Measurement requirements for energy savings

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to equipment, a method, a device and a computer readable storage medium for energy-saving measurement requirements. The method includes determining a loose measurement period associated with a measurement performed by a first device in accordance with a determination that DTX is enabled by a second device; and performing the measurement based on the loose measurement period or the non-loose measurement period. Thus, by introducing a loose measurement period, the required measurement accuracy can be achieved at the terminal device even if energy saving is enabled at the network device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of communications, and in particular to an apparatus, method, device, and computer-readable storage medium for measuring requirements for energy conservation. Background Art

[0002] The energy consumption of the fifth generation mobile communication technology (5G) New Radio (NR) has been studied in the past few years, especially for the Radio Access Network (RAN), which may consume a considerable amount of 5G network energy. Summary of the invention

[0003] Generally, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions for coordinating the selection of measurement requirements for energy conservation.

[0004] In a first aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to determine a relaxed measurement period associated with measurements performed by the first device based on at least determining that discontinuous transmission (DTX) is enabled by a second device; and perform measurements based on a relaxed measurement period or a non-relaxed measurement period.

[0005] In a second aspect, a second device is provided. The second device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to at least configure a scaling factor for relaxing a measurement period associated with a measurement performed by a first device; and send the scaling factor to the first device.

[0006] In a third aspect, a method is provided. The method includes: determining a relaxed measurement period associated with measurement performed by the first device based on determining that DTX is enabled by the second device; and performing measurement based on the relaxed measurement period or the non-relaxed measurement period.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided, comprising: configuring a scaling factor, the scaling factor being used to relax a measurement period associated with a measurement performed by a first device; and sending the scaling factor to the first device.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: a component for determining a relaxed measurement period associated with measurements performed by a first device based on determining that DTX is enabled by a second device; and a component for performing measurements based on a relaxed measurement period or a non-relaxed measurement period.

[0009] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: means for configuring a scaling factor for relaxing a measurement period associated with measurements performed by a first device; and means for sending the scaling factor to the first device.

[0010] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by at least one processor of a device, the device executes the method of the third aspect or the fourth aspect.

[0011] Other features and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of specific embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the embodiments of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, and advantages thereof will be explained in more detail.

[0013] Figure 1 shows an example environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0014] Figure 2 shows a signaling diagram illustrating a process for measurement requirements for energy saving according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0015] Figure 3 An example for scaling factor determination according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0016] Figure 4 A flow chart illustrating an example method of measuring requirements for energy conservation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 5 A flow chart illustrating an example method of measuring requirements for energy conservation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 6 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for use in implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0019] Figure 7 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0020] The same or similar reference numbers may refer to the same or similar elements throughout the drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for illustrative purposes and are helpful for those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways different from the ways described below.

[0022] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein may have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0023] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not necessarily every embodiment. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is considered that it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0024] It should be understood that although the terms "first", "second", etc. may be used to describe various elements in this article, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiment, the first element may be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element may be referred to as the first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0025] As used herein, “at least one of: ” and “at least one of ” and similar expressions mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements, where the list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”.

[0026] As used herein, unless explicitly stated, performing a step “in response to A” does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs, and one or more intermediate steps may be involved.

[0027] The terms used herein are only used for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms "comprise", "including", "having", "having", "including" and / or "comprising" when used herein specify the presence of the features, elements and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0028] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware circuitry implementation only (such as implementation in analog and / or digital circuitry only) and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, for example, as applicable: (i) a combination of analog and / or (multiple) digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and (ii) hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s), software and memory(s) that work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) Any portion that performs various functions, and (c) (multiple) hardware circuits and / or (multiple) processors, such as (multiple) microprocessors or portions of (multiple) microprocessors, that are required for operating software (e.g., firmware), but the software may not be present when not required for operation.

[0029] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portions of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term circuitry also covers a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0030] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network equipment in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocols, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocols and / or any other protocols currently known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there are of course communication technologies and systems of future types that can implement the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure should not be considered to be limited to the above-mentioned systems.

[0031] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network, via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from it. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a NodeB (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node such as a femto, a micro, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite network device), a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a synchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. In some example embodiments, a radio access network (RAN) separation architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion that behaves like a UE to a parent node, and a DU portion of the IAB node behaves like a base station to a next-hop IAB node.

