User equipment, base station and methods thereof, and integrated circuit for controlling processes thereof

Abstract

The invention relates to user equipment, a base station, a method thereof and an integrated circuit for controlling processes thereof. The user equipment UE comprises: a receiver which receives a power saving signal PoSS from a serving base station in which the UE resides; and processing circuitry to monitor reception of a PoSS to determine UE behavior with respect to processing of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), where the PoSS includes a behavior indication indicating that the UE follows a first behavior or a second behavior, where the processing circuitry determines to perform PDCCH monitoring if the first behavior is indicated, and where the processing circuitry determines to perform PDCCH monitoring if the second behavior is indicated. PDCCH monitoring is skipped if the second behavior is indicated, and wherein the PoSS is received as downlink control information (DCI), and wherein the behavior indication in the field of the DCI further indicates a third behavior with respect to channel state information (CSI) measurement.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the invention patent application with the application date of December 11, 2019, application number: 201980076128.7, and invention name: "User equipment involving power saving". Technical Field

[0002] The present disclosure relates to methods, apparatus and articles in a communication system, such as a 3GPP communication system. Background Art

[0003] Currently, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is working on technical specifications for the next generation of cellular technology, also known as the fifth generation (5G).

[0004] One objective is to provide a single technical framework that addresses all usage scenarios, requirements, and deployment scenarios (see, e.g., TR38.913 Version 15.0.0, Section 6, which is incorporated herein by reference), including at least enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine type communications (mMTC). For example, eMBB deployment scenarios may include indoor hotspots, dense cities, rural areas, urban macro, and high-speed; URLLC deployment scenarios may include industrial control systems, mobile healthcare (remote monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment), real-time control of vehicles, and smart grid wide-area monitoring and control systems; mMTC deployment scenarios may include scenarios where a large number of devices (such as smart wearable devices and sensor networks, etc.) have non-time-critical data transmission. The similarity between eMBB and URLLC services is that they both require very wide bandwidth, but the difference is that URLLC services may require more ultra-low latency.

[0005] The second goal is to achieve forward compatibility. Backward compatibility with Long Term Evolution (LTE, LTE-A) cellular systems is not required, which forces completely new system designs and / or the introduction of new features. Summary of the invention

[0006] Non-limiting and exemplary embodiments facilitate providing an improved process for conserving power in user equipment.

[0007] In a general example, the technology of the present disclosure is characterized by a user equipment UE, including: a receiver that receives a power saving signal PoSS from a serving base station on which the UE resides; and a processing circuit that monitors the reception of the PoSS to determine a UE behavior regarding processing of a physical downlink control channel PDCCH, wherein the PoSS includes a behavior indication that indicates that the UE follows a first behavior or a second behavior, wherein the processing circuit determines to perform PDCCH monitoring if the first behavior is indicated and to skip PDCCH monitoring if the second behavior is indicated, and wherein the PoSS is received as downlink control information DCI, and wherein the behavior indication in a field of the DCI also indicates a third behavior regarding channel state information CSI measurement.

[0008] In a general example, the technology of the present disclosure is characterized by a method including the following steps performed by a user equipment UE: receiving a power saving signal PoSS as downlink control information DCI from a serving base station where the UE is stationed, monitoring the reception of the PoSS to determine a UE behavior regarding processing of a physical downlink control channel PDCCH, wherein the PoSS includes a behavior indication indicating that the UE follows a first behavior or a second behavior, and determining to perform PDCCH monitoring if the first behavior is indicated and to skip PDCCH monitoring if the second behavior is indicated, wherein the behavior indication in a field of the DCI also indicates a third behavior regarding channel state information CSI measurement.

[0009] In a general example, the technology of the present disclosure is characterized by a base station BS, including: a transmitter, which sends a power saving signal PoSS as downlink control information DCI to at least one user equipment UE residing on the base station, and a processing circuit, which generates the PoSS, wherein the PoSS includes a behavior indication indicating that the UE follows a first behavior or a second behavior regarding processing of a physical downlink control channel PDCCH, wherein the PoSS is generated so that the UE performs PDCCH monitoring if the first behavior is indicated, and skips PDCCH monitoring if the second behavior is indicated, and wherein the behavior indication in the field of the DCI also indicates a third behavior regarding channel state information CSI measurement.

