Group signaling for network power savings

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for group signaling that causes network resources to be turned off in a controlled manner to achieve network power savings. The wireless device is configured with at least one conditional action associated with network power saving. The wireless device detects an unavailability of network resources associated with the network node and in response performs at least one conditional action associated with network power saving.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 395,421, filed on August 5, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications and wireless communication networks. Background Art

[0003] Standardization bodies such as the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) are studying potential solutions for efficient operation of wireless communications in New Radio (NR) networks. The next generation of mobile wireless communications systems NR will support a diverse set of use cases and a diverse set of deployment scenarios. The latter include deployments at both low frequencies (e.g., hundreds of megahertz) (similar to today's LTE) and very high frequencies (e.g., millimeter waves at tens of GHz).

[0004] 5G is the fifth generation of mobile communications, covering a wide range of use cases from enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) to ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) to massive machine-type communications (mMTC). 5G includes the New Radio (NR) access layer interface and the 5G Core (5GC). The NR physical layer and higher layers are reusing parts of the LTE specification, and the required components are added driven by new use cases.

[0005] Energy consumption is a challenge facing today’s 5G systems, where the main contributor to energy consumption is the radio unit of the RAN system. It is said that NR has lower network power consumption compared to LTE due to its streamlined design (e.g., no CRS and the SSB period is 20ms by default). However, due in part to the higher bandwidth, shorter TTI and a large number of antennas, NR in current implementations may consume more energy compared to LTE. This may even be noticeable when the cell and beam are lightly loaded or there is no traffic or no users at all. A basic approach to saving network energy is to simply shut down the gNB or cell completely when it is detected (or predicted) that there is little or no traffic or even no users in the cell. Summary of the invention

[0006] It is an object of the present disclosure to obviate or mitigate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art.

[0007] Systems and methods are provided for group signaling that causes shutdown of network resources in a controlled manner to provide network energy savings.

[0008] In a first aspect, a method performed by a wireless device is provided. The wireless device may include a radio interface and a processing circuit, and is configured to receive a configuration message from a network node, the configuration message including at least one conditional action associated with network energy saving. The wireless device detects unavailability of a network resource associated with the network node; and in response to an indication of unavailability of the network resource, performs the at least one conditional action associated with network energy saving.

[0009] In some embodiments, the configuration message may be one of a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message and / or a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) message.The configuration message may be received via one of group signaling or cell range signaling.

[0010] In some embodiments, detecting the unavailability of a network resource is in response to receiving an indication of the unavailability of a network resource associated with the network node from the network node. The indication of the unavailability of the network resource can be one of a release message and / or a reconfiguration message. In some embodiments, the indication of the unavailability of the network resource also indicates a time window of unavailability.

[0011] In some embodiments, the conditional action associated with network energy conservation includes performing a conditional handover to the second network node.

[0012] In some embodiments, the conditional action associated with network energy saving includes: modifying a discontinuous transmission / discontinuous reception (DTX / DRX) configuration. The modification may include activating or deactivating a cell DTX / DRX configuration.

[0013] In some embodiments, the conditional action associated with network energy saving includes: not triggering re-establishment of connection with the network node.

[0014] In some embodiments, the wireless device is further configured to send a request for the network node to cancel and / or modify the unavailability of the network resource.

[0015] In another aspect, a method performed by a network node is provided. The network node may include a radio interface and a processing circuit and is configured to send a configuration message to a wireless device, the configuration message including at least one conditional action associated with network energy saving. The network node sends an indication of unavailability of a network resource associated with the network node.

[0016] In some embodiments, the configuration message is one of an RRC message and / or a MAC CE message.The configuration message may be sent via one of group signaling or cell-wide signaling.

[0017] In some embodiments, the indication of unavailability of the network resource is one of a release message and / or a reconfiguration message.The indication of unavailability of the network resource may also indicate a time window of unavailability.

[0018] In some embodiments, the conditional action associated with network energy saving comprises one or more of: performing a conditional handover to a second network node; modifying a DTX / DRX configuration; and / or not triggering re-establishment of a connection with the network node.

[0019] In some embodiments, the network node is further configured to determine unavailability of a network resource associated with the network node.

[0020] In some embodiments, the network node may also receive a request to cancel and / or modify the indicated unavailability of the network resource.

[0021] The various aspects and embodiments described herein may be combined with each other alternatively, optionally and / or additionally.

[0022] Other aspects and features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art when reading the following description of specific embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0024] Figure 1 is an example communication system;

[0025] Figure 2 is an example signaling diagram;

[0026] Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method performed by a wireless device;

[0027] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method performed by a network node;

[0028] Figure 5 is a block diagram of an example wireless device;

[0029] Figure 6 is a block diagram of an example network node;

[0030] Figure 7 is a block diagram of an example host;

[0031] Figure 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example virtualization environment; and

[0032] Fig. 9 It is a communication diagram in which a host communicates with a UE via a network node. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The embodiments set forth below present information that enables those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments. After reading the following description according to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will understand the conception of this specification and will recognize the application of these concepts not specifically given herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of this description.

[0034] In the following description, many specific details are set forth. However, it should be understood that embodiments may be implemented without these specific details. In other instances, well-known circuits, structures, and techniques are not shown in detail so as not to obscure the understanding of this description. With the included description, one of ordinary skill in the art will be able to implement appropriate functionality without undue experimentation.

[0035] References in the specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, these phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it should be considered that it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to implement such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments (whether or not explicitly described).

[0036] Figure 1 An example of a communication system 100 is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0037] In this example, the communication system 100 includes a telecommunications network 102, including an access network 104 such as a radio access network (RAN); and a core network 106, including one or more core network nodes 108. The access network 104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 110A and 110B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 110), or any other similar third generation partnership project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. The network nodes 110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as connecting UE 112A, UE 112B, UE 112C, and UE 112D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UE 112) to the core network 106 via one or more wireless connections.

[0038] Example wireless communications via wireless connections include sending and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information without using wiring, cables, or other material conductors. In addition, in different embodiments, the communication system 100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that can facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals (whether via a wired connection or via a wireless connection). The communication system 100 may include any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system, and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0039] UE 112 may be any of a variety of communication devices, including wireless devices that are arranged, configured and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with network node 110 and other communication devices. Similarly, network node 110 is arranged, capable, configured and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UE 112 and / or with other network nodes or devices in telecommunication network 102 to enable and / or provide network access (such as wireless network access) and / or to perform other functions (such as management) in telecommunication network 102.

[0040] In the depicted example, the core network 106 connects the network node 110 to one or more hosts (such as the host 116). These connections may be direct connections or indirect connections via one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, the network node may be directly coupled to the host. The core network 106 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 108) composed of hardware and software components. The features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UE, the network node, and / or the host, so that their description is generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 108. The example core network node includes the functions of one or more of the following items: a mobile switching center (MSC), a mobility management entity (MME), a home subscriber server (HSS), a location management function (LMF), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), an authentication server function (AUSF), a subscription identifier cancellation function (SIDF), a unified data management (UDM), a security edge protection proxy (SEPP), a network open function (NEF), and / or a user plane function (UPF).