[0032] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, the terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a user station (SS), a portable user station, a mobile station (MS) or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain environments), consumer electronic devices, equipment operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) part of the IAB node (eg, a relay node).In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0033] As used herein, the term "resource", "transmission resource", "resource block", "physical resource block" (PRB), "uplink resource" or "downlink resource" may refer to any resource used to perform communication (e.g., communication between a terminal device and a network device), such as a resource in the time domain, a resource in the frequency domain, a resource in the spatial domain, a resource in the code domain, or any other resource that enables communication. In the following, unless explicitly stated, resources in the frequency domain and the time domain will be used as examples of transmission resources for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Note that the example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains. Example Environment

[0034] Figure 1 1 shows a communication network 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. Figure 1 As shown, the communication network 100 may include a terminal device 110. In the following, the terminal device 110 may also be referred to as UE 110 or first device 110.

[0035] The communication network 100 may further include a network device 120. Hereinafter, the network device 120 may also be referred to as a gNB 120 or a second device 120. The terminal device 110 may communicate with the network device 120.

[0036] It should be understood that Figure 1 The number of network devices and terminal devices shown is given for illustrative purposes and does not imply any limitation. Communication network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices.

[0037] In some example embodiments, the link from network device 120 to terminal device 110 may be referred to as a downlink (DL), and the link from terminal device 110 to network device 120 may be referred to as an uplink (UL). In DL, network device 120 is a transmit (TX) device (or transmitter), and terminal device 110 is a receive (RX) device (or receiver). In UL, terminal device 110 is a TX device (or transmitter), and network device 120 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0038] The communication in the communication environment 100 can be implemented according to any suitable (multiple) communication protocols, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), the fifth generation (5G), the sixth generation (6G), etc., wireless local area network communication protocols such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. In addition, the communication can utilize any suitable wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technology currently known or developed in the future.

[0039] One of the key points in 5G NR may focus on energy consumption, especially for RAN, which may consume a considerable portion of the total energy consumption in the 5G network. For example, schemes for network energy saving in 5G have been studied. The study may aim to establish network energy saving techniques in the time domain, frequency domain, spatial domain, and power domain for both transmission and reception, and support / feedback from UE and UE assistance information are also within the scope of this study.

[0040] DTX on the network side is a candidate solution that can provide network energy saving by turning on / off the network radio unit (i.e., power amplifier (PA)) when there is no network transmission. As network hardware and software capabilities improve, network DTX (e.g., turning on / off PA using hardware) can be performed at the OFDM symbol level, which can be called micro DTX (μDTX).

[0041] In 5G NR, always-on transmissions can be minimized. Therefore, there are no reference signals like the Common Reference Signal (CRS) in 5G NR. Instead, the only "always-on" NR signal is the so-called Synchronization Signal (SS) block, which is sent in a limited bandwidth and has a much larger periodicity than the LTE CRS. The SS block can be used for power measurements to estimate, for example, path loss and average channel quality. In addition, the Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) is reused and extended in NR to provide, for example, support for beam management and mobility, to complement the SS block.

[0042] SS block resources in NR are sent periodically, with a period that can vary from 5ms to 160ms. However, a device performing an initial cell search or performing a cell search in an inactive / idle state for mobility can assume that the SS block is repeated at least once every 20ms. This allows the device to search for SS blocks in the frequency domain to learn how long it must stay on each frequency before concluding that there is no primary synchronization signal (PSS) / secondary synchronization signal (SSS) and that it should move to the next frequency within the synchronization grid.

[0043] In addition, CSI-RS resources in NR can be configured in time as periodic, semi-persistent or aperiodic transmission. In the case of periodic CSI-RS transmission, CSI-RS can be configured to be sent in every m time slots, where the value m can be in the range of 4 to 640 time slots. In the frequency domain, CSI-RS can be configured within a given DL bandwidth part (BWP), where it can be configured to cover the full bandwidth part or a partial bandwidth part.

[0044] When DTX or μDTX is applied by the network, the network may even decide to “mute” or reduce the transmit power of some reference signals (RS), which may affect UE measurements since the reference signals on which UE measurements are to be performed have no transmit power or have a lower transmit power.

[0045] Therefore, the UE measurement behavior can be further discussed in the case where network energy saving is enabled, especially when the network applies DTX or μDTX. How it works and example signaling used for communication

[0046] According to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a solution for measurement requirements for energy saving is provided. In this solution, the terminal device determines a loose measurement period when DTX is enabled at the network device. The terminal device can then determine which measurement period will be used for the measurement performed by the terminal device, i.e., a loose measurement period or a non-loose measurement period. The terminal device performs measurements based on the determined measurement period. In this way, by introducing a loose measurement period, the required measurement accuracy can be achieved at the terminal device even if energy saving is enabled at the network device.

