User equipment and base station

Abstract

Some exemplary embodiments relate to a user equipment (UE), a base station, and corresponding methods for the UE and the base station. For example, the UE includes a transceiver that receives two or more configuration indicators, each configuration indicator indicating a configuration of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period. The UE also includes, for example, circuitry that causes the transceiver to receive and / or transmit signals based on the two or more configuration indicators. In another example, the UE includes a transceiver that receives an idle mode discontinuous reception (I-DRX) configuration indicator that indicates an I-DRX configuration. The UE further includes, for example, circuitry that causes the transceiver to receive and / or transmit signals during an ON period according to the I-DRX configuration in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle mode, in an RRC inactive mode, and in an RRC connected mode.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the transmission and reception of signals in a communication system, such as a 3GPP communication system. In particular, the present disclosure relates to methods and apparatus for such transmission and reception. Background Art

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is working on technical specifications for the next generation of cellular technology, also known as fifth generation (5G) including "New Radio" (NR) radio access technology (RAT), which operates in the frequency range up to 100 GHz. NR is a follower of technologies represented by Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE Advanced (LTE-A).

[0003] For systems like LTE and NR, further improvements and options may contribute to increased network energy efficiency capabilities. Summary of the invention

[0004] One non-limiting and exemplary embodiment facilitates increasing efficiency in resource usage, particularly in scenarios with periodic traffic.

[0005] In an embodiment, the technology disclosed herein features a user equipment (UE). The UE includes a transceiver that receives two or more configuration indicators in operation, each configuration indicator indicating a configuration of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period. The UE also includes a circuit that causes the transceiver to receive and / or send a signal based on the two or more configuration indicators in operation.

[0006] In another embodiment, the technology disclosed herein features a user equipment (UE). The UE includes a transceiver that receives an I-DRX configuration indicator indicating an idle mode discontinuous reception I-DRX configuration in operation. The UE also includes a circuit that causes the transceiver to receive and / or send signals during an ON period in a radio resource control RRC idle mode, in an RRC inactive mode, and in an RRC connected mode according to the I-DRX configuration in operation.

[0007] It should be noted that the general or specific embodiments may be implemented as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, a storage medium, or any selective combination thereof.

[0008] Additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will become apparent from the description and drawings. Benefits and / or advantages may be obtained individually from the various embodiments and features of the description and drawings, and these embodiments and features do not need to be provided in full in order to obtain one or more such benefits and / or advantages. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments are described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and accompanying drawings.

[0010] Figure 1 An exemplary architecture of a 3GPP NR system is shown;

[0011] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the functional division between NG-RAN and 5GC;

[0012] Figure 3 It is a sequence diagram of the RRC connection establishment / reconfiguration process;

[0013] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating usage scenarios of enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC);

[0014] Figure 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary 5G system architecture for non-roaming;

[0015] Figure 6 A simplified and exemplary implementation of a set of synchronization signal blocks distributed in a half-frame is illustrated.

[0016] Figure 7 Several beams and corresponding SSB indices (SSB1-SSB8) are illustrated as well as how the beams are sent by the gNB in ​​a beam scanning manner.

[0017] Figure 8 A general, simplified and exemplary block diagram of a user equipment and a base station is illustrated.

[0018] Fig. 9 Methods performed by a user equipment and a base station according to exemplary first to fourth embodiments are illustrated.

[0019] Fig.10 A cell-specific C-DRX configuration and multiple C-DRX configurations for corresponding UE groups are illustrated.

[0020] Fig.11 A method performed by a user equipment and a base station according to an exemplary fifth embodiment is illustrated.

[0021] Fig.12 A method according to an embodiment is illustrated, wherein no DCI is used to indicate the DRX configuration to be followed by the UE.

[0022] Fig.13 Another method according to an embodiment is illustrated, wherein DCI is used to indicate a DRX configuration to be followed by the UE. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] 5G NR system architecture and protocol stack

[0024] 3GPP has been working on the next version of the fifth generation of cellular technology, or 5G for short, including the development of new radio access technology (NR) operating in the frequency range up to 100GHz. The first version of the 5G standard was completed at the end of 2017, which allowed the continuation of 5G NR standard-compliant trials and commercial deployment of smartphones.

[0025] The overall system architecture assumes an NG-RAN (Next Generation Radio Access Network) including gNBs, etc., thereby providing NG radio access user plane (SDAP / PDCP / RLC / MAC / PHY) and control plane (RRC) protocol terminations to the UE. The gNBs are interconnected with each other by means of Xn interfaces. The gNB is also connected to the NGC (Next Generation Core) through a Next Generation (NG) interface, and more specifically to the AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) (e.g., a specific core entity that executes the AMF) through a NG-C interface, and to the UPF (User Plane Function) (e.g., a specific core entity that executes the UPF) through a NG-U interface. The NG-RAN architecture is illustrated in Figure 1 (see, for example, 3GPP TS 38.300 v15.6.0, section 4).

[0026] The user plane protocol stack for NR (see, e.g., 3GPP TS 38.300, Section 4.4.1) includes the PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol, see Section 6.4 of TS 38.300), RLC (Radio Link Control, see Section 6.3 of TS 38.300) and MAC (Medium Access Control, see Section 6.2 of TS 38.300) sublayers, which terminate in the gNB on the network side. In addition, a new access stratum (AS) sublayer (SDAP, Service Data Adaptation Protocol) is introduced on top of PDCP (see, e.g., subclause 6.5 of 3GPP TS 38.300). A control plane protocol stack is also defined for NR (see, e.g., TS 38.300, Section 4.4.2). An overview of the Layer 2 functionality is given in subclause 6 of TS 38.300. The functionality of the PDCP, RLC and MAC sublayers is listed in Sections 6.4, 6.3 and 6.2 of TS 38.300, respectively. The functions of the RRC layer are listed in subclause 7 of TS 38.300.

[0027] For example, the medium access control layer handles logical channel multiplexing as well as scheduling and scheduling-related functions, including handling different parameter sets.

[0028] The physical layer (PHY) is responsible for, for example, decoding, PHY HARQ processing, modulation, multi-antenna processing, and mapping of signals to appropriate physical time-frequency resources. It also handles the mapping of transport channels to physical channels. The physical layer provides services to the MAC layer in the form of transport channels. A physical channel corresponds to a set of time-frequency resources used for the transmission of a specific transport channel, and each transport channel is mapped to a corresponding physical channel. For example, the physical channels are PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel), PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) and PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) for uplink and PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) and PBCH (Physical Broadcast Channel) for downlink.

[0029] NR use cases / deployment scenarios can include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), massive machine type communications (mMTC), which have different requirements in terms of data rate, latency and coverage. For example, eMBB is expected to support peak data rates (20Gbps for downlink and 10Gbps for uplink) and user-experienced data rates that are about three times that provided by IMT-Advanced. On the other hand, in the case of URLLC, there is a demand for ultra-low latency (0.5ms for both UL and DL for user plane latency) and high reliability (1-10ms within 1ms). -5 ) puts forward more stringent requirements. Finally, mMTC may preferably require high connection density (1,000,000 devices / km in urban environments) 2 ), large coverage in harsh environments, and extremely long battery life (15 years) for low-cost devices.

[0030] Therefore, an OFDM parameter set (e.g., subcarrier spacing, OFDM symbol duration, cyclic prefix (CP) duration, number of symbols per scheduling interval) that is suitable for one use case may not be well suited for another use case. For example, low-latency services may preferably require shorter symbol duration (and therefore larger subcarrier spacing) and / or fewer symbols per scheduling interval (a.k.a. TTI) compared to mMTC services. Furthermore, deployment scenarios with large channel delay spread may preferably require longer CP duration than scenarios with short delay spread. The subcarrier spacing should be optimized accordingly to retain similar CP overhead. NR can support more than one value of subcarrier spacing. Accordingly, subcarrier spacings of 15kHz, 30kHz, 60kHz, ... are currently being considered. Symbol duration T u and subcarrier spacing Δf by the formula Δf = 1 / T uIn a similar manner as in the LTE system, the term "resource element" may be used to denote a minimum resource unit consisting of one subcarrier of the length of one OFDM / SC-FDMA symbol.

[0031] In the new radio system 5G-NR, for each parameter set and carrier, a resource grid of subcarriers and OFDM symbols is defined for uplink and downlink, respectively. Each element in the resource grid is called a resource element and is identified based on a frequency index in the frequency domain and a symbol position in the time domain (see 3GPP TS 38.211, e.g., v17.1.0, e.g., Section 4). For example, downlink and uplink transmissions are organized into frames with a duration of 10ms, each frame consisting of ten subframes of a duration of 1ms respectively. In a 5G NR implementation, the number of consecutive OFDM symbols per subframe depends on the subcarrier spacing configuration. For example, for a 15-kHz subcarrier spacing, a subframe has 14 OFDM symbols (similar to an implementation compliant with LTE, assuming a normal cyclic prefix). On the other hand, for a 30-kHz subcarrier spacing, a subframe has two slots, each slot including 14 OFDM symbols.

[0032] 5G NR functional division between NG-RAN and 5GC

[0033] Figure 2 The functional division between NG-RAN and 5GC is illustrated. The NG-RAN logical node is gNB or ng-eNB. 5GC has logical nodes AMF, UPF and SMF.

[0034] In particular, gNB and ng-eNB host the following key functions:

[0035] - Functions for radio resource management, such as radio bearer control, radio admission control, connection mobility control, dynamic allocation of resources to UEs in both uplink and downlink (scheduling);

[0036] -IP header compression, encryption and integrity protection of data;

[0037] - When the route to the AMF cannot be determined from the information provided by the UE, the AMF is selected at UE attach;

[0038] - Routing of user plane data towards UPF(s);

[0039] - Routing of control plane information to AMF;

[0040] -Connection establishment and release;

[0041] - Scheduling and transmission of paging messages;

[0042] - Scheduling and transmission of system broadcast information (originating from AMF or OAM);

[0043] - Measurements and measurement reporting configuration for mobility and scheduling;

[0044] -Transport level packet marking in uplink;

[0045] -Session management;

[0046] - Network slicing support;

[0047] -QoS flow management and mapping to data radio bearers;

[0048] - Support for UEs in RRC_INACTIVE state;

[0049] -NAS message distribution function;

[0050] - Radio access network sharing;

[0051] -Dual connectivity;

[0052] - Tight interworking between NR and E-UTRA.

[0053] The Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) hosts the following key functions:

[0054] - Non-access layer NAS signaling termination;

[0055] -NAS signaling security;

[0056] -Access layer AS security control;

[0057] - Intra-core network CN node signalling for mobility between 3GPP access networks;

[0058] - Idle mode UE reachability (including control and execution of paging retransmissions);

[0059] -Registration area management;

[0060] -Support for intra-system and inter-system mobility;

[0061] - Access authentication;

[0062] - Access authorization, including roaming permission checks;

[0063] - Mobility management control (subscription and policy);

[0064] - Network slicing support;

[0065] -Session management function SMF selection.

[0066] Additionally, the User Plane Function (UPF) hosts the following key functions:

[0067] - Anchor point for intra / inter-RAT mobility (when applicable);

[0068] - External PDU session points interconnected with the data network;

[0069] -Packet routing and forwarding;

[0070] -Packet inspection and user plane part of policy rule enforcement;

[0071] - Traffic usage report;

[0072] - Uplink classifier that supports routing traffic flows to data networks;

[0073] -Support branching points for multi-host PDU sessions;

[0074] - QoS processing in the user plane, such as packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement;

[0075] - Uplink information flow verification (SDF to QoS flow mapping);

[0076] - Downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering.

[0077] -Finally, the Session Management Function SMF hosts the following main functions:

[0078] -Session management;

[0079] -UE IP address allocation and management;

[0080] -Selection and control of UP function;

[0081] -Configure traffic steering at the User Plane Function (UPF) to route traffic to the appropriate destination;

[0082] -Policy implementation and QoS control part;

[0083] - Downlink data notification.

[0084] RRC connection establishment and reconfiguration process

[0085] Figure 3 Some interactions between the UE, gNB and AMF (5GC entity) in the context of the UE transitioning from RRC_IDLE to RRC_CONNECTED for the NAS part are illustrated (see e.g. TS 38.300 v15.6.0).

[0086] RRC is a high-layer signaling (protocol) used for UE and gNB configuration. Specifically, the transition involves the AMF preparing UE context data (including, for example, PDU session context, security keys, UE radio capabilities and UE security capabilities, etc.) and sending it to the gNB along with an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST. The gNB then activates AS security with the UE, which is performed by the gNB sending a SecurityModeCommand message to the UE and the UE responding to the gNB with a SecurityModeComplete message. Thereafter, the gNB performs reconfiguration to set up signaling radio bearer 2 SRB2 and (one or more) data radio bearers DRB by sending an RRCReconfiguration message to the UE and receiving an RRCReconfigurationComplete from the UE by the gNB in ​​response. For a signaling-only connection, the steps related to RRCReconfiguration are skipped since SRB2 and DRB are not set up. Finally, the gNB notifies the AMF that the establishment process is complete with an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE.

[0087] Therefore, in the present disclosure, an entity (e.g., AMF, SMF, etc.) of a fifth generation core (5GC) is provided, which includes a control circuit and a transmitter, the control circuit establishes a next generation (NG) connection with a gNodeB in operation, and the transmitter sends an initial context establishment message to the gNodeB via the NG connection in operation to cause a signaling radio bearer establishment between the gNodeB and a user equipment (UE). Specifically, the gNodeB sends a radio resource control RRC signaling containing a resource allocation configuration information element to the UE via the signaling radio bearer. Then, the UE performs uplink transmission or downlink reception based on the resource allocation configuration.

[0088] IMT use cases in 2020 and beyond

[0089] Figure 4 Some use cases for 5G NR are illustrated. In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project New Radio (3GPP NR), three use cases that have been envisioned by IMT-2020 to support a wide variety of services and applications are being considered. Specifications for Phase 1 of enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) have been included. In addition to further extending eMBB support, current and future work will also involve standardization of ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC) and massive machine-type communications. Figure 4 Some examples of envisaged usage scenarios for IMT for 2020 and beyond are illustrated (see for example ITU-R M.2083 Figure 2 ).

[0090] URLLC use cases have stringent requirements on capabilities such as throughput, latency, and availability, and have been envisioned as one of the enablers of future vertical applications such as wireless control of industrial manufacturing or production processes, telemedicine surgery, distribution automation in smart grids, transportation safety, etc. The ultra-reliability of URLLC will be supported by identifying technologies that meet the requirements set by TR 38.913. For NR URLLC in Release 15, the key requirements include a target user plane latency of 0.5ms for UL (uplink) and a target user plane latency of 0.5ms for DL ​​(downlink). The general URLLC requirement for one transmission of a packet is a BLER (block error rate) of 1E-5 for a packet size of 32 bytes, with a user plane latency of 1ms.

[0091] From a physical layer perspective, reliability can be improved in a number of possible ways. The current scope for improving reliability involves defining a separate CQI table for URLLC, a more compact DCI format, repetition of PDCCH, etc. However, as NR becomes more stable and developed (a key requirement for NR URLLC), the scope for achieving ultra-reliability may widen. Specific use cases for NR URLLC in Rel.15 include augmented reality / virtual reality (AR / VR), e-health, e-safety, and mission-critical applications.

[0092] In addition, the technical enhancements targeted by NR URLLC are aimed at delay improvement and reliability improvement. Technical enhancements for delay improvement include configurable parameter sets, non-slot-based scheduling with flexible mapping, grant-free (configured grant) uplink, slot-level repetition for data channels, and downlink preemption. Preemption means stopping the transmission for which resources have been allocated, and the allocated resources are used for another transmission that has been requested later, but with lower latency / higher priority requirements. Therefore, the authorized transmission is preempted by the later transmission. Preemption can be applied independently of a specific service type. For example, a transmission for service type A (URLLC) can be used for transmission preemption of service type B (such as eMBB). Technical enhancements for reliability improvement include a dedicated CQI / MCS table for a target BLER of 1E-5.

