Monitoring downlink control information based on configuration information and cell discontinuous operation

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to monitoring downlink control information based on configuration information and cell discontinuous operation. The present invention relates to activation or deactivation of cell discontinuous transmission / discontinuous reception (DTX / DRX). Specifically, a network device transmits, to a terminal device, configuration information associated with downlink control information (DCI), and the network device transmits, to the terminal device, configuration information associated with the downlink control information (DCI). The configuration information indicates when to monitor the DCI. And the terminal equipment monitors the DCI according to the configuration information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for monitoring downlink control information (DCI) based on configuration information and a state of cell discontinuous operation. Background Art

[0002] Network energy saving is a hot topic in the field of communications. For example, in order to save power at the network device, cell DTX / DRX is also proposed on the network device side. Similarly, cell DTX / DRX is a technology that allows network devices to sleep in a DTX / DRX cycle when there are no packets to send / receive. Therefore, it is worth studying how to activate cell DTX / DRX. Summary of the invention

[0003] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a device is provided. The device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the device: receives configuration information associated with downlink control information from a network device, the downlink control information is for an action of a cell discontinuous operation for a cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, and the cell discontinuous operation includes at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception; and monitors the downlink control information based on the configuration information and the state of the cell discontinuous operation.

[0004] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a device is provided. The device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the device: sends configuration information associated with downlink control information to a terminal device, the downlink control information is for an action of a cell discontinuous operation for a cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, and the cell discontinuous operation includes at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception; and based on the configuration information and the state of the cell discontinuous operation, sends the downlink control information to the terminal device.

[0005] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving configuration information associated with downlink control information from a network device, the downlink control information being for an action of a cell discontinuous operation for a cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, the cell discontinuous operation including at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception; and monitoring the downlink control information based on the configuration information and a state of the cell discontinuous operation.

[0006] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method comprises: sending configuration information associated with downlink control information to a terminal device, the downlink control information being for an action of a cell discontinuous operation for a cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, the cell discontinuous operation comprising at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission and cell discontinuous reception; and sending the downlink control information to the terminal device based on the configuration information and the state of the cell discontinuous operation.

[0007] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a first device is provided. The first device includes: a component for receiving configuration information associated with downlink control information from a network device, the downlink control information being for an action on a cell discontinuous operation for a cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, and the cell discontinuous operation includes at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception; and a component for monitoring the downlink control information based on the configuration information and a state of the cell discontinuous operation.

[0008] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a second device is provided. The second device includes: a component for sending configuration information associated with downlink control information to a terminal device, the downlink control information is for an action of a cell discontinuous operation for a cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, and the cell discontinuous operation includes at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception; and a component for transmitting the downlink control information to the terminal device based on the configuration information and a state of the cell discontinuous operation.

[0009] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing a device to at least execute the method according to the third aspect.

[0010] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon for causing a device to at least execute the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0011] It should be understood that the invention summary is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0013] Figure 1 An example communication environment is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0014] Figure 2 A signaling diagram of cell DTX / DRX according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0015] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C A schematic diagram showing a cell DTX / DRX mode according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0016] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4F Schematic diagrams showing monitoring opportunities in a cell DTX / DRX mode according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure respectively;

[0017] Figure 5 A flowchart showing a method implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0018] Figure 6 A flowchart showing a method implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0019] Figure 7 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0020] Figure 8 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is shown according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for illustrative purposes and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways except for the way described below.

[0023] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0024] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is considered to be within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0025] It should be understood that although the terms "first", "second", etc., preceding nouns, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another, and they do not limit the order of the nouns. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more listed terms.

[0026] As used herein, “at least one of: ” and “at least one of ” and similar expressions, where a list of two or more elements is combined by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0027] As used herein, unless explicitly stated, performing a step "in response to A" does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after "A" occurs, and may include one or more intermediate steps.

[0028] The terms used herein are only used for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprise", "include", "have", "have", "include" and / or "include" when used herein specify the presence of stated features, elements and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0029] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) only hardware circuit implementations (such as only analog implementations and / or digital circuits) and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (if applicable): (i) A combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits with software / firmware (ii) software and memory that work together with software to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions (c) hardware circuits and / or processors such as microprocessor(s) or portions of microprocessor(s) that require software (e.g. firmware) to operate, but which may not be present when the software is not required for operation.

[0030] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or its) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0031] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that follows any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal equipment and the network equipment in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocols, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G) communication protocols and / or any other protocols currently known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there will certainly be communication technologies and systems that can embody future types of the present disclosure. It should not be considered that the scope of the present disclosure is limited to the aforementioned system.

[0032] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network, via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from it. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a Node B (Node B or NB), an evolved NodeB (e Node B or eNB), a NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node (such as a femto), a micro, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite), an aircraft network device, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. In some example embodiments, a radio access network (RAN) split architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion similar to a UE toward a parent node, and a DU portion of an IAB node is similar to a base station toward a next-hop IAB node.

[0033] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local ring phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of an industrial and / or automated processing chain), consumer electronic devices, equipment operating on a commercial and / or industrial wireless network, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) part of the IAB node (eg, relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0034] As used herein, the terms "resource", "transmission resource", "resource block", "physical resource block" (PRB), "uplink resource" or "downlink resource" may refer to any resource used to perform communication, for example, communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as time domain resources, frequency domain resources, spatial domain resources, code domain resources, or any other combination of time domain, frequency domain, spatial and / or code domain resources that enable communication. In the following, unless explicitly stated, resources in the frequency domain and the time domain will be used as examples of transmission resources to describe some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Note that the example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0035] As used herein, the term "RRC connected state" or "RRC connected mode" used herein may refer to a state in which a service radio bearer and a data radio bearer are allocated to a terminal device. The term "RRC idle state" or "RRC idle mode" used herein may refer to a state in which a terminal device is turned on but has no RRC connection established. The term "RRC inactive state" or "RRC inactive mode" used herein may refer to a state when there is an RRC connection that has been suspended.

[0036] As used herein, the term "cell discontinuous reception (DRX)" used herein may refer to a technology that allows a network device to receive data in one period and sleep in another period when there are no packets to be received. The term "cell discontinuous transmission (DTX)" used herein refers to a technology that allows a network device to send data in one period and sleep in another period when there are no packets to be sent. Cell DRX / DTX can be used in mobile communications to save batteries and / or save energy of network devices. The term "on duration" or "activity cycle" used for cell DRX refers to a period of time during which a network device can monitor a channel (e.g., a physical control channel or a physical shared channel) and receive one or more of data, reference signals or control information on the channel. The term "DRX period" or "DRX opportunity" or "off time" or "off duration" or "inactivity / inactivity cycle" used for cell DRX refers to a period of time during which a network device does not monitor a channel and does not receive data or control information on the channel. The term "DRX cycle" used herein includes the on duration during which a network device can monitor a channel and the DRX period during which a network device can skip channel reception. The term "on duration" or "active cycle" for cell DTX refers to a time period during which a network device is able to send data or control information on a channel (e.g., a physical control channel or a physical shared channel). The term "DTX period" or "DTX opportunity" or "off time" or "off duration" or "inactive / inactive period" for cell DTX used herein refers to a time period during which a network device does not send data or control information on a channel. The term "DTX cycle" used herein includes an on duration during which a network device can send data or control information on a channel and a DTX period during which the network device can skip channel transmission. The term "DRX cycle" used herein includes an on duration during which a network device can receive data or control information on a channel and a DRX period during which the network device can skip channel reception.

[0037] As mentioned above, cell DTX / DRX is proposed. The intention of cell DTX / DRX is to define a period during which the cell does not send / receive signals / channels related to RRC connected UEs. For example, the cell may omit the transmission of certain CSI-RS and the reception of SR / BSR during certain periods. During the inactive period of cell DTX, the UE is not expected to receive and / or process periodic or semi-persistent channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) from the gNB. In other words, the network device may omit it during the inactive period for energy saving.