[0041] The host 116 may be owned or under the control of a service provider other than the operator or provider of the access network 104 and / or the telecommunications network 102, and may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. The host 116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include real-time and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services (e.g., retrieving and compiling data about various environmental conditions detected by multiple UEs), analysis functions, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for alarm and monitoring centers, or any other such functions performed by a server.

[0042] As a whole, Figure 4 The communication system 100 enables connections between UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In this sense, the communication system can be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures such as a specific standard, including but not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standards (e.g., 6G); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standards, such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards (e.g., LoRa and Sigfox).

[0043] In some examples, the telecommunication network 102 is a cellular network implementing 3GPP standardized features. Therefore, the telecommunication network 102 can support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to the telecommunication network 102. For example, the telecommunication network 102 can provide ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or providing massive machine type communication (mMTC) / massive IoT services to yet other UEs.

[0044] In some examples, UE 112 is configured to send and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to send information to the access network 104 according to a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event or in response to a request from the access network 104. In addition, the UE may be configured to operate in a single RAT mode or a multi-RAT mode or a multi-standard mode. For example, the UE may operate using any one or a combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio), and LTE, i.e., be configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0045] In this example, the hub 114 communicates with the access network 104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 112C and / or UE 112D) and a network node (e.g., network node 110B). In some examples, the hub 114 may be a controller, a router, a content source and an analyzer, or any other communication device described herein with respect to the UE. For example, the hub 114 may be a broadband router that enables the UE to access the core network 106. As another example, the hub 114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UE. The commands or instructions may be received from the UE, the network node 110, or received through executable code, scripts, processes, or other instructions in the hub 114. As another example, the hub 114 may be a data collector that acts as a temporary storage device for UE data, and in some embodiments, analysis or other processing of the data may be performed. As another example, the hub 114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, speaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 114 can retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, and then the hub 114 provides it directly to the UE, after performing local processing and / or after adding additional local content. In yet another example, the hub 114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UE, especially if one or more of the UEs are low-energy IoT devices.

[0046] The hub 114 may have a continuous / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 110B. The hub 114 may also allow different communication schemes and / or scheduling between the hub 114 and the UE (e.g., UE 112C and / or UE 112D) and between the hub 114 and the core network 106. In other examples, the hub 114 is connected to the core network 106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. In addition, the hub 114 may be configured to be connected to an M2M service provider through the access network 104, and / or to another UE through a direct connection. In some scenarios, the UE may establish a wireless connection with the network node 110 while still being connected through the hub 114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 114 may be a dedicated hub, that is, a hub whose main function is to route communications from the network node 110B to the UE / route communications from the UE to the network node 110B. In other embodiments, hub 114 may be a non-dedicated hub—ie, a device operable to route communications between UEs and network node 110B but additionally capable of operating as a communications origin and / or endpoint for certain data channels.

[0047] Note that the description given herein focuses on 3GPP cellular communication systems and therefore often uses 3GPP LTE terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP LTE terminology. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to 3GPP systems.

[0048] Note that in the description of this document, the term "cell" may be mentioned. However, especially for 5G NR concepts, beams may be used instead of cells, so it is important to note that the concepts described herein are equally applicable to both cells and beams.

[0049] Returning to the discussion of energy usage, this article assumes that a conventional network may aim to shut down one or more cells in order to save energy. Such an operation will affect any UE within the coverage area of ​​the affected area. A network node that wants to trigger the operation for all UEs (or a group of UEs) it serves may face different problems, depending on the strategy adopted.

[0050] One strategy is to simply turn off the cell without sending any information / configuration to the UEs within its coverage area. However, these UEs will not know that the node is turned off and will assume that they are experiencing poor coverage and may therefore try to re-establish their connection with the node. This is not a preferred strategy as it may result in a poor user experience due to potential sudden service interruption.

[0051] Another strategy is to aim to provide service continuity and perform the intended operation (e.g., shutdown) in a more controlled / informed manner. A network node may want to trigger the mobility of such UEs (e.g., via a release and redirection or handover command), but it must send a dedicated RRC message for each UE in connected mode served by the node. This strategy requires network resources, excessive energy for additional transmissions, and slows down the process of network shutdown.

[0052] Even with this approach, an idle UE will not be aware that the network node is shut down and may experience an outage, or may attempt to connect to the node when the gNB is about to shut down.

[0053] Similarly, as mentioned above, if the network wants to activate / deactivate / release the SCells (or SCGs) of multiple UEs, it has to send a MAC CE for each of these UEs.

[0054] First, the term "network energy saving" will be used in this article to refer to any feature used for network energy saving / power saving purposes (even if not originally designed for that purpose, such as conditional switching).

[0055] Some embodiments described herein relate to a method for enabling a UE to be configured with conditional actions related to network energy saving, including one or more of the following:

[0056] - Receiving a configuration message or a group of configuration messages (each configuration message applicable to a different UE type, and / or UEs of various capabilities, and / or applicable to UEs in different parts of the area) containing a conditional reconfiguration.

[0057] - Receiving a release message or a group of release messages (each release message applicable to a different UE type, and / or UEs of various capabilities, and / or applicable to UEs in different parts of the area) containing a conditional release and redirection.

[0058] - UEs in the area (eg, cell) may be informed that some / all resources of the area (eg, the entire cell, or some parts corresponding to SSBs or transmission points, etc.) are to be switched off.

[0059] - Additionally, the UE may optionally be informed that the switching off will occur after a certain time, so that the UE may prepare for the configuration provided (eg, search for a new carrier / cell) while still being served by the current cell.

[0060] – In addition, optionally, in the event that the configuration provided cannot alleviate the service interruption, the UE is allowed to request not to shut down the node within a specific time window.

[0061] In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with conditional actions related to network energy saving. These actions may include any of the following:

[0062] a) Applying RRC configuration, e.g. for handover or release and redirection to the target cell / node;

[0063] b) Changing the active BWP of the UE (including changing the active BWP to the dormant BWP / changing from the dormant BWP to the active BWP);

[0064] c) Change the status of one or more sub-gNBs, such as turning off / on TRP;

[0065] d) Change the transmit power of the gNB;

[0066] e) Change the (maximum) number of ports used for data / control channels / RS;

[0067] f) Changing the C-DRX configuration of a group of UEs;

[0068] g) Change the DTX / DRX scheme associated with the gNB;

[0069] h) Add / release / deactivate serving cells;

[0070] i) Start / stop measuring the target frequency;

[0071] j) Add / release / deactivate secondary cell group (SCG) configuration;

[0072] In some embodiments, the UE may be configured with conditional actions related to network energy saving. The triggering condition may include any of the following:

[0073] a) Once the UE detects RLF of a cell group and the measurement conditions of the target frequency are met;

[0074] b) does not trigger re-establishment of the connection due to a failure (since the node serving the UE may have been shut down);

[0075] c) do not trigger new connections from idle / inactive states;

[0076] d) Perform UE reporting based on conditions related to network energy saving:

[0077] - If the UE concludes, according to its configured conditions, that RLF of a network node has been detected, the UE may include this information in the UE Information Response (if requested by the network);

[0078] - The UE may include the new field in its RLF report; or, if the UE concludes that the RLF was triggered due to network shutdown, it may not include the new entry in the report.

