100] Where numberOfSlotsPerFrame is the number of slots per frame.

[0101] SFN is the system frame number.

[0102] SFNstarttime is the start time of the system frame number.

[0103] slotstarttime is the start time of the time slot, and

[0104] N is an integer.

[0105] from Figure 3As can be seen, the non-default cDRX configuration for XR can align the drx-StartOffset and periodicity with the SPS time slot and periodicity. In another or alternative implementation, the non-default cDRX configuration can also be aligned with the CG offset and periodicity, the aligned cDRX configuration involving an on-duration configuration that covers the allocation timing of CG-configured XR services. For example, the start offset of the non-default DRX configuration can be set slightly earlier than the timing of the corresponding SPS configuration or the corresponding CG configuration to cover the potential allocation time, so that the allocation configured for SPS or CG can be well received.

[0106] Figure 4 An exemplary switching process is shown using MAC CE as a switching command.

[0107] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, multiple cDRX configurations and dynamic handover can be provided based on SPS / CG configuration and activation / deactivation. This is advantageous at least in that service-based SPS activation / deactivation is faster than cDRX configuration handover based on RRC reconfiguration messages with UAI feedback. Enabling multiple cDRX configurations enables faster service-based handover to align SPS with cDRX configurations. For example, when SPS / CG is activated for XR services, the network defines the MAC CE to trigger cDRX handover. When the MAC CE is transmitted as part of the PDSCH, the UE can send ACK / NACK back to the network to indicate whether the handover command was received correctly.

[0108] According to some implementation schemes, switching from the first cDRX configuration to the second cDRX configuration includes:

[0109] -Stop the first DRX enable duration timer used for the first cDRX configuration;

[0110] - Stop the DRX inactivity timer used for the first cDRX configuration; and

[0111] - Start the second DRX start duration timer for the second cDRX configuration according to the timing of the offset updated based on the second cDRX configuration.

[0112] from Figure 4 It can be seen that upon receiving the DRX switch MAC CE, the first DRX enable duration timer for the first cDRX configuration and the DRX inactivity timer for the first cDRX configuration are stopped. Then, at the offset updated according to the second cDRX configuration, i.e., the second drxOffset, the second DRX enable duration timer begins. The periodicity also changes from the first periodicity to the second periodicity to align with the SPS configuration allocation or the default DRX configuration.

[0113] According to some implementations, the offset (e.g., the offset updated according to the non-default cDRX configuration as described above) is based on the slot number allocated to the downlink configured for SPS, and the slot number allocated to the Nth downlink is represented by the following equation:

[0114] (numberOfSlotsPerFrame × SFN + slot number in the frame) = [(numberOfSlotsPerFrame × SFNstarttime + slotstarttime) + N × periodicity × numberOfSlotsPerFrame / 10] modulo (1024 × numberOfSlotsPerFrame), where numberOfSlotsPerFrame is the number of slots per frame.

[0115] SFN is the system frame number.

[0116] SFNstarttime is the start time of the system frame number.

[0117] slotstarttime is the start time of the time slot, and

[0118] N is an integer.

[0119] Despite Figure 4 The diagram illustrates a process of switching from a configuration with a longer periodicity to one with a shorter periodicity; however, those skilled in the art will understand that this is merely a non-limiting example. For instance, when SPS / CG is deactivated for XR services, MAC CE can be used to trigger a cDRX switch back to the default cDRX.

[0120] It can be easily understood that, when two cDRX groups are configured, upon receiving a DRX switching command MAC CE, the method may include: stopping the drx-onDurationTimer for the current cDRX configuration for each cDRX group, stopping the drx-InactivityTimer for the current cDRX configuration for each cDRX group, and, for each of the two groups, starting the drx-onDurationTimer for the new cDRX configuration for that group at an offset.

[0121] In one implementation, each DRX group has a DRX switching command MAC CE. To keep the principles of the two DRX groups identical, the periodicity and offset of the new cDRX configurations between the two cDRX groups can be aligned.

[0122] In an alternative implementation, a DL MAC CE can instruct a switch to a paired cDRX configuration in two cDRX groups.

[0123] According to some implementations, the DRX switching command is a MAC CE of fixed size. For example, the DRX switching command is a MAC CE of 1 byte to indicate which configuration is the second configuration to be activated at this time. In other implementations, for example, in the presence of a default configuration and a non-default configuration, the DRX switching command may be a MAC CE of zero size, and switching from the first cDRX configuration to the second cDRX configuration may include: switching the state of the cDRX configuration after receiving the command.

[0124] Figure 5 An exemplary handover process is illustrated using DCI as a handover command. The DCI can be a non-scheduled DCI or a scheduled downlink control information (DCI). The DCI can indicate a number or indicator of a second cDRX configuration.

[0125] The behavior of using an unscheduled DCI as a handover command can be similar to that discussed above regarding MAC CE. Upon receiving the unscheduled DCI, an ACK / NACK can be sent according to the HARQ-ACK codebook generation process. The details of how unscheduled DCIs are transmitted by, for example, network devices will be described further below.

[0126] from Figure 5 As can be seen, when a DRX switching DCI is received, the method may include: stopping the drx-onDurationTimer for the current cDRX configuration for each cDRX group; stopping the drx-InactivityTimer for the current cDRX configuration for each cDRX group; and starting the drx-onDurationTimer for the new cDRX configuration at the offset.

[0127] from Figure 5As can be seen, upon receiving the DRX switching command DCI, the first DRX on-duration timer for the first cDRX configuration and the DRX inactivity timer for the first cDRX configuration are stopped. Then, at the offset updated according to the second cDRX configuration, i.e., the second drxOffset, the second DRX on-duration timer is started. The periodicity also changes from the first periodicity to the second periodicity to align with the SPS configuration or the default DRX configuration. It can also be readily understood that, in the case of two cDRX groups configured, upon receiving the DRX switching command DCI, the method may include: stopping the drx-onDurationTimer for the current cDRX configuration of each cDRX group, stopping the drx-InactivityTimer for the current cDRX configuration of each cDRX group, and for each of the two groups, at the offset, starting the drx-onDurationTimer for the new cDRX configuration of that group. In some implementations, there is one DRX switching command DCI per DRX group. To keep the principles of the two DRX groups the same, the periodicity and offset of the new cDRX configuration between the two cDRX groups can be aligned. In an alternative implementation, a DL DCI can instruct switching to paired cDRX configurations in two cDRX groups.