[0038] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the activation or deactivation of cell DTX / DRX. Specifically, a network device sends configuration information associated with downlink control information (DCI) to a terminal device. The configuration information indicates to the terminal device when (for example, (multiple) moments) to monitor the following DCI: the DCI can be used to activate / deactivate a certain DRX / DRX mode of the cell. The terminal device monitors the DCI according to the configuration information. In this way, enhanced processing of activation / deactivation of cell DTX / DRX based on the transmitted DCI (for example, a new group common DCI format 2_x) can be achieved. In addition, this can achieve an optimized compromise between network energy saving (when cell DTX / DRX is enabled), quality of service (QoS) implementation (dynamic indication of cell DRX / DRX (de)activation) and UE energy saving (optimized monitoring timing).

[0039] Figure 1 An example communication environment 100 is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. In the communication environment 100, a first device 110 and a second device 120 may communicate with each other.

[0040] The first device 110 may be a terminal device, such as a UE. The second device 120 may be a network device, such as a gNB. The first device 110 may be in a cell 102 that is a serving cell.

[0041] In the following, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments are described in which the first device 110 operates as a terminal device and the second device 120 operates as a network device. However, in some example embodiments, the operations described in conjunction with the terminal device may be implemented at a network device or other device, and the operations described in conjunction with the network device may be implemented at a terminal device or other device.

[0042] In some example embodiments, if first device 110 is a terminal device and second device 120 is a network device, a link from second device 120 to first device 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL), and a link from first device 110 to second device 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In DL, second device 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter), and first device 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver). In UL, first device 110 is a TX device (or transmitter), and second device 120 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0043] The communication in the communication environment 100 can be implemented according to any appropriate communication protocol, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), the fifth generation (5G), the sixth generation (6G), etc., wireless local area network communication protocols such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. In addition, the communication can utilize any appropriate wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technology currently known or developed in the future.

[0044] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0045] refer to Figure 2 , which illustrates a signaling flow 200 according to some embodiments of the present invention. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1 The signaling flow 200 is discussed by using the first device 110 and the second device 120, for example.

[0046] The second device 120 may send (2010) a configuration of a cell discontinuous operation of a cell (e.g., cell 102) to the first device 110. In other words, the first device 110 may receive the configuration of the cell discontinuous operation. The cell discontinuous operation may include cell discontinuous transmission (DTX). Alternatively or additionally, the cell discontinuous operation may include cell discontinuous reception (DRX).

[0047] The configuration of the cell non-continuous operation may indicate the periodicity of the cell non-continuous operation, such as the periodicity of the cell DTX and / or the periodicity of the cell DRX. The configuration of the cell non-continuous operation may also indicate the on-duration (i.e., the activity cycle) of the cell non-continuous operation. In addition, the configuration of the cell non-continuous operation may indicate the offset of the on-duration of the cell non-continuous operation.

[0048] Figure 3A An example of a configuration for non-continuous cell operation is shown. Figure 3A In the cell discontinuous operation mode 310 shown, there is an on duration 311 (also called an active period) and an inactive period 312 within a period 313 of the cell discontinuous operation. Figure 3AAs shown, the operation of transmission / reception at the second device 120 may be assumed to be turned on or active. In other words, the second device 120 may always perform transmission / reception outside the cell discontinuous mode 310. Note that the cell discontinuous operation mode 310 may be a cell DRX mode or a cell DTX mode.

[0049] Figure 3B An example of a configuration for non-continuous cell operation is shown. Figure 3B In the cell discontinuous operation mode 320 shown, there is an on duration 321 (also called an active period) and an inactive period 322 within a period 323 of the cell discontinuous operation. Figure 3B As shown, the operation of transmission / reception at the second device 120 may be assumed to be off or inactive. In other words, outside the cell discontinuous mode 320, the second device 120 may not perform transmission / reception. In this way, the first device 110 may monitor or activate cell discontinuous operation during the sleep period of the second device 120. Note that the cell discontinuous operation mode 320 may be a cell DRX mode or a cell DTX mode.

[0050] In some example embodiments, a cell may be configured with multiple cell non-contiguous operation. The multiple cell non-contiguous operation may include any suitable number of cell non-contiguous operations. Figure 3C An example of a configuration in which two cells are configured to operate non-contiguously is shown. Figure 3C In the cell discontinuous operation mode 330 shown, there is an on-time 331 (also called an active period) and an inactive period 332 in a period 333 of the cell discontinuous operation. Figure 3C In the illustrated cell discontinuous operation mode 340, there is an on-duration 341 (also referred to as an active period) and an inactive period 342 within a periodicity 343 of another cell discontinuous operation. Note that the cell discontinuous operation mode 330 may be a cell DRX mode or a cell DTX mode, and the cell discontinuous operation mode 340 may be a cell DRX mode or a cell DTX mode.

[0051] Return to reference Figure 2, the second device 120 sends (2020) configuration information associated with the DCI to the first device 110, and the DCI is for an action for non-continuous operation of the cell. In other words, the first device 110 receives configuration information associated with the DCI for the action for non-continuous operation of the cell from the second device 120. The configuration information indicates when to monitor the DCI. In addition, as described above, the non-continuous operation of the cell may include one or more of the following: cell DTX or cell DRX. The action on the non-continuous operation of the cell may include activation of the non-continuous operation of the cell. Alternatively, the action on the non-continuous operation of the cell may include deactivation of the non-continuous operation of the cell. In some other example embodiments, the action may include switching from one non-continuous operation of the cell to another non-continuous operation of the cell, that is, deactivating the current non-continuous operation of the cell and activating the non-continuous operation of the other cell.

[0052] In an example embodiment, the DCI may be scrambled by a dedicated radio network temporary identifier (RNTI). For example, a network energy saving (NES)-RNTI (NES-RNTI) may be used to scramble the DCI. As an example, the DCI may be a group DCI format 2_x with a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled with the nes-RNTI.

[0053] The first device 110 may determine (2030) when to monitor the DCI based on the configuration information. For example, the DCI may be monitored by the first device 110 in one or any combination of the following periods: during a period of always-on / active normal network operation; or during a period of always-off / inactive network dormant operation; or during an active and / or inactive period of cell DTX / DRX.

[0054] The first device 110 monitors (2040) DCI from the second device 120 based on the configuration information and the state of the cell non-continuous operation. In other words, the first device 110 can receive DCI based on the configuration information and the state of the cell non-continuous operation. That is, the second device 120 sends (2050) DCI to the first device 110 based on the configuration information and the state of the cell non-continuous operation. The first device 110 can monitor the DCI indicating the action at each periodicity configured by the second device 120. Various examples are given below on how the configuration information and the state of the cell non-continuous operation (activated state or deactivated state) affect the monitoring and reception of DCI from the second device 120. For example, the first device 110 can monitor DCI differently when the state of the cell non-continuous operation is an activated state and the state of the cell non-continuous operation is a deactivated state. For example, if the cell non-continuous operation is in an activated state, the DCI can be monitored during the monitoring period associated with the cell non-continuous operation. Alternatively, if the cell discontinuous operation is active, the DCI may be monitored during a monitoring period associated with a different cell discontinuous operation (eg, a default cell discontinuous operation).

[0055] The first device 110 may perform (2060) an action based on the received DCI. For example, the first device 110 may perform activation or deactivation of non-continuous operation of the cell based on the received DCI. In this way, enhanced processing of activation / deactivation of cell DTX / DRX based on the new group common DCI format 2_x may be achieved. In addition, this may achieve an optimized compromise between network energy saving (when cell DTX / DRX is enabled), quality of service (QoS) implementation (dynamic indication of cell DRX / DRX (de)activation), and UE energy saving (optimized monitoring timing).

[0056] For illustrative purposes only, reference FIG. 4A to FIG. 4F Example embodiments for monitoring DCI are described.

[0057] In some example embodiments, the configuration information may indicate a time offset relative to the start of the cell non-continuous operation (also referred to as a "first time offset"). The start of the cell non-continuous operation may be intended as a potential start of the cell non-continuous operation. In other words, the start may refer to the potential start of the on-duration of the cell non-continuous operation. For example, if the DCI indicates activation of the cell non-continuous operation, the start is the actual start of the cell non-continuous operation. In some example embodiments, the first time offset may be relative to a "time parameter" or "timing point" of the cell non-continuous operation. As an example, the timing point may refer to the start timing point of the on-duration of the cell non-continuous operation. The cell non-continuous operation may be in a deactivated state. In other words, the cell non-continuous operation is configured but not activated or applied.