[0079] e) Whether the UE contains certain services or services with certain QoS requirements. When this condition is met, the UE will perform a handover and leave the previous serving cell. This is to help the network collect certain services, such as low QoS services in one node (such as the node providing coverage), and be able to shut down capable nodes, or enable them to sleep.

[0080] f) When the UE is instructed via lower layers (e.g., by a MAC CE from the current serving cell), the handover condition is met. The UE shall perform the handover according to the Conditional Handover (CHO) procedure, knowing that the current serving cell may soon be switched off or put into sleep.

[0081] In some embodiments, a UE configured with conditional actions related to network energy saving may be configured in different ways:

[0082] a) Dedicated configuration with execution conditions:

[0083] i. Configuration of conditional actions provided in advance via:

[0084] - Provided solely via RRC

[0085] - Provided solely via MAC CE

[0086] - Provided in the SIB on a cell-wide basis

[0087] - Provided cell-wide via paging frames (as dedicated paging PDSCH payload)

[0088] ii. Group common (cell-wide) conditional action triggers provided via:

[0089] - Paging DCI / Paging Short Message

[0090] The short message may for example indicate / trigger (cell shutdown is imminent and this is configured in the SIB), may be via a framework like SI Update, and / or may be via a framework like ETWS.

[0091] -Group Common DCI

[0092] - "Group Common" MAC CE

[0093] b) Configuration and immediate triggering:

[0094] - In cell scope via paging frame (as dedicated paging PDSCH payload)

[0095] c) Any of the above methods, wherein a plurality of configurations are provided to the UE, wherein the configurations apply to one or more of the following:

[0096] -UEs in a specific area of ​​a cell (e.g. within the coverage of certain SSBs or beams)

[0097] - UE with specific capabilities

[0098] -Specific types of UE (e.g. RedCap, eMBB)

[0099] -UEs currently using a specific service / service type (e.g., low latency, voice, XR, etc.)

[0100] -UE served by a specific TRP or sub-gNB

[0101] In some embodiments, the network may configure a conditional action related to network energy saving for the UE, which may also include:

[0102] a) sending an indication to another node that a network node is to be shut down;

[0103] - This indication can be from the source node to the target node, including MN and SN nodes;

[0104] - It can be included in the Handover Preparation message or the CG-configInfo message;

[0105] b) The network node may indicate to the UE that it is planning to switch off; the indication may contain information about the time at which the network node is planned to switch off and information about the time at which the network node is planned to switch on again.

[0106] - The indication may be performed via DCI or MAC CE; for example, a bit field in an existing DCI or a new DCI specifically designed for network energy saving purposes may be used to send the indication. The DCI may be associated with a group common or cell specific RNTI to target a group of UEs. The use of DCI or MAC CE signaling may also depend on the specific action to be taken by the NW, for example, for BWP changes, the DCI mechanism may be used, but in order to let the UE know that the cell is about to be switched off, a more robust approach (e.g., MAC CE) may be used.

[0107] - The indication may take the form of a modified transmission signal pattern, such as a specific sequence included in the RS. For example, the gNB indicates to the UE that it has been switched off by transmitting another type of reference signal, such as an SSB with specific characteristics (e.g., without a PBCH part) or a newly introduced discovery signal type, instead of a regular SSB.

[0108] - The indication may be included as part of an existing SIB, or a new SIB designed specifically for network energy saving purposes.

[0109] - Regardless of the indication, the network may configure an application delay for the UE, i.e. the delay from the time the indication is sent to the UE / or received by the UE to the time the action will be performed by the network. The application delay may be explicitly indicated by the NW, or based on a default value.

[0110] c) In the case where the configuration provided cannot alleviate the service interruption, the network node may also allow some (e.g., a specific group identified via a public identifier, a specific type of UE, a UE with a certain capability, a UE in a certain area of ​​a cell, a UE currently involved in certain specific services) or all UEs to request not to shut down the node within a specific time window. The request may be provided via a specific preamble, UL MAC-CE or a dedicated RRC message.

[0111] d) Release and redirect a group of UEs: For services such as IMS services, it is usually decided by the NG-RAN node whether to provide services for IMS services, or perform handover, release and redirection. When the network enters the energy saving phase, in some cases, if the UE and UE group intends to access the network with IMS services, it will be most effective to inform them to perform "release and redirection". This can be achieved, for example, by using SIB broadcast messages to inform the UE / UE group in the cell. Some auxiliary information can be provided to help the UE find the right network to camp on. This information can also be provided to the UE during the release process.

[0112] Thus, the network node can trigger UE actions for multiple UEs without sending multiple RRC messages (or other NW commands) to each UE in a short period of time. Group signaling may be beneficial in scenarios where multiple UEs behave in a similar manner (i.e., as a group). An example of such a scenario is when there is a correlation in the movement patterns of multiple UEs (e.g., multiple co-located UEs moving in the same direction on the same train or on a highway). Another example where group signaling may be beneficial is when multiple UEs are located in the same area during the same time interval (e.g., a business center) or permanently (e.g., a static sensor network).

[0113] Furthermore, some embodiments enable the system to shut down cells in a controlled manner and allow UEs that cannot comply with the provided configuration to inform the NW, thereby avoiding disruptions.

[0114] Some embodiments may help ensure backward compatibility. For example, UEs that do not support the solution may still be contacted via dedicated signaling.

[0115] Figure 2is an example signaling diagram of gNB 110 sending a configuration message (120) to UE 112. UE 112 may be configured with one or more conditional actions related to network energy conservation. Optionally, gNB 110 sends an indication of unavailability or outage of an access node / gNB / cell / network resource (122). The indication may be associated with a conditional reconfiguration and / or release associated with the indicated outage. UE 112 performs an action related to network energy conservation (124). Optionally, UE 112 may send a request to cancel and / or modify the indicated unavailability / outage (126).

[0116] Figure 3 1 is a flow chart illustrating a method that can be performed in a wireless device (e.g., a UE 112 as described herein). The method may include:

[0117] Step 130: The wireless device may receive configuration information from a network node (e.g., access node 110). The configuration information may include one or more conditional actions and / or triggers related to network energy saving. In some embodiments, the configuration information may be received via dedicated signaling (e.g., RRC, MAC CE, etc. messages). In other embodiments, the configuration information may be received via group signaling or cell-wide signaling (e.g., SIB, paging, group common DCI or MAC CE, etc.).