[0047] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0048] Reference now Figure 2 , which shows a signaling diagram 200 for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 2 As shown, signaling diagram 200 involves UE 110 and gNB 120. For discussion purposes, reference is made to Figure 1 To describe the signaling diagram 200. Figure 2A single UE 110 is shown in FIG. 1 , but it should be understood that there may be multiple UEs performing similar operations as described below with respect to UE 110.

[0049] like Figure 2 As shown, in the case where the UE 110 is aware of the energy saving of the gNB 120, for example, if the gNB 120 indicates 205 to the UE 110 that the gNB 120 enables DTX, the UE 110 determines 210 a relaxed measurement period for one or more measurements to be performed by the UE 110. The measurements mentioned here may refer to different measurements included in (multiple) layer 1 measurements, radio link failure (RLF) / beam failure detection (BFD) measurements and / or (multiple) layer 3 measurements, for example, beam measurements, radio resource measurements, channel quality measurements, etc.

[0050] For example, UE 110 may determine a scaling factor for extending a non-relaxed measurement period (i.e., a measurement period used by UE 110 when energy saving is disabled at gNB 120).

[0051] For example, UE 110 may determine the scaling factor by considering an overlap ratio between the μDTX period, the measurement gap, and reference signals of one or more measurements that UE 110 is to perform.

[0052] The term "μDTX cycle" or "DTX cycle" may refer to a period during which the gNB 120 may mute some reference signals or reduce the transmit power of the reference signals. That is, during the μDTX cycle or DTX cycle, some reference signals to be used by the UE 110 may not exist. The DTX cycle may occur in a periodic, semi-persistent, or dynamic manner based on network decisions. In the case of periodic DTX operation, the network will mute or reduce the transmit power of some RSs for each DTX cycle, so the DTX cycle may be a fixed value. In addition, a measurement gap may refer to a period during which the UE 110 may not perform any transmission or reception associated with the serving cell of the UE 110. During the measurement gap, the UE 110 may perform measurements on intra-frequency or inter-frequency neighboring cells. Therefore, both the μDTX cycle or DTX cycle and the measurement gap of the UE 110 may be taken into account to determine the scaling factor.

[0053] As another option, UE 110 may determine the scaling factor based on an overlap ratio between the μDTX period and the SSB and / or CSI-RS symbols used for one or more measurements performed by the UE. In other words, the overlap ratio refers to the percentage of the SSB and / or CSI-RS symbols to be measured that are muted due to the DTX operation. That is, UE 110 may consider whether the reception of the SSB and / or CSI-RS symbols to be measured by the UE has been affected when DTX is enabled. For example, if the transmission timing of the SSB and / or CSI-RS symbols from gNB 120 overlaps with the DTX period or the μDTX period, the SSB and / or CSI-RS symbols may not be received by UE 110, which may affect the measurement accuracy.

[0054] The scaling factor may also be determined by UE 110 by considering the overlap ratio between the μDTX period and the SSB Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) window / CSI-RS periodicity.

[0055] For example, assuming that periodic or semi-persistent DTX is enabled, when SMTC partially overlaps with the DTX period and measurement gaps are not configured, if DTX period>SMTC period, the scaling factor can be defined as K=1 / (1-SMTC period / DTX period). If measurement gaps are configured, the scaling factor can be adjusted to K=1 / (1-SMTC period / min(DTX period, MG periodicity).

[0056] In addition, there may be no fixed DTX period, i.e., dynamic DTX is enabled, and the scaling factor can be estimated based on the overlap ratio of the SMTC window or the SSB / CSI-RS symbol to be measured with the μDTX period (i.e., the percentage or ratio of the overlap between the SMTC window and DTX within a period (e.g., the measurement period)).

