Time domain network energy saving technology

Abstract

An apparatus and system for reducing user equipment (UE) power consumption after a fifth generation Node B (gNB) indicates a transition to a power saving mode is described. Different configurations and rules are provided for the UE to identify and use monitoring or transmission opportunities within the PSM active time as well as modifications to the UE timer during the PSM. A discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration and a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration are signaled to the UE and include periodicity, start slot / offset, and on duration and downlink control information (DCI) activation of these configurations. When the gNB uses light synchronization system block (SSB) transmission or discovery reference signal transmission, UE reporting and paging based on these configurations are provided.

Description

[0001] Priority claim

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 397,737 filed on August 12, 2022, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 411,549 filed on September 29, 2022, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 422,357 filed on November 3, 2022, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Background Art

[0003] The use and complexity of next generation (NG) systems, including fifth generation (5G) and sixth generation (6G) networks, has increased due to the increase in the types of user equipment (UE) devices using network resources and the amount of data and bandwidth used by various applications (e.g., video streaming) running on these UEs. With the significant increase in the number and diversity of communicating devices, the corresponding network environment has become increasingly complex. As expected with the emergence of any new technology, many issues arise, including complexities related to energy conservation within such networks. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] In the accompanying drawings (which are not necessarily drawn to scale), like numbers may describe similar components in different views. Like numbers with different letter suffixes may represent different instances of similar components. The accompanying drawings generally illustrate various embodiments discussed herein by way of example and not limitation.

[0005] Figure 1A An architecture of a network according to some aspects is shown.

[0006] Figure 1B A non-roaming 5G system architecture is shown according to some aspects.

[0007] Figure 1C A non-roaming 5G system architecture is shown according to some aspects.

[0008] Figure 2 A block diagram of a communication device according to some embodiments is shown.

[0009] Figure 3 A fifth generation Node B (gNB) discontinuous transmission (DTX) / discontinuous reception (DRX) operation cycle and a UE DRX cycle are shown according to some embodiments.

[0010] Figure 4 A UE is shown monitoring a Paging Occasion (PO) according to some embodiments.

[0011] Figure 5Various configurations / rules for identifying paging frames according to some embodiments are shown.

[0012] Fig. 6A Paging frames and paging occasion slots are shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0013] Figure 6B Reduced paging frame density and increased paging occasion slots are shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0014] Figure 6C Grouped paging frames and paging occasion slots are shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0015] Figure 7 A lightweight synchronous system block (SSB) transmission is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0016] Figure 8 A process for selecting a configuration according to some embodiments is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The following description and accompanying drawings fully illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice these embodiments. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Some parts and features of some embodiments may be included in or replace some parts or features of other embodiments. The embodiments set forth in the claims include all available equivalents of these claims.

[0018] Figure 1A The architecture of a network according to some aspects is shown. The network 140A includes 3GPP LTE / 4G and NG network functions, which can be extended to 6G functions. Therefore, although 5G will be mentioned, it should be understood that this will be extended to 6G structures, systems, and functions. The network functions can be implemented as discrete network elements on dedicated hardware, software instances running on dedicated hardware, and / or virtualized functions instantiated on an appropriate platform (e.g., dedicated hardware or cloud infrastructure).

[0019] Network 140A is shown to include user equipment (UE) 101 and UE 102. UE 101 and 102 are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touch screen mobile computing devices that can connect to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing devices, such as portable computers (laptops) or desktop computers, wireless handsets, drones, or any other computing device that includes wired and / or wireless communication interfaces. UE 101 and 102 may be collectively referred to as UE 101 herein, and UE 101 may be used to perform one or more techniques disclosed herein.

[0020] Any radio link described herein (e.g., as used in network 140A or any other illustrated network) may operate in accordance with any exemplary radio communication technology and / or standard. Any spectrum management scheme, including, for example, dedicated licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, (licensed) shared spectrum (such as licensed shared access (LSA) in 2.3-2.4 GHz, 3.4-3.6 GHz, 3.6-3.8 GHz, and other frequencies and spectrum access system (SAS) in 3.55-3.7 GHz and other frequencies). Different single carrier or OFDM modes (CP-OFDM, SC-FDMA, SC-OFDM, filter bank based multi-carrier (FBMC), OFDMA, etc.), in particular 3GPP NR, may be used by assigning orthogonal frequency domain multiplexing (OFDM) carrier data bit vectors to corresponding symbol resources.

[0021] In some aspects, any of UEs 101 and 102 may include an Internet of Things (IoT) UE or a cellular IoT (CIoT) UE, which may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications that utilize short-term UE connections. In some aspects, any of UEs 101 and 102 may include a narrowband (NB) IoT UE (e.g., an enhanced NB-IoT (eNB-IoT) UE and a further enhanced (FeNB-IoT) UE). The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communication (MTC) to exchange data with an MTC server or device through a public land mobile network (PLMN), proximity-based services (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communications, a sensor network, or an IoT network. The M2M or MTC data exchange may be a machine-initiated data exchange. The IoT network includes interconnecting IoT UEs using short-term connections, which UEs may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure). The IoT UE may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity to the IoT network. In some aspects, either of UEs 101 and 102 may include an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE or a further enhanced MTC (FeMTC) UE.

[0022] UEs 101 and 102 may be configured to connect (e.g., be communicatively coupled) to a radio access network (RAN) 110. RAN 110 may be, for example, an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), a next generation RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN.

[0023] UEs 101 and 102 utilize connections 103 and 104, respectively, each of which includes a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in detail below); in this example, connections 103 and 104 are shown as air interfaces to achieve communication coupling and can comply with cellular communication protocols, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocols, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network protocols, Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocols, PTT over Cellular (POC) protocols, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocols, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocols, 5G protocols, 6G protocols, etc.

[0024] In an aspect, the UEs 101 and 102 may also directly exchange communication data via the ProSe interface 105. The ProSe interface 105 may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink (SL) interface, which includes one or more logical channels including, but not limited to, a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), and a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

[0025] UE 102 is shown as being configured to access access point (AP) 106 via connection 107. Connection 107 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection conforming to any IEEE 802.11 protocol (according to which AP 106 may include Wireless Fidelity). In this example, AP 106 is shown connected to the Internet, but not to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below).

[0026] The RAN 110 may include one or more access nodes that enable connections 103 and 104. These access nodes (ANs) may be referred to as base stations (BS), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next generation NodeBs (gNBs), RAN nodes, etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). In some aspects, the communication nodes 111 and 112 may be transmit / receive points (TRPs). In instances where the communication nodes 111 and 112 are NodeBs (e.g., eNBs or gNBs), one or more TRPs may function within the communication cell of the NodeB. The RAN 110 may include one or more RAN nodes for providing macro cells, such as a macro RAN node 111, and one or more RAN nodes for providing femto cells or micro cells (e.g., cells with smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth than macro cells), such as a low power (LP) RAN node 112.

[0027] Any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 may terminate the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for the UEs 101 and 102. In some aspects, any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 may implement various logical functions of the RAN 110, including but not limited to radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management. In one example, any of the nodes 111 and / or 112 may be a gNB, an eNB, or another type of RAN node.

[0028] RAN 110 is shown as being communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 120 via an S1 interface 113. In various aspects, CN 120 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a next generation packet core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN (e.g., as described in reference to FIG. Figure 1B-1C 1 and 12. As shown in the figure). In this aspect, the S1 interface 113 is divided into the following two parts: an S1-U interface 114, which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and the serving gateway (S-GW) 122; and an S1-mobility management entity (MME) interface 115, which is a signaling interface between the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and the MME 121.

[0029] In this aspect, CN 120 includes MME 121, S-GW 122, Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 123, and Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 124. MME 121 may be functionally similar to the control plane of a conventional Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN). MME 121 may manage mobility aspects in access, such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. HSS 124 may include a database for network users, including information about subscriptions, to support network entities in handling communication sessions. CN 120 may include one or several HSS 124, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, the capacity of the equipment, the organization of the network, etc. For example, HSS 124 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing resolution, location dependency, etc.

[0030] The S-GW 122 may terminate the S1 interface 113 to the RAN 110 and may route data packets between the RAN 110 and the CN 120. In addition, the S-GW 122 may be a local mobility anchor point for handovers between RAN nodes and may also provide an anchor point for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities of the S-GW 122 may include lawful interception, charging, and some policy enforcement.

[0031] The P-GW 123 may terminate the SGi interface to the PDN. The P-GW 123 may route data packets between the CN 120 and external networks, such as networks including an application server 184 (alternatively referred to as an application function (AF)), via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface 125. The P-GW 123 may also pass data to other external networks 131A, which may include the Internet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IPS) network, and other networks. In general, the application server 184 may be an element that provides applications (e.g., UMTS packet service (PS) domain, LTE PS data service, etc.) that use IP bearer resources with the core network. In this regard, the P-GW 123 is shown as being communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the IP interface 125. The application server 184 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for the UEs 101 and 102 via the CN 120.

[0032] The P-GW 123 may also be a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. The Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) 126 is a policy and charging control element of the CN 120. In a non-roaming scenario, in some aspects, there may be a single PCRF in the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with the UE's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with local traffic bursts, there may be two PCRFs associated with the UE's IP-CAN session: the Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within the HPLMN and the Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within the Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 126 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 184 via the P-GW 123.

[0033] In some aspects, the communication network 140A can be an IoT network or a 5G or 6G network, including a 5G new radio network that uses communications in licensed (5GNR) and unlicensed (5G NR-U) spectrum. One of the current implementations of IoT is narrowband IoT (NB-IoT). Operations in unlicensed spectrum can include independent LTE systems and dual connection (DC) operations in unlicensed spectrum, according to which LTE-based technologies operate only in unlicensed spectrum without using an "anchor point" (called MulteFire) in the licensed spectrum. In future releases and 5G systems, further enhanced operations of LTE systems in licensed and unlicensed spectrum are expected. Such enhanced operations may include techniques for sidelink resource allocation and UE processing behavior for NR sidelink V2X communications.