[0128] According to other implementations, the switching based on using the scheduling downlink control information (DCI) as the DRX switching command may include: starting a DRX enable duration timer for the second cDRX configuration at a timing that is based on the offset updated according to the second cDRX configuration.

[0129] As discussed above, each cDRX configuration can be configured with different HARQ timers. Specifically, for non-default cDRX configurations that can be activated along with XR services, and based on gNB capabilities, smaller RTT DL and UL timers, as well as smaller retransmission timers, can be configured. In some implementations, non-default cDRX configurations can be applied to all HARQ processes, including Dynamic Grant (DG).

[0130] When multiple SPS processes are active simultaneously, the cDRX configuration indicated in the switching command can be a configuration that matches one or more SPS processes. In this case, SPS transmissions during the OFF duration of the cDRX configuration follow the same HARQ timer as the currently active cDRX configuration.

[0131] Figure 6 A flowchart of an exemplary method for a network device according to some implementation schemes is shown. Figure 6 The method 600 shown can be derived from Figure 1The base station 150 is used to implement this. For example, the network device can be the network device of the base station 150.

[0132] In some implementations, the method 600 for a network device may include the following steps: S602, monitoring the activation or deactivation of a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or configuration authorization (CG) configuration; and S604, based on the activation or deactivation of the SPS or CG configuration, transmitting a discontinuous reception (DRX) handover command to a user equipment (UE) to cause the UE to switch from a current first connectivity mode DRX (cDRX) configuration to a different second cDRX configuration, wherein each of the first cDRX configuration and the second cDRX configuration is a configuration selected from the group consisting of: a default cDRX configuration; and at least one non-default cDRX configuration, wherein each of the at least one non-default cDRX configuration includes a cDRX periodicity and a cDRX offset corresponding to the periodicity and offset of the SPS or CG configuration, respectively.

[0133] Each step of method 600 will be described in detail below.

[0134] In step S602, the activation or deactivation of the semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or configuration authorization (CG) configuration is monitored.

[0135] In step S604, based on the activation or deactivation of the SPS or CG configuration, a discontinuous reception (DRX) handover command is transmitted to the user equipment (UE) to enable the UE to switch from the current first connectivity mode DRX (cDRX) configuration to a different second cDRX configuration.

[0136] Each of the first and second cDRX configurations is a configuration selected from a group of the following:

[0137] - Default cDRX configuration; and

[0138] - At least one non-default cDRX configuration, wherein each of the at least one non-default cDRX configurations includes a cDRX periodicity and a cDRX offset corresponding to the periodicity and offset of the SPS or CG configuration, respectively.

[0139] In some implementations, transmitting the DRX handover command includes: in response to determining that an SPS or CG is active for XR services, transmitting a DRX handover command indicating a non-default cDRX configuration corresponding to the SPS or CG activation configuration for XR services. As discussed above, in some implementations, when SPS / CG is activated for XR services by defining a new DL MAC CE to indicate cDRX configuration switching, the network can use the MAC CE to trigger cDRX handover; and in other implementations, when SPS / CG is activated for XR services, the network can use the DCI to trigger cDRX handover.

[0140] In some implementations, transmitting the DRX handover command includes: in response to determining that an SPS or CG used for XR services is deactivated, transmitting a DRX handover command indicating the default cDRX configuration. As discussed above, in some implementations, when deactivating an SPS / CG for XR services by defining a new DL MAC CE to indicate a cDRX configuration handover, the network can use the MAC CE to trigger a cDRX handover back to the default cDRX, and in other implementations, when deactivating an SPS / CG for XR services, the network can use the DCI to trigger a cDRX handover back to the default cDRX.

[0141] In some implementations, transmitting the DRX handover command includes: defining a new downlink (DL) MAC CE indicating a second cDRX configuration, and transmitting the MAC CE to the UE.

[0142] In some implementations, transmitting the DRX handover command includes configuring or reconfiguring downlink control information (DCI) indicating a second cDRX configuration, and transmitting the DCI to the UE. The DCI can be an unscheduled DCI or a scheduled DCI. The DCI can indicate the number or identifier of the new cDRX configuration to be activated.

[0143] In some implementations, after transmitting the handover command, the method may further include: waiting for an ACK for the handover command, and if that fails, retransmitting the handover command indicating a second cDRX configuration to the UE to avoid DRX configuration mismatch between the gNB and the UE.

[0144] Those skilled in the art will readily understand that when a MAC CE is transmitted as part of a PDSCH, and the MAC CE is used as a handover command, the network can naturally use the ACK / NACK transmitted in the PDSCH as the ACK / NACK for the cDRX handover command. In an implementation where an unscheduled DCI is used as a handover command, if a corresponding NACK is received, the network can retransmit the unscheduled DCI to avoid DRX configuration mismatch between the gNB and the UE. The design of the unscheduled DCI can be similar to the SPS / CG type 2 deactivation / release DCI specified in 38.213. For example, by using a similar authentication field design to the SPS / CG type 2 deactivation / release DCI, an unscheduled DCI can be generated for use as a cDRX handover command, and therefore, the HARQ-ACK codebook generation process can be reused to generate the ACK / NACK for the handover command. After receiving a NACK, the network can retransmit the handover command, such as another unscheduled DCI, to avoid DRX configuration mismatch. In other alternative or alternative implementations that use the scheduling DCI as a handover command, for DL-scheduled DCI, the network may consider an ACK for the scheduled PDSCH as an implicit ACK for the handover DCI, and for UL-scheduled DCI, the network may consider a PUSCH transmission as an implicit ACK for the correct reception of the handover DCI. Alternatively, in the absence of a correct ACK response, the network may resend the handover command to the UE, for example, with another scheduling DCI.

[0145] In some implementations, when two cDRX groups are configured, transmitting the DRX switching command includes transmitting a DRX switching command indicating a second cDRX configuration for each of the two cDRX groups. In some alternative implementations, when two cDRX groups are configured, transmitting the DRX switching command includes transmitting a DRX switching command indicating a pair of cDRX configurations for the two groups. In this case, a DL DCI can switch the pair of cDRX configurations in the two cDRX groups.