[0093] The use case of mMTC (Massive Machine Type Communications) is characterized by a very large number of connected devices that typically send relatively small amounts of non-delay sensitive data. The devices are required to be low-cost and have very long battery life. From the NR perspective, utilizing very narrow bandwidth portions is a possible solution to save energy from the UE's perspective and achieve long battery life.

[0094] As mentioned above, the range of reliability in NR is expected to widen. A key requirement in all cases (especially required for URLLC and mMTC) is high reliability or ultra-reliability. Several mechanisms can be considered to improve reliability from a radio perspective and a network perspective. In general, there are several key potential areas that can help improve reliability. These areas include compact control channel information, data / control channel repetition, and diversity with respect to frequency, time and / or spatial domains. These areas are generally applicable to reliability, regardless of the specific communication scenario.

[0095] For NR URLLC, other use cases with more stringent requirements have been identified, such as factory automation, transportation industry, and power distribution. The more stringent requirements are higher reliability (up to 10 -6 level), higher availability, packet sizes up to 256 bytes, time synchronization down to the order of a few μs, where the value can be 1 μs or a few μs depending on the frequency range, and short latencies of around 0.5 to 1 ms depending on the use case, in particular a target user plane latency of 0.5 ms.

[0096] In addition, for NR URLLC, several technical enhancements from a physical layer perspective have been identified. These include PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) enhancements related to compact DCI, PDCCH repetition, and increased PDCCH monitoring. In addition, UCI (Uplink Control Information) enhancements are related to enhanced HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) and CSI feedback enhancements. In addition, PUSCH enhancements related to mini-slot level hopping and retransmission / repetition enhancements have been identified. The term "mini-slot" refers to a transmission time interval (TTI) that includes a smaller number of symbols than a slot (a slot including fourteen symbols).

[0097] QoS Control

[0098] The 5G QoS (Quality of Service) model is based on QoS flows and supports both QoS flows that require guaranteed flow bit rate (GBR QoS flows) and QoS flows that do not require guaranteed flow bit rate (non-GBR QoS flows). At the NAS level, QoS flows are therefore the finest granularity of QoS differentiation in a PDU session. QoS flows are identified within a PDU session by the QoS Flow ID (QFI) carried in the encapsulation header on the NG-U interface.

[0099] For each UE, the 5GC establishes one or more PDU Sessions. For each UE, the NG-RAN establishes at least one Data Radio Bearer (DRB) together with the PDU Session, and may subsequently configure (one or more) additional DRBs for (one or more) QoS flows of that PDU Session (depending on when the NG-RAN does so), e.g. as described above with reference to Figure 3 As shown in Figure 2. NG-RAN maps packets belonging to different PDU sessions to different DRBs. NAS-level packet filters in UE and 5GC associate UL and DL packets with QoS flows, while AS-level mapping rules in UE and NG-RAN associate UL and DL QoS flows with DRBs.

[0100] Figure 5 The 5G NR non-roaming reference architecture is illustrated (see TS 23.501 v16.1.0, section 4.23). Figure 4 The application function (AF) exemplarily described in (e.g., an external application server hosting 5G services) interacts with the 3GPP core network to provide services, such as to support the impact of applications on traffic routing, access network exposure functions (NEF), or interact with the policy framework for policy control (see Policy Control Function, PCF), such as QoS control. Based on operator deployment, application functions that are considered to be trusted by the operator may be allowed to interact directly with related network functions. Application functions that are not allowed by the operator to directly access network functions interact with related network functions using an external exposure framework via NEF.

[0101] Figure 5 Other functional units of the 5G architecture are shown, namely, the network slice selection function (NSSF), the network repository function (NRF), the unified data management (UDM), the authentication server function (AUSF), the access and mobility management function (AMF), the session management function (SMF) and the data network (DN), such as operator services, Internet access or third-party services. All or part of the core network functions and application services can be deployed and run on a cloud computing environment.

[0102] Therefore, in the present disclosure, an application server (e.g., AF of a 5G architecture) is provided, the application server including a transmitter and a control circuit, the transmitter sending a request containing QoS requirements of at least one of URLLC, eMMB, and mMTC services to at least one of the functions of 5GC (e.g., NEF, AMF, SMF, PCF, UPF, etc.) in operation to establish a PDU session including a radio bearer between a gNodeB and a UE according to the QoS requirements, and the control circuit using the established PDU session to perform the service in operation.

[0103] Control Signal

[0104] In the present disclosure, the downlink control signal (information) related to the present disclosure may be a signal (information) transmitted through the PDCCH of the physical layer, or may be a signal (information) transmitted through a higher layer MAC control element (CE) or RRC. The downlink control signal may be a predefined signal (information).

[0105] The uplink control signal (information) related to the present disclosure may be a signal (information) transmitted through the PUCCH of the physical layer, or may be a signal (information) transmitted through the MAC CE or RRC of a higher layer. In addition, the uplink control signal may be a predefined signal (information). The uplink control signal may be replaced by uplink control information (UCI), first-stage sidelink control information (SCI), or second-stage SCI.

[0106] Base Station

[0107] In the present disclosure, a base station may be, for example, a transmission reception point (TRP), a cluster head, an access point, a remote radio head (RRH), an eNodeB (eNB), a gNodeB (gNB), a base station (BS), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base station unit, or a gateway. In addition, in sidelink communication, a terminal may be used instead of a base station. A base station may be a relay device that relays communication between a higher node and a terminal. A base station may also be a roadside unit.

[0108] Uplink / Downlink / Sidelink

[0109] The present disclosure may be applied to any one of an uplink, a downlink, and a sidelink.

[0110] The present disclosure can be applied to, for example, uplink channels (such as PUSCH, PUCCH and PRACH), downlink channels (such as PDSCH, PDCCH and PBCH), and sidelink channels (such as physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) and physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH)).

[0111] PDCCH, PDSCH, PUSCH and PUCCH are examples of downlink control channels, downlink data channels, uplink data channels and uplink control channels, respectively. PSCCH and PSSCH are examples of sidelink control channels and sidelink data channels, respectively. PBCH and PSBCH are examples of broadcast channels, respectively, and PRACH is an example of a random access channel.

[0112] Data channel / control channel

[0113] The present disclosure may be applied to any one of a data channel and a control channel. The channels in the present disclosure may be replaced with data channels including PDSCH, PUSCH and PSSCH and / or control channels including PDCCH, PUCCH, PBCH, PSCCH and PSBCH.

[0114] Reference signal

[0115] In the present disclosure, a reference signal is a signal known to both a base station and a mobile station, and each reference signal may be referred to as a reference signal (RS) or sometimes referred to as a pilot signal. The reference signal may be any one of a DMRS, a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), and a sounding reference signal (SRS).

[0116] Time interval

[0117] In the present disclosure, the time resource unit is not limited to one or a combination of a time slot and a symbol, and may be a time resource unit such as a frame, a superframe, a subframe, a time slot, a time slot subslot, a microslot, or a time resource unit such as a symbol, an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, a single carrier frequency division multiplexing access (SC-FDMA) symbol, or other time resource units. The number of symbols included in a time slot is not limited to any number of symbols exemplified in the (one or more) embodiments described above, and may be other numbers of symbols.

[0118] frequency band

[0119] The present disclosure may be applied to any of the licensed and unlicensed frequency bands.

[0120] communication

[0121] The present disclosure can be applied to any one of the communication between a base station and a terminal (Uu-link communication), the communication between a terminal and a terminal (side link communication), and the vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication. The channels in the present disclosure can be replaced by PSCCH, PSSCH, physical side link feedback channel (PSFCH), PSBCH, PDCCH, PUCCH, PDSCH, PUSCH, and PBCH.

[0122] In addition, the present disclosure can also be applied to any network in a terrestrial network or a network other than a terrestrial network using a satellite or a high altitude pseudo satellite (HAPS) (NTN: Non-Terrestrial Network). In addition, the present disclosure can be applied to a network with a large cell size, and a terrestrial network with a large delay compared to a symbol length or a time slot length, such as an ultra-wideband transmission network.

[0123] Antenna Port

[0124] An antenna port refers to a logical antenna (antenna group) formed by one or more physical antennas. In other words, an antenna port does not necessarily refer to one physical antenna, and sometimes refers to an array antenna formed by multiple antennas, etc. For example, it is not defined how many physical antennas form an antenna port, but the antenna port is defined as the minimum unit through which the terminal is allowed to send a reference signal. The antenna port can also be defined as the minimum unit for multiplication of precoding vector weights.

[0125] Downlink control channel monitoring PDCCH DCI

[0126] Many functions operated by the UE involve monitoring a downlink control channel (eg, PDCCH, see 3GPP TS 38.300 v15.6.0, section 5.2.3) to receive, for example, specific control information or data destined for the UE.

[0127] A non-exhaustive list of these features is given below:

[0128] -Paging message monitoring function,

[0129] -System information acquisition function,

[0130] -Signaling monitoring operation for discontinuous reception (DRX) function,

[0131] - Inactive monitoring operation for discontinuous reception (DRX) functionality,

[0132] - Random access response reception for random access function,

[0133] -Reordering function of the Packet Data Convergence Protocol PDCP layer.

[0134] As described above, PDCCH monitoring is performed by the UE in order to identify and receive information intended for the UE, such as control information and user traffic (eg, DCI on the PDCCH, and user data on the PDSCH indicated by the PDCCH).

[0135] The control information in the downlink (which may be referred to as downlink control information DCI) has the same purpose in 5G NR as DCI in LTE, i.e., a special set of control information for scheduling downlink data channels (e.g., PDSCH) or uplink data channels (e.g., PUSCH). In 5G NR, many different DCI formats have been defined (see TS38.212v15.6.0 Section 7.3.1).

[0136] The DCI format indicates a predetermined format for forming and transmitting corresponding information. Specifically, DCI formats 0_1 and 1_1 are used for scheduling PUSCH and PDSCH in one cell, respectively.

[0137] The PDCCH monitoring of each of these functions is used for a specific purpose and therefore starts and ends as described. PDCCH monitoring is usually controlled based on at least a timer operated by the UE. The timer has the purpose of controlling PDCCH monitoring, such as limiting the maximum amount of time the UE monitors the PDCCH. For example, the UE may not need to monitor the PDCCH indefinitely, but may stop monitoring after a period of time in order to save energy.

[0138] As mentioned above, one of the purposes of DCI on PDCCH is the dynamic scheduling of resources in the downlink or uplink or even the sidelink. Specifically, some formats of DCI are provided to carry an indication of the resources (resource allocation RA) allocated to the data channel for a specific user. Resource allocation may include the specification of resources in the frequency domain and / or time domain.

[0139] Control Information - Search Space Set

[0140] PDCCH monitoring is done by the UE in order to identify and receive information intended for the UE, such as control information and user traffic (eg, DCI on the PDCCH, and user data on the PDSCH indicated by the PDCCH).

[0141] The control information in the downlink (which may be referred to as, for example, downlink control information DCI) has essentially the same purpose in 5GNR as DCI in LTE, namely a special set of control information for, for example, scheduling a downlink data channel (e.g., PDSCH) or an uplink data channel (e.g., PUSCH). In an exemplary 5G NR-compatible implementation, a number of different DCI formats have been defined (see TS 38.212, e.g., v17.1.0 Section 7.3.1). The following table gives an overview.

[0142]

[0143]

[0144] In 5G NR, PDCCH is sent in a radio resource region called a control resource set (CORESET). In LTE, the concept of CORESET does not exist explicitly. Instead, PDCCH in LTE uses the full carrier bandwidth in the first 1-3 OFDM symbols (four for the narrowest case). In contrast, CORESET in 5G NR can occur anywhere within a timeslot and anywhere in the frequency range of the carrier, except for CORESETs that the UE is not expected to process outside its active bandwidth part (BWP).

[0145] Therefore, the UE performs a monitoring operation of the PDCCH, for example, as defined in Sections 10 and 11 of 3GPP TS 38.213 (e.g., Version 17.1.0). As exemplarily defined therein, the UE monitors a set of PDCCH candidates defined according to a PDCCH search space set. The search space set may be a common search space set (CSS set) or a UE-specific search space set (USS set).

[0146] As exemplarily defined in 3GPP TS 38.213 section 10.1, the UE monitors PDCCH candidates in one or more of the following CSS and USS sets:

[0147] - For DCI formats with CRC scrambled by SI-RNTI on the primary cell of the MCG, Type0-PDCCH CSS set configured by pdcch-ConfigSIB1 in the MIB or by searchSpaceSIB1 in PDCCH-ConfigCommon or by searchSpaceZero in PDCCH-ConfigCommon

[0148] - For DCI formats with CRC scrambled by SI-RNTI on the primary cell of the MCG, Type0A-PDCCH CSS set configured by searchSpaceOtherSystemInformation in PDCCH-ConfigCommon

[0149] - For DCI formats with CRC scrambled by RA-RNTI, MsgB-RNTI or TC-RNTI on the primary cell, the Type1-PDCCH CSS set configured by ra-SearchSpace in PDCCH-ConfigCommon

[0150] - Type2 configured by pagingSearchSpace in PDCCH-ConfigCommon for DCI format with CRC scrambled by P-RNTI on the primary cell of the MCG -

[0151] PDCCH CSS Set

[0152] -For the INT-RNTI, SFI-RNTI, TPC-PUSCH-RNTI, TPC-PUCCH-

[0153] CRC scrambled by RNTI, TPC-SRS-RNTI or CI-RNTI and used only for DCI formats of primary cell, C-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI, CS-RNTI or PS-RNTI, Type3-PDCCH CSS set by SearchSpace configuration with searchSpaceType=common in PDCCH-Config, and

[0154] -For C-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI, SP-CSI-RNTI, CS-RNTI, SL-

[0155] The DCI format of the CRC scrambled by RNTI, SL-CS-RNTI or SL semi-persistent scheduling V-RNTI, and the USS set configured by the SearchSpace with searchSpaceType=ue-Specific in PDCCH-Config.

[0156] The search space sets are monitored in one or more CORESETs on the active DL BWP on each activated serving cell configured with PDCCH monitoring using the corresponding search space sets, where monitoring means decoding each PDCCH candidate according to the monitored DCI format.

[0157] Time Domain in 5G NR

[0158] In the time domain, transmissions in 5G NR are organized into frames of length 10ms, each of which is divided into 10 equally sized subframes of length 1ms. A subframe is in turn divided into one or more slots, each consisting of 14 OFDM symbols. The duration of a slot in milliseconds depends on the parameter set. For example, for a 15kHz subcarrier spacing, the NR slot therefore has the same structure as an LTE subframe with a normal cyclic prefix. The subframe in 5G NR serves as a time reference independent of the parameter set, which is especially useful in cases where multiple parameters are mixed on the same carrier, while the slot is a typical dynamic scheduling unit.

[0159] 5G NR provides multiple slot formats, and the slot format indicates how each symbol within a single slot is used. It defines which symbols within a specific slot are used for uplink and which symbols are used for downlink. In LTE TDD, if a subframe (equivalent to a slot in NR) is configured for DL ​​or UL, all symbols within the subframe should be used as DL or UL. But in NR, each of the symbols within a slot can be configured differently as DL or UL. There are also flexible symbols that can be configured as DL or UL. In an exemplary 5G NR compatible implementation, the gNB uses a slot format indicator (SFI) to inform the UE of the slot format to be used (see also TS 38.213v16.7.0 Section 11.1.1). For example, the slot format indicator includes an index value associated with the slot format (e.g., in the form of a table).

[0160] Synchronization signal block measurement timing configuration - SMTC-PSS / SSS, PBCH

[0161] NR has introduced the so-called synchronization signal block, SS block (SSB), which includes the primary synchronization signal (PSS), the secondary synchronization signal (SSS) and the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) (actually PBCH DMRS and PBCH data). The UE can use PSS and SSS to find, synchronize and identify the network. PBCH carries a minimum amount of system information, including an indication of the remaining broadcast system information.