[0034] The NG system architecture (or 6G system architecture) may include a RAN 110 and a 5G core network (5GC) 120. The NG-RAN 110 may include multiple nodes, such as gNBs and NG-eNBs. The CN 120 (e.g., 5G core network / 5GC) may include an access and mobility function (AMF) and / or a user plane function (UPF). The AMF and UPF may be communicatively coupled to the gNB and NG-eNB via an NG interface. More specifically, in some aspects, the gNB and NG-eNB may be connected to the AMF via an NG-C interface and to the UPF via an NG-U interface. The gNB and NG-eNB may be coupled to each other via an Xn interface.

[0035] In some aspects, the NG system architecture may use reference points between various nodes. In some aspects, each of the gNB and NG-eNB may be implemented as a base station, a mobile edge server, a small cell, a home eNB, etc. In some aspects, in the 5G architecture, the gNB may be a master node (MN) and the NG-eNB may be a secondary node (SN).

[0036] Figure 1B A non-roaming 5G system architecture is shown according to some aspects. Specifically, Figure 1B 5G system architecture 140B is shown with reference point representation, which can be extended to 6G system architecture. More specifically, UE 102 can communicate with RAN 110 and one or more other 5GC network entities. 5G system architecture 140B includes multiple network functions (NFs), such as AMF 132, session management function (SMF) 136, policy control function (PCF) 148, application function (AF) 150, UPF 134, network slice selection function (NSSF) 142, authentication server function (AUSF) 144, and unified data management (UDM) / home subscriber server (HSS) 146.

[0037] UPF 134 may provide a connection to a data network (DN) 152, which may include, for example, operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. AMF 132 may be used to manage access control and mobility, and may also include a network slice selection function. AMF 132 may provide UE-based authentication, authorization, mobility management, etc., and may be independent of access technology. SMF 136 may be configured to establish and manage various sessions according to network policies. Therefore, SMF 136 may be responsible for session management and allocating IP addresses to UEs. SMF 136 may also select UPF 134 and control UPF 134 for data transmission. SMF 136 may be associated with a single session of UE 101 or multiple sessions of UE 101. That is, UE 101 may have multiple 5G sessions. A different SMF may be assigned to each session. Using different SMFs may allow each session to be managed separately. Therefore, the functions of each session may be independent of each other.

[0038] UPF 134 can be deployed in one or more configurations depending on the desired service type and can be connected to the data network. PCF 148 can be configured to provide a policy framework using network slicing, mobility management, and roaming (similar to PCRF in 4G communication systems). UDM can be configured to store subscriber profiles and data (similar to HSS in 4G communication systems).

[0039] AF 150 may provide information about packet flows to PCF 148, which is responsible for policy control, to support the desired QoS. PCF 148 may set mobility and session management policies for UE 101. To this end, PCF 148 may use packet flow information to determine appropriate policies for normal operation of AMF 132 and SMF 136. AUSF 144 may store data for UE authentication.

[0040] In some aspects, the 5G system architecture 140B includes an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) 168B and multiple IP multimedia core network subsystem entities, such as a call session control function (CSCF). More specifically, the IMS 168B includes a CSCF, which can act as a proxy CSCF (P-CSCF) 162B, a service CSCF (S-CSCF) 164B, an emergency CSCF (E-CSCF) ( Figure 1B166B). The P-CSCF 162B may be configured as the first contact point for the UE 102 within the IM subsystem (IMS) 168B. The S-CSCF 164B may be configured to handle session states in the network, and the E-CSCF may be configured to handle certain aspects of emergency sessions, such as routing emergency requests to the correct emergency center or PSAP. The I-CSCF 166B may be configured to serve as a contact point within the operator network for all IMS connections whose destination is a subscriber of the network operator or a roaming subscriber currently located within the service area of ​​the network operator. In some aspects, the I-CSCF 166B may be connected to another IP multimedia network 170B, such as an IMS operated by a different network operator.

[0041] In some aspects, UDM / HSS 146 may be coupled to an application server 184, which may include a telephony application server (TAS) or another application server (AS) 160B. AS 160B may be coupled to IMS 168B via S-CSCF 164B or I-CSCF 166B.

[0042] Reference point representation indicates that there can be interaction between corresponding NF services. For example, Figure 1B The following reference points are shown: N1 (between UE 101 and AMF 132), N2 (between RAN 110 and AMF 132), N3 (between RAN 110 and UPF 134), N4 (between SMF 136 and UPF 134), N5 ((between PCF 148 and AF 150, not shown), N6 (between UPF 134 and DN 152), N7 (between SMF 136 and PCF 148, not shown), N8 (between UDM 146 and AMF 132, not shown), N9 (between two UPFs 134, not shown), N10 (between UDM 146 and SMF 136, not shown), N11 (between AMF 132 and SMF 136, not shown), N12 (between AUSF 144 and AMF 132, not shown), N13 (between AUSF 144 and UDM 146, not shown), N14 (between two AMFs 132, not shown), N15 (between PCF 148 and AMF 132 in the case of non-roaming scenario, or between PCF 148 and visited network and AMF 132 in the case of roaming scenario, not shown), N16 (between two SMFs, not shown), and N22 (between AMF 132 and NSSF 142, not shown). It is also possible to use Figure 1B Other reference points not shown are indicated.

[0043] Figure 1C A 5G system architecture 140C and a service-based representation are shown. Figure 1B In addition to the network entities shown in , the system architecture 140C may also include a network exposure function (NEF) 154 and a network repository function (NRF) 156. In some aspects, the 5G system architecture may be service-based, and the interactions between network functions may be represented by corresponding point-to-point reference points Ni or as service-based interfaces.

[0044] In some aspects, such as Figure 1C As shown, a service-based representation can be used to represent network functions within the control plane that enable other authorized network functions to access their services. In this regard, the 5G system architecture 140C may include the following service-based interfaces: Namf158H (a service-based interface presented by AMF 132), Nsmf 158I (a service-based interface presented by SMF 136), Nnef 158B (a service-based interface presented by NEF 154), Npcf158D (a service-based interface presented by PCF 148), Nudm 158E (a service-based interface presented by UDM 146), Naf 158F (a service-based interface presented by AF 150), Nnrf 158C (a service-based interface presented by NRF 156), Nnssf158A (a service-based interface presented by NSSF 142), and Nausf 158G (a service-based interface presented by AUSF 144). Figure 1C Other service-based interfaces not shown (e.g., Nudr, N5g-eir, and Nudsf).

[0045] The NR-V2X architecture can support high reliability, low latency sidelink communications with multiple traffic patterns, including periodic and aperiodic communications with random packet arrival times and sizes. The technology disclosed herein can be used to support high reliability in distributed communication systems with dynamic topologies, including sidelink NR V2X communication systems.

[0046] Figure 2 A block diagram of a communication device according to some embodiments is shown. The communication device 200 may be a UE, such as a dedicated computer, a personal or laptop computer (PC), a tablet PC, or a smart phone; dedicated network equipment (such as an eNB); a server (which runs software that configures the server to operate as a network device); a virtual device; or any machine capable of executing instructions (in sequence or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by the machine. For example, the communication device 200 may be implemented as Figures 1A-1C One or more of the devices shown in . Note that the communications described herein may be encoded before being transmitted by a transmitting entity (e.g., UE, gNB) for reception by a receiving entity (e.g., gNB, UE), and decoded after reception by the receiving entity.

[0047] As described herein, examples may include logic or multiple components, modules, or mechanisms or may operate on this logic or multiple components, modules, or structures. Modules and components are tangible entities (e.g., hardware) that can perform specified operations, and may be configured or arranged in some way. In one example, a circuit may be arranged as a module in a specified manner (e.g., internally, or relative to an external entity such as other circuits). In one example, all or part of one or more computer systems (e.g., independent computer systems, client computer systems, or server computer systems) or one or more hardware processors may be configured by firmware or software (e.g., instructions, application parts, or applications) to operate to perform a module that performs a specified operation. In one example, software may reside on a machine-readable medium. In one example, software, when executed by the underlying hardware of a module, causes the hardware to perform a specified operation.

[0048] Thus, the term "module" (and "component") is understood to encompass a tangible entity, i.e., an entity that is physically constructed, specially configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily (e.g., temporarily) configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a specified manner or to perform part or all of any operations described herein. Considering an example in which a module is temporarily configured, each module need not be instantiated at any one time. For example, where a module includes a general-purpose hardware processor configured using software, the general-purpose hardware processor can be configured as different modules at different times. The software can configure the hardware processor accordingly, for example, to constitute a particular module at a certain point in time and to constitute different modules at different points in time.

[0049] The communication device 200 may include a hardware processor (or equivalently, a processing circuit) 202 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a GPU, a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory 204, and a static memory 206, some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interconnection link (e.g., a bus) 208. The main memory 204 may include any or all of a removable storage device and a non-removable storage device, a volatile memory, or a non-volatile memory. The communication device 200 may also include a display unit 210 (such as a video display), an alphanumeric input device 212 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device 214 (e.g., a mouse). In one example, the display unit 210, the input device 212, and the UI navigation device 214 may be a touch screen display. The communication device 200 may additionally include a storage device (e.g., a drive unit) 216, a signal generating device 218 (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 220, and one or more sensors (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a compass, an accelerometer, or other sensors). The communication device 200 may also include an output controller, such as a serial (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB)), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate with or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, a card reader, etc.).