[0058] The first device 110 may determine a starting time point (also referred to as a "first starting time point") based on the first time offset and the start of the cell non-continuous operation. In this case, the first device 110 may monitor the DCI indicating the activation of the cell non-continuous operation from the first starting time point. The second device 120 may send a DCI indicating the activation of the cell non-continuous operation based on the first time offset and the start of the cell non-continuous operation. Since the DCI indicates the activation of the cell non-continuous operation, the first device 110 may perform the activation of the cell non-continuous operation based on the DCI. For example, the activation of the cell non-continuous operation may be applied based on the DCI from the start of the cell non-continuous operation.

[0059] In an example embodiment, the first time offset is relative to the start of an inactive period in the cell non-continuous operation. In other words, the start of the cell non-continuous operation may be the start of an inactive period in the cell non-continuous operation. The inactive period may be a subsequent inactive period after receiving the DCI. For example, Figure 4A As shown, the first time offset 411 may be relative to the start of the inactive period 311 in the cell non-continuous operation. In addition, the first device 110 may monitor the DCI at one or more of the monitoring opportunities 414 and 415 within the first time offset 411.

[0060] In another example embodiment, the first time offset is relative to the start of an active period in the cell non-continuous operation. In other words, the start of the cell non-continuous operation may be the start of an active period in the cell non-continuous operation. The active period may be a subsequent active period after receiving the DCI. For example, Figure 4B As shown, the first time offset 421 may be relative to the start of the activity period 321 in the cell non-continuous operation. In addition, the first device 110 may monitor the DCI at one or more of the monitoring opportunities 424 and 425 within the first time offset 421.

[0061] Alternatively or additionally, the configuration information may indicate a time offset (also referred to as a "second time offset") relative to a switching boundary in the cell non-continuous operation. The cell non-continuous operation may be in an activated state. In other words, the cell non-continuous operation is used or applied. The switching boundary may refer to a boundary between an active time period and an inactive time period in the cell non-continuous operation.

[0062] The first device 110 may determine a starting time point (also referred to as a "second starting time point") based on the second time offset and the switching boundary. In this case, the first device 110 may monitor the DCI indicating the deactivation of the non-continuous operation of the cell starting from the second starting time point. The second device 120 may send the DCI indicating the deactivation of the non-continuous operation of the cell based on the second time offset and the switching boundary. Since the DCI indicates the deactivation of the non-continuous operation of the cell, the first device 110 may perform the deactivation of the non-continuous operation of the cell based on the DCI.

[0063] In an example embodiment, the second time offset may be relative to an active to inactive switching boundary in non-continuous operation of the cell. Figure 4A As shown, the time offset 412 may be relative to an active to inactive switching boundary. The first device 110 may monitor the DCI indicating the deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation at one or more monitoring occasions (not shown) within the time offset 412. As another example, Figure 4B As shown, the time offset 423 may be relative to an active-to-inactive switching boundary. The first device 110 may monitor the DCI indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation at one or more monitoring occasions (not shown) within the time offset 423 .

[0064] In another example embodiment, the second time offset may be relative to an inactive to active switching boundary in non-continuous cell operation. Figure 4A As shown, the time offset 413 may be relative to the inactive to active switching boundary. The first device 110 may monitor the DCI indicating the deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation at one or more monitoring occasions (not shown) within the time offset 413. As another example, Figure 4B As shown, the time offset 422 may be relative to an inactive-to-active switching boundary. The first device 110 may monitor at one or more monitoring occasions (not shown) within the time offset 422 for a DCI indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation.

[0065] In addition, the second device 120 may configure a periodicity that defines the frequency at which the first device 110 monitors such DCI indicating deactivation of cell non-continuous operation during the cell DTX / DRX active period. The periodicity of UE monitoring may be configured such that it is an integer number of configured cell DTX / DRX periodicities. For example, the first device 110 monitors the DCI indicating deactivation of cell non-continuous operation in every fifth active time period or inactive time period of cell non-continuous operation after activation of cell non-continuous operation.

[0066] In some example embodiments, as described above, the cell may be configured with multiple cell non-continuous operations including the above-mentioned cell non-continuous operations. In an example embodiment, none of the multiple cell non-continuous operations is activated. In this case, the first device 110 may monitor the DCI indicating the activation of the cell non-continuous operation during the activity period in the default cell non-continuous operation in the multiple cell non-continuous operations. The first device 110 may perform the activation of the cell non-continuous operation in the multiple cell non-continuous operations based on the DCI.

[0067] In an example embodiment, the configuration information may include a time offset relative to the start or end of the active period in the default cell non-continuous operation (also referred to as a "third time offset"). The first device 110 may determine a starting time point (also referred to as a "third starting time point") based on the third time offset and the state of the default cell non-continuous operation. In this case, the first device 110 may monitor the DCI indicating activation of another cell non-continuous operation starting from the third starting time point within the active period in the default non-continuous operation. The first device 110 may perform activation of another cell non-continuous operation based on the downlink control information. For example, Figure 4C As shown, if the cell discontinuous operation mode 330 is the mode of default discontinuous operation, the third time offset may be a time offset 431 relative to the start of the activity period 332. Alternatively, the third time offset may be a time offset 432 relative to the end of the activity period 332. The first device 110 may monitor the DCI indicating activation of the cell discontinuous operation at the monitoring opportunity 433.

[0068] In addition, the second device 120 may configure a periodicity that defines the frequency at which the first device 110 monitors such DCI indicating activation of cell non-continuous operation during an active period of the default DTX mode. The periodicity of UE monitoring may be configured such that it is an integer number of configured cell DTX / DRX periodicities. For example, the first device 110 performs monitoring of the DCI in every third active period of the default DTX / DRX mode.

[0069] In some example embodiments, the default cell non-continuous operation may be the first of multiple cell non-continuous operations. Alternatively, the default cell non-continuous operation may be explicitly indicated by the second device 120. In some other example embodiments, the default cell non-continuous operation may be the last activated cell non-continuous operation among multiple cell non-continuous operations. For example, if the cell non-continuous operation was activated and deactivated earlier, and the cell currently has cell DTX / DRX configured and deactivated, the first device 110 may be configured to monitor the DCI indicating activation within the activity period of the last activated DTX mode.

[0070] In some example embodiments, the cell is configured with multiple cell non-continuous operations, and the cell non-continuous operation in the multiple cell non-continuous operations is in an activated state. In this case, the first device 110 may monitor the DCI indicating the deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation during the active period in the cell non-continuous operation. For example, Figure 4D As shown, if the cell discontinuous operation mode 330 is in an activated state, the first device 110 may monitor the DCI indicating deactivation during the activity period 332-1. Alternatively or additionally, the first device 110 may monitor the DCI indicating deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation during all activity periods in the cell discontinuous operation, that is, monitor the timing according to the following items in the SearchSpace configuration: monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset / duration / monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot. For example, such as Figure 4D As shown, if the cell discontinuous operation mode 330 is in an activated state, the first device 110 may monitor the DCI indicating deactivation during all active periods including the active periods 332-1 and 332-2. The first device 110 may perform deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation based on the DCI.

[0071] Alternatively, if the cell is configured with multiple cell non-continuous operations and the cell non-continuous operations in the multiple cell non-continuous operations are in an activated state, the configuration information may indicate a time offset (also referred to as a "fourth time offset") relative to an active to inactive switching boundary in an active period in the cell non-continuous operations. For example, Figure 4E As shown, if the cell discontinuous operation mode 330 is in an activated state, the fourth time offset may be a time offset 441 relative to an active-to-inactive switching boundary in the active period 332. The first device 110 may monitor the DCI indicating deactivation at the monitoring opportunity 442.