[0010] In a general example, the technology of the present disclosure is characterized by a method including the following steps performed by a base station BS: sending a power saving signal PoSS as downlink control information DCI to at least one user equipment UE camping on the base station, and generating the PoSS, wherein the PoSS includes a behavior indication indicating that the UE follows a first behavior or a second behavior regarding processing of a physical downlink control channel PDCCH, wherein the PoSS is generated so that the UE performs PDCCH monitoring if the first behavior is indicated, and skips PDCCH monitoring if the second behavior is indicated, and wherein the behavior indication in the field of the DCI also indicates a third behavior regarding channel state information CSI measurement.

[0011] In a general example, the technology of the present disclosure is characterized by an integrated circuit for controlling a process, the process including the following steps performed by a user equipment UE: receiving a power saving signal PoSS as downlink control information DCI from a serving base station on which the UE resides, monitoring the reception of the PoSS to determine a UE behavior regarding processing of a physical downlink control channel PDCCH, wherein the PoSS includes a behavior indication indicating that the UE follows a first behavior or a second behavior, and determining to perform PDCCH monitoring if the first behavior is indicated and to skip PDCCH monitoring if the second behavior is indicated, wherein the behavior indication in a field of the DCI also indicates a third behavior regarding channel state information CSI measurement.

[0012] In a general example, the technology of the present disclosure is characterized by an integrated circuit for controlling a process, the process including the following steps performed by a base station BS: sending a power saving signal PoSS as downlink control information DCI to at least one user equipment UE camping on the base station, and generating the PoSS, wherein the PoSS includes a behavior indication indicating that the UE follows a first behavior or a second behavior regarding processing of a physical downlink control channel PDCCH, wherein the PoSS is generated so that the UE performs PDCCH monitoring if the first behavior is indicated, and skips PDCCH monitoring if the second behavior is indicated, and wherein the behavior indication in a field of the DCI also indicates a third behavior regarding channel state information CSI measurement.

[0013] In a general example, the technology of the present disclosure is characterized by a user equipment, the user equipment including: a receiver, receiving a power saving signal PoSS from a serving base station where the UE is camped; and a UE-side processing circuit, monitoring the reception of the PoSS to determine the UE behavior regarding the processing of a physical downlink control channel PDCCH. The PoSS includes a behavior indication indicating that the UE follows a first behavior or a second behavior, and wherein the PoSS also includes a configuration indication indicating at least one configuration parameter associated with the first or second behavior, wherein the processing circuit determines to perform PDCCH monitoring in the case of indicating the first behavior, skip the PDCCH monitoring in the case of indicating the second behavior, and apply the at least one configuration parameter accordingly.

[0014] In a general example, the technology of the present disclosure is characterized by a method comprising the following steps performed by a UE: receiving a power saving signal PoSS from a serving base station on which the UE resides; monitoring the reception of the PoSS to determine a UE behavior regarding processing of a physical downlink control channel PDCCH; wherein the PoSS includes a behavior indication indicating that the UE follows a first behavior or a second behavior, and wherein the PoSS also includes a configuration indication indicating at least one configuration parameter associated with the first behavior or the second behavior, and wherein a processing circuit determines to perform PDCCH monitoring when the first behavior is indicated, determines to skip PDCCH monitoring when the second behavior is indicated, and applies the at least one configuration parameter accordingly.

[0015] In a general example, the technology of the present disclosure is characterized by a base station BS, including: a transmitter, which sends a power saving signal PoSS to at least one user equipment UE camped on the base station; and a BS-side processing circuit, which generates the PoSS. The PoSS includes a behavior indication indicating that the UE follows a first behavior or a second behavior, and wherein the PoSS also includes a configuration indication indicating at least one configuration parameter associated with the first or second behavior, and wherein the PoSS is generated so that the UE performs PDCCH monitoring when the first behavior is indicated, skips PDCCH monitoring when the second behavior is indicated, and applies the at least one configuration parameter accordingly.

[0016] 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.