[0146] When multiple SPS procedures are activated simultaneously, the method may include activating a cDRX configuration that matches one or more SPS procedures. The network may select an appropriate cDRX configuration to activate. In this case, SPS transmissions during the OFF duration of the cDRX configuration follow the same HARQ timer as the currently activated cDRX configuration.

[0147] Figure 7 An exemplary block diagram of an apparatus for a user equipment (UE) according to some implementation schemes is shown. Figure 7 The device 700 shown can be used to achieve, for example, a combination Figure 2Method 200 is shown.

[0148] like Figure 7 As shown, the device 700 includes an acquisition unit 710 and a switching unit 720.

[0149] The acquisition unit 710 can be configured to acquire discontinuous reception (DRX) handover commands from network devices.

[0150] The switching unit 720 can be configured to switch from a current first connection mode DRX (cDRX) configuration to a different second cDRX configuration based on a DRX switching command, wherein each of the first and second cDRX configurations is a configuration selected from the group consisting of: a default cDRX configuration; and at least one non-default cDRX configuration, wherein each of the at least one non-default cDRX configurations includes a cDRX periodicity and a cDRX offset corresponding to the periodicity and offset of a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or configuration authorization (CG) configuration, respectively.

[0151] According to the implementation scheme of this application, the wake-up and sleep modes of the UE can be switched to be aligned with the SPS or CG configuration to promote UE power saving.

[0152] Figure 8 An exemplary block diagram of an apparatus for a network according to some embodiments is shown. Figure 8 The device 800 shown can be used to achieve, for example, a combination Figure 6 Method 600 is shown.

[0153] like Figure 8 As shown, the device 800 includes a monitoring unit 810 and a transmission unit 820.

[0154] The monitoring unit 810 can be configured to monitor the activation or deactivation of semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or configuration authorization (CG) configurations.

[0155] The transmission unit 820 can be configured to transmit a discontinuous reception (DRX) handover command to a user equipment (UE) based on the activation or deactivation of the SPS or CG configuration, so that the UE switches from the current first connectivity mode DRX (cDRX) configuration to a different second cDRX configuration, wherein each of the first cDRX configuration and the second cDRX configuration is a configuration selected from the group consisting of: a default cDRX configuration; and at least one non-default cDRX configuration, wherein each of the at least one non-default cDRX configuration includes a cDRX periodicity and a cDRX offset corresponding to the periodicity and offset of the SPS or CG configuration, respectively.

[0156] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, the wake-up and sleep modes of the UE can be switched to be aligned with the SPS or CG configuration to promote UE power saving.

[0157] In some embodiments, an apparatus for a user equipment (UE) is also provided, the apparatus including one or more processors configured to perform steps of any method for a UE according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, an apparatus for a network device is also provided, the apparatus including one or more processors configured to perform steps of any method for a network device according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, a computer-readable medium is also provided, the computer-readable medium having computer programs stored thereon stored thereon, the computer programs causing the apparatus to perform steps of any method according to various embodiments of the present disclosure when executed by one or more processors. In some embodiments, an apparatus for a communication device is also provided, the apparatus including components for performing steps of any method according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, a computer program product is also provided, the computer program product including computer programs that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the apparatus to perform steps of any method according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0158] Figure 9 Example components of a device 900 according to some embodiments are shown. In some embodiments, device 900 may include at least application circuitry 902, baseband circuitry 904, radio frequency (RF) circuitry (shown as RF circuitry 920), front-end module (FEM) circuitry (shown as FEM circuitry 930), one or more antennas 932, and power management circuitry (PMC) (shown as PMC 934) coupled together as shown. Components of the illustrated device 900 may be included in a UE or RAN node. In some embodiments, device 900 may include fewer components (e.g., the RAN node may not utilize application circuitry 902, but instead include a processor / controller to process IP data received from the EPC). In some embodiments, device 900 may include additional components such as, for example, memory / storage devices, displays, cameras, sensors, or input / output (I / O) interfaces. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in more than one device (e.g., the circuitry may be individually included in more than one device for a cloud-RAN (C-RAN) specific implementation).

[0159] Application circuitry 902 may include one or more application processors. For example, application circuitry 902 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage device and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications or operating systems to run on device 900. In some embodiments, the processor of application circuitry 902 may process IP data packets received from the EPC.

[0160] Baseband circuitry 904 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Baseband circuitry 904 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic components to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of RF circuitry 920 and generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of RF circuitry 920. Baseband circuitry 904 may interact with application circuitry 902 to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of RF circuitry 920. For example, in some embodiments, baseband circuitry 904 may include a third-generation (3G) baseband processor (3G baseband processor 906), a fourth-generation (4G) baseband processor (4G baseband processor 908), a fifth-generation (5G) baseband processor (5G baseband processor 910), or other existing, under development, or future generations of baseband processors 912 (e.g., second-generation (2G), sixth-generation (6G), etc.). Baseband circuitry 904 (e.g., one or more baseband processors) can handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via RF circuitry 920. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the illustrated baseband processor may be included in modules stored in memory 918 and executed via a central processing unit ETnit (CPET 914). Radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, RF shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuitry of baseband circuitry 904 may include Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuitry of baseband circuitry 904 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity-check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. Implementations of modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions are not limited to these examples, and other suitable functions may be included in other embodiments.

[0161] In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 904 may include a digital signal processor (DSP), such as one or more audio DSPs 916. The one or more audio DSPs 916 may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and in other embodiments may include other suitable processing elements. In some embodiments, components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the components of the baseband circuitry 904 and the application circuitry 902 may be implemented together, for example, on a system-on-a-chip (SoC).

[0162] In some implementations, baseband circuit 904 can provide communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some implementations, baseband circuit 904 can support communication with the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) or other Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMAN), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), or Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN). Implementations in which baseband circuit 904 is configured to support radio communication with more than one radio protocol are referred to as multi-mode baseband circuits.