[0072] In addition, the second device 120 may configure a periodicity that defines the frequency at which the first device 110 monitors such DCI indicating deactivation during an active period of a currently activated DTX / DRX mode (e.g., DTX / DRX mode 330). The periodicity of UE monitoring may be configured such that it is an integer number of configured cell DTX / DRX periodicities. For example, the first device 110 performs monitoring of the DCI in every fourth active period of the currently activated DTX / DRX mode.

[0073] In some example embodiments, if a DCI indicating deactivation of a cell non-continuous operation is received during an active period, the first device 110 may perform deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation based on the received DCI. Alternatively or additionally, the first device 110 may perform activation of another cell non-continuous operation in multiple cell non-continuous operations. For example, if the cell is currently configured with a cell DTX / DRX mode and the cell DTX / DRX mode 1 (e.g., the cell DTX / DRX mode 330) is activated, and it is desired to switch to the cell DTX / DRX mode 2 (e.g., the cell DTX / DRX mode 340), the first device 110 may be configured to monitor the DCI during the active period of the currently activated cell DTX / DRX mode 1 (e.g., the cell DTX / DRX mode 330). The activation DCI for the cell DTX / DRX mode 2 (e.g., the cell DTX / DRX mode 340) may imply the deactivation of the cell DTX / DRX mode 1, because only one cell DTX / DRX mode may be activated at the same time.

[0074] In some example embodiments, if the cell is configured with multiple cell non-continuous operations and the cell non-continuous operation in the multiple cell non-continuous operations is in an activated state, the first device 110 may monitor the DCI indicating the deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation during the inactive period in the cell non-continuous operation. The first device 110 may perform the deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation based on the downlink control information. For example, if the cell is currently configured with cell DTX and the cell DTX is activated, the first device 110 is configured to monitor the DCI indicating the deactivation during the inactive period of the currently activated DTX mode.

[0075] In an example embodiment, the configuration information indicates a time offset (also referred to as a "fifth time offset") relative to the start or end of the inactive period in the cell non-continuous operation. The first device 110 may determine a starting time point (also referred to as a "fifth starting time point") based on the fifth time offset and the start or end of the inactive period. In this case, the first device 110 may monitor the downlink control information indicating the deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation starting from the fifth starting time point. For example, Figure 4F As shown, if the cell non-continuous operation mode 330 is a mode of non-continuous operation, the fifth time offset may be a time offset 451 relative to the start of the inactive period 331. Alternatively, the fifth time offset may be a time offset 452 relative to the end of the inactive period 331. The first device 110 may monitor the DCI indicating the deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation at the monitoring opportunity 453.

[0076] In addition, the second device 120 can configure the following periodicity: the periodicity defines the frequency of the first device 110 monitoring such DCI indicating deactivation during the inactive period of the currently activated DTX / DRX mode (e.g., DTX / DRX mode 330). The periodicity of UE monitoring can be configured so that it is an integer number of configured cell DTX / DRX periodicities. For example, the first device 110 performs monitoring for deactivation DCI in every sixth inactive period of the currently activated DTX / DRX mode. In some other example embodiments, the frequency of the monitoring opportunity (MO) can be configured by the second device 120 relative to the inactive period, i.e., via the following items of the SearchSpace configuration: monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset / duration / monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot.

[0077] In some example embodiments, if a DCI indicating deactivation of cell non-continuous operation is received during an inactive period, the first device 110 may perform deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation based on the received DCI. Alternatively or additionally, the first device 110 may perform activation of another cell non-continuous operation in multiple cell non-continuous operations. For example, if the cell is currently configured with cell DTX / DRX, and cell DTX / DRX mode 1 (e.g., cell DTX / DRX mode 330) is activated, and it is desired to switch to cell DTX / DRX mode 2 (e.g., cell DTX / DRX mode 340), the first device 110 may be configured to monitor DCI during the inactive period of the currently activated cell DTX / DRX mode 1 (e.g., cell DTX / DRX mode 330). The activation DCI for cell DTX / DRX mode 2 (e.g., cell DTX / DRX mode 340) may imply deactivation of cell DTX / DRX mode 1 because only one cell DTX / DRX mode may be activated at the same time.

[0078] In some example embodiments, if both cell DTX and DRX are configured, the first device 110 may monitor the DCI during the on-duration of the cell DTX, which may be aligned or unaligned with the on-duration of the cell DRX. In some example embodiments, there may be one or more monitoring occasions defined relative to the first monitoring occasion defined in the above embodiments.

[0079] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example method 500 implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1 The method 500 is described from the perspective of the first device 110.

[0080] At block 510, the first device 110 receives configuration information associated with downlink control information from a network device, the downlink control information being for an action for a cell discontinuous operation of a cell. The configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, the cell discontinuous operation comprising at least one of: cell discontinuous transmission, cell discontinuous reception.

[0081] At block 520 , the first device 110 monitors downlink control information based on the configuration information and a state of cell discontinuous operation.

[0082] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further includes performing an action on cell non-continuous operation based on the downlink control information.

[0083] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to the start of the cell non-continuous operation, and the cell non-continuous operation is in a deactivated state, and the method 500 further includes: determining a starting time point based on the first time offset and the start of the cell non-continuous operation; monitoring downlink control information related to the cell non-continuous operation from the starting time point; and performing activation of the cell non-continuous operation based on the downlink control information indicating activation of the cell non-continuous operation.

[0084] In some example embodiments, the start of the cell non-continuous operation is the start of an inactive period in the cell non-continuous operation, or wherein the start of the cell non-continuous operation is the start of an active period in the cell non-continuous operation.

[0085] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to a switching boundary in a cell non-continuous operation, and the cell non-continuous operation is in an activated state, and the method 500 further includes: determining a starting time point based on the time offset and the switching boundary; monitoring downlink control information related to the cell non-continuous operation from the starting time point; and performing deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation based on the downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation.

[0086] In some example embodiments, the time offset is relative to an active to inactive handover boundary in cell non-contiguous operation, or wherein the time offset is relative to an inactive to active handover boundary in cell non-contiguous operation.

[0087] In some example embodiments, the cell is configured with multiple cell non-continuous operations, and none of the multiple cell non-continuous operations is activated, and the method 500 further includes: monitoring downlink control information related to the cell non-continuous operation during an active period in a default cell non-continuous operation among the multiple cell non-continuous operations; and performing activation of the cell non-continuous operation among the multiple cell non-continuous operations based on the downlink control information indicating activation of the cell non-continuous operation.

[0088] In some example embodiments, the configuration information includes a time offset relative to the start or end of an active period in the default cell non-continuous operation, and the method 500 further includes: determining a starting time point based on the time offset and a state of the default cell non-continuous operation; and monitoring downlink control information related to the cell non-continuous operation starting from the starting time point within the active period in the default cell non-continuous operation; and performing activation of the cell non-continuous operation based on the downlink control information indicating activation of the default cell non-continuous operation.

[0089] In some example embodiments, the default cell non-contiguous operation is the first of the multiple cell non-contiguous operations, or wherein the default cell non-contiguous operation is explicitly indicated by the network device, or wherein the default cell non-contiguous operation is the last activated cell non-contiguous operation of the multiple cell non-contiguous operations.

[0090] In some example embodiments, the cell is configured with multiple cell non-continuous operations, and the cell non-continuous operation in the multiple cell non-continuous operations is in an activated state, and the method 500 further includes: during an active period in the cell non-continuous operation, monitoring downlink control information related to the cell non-continuous operation; and performing deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation based on the downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation.

[0091] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: monitoring downlink control information related to the cell discontinuous operation during all active periods of the cell discontinuous operation.

[0092] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to an active-to-inactive switching boundary in an active period in the cell non-continuous operation, and the method 500 further includes: determining a starting time point based on the time offset and the active-to-inactive switching boundary; and monitoring downlink control information related to the cell non-continuous operation from the starting time point.

[0093] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: in response to determining that downlink control information related to the cell discontinuous operation is received, performing deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation based on the downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation.

[0094] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: performing activation of another cell non-contiguous operation in the plurality of cell non-contiguous operations.