[0017] From the description and drawings, additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments and different implementations will become apparent. These benefits and / or advantages can be obtained individually through the various embodiments and features of the description and drawings, and all of these embodiments and features do not need to be provided in order to obtain one or more of such benefits and / or advantages. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In the following exemplary embodiments, a more detailed description will be given with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0019] Figure 1 An exemplary architecture of a 3GPP NR system is shown;

[0020] Figure 2 An exemplary user and control plane architecture for LTE eNB, gNB and UE is shown;

[0021] Figure 3A and Figure 3B shows the messages exchanged between the gNB and the UE when performing a power saving procedure using PoSS;

[0022] Figure 4 An exemplary simplified structure of a UE and a gNB is shown;

[0023] Figure 5 The structure of a UE according to an exemplary implementation of the first embodiment is shown;

[0024] Figure 6 is a flow chart of the behavior of a UE according to an exemplary implementation;

[0025] Figure 7 is a flow chart of the behavior of a UE according to another exemplary implementation;

[0026] Figure 8 is a timing diagram of a behavior of a UE according to an exemplary implementation of a first behavior;

[0027] Fig. 9 is a timing diagram of a behavior of a UE according to an exemplary implementation of a second behavior;

[0028] Fig.10 shows the structure of a DCI according to an exemplary implementation of the first solution;

[0029] Fig.11 shows the structure of a DCI according to another exemplary embodiment of the first solution;

[0030] Fig.12 shows the structure of a DCI according to an exemplary embodiment of the second solution;

[0031] Fig.13 shows the structure of a DCI according to another exemplary embodiment of the second solution;

[0032] Fig.14 shows the structure of a DCI according to an exemplary embodiment of the third solution; and

[0033] Fig.15The structure of a DCI according to another exemplary embodiment of the third solution is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] 5G NR system architecture and protocol stack

[0035] 3GPP is working on the next version of the fifth generation of cellular technology, referred to as 5G, including the development of a new radio access technology (NR) operating in the frequency range up to 100 GHz. 3GPP must identify and develop the technical components required for the successful standardization of NR systems in a timely manner to meet the immediate market needs and longer-term requirements. To achieve this, the evolution of the radio interface as well as the radio network architecture is considered in the study project "New Radio Access Technologies". The results and agreements are collected in the Technical Report TR 38.804v14.0.0, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0036] Among them, the entire system architecture assumes that the NG-RAN (Next Generation Radio Access Network) including gNB provides NG-Radio Access User Plane (SDAP / PDCP / RLC / MAC / PHY) and Control Plane (RRC) protocol terminals to the UE. gNBs are connected to each other by means of the Xn interface. The gNB is also connected to the NGC (Next Generation Core) by means of the Next Generation (NG) interface, and more specifically, to the AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) (e.g., a specific core entity that executes AMF) by means of the NG-C interface and to the UPF (User Plane Function) (e.g., a specific core entity that executes UPF) by means of the NG-U interface. NG-RAN architecture as Figure 1 As shown (see, for example, 3GPP TS 38.300 v15.2.0 Section 4, which is incorporated herein by reference).

[0037] Various deployment scenarios (see, e.g., 3GPP TR 38.801 v14.0.0, which is incorporated herein by reference) may be supported. For example, a non-centralized deployment scenario (see, e.g., TR 38.801 Section 5.2; Section 5.4 describes a centralized deployment) is presented in which base stations supporting 5G NR may be deployed. Figure 2 An exemplary non-centralized deployment scenario is shown (see, for example, the above-mentioned TR 38.801 Figure 5 .2-1), and also shows an LTE eNB and a user equipment (UE) connected to the gNB and the LTE eNB. The new eNB of NR 5G can be exemplarily referred to as a gNB. The LTE eNB is an evolution of the eNB that supports connectivity of EPC (Evolved Packet Core) and NGC (Next Generation Core).

[0038] The user plane protocol stack for NR (see, e.g., 3GPP TS 38.300 v15.2.0, section 4.4.1, which is incorporated herein by reference) includes PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol, see TS 38.300, section 6.4), RLC (Radio Link Control, see TS 38.300, section 6.3) and MAC (Medium Access Control, see TS 38.300, section 6.2) sublayers, which terminate in the gNB on the network side. A new access stratum (AS) sublayer (SDAP, Service Data Adaptation Protocol) is introduced above PDCP (see, e.g., subclause 6.5 of 3GPP TS 38.300 version 15.2.0, which is incorporated herein by reference). A control plane protocol stack is also defined for NR (see, e.g., TS 38.300, section 4.4.2). Subclause 6 of TS 38.300 gives an overview of Layer 2 functionality. The functions of the PDCP, RLC and MAC sublayers are listed in TS 38.300 sections 6.4, 6.3 and 6.2, respectively. The functions of the RRC layer are listed in TS 38.300 subclause 7. The above sections of TS 38.300 are incorporated herein by reference.