[0050] The storage device 216 may include a non-transitory machine-readable medium 222 (hereinafter referred to as a machine-readable storage medium) having stored thereon one or more sets of data structures or instructions 224 (e.g., software) that embody or are utilized by one or more techniques or functions described herein. The instructions 224 may also reside completely or at least partially within the main memory 204, within the static memory 206, and / or within the hardware processor 202 during execution by the communication device 200. Although the machine-readable medium 222 is illustrated as a single medium, the term "machine-readable medium" may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and / or associated caches and servers) configured to store one or more instructions 224.

[0051] The term "machine-readable medium" may include any medium capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the communication device 200 and causing the communication device 200 to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or capable of storing, encoding, or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting examples of machine-readable media may include solid-state memory, optical, and magnetic media. Specific examples of machine-readable media may include: non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)), and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as built-in hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; random access memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

[0052] The instructions 224 may also be sent or received over a communication network via the network interface device 220 using a transmission medium 226 using any of a variety of wireless local area network (WLAN) transmission protocols (e.g., frame relay, Internet Protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), a mobile phone network (e.g., a cellular network), a plain old telephone (POTS) network, and a wireless data network. Communications over the network may include one or more different protocols, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards (referred to as Wi-Fi), the IEEE 802.16 family of standards (referred to as WiMax), the IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, the long term evolution (LTE) family of standards, the universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, next generation (NG) / fifth generation (5G) standards, and the like. In one example, the network interface device 220 may include one or more physical jacks (eg, Ethernet, coaxial cable, or telephone jacks) or one or more antennas for connecting to the transmission medium 226 .

[0053] Note that the term "circuit" as used herein refers to a hardware component, is part of a hardware component, or includes a hardware component, such as an electronic circuit, a logic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group processor) and / or memory (shared, dedicated, or group memory), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable device (FPD) (e.g., a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex PLD (CPLD), a high capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, or a programmable SoC), a digital signal processor (DSP), etc., which is configured to provide the described functions. In some embodiments, the circuit can execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functions. The term "circuit" can also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system) and a program code (this combination is used to perform the functions of the program code). In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code can be referred to as a specific type of circuit.

[0054] Therefore, the term "processor circuit" or "processor" as used herein refers to a circuit that is capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations or recording, storing, and / or transmitting digital data, is a part of such a circuit, or includes such a circuit. The term "processor circuit" or "processor" may refer to one or more application processors, one or more baseband processors, a physical central processing unit (CPU), a single-core or multi-core processor, and / or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions (such as program codes, software modules, and / or functional processes).

[0055] Any radio link described herein may operate according to any one or more of the following radio communication technologies and / or standards, including but not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) radio communication technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) radio communication technology, Enhanced GSM Evolution (EDGE) data rates radio communication technology, and / or Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) radio communication technology, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Freedom Multimedia Access (FOMA), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), 3GPP Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTEAdvanced), Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000), Cellular Digital Division Multiple Access (DCDMA), and / or 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) radio communication technology. Data (CDPD), Mobitex, Third Generation (3G), Circuit Switched Data (CSD), High Speed ​​Circuit Switched Data (HSCSD), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (Third Generation) (UMTS (3G)), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) (W-CDMA (UMTS)), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), High Speed ​​Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed ​​Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), High Speed ​​Packet Access + (HSPA+), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System - Time Division Duplex (UMTS-TDD), Time Division Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA), Third Generation Partnership Project Release 8 (Pre-4G) (3GPP 8 (Pre-4G)), 3GPP Rel.9 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 9), 3GPP Rel.10 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 10), 3GPP Rel.11 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 11), 3GPP Rel.12 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 12), 3GPP Rel.13 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 13), 3GPP Rel.14 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 14), 3GPP Rel.15 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 15), 3GPP Rel.16 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 16), 3GPP Rel.17 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 17) and their subsequent releases (such as Rel.18, Rel.19, Rel.20, Rel.21, Rel.22, Rel.23, Rel.24, Rel.25, Rel.26, Rel.27, Rel.28, Rel.29, Rel.30, Rel.31, Rel.32, Rel.33, Rel.34, Rel.35, Rel.36, Rel.37, Rel.38, Rel.39, Rel.31, Rel.31, Rel.3219, etc.), 3GPP 5G, 5G, 5G New Radio (5G NR), 3GPP 5G New Radio, 3GPP LTE Extra, LTE-Advanced Pro, LTE Licensed Assisted Access (LAA), MuLTEfire, UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), Advanced Long Term Evolution (4th Generation) (LTE Advanced (4G))), cdmaOne (2G), Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (3rd Generation) (CDMA2000 (3G)), Evolution-Data Optimized or Evolution Data Only (EV-DO), Advanced Mobile Phone System (1st Generation) (AMPS (1G)), Total Access Communications System / Extended Total Access Communications System (TACS / ETACS), Digital AMPS (2nd Generation) (D-AMPS (2G)), Push to Talk (PTT), Mobile Telephone System (MTS), Improved Mobile Telephone System (IMTS), Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMTS), OLT (Norwegian Offentlig Landmobil Telefoni (public land mobile phone), MTD (Swedish abbreviation for MobiltelefonisystemD (or Mobile Phone System D)), Public Automatic Land Mobile (Autotel / PALM), ARP (Finnish Autoradiopuhelin ("Car Radio Telephone")), NMT (Nordic Mobile Telephone), NTT's (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone) High Capacity Version (Hicap), Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD), Mobitex, DataTAC, Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN), Personal Digital Cellular (PDC), Circuit Switched Data (CSD), Personal Handyphone System (PHS), Broadband Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (WiDEN), iBurst, Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) (also known as the 3GPP Universal Access Network or GAN standard), Zigbee, Bluetooth(r), Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig) standards, general mmWave standards (wireless systems operating at 10-300 GHz and above, such as WiGig, IEEE 802.11ad, IEEE 802.11ay, etc.), technologies operating above 300 GHz and THz bands, (based on 3GPP / LTE or IEEE 802.11p or IEEE 802.11bd and others) vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-X (V2X) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V) communication technologies, 3GPP cellular V2X, DSRC (dedicated short-range communication) communication systems (such as intelligent transportation systems, usually operating above 5850MHz to 5925MHz (typically up to 5935MHz according to the change proposal in CEPT Report71)), European ITS-G5 system (i.e. based on IEEE The European version of DSRC of 802.11p includes ITS-G5A (i.e., ITS-G5 operates in the ITS band (frequency range of 5875 GHz to 5905 GHz) dedicated to safety-related applications in Europe); ITS-G5B (i.e., ITS operation in the ITS band (frequency range of 5855 GHz to 5875 GHz) dedicated to ITS non-safety applications in Europe), ITS-G5C (i.e., ITS applications operate in the frequency range of 5470 GHz to 5725 GHz), DSRC in the Japanese 700 MHz band (including 715 MHz to 725 MHz), and systems based on IEEE 802.11bd, etc.

[0056] The various aspects described herein may be used in the context of any spectrum management scheme, including dedicated licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, (licensed) shared spectrum (e.g., LSA = Licensed Shared Access at 2.3-2.4 GHz, 3.4-3.6 GHz, 3.6-3.8 GHz and other frequencies and SAS = Spectrum Access System / CBRS = Citizens Broadband Radio System at 3.55-3.7 GHz and other frequencies). Applicable frequency bands include IMT (International Mobile Telecommunications) spectrum as well as other types of spectrum / frequency bands, such as bands with national allocations (including 450-470 MHz, 902-928 MHz (Note: allocated in the United States, for example (FCC Part 15)), 863-868.6 MHz (Note: allocated in the European Union, for example (ETSI EN300 220)), 915.9-929.7MHz (Note: for example, allocated in Japan), 917-923.5MHz (Note: for example, allocated in South Korea), 755-779MHz and 779-787MHz (Note: for example, allocated in China), 790-960MHz, 1710-2025MHz, 2110-2200MHz, 2300-2400MHz, 2.4-2.4835GHz (Note: a globally available ISM band used by Wi-Fi technology family (11b / g / n / ax) and Bluetooth), 2500-2690MHz, 698- 790MHz, 610-790MHz, 3400-3600MHz, 3400-3800MHz, 3800-4200MHz, 3.55-3.7GHz (Note: For example, allocated in the United States for Citizens Broadband Radio Service), 5.15-5.25GHz and 5.25-5.35GHz and 5.47-5.725GHz and 5.725-5.85GHz bands (Note: For example, allocated in the United States (FCC Part 15), consisting of four U-NII bands, a total of 500MHz spectrum), 5.725-5.875GHz (Note: For example, allocated in the European Union (ETSI EN 301893), 5.47-5.65 GHz (note: allocated in South Korea, for example), 5925-7125 MHz, and 5925-6425 MHz bands (note: under consideration in the United States and the European Union, respectively). The next generation of Wi-Fi systems is expected to include the 6 GHz spectrum as an operating band, but it is worth noting that as of December 2017, no Wi-Fi systems are permitted in this band.The regulations are expected to be completed in 2019-2020), IMT-advanced spectrum, IMT-2020 spectrum (expected to include 3600-3800MHz, 3800-4200MHz, 3.5GHz band, 700MHz band, bands in the 24.25-86GHz range, etc.), spectrum available under the FCC's "Spectrum Frontier" 5G plan (including 27.5-28.35GHz, 29.1-29.25GHz, 31-31.3GHz, 37-38.6GHz, 38.6-40GHz, 42-42.5GHz, 57-64GHz, 71-76GHz, 81-86GHz and 92-94GHz, etc.), 5.9GHz (usually 5.85-5.925GHz) and 63-64GHz ITS (Intelligent Transportation System) spectrum Bands, bands currently allocated to WiGig (such as WiGigBand1 (57.24-59.40GHz); WiGigBand2 (59.40-61.56GHz); WiGigBand3 (61.56-63.72GHz); and WiGigBand4 (63.72-65.88GHz)), 57-64 / 66GHz (Note: This band is almost globally designated for Multi-Gigabit Wireless Systems (MGWS) / (WiGig)). A total of 14GHz spectrum is allocated in the United States (FCC Part 15), and a total of 9GHz spectrum is allocated in the EU (ETSI EN 302567 and ETSI EN 301 217-2 for fixed P2P), the 70.2GHz-71GHz band, any band between 65.88GHz and 71GHz, bands currently allocated for automotive radar applications (such as 76-81GHz), and future bands including 94-300GHz and above. In addition, as an aid, the solution can be used on bands such as TV white spaces (usually below 790MHz), with the 400MHz and 700MHz bands being promising candidates in particular. In addition to cellular applications, specific applications in vertical markets such as PMSE (Programming and Special Events), medical, health, surgery, automotive, low latency, drones, etc. can also be addressed.