[0095] In some example embodiments, the cell is configured with multiple cell non-continuous operations, and the cell non-continuous operation in the multiple cell non-continuous operations is in an activated state, and the method 500 further includes: during an inactive period in the cell non-continuous operation, monitoring downlink control information related to the cell non-continuous operation; and performing deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation based on the downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation.

[0096] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to the beginning or end of an inactive period in the cell non-continuous operation, and the method 500 further includes: determining a starting time point based on the time offset and the beginning or end of the inactive period; and monitoring downlink control related to the cell non-continuous operation from the starting time point.

[0097] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further includes: performing deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation based on determining that downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation is received during the inactivity period; and performing activation of another cell non-continuous operation in the multiple cell non-continuous operations.

[0098] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises monitoring the downlink control information indicating the action at a periodicity configured by the network device.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the downlink control information is scrambled by a dedicated radio network temporary identifier.

[0100] In some example embodiments, the action on the cell discontinuous operation includes one of: activating the cell discontinuous operation, or deactivating the cell discontinuous operation.

[0101] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises a terminal device.

[0102] Figure 6 FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example method 600 implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1 The method 600 is described from the perspective of the second device 120.

[0103] At block 610, the second device 120 sends configuration information associated with downlink control information to the terminal device, the downlink control information being for an action of cell discontinuous operation for a cell. The configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, the cell discontinuous operation comprising at least one of: cell discontinuous transmission, cell discontinuous reception.

[0104] Step 620: The second device 120 sends downlink control information to the terminal device according to the configuration information and the state of the cell discontinuous operation.

[0105] In some example embodiments, the configuration information includes a time offset relative to the start of the cell discontinuous operation configuration, and the cell discontinuous operation of the cell is in a deactivated state, and the method 600 further includes sending downlink control information indicating activation of the cell discontinuous operation configuration, starting from a starting time point based on the time offset and the start of the cell discontinuous operation.

[0106] In some example embodiments, the start of the cell non-continuous operation is the start of an inactive period in the cell non-continuous operation, or wherein the start of the cell non-continuous operation is the start of an active period in the cell non-continuous operation.

[0107] In some example embodiments, the configuration information includes a time offset relative to a switching boundary in the cell non-continuous operation, and the cell non-continuous operation of the cell is in an activated state, and the method 600 also includes sending downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation starting from a starting time point based on the time offset and the switching boundary.

[0108] In some example embodiments, the time offset is relative to an active to inactive handover boundary in a cell non-contiguous operation configuration, or wherein the time offset is relative to an inactive to active handover boundary in a cell non-contiguous operation configuration.

[0109] In some example embodiments, the cell is configured with multiple cell non-contiguous operations, and none of the multiple cell non-contiguous operations is activated, and the method 600 further includes sending downlink control information indicating activation of the cell non-contiguous operation during an activity period in a default cell non-contiguous operation in the multiple cell non-contiguous operations.

[0110] In some example embodiments, the configuration information includes a time offset relative to the start or end of an active period in the default cell non-continuous operation, and the method 600 further includes sending downlink control information indicating activation of the cell non-continuous operation starting from a starting time point based on the time offset and the state of the default cell non-continuous operation.

[0111] In some example embodiments, the default cell non-contiguous operation is the first of the multiple cell non-contiguous operations, or wherein the default cell non-contiguous operation is explicitly indicated by the network device, or wherein the default cell non-contiguous operation is the last activated cell non-contiguous operation of the multiple cell non-contiguous operations.

[0112] In some example embodiments, the cell is configured with multiple cell non-continuous operations, and the cell non-continuous operation in the multiple cell non-continuous operations is in an activated state, and the method 600 further includes sending downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation during an active period of the cell non-continuous operation.

[0113] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: transmitting downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation during all activity periods in the cell non-continuous operation.

[0114] In some example embodiments, the configuration information includes a time offset relative to an active-to-inactive switching boundary in a cell non-continuous operation configuration, and method 600 further includes: determining a starting time point; and sending downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation starting from the starting time point based on the time offset and the active-to-inactive switching boundary.

[0115] In some example embodiments, the cell is configured with multiple cell non-continuous operations, and the cell non-continuous operation in the multiple cell non-continuous operations is in an activated state, and the method 600 further includes sending downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation during an inactive period in the cell non-continuous operation configuration.

[0116] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to the beginning or end of an inactive period in the cell non-continuous operation, and the method 600 further includes sending downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation, starting from a starting time point based on the time offset and the beginning or end of the inactive period.

[0117] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises sending downlink control information indicating the action at a periodicity configured by the network device.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the downlink control information is scrambled by a dedicated radio network temporary identifier.

[0119] In some example embodiments, the action on the cell discontinuous operation includes one of: activating the cell discontinuous operation, or deactivating the cell discontinuous operation.

[0120] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises a network device.

[0121] In some example embodiments, any of the methods 500 can be performed (e.g., Figure 1 The first device 110 in the method 500 may include a device for performing the corresponding operation of the method 500. The device may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the device may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. The first device may be implemented as or included in Figure 1 In the first device 110.

[0122] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus includes: a component for receiving configuration information associated with downlink control information from a network device, the downlink control information being an action for cell discontinuous operation of a cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, and the cell discontinuous operation includes at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception; and a component for monitoring the downlink control information based on the configuration information and a state of the cell discontinuous operation.

[0123] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing an action on the cell non-continuous operation based on the downlink control information.

[0124] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to the start of the cell discontinuous operation, and the cell discontinuous operation is in a deactivated state, and the first device also includes a component for determining a starting time point based on the first time offset and the start of the cell discontinuous operation; a component for monitoring downlink control information related to the cell discontinuous operation from the starting time point; and a component for performing activation of the cell discontinuous operation based on the downlink control information indicating the activation of the cell discontinuous operation.

[0125] In some example embodiments, the start of the cell non-continuous operation is the start of an inactive period in the cell non-continuous operation, or wherein the start of the cell non-continuous operation is the start of an active period in the cell non-continuous operation.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to a switching boundary in a cell non-continuous operation, and the cell non-continuous operation is in an activated state, and the first device includes a component for determining a starting time point based on the time offset and the switching boundary; a component for monitoring downlink control information related to the cell non-continuous operation from the starting time point; and a component for performing deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation based on the downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the time offset is relative to an active to inactive handover boundary in cell non-contiguous operation, or wherein the time offset is relative to an inactive to active handover boundary in cell non-contiguous operation.

[0128] In some example embodiments, a cell is configured with multiple cell non-continuous operations, and none of the multiple cell non-continuous operations is activated, and the first device includes a component for monitoring downlink control information related to the cell non-continuous operation during an active period in a default cell non-continuous operation among the multiple cell non-continuous operations; and a component for performing activation of the cell non-continuous operation among the multiple cell non-continuous operations based on the downlink control information indicating the activation of the cell non-continuous operation.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the configuration information includes a time offset relative to the start or end of an active period in a default cell non-continuous operation, and the first device includes a component for determining a starting time point based on the time offset and a state of the default cell non-continuous operation; and a component for monitoring downlink control information related to the cell non-continuous operation from the starting time point within the active period in the default cell non-continuous operation; and a component for performing activation of the cell non-continuous operation based on the downlink control information indicating activation of the default cell non-continuous operation.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the default cell non-contiguous operation is the first of the multiple cell non-contiguous operations, or wherein the default cell non-contiguous operation is explicitly indicated by the network device, or wherein the default cell non-contiguous operation is the last activated cell non-contiguous operation of the multiple cell non-contiguous operations.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the cell is configured with multiple cell non-continuous operations, and the cell non-continuous operation in the multiple cell non-continuous operations is in an activated state, and the first device includes a component for monitoring downlink control information related to the cell non-continuous operation during an active period in the cell non-continuous operation; and a component for performing deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation based on the downlink control information indicating the deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation.

[0132] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for monitoring downlink control information related to the cell discontinuous operation during an entire activity period in the cell discontinuous operation.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to an active-to-inactive switching boundary in an active period in a non-continuous operation of the cell, and the first device includes a component for determining a starting time point based on the time offset and the active-to-inactive switching boundary; and a component for monitoring downlink control information related to the non-continuous operation of the cell starting from the starting time point.