[0057] For an example of determining the scaling factor, see Figure 3is further described. As shown in the figure, the SSB can be sent from the gNB 120 every 20ms. If DTX is enabled, the gNB 120 can omit the transmission of SSB 302 and SSB 306. The UE is configured with SMTC1, where the SSB will be measured by the UE. The SMTC1 periodicity is 40ms. For the UE side, using SMTC1, the SSB can be monitored / received by the UE 110 every 40ms. After receiving SSB 301 within the SMTC window 311, the UE 110 can receive the subsequent SSB 303 in the next 40ms SMTC window 313, so the omitted SSB is the SSB that the UE does not need to receive. In this example, although some RSs overlap with the DTX period, these RSs will not be measured by the UE, so this will not affect the UE measurement. With the measurement period 310, the UE 110 can obtain sufficient (e.g., five) SSB samples, and the required measurement accuracy may not be affected. Therefore, the scaling factor can be set to K=1, and the measurement period is not affected by DTX.

[0058] In addition, the UE may be configured with SMTC2, and the SSB may also be monitored / received by the UE 110 every 40 ms. However, since the transmission of SSB 302 and SSB 306 is omitted or muted due to the DTX operation, the UE 110 may only receive one SSB 304 within the SMTC window 324. That is, the DTX period overlaps with part of the SMTC period. In this case, the scaling factor may be set to K=1 / (1-20 / 40), and the measurement period is doubled.

[0059] Furthermore, the scaling factor may also be configured by the gNB 120. In this case, the gNB 120 may send the scaling factor to the UE 110 via action 205, for example, via radio resource control signaling. With the indicated scaling factor, the gNB 120 can ensure that a certain number of RSs are sent for UE measurements. In this option, when to mute the RSs depends on the network implementation, which provides flexibility in network behavior at the expense of measurement performance degradation, but this is controllable.

[0060] Before performing measurements at UE 110, UE 110 may determine 215 which measurement period is used for the measurements. Within the measurement period, UE 110 needs to provide measurement results that meet accuracy requirements.

[0061] As an option, when DTX is enabled, UE 110 may perform measurements based on a relaxed measurement period.

[0062] As another option, UE 110 may use a loose measurement period only when at least one channel quality criterion is met. For example, when DTX is enabled, if UE 110 determines that the channel quality is lower than or not higher than a threshold level, UE 110 may determine that a loose measurement period will be used. If SMTC overlaps with DTX operation, the UE may miss some RSs. However, if the channel quality or the latest measurement result (e.g., SS-RSRP) is higher than the threshold level, the UE may still apply a non-loose measurement period. Since the channel is good enough, the performance of the UE measurement may not be affected, and the UE may still use a smaller number of samples to measure to achieve the same measurement accuracy.

[0063] Alternatively, if UE 110 determines that the channel quality variation is within a threshold within a predetermined period, UE 110 may still use a non-relaxed measurement period. Conversely, if the channel quality variation exceeds a threshold range within a predetermined period, UE 110 may determine that a relaxed measurement period is to be used.

[0064] In addition, the UE 110 may indicate 220 to the gNB 120 whether the measurement result was obtained based on a non-relaxed measurement period or a relaxed measurement period, so that the network can be aware of the performance of the received measurement result. For example, the UE 110 may indicate which measurement period is used in the measurement report. It should be understood that the indication may be sent to the gNB 120 via other suitable messages.

[0065] According to the relaxed measurement period proposed in the present disclosure, when DTX is enabled, the relaxed requirements may be defined as follows: A scaling factor may be applied to relax PSS / SSS detection (exemplified as follows), the period for time index detection, and the measurement period. Table 1: Time periods for PSS / SSS detection for frequency range 1 (FR1)

[0066] As an option, as shown in Table 1, a separate scaling factor K may be added to relax the measurement period due to DTX operation. Table 2: Time periods for PSS / SSS detection for frequency range 1 (FR1)

[0067] In Table 1, when the intra-frequency SMTC and DTX cycles do not overlap at all, K = 1. When the intra-frequency SMTC and the measurement gap partially overlap, K = 1 / (1-(SMTC cycle / DTX cycle)), where SMTC cycle < DTX cycle.

[0068] Alternatively, as shown in Table 2, a combined scaling factor Kp’ can be added to reflect the impact from μDTX and measurement gaps. For example, when the in-frequency SMTC does not overlap with the DTX period or measurement gap at all, Kp’ = 1. When the in-frequency SMTC partially overlaps with the DTX period or measurement gap, Kp’ = 1 / (1-(SMTC period / min(MRGP, DTX period))), where SMTC period < min(MRGP, DTX period).

[0069] Through the solution of the present disclosure, even if energy saving is enabled at the network device, the required measurement accuracy can be achieved at the terminal device.