[0057] As mentioned above, energy consumption is a major contributor to network operating expenses (OPEX). The implementation of energy-efficient equipment and technologies can help operators cope with unpredictable fuel prices and save power, bringing significant benefits. Compared with 4G networks, 5G systems have larger bandwidths, increased numbers of transmit / receive (TX / RX) antennas / panels, and higher deployment density to improve system performance and user experience. Currently, different vendors can implement proprietary solutions to improve or optimize their network energy consumption. However, such techniques may be limited due to the lack of feedback from UEs or better gNB-UE coordination to obtain more information at the gNB to ensure more optimized network energy saving. Standardized solutions that support network energy saving, such as feedback from UEs or control signaling from gNBs, can fill this gap. A potential enabler for network energy saving is to increase longer sleep opportunities for base stations. In other words, the base station or gNB can be active only for a certain period of time within a cycle and transmissions from / to the UE can be performed when the gNB is active. Therefore, this article discusses different time-domain network energy saving techniques and procedures related to the gNB entering power saving mode and the corresponding UE behavior.

[0058] Different techniques are discussed on how the UE identifies monitoring or transmission opportunities after the gNB instructs the transition to power saving mode. Different configurations and rules for the UE to identify monitoring or transmission opportunities during the gNB's active time are also discussed, as well as methods for the UE to report to the gNB when a light synchronization system block (SSB) is detected or a reference signal is discovered.

[0059] Typical gNB operation may serve different load conditions, such as low, medium, or high load (which may be defined by the operator), and accordingly the system resource utilization may vary. In low load conditions, resource utilization is expected to be low. As a result, the gNB may have a higher chance of inactivity, i.e. no transmission or reception may occur for a certain amount of time, resulting in the gNB being inactive more frequently (this may also be referred to as idle mode of the gNB and may have different characteristics than UE idle mode). To further improve network energy savings, the gNB may transition to DTX / DRX transmission mode or power saving mode and may align transmissions to / from UEs in the serving cell within the active window of the gNB DTX / DRX operation cycle. Figure 3 The gNB DTX / DRX operation cycle and the UE DRX cycle according to some embodiments are shown. Specifically, the UE DRX cycle is aligned with the gNB operation cycle, where the UE activity time and the gNB activity time overlap.

[0060] In this case, the gNB may configure the Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS), SSB, or Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) to have its periodicity aligned with the DTX / DRX period of transmissions during the DTX / DRX ON period. Accordingly, the UE may also receive the corresponding CSI-RS, SSB, or PDCCH discontinuously. This alignment may also apply to other downlink (DL) transmissions (such as Semi-Persistent Scheduling (SPS) Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), Dynamic Grant (DG) PDSCH) and uplink (UL) transmissions (such as Sounding Reference Signal (SRS), Scheduling Request (SR) / Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Configured Grant (CG) and / or DG Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)). In this regard, the gNB may signal the DTX / DRX configuration to (one or more) UEs in the serving cell. This may apply to UEs compliant with Rel-18 or higher specifications. For legacy UEs, i.e., UEs compliant with earlier specifications, such configuration indication may not be possible.

[0061] When the gNB DTX / DRX configuration is active or after the gNB has indicated a transition to DTX / DRX mode or power saving mode, the UE identifies the timing of receiving (sending to) different signals / channels from the network (e.g., reception of CSI-RS, tracking reference signal (TRS), SSB, or PDCCH from the network, or transmission of SRS, CG-PUSCH). A process is also described for the UE to identify the timing of signal / channel transmission / reception due to the DTX / DRX mode at the gNB. The following embodiments may be applicable to UEs in connected mode, idle mode, or inactive mode. Note that the DTX / DRX mode may also be referred to as a power saving mode (PSM) or a network energy saving (NES) mode or state. The DTX / DRX mode may be applicable to each cell at the gNB or multiple cells at the gNB. It should be understood that the following DTX / DRX embodiments include cell-level and gNB-level DTX / DRX scenario configurations.

[0062] In one embodiment, when the gNB indicates to the UE that the gNB transitions to DTX / DRX mode or PSM, the UE identifies valid DL monitoring opportunities and / or UL transmission opportunities that overlap with the active time of the gNB DTX / DRX mode. Here, the monitoring or transmission opportunities can be indicated to the UE by system information and / or identified by the UE according to the specification. In one example, the indication can also be provided to the UE via dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling, which can be UE-specific or group-common. This is referred to as the first configuration or first set of rules for determining the timing. Among these monitoring or transmission opportunities, a set of opportunities are identified as valid depending on the overlap with the gNB active time. In one example, the gNB DTX / DRX mode means that the gNB is only active periodically according to a period, and the active time includes a predetermined duration in each period, during which the gNB can send to the UE and / or is expected to receive transmissions from the UE.

[0063] In one option, the active time or gNB ON duration may be identified by the UE based on one or more of: a starting offset of the active time relative to a reference point, a number of periods, duration, period length, or periodicity during which the gNB remains in DTX / DRX mode (until another trigger causes the gNB to exit DTX / DRX mode). Parameters related to the identification of the gNB active time, i.e., parameters related to the DTX / DRX mode at the gNB, may be signaled to the UE(s) via broadcast signaling (e.g., via system information or downlink control information (DCI)).

[0064] In one example, the UE does not need to monitor timings outside of gNB activity times or transmit timings outside of gNB activity times. Figure 4 FIG. 4 shows a UE monitoring a paging occasion (PO) according to some embodiments. The UE may only monitor POs that reside within the ON duration of a gNBDTX / DRX cycle. Figure 4In the example, if there are paging occasions outside the gNB active time, the UE can skip these paging occasions, allowing the UE to save power. Assume that the DTX / DRX cycle length is 160 ms and the ON duration occupies 4 frames or 40 ms. If the paging DRX cycle length is T=32 frames and there are 4 paging frames (PFs) in one paging cycle (i.e., the number of PFs N is selected to be T / 8), such as in SFN#0, SFN#8, SFN#16, SFN#24, the UE can skip PDCCH monitoring and not receive paging information in the paging occasions (PO) in the PFs in SFN#8 and SFN#24, because these POs fall outside the active time or ON duration of the gNB DTX / DRX cycle. The SFN index of the PF assumed here is for reference only, in practice, the exact SFN number may also depend on the UE ID. However, if the number of PFs in the paging DRX cycle is N=T / K, the interval between consecutive PFs is expected to be an integer K≥1. In this example, K=8.

[0065] Note that the paging DRX cycle is different from the gNB DTX / DRX cycle or operation mode and can be configured separately.

[0066] In one example, a UE with a PF and PO outside the ON duration may recalculate the PF and PO based on available time or time overlapping with the gNB's ON duration or active time. In one option, a UE that originally had a PF in SFN#8 and SFN#24 may be reassigned to SFN#0 and / or SFN#16 instead. In this case, N is effectively reduced from 4 to 2. Here, it is assumed that the paging cycle and the offset of the ON duration are aligned.

[0067] Similar examples may apply to other signal / channel transmission opportunities outside the ON duration or active time, such as PDCCH monitoring for receiving system information, PDCCH monitoring for receiving paging early indication, TRS, SSB opportunities, etc. It is expected that the gNB may align the ON duration / active time with key signal / channel transmission periodicity. For example, Figure 4 In the DTX / DRX mode, the gNB may set the SSB transmission periodicity to 160 ms, which is the same as the DTX / DRX cycle length, and may enter sleep mode after the ON duration of 40 ms (i.e., 4 frames) expires. In one example, when the gNB transitions to DTX / DRX mode, a UE configured with 20 ms SSB reception monitors the SSB within the ON duration of the gNB.

[0068] In another embodiment, when the gNB indicates to the UE that the gNB transitions to DTX / DRX mode or PSM, the UE identifies valid DL monitoring opportunities and / or UL transmission opportunities according to a new second configuration or rule set. Here, the new configuration or rule set for identifying the opportunities may be different from or derived from the first configuration or rule set for identifying monitoring or transmission opportunities when the gNB is not in DTX / DRX mode (i.e., in normal (or non-power saving mode) operating mode). In one example, the first and second configurations or rule sets may be active at the same time, and the UE finds valid opportunities within the gNB active time based on both configurations. In another example, the second configuration or rule set replaces the first configuration / rule.

[0069] Figure 5 Various configurations / rules for identifying paging frames according to some embodiments are shown. Figure 5 In the embodiment, the second configuration or rule set for identifying the PF within the ON duration allows a larger number of UEs in the group to receive paging. Specifically, Figure 5 It shows that 2 PFs are available for paging reception during the ON duration. Figure 5 In the first embodiment, additional configurations / rules are activated, such as for identifying additional SFNs including PFs within the ON duration when the gNB indicates a transition to DTX / DRX mode. This may be useful if the ON duration is not long enough to include multiple PFs within the paging DRX cycle. If only the first configuration works, UEs monitoring PFs outside the ON duration may not have the opportunity to receive paging when the gNB is in DRX / DTX mode. To this end, when the paging load is such that a configuration with a predetermined number of PFs is used within the paging cycle, an option may be to introduce a new configuration or set of rules so that more PFs can be configured / identified within the ON duration. This may allow a larger number of groups of UEs to receive paging information while achieving energy savings at the gNB.