[0118] Step 140: The wireless device detects unavailability of network resources associated with a network node. Optionally, the wireless device may receive an indication associated with unavailability or interruption of a network resource (e.g., access node / gNB / cell / network) and detect the unavailability based on the received indication. The indication may be a release or reconfiguration message. The indication may be a conditional release or conditional reconfiguration message. In some embodiments, the indication may include an indication of a time window for the unavailability / interruption. In some embodiments, the indication may be received via group signaling or cell-wide signaling (e.g., SIB, paging, group common DCI or MAC CE, etc.). In other embodiments, the indication may be in the form of a modified received signal pattern. In some embodiments, the indication may also include assistance information for the UE. In some embodiments, the wireless device may detect the unavailability of network resources without receiving an explicit indication from the network.

[0119] Step 150: Optionally, the wireless device may send (eg, to a network node) a request to cancel and / or modify the detected unavailability / interruption.

[0120] Step 160: The wireless device performs at least one action related to network energy saving based on the unavailability and / or configuration information of the detected / indicated network resource. The action may include applying or changing the configuration (e.g., switching or releasing), not triggering a re-establishment of a connection or a new connection with the unavailable network resource, and / or other actions as described in various embodiments herein. In some embodiments, the wireless device may send an indication to another node that the network node is to be shut down.

[0121] It will be understood that one or more of the above steps may be performed simultaneously and / or in a different order. In addition, the steps shown in dashed lines are optional and may be omitted in some embodiments.

[0122] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method that can be performed by a network node, such as an access node (e.g., base station / gNB 110) as described herein. The method may include:

[0123] Step 170: The network node generates configuration information. The configuration information may include one or more configurations (e.g., triggers and / or actions) of the UE related to network energy saving. The configuration information may be applicable to the one or more specific UEs based on their UE type, UE capabilities, UE group, and / or location in the network. The configuration information may include information related to conditional release and / or redirection of the UE's network connection.

[0124] Step 180: The network node sends the generated configuration information. In some embodiments, the configuration information may be sent via dedicated signaling (e.g., RRC, MAC CE, etc. messages). In other embodiments, the configuration information may be sent via group signaling or cell-wide signaling (e.g., SIB, paging, group common DCI or MAC CE, etc.).

[0125] Step 190: The network node sends an indication associated with unavailability or interruption of network resources (e.g., access node / gNB / cell / network). For example, this may include informing one or more UEs in an area (e.g., a cell) that at least some network resources will be turned off and / or unavailable. In some embodiments, the indication is sent in response to a determination that an interruption of some network resources will occur. The determination may be made in response to receiving signaling from another network node. In some embodiments, the indication may include a time window for the unavailability / interruption. In some embodiments, the indication may be sent via group signaling or cell-wide signaling (e.g., SIB, paging, group common DCI or MAC CE, etc.). In other embodiments, the indication may be in the form of a modified transmit signal pattern. In some embodiments, the indication may also include auxiliary information for the UE.

[0126] In some embodiments, the network node may also receive a request from the wireless device to cancel and / or modify the indicated unavailability / outage. The network node may determine whether to cancel / modify the outage or continue the outage as planned.

[0127] It should be understood that one or more of the above steps can be performed simultaneously and / or in different orders. In addition, the steps shown in dashed lines are optional and can be omitted in some embodiments.

[0128] Figure 5 UE 200 is shown according to some embodiments, which may be Figure 1 Embodiments of UE 112. As used herein, UE refers to a device capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with a network node and / or other UEs. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smart phones, mobile phones, cellular phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablet computers, laptop computers, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop-mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless client equipment (CPEs), vehicle-mounted or vehicle-embedded / integrated wireless devices, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UEs, machine type communication (MTC) UEs, and / or enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs.

[0129] The UE may, for example, support device-to-device (D2D) communications by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communications, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, the UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated device. Alternatively, the UE may represent a device that is intended to be sold to or operated by a human user but may not or may not initially be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, the UE may represent a device that is not intended to be sold to or operated by an end user but may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0130] UE 200 includes processing circuitry 202, which is operatively coupled to input / output interface 206, power supply 208, memory 210, communication interface 212, and / or any other components or any combination thereof via bus 204. Some UEs may utilize Figure 5All or a subset of the components shown. The level of integration between components may vary from UE to UE. In addition, some UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0131] The processing circuit 202 is configured to process instructions and data, and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute instructions stored in the memory 210 as a machine-readable computer program. The processing circuit 202 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic and suitable firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors (e.g., microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs)) and appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit 202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0132] In this example, the input / output interface 206 can be configured to provide one or more interfaces to an input device, an output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of output devices include speakers, sound cards, video cards, displays, monitors, printers, actuators, transmitters, smart cards, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device can allow a user to capture information into the UE 200. Examples of input devices include touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive displays, cameras (e.g., digital cameras, digital video cameras, web cameras, etc.), microphones, sensors, mice, trackballs, directional keyboards, trackpads, rollers, smart cards, etc. The presence-sensitive display can include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. The sensor can be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device can use an interface port of the same type as an input device. For example, a universal serial bus (USB) port can be used to provide input devices and output devices.

[0133] In some embodiments, the power supply 208 is configured as a battery or a battery pack. Other types of power supplies may be used, such as an external power supply (e.g., a power socket), a photovoltaic device, or a battery. The power supply 208 may also include a power supply circuit for delivering power from the power supply 208 itself and / or an external power supply to various parts of the UE 200 via an input circuit or interface (such as a power cable). The delivered power may be used, for example, for charging the power supply 208. The power supply circuit may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification on the power from the power supply 208 to make the power suitable for the corresponding components in the UE 200 to which the power is supplied.

[0134] The memory 210 may be or be configured to include a memory, such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a hard disk, a removable tape, a flash drive, etc. In one example, the memory 210 includes one or more application programs 214, such as an operating system, a web browser application, a widget, a gadget engine, or other applications, and corresponding data 216. The memory 210 may store any one or a combination of various operating systems used by the UE 200.

[0135] The memory 210 may be configured to include multiple physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical drive, a built-in hard drive, a Blu-ray optical drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical drive, an external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), an external micro DIMM SDRAM, a smart card memory (e.g., a tamper-proof module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC), including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as USIM and / or ISIM), other memories, or any combination thereof. The UICC may be, for example, an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC commonly referred to as a "SIM card". The memory 210 may allow the UE 200 to access instructions, applications, etc. stored on a temporary or non-temporary storage medium to offload data or upload data. An article of manufacture, such as an article of manufacture utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied as or in memory 210, which may be or include a device-readable storage medium.

[0136] The processing circuit 202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using a communication interface 212. The communication interface 212 may include one or more communication subsystems and may include an antenna 222 or be communicatively coupled to the antenna 222. The communication interface 212 may include one or more transceivers for communication (such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network)). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 218 and / or a receiver 220 suitable for providing network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocation, etc.). In addition, the transmitter 218 and the receiver 220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 222) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0137] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functionality of the communication interface 212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as Bluetooth, near field communication, location-based communication (e.g., using a global positioning system (GPS) to determine location), another type of communication functionality, or any combination thereof. Communication may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards such as IEEE 802.11, code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, new radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / Internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical network (SONET), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), QUIC, hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.