[0163] RF circuit 920 enables communication with a wireless network via a non-solid medium using modulated electromagnetic radiation. In various embodiments, RF circuit 920 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc., to facilitate communication with the wireless network. RF circuit 920 may include a receive signal path that includes circuitry for down-converting the RF signal received from FEM circuit 930 and providing a baseband signal to baseband circuit 904. RF circuit 920 may also include a transmit signal path that includes circuitry for up-converting the baseband signal provided by baseband circuit 904 and providing an RF output signal for transmission to FEM circuit 930.

[0164] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of RF circuit 920 may include mixer circuit 922, amplifier circuit 924, and filter circuit 926. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of RF circuit 920 may include filter circuit 926 and mixer circuit 922. RF circuit 920 may also include synthesizer circuit 928 for synthesizing frequencies used by mixer circuit 922 for both the receive and transmit signal paths. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 922 for the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from FEM circuit 930 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuit 928. Amplifier circuit 924 may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and filter circuit 926 may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to baseband circuit 904 for further processing. In some embodiments, although not required, the output baseband signal may be a zero-frequency baseband signal. In some implementations, the mixer circuit 922 for receiving the signal path may include a passive mixer, but the scope of the implementation is not limited in this respect.

[0165] In some implementations, the mixer circuit 922 of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert the input baseband signal based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 928 to generate an RF output signal for the FEM circuit 930. The baseband signal may be provided by the baseband circuit 904 and may be filtered by the filter circuit 926.

[0166] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 922 for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 922 for the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 922 for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 922 for the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 922 for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 922 may be arranged for direct downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 922 for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 922 for the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0167] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the RF circuit 920 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry, and the baseband circuit 904 may include a digital baseband interface for communicating with the RF circuit 920.

[0168] In some dual-mode implementations, separate radio IC circuits can be provided to process signals for each spectrum, but the scope of the implementation is not limited in this respect.

[0169] In some implementations, synthesizer circuit 928 may be a fractional N synthesizer or a fractional N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of implementations is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers may also be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 928 may be a Δ-Σ synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0170] Synthesizer circuit 928 can be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on the frequency input and the divider control input for use by mixer circuit 922 of RF circuit 920. In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 928 may be a fractional N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0171] In some implementations, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), although this is not mandatory. The divider control input may be provided by baseband circuitry 904 or application circuitry 902 (such as an application processor) according to the desired output frequency. In some implementations, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by application circuitry 902.

[0172] The synthesizer circuit 928 of the RF circuit 920 may include a frequency divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the frequency divider may be a dual-modulus divider (DMD), and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by N or N+1 (e.g., based on carry) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a cascaded, tunable delay element, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a set of D-type flip-flops. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to divide the VCO cycle into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. Thus, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0173] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 928 may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and frequency divider circuitry to generate multiple signals having multiple different phases relative to each other at the carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, RF circuitry 920 may include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0174] FEM circuit 930 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 932, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to RF circuit 920 for further processing. FEM circuit 930 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify transmit signals provided by RF circuit 920 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 932. In various embodiments, amplification via the transmit or receive signal path may be performed only in RF circuit 920, only in FEM circuit 930, or in both RF circuit 920 and FEM circuit 930.

[0175] In some embodiments, FEM circuit 930 may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit and receive mode operation. FEM circuit 930 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of FEM circuit 930 may include an LNA to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to RF circuit 920). The transmit signal path of FEM circuit 930 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify the input RF signal (e.g., provided by RF circuit 920), and one or more filters to generate an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., through one or more antennas in one or more antennas 932).

[0176] In some implementations, the PMC 934 manages the power supplied to the baseband circuitry 904. Specifically, the PMC 934 can control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. The PMC 934 is typically included when the device 900 is capable of being battery powered, for example, when the device 900 is included in an EGE. The PMC 934 can improve power conversion efficiency while providing the desired implementation size and thermal characteristics.

[0177] Figure 9 The PMC 934 is shown coupled only to the baseband circuit 904. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 934 may additionally or alternatively be coupled to other components (such as, but not limited to, the application circuit 902, the RF circuit 920, or the FEM circuit 930) and perform similar power management operations for those components.

[0178] In some implementations, the PMC 934 can control or otherwise become part of various power-saving mechanisms of the device 900. For example, if the device 900 is in an RRC connected state, where it remains connected to the RAN node because it expects to receive communication soon, the device can enter a state called Discontinuous Receive Mode (DRX) after an inactive period. During this state, the device 900 can be powered down for short intervals, thereby saving power.

[0179] If there is no data service activity during the extended period, device 900 can transition to RRC Idle state. In RRC Idle state, the device is disconnected from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback or handover. Device 900 enters a very low power state and performs paging. In this very low power state, the device periodically wakes up again to listen to the network and then powers off again. Device 900 cannot receive data in this state, and in order to receive data, the device transitions back to RRC Connected state.

[0180] An additional power-saving mode allows the device to be unavailable from the network for periods exceeding the paging interval (ranging from seconds to hours). During this time, the device is completely unconnected to the network and can be completely powered off. Any data sent during this period will incur significant latency, which is assumed to be acceptable.

[0181] The processors of application circuitry 902 and baseband circuitry 904 are elements that can be used to execute one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of baseband circuitry 904 can be used alone or in combination to execute layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, while the processor of application circuitry 902 can utilize data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further execute layer 4 functions (e.g., Transport Communication Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) layers). As mentioned herein, layer 3 may include the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 2 may include the Media Access Control (MAC) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 1 may include the physical (PHY) layer of the UE / RAN node, which will be described in further detail below.

[0182] Figure 10 An exemplary interface 1000 of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments is shown. As discussed above, Figure 10 The baseband circuit 1004 may include a 3G baseband processor 1006, a 4G baseband processor 1008, a 5G baseband processor 1010, other baseband processors 1012, a CPU 1014, and a memory 1018 used by the processors. As shown, each processor may include a corresponding memory interface 1002 for sending / receiving data to / from the memory 1018.

[0183] The baseband circuit 1004 may further include: one or more interfaces for communicatively coupling to other circuits / devices, such as a memory interface 1004 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to the baseband circuit 1004); and an application circuit interface 1006 (e.g., for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to the baseband circuit 1004); Figure 10 Application circuit 1002 (interface for sending / receiving data); radio frequency circuit interface 1008 (e.g., for sending / receiving data to / from...). Figure 10 The radio frequency circuit 1020 is an interface for transmitting / receiving data; the wireless hardware connection interface 1010 (e.g., for transmitting / receiving data to / from near field communication (NFC) components, Components (e.g.) LowEnergy) Interfaces for sending / receiving data to / from components and other communication components; and power management interface 1012 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving power or control signals to / from PMC 1034).