[0162] In LTE, the three signals, PSS, SSS and PBCH, are also used, although not as part of one SSB. The three SSB components are always sent together in NR, i.e., they have the same periodicity. A given SSB may be repeated within an SS burst set, which can potentially be used for gNB beam scanning transmissions. SS burst sets may be restricted to a specific time period, such as a 5ms window (half frame). For initial cell selection, the UE may assume a default SS burst set periodicity of 20ms.

[0163] 5G NR PSS is a physical layer specific signal used to identify radio frame boundaries and is a type of m-sequence. 5GNR SSS is also a physical layer specific signal used to identify subframe boundaries and is also an m-sequence. The PSS / SSS sequence is defined in 3GPP TS38.212 and is a complex value used by each element / sample of the sequence. Information on the current exemplary 5G implementation of PSS and SSS can be obtained from TS 38.211v16.7.0 Sections 7.4.2 and 7.4.3, including the corresponding sequence generation and mapping to physical resources.

[0164] The time-frequency structure of the SS / PBCH block carrying the SSS is described in TS 38.211 Section 7.4.3.1. In such an exemplary 5G implementation, in the time domain, the SS / PBCH block consists of 4 OFDM symbols, numbered in increasing order from 0 to 3. The distribution of the PSS, SSS and PBCH signals within the SS / PBCH block is defined by Table 7.4.3.1-1.

[0165] In the frequency domain, an SS / PBCH block consists of 240 consecutive subcarriers, indexed from 0 to 239. The exact subcarriers used for each PSS, SSS, and PBCH signal within an SS / PBCH block are also defined by 7.4.3.1-1.

[0166] exist Figure 6 A simplified and exemplary illustration of SSB according to the above definition is illustrated in Figure 6 The PSS, SSS and PBCH in the time and frequency domains are shown at the bottom.

[0167] Timing of SS blocks sent by gNB (OFDM symbols) (see Figure 6 ) may be defined differently. Specifically, the first symbol index at which a candidate SSB starts (within each half-frame with an SSB) is determined according to 3GPP 38.213 v16.7.0 section 4.1 "Cell Search". In this example 5G NR implementation, the first symbol index depends on the SCS (e.g., 15kHz, 30kHz, 120kHz, 240kHz), the type of channel access (e.g., without shared spectrum channel access, with shared spectrum channel access), and the carrier frequency (e.g., <3GHz, >3GHz, <1.88GHz, >1.88GHz, <6GHz, >6GHz). Figure 6 An example set of example SSBs is illustrated in FIG, assuming that the starting OFDM symbols are 2, 8, 16, 22, 30, 36, 44, and 50 (the case where SCS=30kHz and frequency>3GHz), where the relevant OFDM symbol number starts with 0 in the half frame. The number of SSBs in the SSB set can also be limited to a maximum of Lmax. In one example, the SSB set can include 4, 8, or 64 SSBs.

[0168] The time domain period can be defined in ServingCellConfigCommon or ServingCellConfigCommon SIB IE using the field ssb-periodictyServingCell in the values ​​ms5, ms10, ms20, ms40, ms80, ms160.

[0169] The candidate SS / PBCH blocks in a half-frame (e.g., referred to as an SSB set) are indexed in ascending order from 0 to Lmax-1 in time. Accordingly, each SSB within the SSB set is assigned a unique number (starting from 0 and increasing by 1).

[0170] Above Figure 6 The SSB set illustrated in the figure shows a situation where all possible candidate SSBs are actually sent by the base station. However, it is not required to send all SSBs. Instead, the gNB can select only some of those SSBs in the SSB set based on some requirements and send them. The SSBs actually sent by the SSB can be called an SSB pattern. The SSB pattern has substantially the same characteristics as the corresponding SSB set, including periodicity.

[0171] The gNB informs the UE about the SSB mode, i.e. which SSBs are actually sent and which are not. This can be done, for example, by the gNB sending an SSB bitmap that defines the SSB mode, where each bit of the SSB bitmap

[0172] The length of the SSB bitmap depends on the applicable SSB set, for example, 4, 8 or 64 bits.

[0173] According to one example option, the information element ssb-PositionsInBurst of the RRC protocol can be sent as part of the ServingCellConfigCommon and ServingCellConfigCommonSIB information elements (see 3GPP TS 38.331 v16.6.0, section 6.3.2). The ssb-PositionsInBurst IE indicates the time domain position of the SSBs transmitted in the SS burst. A bitmap can be used to indicate, for example, {1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1} means that all 8 SSBs of the set are transmitted, or {1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0} means that only 4 of the 8 SSBs of the set, specifically with SSB indices #0, 2, 4, 6, are transmitted.

[0174] Here are two examples:

[0175]

[0176] Among the SSBs defined in different bandwidth parts, one of them is defined as a cell-defining SSB, which is an SSB associated with RMSI (Remaining Minimum System Information).

[0177] In short, a set of candidate SSBs is configured to be used by the gNB in ​​the cell. Furthermore, among the set of candidate SSBs, the gNB can then select all or fewer of the candidate SSBs to actually transmit, known as the SSB mode.

[0178] In one example, the UE may be informed of the transmission power to be used by the gNB for transmission of SSBs by a higher layer parameter ss-PBCH-BlockPower which may be found in TS 38.331. It defines the average EPRE (Energy per Resource Element) of resource elements carrying secondary synchronization signals used by the gNB for SSB transmissions in dBm (see also TS 38.213, clause 7). The UE assumes that SSS, PBCH DM-RS and PBCH data have the same EPRE. The UE may assume that the ratio of PSS EPRE to SSS EPRE in an SS / PBCH block is 0 dB or 3 dB.

[0179] All SSBs can be sent using all beams in the system. Alternatively, the SSBs can be sent in different beams, for example when SSB beamforming is enabled. In this case, each SSB is sent on a different spatial beam, such as Figure 7 Similar to Figure 6 Assume for example that there are 8 SSBs (0-7) that can be sent in different beams, respectively, and each beam is sent in a different beam direction. Therefore, a beam scanning transmission form of SSB is implemented; in other words, the scanning transmission of the beams (and SSBs) is time division multiplexed and occurs at different times. Two UEs (UE1 and UE2) will receive different SSBs at different times. Each beam has a beam index, for example, where the beam index corresponds to the SSB index sent via the beam.

[0180] The UE uses SSB, in particular SSB signals of different mechanisms (eg, PSS, SSS, PBCH), such as for serving cell measurement, time / frequency synchronization, etc.

[0181] Quasi Co-location (QCL) / Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI)

[0182] According to the definition of QCL in Section 5.1.5 of TS38.214, the UE can be configured with a list of up to M TCI state configurations within the high-level parameter PDSCH-Config to decode the PDSCH based on a detected PDCCH with DCI intended for the UE and a given serving cell, where M depends on the UE capability maxNumberConfiguredTCIstatesPerCC. Each TCI state contains parameters for configuring a quasi-co-location relationship between one or two downlink reference signals (RS) and the DM-RS ports of the PDSCH, the DM-RS ports of the PDCCH, or the CSI-RS ports of the CSI-RS resources. The quasi-co-location relationship is configured by the high-level parameters qcl-Type1 for the first DL RS and qcl-Type2 for the second DL RS (if configured). For the case of two DL RSs, the QCL type should not be the same, regardless of whether the reference is to the same DL RS or different DL RSs. The quasi-co-location type corresponding to each DL RS is given by the high-level parameter qcl-Type in QCL-Info and can take one of the following values:

[0183] - 'QCL-TypeA': {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread}

[0184] - 'QCL-TypeB': {Doppler shift, Doppler spread}

[0185] - 'QCL-TypeC': {Doppler shift, average delay}

[0186] - 'QCL-TypeD': {spatial Rx parameters}

[0187] When an RS (or an RS resource as described above) is quasi co-located (QCL) with an SSB index, the SSB index may also be referred to as a QCL reference of the RS (resource). Similarly, when an RS is quasi co-located (QCL) with an SSB beam, the SSB beam may also be referred to as a QCL reference of the RS. In general, one, more than one, or each of the configured RSs may be quasi co-located (QCL) with a corresponding SSB.

[0188] Specifically, the QCL reference of the signaling including the availability indication may be the SSB index of the SSB quasi-co-located (QCL) with the signaling. Figure 7 As shown, there are 8 SSB / beams #0 to #7. Each of the SSB / beams may include availability signaling (eg, L1 indication). Therefore, the signaling has QLC references #0 to #7, respectively.

[0189] It should also be noted that the index of an SSB or SSB index can be, for example, (i) an SSB index expressed by an absolute number (e.g., an absolute and consecutive numbering count of SSB indices starting from a first index of 0); (ii) the SSB index of the beam actually transmitted, which is indicated by ssb-PositionsInBurst in SIB1; (iii) the SSB index of the indicated (e.g., indicated by SIB or RRC) QCL; (iv) the index of the beam that transmits / carries the SSB (i.e., beam index).

[0190] In 5G NR, the transmission configuration indication (TCI) state is used to establish a quasi co-location (QCL) connection between a target reference signal (RS) and a source RS. The TCI state is configured for the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) to convey the QCL indication for the corresponding RS.

[0191] UE energy saving enhancements for NR

[0192] User experience is key to the success of 5G / NR, not only in terms of experienced data rate and latency, but importantly, UE power consumption. Therefore, UE energy saving enhancements are critical to the success of 5G / NR. In Rel-16, several useful energy saving schemes are specified, including power saving signaling / DCI as an enhancement to connected mode DRX (cDRX or C-DRX), additional adaptation of the maximum number of MIMO layers, SCell sleep behavior and cross-slot scheduling as an enhancement to the BWP framework, RRM relaxation as an enhancement to idle / inactive mode power consumption, and UE assistance information.

[0193] In Rel-17, additional enhancements are needed to address outstanding issues in Rel-16, including idle / inactive mode power consumption in NR SA deployments, considering both eMBB UEs and reduced capability NR devices, connected mode power consumption for FR2 deployments, etc. One specific example is to study and specify an extension to Rel-16 DCI-based power saving adaptation during DRX active time for active BWP, including PDCCH monitoring reduction when C-DRX is configured (RAN1).

[0194] Another energy saving research item relates to XR specific energy saving in RAN 1 and RAN 2. Specifically, energy saving techniques are studied for XR (Extended Reality), for example to adapt to XR service characteristics such as periodicity, multiple flows, jitter, delay, reliability, etc. One technique may involve enhancing PDCCH monitoring. A further research item related to XR relates to XR specific capacity improvements in RAN 1 and RAN 2, and involves studying mechanisms to provide more efficient resource allocation and scheduling for XR service characteristics such as periodicity, multiple flows, jitter, delay, reliability, etc. Techniques may involve SPS and CG enhancements and dynamic scheduling / grant enhancements.

[0195] Energy saving can be achieved for UE, including mechanisms for:

[0196] UE-specific BWP adaptation and use of dormant SCells (using DCI format 0_1 ​​(for UL) and DCI format 1_1 (for DL),

[0197] UE or UE group specific time domain adaptation via DRX and using DCI format 2_6

[0198] UE group specific CSI-RS / TRS availability indication for IDLE / INACTIVE UEs via DCI format 2_7 and paging

[0199] • DCI-based PDCCH monitoring adaptation through PDCCH skipping and SSSG (Search Space Set Group) switching.

[0200] Discontinuous Reception - DRX

[0201] Packet data is typically highly bursty with occasional silent periods. From a latency perspective, it is beneficial to permanently monitor downlink control signaling to receive uplink grants or downlink data transmissions and react instantaneously to changes in traffic behavior. At the same time, this comes at the expense of power consumption at the device. To reduce device power consumption, a mechanism for discontinuous reception (DRX) may be included.

[0202] The basic mechanism of DRX is a configurable DRX cycle in the device. With the DRX cycle configured, the device monitors downlink control signaling only in the active period of each DRX cycle and sleeps in the remaining inactive periods with the receiver circuitry turned off. This allows a significant reduction in power consumption. Naturally, this implies a restriction on the scheduler, since the device can only be addressed in the ON period.

[0203] The DRX cycle can be configured in the LTE downlink so that the UE does not have to decode the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) or receive Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmissions during certain periods by periodically turning off the receiver, as defined, for example, in 3GPP TS 36.321 ("Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Medium Access Control (MAC) Protocol Specification", Release 15.5.0, Section 5.7) for connected mode and 3GPP TS 36.304 ("Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); User Equipment (UE) procedures in idle mode", Release 15.3.0, Section 7.1) for idle mode.

[0204] According to the 3GPP TS 38.321v15.5.0 specification, when the DRX cycle is configured, the active time includes the time that the drx-onDurationTimer, drx-InactivityTimer, drx-RetransmissionTimerDL, drx-RetransmissionTimerUL, or ra-ContentionResolutionTimer is running, as described in Section 5.1.5 of 3GPP TS38.321.

[0205] drx-onDurationTimer defines the duration when the DRX cycle starts, while drx-InactivityTimer specifies the duration after a PDCCH opportunity, where the PDCCH indicates a new uplink (UL) or downlink (DL) transmission by the MAC entity. drx-RetransmissionTimerDL and drx-RetransmissionTimerUL define the maximum duration until a DL retransmission is received and the maximum duration until a grant for a UL retransmission is received, respectively.

[0206] In addition, as described in Section 5.1.4 of 3GPP TS 38.321v15.5.0, the active time includes the time when a PDCCH indicating a new transmission of a cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) addressed to the MAC entity has not been received after successfully receiving a random access response to a random access preamble that the MAC entity did not select in the contention-based random access preamble.

[0207] If a UE in RRC connected state is configured with DRX (cDRX / C-DCX), it periodically monitors the PDCCH during a configured duration called the DRX ON duration (OnDuration) period. If there is no scheduled data, the UE can shut down its RF chain and enter a power saving state. If the UE detects a DCI indicating a new DL or UL transmission, the DRX inactivity timer will be started. Until the DRX inactivity timer expires, the UE needs to keep monitoring the PDCCH for potential subsequent data scheduling.

[0208] For a UE in RRC idle / inactive state, the DRX mechanism is related to paging detection (iDRX / I-DRX). Specifically, the UE needs to detect the paging occasion of each DRX cycle for paging messages and system information updates.

[0209] The DRX mechanism is a trade-off between UE power efficiency and data transmission latency. The trade-off depends on parameters related to the inactivity timer, DRX ON duration (OnDuration) and DRX cycle. In general, the DRX mechanism is beneficial to reduce UE power consumption by allowing the UE to periodically enter power saving mode.

[0210] Cell type - main cell, auxiliary cell, service cell

[0211] The term "cell" refers to a component carrier (CC) on which allocatable resources (such as time-frequency-space resources) are located. A terminal may use more carriers, for example, to increase the number of available resources. These CCs may be referred to as cells.

[0212] A primary cell (Pcell) operates on a primary frequency, which is a frequency on which a UE performs an initial connection establishment procedure and / or initiates a connection reestablishment procedure. A Pcell may be a cell explicitly indicated during a handover procedure.

[0213] A secondary cell (Scell) operating on a secondary frequency may be configured when an RRC connection is established and may be used to provide additional radio resources.

[0214] For a UE in RRC_CONNECTED without carrier aggregation (CA) configured, there is only one serving cell, which is the primary cell.For a UE in RRC_CONNECTED with CA configured, the term "serving cell" refers to the primary cell and all secondary cells.

[0215] In other words, the serving cell is a cell through which the UE is configured to send and / or receive data.

[0216] Secondary cell (SCell) sleep

[0217] SCell refers to frequency carriers other than the primary frequency carrier (PCell) through carrier aggregation (CA). SCell can provide more data bandwidth in other carrier frequencies to improve data throughput, while PCell ensures coverage. In Rel-15 enhanced LTE CA utilization (euCA), a new SCell state, dormant SCell state, is introduced. When data transmission requirements are not high, SCell can become inactive to save energy.