[0070] Figure 4 A flowchart of an example method 400 for measurement requirements for network energy saving according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Method 400 can be implemented at a first device 110 as shown in Figure 1 For the purpose of discussion, method 400 will be described with reference to Figure 1 being described.

[0071] At 410, if the first device 110 determines that DTX is enabled by a second device at 410, and at 420, the first device 110 determines a relaxed measurement period associated with the measurement performed by the first device.

[0072] In some example embodiments, the first device may determine that DTX is enabled by the second device based on a network indication (e.g., enabling DTX and / or DTX period). This may be included in Figure 2 of 205.

[0073] In some example embodiments, the first device may determine the relaxed measurement period based on a scaling factor determined by the first device considering the overlap ratio between the DTX period and at least one of the following: a measurement gap for measurement, one or more SSB or CSI-RS symbols for measurement, or an SMTC period or CSI-RS periodicity.

[0074] In some example embodiments, the first device may determine whether a measurement gap is configured. If the measurement gap is configured, the first device may determine the scaling factor based on the ratio of the SMTC period to the minimum of the DTX period and the measurement gap periodicity.

[0075] In some example embodiments, if the measurement gap is not configured, the first device may determine the scaling factor based on the ratio of the SMTC period to the DTX period.

[0076] In some example embodiments, if DTX is not configured with a fixed period, the first device may determine the overlap ratio by monitoring one of: one or more symbols of SSB or CSI-RS that are muted within a predetermined period after DTX is enabled, or an SMTC window that is muted within a predetermined period after DTX is enabled.

[0077] In some example embodiments, the first device may determine the relaxed measurement period based on a scaling factor configured by the second device.

[0078] At 430 , the first device 110 performs measurement based on the relaxed measurement period or the non-relaxed measurement period.

[0079] In some example embodiments, if at least one channel quality criterion is not satisfied, the first device may determine that a relaxed measurement period is to be used for measurement.

[0080] In some example embodiments, if at least one channel quality criterion is satisfied, the first device may determine that a non-relaxed measurement period is to be used for measurement.

[0081] In some example embodiments, the at least one channel quality criterion includes at least one of the following: the channel quality is higher than a threshold level or the channel quality variation within a predetermined period of time is within a threshold range.

[0082] In some example embodiments, the first device may send an indication to the second device that a relaxed measurement period is used for measurement.

[0083] In some example embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.

[0084] Figure 5 A flow chart of an example method 500 for measuring requirements for energy saving according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The method 500 may be performed in Figure 1 The method 500 is implemented at the second device 120 shown. For discussion purposes, the method 500 will be referred to as Figure 1 describe.

[0085] At 510 , the second device 120 configures a scaling factor for relaxing a measurement period associated with measurements performed by the first device.

[0086] At 520 , the second device 120 sends the scaling factor to the first device.

[0087] In some example embodiments, the second device may send an indication to the first device that discontinuous transmission (DTX) is enabled by the second device.

[0088] In some example embodiments, the second device may receive an indication from the first device that the measurement period is relaxed for the measurement.

[0089] In some example embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.

[0090] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 400 (e.g., implemented at first device 110) may include components for performing the corresponding steps of method 400. The apparatus may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the apparatus may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module.

[0091] In some example embodiments, the apparatus includes: means for determining a relaxed measurement period associated with measurements performed by the first device based on determining that DTX is enabled by the second device; and means for performing measurements based on the relaxed measurement period or the non-relaxed measurement period.

[0092] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for determining, based on a network indication, that DTX is enabled by the second device.

[0093] In some example embodiments, the component for determining the loose measurement period includes: a component for determining the loose measurement period based on a scaling factor, the scaling factor being determined by the first device taking into account an overlap ratio between the DTX period and at least one of: a measurement gap for measurement, one or more symbols for measurement of at least one of: SSB or CSI-RS, or an SMTC period or CSI-RS periodicity.

[0094] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include: a component for determining whether a measurement gap is configured; and a component for determining a scaling factor based on a ratio of the SMTC period to a minimum value between the DTX period and the measurement gap periodicity based on determining that the measurement gap is configured.

[0095] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include: in response to determining that the measurement gap is not configured, means for determining a scaling factor based on a ratio of the SMTC period to the DTX period.

[0096] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include: for determining the overlap ratio based on determining that DTX is not configured with a fixed period by detecting one of: one or more symbols of SSB or CSI-RS that are muted within a predetermined period after DTX is enabled, or an SMTC window that is muted within a predetermined period after DTX is enabled.