[0070] use Figure 4 In the configuration example, there are 2 PFs in SFN#8 and #24 that are outside the ON duration in the paging DRX cycle. Figure 5 In the second configuration or rule set, the same total number of PFs (i.e., 4) is maintained within the paging DRX cycle, wherein all PFs now fall within the ON duration and are available for paging reception at (one or more) UEs. In another interpretation, according to the second configuration or rule set, the PFs in SFN#8 (SFN#24) are shifted to SFN#2 (SFN#18).

[0071] For example, the first configuration rule may use the following rules to determine PF and PO:

[0072] The SFN of the PF is determined by (SFN+PF_offset) mod T = (T / N)*(UE_ID mod N); and

[0073] The index Index(i_s) indicating the PO is determined by i_s=floor(UE_ID / N) mod Ns.

[0074] The second configuration rule can use the following rules to determine PF and PO:

[0075] The SFN of the PF is determined by (SFN+PF_offset) mod T = (UE_ID mod N);

[0076] The index Index(i_s) indicating PO is determined by i_s=floor(UE_ID / N) mod Ns,

[0077] Where SFN is the system frame number, PF_offset is the offset configured by the gNB to shift the PF within duration T, T is the DRX cycle of the UE, UE_ID is the UE identifier, T / N represents the number of PFs within duration T, and Ns represents the number of POs within the PF (which can be 1 or 2). This is applicable when SearchSpaceId=0 is configured for pagingSearchSpace. Otherwise, Ns can be 1, 2, or 4.

[0078] Other examples of PF and PO determination rules include:

[0079] The SFN of PF is determined by (SFN+PF_offset) mod T=L*(UE_ID mod M);

[0080] The index Index(i_s) indicating PO is determined by i_s=floor(UE_ID / N) mod Ns,

[0081] Where M is the On Duration during which the gNB is expected to send paging, and L is the inter-frame gap between consecutive PFs. Figure 5 In the example of , PF_offset=0, T=16, L=2, and M=4.

[0082] In one example, according to a second configuration or rule set, the four PFs may be contiguous and placed in Figure 5 In other words, depending on the value of N, the UE may identify paging frames in a continuous manner starting from the first frame in the ON duration or starting from an offset position from the first frame in the ON duration.

[0083] Alternatively, in another embodiment, Ns may be an integer greater than 4, such as 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, etc. This may be applicable when the network configures fewer PFs within a DRX cycle. Other values ​​of the number of paging frames within a DRX cycle (value N) may also be supported. For example, N=T / 32, T / 64, T / 128, etc., where T is the DRX cycle. This may be expressed as follows:

[0084] The SFN of the PF is determined by (SFN+PF_offset) mod T = T / N*(UE_ID mod (N));

[0085] The index Index(i_s) indicating PO is determined by i_s=floor(UE_ID / (N))mod(Ns);

[0086] N=T, T / 2, T / 4, T / 8, T / 16, T / 32, T / 64, T / 128, T / 256,...; and

[0087] Ns=1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16,...,

[0088] Wherein, T is the DRX cycle.

[0089] In one example, when Ns>4, the first 4 POs can be used for legacy UEs, while the following POs are used for Rel-18 UEs. In another example, Rel-18 UEs can use any PO depending on the configuration, while legacy UEs are limited to the configuration of the first 4 POs. This can be expressed as follows:

[0090] The SFN of the PF is determined as follows:

[0091] For Rel-18 UEs, (SFN+PF_offset) mod T = T / N*(UE_ID mod (N)); and

[0092] For Rel-15 / 16 / 17 UE, (SFN+PF_offset) mod T = T / max(T / 16,N)*(UE_ID mod(max(T / 16,N))) is used to determine;

[0093] The index Index(i_s) indicating the PO is determined as follows:

[0094] For Rel-18 UE, if Ns>=K, i_s=K+floor(UE_ID / (N))mod(Ns–K), otherwise i_s=floor(UE_ID / (N))mod Ns, and

[0095] For Rel-15 / 16 / 17 UE, i_s=floor(UE_ID / (N))mod min(4,Ns);

[0096] N=T, T / 2, T / 4, T / 8, T / 16, T / 32, T / 64, T / 128, T / 256,...; and

[0097] Ns=1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16,...,

[0098] Where T is the DRX cycle and K is a parameter configured by the gNB or fixed in the specification (e.g., K=4).

[0099] In the above example, PFs and POs are still distributed in time, and the spacing of PFs can be increased by reducing the overall PF density. Fig. 6A Paging frames and paging occasion slots are shown in accordance with some embodiments. Fig. 6A The paging frames and paging opportunity slots shown are when N is set to T / 4, Ns is set to 4, and the SSB periodicity is set to 160 milliseconds.

[0100] In the existing paging frame and paging occasion determination, the gNB can send a page every T / N frames, and there are Ns paging occasions. In the duration of 160 ms, if N=T / 4 and Ns=4, there are a total of 16 paging occasions in the duration of 160 ms, 4 POs per PF, and 4 PFs in the duration of 160 ms.

[0101] In another embodiment, the density of PFs within 160 milliseconds can be reduced and the POs of each PF can be increased proportionally. This can be achieved by introducing a scaling factor M to effectively reduce the PF density (i.e., increase the PF periodicity) and increase the number of POs. This can be expressed as one of the following:

[0102] Expression 1)

[0103] The SFN of PF is determined by (SFN+PF_offset) mod T=M*T / N*floor(U1 / M);

[0104] The index Index(i_s) indicating PO is determined by i_s=U2 mod Ns+Ns*(U1 mod M),

[0105] Among them, U1=UE_ID mod N, U2=floor(UE_ID / N).

[0106] Expression 2)

[0107] The SFN of PF is determined by (SFN+PF_offset) mod T = M*T / N*floor(U / M);

[0108] The index Index(i_s) indicating PO is determined by i_s=UE_ID mod(M*Ns),

[0109] Among them, U=UE_ID mod N

[0110] Expression 3)

[0111] The SFN of the PF is determined by (SFN+PF_offset) mod T=M*T / N*(UE_ID mod (N / M)); and

[0112] The index Index(i_s) indicating PO is determined by i_s=floor(UE_ID / (N / M))mod(M*Ns),

[0113] Where M is the factor by which PF decreases and Ns increases.

[0114] Figure 6B Reduced paging frame density and increased paging occasion slots are shown in accordance with some embodiments. Figure 6B The reduced paging frame density and increased paging occasion time slots shown in are the case when M is set to 4, N is set to T / 4, and Ns is set to 4. In the example illustration, there are 16 POs in a duration of 160 milliseconds, 16 POs per PF, and 1 PF every 160 milliseconds. The scaling factor M can change the distribution of POs without affecting the total number of POs in the reference time duration or the DRX cycle. This potentially allows the gNB to enter a low power state (e.g., sleep mode) for a longer period of time, thereby improving the overall energy efficiency of the network. In other words, in this example, compared to the traditional paging process where the number of POs is limited to 4, the new configuration or rule set allows 1 PF to accommodate an increased number of POs, such as greater than 4. Here, in Figure 6B In the example, 3 PFs (the second, third, and fourth PFs) are skipped (e.g., this may be equivalent to reducing the PF density), and their corresponding POs are grouped with the POs in the first PF, and there are now a total of 16 POs. The gNB may configure an appropriate M value to achieve the increase in the number of POs; the M value may be part of the paging configuration provided to the UE.

[0115] Another alternative expression is to support PF allocation with a certain periodicity of grouping. Instead of having regularly spaced PFs, L consecutive frames can be provided as a set of PFs and periodic PF groups are used. This can be expressed by one of the following:

[0116] The SFN of the PF is determined by (SFN + PF_offset) mod T = K*floor(U / L) + (U mod L), where U = UE_ID mod N; and

[0117] The index Index(i_s) indicating PO is determined by i_s=floor(UE_ID / N) mod Ns,

[0118] Wherein, K is the periodicity of the PF group (continuous PFs), and L is the number of consecutive PFs in the PF group (PF group size).

[0119] In one example, a legacy UE may monitor only the PO in the first PF in a group of L PFs in the above expression. The remaining L-1 PFs may only be used by Rel-18 UEs. Note that in one option, the first PF may also be used by Rel-18 UEs. The spacing between the first PFs of a group of consecutive L PFs may be T / N, which is K in this example. In other words, the eligible PFs to which the legacy UEs may be mapped are still T / N frames apart from each other as in the legacy process. Figure 6C Grouped paging frames and paging occasion slots are shown in accordance with some embodiments. Figure 6C The grouped paging frames and paging occasion slots shown are the case where K=32 (PF group periodicity) and L=8 (number of consecutive PFs within a group) when N is set to T / 4 and Ns is set to 4. Here, in one example, K, i.e., PF group periodicity, may also be the same as the DRX cycle length.

[0120] As described above, different PF and PO determination rule sets may be configured for different groups of UEs, or the same PF and PO determination rule sets with different parameters may be configured for different groups of UEs.

[0121] In one example, the second configuration may include one or more shifts of one or more monitoring or transmission opportunities to be applied to the first configuration / rule (i.e., the opportunities are derived from the first configuration), or may include an explicit indication of a configuration related to the opportunities used to derive transmission or reception opportunities within the ON duration. Alternatively, the second configuration or rule set may include identification of one or more shifts of one or more monitoring or transmission opportunities to be applied to the first configuration or rule set, or a new configuration or rule / equation set for deriving opportunities within the ON duration based on one or more of the following: DTX / DRX cycle periodicity, ON duration, starting offset for the ON duration, and signal / channel specific parameters from the first configuration / rule, such as: PO and PF related parameters based on the first configuration (applicable to PO identification for paging), PDCCH monitoring opportunities based on a Type 0 PDCCH common search space (CSS) set, which are determined based on the first configuration or rule set (see TS 38.213, Section 13) (applicable to system information (SI) reception), TRS monitoring opportunities (applicable to TRS reception), random access channel (RACH) opportunity (RO) related parameters (applicable to physical RACH (PRACH) reception), PEI monitoring opportunity related parameters for identifying a reference frame (such as a permanent equipment identifier (PEI) frame offset), a symbol offset relative to a reference frame for identifying the first MO of PEI (applicable to PEI reception), and the like.