[0218] If the SCell is in dormant state, the UE stops monitoring the PDCCH in the SCell, but activities such as CSI measurement / reporting and RRM measurement are not affected. Transitions into and out of the SCell dormant state are achieved via Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling.

[0219] In Rel-16 NR, the dormant behavior can be implemented at the BWP level. A BWP that supports the dormant behavior of SCell is called a dormant BWP, where no PDCCH monitoring opportunity is configured.

[0220] The SCell sleep indication may be conveyed by DCI with different DCI formats for UE detection outside and within DRX active time. During DRX active time, the SCell sleep indication field may be carried by DCI with the DCI format used by data scheduling (i.e., DCI format 0_1 ​​and DCI format 1_1). The information field indicating the sleep behavior may be in the form of a bitmap, where each bit corresponds to a configured SCell group.

[0221] When the UE is outside the DRX active time, the UE may detect a DCI with DCI format 2_6 for SCell dormancy indication on a primary cell (PCell) or a primary secondary cell (PSCell).

[0222] PDCCH skipping

[0223] With the PDCCH skipping technique, if there is no data to be sent to the UE, the base station can send a DCI to instruct the UE to perform PDCCH skipping. After the UE receives the instruction, the UE can stop monitoring the PDCCH to save energy.

[0224] That is, the network dynamically signals to the UE an indication to safely skip monitoring the configured PDCCH control search space for a certain duration or until they receive a further indication to activate reverse PDCCH monitoring. In this way, different UEs can be configured with the same PDCCH search space, but with various monitoring modes. Therefore, a UE that has been configured with PDCCH skipping assumes that no traffic will be transmitted during the skipping duration.

[0225] Search Space Set Group (SSSG) Switching

[0226] In 3GPP, the concept of configuring at least two groups of search space sets (abbreviated as SSS or SS sets) for monitoring PDCCH has been discussed. This concept can be particularly useful, for example, for operation in unlicensed radio spectrum, where the gNB must first acquire the channel in order to then be allowed to send PDCCH.

[0227] For example, different SSS groups may differ in when and / or how long the UE needs to monitor the PDCCH during a timeslot. Various groups may include various search space sets. A single search space set may be part of more than one SSS group.

[0228] The UE may be configured to switch between groups based on at least the following alternatives.

[0229] A first alternative would involve implicit configuration, e.g. by UE detection of e.g. DL bursts, DM-RS (Demodulation Reference Signal) or Wideband DM-RS (WB-DM-RS) or GC-PDCCH and / or PDCCH and / or based on information about the COT structure. Here, it is exemplarily assumed that the UE derives the corresponding SSS group from the COT state of the gNB, e.g. when the UE is within the COT of the gNB, the UE uses one specific SSS group and when outside the COT of the gNB, the UE uses another specific SSS group. The start of the COT may be derived by the UE, e.g. from explicit information (see e.g. the COT indication discussed above) or implicitly from detection of a downlink transmission such as one or more of the ones listed above (DL bursts, DM-RS, GC-PDCCH, PDCCH). On the other hand, the end of the COT may be derived by the UE, e.g. from the COT duration indication bit field in the GC-PDCCH (with DCI format 2_0) or from the SFI bit field in the GC-PDCCH (with DCI format 2_0).

[0230] A second alternative for instructing the UE to switch to a specific SSS group would involve an explicit indication, such as a bit field in the GC-PDCCH and / or PDCCH, which indicates the SSS group index that the UE needs to monitor. If the SSS group index is different from the current index in use, the UE knows that it needs to switch SSS groups, e.g., such as starting at the next slot boundary. This allows the gNB to have full control over the SSS group used by the UE. For example, the gNB can decide to switch SSS groups without crossing the boundary of the COT (e.g., inside or outside the COT).

[0231] MIMO layer adaptation

[0232] When a UE receives a signal from a base station, it can utilize multiple antennas to achieve receive diversity gain or combining gain for better performance. At the same time, increasing the number of active antennas consumes more UE energy. When a burst of data traffic arrives, not all antennas are always used. Therefore, if some antennas can be instructed to turn off when sending small data packets or when the channel state conditions are good enough, it may be beneficial for UE energy efficiency.

[0233] In Release 15, each serving cell is configured with a DL maximum MIMO layer number (Lmax), which is common to all DL BWPs of the serving cell. In Release 16, the DL maximum MIMO layer number can be configured separately for each DL BWP. The DL maximum MIMO layer number can be changed by BWP switching, which can reduce power consumption by accommodating a smaller number of receive antennas on the UE side.

[0234] NR base station energy saving enhancements

[0235] As a Rel.18SI topic, network energy saving is being discussed. The discussion aims to explore efficient gNB adaptation based on traffic and UE load. That is, the gNB can be optimized to reduce certain activities in some modules to save energy. This optimization may or may not include other signaling or procedures that affect UE behavior. gNB adaptation can be performed in time, frequency, space / antenna and power domains.

[0236] For gNB energy saving purposes, the current NR system supports certain energy saving features. For example, the gNB can instruct or configure the UE to skip the DRX ON duration (OnDuration) or skip the paging opportunity. In addition, PDCCH monitoring can be adjusted in the time domain / frequency domain. In addition, the number of MIMO layers can be reduced.

[0237] In this regard, by implementation, the gNB may reuse UE energy saving signaling to achieve gNB energy saving by muting some resources. However, by instructing all UEs with L1 UE-specific / group-common signaling to achieve network-level energy saving, this operation may generally be inefficient.

[0238] Alternatively, all UE DRX configurations may be aligned with each other. However, matching the DRX configuration to each individual UE may have disadvantages in terms of UE quality of service and power consumption.

[0239] Further Improvements

[0240] In the above, the research projects on network energy saving are briefly introduced. However, due to the low efficiency and potential degradation of UE power consumption, the current 5G NR version cannot provide sufficient energy saving for gNB.

[0241] The present disclosure provides a solution for enabling energy saving enhancements for a network entity such as a base station, eNB or gNB.

[0242] Example

[0243] The inventors have identified the possibility of providing an improved procedure to allow one or more of the above-mentioned disadvantages to be avoided. The present disclosure relates to different solutions and variants for such an improved procedure. Therefore, the present disclosure provides techniques for increasing energy-saving capabilities.

[0244] The present disclosure specifically provides a base station, a corresponding method for a base station, a user equipment (UE), a corresponding method for a user equipment, a communication system including such a base station and a user equipment, and an integrated circuit that controls the process of the base station / user equipment in operation to execute the corresponding method.

[0245] In the following description of the embodiments, numerical values ​​represent only examples, to which the present disclosure is not limited. In addition, specific implementations of indicators such as in DCI, RRC messages, etc. are merely examples that do not limit the present disclosure.

[0246] the term

[0247] In the following, UE, base station and process will be described for the new radio access technology envisioned for 5G mobile communication system, but these UE, base station and process can also be used in LTE mobile communication system or future mobile communication system. Different implementations and variants will also be explained. The following disclosure is promoted by the discussion and discovery as described above, and can be based on at least part thereof, for example.

[0248] In general, it should be noted that many assumptions have been made herein in order to be able to explain the basic principles of the present disclosure in a clear, concise and understandable manner. However, these assumptions should be understood as examples made herein for illustrative purposes only, which are not necessarily necessary for the present invention and therefore should not limit the scope of the present disclosure. The skilled person will appreciate that the principles disclosed below and as set forth in the claims can be applied to different scenarios and in ways not explicitly described herein.

[0249] In addition, some of the terms for processes, entities, layers, etc. used below are closely related to the terms used in LTE / LTE-A systems or the current 3GPP 5G standardization, even though the specific terms used in the context of new radio access technologies for the next communication system have not yet been fully decided or may eventually change. Therefore, the terms may be changed in the future without affecting the functionality of the embodiments. Therefore, those skilled in the art appreciate that the embodiments and their scope of protection should not be limited to the specific terms used exemplarily herein due to the lack of updated or ultimately agreed terms, but should be understood more broadly in terms of the functions and concepts that underlie the functions and principles of the present disclosure. Specifically:

[0250] terminal

[0251] Terminals or user terminals or user equipment or mobile stations or mobile nodes are referred to as user equipment (UE) in LTE and NR. This can be a mobile device or communication device, such as a wireless phone, a smart phone, a tablet computer, or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) stick with the functionality of a user device. However, the term mobile device is not limited to this, and generally, a relay may also have the functionality of such a mobile device, and a mobile device may also be used as a relay. For example, a terminal is a physical entity (physical node) within a communication network. Furthermore, a communication device may be any machine type communication device, such as an IoT device, etc. A node may have several functional entities. A functional entity refers to a software or hardware module that implements and / or provides a predetermined set of functions to other functional entities of the same or another node or network. A node may have one or more interfaces that attach a node to a communication facility or medium through which the node can communicate. Similarly, a network entity may have a logical interface that attaches a functional entity to a communication facility or medium, and the network entity may communicate with other functional entities or communication nodes through the logical interface.

[0252] Base Station

[0253] In the present disclosure, a base station may be, for example, a transmit receive point (TRP), a cluster head, an access point, a remote radio head (RRH), an eNodeB (eNB), a gNodeB (gNB), a base station (BS), a base transceiver station (BTS), a base station unit, a gateway, or a scheduling device. In addition, in sidelink communication, a terminal may be used instead of a base station. A base station may be a relay device that relays communications between a higher node and a terminal. A base station may also be a roadside unit. A base station may be a scheduling node, a scheduling device, or a network node, for example, forming part of a network for providing services to a terminal. Specifically, a base station may provide wireless access to a terminal. Communications between a terminal and a base station are generally standardized and may be defined by different layers such as PHY, MAC, RRC, and the like. In LTE and NR, the wireless interface protocol stack includes a physical layer, a medium access layer (MAC), and higher layers. In the control plane, a high-level protocol radio resource control protocol is provided. Via RRC, a base station may control the configuration of a terminal, and a terminal may communicate with a base station to perform control tasks such as connection and bearer establishment, modification, etc., measurements, and other functions. The term used in LTE is eNB (or eNodeB), while the term currently used for 5G NR is gNB. The term "base station" or "radio base station" here refers to a physical entity within a communication network. Like a mobile station, a base station can have several functional entities. A functional entity refers to a software or hardware module that implements and / or provides a predetermined set of functions to other functional entities of the same node or another node or network. The physical entity performs some control tasks regarding the communication device, including one or more of scheduling and configuration. Note that the base station function and the communication device function can also be integrated into a single device. For example, a mobile terminal can also implement the function of a base station for other terminals. The term used in LTE is eNB (or eNodeB), while the term currently used for 5G NR is gNB. Specifically, a base station can also be a gNB in ​​a non-terrestrial network (NTN) NR system.

[0254] As described above, the present disclosure provides a user equipment and a base station. The present disclosure further provides corresponding methods and programs. An example of such a communication system is illustrated in Figure 8 The communication system 1 may be a wireless communication system according to the technical specifications of 5G, in particular, a NR communication system. However, the present disclosure is not limited to 3GPP NR and may also be applied to other wireless or cellular systems such as NTN.

[0255] Figure 8A general, simplified and exemplary block diagram of a user equipment 100 (also referred to as a communication device) and a scheduling device 200 (here exemplarily assumed to be located in a base station, such as an LTE eNB (alternatively referred to as ng-eNB) or a gNB in ​​5G NR) is illustrated. However, in general, in the case of a sidelink connection between two terminals, the scheduling device may also be a terminal. In addition, in particular with regard to the use cases of URLLC, eMBB and mMTC, the user equipment 100 may also be a sensor device, a wearable device or a connected vehicle, or a controller of an automated machine in an industrial plant. In addition, the user equipment is capable of acting as a relay between the scheduling device 200 and another communication device (e.g., the present disclosure is not limited to a communication "terminal" or a user "terminal"). As Figure 8 As shown, the UE 100 and the scheduling device 200 (eNB / gNB) can communicate with each other through a (wireless) physical channel 300 using their transceivers 110 (UE side) and 210 (scheduling device side), respectively. The scheduling device 200 and the user equipment 100 together form a communication system 1. The communication system 1 may also include other entities, such as Figure 1 The communication between the UE 100 and the scheduling device is generally standardized and may be defined by different layers (such as PHY, MAC, RRC, etc.) (see the background discussion above).

[0256] like Figure 8As shown on the left side of , the user equipment 100 may include a transceiver 110 and a circuit 120 (or a processing circuit), and the scheduling device 200 may include a transceiver 210 and a (processing) circuit 330. The transceivers 110, 120 may include and / or be used as a receiver and a transmitter. In other words, in the present disclosure, the term "transceiver" is used to allow the user equipment 100 or the scheduling device 200 to send and / or receive radio signals through a wireless channel. Hardware and software components. Therefore, the transceiver corresponds to a receiver, a transmitter, or a combination of a receiver and a transmitter. Generally, it is assumed that the scheduling device and the user equipment are capable of sending and receiving radio signals. However, in particular with respect to some applications of eMBB, mMTC, and URLLC (smart home, smart city, industrial automation, etc.), it is conceivable that a device such as a sensor only receives a signal. In addition, the term "circuit" includes a processing circuit formed by one or more processors or processing units, etc. The transmitter may be responsible for executing the transmission process and other processes related thereto. The receiver may be responsible for executing the reception process and other processes related thereto, such as monitoring channels. The circuit or processing circuit can be one or more hardware, such as one or more processors or any LSI. There may be an input / output point (or node) between the transceiver and the processing circuit, and the processing circuit can control the transceiver through the input / output point (or node) when operating, that is, control the receiver and / or transmitter and exchange receive / transmit data. The transceiver as a transmitter and receiver may include an RF (radio frequency) front end, which includes one or more antennas, amplifiers, RF modulators / demodulators, etc. The processing circuit can implement control tasks, such as controlling the transceiver to send user data and control data provided by the processing circuit and / or receiving user data and control data further processed by the processing circuit. The processing circuit can also be responsible for performing other processes, such as determining, deciding, calculating, measuring, etc.

[0257] Discontinuous reception – discontinuous transmission

[0258] In the following, a number of embodiments are described in detail using the term discontinuous reception (DRX). However, the present disclosure is not limited to a reception process performed by a UE, and may equally relate to a transmission process. Therefore, the term "DRX" should not be understood as being related only to the reception of signals by the UE, but may also be related to the transmission of signals by the UE. Therefore, in particular in the framework of a cell-specific DRX configuration, the concept may also be referred to as discontinuous reception (DTX).

[0259] Uplink and downlink signals

[0260] In the following description, the term signal is used for transmission and reception of data in downlink (DL) or uplink (UL).

[0261] In this regard, it should be noted that the description of received DL signals includes at least but is not limited to the reception of physical downlink control channel PDCCH, channel state information reference signal CSI-RS, synchronization signal block SSB, physical downlink shared channel PDSCH and / or positioning reference signal PRS, etc.

[0262] In addition, it should be noted that the description of sending UL signals at least includes but is not limited to the transmission of physical uplink control channel PUCCH, physical uplink shared channel PUSCH, physical random access channel PRACH and / or sounding reference signal SRS, etc.

[0263] First embodiment

[0264] According to an exemplary first embodiment, there is provided, for example, Figure 8 The user equipment 100 shown. The user equipment 100 includes a transceiver 110 and a circuit 120. The circuit 110 receives two or more configuration indicators in operation, each configuration indicator indicating a configuration of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period. The circuit 120 causes the transceiver 110 to receive and / or transmit signals based on the two or more configuration indicators in operation.

[0265] It should be noted that in addition to the ON period, the timing pattern according to the configuration may also include an OFF period. However, since the ON period can be extended, for example depending on the traffic (see the "Discontinuous Reception - DRX" section), the timing pattern does not necessarily include an OFF period in every case.

[0266] The circuit 120 may implement more functions than the above-mentioned obtaining and determining, because it may, for example, further control the transceiver 110 to receive control signaling and / or receive or send data. Therefore, the circuit 120 is exemplarily considered to include a transceiver control circuit 121, which is configured to perform the control. This configuration may be provided by hardware adaptation and / or by software.