[0184] Figure 11 This is a block diagram illustrating a component 1100, according to some exemplary embodiments, capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and capable of executing any one or more of the methods discussed herein. Specifically, Figure 11 A schematic representation of hardware resources 1102 is shown, including one or more processors 1112 (or processor cores), one or more memory / storage devices 1118, and one or more communication resources 1120, each of which is communicatively coupled via bus 1122. For implementations utilizing node virtualization (e.g., NFV), an executable hypervisor 1104 provides an execution environment for one or more network slices / subslices to utilize hardware resources 1102.

[0185] Processor 1112 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) (such as a baseband processor), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, processor 1114 and processor 1116.

[0186] The memory / storage device 1118 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 1118 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile or non-volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state storage devices, etc.

[0187] Communication resource 1120 may include interconnect or network interface components or other suitable devices for communicating with one or more peripheral devices 1106 or one or more databases 1108 via network 1110. For example, communication resource 1120 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via Universal Serial Bus (USB), cellular communication components, NFC components, etc. Components (e.g.) (low power consumption) Components and other communication components.

[0188] Instructions 1124 may include software, programs, applications, applets, or other executable code for causing at least any of processors 1112 to perform one or more of the methods discussed herein. Instructions 1124 may reside wholly or partially within processor 1112 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), memory / storage device 1118, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of instructions 1124 may be transferred from any combination of peripheral device 1106 or database 1108 to hardware resource 1102. Therefore, the memory of processor 1112, memory / storage device 1118, peripheral device 1106, and database 1108 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0189] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described in the Examples section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples below. As another example, circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc., described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples shown in the Examples section below.

[0190] Figure 12 The architecture of a system 1200 of a network according to some embodiments is shown. System 1200 includes one or more user equipments (UEs), shown in this example as UE 1202 and UE 1204. UE 1202 and UE 1204 are shown as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices capable of connecting to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a personal data assistant (PDA), pager, laptop computer, desktop computer, wireless handheld terminal, or any computing device including a wireless communication interface.

[0191] In some implementations, either UE 1202 or UE 1204 may include an Internet of Things (IoT) UE, which may include a network access layer designed to utilize low-power IoT applications with short-lived UE connectivity. The IoT UE may exchange data with an MTC server or device via technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communication (MTC), through a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), Proximity-Based Service (ProSe) or Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, sensor networks, or an IoT network. M2M or MTC data exchange may be machine-initiated data exchange. The IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connectivity. The IoT UE may execute background applications (e.g., keeping track of activity messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity within the IoT network.

[0192] UE 1202 and UE 1204 can be configured to connect (e.g., communicatively coupled) to a radio access network (RAN) (shown as RAN 1206). RAN 1206 can be, for example, an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (ETMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a Next Generation RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. UE 1202 and UE 1204 utilize connection 1208 and connection 1210, respectively, where each connection includes a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in further detail below); in this example, connection 1208 and connection 1210 are shown as air interfaces for communicative coupling and can be consistent with cellular communication protocols such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network protocols, Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocols, Cellular PTT protocols (POC), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocols, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocols, 5G protocols, New Radio (NR) protocols, etc.

[0193] In this implementation, UE 1202 and UE 1204 can also directly exchange communication data via ProSe interface 1212. ProSe interface 1212 may alternatively be referred to as a sideline interface including one or more logical channels, including but not limited to the physical sideline control channel (PSCCH), physical sideline shared channel (PSSCH), physical sideline discovery channel (PSDCH), and physical sideline broadcast channel (PSBCH).

[0194] UE 1204 is shown configured to access an access point (AP) (shown as AP 1214) via connection 1216. Connection 1216 may include local wireless connectivity, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, while AP 1214 will include Wireless Fibre. Router. In this example, AP 1214 can connect to the Internet without connecting to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below).

[0195] RAN 1206 may include one or more access nodes that enable connections 1208 and 1210. These access nodes (ANs) may be referred to as base stations (BS), node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), next-generation Node Bs (gNBs), RAN nodes, etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). RAN 1206 may include one or more RAN nodes for providing macrocells, such as macro RAN node 1218, and one or more RAN nodes for providing femtocells or picocells (e.g., cells with smaller coverage, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells), such as low-power (LP) RAN nodes (e.g., LP RAN node 1220).

[0196] Either macro RAN node 1218 or LP RAN node 1220 can terminate the air interface protocol and can be the first point of contact for UE 1202 and UE 1204. In some implementations, either macro RAN node 1218 or LP RAN node 1220 can fulfill various logical functions of RAN 1206, including but not limited to the functions of a radio network controller (RNC), such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0197] According to some implementations, UE 1202 and UE 1204 can be configured to communicate with each other or with either macro RAN node 1218 or LP RAN node 1220 on a multi-carrier communication channel using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals based on various communication technologies, such as, but not limited to, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication technology (e.g., for downlink communication) or single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication technology (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communication)). However, the scope of the implementation is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0198] In some implementations, the downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmissions from either RAN node 1218 or LP RAN node 1220 to UE 1202 and UE 1204, while uplink transmissions can utilize similar techniques. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which represents the physical resources in the downlink within each time slot. This time-frequency plane representation is common practice for OFDM systems, making radio resource allocation intuitive. Each column and row of the resource grid corresponds to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to a time slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is represented as a resource element. Each resource grid comprises multiple resource blocks that describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises a set of resource elements. In the frequency domain, this can represent the minimum amount of resources currently available for allocation. Such resource blocks are used to transmit several different physical downlink channels.

[0199] The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) can carry user data and higher-layer signaling to UE 1202 and UE 1204. The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) can carry information such as the transmission format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel. The PDCCH can also inform UE 1202 and UE 1204 of the transmission format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (allocating control and shared channel resource blocks to UE 1204 within the cell) can be performed at either macro RAN node 1218 or LP RAN node 1220 based on channel quality information fed back from either UE 1202 or UE 1204. Downlink resource allocation information can be transmitted on the PDCCH used for (e.g., allocated to) each of UE 1202 and UE 1204.