[0138] Regardless of the type of sensor, the UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensor via a wireless connection to a network node, through its communication interface 212. The data captured by the UE's sensor may be transmitted via a wireless connection to a network node, via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to balance the load of reports from several sensors), in response to a trigger event (e.g., sending an alarm when humidity is detected), in response to a request (e.g., a user-initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0139] As another example, the UE includes an actuator, motor, or switch associated with a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input, the state of the actuator, motor, or switch can change. For example, the UE can include a motor that adjusts a control surface or rotor of a drone in flight based on the received input, or adjusts a robotic arm performing a medical procedure based on the received input.

[0140] When the UE is in the form of an Internet of Things (IoT) device, the UE can be a device used in one or more application areas, including but not limited to urban wearable technology, extended industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such IoT devices are the following devices or devices embedded in the following devices: connected refrigerators or freezers, televisions, connected lighting devices, electricity meters, robotic vacuum cleaners, voice-controlled smart speakers, home security cameras, motion detectors, thermostats, smoke detectors, door and window sensors, flood / humidity sensors, electronic door locks, connected doorbells, air conditioning systems (such as heat pumps), autonomous vehicles, monitoring systems, weather monitoring devices, vehicle parking monitoring devices, electric vehicle charging stations, smart watches, fitness trackers, head-mounted displays for augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), wearable devices for tactile enhancement or sensory enhancement, sprinklers, animal tracking or item tracking devices, sensors for monitoring plants or animals, industrial robots, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and any kind of medical equipment (such as heart rate monitors or teleoperated surgical robots). In addition to the above, Figure 5 In addition to the other components depicted in the illustrated UE 200 , a UE in the form of an IoT device may include circuitry and / or software depending on the intended application of the IoT device.

[0141] As yet another specific example, in an IoT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and sends the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another UE and / or a network node. In this case, the UE may be an M2M device, which may be referred to as an MTC device in the 3GPP context. As a specific example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle (e.g., a car, bus, truck, ship, and airplane) or other device that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting its operating status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0142] In fact, for a single use case, any number of UEs may be used together. For example, a first UE may be a drone or integrated in a drone and provide the drone's speed information (obtained via a speed sensor) to a second UE, which is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone's speed. The first UE and / or the second UE may also include more than one of the above functions. For example, a UE may include a sensor and an actuator and handle data communications for both the speed sensor and the actuator.

[0143] Figure 6 A network node 300 is shown according to some embodiments, which may be Figure 1 An embodiment of an access node 110 or a core network node 108 of the present invention. As used herein, a network node refers to a device capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or devices in a telecommunications network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), and NR NodeBs (gNBs)).

[0144] Base stations may be classified based on the amount of coverage they provide (or in other words, their transmit power level), and thus may be referred to as femto, pico, micro or macro base stations, depending on the amount of coverage provided. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). These remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna-integrated radio. Portions of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0145] Other examples of network nodes include a multi-transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access node, a multi-standard radio (MSR) device (e.g., an MSR BS), a network controller (e.g., a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC)), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmission node, a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), an operation and maintenance (O&M) node, an operation support system (OSS) node, a self-organizing network (SON) node, a positioning node (e.g., an evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC)), and / or a minimization of drive tests (MDT).

[0146] The network node 300 includes a processing circuit 302, a memory 304, a communication interface 306, and a power supply 308. The network node 300 may be composed of multiple physically separated components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may have their own corresponding components. In certain scenarios where the network node 300 includes multiple separate components (e.g., a BTS and a BSC component), one or more separate components may be shared between several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique "NodeB and RNC pair" may be considered as a single separate network node in some cases. In some embodiments, the network node 300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such an embodiment, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memories 304 exist for different RATs), and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 300 may also include multiple sets of the various components shown for different wireless technologies (e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, radio frequency identification (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technologies) integrated into the network node 300. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within the network node 300.

[0147] The processing circuit 302 may include a combination of one or more of the following: a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic that is operable to provide network node 300 functionality alone or in combination with other network node 300 components (e.g., memory 304).

[0148] In some embodiments, processing circuitry 302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, processing circuitry 302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 312 and baseband processing circuitry 314. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 312 and baseband processing circuitry 314 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units (e.g., a radio unit and a digital unit). In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 312 and baseband processing circuitry 314 may be on the same chip or chipset, board, or unit set.

[0149] The memory 304 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including but not limited to permanent storage devices, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact disk (CD) or digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile memory or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data and / or instructions that can be used by the processing circuit 302. The memory 304 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including computer programs, software, applications including one or more of logic, rules, codes, tables, and / or other instructions that can be executed by the processing circuit 302 and used by the network node 300. The memory 304 may be used to store any calculations performed by the processing circuit 302 and / or any data received via the communication interface 306. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 302 and the memory 304 are integrated together.

[0150] The communication interface 306 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network nodes, access networks and / or UEs. As shown, the communication interface 306 includes a port / terminal 316 for, for example, sending data to the network and receiving data from the network via a wired connection. The communication interface 306 also includes a radio front-end circuit 318, which can be coupled to the antenna 310, or in some embodiments, coupled to a part of the antenna 310. The radio front-end circuit 318 includes a filter 320 and an amplifier 322. The radio front-end circuit 318 can be connected to the antenna 310 and the processing circuit 302. The radio front-end circuit can be configured to adjust the signal transmitted between the antenna 310 and the processing circuit 302. The radio front-end circuit 318 can receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 318 can use a combination of a filter 320 and / or an amplifier 322 to convert the digital data into a radio signal with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal can then be sent via the antenna 310. Similarly, when data is received, antenna 310 may collect the radio signal, which radio front end circuit 318 may then convert into digital data. The digital data may be passed to processing circuit 302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0151] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 300 does not include a separate radio front end circuit 318, instead the processing circuit 302 includes the radio front end circuit and is connected to the antenna 310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuit 312 is part of the communication interface 306. In yet another embodiment, the communication interface 306 includes one or more ports or terminals 316, the radio front end circuit 318, and the RF transceiver circuit 312 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 306 communicates with the baseband processing circuit 314, which is part of the digital unit (not shown).

[0152] Antenna 310 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 310 may be coupled to radio front end circuit 318 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly sending and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 310 is separate from network node 300 and may be connected to network node 300 via an interface or port.

[0153] Antenna 310, communication interface 306 and / or processing circuit 302 may be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or certain obtaining operations performed by a network node as described herein. Any information, data and / or signal may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network device. Similarly, antenna 310, communication interface 306 and / or processing circuit 302 may be configured to perform any sending operation performed by a network node as described herein. Any information, data and / or signal may be sent to a UE, another network node and / or any other network device.