[0267] Corresponding to the above-mentioned UE 100, a method performed by the UE 100 (or communication device) is provided. Fig. 9 As shown, the method comprises the following steps: (i) receiving S101 two or more configuration indicators, each configuration indicator indicating a configuration of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period, and (ii) receiving and / or sending a signal based on the two or more configuration indicators.

[0268] Also like Figure 8As shown on the right side (right hand side) of FIG. 1 , according to another exemplary embodiment, a base station 200 is provided. The base station 200 includes a transceiver 210 and a circuit 220. The circuit 220 determines two or more configurations of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period in operation. The transceiver sends two or more configuration indicators indicating two or more configurations to a user equipment (UE) in operation, and receives and / or sends signals to the UE based on the two or more configurations.

[0269] The circuit 220 may implement more functions than the above determination, because it may, for example, further control the transceiver 210 to send control signaling and / or receive or send data. Therefore, the circuit 220 is exemplarily considered to include a scheduling circuit 221, which is configured to perform the determination. This configuration may be provided by hardware adaptation and / or by software.

[0270] In addition, corresponding to the above-mentioned scheduling device, a method performed by a base station is provided. Fig. 9 As shown, the method comprises the following steps: (i) determining S201 two or more configurations of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period, (ii) sending S202 two or more configuration indicators indicating the two or more configurations to a user equipment UE 100, and (iii) receiving and / or sending a signal to the UE 100 based on the two or more configurations.

[0271] Second embodiment

[0272] According to the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the UE 100 receives two or more configuration indicators, each configuration indicator indicating a configuration of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period. The UE 100 receives and / or transmits a signal based on the two or more configuration indicators.

[0273] In the second embodiment, a cell-specific DRX configuration and a UE-specific DRX configuration are configured.DCI may or may not be used to indicate a DRX configuration to be followed for signal transmission.

[0274] In other words, UE 100 receives two or more configuration indicators indicating two or more configurations. The two or more configurations include a first configuration specified for a plurality of UEs served by a cell and a second configuration specified for a subset of the plurality of UEs served by the cell, wherein the subset includes UE 100.

[0275] For example, the first configuration may be a DRX configuration indicated in a system information block SIB received by the UE 100. For example, the second configuration may be a DRX configuration indicated by dedicated RRC signaling.

[0276] Each configuration may correspond to a periodic timing pattern including an ON period. The plurality of UEs may include UE 100 and one or more other UEs served by the cell. That is, UE 100 may be configured with at least two DRX configurations, one of which (the first configuration), i.e., the cell-specific configuration, is a configuration for all UEs served by the cell (including UE 100 according to the embodiment). The second configuration is a DRX configuration configured for a subset of all UEs served by the cell. In other words, a group of UEs is configured with the second DRX configuration. It goes without saying that other UE groups may be configured with another DRX configuration (the third DRX configuration).

[0277] The DRX configurations may differ in the length of the respective ON periods and / or their periodicity. The term periodicity relates to a repetitive period after which the pattern of ON periods and OFF periods is repeated according to the respective DRX configuration.

[0278] Fig.11 A situation is shown in which a cell-specific C-DRX configuration is configured for all UEs of the cell, and three C-DRX configurations are configured for corresponding groups of UE #1 to #3 (i.e., three subsets of all UEs served by the cell), one of the groups (e.g., UE group #1) may include UE 100.

[0279] The UE 100 may receive and / or transmit a signal during an overlapping period of the ON period according to the first configuration and the second configuration.

[0280] In other words, the UE 100 receives and / or transmits signals only during the ON periods of both the first DRX configuration and the second DRX configuration. For example, when the UE 100 is within the UE group #1, it may receive and / or transmit signals only at the timings included in the ON period of the cell-specific C-DRX configuration and the ON period of the C-DRX configuration of the UE group #1, rather than receiving and / or transmitting signals only at the timings included in one of the ON periods of the C-DRX configurations (the cell-specific C-DRX configuration and the C-DRX configuration of the UE group #1).

[0281] UEs included in UE groups #2 and #3 may exhibit corresponding behavior. Therefore, the base station 200 may anticipate uplink transmissions and / or send downlink (DL) transmissions only during a portion of the ON period of the cell-specific C-DRX configuration, where the portion overlaps with the ON period of the C-DRX configuration of UE groups #1 to #3. Therefore, the base station 200 may sleep outside the ON period of the cell-specific C-DRX configuration. In addition, the base station 200 may sleep during a portion of the ON period that does not overlap with any of the ON periods of the C-DRX configuration of UE groups #1 to #3.

[0282] As a result, the time during which the base station 200 can sleep can be increased, thereby reducing energy consumption. In addition, no additional signaling is required, for example in the downlink control information DCI.

[0283] However, in a variation of the second embodiment, the base station 200 may indicate to the UE 100, for example, through DCI, which one of the first configuration and the second configuration the UE 100 is to follow.

[0284] In other words, the UE 100 may receive downlink control information DCI indicating one of the first configuration and the second configuration. In addition, the UE 100 may receive and / or transmit a signal during the ON period according to the configuration indicated by the DCI.

[0285] It should be noted that the indication of the DCI can be implicit or explicit. For example, a new parameter can be defined to indicate the DRX configuration to be followed by the UE 100 receiving the DCI. In the case where the UE 100 does not receive such an indication of the DCI, a default DRX configuration can be defined. For example, in the absence of an indication of which DRX configuration the UE 100 will follow, the UE 100 can follow the first configuration. Alternatively, in the absence of an indication, the UE 100 can follow the second DRX configuration. Alternatively, in the absence of an indication, the UE 100 can follow the first DRX configuration and the second DRX configuration in the sense that the UE receives and / or transmits signals during the overlapping period of the ON period of the first configuration and the second configuration. Alternatively, in the absence of an indication, the UE 100 can follow both configurations in the sense that the UE 100 receives and / or transmits signals during the ON period of any one of the first and second configurations.

[0286] Allowing the UE 100 to be instructed which DRX configuration to follow increases the flexibility of the base station 200 and can increase the ability to balance network energy saving gains, UE energy saving gains and service quality. That is, using cell-specific DRX configurations can greatly reduce signaling overhead. Using DCI to indicate which DRX configuration the UE is to follow can increase control flexibility.

[0287] Third embodiment

[0288] According to the third embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the UE 100 receives two or more configuration indicators, each configuration indicator indicating a configuration of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period. The UE 100 receives and / or transmits a signal based on the two or more configuration indicators.

[0289] In the third embodiment, the UE 100 is configured with multiple cell-specific DRX configurations. DCI may or may not be used to indicate the DRX configuration followed by the transmission / reception of a signal. For example, the UE 100 may receive more than one DRX configuration indicator within a SIB.

[0290] In other words, the two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators are configurations specified for a plurality of UEs (including UE 100) served by the cell.

[0291] In a variation of the third embodiment, UE 100 determines to receive and / or transmit a signal based on a DRX configuration configured by RRC. That is, UE 100 may receive a radio resource control RRC message indicating one of two or more configurations, and transmit a signal during an ON period according to the configuration indicated by the RRC message.

[0292] Table 1 shows a potential mapping of DRX configuration indicator values ​​configured by RRC and characteristics of the applied DRX configuration. In the example, the DRX configurations indicated by the values ​​00, 01 and 10 differ in their periodicity. The indicator value 11 indicates that the DRX configuration is not applied. Although the DRX configurations differ from each other in their periodicity in the example, they may (additionally or alternatively) differ from each other in the duration of the respective ON periods and / or their relative time relationship / time shift with respect to each other.

[0293]

[0294] Table 1

[0295] In another variation of the third embodiment, UE 100 determines to receive and / or transmit a signal based on the DRX configuration indicated by the DCI. In other words, UE 100 may receive downlink control information DCI indicating one of two or more configurations. UE 100 may receive and / or transmit a signal during the ON period according to the configuration indicated by the DCI.

[0296] Table 2 shows a potential mapping of DRX configuration indicator values ​​in the DCI and characteristics of the applied DRX configuration. As in the first variant, in the example, the DRX configurations indicated by the values ​​00, 01 and 10 differ in their periodicity. The indicator value 11 indicates that the DRX configuration is not applied. Although the DRX configurations differ from each other in their periodicity in the example, they may (additionally or alternatively) differ from each other in the duration of the respective ON periods and / or their relative time relationship / time shift with respect to each other.

[0297]

[0298] Table 2

[0299] As a more general scope of this embodiment, the bit width of the indication in the DCI can be more or less than 2, and the number of indicators can be more or less than 4, which is merely exemplary for ease of explanation. That is, the DRX indication in the DCI can use an indicator with an appropriate bit width to indicate one of the multiple DRX configurations.

[0300] In the above variants, the DRX configuration to be followed by the UE 100 is configured by an RRC message or indicated in a DCI. This method can allow for increased flexibility in balancing network energy saving gains, system throughput, and service delays. Using DCI to indicate the DRX configuration to be followed by the UE 100 allows for faster adaptation to the aspects.

[0301] In the described examples, DRX configured by RRX or DRX indicated by DCI refers to one DRX to follow, or may indicate no DRX to follow.

[0302] In another (ie third) variation, the UE 100 may receive and / or send a signal based on the DRX configuration and a DCI, the DCI indicating which DRX configuration is to be followed by the UE 100. However, furthermore, the DCI may indicate a combination of DRX configurations.

[0303] For example, as shown in Table 3, as in the second variant, indicator values ​​00 and 01 indicate one DRX configuration, namely, a DRX configuration "DRX#1" with a periodicity of 200ms and a DRX configuration "DRX#2" with a periodicity of 100ms. However, indicator values ​​10 and 11 indicate a combination of DRX configurations DRX#1 and DRX#2. Specifically, indicator value 10 indicates that UE 100 can receive and / or transmit signals at a timing within the ON duration of at least one of configurations DRX#1 and DRX#2 (DRX#1 or DRX#2). On the other hand, indicator value 11 indicates that UE 100 can receive and / or transmit signals at a timing within both the ON duration of DRX#1 and the ON duration of DRX#2 (i.e., within the overlapping period of the corresponding ON durations).

[0304]

[0305] Table 3

[0306] In other words, UE 100 can receive downlink control information DCI, which indicates (i) one of the configurations according to which signals are sent and / or received, (ii) at least two configurations, wherein signals are sent and / or received during the ON period according to any one of the at least two configurations, or (iii) at least two configurations, wherein signals are sent and / or received during overlapping periods of the ON period according to the at least two configurations.

[0307] According to a third variation, multiple DRX modes may be created by combining DRX configurations configured, for example, in SIBs with little signaling overhead.

[0308] As a more general scope of this embodiment, the bit width of the indication in the DCI can be more or less than 2, and the number of indicators can be more or less than 4, which is merely exemplary for ease of explanation. That is, the DRX indication in the DCI can use an indicator with an appropriate bit width to indicate one of the multiple DRX configurations.

[0309] Fourth embodiment

[0310] According to the fourth embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the UE 100 receives two or more configuration indicators, each configuration indicator indicating a configuration of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period. The UE 100 receives and / or transmits a signal based on the two or more configuration indicators.

[0311] The UE 100 is configured with multiple cell-specific DRX configurations. The DCI may or may not be used to indicate the DRX configuration followed by the transmission / reception of a signal. For example, the UE 100 may receive more than one DRX configuration indicator within a SIB.

[0312] In other words, the two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators are configurations specified for a subset of the plurality of UEs served by the cell, where the subset includes the UE.

[0313] In the fourth embodiment, the UE receives multiple UE-specific DRX configurations via RRC signaling. In addition, DCI is used to indicate the DRX configuration to be followed for the transmission / reception of the signal. For example, DCI formats 2_6, 0_1 or 1_1 may be extended for this purpose.

[0314] In a first variant, the indication of the DRX configuration may be implicit. For example, the DRX configuration to be used may be interpreted from a field in the DCI indicating SCell dormancy. In other words, the DRX configuration may be linked to SCell dormancy.

[0315] In other words, each of the two or more configurations is associated with a secondary cell SCell dormancy configuration. The DCI received by the UE 100 indicates one of the two or more configurations through the SCell dormancy indicator. The UE 100 receives and transmits signals during the ON period according to the configuration indicated by the DCI (ie, the SCell dormancy indicator).

[0316] It should be noted that the SCell sleep configuration may involve one or more SCells. That is, the SCell sleep configuration may involve one or more sleep SCells and / or one or more non-sleep SCells.

[0317] Table 4 illustrates a possible mapping between the SCell sleep indication in the DCI and the corresponding DRX configuration. Specifically, each of the SCell sleep indicator values ​​is associated with a DRX configuration. In this example, the DRX configurations differ from each other in their periodicity. However, they may additionally or alternatively differ from each other in the duration of the corresponding ON duration and / or their temporal relationship / offset relative to each other.

[0318]

[0319] Table 4

[0320] Although in the present embodiment, four DRX configurations are associated with four SCell sleep indicators in the DCI, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. There may be more or less than 4 DRX configurations associated with a corresponding number of SCell sleep indications. In addition, the SCell sleep indication is not necessarily linked to the DRX configuration. That is, some SCell sleep indications may be associated with corresponding DRX configurations, while other SCell sleep indications may not be associated with corresponding DRX configurations. When the UE 100 receives a DCI including an SCell sleep indication that is not associated with a DRX configuration, it may follow a predetermined DRX configuration or may not apply any DRX configuration.

[0321] In a preferred modification thereof, the longer the indicated configured period is and / or the shorter the corresponding ON duration is, the more non-sleeping SCells are indicated by the SCell sleeping indicator.

[0322] That is, multiple DX configurations can be associated with the SCell sleep indication in the DCI, so that a longer DRX cycle is associated with more non-sleeping SCells. In other words, a DRX configuration with a shorter periodicity can be associated with an SCell sleep indicator indicating more sleep SCells. Additionally or alternatively, a shorter ON duration, for example, implemented by an ON duration (OnDuration) timer with a shorter duration, can be associated with more non-sleeping SCells. In other words, a DRX configuration with a longer ON duration (ON duration (OnDuration) timer with a longer running time) can be associated with more sleep SCells.

[0323] With this approach, energy saving capabilities can be enhanced because a higher amount of frequency resources leads to a lower chance of scheduling resources in the time domain, and vice versa.

[0324] In a second variant, the indication of the DRX configuration is implicit. Specifically, the DRX configuration to be used can be interpreted from the field indicating the search space set group (SSSG) switching. In other words, the DRX configuration can be linked to the SSSG switching.

[0325] In other words, each of the two or more configurations is associated with SSSG switching. The DCI received by the UE 100 indicates one of the two or more configurations through the SSSG switching indicator. The UE 100 receives and transmits signals during the ON period according to the configuration indicated by the DCI (ie, the SSSG switching indicator).

[0326] Table 5 shows a possible mapping between the SSSG toggle bits in the DCI and the corresponding DRX configurations. Specifically, each of the SSSG toggle bit values ​​is associated with a DRX configuration. In this example, the DRX configurations differ from each other in their periodicity. However, they may additionally or alternatively differ from each other in the duration of the corresponding ON durations and / or their temporal relationship / offset relative to each other.

[0327]

[0328] Table 5

[0329] The present disclosure is not limited to four SSSG switching bit indications in the DCI being associated with a DRX configuration. For example, there may be less than or more than four SSSG switching bit indications associated with less than or more than four DRX configurations. In addition, the SSSG switching bits may not necessarily be linked to the DRX configuration. That is, some SSSG switching bits may be associated with corresponding DRX configurations, while other SSSG switching bits may not be associated with corresponding DRX configurations. When the UE 100 receives a DCI including an SSSG switching bit that is not associated with a DRX configuration, it may follow a predetermined DRX configuration or may not apply any DRX configuration.

[0330] In a preferred modification thereof, the longer the indicated configured period is and / or the shorter the corresponding ON duration is, the higher the time density of the PDCCH to be monitored according to the SSSG switching indicator.