[0097] In some example embodiments, the means for determining the relaxed measurement period comprises means for determining the relaxed measurement period based on a scaling factor configured by the second device.

[0098] In some example embodiments, the component for performing measurements may include: a component for determining that a relaxed measurement period will be used for measurement based on determining that at least one channel quality criterion is not met; or a component for determining that a non-relaxed measurement period will be used for measurement based on determining that at least one channel quality criterion is met.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the at least one channel quality criterion includes at least one of the following: the channel quality is higher than a threshold level, or the channel quality variation within a predetermined period of time is within a threshold range.

[0100] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for sending an indication to the second device that the relaxed measurement period is used for the measurement.

[0101] In some example embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.

[0102] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 500 (e.g., implemented at second device 120) may include components for performing the corresponding steps of method 500. The apparatus may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the apparatus may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module.

[0103] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for configuring a scaling factor for relaxing a measurement period associated with measurements performed by the first device; and means for sending the scaling factor to the first device.

[0104] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for receiving an indication from the first device that the measurement period is relaxed for the measurement.

[0105] In some example embodiments, the apparatus may further include means for sending an indication to the first device that discontinuous transmission (DTX) is enabled by the second device.

[0106] In some example embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.

[0107] Figure 6 600 is a simplified block diagram of a device 600 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 600 may be used to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1The terminal device 110 or the network device 120 is shown. As shown in the figure, the device 600 includes one or more processors 610, one or more memories 620 coupled to the processor 610, and one or more communication modules 640 coupled to the processor 610.

[0108] The communication module 640 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 640 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface may represent any interface required to communicate with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 640 may include at least one antenna.

[0109] As non-limiting examples, processor 610 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include one or more of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 600 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time slaved to a clock that synchronizes a main processor.

[0110] The memory 620 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 624, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), optical disk, laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 622 and other volatile memories that do not persist during the duration of a power outage.

[0111] The computer program 630 includes computer executable instructions executed by the associated processor 610. The instructions of the program 630 may include instructions for performing the operations / actions of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 630 may be stored in a memory, such as ROM 624. The processor 610 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 630 into the RAM 622.

[0112] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 630 so that the device 600 may execute the Figures 2 to 5 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0113] In some example embodiments, the program 630 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 600 (such as in the memory 620) or other storage device accessible to the device 600. The device 600 may load the program 630 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 622 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal), not a limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0114] 8 shows an example of a computer readable medium 800, which may be in the form of a CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 800 has the program 630 stored thereon.

[0115] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software, which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0116] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium (such as a non-transient computer-readable medium). The computer executable instructions (such as instructions included in a program module) executed by the computer program product in a device on a target physical or virtual processor to perform any method as described above. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. The functions of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed in various embodiments. The machine executable instructions for the program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in local and remote storage media.

[0117] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device so that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, enables the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be implemented. The program code may be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0118] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0119] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor system, device or apparatus, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer readable storage media would include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0120] In addition, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in a sequential order, or performing all operations shown to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these details should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but should be interpreted as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Unless explicitly stated, some features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, unless explicitly stated, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0121] Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to at least: Determining a relaxed measurement period associated with measurements performed by the first device based on determining that discontinuous transmission (DTX) is enabled by the second device; as well as The measuring is performed based on the relaxed measurement period or the non-relaxed measurement period.

2. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to determine that the DTX is enabled based on an indication received from the second device.

3. The first device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first device is caused to determine the relaxed measurement period based on a scaling factor, wherein the scaling factor is determined by the first device taking into account an overlap ratio between a DTX period and at least one of: the measuring gap used for said measurement, One or more signs of the measurement for at least one of: Synchronous signalling block SSB, or Channel State Information Reference Signal CSI-RS, or The SSB measurement timing configures the SMTC periodicity or the CSI-RS periodicity.

4. The first device according to claim 3, wherein the first device is configured to: determining whether the measurement gap is configured; In response to determining that the measurement gap is configured, the scaling factor is determined based on a ratio of the SMTC period to a minimum value among the DTX period and a measurement gap periodicity.

5. The first device according to claim 4, wherein the first device is caused to: Based on determining that the measurement gap is not configured, the scaling factor is determined based on a ratio of the SMTC period to the DTX period.