[0154] The power supply 308 provides power to the various components of the network node 300 in a form suitable for the various components (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each corresponding component). The power supply 308 may also include power management circuitry or be coupled to a power management circuitry to supply power to the components of the network node 300 for performing the functions described herein. For example, the network node 300 may be connected to an external power source (e.g., a power grid, a power outlet) via an input circuit or interface (e.g., a cable), whereby the external power source supplies power to the power circuit of the power supply 308. As another example, the power supply 308 may include a power source in the form of a battery or a battery pack, which is connected to the power circuit or integrated in the power circuit. If the external power source fails, the battery may provide backup power.

[0155] Embodiments of network node 300 may include beyond Figure 6Additional components to the components shown are used to provide certain aspects of the functionality of the network node (including any functionality described herein and / or any functionality required to support the subject matter described herein). For example, the network node 300 may include a user interface device to allow information to be input into the network node 300 and to allow information to be output from the network node 300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other management functions for the network node 300.

[0156] Figure 7 is a block diagram of a host 400 according to various aspects described herein, which may be Figure 1 As used herein, host 400 may be or include various combinations of hardware and / or software (including processing resources in a standalone server, blade server, cloud-implemented server, distributed server, virtual machine, container, or server cluster). Host 400 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0157] Host 400 includes processing circuitry 402, which is operably coupled to input / output interface 406, network interface 408, power supply 410, and memory 412 via bus 404. Other components may be included in other embodiments. The features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the previous figures (e.g., Figure 5 and Figure 6 ) so that its description is generally applicable to corresponding components of the host 400.

[0158] The memory 412 may include one or more computer programs including data 416 and one or more host applications 414, which may include user data, such as data generated by a UE for the host 400, or data generated by the host 400 for the UE. An embodiment of the host 400 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application 414 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for a variety of different categories, types, or implementations of UE (e.g., mobile phones, desktop computers, wearable display systems, head-up display systems). The host application 414 may also provide user authentication and permission checks, and may periodically report health status, routing, and content availability to a central node (e.g., a device in the core network or a device on the edge of the core network). Thus, the host 400 can select and / or indicate to the UE a different host for an over-the-top service. The host application 414 can support various protocols, such as HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0159] Figure 8 is a block diagram showing a virtualized environment 500 in which the functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of an apparatus or device that may include a virtualized hardware platform, storage device, and network resources. As used herein, virtualization may be applied to any device or component thereof described herein, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functions are implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs), which are implemented in one or more virtual environments 500 hosted by one or more of a hardware node (e.g., a hardware computing device operating as a network node, UE, core network node, or host). In addition, in embodiments where a virtual node does not require a radio connection (e.g., a core network node or host), the node may be fully virtualized.

[0160] Application 502 (which may alternatively be referred to as a software instance, a virtual appliance, a network function, a virtual node, a virtual network function, etc.) runs in virtualized environment 500 to implement some features, functions, and / or benefits of some embodiments disclosed herein.

[0161] Hardware 504 includes processing circuitry, memory storing software and / or instructions that can be executed by the hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices described herein (such as network interfaces, input / output interfaces, etc.). Software can be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 508a and VMs 508b (one or more of which can be generally referred to as VMs 508), and / or perform any functions, features, and / or benefits described in connection with some embodiments described herein. Virtualization layer 506 can present a virtual operating platform to VM 508 that looks like network hardware.

[0162] VM 508 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual network or interface, and virtual storage, and can be run by corresponding virtualization layer 506. Different embodiments of instances of virtual device 502 can be implemented on one or more VMs 508, and these implementations can be made in different ways. In some contexts, virtualization of hardware is referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV can be used to unify many types of network equipment into industry standard high-capacity server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers and customer premises equipment.

[0163] In the context of NFV, a VM 508 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executed on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each VM 508 and the portion of the hardware 504 on which it executes (whether it is hardware dedicated to the VM and / or hardware shared by the VM with other VMs) form a separate virtual network element. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling a specific network function that runs in one or more VMs 508 on the hardware 504 and corresponds to an application 502.

[0164] Hardware 504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with general or specific components. Hardware 504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 504 may be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., in a data center or CPE), where many hardware nodes work together and are managed by management and orchestration 510, which in particular oversees the lifecycle management of application 502. In some embodiments, hardware 504 is coupled to one or more radio units, each of which includes one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. The radio unit may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces, and may be used in conjunction with virtual components to provide radio capabilities to virtual nodes (e.g., radio access nodes or base stations). In some embodiments, some signaling may be provided by using a control system 512, which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0165] Fig. 9 A communication diagram is shown in which a host 602 communicates with a UE 606 via a network node 604 over a partially wireless connection according to some embodiments. Fig. 9 Describe the UE discussed in the previous paragraphs (e.g., Figure 1 UE 112A and / or Figure 5 UE 200), network node (e.g., Figure 1 The network node 110A and / or Figure 6 network node 300) and a host (e.g., Figure 1 Host 116 and / or Figure 7 An example implementation of a host 400 according to various embodiments.

[0166] Similar to the host 400, an embodiment of the host 602 includes hardware, such as a communication interface, a processing circuit, and a memory. The host 602 also includes software that is stored in the host 602 or can be accessed by the host 602 and can be executed by the processing circuit. The software includes a host application that is operable to provide services to a remote user, such as a UE 606 connected via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 650 extending between the UE 606 and the host 602. When providing services to the remote user, the host application can provide user data sent using the OTT connection 650.

[0167] The network node 604 includes hardware that enables it to communicate with the host 602 and the UE 606. The connection 660 can be a direct connection or through a core network (such as Figure 1The core network 106 of the present invention and / or one or more other intermediate networks (eg, one or more public, private, or managed networks). For example, the intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0168] UE 606 includes hardware and software that is stored in or accessible by UE 606 and can be executed by the processing circuitry of the UE. The software includes a client application (e.g., a web browser or an operator-specific "app") that is operable to provide services to a human or non-human user via UE 606 with the support of a host 602. In the host 602, an executing host application can communicate with an executing client application via an OTT connection 650, which terminates at UE 606 and the host 602. When providing services to a user, the client application of the UE can receive request data from the host application of the host and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 650 can send both request data and user data. The client application of the UE can interact with the user to generate user data that is provided to the host application via the OTT connection 650.

[0169] The OTT connection 650 may extend via a connection 660 between the host 602 and the network node 604 and via a wireless connection 670 between the network node 604 and the UE 606 to provide connectivity between the host 602 and the UE 606. The connection 660 and the wireless connection 670 that may provide the OTT connection 650 have been drawn abstractly to illustrate communications between the host 602 and the UE 606 via the network node 604 without explicitly involving any intermediate devices and the precise routing of messages via those devices.