[0331] That is, multiple DX configurations can be associated with the SSSG toggle bit in the DCI, so that a longer DRX cycle is associated with a higher time density of the PDCCH to be monitored. In other words, a DRX configuration with a shorter periodicity can be associated with an SSSG toggle bit in the DCI, which corresponds to a lower time density of the PDCCH to be monitored. Additionally or alternatively, a shorter ON duration, such as implemented by an ON Duration (OnDuration) timer with a shorter duration, can be associated with a higher time density of the PDCCH to be monitored. In other words, a DRX configuration with a longer ON duration (ON Duration (OnDuration) timer with a longer running time) can be associated with a lower time density of the PDCCH to be monitored.

[0332] The temporal density of the PDCCH may be the number of PDCCH resources to be monitored and / or monitoring opportunities divided by a predetermined amount of time.

[0333] With this approach, energy saving capabilities can be enhanced because longer DRX cycles and / or shorter DRX ON durations are associated with more intensive PDCCH monitoring. This can allow balancing base station energy saving due to longer sleep durations and system performance in active / non-sleep durations.

[0334] In the third variant, the indication of the DRX configuration is implicit. Specifically, the DRX configuration to be used can be interpreted from the field indicating whether PDCCH skipping is to be performed. In other words, the DRX configuration can be linked to PDCCH skipping / PDCCH monitoring.

[0335] In other words, each of the two or more configurations is associated with a PDCCH skip configuration. The DCI received by the UE 100 indicates one of the two or more configurations through a PDCCH skip indicator. The UE 100 receives and transmits a signal during an ON period according to the configuration indicated by the DCI (ie, the PDCCH skip indicator).

[0336] Table 6 illustrates a possible mapping between the value of the PDCCH skip indicator in the DCI and the corresponding DRX configuration. Specifically, each of the PDCCH skip indicator values ​​is associated with a DRX configuration. In this example, the DRX configurations differ from each other in terms of their periodicity. Specifically, in the case where PDCCH skipping is not indicated (the PDCCH skip indicator value is 0), a DRX configuration with a periodicity of 200ms is followed. On the other hand, in the case where the PDCCH skip indicator indicates PDCCH skipping (the PDCCH skip indicator value is 1), the UE 100 will follow a DRX configuration with a periodicity of 100ms. However, the DRX configurations may additionally or alternatively differ from each other in terms of the duration of the corresponding ON duration and / or their temporal relationship / shift relative to each other.

[0337] PDCCH skip indication in DCI 0 1 DRX configured by RRC DRX periodicity 200ms DRX periodicity 100ms

[0338] Table 6

[0339] In a preferred modification thereof, the longer or shorter the indicated configured period is, the longer the PDCCH skipping duration indicated by the PDCCH skipping indicator is.

[0340] That is, a longer DRX cycle may correspond to a longer PDCCH skip duration. Alternatively, a shorter DRX cycle may correspond to a shorter PDCCH skip duration.

[0341] This aspect may allow the base station 200 more control tradeoffs of energy saving gains and scheduling flexibility.

[0342] In summary, according to the fourth embodiment, the UE 100 receives more than one UE-specific (or UE group-specific) DRX configuration in RRC signaling. The UE 100 determines to receive and / or transmit a single DRX based on the DRX configuration and the DCI indicating which DRX configuration the UE 100 will follow.

[0343] Therefore, the flexibility of controlling DRX configuration is increased, and in particular, the reuse of current DCI for UE energy saving can minimize the regulation impact and reduce the control signaling overhead.

[0344] In addition, according to a preferred modification of the variant, the DRX configuration and / or the corresponding ON duration is associated with the SCell sleep configuration, SSSG switching or PDCCH skipping configuration, wherein the periodicity and / or the duration of the corresponding ON duration is set to depend on the specific configuration (SCell sleep configuration, SSSG switching or PDCCH skipping). This concept can be similarly applied to embodiments 1 to 3.

[0345] Fifth embodiment

[0346] According to a fifth exemplary embodiment, there is provided, for example, Figure 8 The user equipment 100 shown. The user equipment 100 includes a transceiver 110 and a circuit 120. In operation, the transceiver 110 receives an idle mode discontinuous reception I-DRX configuration indicator indicating an I-DRX configuration. In operation, the circuit 120 enables the transceiver 110 to receive and / or transmit signals during an ON period in a radio resource control RRC idle mode, in an RRC inactive mode, and in an RRC connected mode according to the I-DRX configuration.

[0347] The circuit 120 may implement more functions than the above-mentioned obtaining and determining, because it may, for example, further control the transceiver 110 to receive control signaling and / or receive or send data. Therefore, the circuit 120 is exemplarily considered to include a transceiver control circuit 121, which is configured to perform the control. This configuration may be provided by hardware adaptation and / or by software.

[0348] Corresponding to the above-mentioned UE 100, a method performed by the UE 100 (or communication device) is provided. Fig.11 As shown, the method includes the following steps: (i) receiving S301 an idle mode discontinuous reception I-DRX configuration indicator indicating an I-DRX configuration, and (ii) receiving and / or sending a signal during an ON period in a radio resource control RRC idle mode, in an RRC inactive mode, and in an RRC connected mode according to the I-DRX configuration.

[0349] Also like Figure 8 As shown on the right side (right hand side) of FIG, according to another exemplary embodiment, a base station 200 is provided. The base station 200 includes a transceiver 210 and a circuit 220. The circuit 220 determines an idle mode discontinuous reception I-DRX configuration in operation. In operation, the transceiver 220 sends an I-DRX configuration indicator indicating an I-DRX configuration to the user equipment UE 100, and according to the I-DRX configuration, receives and / or sends a signal from and / or to the UE 100 during an ON period in a radio resource control RRC idle mode, in an RRC inactive mode, and in an RRC connected mode.

[0350] The circuit 220 may implement more functions than the above determination, because it may, for example, further control the transceiver 210 to send control signaling and / or receive or send data. Therefore, the circuit 220 is exemplarily considered to include a scheduling circuit 221, which is configured to perform the determination. This configuration may be provided by hardware adaptation and / or by software.

[0351] In addition, corresponding to the above-mentioned scheduling device, a method performed by a base station is provided. Fig.11 As shown, the method comprises the following steps: (i) determining S401 an idle mode discontinuous reception I-DRX configuration, (ii) sending S402 an I-DRX configuration indicator indicating the I-DRX configuration to a user equipment UE 100, and (iii) receiving and / or sending S403 a signal from and / or to the UE 100 during an ON period in a radio resource control RRC idle mode, an RRC inactive mode, and an RRC connected mode according to the I-DRX configuration.

[0352] It is further noted that any steps / operations described may be performed or controlled by circuit 110 (on the UE side) and / or circuit 210 (on the scheduling device). In the further description, unless explicitly stated or otherwise indicated by the context, the details and embodiments apply to each of the communication device (UE 100), base station 200 (scheduling device or scheduling node) and method.

[0353] Furthermore, it is noted that since the present disclosure relates to resource usage and scheduling, two entities, a user equipment (typically a communication device / transceiver device) and a scheduling device (typically a network node), may be involved.

[0354] According to an embodiment, the current cell-specific I-DRX configuration may be applied to UEs in RRC connected and RRC idle / inactive states.Additional DCI signaling may or may not be used, for example to indicate whether the UE should follow the I-DRX configuration.

[0355] In other words, the UE 100 may receive an idle mode discontinuous reception I-DRX configuration indicator indicating an I-DRX configuration. In addition, the UE may receive and / or transmit signals during an ON period in a radio resource control RRC idle mode, in an RRC inactive mode, and in an RRC connected mode according to the I-DRX configuration.

[0356] That is, only one set of DRX configurations may be used to control all UEs served by a cell. For example, UE 100 may receive an I-DRX configuration via a dedicated indicator in SIBx (e.g., SIB1). In cases where UE service latency is not a high requirement, using one I-DRX configuration may be beneficial and may allow for maximizing network energy saving gains with low control overheating.

[0357] In a first variation of the fifth embodiment, in addition to the current parameters PF / PO indicating the paging monitoring configuration, an additional activity time (e.g., an ON duration (OnDuration) timer) may be defined as a new parameter (relative to the existing I-DRX configuration) and configured in a certain SIBx (e.g., SIB1). During the running time (additional activity time) of the ON duration (OnDuration) timer, the UE 100 in the RRC connected mode may be allowed to skip receiving DL signals (e.g., performing PDCCH monitoring) and / or skip sending UL signals in the inactive duration.

[0358] In other words, the I-DRX configuration indicator may include a timing indicator indicating an active time. The UE 100 may determine an ON period according to the I-DRX configuration and the indicated active time, and skip receiving and / or transmitting signals during periods other than the ON period.

[0359] That is, according to a variation of the fifth embodiment, the I-DRX configuration is reused for connected and idle / inactive UEs, wherein when in RRC connected mode, the UE 100 may be configured with the I-DRX configuration and additional active time. When outside the ON duration according to the I-DRX configuration and the active time, the UE 100 may not receive and / or send a signal.

[0360] According to this aspect, network energy saving gains are optimized because the base station 200 is not expected to transmit or receive outside of active time according to the I-DRX configuration and the corresponding OnDuration timer, and can therefore sleep. In addition, no additional L1 control overhead is required.

[0361] According to the second configuration, the DCI is used to indicate whether the RRC-connected UE should skip or continue reception / transmission of a signal before each I-DRX cycle.

[0362] In other words, the UE 100 may receive downlink control information DCI indicating whether the UE should skip or continue receiving and / or transmitting signals before each I-DRX cycle according to the I-DRX configuration when in the RRC connected mode.

[0363] For example, UE 100 may receive a DCI including an indicator indicating that UE 100 should skip receiving and / or transmitting signals before the I-DRX cycle when in RRC connected mode. Therefore, when in RRC connected mode, UE 100 does not receive and / or transmit signals before the I-DRX cycle. In addition, when UE 100 receives a DCI including an indicator indicating that UE 100 should continue to receive and / or transmit signals when in RRC connected mode.

[0364] That is, whether to skip receiving / transmitting signals can be signaled through DCI. According to this aspect, a trade-off between network energy saving and system performance can be achieved with little system overhead, resulting in higher flexibility.

[0365] Methods according to the first to fifth embodiments

[0366] In the above embodiments, DCI may or may not be used to indicate to the UE 100 which DRX configuration or which combination of DRX configurations should be followed. Fig.12 and Fig.13 The method according to the first to fifth embodiments is shown, wherein DCI ( Fig.13 ) or not using DCI ( Fig.12 ).

[0367] Fig.12 A method according to an embodiment is shown, wherein the DCI is not used to indicate the DRX configuration to be followed.

[0368] In step S501, the UE 100 receives one or more configuration indicators, each configuration indicator indicating a configuration of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period. For example, the UE 100 receives one or more DRX configurations. In the first to fourth embodiments, the UE 100 receives two or more configuration indicators, and in the fifth embodiment, the UE 100 receives one configuration indicator.

[0369] In addition, in step S502, UE 100 determines whether the ON duration of one or more DRX configurations is running. In other words, UE 100 determines whether the DRX configuration is ON. This can be performed as described with respect to the above-mentioned embodiment. When the DRX configuration is ON ("Yes" in step S502), UE 100 sends (Tx) and / or receives (Rx) the signal scheduled or configured in step S503. On the other hand, when the DRX configuration is not ON ("No" in step S502), UE 100 skips the sending (Tx) and / or receiving (Rx) of the signal scheduled or configured in step S504. In other words, when outside the ON duration, UE 100 does not send a signal.

[0370] Fig.13 A method according to an embodiment is shown, wherein DCI is used to indicate a DRX configuration to be followed.

[0371] Step S601 corresponds to Fig.12 Step S501 of UE 100, wherein the UE 100 receives one or more configuration indicators indicating one or more configurations of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period.

[0372] In step S602, UE 100 receives downlink control information DCI. DCI may indicate a DRX configuration or a combination of DRC configurations to be followed (as in the first to fourth embodiments) or whether to skip or continue receiving and / or sending signals before an I-DRX cycle (as in the fifth embodiment).

[0373] In step S603, UE 100 determines which DRX configuration or which DRX configuration combination it will follow based on the indication of the DCI. In addition, it is determined whether the determined DRX configuration / DRX configuration combination is ON. Subsequently, when the determined DRX configuration is ON ("Yes" in step S603), UE 100 sends (Tx) and / or receives (Rx) the signal scheduled or configured in step S604. On the other hand, when the DRX configuration is not ON ("No" in step S602), UE 100 skips the sending (Tx) and / or receiving (Rx) of the signal scheduled or configured in step S605. In other words, when outside the ON duration, UE 100 does not send a signal.

[0374] Sixth embodiment

[0375] According to the sixth embodiment, as in the third and fourth embodiments, the UE 100 receives two or more configuration indicators, each configuration indicator indicating a configuration of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period. The UE 100 receives and / or sends a signal based on the two or more configuration indicators, wherein the two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators are configurations specified for a plurality of UEs (including the UE 100) served by the cell. That is, the sixth embodiment can be regarded as a modification and / or extension of the third and fourth embodiments.

[0376] In a sixth embodiment, the DRX configuration includes or is associated with a set of SSB beam indexes / patterns and / or TCI states. When the UE indicates and applies the DRX configuration, the associated SSB beam indexes and / or TCI states are applied.

[0377] In other words, for example, the two or more configuration indicators may further indicate two or more target SSB modes to be used by the UE 100, including one or more SSBs in the candidate SSB set. The UE 100 performs SSB-related functions based on the two or more configuration indicators.

[0378] For example, the SSB-related functions are performed based on the target SSB mode indicated by the configuration indicator, which indicates the configuration followed by the UE 100 for receiving and / or transmitting signals.

[0379] Alternatively, each of the two or more configurations may be associated with a target synchronization signal block SSB pattern. The UE 100 performs SSB-related functions based on the target SSB pattern associated with the configuration followed by the UE for receiving and / or transmitting signals.

[0380] For example, each of the configured DRX configurations may be associated with an SSB mode. When the UE 100 receives an indicator indicating a DRX configuration that the UE 100 is to follow (e.g., as described in the third and fourth embodiments), the UE 100 may determine the associated SSB mode and perform SSB-related functions according to the determined SSB mode.

[0381] Alternatively, for example, the configuration indicator may further indicate the SSB mode to be applied by the UE 100. That is, the configuration indicator may not only indicate the DRX configuration, but also indicate the SSB mode to be applied.

[0382] In addition, for example, the configuration indicator may also indicate a transmission configuration indication TCI state, and the UE may receive and / or send a signal based on the TCI state.

[0383] That is, for example, a signal may be received and / or transmitted based on a TCI state indicated by a configuration indicator indicating a configuration followed by the UE for receiving and / or transmitting a signal.

[0384] Alternatively, each of the two or more configurations is associated with a transmission configuration indication TCI state; and the UE 100 receives and / or transmits a signal based on the TCI state associated with the configuration followed by the UE for receiving and / or transmitting a signal.

[0385] That is, according to an embodiment, the SSB mode and / or TCI state is associated with the corresponding DRX configuration. The UE 100 applies the SSB mode and / or TRX state associated with the DRX configuration followed. The association relationship between the DRX configuration and the SSB mode / TCI state may be predetermined or signaled. That is, the UE 100 may receive a configuration indicator and determine the corresponding SSB mode and / or TCI state, or may receive a configuration indicator that indicates one or more corresponding SSB modes / TCI states in addition to the DRX configuration. The UE 100 may then apply the SSB mode / TCI state indicated by the configuration indicator for the applied DRX configuration.