[0134] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device further includes: based on determining that downlink control information related to the cell non-continuous operation is received, a component for performing deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation based on the downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for performing activation of another cell non-contiguous operation among the plurality of cell non-contiguous operations.

[0136] In some example embodiments, a cell is configured with multiple cell non-continuous operations, and a cell non-continuous operation in the multiple cell non-continuous operations is in an activated state, and the first device includes a component for monitoring downlink control information related to the cell non-continuous operation during an inactive period in the cell non-continuous operation; and a component for performing deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation based on the downlink control information indicating the deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to the beginning or end of an inactive period in the cell non-continuous operation, and the first device includes a component for determining a starting time point based on the time offset and the beginning or end of the inactive period; and a component for monitoring downlink control related to the cell non-continuous operation starting from the starting time point.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the first device further includes: a component for performing deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation based on determining that downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation during the inactive period is received; and a component for performing activation of another cell non-continuous operation among the multiple cell non-continuous operations.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for monitoring downlink control information indicating an action at a periodicity configured by the network device.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the downlink control information is scrambled by a dedicated radio network temporary identifier.

[0141] In some example embodiments, the action on the cell discontinuous operation includes one of: activating the cell discontinuous operation, or deactivating the cell discontinuous operation.

[0142] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises a terminal device.

[0143] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing the method 500 or other operations in some example embodiments of the first device 110. In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause execution of the first apparatus.

[0144] In some example embodiments, any of the methods 600 can be performed (e.g., Figure 1 The second device 120 in the second device 120 may include a device for performing the corresponding operation of method 600. The device may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the device may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. The second device may be implemented as or included in Figure 1 In the second device 120 in.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus includes: a component for sending configuration information associated with downlink control information to a terminal device, the downlink control information being for an action for cell discontinuous operation of a cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, and the cell discontinuous operation includes at least one of: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception; and a component for sending the downlink control information to the terminal device based on the configuration information and a state of the cell discontinuous operation.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the configuration information includes a time offset relative to the start of the cell discontinuous operation configuration, and the cell discontinuous operation of the cell is in a deactivated state, and the second device includes a component for sending downlink control information indicating activation of the cell discontinuous operation configuration starting from a starting time point based on the time offset and the start of the cell discontinuous operation.

[0147] In some example embodiments, the start of the cell non-continuous operation is the start of an inactive period in the cell non-continuous operation, or wherein the start of the cell non-continuous operation is the start of an active period in the cell non-continuous operation.

[0148] In some example embodiments, the configuration information includes a time offset relative to a switching boundary in the cell non-continuous operation, and the cell non-continuous operation of the cell is in an activated state, and the second device includes a component for sending downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation starting from a starting time point based on the time offset and the switching boundary.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the time offset is relative to an active to inactive handover boundary in a cell non-contiguous operation configuration, or wherein the time offset is relative to an inactive to active handover boundary in a cell non-contiguous operation configuration.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the cell is configured with multiple cell non-contiguous operations, and none of the multiple cell non-contiguous operations is activated, and the second device includes a component for sending downlink control information indicating activation of the cell non-contiguous operation during an active period in a default cell non-contiguous operation in the multiple cell non-contiguous operations.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the configuration information includes a time offset relative to the start or end of an active period in the default cell non-continuous operation, and the second device includes a component for sending downlink control information indicating activation of the cell non-continuous operation starting from a starting time point based on the time offset and the state of the default cell non-continuous operation.

[0152] In some example embodiments, the default cell non-contiguous operation is the first of the multiple cell non-contiguous operations, or wherein the default cell non-contiguous operation is explicitly indicated by the network device, or wherein the default cell non-contiguous operation is the last activated cell non-contiguous operation of the multiple cell non-contiguous operations.

[0153] In some example embodiments, the cell is configured with multiple cell non-continuous operations, and the cell non-continuous operation in the multiple cell non-continuous operations is in an activated state, and the second device includes a component for sending downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation during an active period in the cell non-continuous operation.

[0154] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for transmitting downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation during all activity periods in the cell discontinuous operation.

[0155] In some example embodiments, the configuration information includes a time offset relative to an active-to-inactive switching boundary in a cell non-continuous operation configuration, and the second device includes a component for determining a starting time point; and a component for sending downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation from the starting time point based on the time offset and the active-to-inactive switching boundary.

[0156] In some example embodiments, the cell is configured with multiple cell non-continuous operations, and the cell non-continuous operation in the multiple cell non-continuous operations is in an activated state, and the second device includes a component for sending downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation during an inactive period in the cell non-continuous operation configuration.

[0157] In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to the beginning or end of an inactive period in the cell non-continuous operation, and the second device includes a component for sending downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell non-continuous operation starting from a starting time point based on the time offset and the beginning or end of the inactive period.

[0158] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for transmitting downlink control information indicating the action at a periodicity configured by the network device.

[0159] In some example embodiments, the downlink control information is scrambled by a dedicated radio network temporary identifier.

[0160] In some example embodiments, the action on the cell discontinuous operation includes one of: activating the cell discontinuous operation, or deactivating the cell discontinuous operation.

[0161] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises a network device.

[0162] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for performing the method 600 or other operations of some example embodiments of the second device 120. In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause execution of the second apparatus.

[0163] Figure 7 700 is a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 700 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. Apparatus 700 may be provided to implement a communication apparatus, such as Figure 1 1. As shown in the figure, the device 700 includes one or more processors 710, one or more memories 720 coupled to the processor 710, and one or more communication modules 740 coupled to the processor 710.

[0164] The communication module 740 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 740 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary to communicate with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 740 may include at least one antenna.

[0165] As non-limiting examples, processor 710 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network, and may include one or more of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 700 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time slaved to a clock of a synchronized main processor.

[0166] The memory 720 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 724, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), optical disk, laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 722 and other volatile memories that will not last for the duration of a power outage.

[0167] The computer program 730 includes computer executable instructions executed by the associated processor 710. The instructions of the program 730 may include instructions for performing the operations / actions of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 730 may be stored in a memory, such as ROM 724. The processor 710 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 730 into the RAM 722.

[0168] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of a program 730, so that the device 700 may execute the Figures 2 to 6 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0169] In some example embodiments, the program 730 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 700 (such as in the memory 720) or in other storage devices accessible to the device 700. The device 700 may load the program 730 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 722 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. The term "non-transitory" as used herein is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal), not a limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM versus ROM).

[0170] Figure 8 An example of a computer readable medium 800 is shown which may be in the form of a CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 800 has a program 730 stored thereon.