[0170] As an example of sending data via OTT connection 650, in step 608, host 602 provides user data, which can be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a specific human user who interacts with UE 606. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with UE 606, which shares data with host 602 without explicit human interaction. In step 610, host 602 initiates a transmission to UE 606, which carries the user data. Host 602 may initiate the transmission in response to a request sent by UE 606. The request may be caused by human interaction with UE 606 or by the operation of a client application executed on UE 606. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the transmission may be delivered via network node 604. Therefore, in step 612, according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, network node 604 sends the user data carried in the transmission initiated by host 602 to UE 606. In step 614 , UE 606 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executing on UE 606 that is associated with a host application executed by host 602 .

[0171] In some examples, UE 606 executes a client application that provides user data to host 602. User data may be provided as a reaction or response to data received from host 602. Therefore, in step 616, UE 606 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing a client application. When providing user data, the client application may also take into account user input received from a user via an input / output interface of UE 606. Regardless of the specific manner in which user data is provided, in step 618, UE 606 initiates transmission of user data to host 602 via network node 604. In step 620, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, network node 604 receives user data from UE 606 and initiates sending the received user data to host 602. In step 622, host 602 receives user data carried in the transmission initiated by UE 606.

[0172] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE 606 using OTT connection 650, in which wireless connection 670 forms the final part. More specifically, the teachings of these embodiments can improve the handling of conflicting signals and / or channels, thereby providing benefits such as improving measurement latency and bypassing the measurement gap request process to improve positioning quality.

[0173] In an example scenario, the host 602 may collect and analyze plant status information. As another example, the host 602 may process audio and video data that may have been retrieved from the UE for creating a map. As another example, the host 602 may collect and analyze real-time data to help control vehicle congestion (e.g., control traffic lights). As another example, the host 602 may store monitoring videos uploaded by the UE. As another example, the host 602 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR, or AR, which may be broadcast, multicast, or unicast to the UE. As other examples, the host 602 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time-critical power loads to balance power generation demand, positioning services, presentation services (e.g., compiling charts based on data collected from remote devices, etc.), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing, and / or sending data.

[0174] In some examples, a measurement process may be provided for monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors that are the subject of improvement of one or more embodiments. There may also be an optional network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 650 between the host 602 and the UE 606 in response to changes in the measurement results. The measurement process and / or the network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 602 and / or the UE 606. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in other devices through which the OTT connection 650 passes, or associated with the other devices; the sensors may participate in the measurement process by providing the values ​​of the monitored quantities shown above, or providing the values ​​of other physical quantities from which the software can calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 650 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routes, etc.; the reconfiguration does not require direct changes to the operation of the network node 604. Such processes and functions may be known and practiced in the art. In some embodiments, the measurement may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates the host 602 to measure throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. Measurements may be made by software using the OTT connection 650 to send messages (particularly empty or "dummy" messages) while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0175] Although the computing devices (e.g., UE, network node, host) described herein may include a combination of the hardware components shown, other embodiments may include computing devices with different combinations of components. It should be understood that these computing devices may include any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. The determination, calculation, acquisition, or similar operations described herein may be performed by a processing circuit, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information to other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information with the information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information, and making a determination based on the result of the processing. In addition, although the components are depicted as a single box located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in fact, the computing device may include multiple different physical components constituting a single illustrated component, and the functions may be divided between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any component described herein, and / or the functions of the components may be divided between the processing circuit and the communication interface. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any such component may be implemented in software or firmware, and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0176] In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein may be provided by a processing circuit that executes instructions stored in a memory, which in some embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functions may be provided by a processing circuit, for example, in a hardwired manner, without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium. In any of these specific embodiments, the processing circuit may be configured to perform the described functions, regardless of whether instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to separate processing circuits or to other components of a computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole and / or are generally enjoyed by end users and wireless networks.

[0177] The above embodiments are intended to be examples only. Those skilled in the art may make changes, modifications and variations to the specific embodiments without departing from the scope of this specification.

[0178] abbreviation

[0179] At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in the present disclosure. If there is an inconsistency between abbreviations, how it is used above shall take precedence. If listed multiple times below, the first listing shall take precedence over any subsequent listings.

[0180] 1xRTTCDMA2000 1x radio transmission technology

[0181] 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

[0182] 5G fifth generation

[0183] 6G Sixth Generation

[0184] ABS Almost Blank Subframe

[0185] ARQ Automatic Repeat Request

[0186] AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise

[0187] BCCH Broadcast Control Channel

[0188] BCH Broadcast Channel

[0189] CA Carrier Aggregation

[0190] CC Carrier Components

[0191] CCCHSDU Common Control Channel SDU

[0192] CDMA Code Division Multiple Access

[0193] CGI Cell Global Identifier

[0194] CIR channel impulse response

[0195] CP cyclic prefix

[0196] CPICH common pilot channel

[0197] CPICH Ec / NoCPICH received energy per chip divided by the power density in the frequency band

[0198] CQI channel quality information

[0199] C-RNTICell RNTI

[0200] CSI channel state information

[0201] DCCH dedicated control channel

[0202] DL Downlink

[0203] DM Demodulation

[0204] DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal

[0205] DRX Discontinuous Reception

[0206] DTX Discontinuous Transmission

[0207] DTCH Dedicated Traffic Channel

[0208] DUT Device Under Test

[0209] E-CID Enhanced Cell ID (positioning method)

[0210] eMBMS Evolved Multimedia Broadcast / Multicast Service

[0211] E-SMLC Evolution Service Mobile Location Center

[0212] ECGI Evolved CGI

[0213] eNBE-UTRAN NodeB

[0214] EPDCCH Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0215] E-SMLC Evolution Service Mobile Location Center

[0216] E-UTRA Evolved UTRA

[0217] E-UTRAN Evolved UTRAN

[0218] FDD Frequency Division Duplex

[0219] Further research on FFS

[0220] Base stations in gNBNR

[0221] GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System

[0222] HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

[0223] HO Handover

[0224] HSPA High Speed ​​Packet Access

[0225] HRPD High Speed ​​Packet Data

[0226] LOS Line of Sight

[0227] LPPLTE positioning protocol

[0228] LTE Long Term Evolution

[0229] MAC Media Access Control

[0230] MAC message authentication code

[0231] MBSFN Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Single Frequency Network

[0232] MBSFN ABSMBSFN Almost Blank Subframe

[0233] MDT drive test minimization

[0234] MIB Master Information Block

[0235] MME mobility management entity

[0236] MSC Mobile Switching Center

[0237] PDCCH narrowband physical downlink control channel

[0238] NR New Radio

[0239] OCNGOFDMA channel noise generator

[0240] OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing

[0241] OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access

[0242] OSS operation support system

[0243] OTDOA Observed Time Difference of Arrival

[0244] O&M Operation and Maintenance

[0245] PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel

[0246] P-CCPCH Primary Common Control Physical Channel

[0247] Pcell master cell

[0248] PCFICH Physical Control Format Indicator Channel

[0249] PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0250] PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol

[0251] PDP Power Delay Profile

[0252] PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0253] PGW Packet Gateway