[0386] Hardware and software implementations of the present disclosure

[0387] The present disclosure can be implemented by software, hardware or software in collaboration with hardware. Each functional block used in the description of each of the above embodiments can be implemented in part or in whole by an LSI such as an integrated circuit, and each process described in each embodiment can be controlled in part or in whole by the same LSI or a combination of LSIs. LSI can be formed as a chip alone, or a chip can be formed to include a part or all of the functional blocks. LSI can include data input and output coupled thereto. According to the difference in integration, the LSI here can be referred to as IC, system LSI, super LSI or ultra LSI. However, the technology for implementing integrated circuits is not limited to LSI, and can be implemented by using a dedicated circuit, a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor. In addition, an FPGA (field programmable gate array) that can be programmed after LSI manufacturing or a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure the connection and setting of the circuit unit arranged inside the LSI can be used. The present disclosure can be implemented as digital processing or analog processing. If, as a result of the advancement of semiconductor technology or other derivative technologies, future integrated circuit technology replaces LSI, future integrated circuit technology can be used to integrate functional blocks. Biotechnology can also be applied.

[0388] The present disclosure may be implemented by any kind of equipment, device, or system having a communication function, which is referred to as a communication device.

[0389] The communication device may include a transceiver and a processing / control circuit. The transceiver may include and / or function as a receiver and a transmitter. As a transmitter and a receiver, the transceiver may include an RF (radio frequency) module and one or more antennas, and the RF module may include an amplifier, an RF modulator / demodulator, etc.

[0390] Some non-limiting examples of such communication devices include phones (e.g., cellular (cell) phones, smart phones), tablets, personal computers (PCs) (e.g., laptops, desktops, netbooks), cameras (e.g., digital still / video cameras), digital players (digital audio / video players), wearable devices (e.g., wearable cameras, smart watches, tracking devices), game consoles, digital book readers, telehealth / telemedicine (remote health and medicine) devices, and vehicles providing communication capabilities (e.g., cars, airplanes, ships), and various combinations thereof.

[0391] Communication devices are not limited to portable or movable, and may also include any kind of device, equipment, or system that is non-portable or fixed, such as smart home devices (e.g., appliances, lighting, smart meters, control panels), vending machines, and any other "things" in the network of the "Internet of Things (IoT)".

[0392] Communications may include exchanging data via, for example, cellular systems, wireless LAN systems, satellite systems, etc., and various combinations thereof.

[0393] The communication apparatus may include a device such as a controller or a sensor coupled to a communication device that performs the communication functions described in the present disclosure. For example, the communication apparatus may include a controller or a sensor that generates a control signal or a data signal used by the communication device that performs the communication functions of the communication apparatus.

[0394] The communication devices may also include infrastructure such as base stations, access points, and any other devices, equipment, or systems that communicate with or control devices such as those in the above non-limiting examples.

[0395] Furthermore, various embodiments may also be implemented with the aid of software modules, which are executed by a processor or directly in hardware. Combinations of software modules and hardware implementations are also possible. Software modules may be stored on any kind of computer-readable storage medium, such as RAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, registers, hard disk, CD-ROM, DVD, etc. It should also be noted that individual features of different embodiments may be the subject of another embodiment, either alone or in any combination.

[0396] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many changes and / or modifications may be made to the present disclosure as shown in the specific embodiments. Therefore, the present embodiments are to be considered in all aspects as illustrative and not restrictive.

[0397] Other aspects

[0398] According to a first aspect, there is provided a user equipment (UE), comprising a transceiver, the transceiver receiving two or more configuration indicators in operation, each configuration indicator indicating a configuration of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period. The UE also comprises circuitry, the circuitry causing the transceiver to receive and / or send a signal based on the two or more configuration indicators in operation.

[0399] According to a second aspect, a UE according to the first aspect is provided, wherein the two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators include a first configuration specified for multiple UEs served by a cell and a second configuration specified for a subset of UEs served by the cell, wherein the subset includes the UE.

[0400] According to a third aspect, there is provided a UE according to the second aspect, wherein the circuitry, in operation, causes the transceiver to receive and / or transmit signals during overlapping periods of the ON period according to the first configuration and the second configuration.

[0401] According to a fourth aspect, a UE according to the second aspect is provided, wherein the transceiver receives downlink control information DCI indicating one of the first configuration and the second configuration in operation. The circuit causes the transceiver to receive and / or transmit signals in an ON period according to the configuration indicated by the DCI in operation.

[0402] According to a fifth aspect, there is provided a UE according to the first aspect, wherein the two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators are configurations specified for a plurality of UEs served by a cell, the plurality of UEs including the UE.

[0403] According to a sixth aspect, a UE according to the fifth aspect is provided, wherein the transceiver receives a radio resource control RRC message or downlink control information DCI in operation, wherein the RRC message or DCI indicates one of two or more configurations. The circuit causes the transceiver to receive and / or send a signal during an ON period according to the configuration indicated by the RRC message or by the DCI in operation.

[0404] According to a seventh aspect, a UE according to the fifth aspect is provided, wherein the transceiver receives downlink control information DCI in operation. The circuit causes the transceiver to receive and / or send signals according to the DCI in operation. The DCI indicates (i) one of the configurations according to which the signal is sent and / or received, (ii) at least two configurations, wherein the signal is sent and / or received during the ON period according to any one of the at least two configurations, or (iii) at least two configurations, wherein the signal is sent and / or received during the overlapping period of the ON period according to the at least two configurations.

[0405] According to an eighth aspect, a UE according to the first aspect is provided, wherein two or more configurations indicated by two or more configuration indicators are configurations specified for a subset of multiple UEs served by a cell, wherein the subset includes the UE. Each of the two or more configurations is associated with a secondary cell SCell sleep configuration, a search space set group SSSG, or a physical downlink control channel PDCCH skip configuration. The transceiver receives downlink control information DCI indicating one of the two or more configurations through an SCell sleep indicator, an SSSG switching indicator, or a PDCCH skip indicator in operation. The circuit causes the transceiver to receive and / or send a signal during an ON period according to the configuration indicated by the DCI in operation.

[0406] According to the ninth aspect, a UE according to the eighth aspect is provided, wherein (i) the longer the indicated configuration period and / or the shorter the corresponding ON duration, the more non-sleeping SCells are indicated by the SCell sleep indicator, (ii) the longer the monitoring period of the indicated configuration and / or the shorter the corresponding ON duration, the higher the time density of the PDCCH to be monitored according to the SSSG switching indicator, or (iii) the longer or shorter the indicated configuration period, the longer the PDCCH skip duration indicated by the PDCCH skip indicator.

[0407] According to a tenth aspect, a UE according to any one of the fifth to ninth aspects is provided, wherein the two or more configuration indicators further indicate two or more target synchronization block SSB patterns to be used by the UE, the two or more SSB patterns including one or more SSBs in the candidate SSB set. In addition, the circuit performs SSB-related functions based on the two or more configuration indicators in operation.

[0408] According to an eleventh aspect, there is provided a UE according to the tenth aspect, wherein the circuit performs SSB-related functions in operation based on a target SSB mode indicated by a configuration indicator, which configuration indicator indicates a configuration followed by the UE for receiving and / or sending signals.

[0409] According to a twelfth aspect, there is provided a UE according to the fifth to ninth aspects, wherein each of the two or more configurations is associated with a target synchronization signal block SSB pattern, the target SSB pattern comprising one or more SSBs in a candidate SSB set to be used by the UE. In addition, the circuit system performs SSB-related functions in operation based on the target SSB pattern associated with the configuration followed by the UE for receiving and / or transmitting signals.

[0410] According to a thirteenth aspect, a UE according to any one of the fifth to twelfth aspects is provided, wherein the two or more configuration indicators further indicate two or more transmission configuration indication TCI states. In addition, the circuit receives and / or transmits a signal based on the TCI state in operation.

[0411] According to the fourteenth aspect, a UE according to the thirteenth aspect is provided, wherein the circuit causes the transceiver to receive and / or send a signal based on a TCI state indicated by a configuration indicator in operation, and the configuration indicator indicates the configuration followed by the UE for receiving and / or sending signals.

[0412] According to a fifteenth aspect, there is provided a UE according to the fifth to twelfth aspects, wherein each of the two or more configurations is associated with a transmission configuration indication TCI state. In addition, the circuit causes the transceiver to receive and / or transmit a signal based on the TCI state associated with the configuration followed by the UE for receiving and / or transmitting a signal.

[0413] According to a sixteenth aspect, a UE according to any one of the first to fifteenth aspects is provided, wherein the two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators are discontinuous reception (DRX) configurations.

[0414] According to a seventeenth aspect, a user equipment UE is provided, comprising a transceiver, the transceiver receiving an I-DRX configuration indicator indicating an idle mode discontinuous reception I-DRX configuration in operation. The UE also includes a circuit that causes the transceiver to receive and / or send signals during an ON period in a radio resource control RRC idle mode, in an RRC inactive mode, and in an RRC connected mode according to the I-DRX configuration in operation.

[0415] According to an eighteenth aspect, there is provided a UE according to the seventeenth aspect, wherein the I-DRX configuration indicator includes a timing indicator indicating an activity time. The circuit determines an ON period according to the I-DRX configuration and the indicated activity time in operation, and causes the transceiver to skip receiving and / or transmitting signals during a period outside the ON period.

[0416] According to the nineteenth aspect, a UE according to the seventeenth or eighteenth aspect is provided, wherein the transceiver receives downlink control information DCI in operation, the DCI indicating whether the UE should skip or continue receiving and / or sending signals before each I-DRX cycle according to the I-DRX configuration when in RRC connected mode.

[0417] According to the twentieth aspect, a method for a user equipment (UE) is provided, comprising the following steps: receiving two or more configuration indicators, each configuration indicator indicating a configuration of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period; and receiving and / or sending a signal based on the two or more configuration indicators.

[0418] According to the twenty-first aspect, a method according to the twentieth aspect is provided, wherein two or more configurations indicated by two or more configuration indicators include a first configuration specified for multiple UEs served by a cell and a second configuration specified for a subset of UEs served by the cell, wherein the subset includes the UE.

[0419] According to a twenty-second aspect, there is provided a method according to the twenty-first aspect, wherein, according to the first configuration and the second configuration, a signal is received and / or transmitted during an overlapping period of the ON period.

[0420] According to the twenty-third aspect, there is provided the UE according to the twenty-first aspect, further comprising the following steps: receiving downlink control information DCI indicating one of the first configuration and the second configuration. According to the configuration indicated by the DCI, receiving and / or sending a signal in the ON period.

[0421] According to a twenty-fourth aspect, a method according to the twentieth aspect is provided, wherein the two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators are configurations specified for a plurality of UEs served by the cell including the UE.

[0422] According to the twenty-fifth aspect, a method according to the twenty-fourth aspect is provided, further comprising the step of receiving a radio resource control RRC message or downlink control information DCI, wherein the RRC message or the DCI indicates one of two or more configurations. According to the configuration indicated by the RRC message or by the DCI, a signal is received and / or sent during the ON period.

[0423] According to a twenty-sixth aspect, a method according to the twenty-fourth aspect is provided, further comprising the step of receiving downlink control information DCI. A signal is received and / or sent according to the DCI, wherein the DCI indicates (i) one of the configurations according to which the signal is sent and / or received, (ii) at least two configurations, wherein the signal is sent and / or received during an ON period according to any one of the at least two configurations, or (iii) at least two configurations, wherein the signal is sent and / or received during an overlapping period of the ON period according to the at least two configurations.

[0424] According to the twenty-seventh aspect, a method according to the twentieth aspect is provided, wherein the two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators are configurations specified for a subset of multiple UEs served by the cell, wherein the subset includes the UE. Each of the two or more configurations is associated with a secondary cell SCell sleep configuration, a search space set group SSSG, or a physical downlink control channel PDCCH skip configuration. The method also includes the following steps: receiving downlink control information DCI indicating one of the two or more configurations through an SCell sleep indicator, an SSSG switching indicator, or a PDCCH skip indicator. According to the configuration indicated by the DCI, a signal is received and / or sent during the ON period.

[0425] According to aspect 28, a method according to aspect 27 is provided, wherein (i) the longer the indicated configuration period and / or the shorter the corresponding ON duration, the more non-sleeping SCells are indicated by the SCell sleep indicator, (ii) the longer the monitoring period of the indicated configuration and / or the shorter the corresponding ON duration, the higher the time density of the PDCCH to be monitored according to the SSSG switching indicator, or (iii) the longer or shorter the indicated configuration period, the longer the PDCCH skip duration indicated by the PDCCH skip indicator.

[0426] According to aspect twenty-ninth, a method according to any one of aspects twenty-four to twenty-eight is provided, wherein the two or more configuration indicators further indicate two or more target synchronization block SSB patterns to be used by the UE, including one or more SSBs in a candidate SSB set. In addition, the method includes the step of performing SSB-related functions based on the two or more configuration indicators.

[0427] According to the thirtieth aspect, a method according to the twenty-ninth aspect is provided, further comprising the following steps: performing SSB-related functions based on a target SSB mode indicated by a configuration indicator, wherein the configuration indicator indicates the configuration followed by the UE for receiving and / or sending signals.

[0428] According to a thirty-first aspect, a method according to aspects twenty-four to twenty-eight is provided, wherein each of the two or more configurations is associated with a target synchronization signal block SSB pattern to be used by the UE, the target SSB pattern comprising one or more SSBs in a candidate SSB set. In addition, the method comprises the following steps: performing SSB-related functions based on the target SSB pattern associated with the configuration followed by the UE for receiving and / or transmitting signals.

[0429] According to a thirty-second aspect, a method according to any one of aspects 24 to 31 is provided, wherein the two or more configuration indicators further indicate two or more transmission configuration indicators (TCI) states. In addition, a signal is received and / or transmitted based on the TCI state.

[0430] According to the thirty-third aspect, a method according to the thirty-second aspect is provided, wherein a signal is received and / or sent based on a TCI state indicated by a configuration indicator, and the configuration indicator indicates a configuration followed by the UE for receiving and / or sending signals.

[0431] According to the thirty-fourth aspect, a method according to aspects twenty-four to thirty-one is provided, wherein each of the two or more configurations is associated with a transmission configuration indication TCI state. In addition, a signal is received and / or transmitted based on the TCI state associated with the configuration followed by the UE for receiving and / or transmitting a signal.

[0432] According to a thirty-fifth aspect, a method according to any one of aspects 20 to 34 is provided, wherein the two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators are discontinuous reception (DRX) configurations.

[0433] According to the thirty-sixth aspect, a method for a user equipment UE is provided, comprising the following steps: receiving an idle mode discontinuous reception I-DRX configuration indicator indicating an I-DRX configuration, and receiving and / or sending signals during an ON period in a radio resource control RRC idle mode, in an RRC inactive mode, and in an RRC connected mode according to the I-DRX configuration.

[0434] According to the thirty-seventh aspect, the method of the thirty-sixth aspect is provided, wherein the I-DRX configuration indicator includes a timing indicator indicating an active time. The method also includes the following steps: determining an ON period according to the I-DRX configuration and the indicated active time; and skipping receiving and / or transmitting signals during periods outside the ON period.

[0435] According to aspect thirty-eight, a method according to aspect thirty-six or thirty-seven is provided, further comprising the step of receiving downlink control information DCI, the DCI indicating whether the UE should skip or continue receiving and / or sending signals before each I-DRX cycle according to the I-DRX configuration when in RRC connected mode.

[0436] According to a thirty-ninth aspect, there is provided a base station comprising a circuit that determines two or more configurations of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period in operation. The base station also comprises a transceiver that transmits two or more configuration indicators indicating the two or more configurations to a user equipment (UE) in operation, and receives and / or transmits signals from and / or to the UE based on the two or more configurations.

[0437] According to the fortieth aspect, a base station according to the thirty-ninth aspect is provided, wherein two or more configurations indicated by two or more configuration indicators include a first configuration specified for multiple UEs served by the cell and a second configuration specified for a subset of UEs served by the cell, wherein the subset includes the UE.

[0438] According to a forty-first aspect, there is provided a base station according to the fortieth aspect, wherein the transceiver receives and / or transmits signals during an overlapping period of the ON period according to the first configuration and the second configuration in operation.