[0122] In one example, when the gNB transitions to DTX / DRX mode, the UE monitors PDCCH in a Type0-PDCCH CSS set in one or more time slots, where the Type0-PDCCH CSS set periodicity is equal to the periodicity of the SS / PBCH block. In one example, one or more consecutive time slots for PDCCH monitoring using the Type0-PDCCH CSS set may be located after K ≥ 1 SSB transmission time slots within the ON duration. In other words, the PDCCH monitoring window for receiving System Information Block 1 (SIB1) or Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI) overlaps / falls within the ON duration of the DRX / DTX mode at the gNB.

[0123] In one embodiment, after the gNB notifies the DTX / DRX pattern to the UE(s), there may be an application delay after which the DTX / DRX pattern may be assumed to be valid. In one example, this application delay may be configured as part of the DTX / DRX pattern, or separately configured in the SI, or may be fixed by the specification.

[0124] In one embodiment, the active time when a cell is in DTX / DRX mode may be extended, such as based on a DRX inactivity timer at a UE operating in DRX mode. Alternatively, a new inactivity timer associated with the cell DTX / DRX mode may be used, i.e., the active time is observed as long as the inactivity timer at the gNB or UE is running. The inactivity timer or the extension of the active time when the cell is in DTX / DRX mode may be triggered by, for example, a group-common DCI transmission. This may provide flexibility with respect to adjusting the active time in the duty cycle based on load.

[0125] Once the inactivity timer expires, the gNB enters the OFF state. In one example, the gNB may terminate the active time (e.g., the inactivity timer). In one example, for DRX timers associated with hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes (e.g., drx-RetransmissionTimerDL, drx-RetransmissionTimerUL, drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL, drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerUL), the active time when the cell is in DRX / DRX mode may be extended so that the DL / UL HARQ processes can complete their data transmission (i.e., if they are running, the processes will continue until data is sent or received). Alternatively, if the DRX timers associated with the HARQ processes are running, these processes will be suspended until the next active time of the gNB or cell DTX / DRX (at which time these processes are restarted). Another alternative is to use a new set of DRX timers associated with the HARQ processes in association with the cell DTX / DRX mode. These timers are used when the cell DTX / DRX mode is activated.

[0126] In one embodiment, when the gNB is operating based on duty cycle, the DTX and DRX operation durations may not be completely aligned at the gNB. Figure 3 In the example, the ON duration or activity time may only indicate the gNB DTX functionality, while reception at the gNB may continue after the ON duration has expired. In one example, a new inactivity timer may be introduced that notifies the UE that UL transmission may be possible, e.g., as long as the inactivity timer is still running after the ON duration has expired.

[0127] In one embodiment, if the gNB signals a trigger for an inactivity timer associated with the gNB DTX / DRX duty cycle, this may indicate starting the inactivity timer from a reference point. In one example, the reference point may be different from the start point of the timeslot in which the DCI used to signal the trigger is provided. In one option, the reference point may be the start point of a certain frame or timeslot, which may be located before or after the trigger signaling is provided. For example, there may be N configured start positions within the ON duration, and the DCI indicates one of the configured start positions for triggering the inactivity timer. This may mitigate false detection of the DCI at the UE. In other words, the gNB may send multiple DCIs to notify the UE of the trigger of the inactivity timer, where each DCI may indicate the same start position, ensuring that it is assumed that the UE and the gNB are aligned when the inactivity timer is triggered.

[0128] In one embodiment, the gNB DTX and DRX modes may be configured with the same configuration or rule set (e.g., with the same duty cycle and the same On Duration period), or may be configured with different configurations or rule sets. If the configurations are different, the active times (times when the gNB is able to transmit or receive) corresponding to the DRX and DTX modes / configurations may or may not overlap. The active time in the DRX (DTX) mode is the time when the gNB is able to transmit (receive), and the active time may follow the duty cycle. In one example, the DTX mode and the DRX mode may have separate duty cycles running in parallel, where one or more of the ON duration, the starting offset of the ON duration, and the inactivity timer (if triggered, which may extend the ON duration or active time) corresponding to the gNB DTX and DRX configurations may be configured separately. In one example, the DTX and DRX configurations at the gNB may be configured separately, and the DTX and DRX configurations may or may not be active at the gNB at the same time. In one example, the DTX configuration at the gNB may be used as a cell-specific DRX configuration at the UE. Similarly, the DRX configuration at the gNB can be used as a cell-specific DTX configuration at the UE, i.e., the UE is allowed to transmit in the UL only when the gNB is active according to a duty cycle based on the DRX configuration at the gNB. To this end, in one example, the gNB can indicate to the UE one or more of the following modes / states / configurations at the gNB:

[0129] 1. Activate DTX configuration with duty cycle

[0130] 2. Activate DRX configuration with duty cycle If the DTX and DRX configurations include the same parameters (eg, the same start time and duration of active time or ON duration in duty cycle), one common configuration may be activated.

[0131] 3. Activate DTX for a given duration. This duration may also be indicated along with the activation. There may be an application delay before DTX becomes operational.

[0132] 4. Activate DRX for a given duration. This duration may also be indicated along with the activation. There may be an application delay before DTX becomes operational. If both DTX and DRX are applicable for this duration, a common indication may be provided.

[0133] In one example, one or more of the above configurations may be provided to the UE via broadcast signaling (e.g., SIBx signaling). In one example, activation of one or more of the above configurations may be provided to the UE via DCI (e.g., group common DCI or broadcast DCI, such as DCI scheduling SIB).

[0134] In one embodiment, when the gNB switches to a DTX / DRX mode with a duty cycle while the UE is operating in DRX mode, the UE may stop operating one or more UE autonomous timers related to DRX operation (such as, drx-onDurationTimer, drx-InactivityTimer, RetransmissionTimerDL, drx-RetransmissionTimerUL, drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL, or drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerUL). Alternatively, the UE may follow the configuration of the gNB DTX / DRX duty cycle. In other words, the gNB may indicate a cell-specific DRX configuration to the UE, which may be interpreted as equivalent to the gNB DTX configuration, where the configuration may include a predetermined ON or active time duration for each duty cycle. When the gNB DTX / DRX mode is indicated, the UE switches to the cell-specific DRX configuration and assumes that the active time is only valid during the ON duration of the duty cycle. When a cell-specific DRX configuration is activated for the UE or the gNB indicating transition to DTX / DRX mode, the DRX timers listed above that are more relevant to the UE-specific DRX configuration may not be applicable.

[0135] In one example, during the OFF period of the duty cycle of the DTX or DRX configuration, the UE does not send any signal / channel, including one or more reference signals (such as SRS), UL control information in PUCCH, or UL data in PUSCH. In one option, the UE may terminate or stop counting a timer (such as cg-RetransmissionTimer), or the timer is terminated at the beginning of the OFF period. In another option, the timer operated by the UE is disabled when the gNB indicates a transition to the DTX or DRX configuration at the gNB. In another example, during the OFF period of the gNB DTX configuration, the UE may still send signals / channels, including one or more reference signals (such as SRS), UL control information in PUCCH, or UL data in PUSCH.

[0136] In one embodiment, the gNB may use light SSB transmission to save power, such as SSB transmission over a limited beam set. In one example, a burst set including light SSB transmission may occupy fewer time slots than when considering SSB transmission over a full beam set. Figure 7 A light SSB transmission according to some embodiments is shown. A light SSB transmission includes a limited set of SSB transmissions that are performed over a shortened duration. Figure 7 In the light SSB transmission, SSB transmission corresponding to some beams is skipped, and 4 out of 8 SSB transmissions are performed within a compact duration. Switching to light SSB transmission can be indicated by system information or existing DCI (e.g., paging DCI, PEIDCI) or dedicated DCI.

[0137] In one example, when light SSB transmission is considered, one or more PRACH opportunities may be skipped accordingly, and the remaining PRACH opportunities associated with the SSB beams in the light SSB may be mapped to resources within the compact duration. This remapping of PRACH opportunities may be identified based on a new configuration or set of rules, or may be explicitly configured in system information and used by the UE when the gNB indicates light SSB transmission. Light SSB transmission may also be understood as an example or part of a gNB PSM or DTX / DRX mode.

[0138] In one example, light SSB transmission may also include TRS transmission. In one option, such TRS transmission may be activated as needed through system information or DCI signaling.

[0139] In one embodiment, PRACH configuration adaptation may be explicitly indicated by DCI instead of system information. In one example, dedicated DCI or existing DCI (such as paging DCI or PEIDCI) may be utilized to achieve signaling purposes. In another example, reserved bits in one or more of the existing DCI scheduling system information or paging information may be used to achieve this purpose. PRACH resource configuration adaptation may include periodic adaptation or turning on / off one or more of a set of PRACH opportunities, etc. In one option, the gNB may send DCI signaling to dynamically adjust the association between SSB and PRACH resources. For example, the DCI may adapt the SSB to PRACH association from one-to-one to many-to-one. This may allow PRACH transmissions within a compact window on PRACH periodicity.