[0171] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0172] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium (such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium). The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as those included in a program module executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor to perform any method as described above. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functions of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed. Machine executable instructions for program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0173] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device so that the program code enables the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be implemented when executed by the processor or controller. The program code can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0174] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0175] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or apparatuses, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer readable storage media would include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0176] In addition, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in sequence, or performing all of the operations shown to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Unless explicitly stated, certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, unless explicitly stated, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0177] Example Embodiments 1. A device comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: receiving configuration information associated with downlink control information from a network device, the downlink control information being for an action of a cell discontinuous operation for a cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, the cell discontinuous operation comprising at least one of: cell discontinuous transmission, cell discontinuous reception; The downlink control information is monitored according to the configuration information and the state of the discontinuous operation of the cell. 2. The device according to embodiment 1, wherein the device: The action is performed on the cell discontinuous operation according to the downlink control information. 3. The apparatus of embodiment 1, wherein the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to a start of the discontinuous operation of the cell, and the discontinuous operation of the cell is in a deactivated state; The device wherein: Determine a starting time point according to the first time offset and the start of the discontinuous operation of the cell; Starting from the starting time point, monitoring downlink control information related to the discontinuous operation of the cell; The cell activation discontinuous operation is performed according to the downlink control information indicating the cell activation discontinuous operation. 4. The apparatus of embodiment 3, wherein the start of the cell discontinuous operation is the start of an inactive period in the cell discontinuous operation, or The start of the cell non-continuous operation is the start of an activity period in the cell non-continuous operation. 5. The apparatus according to embodiment 1, wherein the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to a handover boundary in the non-continuous operation of the cell, and the non-continuous operation of the cell is in an activated state; The device wherein: Determine a starting time point according to the time offset and the switching boundary; Starting from the starting time point, monitoring downlink control information related to the discontinuous operation of the cell; The cell discontinuous operation deactivation is performed according to the downlink control information indicating the cell discontinuous operation deactivation. 6. The apparatus of embodiment 5, wherein the time offset is relative to an active to inactive handover boundary in non-continuous operation of the cell, or The time offset is relative to the inactive to active switching boundary in non-continuous operation of the cell. 7. The apparatus of embodiment 1, wherein the cell is configured with multiple cell non-contiguous operations, and none of the multiple cell non-contiguous operations is activated, and The device wherein: monitoring downlink control information related to the cell discontinuous operation during an activity period of the default cell discontinuous operation among the multiple cell discontinuous operations; Activation of the cell discontinuous operation among the plurality of cell discontinuous operations is performed based on the downlink control information indicating activation of the cell discontinuous operation. 8. The apparatus of embodiment 7, wherein the configuration information includes a time offset relative to the start or end of an activity period of non-continuous operation of the default cell; The device wherein: Determining a starting time point according to the time offset and a state of the discontinuous operation of the default cell; Starting from a starting time point within an activity period in a default cell discontinuous operation, monitoring downlink control information related to the cell discontinuous operation; Activation of the cell discontinuous operation is performed according to the downlink control information indicating activation of the default cell discontinuous operation. 9. The apparatus according to embodiment 7 or 8, wherein the default cell discontinuous operation is the first one of the multiple cell discontinuous operations, or The default cell discontinuous operation is explicitly indicated by the network device, or The default cell non-continuous operation is the last activated cell non-continuous operation among the multiple cell non-continuous operations. 10. The apparatus according to embodiment 1, wherein the cell is configured with a plurality of cell non-continuous operations, and a cell non-continuous operation among the plurality of cell non-continuous operations is in an activated state; The device wherein: Monitoring downlink control information related to the discontinuous operation of the cell during an activity period of the discontinuous operation of the cell; The cell discontinuous operation deactivation is performed according to the downlink control information indicating the cell discontinuous operation deactivation. 11. The device according to embodiment 10, wherein the device: During all active periods in the cell discontinuous operation, downlink control information related to the cell discontinuous operation is monitored. 12. The apparatus of embodiment 10, wherein the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to an active to inactive switching boundary in an active period of non-continuous operation of the cell, and The device wherein: Determine a starting time point according to the time offset and the active to inactive switching boundary; Starting from the starting time point, downlink control information related to the discontinuous operation of the cell is monitored. 13. The device according to embodiment 10, wherein the device: Based on determining that downlink control information related to cell discontinuous operation is received, Deactivating the cell discontinuous operation is performed according to the downlink control information indicating the deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation. 14. The device according to embodiment 13, wherein the device: Activation of another cell non-contiguous operation in the multiple cell non-contiguous operations is performed. 15. The apparatus according to embodiment 1, wherein the cell is configured with a plurality of cell non-continuous operations, and a cell non-continuous operation among the plurality of cell non-continuous operations is in an activated state; The device wherein: Monitoring downlink control information related to the discontinuous operation of the cell during an inactive period of the discontinuous operation of the cell; The cell discontinuous operation deactivation is performed according to the downlink control information indicating the cell discontinuous operation deactivation. 16. The apparatus of embodiment 15, wherein the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to a start or end of an inactive period in non-continuous operation of the cell; The device wherein: Determining a starting time point according to the time offset and the start or end of the inactive period; Starting from the starting time point, downlink control related to the discontinuous operation of the cell is monitored. 17. The device of embodiment 15, wherein the device: Based on determining that downlink control information indicating deactivation of cell discontinuous operation during the inactive period is received, performing deactivation of cell discontinuous operation; and Activation of another cell non-contiguous operation in the multiple cell non-contiguous operations is performed. 18. The device of any one of embodiments 1-17, wherein the device: Monitor downlink control information indicating actions at a periodicity configured by the network device. 19. The apparatus of any one of embodiments 1-18, wherein the downlink control information is scrambled by a dedicated radio network temporary identifier. 20. The apparatus according to any one of embodiments 1-19, wherein the action for discontinuous operation of the cell comprises one of the following: activation of discontinuous operation of the cell, or Deactivation of cell discontinuous operation. 21. An apparatus according to any one of embodiments 1-20, wherein the apparatus comprises a terminal device. 22. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: Sending configuration information associated with downlink control information to a terminal device, the downlink control information being for an action of a cell discontinuous operation for a cell, the configuration information indicating when to monitor the downlink control information, the cell discontinuous operation comprising at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission, cell discontinuous reception; The downlink control information is sent to the terminal device according to the configuration information and the state of the discontinuous operation of the cell. 23. The apparatus of embodiment 22, wherein the configuration information includes a time offset relative to a start of the cell discontinuous operation configuration, and the cell discontinuous operation of the cell is in a deactivated state; The device wherein: The downlink control information indicating activation of the cell discontinuous operation configuration is transmitted starting from a start time point based on the time offset and the start of the cell discontinuous operation. 24. The apparatus of embodiment 23, wherein the start of the cell discontinuous operation is the start of an inactive period in the cell discontinuous operation, or The start of the cell non-continuous operation is the start of an activity period in the cell non-continuous operation. 25. The apparatus of embodiment 22, wherein the configuration information includes a time offset relative to a handover boundary in the cell discontinuous operation, the cell discontinuous operation of the cell being in an activated state; The device wherein: Starting from a start time point based on the time offset and the switching boundary, the downlink control information indicating deactivation of the discontinuous operation of the cell is sent. 26. The apparatus of embodiment 25, wherein the time offset is relative to an active to inactive handover boundary in a non-continuous operation configuration of the cell, or The time offset is relative to the inactive to active switching boundary in the cell non-continuous operation configuration. 27. The apparatus of embodiment 22, wherein the cell is configured with multiple cell non-contiguous operations, and none of the multiple cell non-contiguous operations is activated, and The device wherein: The downlink control information indicating activation of the cell discontinuous operation is transmitted during an activity period in a default cell discontinuous operation among the plurality of cell discontinuous operations. 28. The apparatus of embodiment 27, wherein the configuration information includes a time offset relative to the start or end of an activity period of non-continuous operation of the default cell; The device wherein: The downlink control information indicating activation of the cell discontinuous operation is transmitted starting from a start time point based on the time offset and a state of the default cell discontinuous operation. 29. The apparatus according to embodiment 27 or 28, wherein the default cell discontinuous operation is the first one of the multiple cell discontinuous operations, or The default cell discontinuous operation is explicitly indicated by the network device, or The default cell non-continuous operation is the last activated cell non-continuous operation among the multiple cell non-continuous operations. 30. The apparatus according to embodiment 22, wherein the cell is configured with a plurality of cell non-continuous operations, and a cell non-continuous operation among the plurality of cell non-continuous operations is in an activated state; The device wherein: During an active week of the cell discontinuous operation, the downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation is transmitted. 31. The device according to embodiment 30, wherein the device: In all active periods of the cell discontinuous operation, downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation is sent. 32. The apparatus of embodiment 30, wherein the configuration information includes a time offset relative to an active to inactive switching boundary in the cell non-continuous operation configuration, and The device wherein: Determine the starting time point; Starting from a start time point based on the time offset and the active-to-inactive switching boundary, the downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation is sent. 33. The apparatus of embodiment 22, wherein the cell is configured with a plurality of cell non-continuous operations, and a cell non-continuous operation among the plurality of cell non-continuous operations is in an activated state; The device wherein: The downlink control information indicating deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation is transmitted during an inactive period in the cell discontinuous operation configuration. 34. The apparatus of embodiment 33, wherein the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to a start or end of an inactive period in non-continuous operation of the cell; The device wherein: Starting from a start time point based on the time offset and the start or end of the inactive period, the downlink control information indicating deactivation of the discontinuous operation of the cell is sent. 35. The device of any one of embodiments 22 to 34, wherein the device: The downlink control information indicating the action is sent according to the periodicity configured by the network device. 36. An apparatus according to any one of embodiments 22-35, wherein the downlink control information is scrambled by a dedicated radio network temporary identifier. 37. The apparatus of any one of embodiments 22 to 36, wherein the action for discontinuous operation of the cell comprises one of the following: activation of discontinuous operation of the cell, or Deactivation of cell discontinuous operation. 38. An apparatus according to any one of embodiments 22-37, wherein the apparatus comprises a network device. 39. A method comprising: Receiving, at the apparatus, configuration information associated with downlink control information from a network device, the downlink control information being for an action for a cell discontinuous operation of a cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, the cell discontinuous operation comprising at least one of: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception; and The downlink control information is monitored according to the configuration information and the state of the discontinuous operation of the cell. 40. A method comprising: Sending, at the apparatus, configuration information associated with downlink control information to a terminal device, the downlink control information being for an action of a cell discontinuous operation for a cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, the cell discontinuous operation comprising at least one of: cell discontinuous transmission, cell discontinuous reception; The downlink control information is sent to the terminal device according to the configuration information and the state of the discontinuous operation of the cell. 41. An apparatus comprising: means for receiving, from a network device, configuration information associated with downlink control information, the downlink control information being for an action of a cell discontinuous operation of a corresponding cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, and the cell discontinuous operation comprises at least one of: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception; and means for monitoring the downlink control information based on the configuration information and the state of the cell discontinuous operation. 42. An apparatus comprising: A component for sending configuration information associated with downlink control information to a terminal device, the downlink control information being for an action of a cell discontinuous operation for a cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, the cell discontinuous operation comprising at least one of: cell discontinuous transmission, cell discontinuous reception; A component for sending the downlink control information to the terminal device based on the configuration information and the state of the non-continuous operation of the cell. 43. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, the instructions being used to cause an apparatus to at least perform a method according to any one of embodiments 39-40.