[0439] According to the 42nd aspect, a base station according to the 40th aspect is provided, wherein the transceiver transmits downlink control information DCI indicating one of the first configuration and the second configuration in operation. In addition, the transceiver receives and / or transmits a signal during an ON period according to the configuration indicated by the DCI in operation.

[0440] According to a forty-third aspect, a base station according to the thirty-ninth aspect is provided, wherein the two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators are configurations specified for multiple UEs served by the cell including the UE.

[0441] According to a forty-fourth aspect, a base station according to the forty-third aspect is provided, wherein the transceiver sends a radio resource control RRC message or downlink control information DCI in operation, wherein the RRC message or DCI indicates one of two or more configurations. In addition, the transceiver receives and / or sends a signal during an ON period according to the configuration indicated by the RRC message or by the DCI in operation.

[0442] According to a forty-fifth aspect, a base station according to the forty-third aspect is provided, wherein the transceiver transmits downlink control information DCI in operation. In addition, the transceiver receives and / or transmits a signal according to the DCI in operation, wherein the DCI indicates (i) one of the configurations according to which the signal is transmitted and / or received, (ii) at least two configurations, wherein the signal is transmitted and / or received during an ON period according to any one of the at least two configurations, or (iii) at least two configurations, wherein the signal is transmitted and / or received during an overlapping period of the ON period according to the at least two configurations.

[0443] According to the forty-sixth aspect, a base station according to the thirty-ninth aspect is provided, wherein the two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators are configurations specified for a subset of multiple UEs served by the cell, wherein the subset includes the UE. Each of the two or more configurations is associated with a secondary cell SCell sleep configuration, a search space set group SSSG, or a physical downlink control channel PDCCH skip configuration. The transceiver sends downlink control information DCI indicating one of the two or more configurations through an SCell sleep indicator, an SSSG switching indicator, or a PDCCH skip indicator in operation. In addition, the transceiver receives and / or sends signals during an ON period according to the configuration indicated by the DCI in operation.

[0444] According to the forty-seventh aspect, a base station according to the forty-sixth aspect is provided, wherein the longer the indicated configuration period and / or the shorter the corresponding ON duration, the more non-sleeping SCells indicated by the SCell sleep indicator, the longer the monitoring period of the indicated configuration and / or the shorter the corresponding ON duration, the higher the time density of the PDCCH to be monitored according to the SSSG switching indicator, or the longer or shorter the indicated configuration period, the longer the PDCCH skip duration indicated by the PDCCH skip indicator.

[0445] According to aspect 48, a base station according to any one of aspects 43 to 47 is provided, wherein the two or more configuration indicators further indicate two or more target synchronization block SSB patterns to be used by the UE, including one or more SSBs in a candidate SSB set.

[0446] According to aspect 49, a base station according to any one of aspects 43 to 47 is provided, wherein each of the two or more configurations is associated with a target synchronization signal block SSB pattern to be used by the UE, the target SSB pattern comprising one or more SSBs in a candidate SSB set.

[0447] According to the fiftieth aspect, a base station according to any one of aspects from forty-third to forty-ninth is provided, wherein the two or more configuration indicators also indicate two or more transmission configuration indication TCI states.

[0448] According to the fifty-first aspect, a base station according to aspects forty-third to forty-ninth is provided, wherein each of two or more configurations is associated with a transmission configuration indication TCI state.

[0449] According to a fifty-second aspect, a base station according to aspects thirty-ninth to fifty-first is provided, wherein two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators are discontinuous reception (DRX) configurations.

[0450] According to a fifty-third aspect, a base station is provided, comprising a circuit that determines an idle mode discontinuous reception I-DRX configuration in operation. The base station also includes a transceiver that sends an I-DRX configuration indicator indicating the I-DRX configuration to a user equipment UE in operation, and receives and / or sends a signal from and / or to the UE during an ON period in a radio resource control RRC idle mode, in an RRC inactive mode, and in an RRC connected mode according to the I-DRX configuration.

[0451] According to a fifty-fourth aspect, there is provided a base station according to the fifty-third aspect, wherein the I-DRX configuration indicator includes a timing indicator indicating an activity time. The circuit determines an ON period according to the I-DRX configuration and the indicated activity time in operation, and causes the transceiver to skip receiving and / or transmitting signals during a period outside the ON period.

[0452] According to the fifty-fifth aspect, a base station according to the fifty-third or fifty-fourth aspect is provided, wherein the transceiver sends downlink control information DCI during operation, the DCI indicating whether the UE should skip or continue receiving and / or sending signals before each I-DRX cycle according to the I-DRX configuration when in RRC connected mode.

[0453] According to the fifty-sixth aspect, a method for a base station is provided, comprising the following steps: determining two or more configurations of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period; sending two or more configuration indicators indicating the two or more configurations to a user equipment UE; and receiving and / or sending signals from and / or to the UE based on the two or more configurations.

[0454] According to the fifty-seventh aspect, a method according to the fifty-sixth aspect is provided, wherein the two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators include a first configuration specified for multiple UEs served by the cell and a second configuration specified for a subset of UEs served by the cell, wherein the subset includes the UE.

[0455] According to a fifty-eighth aspect, a method according to the fifty-seventh aspect is provided, wherein, according to the first configuration and the second configuration, a signal is received and / or sent during an overlapping period of the ON period.

[0456] According to the fifty-ninth aspect, a method according to the fifty-seventh aspect is provided, further comprising the following steps: sending downlink control information DCI indicating one of the first configuration and the second configuration. In addition, according to the configuration indicated by the DCI, a signal is received and / or sent during the ON period.

[0457] According to the sixtieth aspect, a method according to the fifty-sixth aspect is provided, wherein the two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators are configurations specified for multiple UEs served by the cell including the UE.

[0458] According to the sixty-first aspect, a method according to the sixtieth aspect is provided, further comprising the step of sending a radio resource control RRC message or downlink control information DCI, wherein the RRC message or the DCI indicates one of two or more configurations. According to the configuration indicated by the RRC message or by the DCI, a signal is received and / or sent during an ON period.

[0459] According to the sixty-second aspect, a method according to the sixtieth aspect is provided, further comprising the step of sending downlink control information DCI. A signal is received and / or sent according to the DCI, wherein the DCI indicates (i) one of the configurations according to which the signal is sent and / or received, (ii) at least two configurations, wherein the signal is sent and / or received during an ON period according to any one of the at least two configurations, or (iii) at least two configurations, wherein the signal is sent and / or received during an overlapping period of the ON period according to the at least two configurations.

[0460] According to the sixty-third aspect, a method according to the fifty-sixth aspect is provided, wherein the two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators are configurations specified for a subset of multiple UEs served by the cell, wherein the subset includes the UE. Each of the two or more configurations is associated with a secondary cell SCell sleep configuration, a search space set group SSSG, or a physical downlink control channel PDCCH skip configuration. The method also includes the following steps: sending downlink control information DCI indicating one of the two or more configurations via an SCell sleep indicator, an SSSG switching indicator, or a PDCCH skip indicator. According to the configuration indicated by the DCI, a signal is received and / or sent during an ON period.

[0461] According to the sixty-fourth aspect, a method according to the sixty-third aspect is provided, wherein the longer the indicated configuration period and / or the shorter the corresponding ON duration, the more non-sleeping SCells are indicated by the SCell sleep indicator, the longer the monitoring period of the indicated configuration and / or the shorter the corresponding ON duration, the higher the time density of the PDCCH to be monitored according to the SSSG switching indicator, or the longer or shorter the indicated configuration period, the longer the PDCCH skip duration indicated by the PDCCH skip indicator.

[0462] According to aspect sixty-fifth, a method according to any one of aspects sixty to sixty-four is provided, wherein two or more configuration indicators further indicate two or more target synchronization block SSB patterns to be used by the UE, including one or more SSBs in a candidate SSB set.

[0463] According to aspect sixty-six, a method according to any one of aspects sixty to sixty-four is provided, wherein each of two or more configurations is associated with a target synchronization signal block SSB pattern, the target SSB pattern comprising one or more SSBs in a candidate SSB set to be used by the UE.

[0464] According to aspect sixty-seven, a method according to any one of aspects sixty to sixty-six is ​​provided, wherein the two or more configuration indicators also indicate two or more transmission configuration indication TCI states.

[0465] According to the sixty-eighth aspect, a base station according to aspects sixty to sixty-six is ​​provided, wherein each of two or more configurations is associated with a transmission configuration indication TCI state.

[0466] According to a sixty-ninth aspect, a method according to aspects fifty-six to sixty-eight is provided, wherein two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators are discontinuous reception (DRX) configurations.

[0467] According to the seventieth aspect, a method for a base station is provided, comprising the following steps: determining an idle mode discontinuous reception I-DRX configuration; sending an I-DRX configuration indicator for indicating the I-DRX configuration to a user equipment UE; and receiving and / or sending signals from and / or to the UE during an ON period in a radio resource control RRC idle mode, in an RRC inactive mode, and in an RRC connected mode according to the I-DRX configuration.

[0468] According to the seventy-first aspect, a method according to the seventieth aspect is provided, wherein the I-DRX configuration indicator includes a timing indicator indicating an active time. The method further includes the following steps: determining an ON period according to the I-DRX configuration and the indicated active time; and skipping receiving and / or transmitting signals during periods outside the ON period.

[0469] According to aspect seventy-second, a method according to aspect seventy or seventy-first is provided, further comprising the step of sending downlink control information DCI, the DCI indicating whether the UE should skip or continue receiving and / or sending signals before each I-DRX cycle according to the I-DRX configuration when in RRC connected mode.

[0470] In summary, some exemplary embodiments relate to user equipment UE, base station and corresponding methods for UE and base station. For example, the UE includes a transceiver, which receives two or more configuration indicators in operation, each configuration indicator indicating a configuration of a periodic timing mode including an ON period. The UE, for example, also includes a circuit that enables the transceiver to receive and / or send signals based on two or more configuration indicators in operation. In another example, the UE includes a transceiver that receives an idle mode discontinuous reception I-DRX configuration indicator indicating an I-DRX configuration in operation. For example, the UE also includes a circuit that enables the transceiver to receive and / or send signals during the ON period in a radio resource control RRC idle mode, in an RRC inactive mode, and in an RRC connected mode according to the I-DRX configuration in operation.

Claims

1. A user equipment UE, comprising: a transceiver that receives two or more configuration indicators, each configuration indicator indicating a configuration of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period; as well as Circuitry causes the transceiver to receive and / or transmit signals based on the two or more configuration indicators.

2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein The two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators include a first configuration specified for a plurality of UEs served by a cell and a second configuration specified for a subset of the UEs served by the cell, wherein the subset includes the UE.

3. The UE according to claim 2, wherein The circuit causes the transceiver to receive and / or transmit the signal during an overlapping period of the ON period according to the first configuration and the second configuration.

4. The UE according to claim 2, wherein The transceiver receives downlink control information (DCI) indicating one of the first configuration and the second configuration; and The circuit causes the transceiver to receive and / or transmit the signal during an ON period according to a configuration indicated by the DCI.

5. The UE according to claim 1, wherein The two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators are configurations designated for a plurality of UEs served by the cell including the UE.

6. The UE according to claim 5, wherein The transceiver receives a radio resource control (RRC) message or downlink control information (DCI), wherein the RRC message or the DCI indicates one of the two or more configurations; and The circuit causes the transceiver to receive and / or transmit the signal during an ON period according to the configuration indicated by the RRC message or by the DCI.

7. The UE according to claim 5, wherein The transceiver receives downlink control information DCI; and The circuit causes the transceiver to receive and / or send the signal according to the DCI, wherein The DCI indicates the signal will be transmitted and / or received according to one of the configurations, at least two configurations, wherein the signal is to be sent and / or received during the ON period according to any one of the at least two configurations, or • At least two configurations, wherein the signals are to be transmitted and / or received during overlapping periods of the ON periods according to the at least two configurations.

8. The UE according to claim 1, wherein The two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators are configurations specified for a subset of a plurality of UEs served by a cell, wherein the subset includes the UE; Each of the two or more configurations is associated with a secondary cell SCell dormancy configuration, a search space set group SSSG, or a physical downlink control channel PDCCH skip configuration; The transceiver receives downlink control information DCI, wherein the DCI indicates one of the two or more configurations through an SCell sleep indicator, an SSSG switching indicator, or a PDCCH skip indicator; and The circuitry causes the transceiver to receive and / or transmit the signal during an ON period according to the configuration indicated by the DCI.

9. The UE according to claim 8, wherein The longer the indicated configured period and / or the shorter the corresponding ON duration, the more non-sleeping SCells are indicated by the SCell sleep indicator. The longer the period of monitoring the indicated configuration and / or the shorter the corresponding ON duration, the higher the time density of the PDCCH to be monitored according to the SSSG switching indicator, or The longer or shorter the indicated configured period is, the longer the PDCCH skipping duration indicated by the PDCCH skipping indicator is.

10. The UE according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein The two or more configurations indicated by the two or more configuration indicators are discontinuous reception (DRX) configurations.

11. A user equipment UE, comprising: a transceiver, the transceiver receiving an I-DRX configuration indicator indicating an idle mode discontinuous reception I-DRX configuration; as well as The circuit enables the transceiver to receive and / or transmit signals during an ON period in a radio resource control RRC idle mode, in an RRC inactive mode, and in an RRC connected mode according to the I-DRX configuration.

12. The UE according to claim 11, wherein The I-DRX configuration indicator comprises a timing indicator indicating an activity time; The circuit, determining an ON period according to the I-DRX configuration and the indicated activity time; The transceiver is caused to skip receiving and / or transmitting the signal during a period other than the ON period.

13. The UE according to claim 11 or 12, wherein The transceiver receives downlink control information DCI indicating whether the UE should skip or continue receiving and / or transmitting the signal before each I-DRX cycle according to the I-DRX configuration when in RRC connected mode.

14. A base station, comprising: circuitry that determines two or more configurations of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period; as well as transceiver, the transceiver sending two or more configuration indicators indicating the two or more configurations to a user equipment UE; and Based on the two or more configurations, a signal is received from and / or sent to the UE.

15. A base station, comprising: A circuit for determining an idle mode discontinuous reception I-DRX configuration; as well as transceiver, the transceiver sending an I-DRX configuration indicator indicating the I-DRX configuration to a user equipment UE; and According to the I-DRX configuration, a signal is received from and / or sent to the UE during an ON period in a radio resource control RRC idle mode, in an RRC inactive mode, and in an RRC connected mode.

16. An integrated circuit configured to control a user equipment UE, the integrated circuit comprising a transceiver circuit that receives two or more configuration indicators, each configuration indicator indicating a configuration of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period; and Control circuitry causes the transceiver circuitry to receive and / or transmit signals based on the two or more configuration indicators.

17. An integrated circuit configured to control a user equipment UE, the integrated circuit comprising a transceiver circuit that receives an idle mode discontinuous reception (I-DRX) configuration indicator indicating an I-DRX configuration; and A control circuit causes the transceiver circuit to receive and / or transmit a signal during an ON period in a radio resource control RRC idle mode, in an RRC inactive mode, and in an RRC connected mode according to the I-DRX configuration.

18. An integrated circuit configured to control a base station, the integrated circuit comprising a control circuit that determines two or more configurations of a periodic timing pattern including an ON period; and A transceiver circuit, the transceiver circuit sending two or more configuration indicators indicating the two or more configurations to a user equipment UE; and Based on the two or more configurations, a signal is received from and / or sent to the UE.

19. An integrated circuit configured to control a base station, the integrated circuit comprising a control circuit, the control circuit determining an idle mode discontinuous reception I-DRX configuration; and A transceiver circuit, the transceiver circuit sending an I-DRX configuration indicator indicating the I-DRX configuration to a user equipment UE; and According to the I-DRX configuration, a signal is received from and / or sent to the UE during an ON period in a radio resource control RRC idle mode, in an RRC inactive mode, and in an RRC connected mode.

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