[0140] In one embodiment, when the gNB indicates a transition to DTX / DRX mode or PSM, reconfiguration or remapping of monitoring opportunities or transmission opportunities may also be adapted for connected mode UEs. In one example, as discussed above, a new configuration or rule set may be used to identify valid monitoring or transmission opportunities within the gNB ON duration. In one option, a new configuration or reconfiguration of PDCCH monitoring opportunities in different USS and CSS sets or CSI-RS reception opportunities may be used. Similarly, in the UL, adaptation of timings for CG-PUSCH, SRS transmissions, etc. may be included. In one example, the configuration may support monitoring or transmission on a window prior to SSB transmission.

[0141] In one embodiment, as part of energy saving, the gNB may transmit light SSB or discovery reference signal (DRS) in one or more cells. Upon detection of light SSB or DRS, the UE may report to the gNB, where the report from one or more UEs may be used as an indication to the gNB to consider full SSB transmission in one or more cells. For idle mode UEs, reporting may be performed via a dedicated channel or using one or more PRACH resources / opportunities, where a set of PRACH preambles / resources may be reserved for reporting purposes. In one example, a separate sequence may also be sent in a PRACH resource or opportunity instead of a PRACH preamble, and the gNB may perform a hypothesis test to identify whether the received signal is a UE response to a light SSB or DRS or a valid PRACH preamble. Resource identification for UE response to detection of light SSB or DRS may be based on SIB signaling or DCI signaling, or may be obtained implicitly based on the configuration of light SSB transmission or DRS transmission. In one example, the DRS may be based on a primary synchronization signal (PSS) or a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), or may be a TRS signal configured in idle / inactive mode.

[0142] In some embodiments, the electronic devices, networks, systems, chips, or components in the above figures, or parts or implementations thereof, may be configured to perform one or more processes, techniques, or methods, or parts thereof, described herein. Figure 8 One such process is shown that may be performed by a UE, one or more elements of a UE, and / or one or more electronic devices including or implementing one or more elements of a UE. Figure 8 A process for selecting a configuration according to some embodiments is shown. Process 800 may include receiving multiple configurations for monitoring / transmitting opportunities from a gNB at operation 502. The configurations may be received separately, or may be received simultaneously. At operation 804, the UE may determine whether the gNB is in PSM based on an indication from the gNB (e.g., DCI of the PDCCH). At operation 506, the UE may select one of the configurations for monitoring / transmitting based on whether the gNB is in PSM.

[0143] Therefore, the gNB may explicitly signal the periodic cell DTX / DRX configuration to the UEs connected to the gNB. The gNB may configure the periodic cell DTX / DRX pattern by UE-specific RRC signaling. The cell DTX / DRX configuration contains at least the periodicity, the starting slot / offset, and the on-duration. The cell DTX / DRX is implicitly activated / deactivated by RRC signaling, i.e., it is activated immediately once configured by RRC and deactivated once the RRC configuration is released. The UE does not monitor SPS opportunities during the cell DTX inactive period; the gNB does not send PDSCH to the UE at SPS opportunities during the cell DTX inactive period, the UE does not send at CG opportunities during the cell DRX inactive period or SR opportunities overlapping with the cell DRX inactive period, or does not monitor PDCCH during the cell DRX inactive period. Group common L1 signaling using PDCCH for cell DTX / DRX activation and deactivation without HARQ feedback is supported.

[0144] Example

[0145] Example 1 is a device of a user equipment (UE), the device comprising: a processing circuit for configuring the UE to: receive a first configuration and a second configuration for identifying at least one of a monitoring opportunity or a transmission opportunity from a fifth generation Node B (gNB); determine whether the gNB is in a power saving mode (PSM), in which the gNB is in at least one of a discontinuous transmission (DTX) mode or a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode; and in an idle mode, select between a first configuration and a second configuration for at least one of receiving or transmitting according to whether the gNB is in PSM, the first configuration being selected in response to determining that the gNB is not in PSM, and the second configuration being selected in response to determining that the gNB is in PSM; and a memory configured to store the first configuration and the second configuration.

[0146] In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 includes, wherein the processing circuit configures the UE to: receive an indication from the gNB indicating that the gNB is transitioning to PSM.

[0147] In Example 3, the subject matter of Example 2 includes, wherein the indication is provided in one of downlink control information (DCI), UE-specific dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or group common dedicated RRC signaling.

[0148] In Example 4, the subject matter of Examples 1-3 includes, wherein the processing circuit configures the UE to: receive system information block (SIB) signaling including the first configuration and the second configuration from the gNB.

[0149] In Example 5, the subject matter of Examples 1-4 includes, wherein the processing circuit configures the UE to: apply a shift to one or more monitoring or transmission opportunities of the first configuration as the second configuration.

[0150] In Example 6, the subject matter of Examples 1-5 includes, wherein PSM can be applied to each cell at the gNB.

[0151] In Example 7, the subject matter of Examples 1-6 includes, wherein the processing circuit configures the UE to: use a second configuration to align with at least one of a DTX configuration or a DRX configuration of the gNB, at least one of the DTX configuration or the DRX configuration including a periodicity, a starting time slot or offset, and an on duration.

[0152] In Example 8, the subject matter of Examples 1-7 includes, wherein: the PSM includes an operating cycle that includes an active time followed by an inactive period, and the processing circuit configures the UE in idle mode: in response to determining that the gNB is in the PSM, at least one of monitoring or transmitting during the active time, and skipping monitoring or transmission opportunities outside of the active time.

[0153] In Example 9, the subject matter of Example 8 includes, wherein the processing circuit configures the UE to: receive downlink control information (DCI), which is a group common DCI or a broadcast DCI; based on the reception of the DCI, start an inactivity timer; and determine that the activity time lasts until the inactivity timer expires.

[0154] In Example 10, the subject matter of Examples 8-9 includes, wherein the processing circuit configures the UE to do one of: extend the active time based on at least one of a DTX timer or a DRX timer associated with a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process to allow data transmission associated with the HARQ process to be completed; or suspend at least one of the DTX timer or the DRX timer at the end of the active time until the next active time.

[0155] In Example 11, the subject matter of Examples 8-10 includes, wherein the processing circuit configures the UE to: receive downlink control information (DCI) indicating a reference point that is independent of a starting point of a time slot in which the DCI is provided, or receive multiple DCIs, each of the multiple DCIs indicating the same starting position of multiple configured starting positions within the active time; based on the reception of the DCI, start an inactivity timer starting from the reference point; and determine that the active time lasts until the inactivity timer expires.

[0156] In Example 12, the subject matter of Examples 1-11 includes, wherein the processing circuit configures the UE to: determine at least one parameter of a DTX mode and a DRX mode of the gNB, the at least one parameter of the DTX mode being independent of at least one parameter of the DRX mode, and the at least one parameter being selected from a group of parameters including a duty cycle, a start offset of an on-duration, and an inactivity timer.

[0157] In Example 13, the subject matter of Examples 1-12 includes, wherein the processing circuit configures the UE to determine: activating at least one of a DTX mode or a DRX mode having a duty cycle or a predetermined duration at the gNB, and for the activation of the DTX mode or the DRX mode, an application delay before at least one of the DTX mode or the DRX mode becomes operational.

[0158] In Example 14, the subject matter of Examples 1-13 includes, wherein the processing circuit configures the UE to: determine that the gNB has transitioned to at least one of a DTX mode or a DRX mode with a duty cycle when the UE is operating in a UE DRX mode; and in response to determining that the gNB has transitioned to at least one of a DTX mode or a DRX mode when the UE is operating in a UE DRX mode, terminate the operation of at least one or more UE autonomous timers related to the DRX operation, and instead operate according to the duty cycle for an on duration of the duty cycle.

[0159] In Example 15, the subject matter of Example 14 includes, wherein the processing circuit configures the UE to: terminate the timer at the beginning of the off period of the duty cycle or when a transition to a DTX or DRX configuration is indicated at the gNB.

[0160] In Example 16, the subject matter of Examples 1-15 includes, wherein the processing circuit configures the UE to: based on determining that the gNB is in PSM, determine that the gNB is using light synchronous system block (SSB) transmission on a limited beam set, wherein the SSB burst set occupies fewer time slots than SSB transmission for the full beam set; and determine that the gNB is to skip one or more physical random access channel (PRACH) opportunities and that PRACH opportunities associated with the SSB beams in the light SSB are mapped to resources within a compact duration, wherein the remapping of the PRACH opportunities is identified based on a new set of rules or explicitly configured in system information or downlink control information (DCI).

[0161] Example 17 is a device of a fifth generation Node B (gNB), the device comprising: a processing circuit for configuring the gNB to: send a first configuration and a second configuration for identifying at least one of a monitoring opportunity or a transmission opportunity to a user equipment (UE); send an indication to the UE indicating that the gNB is transitioning to a power saving mode (PSM), in which the gNB is in at least one of a discontinuous transmission (DTX) mode or a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode; and when the gNB is not in the PSM, use the first configuration to perform at least one of sending or receiving, and when the gNB is in the PSM, use the second configuration to perform at least one of sending or receiving; and a memory configured to store the first configuration and the second configuration.

[0162] In Example 18, the subject matter of Example 17 includes, wherein the PSM includes an operation cycle including an active time followed by an inactive period, at least one of the transmitting or receiving occurs during the active time, and the processing circuit configures the gNB to: send downlink control information (DCI) to the UE to start an inactivity timer, the active time lasting until the inactivity timer expires.

[0163] Example 19 is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions executed by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), and when the instructions are executed, the one or more processors configure the UE to: receive a first configuration and a second configuration for identifying at least one of a monitoring opportunity or a transmission opportunity from a fifth-generation Node B (gNB); determine whether the gNB is in a power saving mode (PSM), in which the gNB is in at least one of a discontinuous transmission (DTX) mode or a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode; and in idle mode, select between the first configuration and the second configuration for at least one of receiving or transmitting according to whether the gNB is in PSM, the first configuration being selected in response to determining that the gNB is not in PSM, and the second configuration being selected in response to determining that the gNB is in PSM.