[0178] Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A device for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: receiving, from a network device, configuration information associated with downlink control information, the downlink control information being for an action of a cell discontinuous operation for a cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, and the cell discontinuous operation comprises at least one of: cell discontinuous transmission, cell discontinuous reception; and The downlink control information is monitored based on the configuration information and the state of the discontinuous operation of the cell.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to: Based on the downlink control information, the actions for the discontinuous operation of the cell are performed.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to the start of the cell discontinuous operation, and the cell discontinuous operation is in a deactivated state; and wherein the device is configured to: Determining a starting time point based on the first time offset and the start of the non-continuous operation of the cell; Starting from the starting time point, monitoring the downlink control information related to the discontinuous operation of the cell; as well as performing the activation of the cell discontinuous operation based on the downlink control information indicating the activation of the cell discontinuous operation, wherein the start of the cell non-continuous operation is the start of an inactive period in the cell non-continuous operation; or The start of the cell non-continuous operation is the start of an activity period in the cell non-continuous operation.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to a switching boundary in the cell non-continuous operation, and the cell non-continuous operation is in an activated state; and wherein the device is configured to: Determining a starting time point based on the time offset and the switching boundary; Starting from the starting time point, monitoring the downlink control information related to the discontinuous operation of the cell; performing the deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation based on the downlink control information indicating the deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation, wherein the time offset is relative to an active to inactive handover boundary in non-continuous operation of the cell, or The time offset is relative to an inactive to active switching boundary in non-continuous operation of the cell.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cell is configured with a plurality of cell non-contiguous operations, and none of the plurality of cell non-contiguous operations is activated, and wherein the device is configured to: monitoring the downlink control information related to the cell discontinuous operation during an activity period of the default cell discontinuous operation among the multiple cell discontinuous operations; as well as performing the activation of the cell non-continuous operation among the plurality of cell non-continuous operations based on the downlink control information indicating the activation of the cell non-continuous operation, wherein the configuration information includes a time offset relative to the start or end of the activity period of the default cell non-continuous operation; and wherein the device is configured to: Determining a starting time point based on the time offset and a state of the default cell discontinuous operation; Starting from the starting time point, monitoring the downlink control information related to the cell discontinuous operation during the activity period in the default cell discontinuous operation; as well as The activation of the cell discontinuous operation is performed based on the downlink control information indicating the activation of the default cell discontinuous operation.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the default cell non-contiguous operation is the first cell non-contiguous operation among the multiple cell non-contiguous operations, or wherein the default cell discontinuous operation is explicitly indicated by the network device, or The default cell non-continuous operation is the cell non-continuous operation that is activated last among the multiple cell non-continuous operations.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cell is configured with a plurality of cell non-contiguous operations, and the cell non-contiguous operation among the plurality of cell non-contiguous operations is in an activated state; and wherein the device is configured to: During an active period of the cell discontinuous operation, monitoring the downlink control information related to the cell discontinuous operation; and Based on the downlink control information indicating the deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation, the deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation is performed.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the apparatus is caused to: During all activation periods in the cell discontinuous operation, the downlink control information related to the cell discontinuous operation is monitored.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to an active-to-inactive switching boundary in an active period of non-continuous operation of the cell, and wherein the device is configured to: Determining a starting time point based on the time offset and the active-to-inactive switching boundary; and Starting from the starting time point, the downlink control information related to the discontinuous operation of the cell is monitored.

10. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the apparatus is caused to: According to determining that the downlink control information related to the discontinuous operation of the cell is received, performing the deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation based on the downlink control information indicating the deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation, Activating another cell non-continuous operation among the plurality of cell non-continuous operations is performed.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cell is configured with a plurality of cell non-contiguous operations, and the cell non-contiguous operation among the plurality of cell non-contiguous operations is in an activated state; and wherein the device is configured to: During an inactive period of the cell discontinuous operation, monitoring the downlink control information related to the cell discontinuous operation; as well as performing the deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation based on the downlink control information indicating the deactivation of the cell discontinuous operation, wherein the configuration information indicates a time offset relative to the start or end of an inactive period in non-continuous operation of the cell; wherein the device is configured to: Determining a start time point based on the time offset and the start or end of the inactive period; Starting from the starting time point, monitoring the downlink control information related to the discontinuous operation of the cell, wherein the device is configured to: in accordance with determining that the downlink control information indicating the deactivation of discontinuous operation of the cell is received during the inactivity period, performing the deactivation of the discontinuous operation of the cell; as well as Activating another cell non-continuous operation among the plurality of cell non-continuous operations is performed.

12. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the device is configured to: The downlink control information indicative of the action is monitored at a periodicity configured by the network device.

13. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the downlink control information is scrambled by a dedicated radio network temporary identifier.

14. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the action for the cell discontinuous operation comprises one of the following: activation of discontinuous operation of the cell, or Deactivation of discontinuous operation of the cell.

15. An apparatus for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: Sending configuration information associated with downlink control information to a terminal device, the downlink control information being for an action of a cell discontinuous operation for a cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, and the cell discontinuous operation comprises at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission, cell discontinuous reception; Based on the configuration information and the state of the discontinuous operation of the cell, the downlink control information is sent to the terminal device.

16. A method for communication, comprising: Receiving, at an apparatus, configuration information associated with downlink control information from a network device, the downlink control information being for an action of a cell discontinuous operation for a cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, and the cell discontinuous operation comprises at least one of: cell discontinuous transmission, cell discontinuous reception; and The downlink control information is monitored based on the configuration information and the state of the discontinuous operation of the cell.

17. A method for communication, comprising: Sending, at an apparatus, configuration information associated with downlink control information to a terminal device, the downlink control information being for an action of a cell discontinuous operation for a cell, wherein the configuration information indicates when to monitor the downlink control information, and the cell discontinuous operation comprises at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission, cell discontinuous reception; and Based on the configuration information and the state of the discontinuous operation of the cell, the downlink control information is sent to the terminal device.

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