[0200] PDCCH can use Control Channel Elements (CCEs) to transmit control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the complex-valued symbols of the PDCCH are first organized into quadruplets, which are then arranged using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. One or more of these CCEs can be used to transmit each PDCCH, where each CCE can correspond to a set of four physical resource elements (REGs) of nine. Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. Depending on the size of the Downlink Control Information (DCI) and channel conditions, one or more CCEs can be used to transmit the PDCCH. In LTE, four or more different PDCCH formats with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels, L = 1, 2, 4, or 8) can exist.

[0201] Some implementations may use the concept of resource allocation for control channel information, which is an extension of the above concept. For example, some implementations may utilize an enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. EPDCCH may be transmitted using one or more enhanced control channel elements (ECCEs). Similarly, each ECCE may correspond to a set of nine physical resource elements, referred to as an enhanced resource element group (EREG). In some cases, an ECCE may have a different number of EREGs.

[0202] RAN 1206 is communicatively coupled to the core network (CN) (shown as CN 1228) via S1 interface 1222. In this implementation, CN 1228 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a next-generation packet core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN. In this implementation, S1 interface 1222 is divided into two parts: S1-U interface 1224, which carries service data between macro RAN node 1218 and LP RAN node 1220 and the serving gateway (S-GW) (shown as S-GW 1132); and S1-Mobility Management Entity (MME) interface (shown as S1-MME interface 1226), which is the signaling interface between macro RAN node 1218 and LP RAN node 1220 and MME 1230.

[0203] In this implementation, CN 1228 includes an MME 1230, an S-GW 1232, a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) (shown as P-GW 1234), and a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) (shown as HSS 1236). The MME 1230 can functionally resemble the control plane of a legacy General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN). The MME 1230 can manage access-related mobility aspects such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 1236 can include a database for network users, containing subscription-related information to support network entities in handling communication sessions. Depending on the number of mobile subscribers, equipment capacity, network organization, etc., CN 1228 may include one or more HSS 1236s. For example, the HSS 1236 can provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc.

[0204] The S-GW 1232 can terminate the S1 interface 1222 toward RAN 1206 and route data packets between RAN 1206 and CN 1228. Additionally, the S-GW 1232 can serve as a local mobility anchor for inter-RAN node handover and can also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful interception, billing, and enforcement of certain policies.

[0205] P-GW 1234 can terminate the SGi interface toward the PDN. P-GW 1234 can route data packets between CN 1228 (e.g., an EPC network) and external networks (such as a network including application server 1242 (alternatively referred to as application function (AF)) via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface (shown as IP communication interface 1238). Generally, application server 1242 can be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., ETMTS Packet Service (PS) domain, LTE PS data service, etc.). In this embodiment, P-GW 1234 is shown communicatively coupled to application server 1242 via IP communication interface 1238. Application server 1242 can also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for UE 1202 and UE 1204 via CN 1228.

[0206] P-GW 1234 can also be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. The Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCRF) (shown as PCRF 1240) is the policy and charging control element of CN 1228. In non-roaming scenarios, a single PCRF may exist in the domestic public land mobile network (HPLMN) associated with the ETE's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In roaming scenarios with local traffic breaches, two PCRFs may exist associated with the UE's IP-CAN session: a domestic PCRF within the HPLMN (H-PCRF) and a visited PCRF within the visited public land mobile network (VPLMN) (V-PCRF). PCRF 1240 can be communicatively coupled to application server 1242 via P-GW 1234. Application server 1242 can signal PCRF 1240 to indicate new service flows and select appropriate Quality of Service (QoS) and charging parameters. PCRF 1240 can provide this rule to a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown) with an appropriate Flow Template (TFT) and QoS Category Identifier (QCI), which begins with QoS and charging specified by application server 1242.

[0207] Additional Examples

[0208] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described in the Examples section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples below. As another example, circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc., described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples shown in the Examples section below.

[0209] The following examples relate to other implementation schemes.

[0210] Example 1 is a method for a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0211] Obtain discontinuous reception (DRX) handover commands from network devices; and

[0212] Based on the DRX switching command, switch from the current first connection mode DRX (cDRX) configuration to a different second cDRX configuration.

[0213] Each of the first and second cDRX configurations is a configuration selected from a group of the following:

[0214] Default cDRX configuration; and

[0215] At least one non-default cDRX configuration, wherein each of the at least one non-default cDRX configurations includes a cDRX periodicity and a cDRX offset corresponding to the periodicity and offset of a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or configuration authorization (CG) configuration, respectively.

[0216] Example 2 is the method according to Example 1, wherein each of the at least one non-default cDRX configurations differs from the default cDRX configuration in one or more parameters, which are selected from the group consisting of: DRX enable duration timer, DRX inactivity timer, DRX slot offset and DRX retransmission timer.

[0217] Example 3 is the method according to Example 1, wherein the DRX switching command is an instruction for the Media Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) or Unscheduled Downlink Control Information (DCI) of the second cDRX configuration.

[0218] Example 4 is the method according to Example 3, wherein switching from the first cDRX configuration to the second cDRX configuration based on the DRX switching command includes:

[0219] Stop the first DRX enable duration timer used for the first cDRX configuration;

[0220] Stop the first DRX inactive timer used for the first cDRX configuration; and

[0221] The second DRX start duration timer for the second cDRX configuration is started according to the timing of the offset updated based on the second cDRX configuration.

[0222] Example 5 is the method according to Example 4, wherein the offset updated according to the non-default cDRX configuration is based on the slot number allocated to the downlink configured for SPS, and wherein the slot number allocated to the Nth downlink is represented by the following equation:

[0223] (numberOfSlotsPerFrame × SFN + slot number in the frame) = [(numberOfSlotsPerFrame × SFNstarttime + slotstarttime) + N × periodicity × numberOfSlotsPerFrame / 10] modulo (1024 × numberOfSlotsPerFrame), where numberOfSlotsPerFrame is the number of slots per frame.

[0224] SFN is the system frame number.

[0225] SFNstarttime is the start time of the system frame number.

[0226] slotstarttime is the start time of the time slot, and

[0227] N is an integer.