6. The first apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first device is caused to: Based on determining that the DTX is not configured with a fixed period, determining the overlap ratio by monitoring one of the following: the one or more symbols of the SSB or CSI-RS muted within a predetermined period after the DTX is enabled, or The SMTC window is muted for the predetermined period after the DTX is enabled. 7 . The first device of claim 1 , wherein the first device is caused to determine the relaxed measurement period based on a scaling factor configured by the second device.

8. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first device is configured to: Determining that the relaxed measurement period is to be used for the measurement based on determining that at least one channel quality criterion is not satisfied; or Based on determining that the at least one channel quality criterion is satisfied, it is determined that the non-relaxed measurement period is to be used for the measurement.

9. The first device according to claim 8, wherein the at least one channel quality criterion comprises at least one of the following: The channel quality is above a threshold level; or The channel quality changes within a predetermined period of time are within a threshold range.

10. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first device is configured to: An indication is sent to the second device that the relaxed measurement period is used for the measurement.

11. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device, and the second device comprises a network device.

12. A second device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to at least: configuring a scaling factor for relaxing a measurement period associated with measurements performed by the first device; and The scaling factor is sent to the first device.

13. The second device according to claim 12, wherein the second device is caused to: An indication is sent to the first device that discontinuous transmission (DTX) is enabled by the second device.

14. The second device according to claim 12, wherein the second device is caused to: An indication is received from the first device that the measurement period is relaxed for the measurement.

15. The second device according to any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device, and the second device comprises a network device.

16. A method comprising: Determining, at the first device, a relaxed measurement period associated with measurements performed by the first device in response to determining that discontinuous transmission (DTX) is enabled by the second device; as well as The measuring is performed based on the relaxed measurement period or the non-relaxed measurement period.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: The DTX is determined to be enabled based on an indication received from the second device.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, wherein determining the relaxed measurement period comprises: The relaxed measurement period is determined based on a scaling factor, wherein the scaling factor is determined by the first device taking into account an overlap ratio between a DTX period and at least one of: the measuring gap used for said measurement, One or more signs of the measurement for at least one of: Synchronous signalling block SSB, or Channel State Information Reference Signal CSI-RS, or The SSB measurement timing configures the SMTC periodicity or the CSI-RS periodicity.

19. The method according to claim 18, further comprising: determining whether the measurement gap is configured; In response to determining that the measurement gap is configured, the scaling factor is determined based on a ratio of the SMTC period to a minimum value among the DTX period and a measurement gap periodicity.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising: Based on determining that the measurement gap is not configured, the scaling factor is determined based on a ratio of the SMTC period to the DTX period.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising: Based on determining that the DTX is not configured with a fixed period, determining the overlap ratio by monitoring one of the following: one or more symbols of SSB or CSI-RS muted within a predetermined period after said DTX is enabled, or The SMTC window is muted for the predetermined period after the DTX is enabled.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein determining the relaxed measurement period comprises: The relaxed measurement period is determined based on a scaling factor configured by the second device.

23. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 22, further comprising: determining that the relaxed measurement period is to be used for the measurement based on determining that at least one channel quality criterion is not satisfied; or Based on determining that the at least one channel quality criterion is satisfied, it is determined that the non-relaxed measurement period is to be used for the measurement.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the at least one channel quality criterion comprises at least one of the following: The channel quality is above a threshold level; or The channel quality changes within a predetermined period of time are within a threshold range.

25. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 22, further comprising: An indication is sent to the second device that the relaxed measurement period is used for the measurement.

26. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 25, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.

27. A method comprising: configuring, at the second device, a scaling factor for relaxing a measurement period associated with measurements performed by the first device; as well as The scaling factor is sent to the first device.

28. The method according to claim 27, further comprising: An indication is sent to the first device that discontinuous transmission (DTX) is enabled by the second device.

29. The method of claim 27, further comprising: An indication is received from the first device that the measurement period is relaxed for the measurement.

30. The method according to any one of claims 27 to 29, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.

31. An apparatus comprising: means for determining a relaxed measurement period associated with measurements performed by the first device based on determining that discontinuous transmission (DTX) is enabled by the second device; as well as Means for performing the measurement based on the relaxed measurement period or a non-relaxed measurement period.

32. An apparatus comprising: means for configuring, at the second device, a scaling factor for relaxing a measurement period associated with measurements performed by the first device; as well as Means for sending the scaling factor to the first device.

33. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least perform the method according to any one of claims 16 to 26.

34. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least perform the method according to any one of claims 27 to 30.

Images