[0254] PHICH Physical Hybrid ARQ Indicator Channel

[0255] PLMN Public Land Mobile Network

[0256] PMI precoding matrix indicator

[0257] PRACH Physical Random Access Channel

[0258] PRS Positioning Reference Signal

[0259] PSS primary synchronization signal

[0260] PUCCH Physical uplink control channel

[0261] PUSCH Physical uplink shared channel

[0262] RACH Random Access Channel

[0263] QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

[0264] RAN Radio Access Network

[0265] RAT Radio Access Technology

[0266] RLC Radio Link Control

[0267] RLM Radio Link Management

[0268] RNC Radio Network Controller

[0269] RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier

[0270] RRC Radio Resource Control

[0271] RRM Radio Resource Management

[0272] RS reference signal

[0273] RSCP received signal code power

[0274] RSRP reference symbol received power or reference signal received power

[0275] RSRQ reference signal reception quality or reference symbol reception quality

[0276] RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator

[0277] RSTD Reference Signal Time Difference

[0278] SCH synchronization channel

[0279] Scell

[0280] SDAP Service Data Adaptation Protocol

[0281] SDU Service Data Unit

[0282] SFN system frame number

[0283] SGW Service Gateway

[0284] SI system information

[0285] SIB System Information Block

[0286] SNR signal-to-noise ratio

[0287] SON Self-Optimizing Network

[0288] SS sync signal

[0289] SSS secondary synchronization signal

[0290] TDD Time Division Duplex

[0291] TDOA Time Difference of Arrival

[0292] TOA Arrival Time

[0293] TSS three-level synchronization signal

[0294] TTI transmission time interval

[0295] UE User Equipment

[0296] UL Uplink

[0297] USIM Universal Subscriber Identity Module

[0298] UTDOA uplink time difference of arrival

[0299] WCDMA Wide CDMA

[0300] WLAN broadband local area network.

Claims

1. A method performed by a wireless device, the method comprising: receiving a configuration message from a network node, the configuration message including at least one conditional action associated with network energy conservation; detecting unavailability of a network resource associated with the network node; and In response to the indication of unavailability of the network resource, the at least one conditional action associated with network energy conservation is performed.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The configuration message is one of the following messages: a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, and a Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) message.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein: The configuration message is received via one of group signaling or cell-wide signaling.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: Detecting unavailability of the network resource is performed in response to receiving an indication of unavailability of a network resource associated with the network node from the network node.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein: The indication of unavailability of the network resource is one of the following messages: a release message, and a reconfiguration message.

6. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 5, wherein: The indication of unavailability of the network resource also indicates a time window of the unavailability.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The conditional action associated with the network energy saving includes: performing a conditional handover to a second network node.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: The conditional actions associated with the network energy saving include: modifying a discontinuous transmission / discontinuous reception "DTX / DRX" configuration.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein: The modification includes activating or deactivating the cell DTX / DRX configuration.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein: The conditional action associated with the network energy saving includes: not triggering re-establishment of connection with the network node.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising: A request is sent to the network node to cancel and / or modify the unavailability of the network resource.

12. A wireless device comprising a radio interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to: receiving a configuration message from a network node, the configuration message including at least one conditional action associated with network energy conservation; detecting unavailability of a network resource associated with the network node; and In response to the indication of unavailability of the network resource, the at least one conditional action associated with network energy conservation is performed.

13. The wireless device of claim 12, wherein: The configuration message is one of the following messages: an RRC message, and a MAC CE message.

14. The wireless device according to any one of claims 12 to 13, wherein: The configuration message is received via one of group signaling or cell-wide signaling.

15. The wireless device according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein: Detecting unavailability of the network resource is performed in response to receiving an indication of unavailability of a network resource associated with the network node from the network node.

16. The wireless device of claim 15, wherein: The indication of unavailability of the network resource is one of the following messages: a release message, and a reconfiguration message.

17. The wireless device according to any one of claims 15 to 16, wherein: The indication of unavailability of the network resource also indicates a time window of the unavailability.

18. The wireless device according to any one of claims 12 to 17, wherein: The conditional action associated with the network energy saving includes performing a conditional handover to a second network node.

19. The wireless device according to any one of claims 12 to 18, wherein: The conditional actions associated with the network energy saving include: modifying a discontinuous transmission / discontinuous reception "DTX / DRX" configuration.

20. The wireless device of claim 19, wherein: The modification includes activating or deactivating the cell DTX / DRX configuration.

21. The wireless device according to any one of claims 12 to 20, wherein: The conditional action associated with the network energy saving includes: not triggering re-establishment of connection with the network node.

22. The wireless device according to any one of claims 12 to 21, further configured to send a request for the network node to cancel and / or modify the unavailability of the network resource.

23. A method performed by a network node, the method comprising: sending a configuration message to a wireless device, the configuration message including at least one conditional action associated with network energy saving; as well as An indication of unavailability of a network resource associated with the network node is sent.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein: The configuration message is one of the following messages: an RRC message, and a MAC CE message.

25. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 24, wherein: The configuration message is sent via one of group signaling or cell-wide signaling.

26. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 25, wherein: The indication of unavailability of the network resource is one of the following messages: a release message, and a reconfiguration message.

27. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 26, wherein: The indication of unavailability of the network resource also indicates a time window of the unavailability.

28. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 27, wherein: The conditional actions associated with the network energy saving include one or more of the following: performing a conditional handover to a second network node; modifying a discontinuous transmission / discontinuous reception "DTX / DRX" configuration; and not triggering a re-establishment of a connection with the network node.

29. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 28, further comprising: Unavailability of a network resource associated with the network node is determined.

30. The method according to any one of claims 23 to 29, further comprising: A request is received to cancel and / or modify the indicated unavailability of a network resource.

31. A network node comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry being configured to: sending a configuration message to a wireless device, the configuration message including at least one conditional action associated with network energy saving; and An indication of unavailability of a network resource associated with the network node is sent.

32. The network node according to claim 31, wherein: The configuration message is one of the following messages: an RRC message, and a MAC CE message.

33. The network node according to any one of claims 31 to 32, wherein: The configuration message is received via one of group signaling or cell-wide signaling.

34. The network node according to any one of claims 31 to 33, wherein: The indication of unavailability of the network resource is one of the following messages: a release message, and a reconfiguration message.

35. The network node according to any one of claims 31 to 34, wherein: The indication of unavailability of the network resource also indicates a time window of the unavailability.

36. The network node according to any one of claims 31 to 35, wherein: The conditional actions associated with the network energy saving include one or more of the following: performing a conditional handover to a second network node; modifying a discontinuous transmission / discontinuous reception "DTX / DRX" configuration; and not triggering a re-establishment of a connection with the network node.

37. The network node according to any one of claims 31 to 36, further configured to determine unavailability of a network resource associated with the network node.

38. The network node according to any of claims 31 to 37, further configured to receive a request to cancel and / or modify the indicated unavailability of the network resource.

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