[0228] Example 6 is the method according to Example 4, wherein the offset updated according to the default cDRX configuration is based on the DRX start offset drx-StartOffset, which is represented by the following equation:

[0229] drx-StartOffset = [(SFN×10) + subframe number] modulo (drx_cycle), where SFN is the system frame number and drx_cycle is the cycle configured for cDRX.

[0230] Example 7 is the method according to Example 3, wherein

[0231] With two cDRX groups configured, obtaining the DRX switching command includes obtaining the DRX switching command for each cDRX group, and

[0232] Switching to the second cDRX configuration includes, for each cDRX group:

[0233] Stop the DRX enable duration timer for the first cDRX configuration used in this cDRX group;

[0234] Stop the DRX inactivity timer for the first cDRX configuration used in this cDRX group; and

[0235] At the offset updated based on the second cDRX configuration of the cDRX group, a new DRX enable duration timer for the second cDRX configuration is started.

[0236] Example 8 is the method according to Example 3, wherein, when two cDRX groups are configured, the DRX switching command indicates a pair of cDRX configurations for the two groups.

[0237] Example 9 is the method according to Example 8, wherein a pair of cDRX configurations includes the same slot offset, DRX retransmission timer and DRX start offset.

[0238] Example 10 is the method according to Example 1, wherein the DRX switching command is a MACCE with a fixed size.

[0239] Example 11 is the method according to Example 1, wherein the DRX handover command is a scheduling downlink control information (DCI) indicating the second cDRX configuration.

[0240] Example 12 is the method according to Example 11, wherein switching from a first cDRX configuration to a second cDRX configuration based on a DRX switching command includes: starting a DRX enable duration timer for the second cDRX configuration at a timing of an offset updated according to the second cDRX configuration.

[0241] Example 13 is a method for a network device, the method comprising:

[0242] Monitor the activation or deactivation of semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or configuration authorization (CG) configurations; and

[0243] Based on the activation or deactivation of the SPS or CG configuration, a discontinuous reception (DRX) handover command is transmitted to the user equipment (UE) to enable the UE to switch from the current first connectivity mode DRX (cDRX) configuration to a different second cDRX configuration.

[0244] Each of the first and second cDRX configurations is a configuration selected from a group of the following:

[0245] Default cDRX configuration; and

[0246] At least one non-default cDRX configuration, wherein each of the at least one non-default cDRX configurations includes a cDRX periodicity and a cDRX offset corresponding to the periodicity and offset of the SPS or CG configuration, respectively.

[0247] Example 14 is the method according to Example 13, wherein transmitting the DRX handover command includes:

[0248] In response to determining that SPS or CG is activated for XR services, a DRX switching command is transmitted indicating a non-default cDRX configuration corresponding to the SPS or CG activation configuration for XR services.

[0249] Example 15 is the method according to Example 13, wherein transmitting the DRX handover command includes:

[0250] In response to determining whether the SPS or CG used for XR services is deactivated, a DRX switching command indicating the default cDRX configuration is transmitted.

[0251] Example 16 is the method according to Example 13, wherein transmitting the DRX handover command includes: defining a new downlink (DL) media access control (MAC) control element (CE) indicating a second cDRX configuration, and transmitting the MAC CE to the UE.

[0252] Example 17 is the method according to Example 16, further comprising: retransmitting the DRX handover command to the UE in response to receiving a NACK for the DRX handover command.

[0253] Example 18 is the method according to Example 13, wherein transmitting the DRX handover command includes: configuring or reconfiguring downlink control information (DCI) indicating the second cDRX configuration, and transmitting the DCI to the UE.

[0254] Example 19 is the method according to Example 18, wherein the DCI is a non-scheduled DCI with an authentication field, and the method further includes: in response to receiving a NACK for a DRX handover command, retransmitting a DRX handover command indicating a second cDRX configuration to the UE.

[0255] Example 20 is the method according to Example 18, wherein the DCI is a DCI for Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) scheduling, and the method further includes: in response to receiving a NACK for the scheduled PDSCH transmission, retransmitting a DRX handover command indicating a second cDRX configuration to the UE.

[0256] Example 21 is the method according to Example 18, wherein the DCI is a DCI for Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) scheduling, and the method further includes: in response to receiving a NACK for the scheduled PUSCH transmission, retransmitting a DRX handover command indicating a second cDRX configuration to the UE.

[0257] Example 22 is the method according to Example 13, wherein when two cDRX groups are configured, transmitting the DRX switching command includes: for each of the two cDRX groups, transmitting a DRX switching command indicating a second cDRX configuration for that DRX group.

[0258] Example 23 is the method according to Example 13, wherein when two cDRX groups are configured, transmitting the DRX switching command includes transmitting a DRX switching command indicating a pair of cDRX configurations for the two groups.

[0259] Example 24 is an apparatus for a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising:

[0260] One or more processors configured to perform the steps of the method according to any one of embodiments 1-12.

[0261] Example 25 is an apparatus for a network device, the apparatus comprising:

[0262] One or more processors configured to perform the steps of the method according to any one of embodiments 13-23.

[0263] Example 26 is a computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer programs that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a device to perform the steps of the method according to any one of Examples 1-23.

[0264] Example 27 is an apparatus for a communication device, the apparatus including components for performing steps of the method according to any one of Examples 1-23.

[0265] Example 28 is a computer program product comprising computer programs that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a device to perform the steps of the method according to any one of Examples 1-23.

[0266] Unless otherwise expressly stated, any of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific embodiments provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. In view of the teachings above, modifications and variations are possible, or modifications and variations may be obtained from the practice of various embodiments.

[0267] It should be recognized that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific implementations. These implementations may be combined into a single system, partially integrated into other systems, divided into multiple systems, or otherwise partitioned or combined. Furthermore, it is conceivable to use parameters / attributes / aspects, etc., of one implementation in another implementation. For clarity, these parameters / attributes / aspects, etc., are described only in one or more implementations, and it should be recognized that unless specifically stated herein, these parameters / attributes / aspects, etc., may be combined with or replace parameters / attributes, etc., of another implementation.

[0268] As is widely recognized, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally accepted to meet or exceed industry or governmental requirements for protecting user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly explained to users.