[0164] In Example 20, the subject matter of Example 19 includes, wherein the instructions, when executed, configure one or more processors to: receive one of downlink control information (DCI), UE-specific dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or group-common dedicated RRC signaling from the gNB, which includes an indication that the gNB is transitioning to PSM, the PSM including an operation cycle that includes an active time followed by an inactive period; in response to determining that the gNB is in PSM, at least one of monitoring or transmitting during the active time, and skipping monitoring or transmission opportunities outside of the active time; based on reception of the DCI, start an inactivity timer; and determine that the active time lasts until the inactivity timer expires.

[0165] Example 21 is at least one machine-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processing circuit, cause the processing circuit to perform operations implementing any of Examples 1-20.

[0166] Example 22 is an apparatus comprising means for implementing any of Examples 1-20.

[0167] Example 23 is a system for implementing any of Examples 1-20.

[0168] Example 24 is a method for implementing any of Examples 1-20.

[0169] Although the embodiments have been described with reference to specific example embodiments, it is apparent that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the description and drawings should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. The drawings constituting a part of this document show, by way of illustration and not limitation, specific embodiments in which the present subject matter may be practiced. The illustrated embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed herein. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from this document, so that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the description of the specific implementation section should not be regarded as restrictive, and the scope of the various embodiments is limited only by the appended claims and all equivalents given to these claims.

[0170] In this document, the subject matter may be referred to individually and / or collectively as "embodiments", which is merely for convenience, and if more than one inventive concept is in fact disclosed, it is not intended to voluntarily limit the scope of the present application to any single inventive concept. Therefore, although specific embodiments have been shown and described herein, it should be understood that any arrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose can replace the specific embodiments shown. The present disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations or variations of the various embodiments. After reading the above description, the combination of the above embodiments and other embodiments not specifically described herein will be clear to those skilled in the art.

[0171] In this document, the term "one" or "an" is used to indicate one or more, as is common in patent documents, independent of any other instance or usage of "at least one" or "one or more". In this document, the term "or" is used to refer to non-exclusiveness, so that "A or B" includes "A but not B", "B but not A", and "A and B", unless otherwise stated. In this document, the terms "including" and "wherein" are used as the plain English equivalents of the corresponding terms "including" and "wherein". In addition, in the following claims, the terms "including" and "comprising" are open, that is, systems, UEs, articles, compositions, formations, or processes that include other elements in addition to the elements listed after the term in the claim are still considered to fall within the scope of the claim. In addition, in the following claims, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used only as labels and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects. As described herein, although the term "one" is used herein, one or more related elements may be used in different embodiments. For example, the term "processor" configured to perform a specific operation includes a single processor configured to perform all operations, and also includes multiple processors that are individually configured to perform some or all operations (possibly overlapping) so that the combination of these processors performs all operations. In addition, the term "comprising" can be interpreted as "including at least" the elements following it.

[0172] The Abstract of the present disclosure is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the above Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are combined in one embodiment in order to simplify the disclosure. This method of disclosure should not be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. On the contrary, as reflected in the following claims, the inventive subject matter lies in features that are less than all of the features of a single disclosed embodiment. Therefore, the following claims are incorporated into the description of the Detailed Description, and each claim stands on its own as a separate embodiment.

Claims

1. A device of a user equipment (UE), the device comprising: A processing circuit, configured to configure the UE to: receiving, from a fifth generation Node B (gNB), a first configuration and a second configuration for identifying at least one of a monitoring opportunity or a transmission opportunity; determining whether the gNB is in a power saving mode (PSM), in which the gNB is in at least one of a discontinuous transmission (DTX) mode or a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode; as well as in idle mode, selecting between the first configuration and the second configuration for at least one of receiving or transmitting according to whether the gNB is in the PSM, the first configuration being selected in response to determining that the gNB is not in the PSM, and the second configuration being selected in response to determining that the gNB is in the PSM; and a memory configured to store the first configuration and the second configuration.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The processing circuit configures the UE to receive an indication from the gNB indicating that the gNB is transitioning to the PSM.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein: The indication is provided in one of downlink control information (DCI), dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling specific to the UE, or group common dedicated RRC signaling.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The processing circuit configures the UE to receive system information block (SIB) signaling including the first configuration and the second configuration from the gNB.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The processing circuit configures the UE to apply a shift to one or more monitoring or transmission opportunities of the first configuration as the second configuration.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The PSM can be applied to each cell at the gNB.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The processing circuit configures the UE to use the second configuration to align with at least one of a DTX configuration or a DRX configuration of the gNB, wherein at least one of the DTX configuration or the DRX configuration includes a periodicity, a starting time slot or offset, and an on-duration.

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The PSM includes an operating cycle including an active period followed by an inactive period, and The processing circuit configures the UE to: In response to determining that the gNB is in the PSM, at least one of monitoring or transmitting during the activity time, and Monitoring or transmission opportunities outside of the stated activity time are skipped.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein: The processing circuit configures the UE to: receiving downlink control information (DCI), the DCI being group common DCI or broadcast DCI; Based on the receipt of the DCI, starting an inactivity timer; as well as The activity time is determined to last until the inactivity timer expires.

10. The device according to claim 8, wherein: The processing circuit configures the UE as one of the following: extending the active time based on at least one of a DTX timer or a DRX timer associated with a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process to permit completion of data transmission associated with the HARQ process; or At the end of the active time, at least one of the DTX timer or the DRX timer is suspended until the next active time.

11. The device according to claim 8, wherein: The processing circuit configures the UE to: receiving downlink control information (DCI) indicating a reference point that is independent of a starting point of a time slot in which the DCI is provided, or receiving a plurality of DCIs, each of the plurality of DCIs indicating a same starting position of a plurality of configured starting positions within the active time; Based on the reception of the DCI, starting an inactivity timer from the reference point; as well as The activity time is determined to last until the inactivity timer expires.

12. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The processing circuit configures the UE to: determine at least one parameter of a DTX mode and a DRX mode of the gNB, At least one parameter of the DTX mode is independent of at least one parameter of the DRX mode, and The at least one parameter is selected from a group of parameters including a duty cycle, a start offset of an on-duration, and an inactivity timer.

13. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The processing circuit configures the UE to determine: activating at least one of the DTX mode or the DRX mode with a duty cycle or a predetermined duration at the gNB, and For activation of the DTX mode or the DRX mode, an application delay before at least one of the DTX mode or the DRX mode becomes operational.

14. The device according to claim 1, wherein: The processing circuit configures the UE to: determining that the gNB has transitioned to at least one of the DTX mode or the DRX mode having a duty cycle when the UE is operating in a UE DRX mode; as well as In response to determining that the gNB has transitioned to at least one of the DTX mode or the DRX mode when the UE was operating in the UE DRX mode, terminating operation of at least one or more UE autonomous timers related to the DRX operation and instead operating according to the duty cycle for the on duration of the duty cycle.

15. The device according to claim 14, wherein: The processing circuit configures the UE to terminate a timer at the start of an off period of the duty cycle or when a transition to a DTX or DRX configuration is indicated at the gNB.

16. The device according to claim 1, wherein The processing circuit configures the UE to: Based on determining that the gNB is in the PSM, determining that the gNB is using light synchronous system block (SSB) transmission on a limited set of beams, wherein the SSB burst set occupies fewer time slots than SSB transmission for a full set of beams; as well as Determining that the gNB is to skip one or more physical random access channel (PRACH) opportunities and that the PRACH opportunities associated with the SSB beam in the light SSB are mapped to resources within a compact duration, the remapping of the PRACH opportunities being identified based on a new set of rules or being explicitly configured in system information or downlink control information (DCI).

17. A fifth generation Node B (gNB) apparatus, the apparatus comprising: The processing circuit is configured to configure the gNB to: sending a first configuration and a second configuration for identifying at least one of a monitoring opportunity or a transmission opportunity to a user equipment (UE); sending an indication to the UE that the gNB is transitioning to a power saving mode (PSM) in which the gNB is in at least one of a discontinuous transmission (DTX) mode or a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode; as well as When the gNB is not in the PSM, at least one of sending or receiving is performed using the first configuration, and when the gNB is in the PSM, at least one of sending or receiving is performed using the second configuration; as well as A memory is configured to store the first configuration and the second configuration.

18. The device according to claim 17, wherein: The PSM includes an operation cycle including an active time followed by an inactive period, At least one of the sending or receiving occurs during the activity time, and The processing circuit configures the gNB to send downlink control information (DCI) to the UE to start an inactivity timer, and the activity time lasts until the inactivity timer expires.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions for execution by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), wherein when the instructions are executed, the one or more processors configure the UE to: receiving, from a fifth generation Node B (gNB), a first configuration and a second configuration for identifying at least one of a monitoring opportunity or a transmission opportunity; determining whether the gNB is in a power saving mode (PSM), in which the gNB is in at least one of a discontinuous transmission (DTX) mode or a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode; as well as In idle mode, depending on whether the gNB is in the PSM, selecting between the first configuration and the second configuration for at least one of receiving or transmitting, the first configuration being selected in response to determining that the gNB is not in the PSM, and the second configuration being selected in response to determining that the gNB is in the PSM.

20. The medium according to claim 19, wherein The instructions, when executed, configure the one or more processors to: receiving from the gNB one of downlink control information (DCI), UE-specific dedicated radio resource control (RRC) signaling, or group-common dedicated RRC signaling, comprising an indication that the gNB is transitioning to the PSM, the PSM comprising an operation cycle including an active time followed by an inactive period; In response to determining that the gNB is in the PSM, at least one of monitoring or transmitting during the active time, and skipping monitoring or transmitting opportunities outside the active time; Based on the receipt of the DCI, starting an inactivity timer; as well as The activity time is determined to last until the inactivity timer expires.

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