[0269] Although the foregoing has been described in considerable detail for clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the invention. It should be noted that many alternative ways exist to implement both the processes and apparatus described herein. Therefore, embodiments of the invention should be considered illustrative rather than restrictive, and this specification is not limited to the details given herein, but can be modified within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a user equipment (UE) to perform the following operations: Configuration information for configuring a first connected mode discontinuous reception (cDRX) group and a second cDRX group is obtained. The first cDRX group has a first plurality of cDRX configurations, and the second cDRX group has a second plurality of cDRX configurations. The first cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations is paired with the first cDRX configuration in the second plurality of cDRX configurations, and the paired cDRX configurations share a plurality of discontinuous reception (DRX) parameters. Determine that the first serving cell is associated with the first cDRX group and the second serving cell is associated with the second cDRX group; Obtain the DRX handover command from the network device; as well as Based on the DRX switching command, the system switches from the first cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations of the first cDRX group to the second cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations, and from the first cDRX configuration in the second plurality of cDRX configurations of the second cDRX group to the second cDRX configuration in the second plurality of cDRX configurations. The first cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations is the default cDRX configuration, and the second cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations is a non-default cDRX configuration. The non-default cDRX configuration includes a cDRX periodicity aligned with the semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) periodicity and a cDRX start offset aligned with the SPS slots. The default cDRX configuration has a longer period than the non-default cDRX configuration.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the non-default cDRX configuration differs from the default cDRX configuration in one or more of the following parameters: a DRX enable duration timer; a DRX inactivity timer; a DRX slot offset; or a DRX retransmission timer.

3. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the DRX switching command is an instruction to a Media Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) or Unscheduled Downlink Control Information (DCI) of the second cDRX configuration.

4. The computer-readable medium of claim 3, wherein in order to switch from a first cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations to a second cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations, the UE will: Stop the first DRX enable duration timer for the first cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations; Stop the first DRX inactivity timer for the first cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations; and A second DRX enable duration timer for the second cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations is started according to the timing of the offset updated by the second cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations.

5. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 4, wherein the updated offset is based on a slot number configured for the Nth downlink allocation for SPS, and wherein the slot number (SlotNumber) satisfies: (numberOfSlotsPerFrame × SFN +SlotNumber) = [(numberOfSlotsPerFrame × SFNstarttime + slotstarttime) + N × Periodicity × numberOfSlotsPerFrame / 10] modulo (1024 × numberOfSlotsPerFrame), Where numberOfSlotsPerFrame is the number of slots per frame. SFN is the system frame number. SFNstarttime is the start time of the system frame number. slotstarttime is the start time of the time slot corresponding to the time slot number, and N is an integer.

6. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 4, wherein the offset updated according to the default cDRX configuration is based on the DRX start offset (drx-StartOffset), which is represented by the following equation: drx-StartOffset = [(SFN × 10) + subframe number] modulo (drx_cycle), Where SFN is the system frame number, and drx_cycle is the cycle of the default cDRX configuration.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the plurality of DRX parameters include a slot offset, a DRX retransmission timer, and a DRX start offset.

8. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the DRX switching command is a fixed-size MAC CE.

9. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the DRX switching command is scheduling-based downlink control information (DCI) indicating the second cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations.

10. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 9, wherein in order to switch from the first cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations to the second cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations, the UE will: The DRX enable duration timer for the second cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations is started according to the timing of the offset updated by the second cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations.

11. A method for a network device, the method comprising: Configuration information for transmitting to a user equipment (UE) for configuring a first connected-mode discontinuous reception (cDRX) group and a second cDRX group, wherein the first cDRX group has a first plurality of cDRX configurations and the second cDRX group has a second plurality of cDRX configurations, wherein the first cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations is paired with the first cDRX configuration in the second plurality of cDRX configurations, the paired cDRX configurations share a plurality of discontinuous reception (DRX) parameters, and a first serving cell is associated with the first cDRX group and a second serving cell is associated with the second cDRX group; Monitor the activation or deactivation of semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or configuration authorization (CG) configurations; as well as Based on the activation or deactivation of the SPS or CG configuration, a DRX handover command is generated for transmission to the UE, causing the UE to switch from a first cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations of the first cDRX group to a second cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations, and from a first cDRX configuration in the second plurality of cDRX configurations of the second cDRX group to a second cDRX configuration in the second plurality of cDRX configurations. The first cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations is the default cDRX configuration, and the second cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations is a non-default cDRX configuration. The non-default cDRX configuration includes a cDRX periodicity aligned with the SPS periodicity and a cDRX start offset aligned with the SPS time slot. The default cDRX configuration has a longer period than the non-default cDRX configuration.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein transmitting the DRX switching command comprises: In response to determining the activation of an SPS or CG configuration for an XR service, a DRX switching command is generated to indicate the second cDRX configuration among the first plurality of cDRX configurations for the XR service.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein generating the DRX switching command comprises: In response to determining that the SPS or CG used for XR services is deactivated, the DRX switching command is generated to instruct the first cDRX configuration among the first plurality of cDRX configurations.

14. The method of any one of claims 11-13, wherein the DRX switching command includes a downlink (DL) media access control (MAC) control element (CE) to indicate the second cDRX configuration among the first plurality of cDRX configurations.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: In response to receiving a NACK for the DRX handover command, the DRX handover command is retransmitted to indicate the second cDRX configuration among the first plurality of cDRX configurations to the UE.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11-13, wherein the DRX switching command includes downlink control information (DCI) to indicate the second cDRX configuration among the first plurality of cDRX configurations.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the DCI is a non-scheduled DCI with a validation field, and the method further comprises: In response to receiving a NACK for the DRX handover command, the DRX handover command is retransmitted to indicate the second cDRX configuration among the first plurality of cDRX configurations to the UE.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the DCI is used to schedule Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmissions, and the method further comprises: In response to receiving a NACK for the PDSCH transmission, the DRX handover command is retransmitted to indicate the second cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations to the UE.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the DCI is used to schedule Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmissions, and the method further comprises: In response to receiving a NACK for the PUSCH transmission, the UE is retransmitted a DRX handover command indicating the second cDRX configuration in the first plurality of cDRX configurations.

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