[0039] For example, the medium access control layer handles logical channel multiplexing, scheduling, and scheduling-related functions, including processing different parameter sets.

[0040] For the physical layer, the MAC layer uses services in the form of transport channels. A transport channel can be defined by the way and characteristics of information transmission over the radio interface. The Random Access Channel (RACH) is also defined as a transport channel handled by the MAC, although it does not carry transport blocks. One of the procedures supported by the MAC layer is the Random Access procedure.

[0041] For example, the physical layer (PHY) is responsible for coding, PHY HARQ processing, modulation, multi-antenna processing, and mapping 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 to transmit a specific transport channel, and each transport channel is mapped to a corresponding physical channel. One physical channel is the PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel) used for random access.

[0042] NR use cases / deployment scenarios may 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 downlink, 10Gbps uplink) and user experience data rates that are three times higher than those provided by Advanced IMT. On the other hand, in the case of URLLC, more stringent requirements are imposed on ultra-low latency (0.5 ms user plane latency for UL and DL respectively) and high reliability (1-10-5 within 1 ms). Finally, mMTC may prioritize high connection density (1,000,000 devices / km2 in urban environments), large coverage in harsh environments, and ultra-long battery life (15 years) for low-cost devices.

[0043] Therefore, an OFDM parameter set (e.g., subcarrier spacing, OFDM symbol duration, cyclic prefix (CP) duration, number of symbols per scheduling interval) that is applicable for one use case may not be applicable for another use case. For example, low latency services may preferentially require shorter symbol duration (and therefore larger subcarrier spacing) and / or fewer symbols per scheduling interval (i.e., TTI) compared to mMTC services. In addition, deployment scenarios with large channel delay spread may preferentially require longer CP duration compared to scenarios with short delay spread. The subcarrier spacing should be optimized accordingly to maintain similar CP overhead. NR can support more than one subcarrier spacing value. 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 u In 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 having a length of one OFDM / SC-FDMA symbol.

[0044] 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 38.211v15.2.0, incorporated herein by reference).

[0045] Control signaling / PDCCH / DCI / search space

[0046] The main purpose of DCI (Downlink Control Information) in 5G NR is the same as that of DCI in LTE, namely as a special set of information for scheduling downlink data channels (e.g. PDSCH) or uplink data channels (e.g. PUSCH). In 5G NR, many different DCI formats are defined (e.g., see TS 38.212v15.2.0 Section 7.3.1, incorporated herein by reference). The following table gives an overview.

[0047]

[0048] The PDCCH search space is an area in the downlink resource grid (time-frequency resources) that can carry PDCCH (DCI). In general, it is an area of ​​radio resources used by the base station to send control information to one or more UEs in the downlink. The UE performs blind decoding on the entire search space, trying to find the PDCCH data (DCI). Conceptually, the concept of search space in 5G NR is similar to LTE search space, but there are many differences in the details.

[0049] Synchronous signal block measurement timing configuration—SMTC—PSS / SSS, PBCH

[0050] NR introduces 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). The UE can use the PSS and SSS to find, synchronize and identify the network. The PBCH carries a minimum amount of system information, including an indication of where to send the remaining broadcast system information.

[0051] In LTE, these three signals are also used, namely PSS, SSS and PBCH, although not as part of one SSB. In NR, the three SSB components are always sent together, for example, they have the same period. A given SSB can be repeated within an SS burst set, which can potentially be used for gNB beam scanning transmissions. SS burst sets can be restricted to a specific time period, such as a 5 ms window. For initial cell selection, the UE can assume a default SS burst set period of 20 ms.

[0052] 5G NR PSS is a physical layer specific signal used to identify radio frame boundaries and is of m-sequence type. 5G NRSSS is also a physical layer specific signal used to identify subframe boundaries and is also an m-sequence. (See TS 38.211v15.2.0 Section 7.4.2, incorporated herein by reference).

[0053] Reference signal

[0054] As in LTE, several different types of reference signals (RS) are used in 5G NR (see 3GPP TS 38.211 v15.3.0 Section 7.4.1, incorporated herein by reference). At least the following reference signals are available in 5G NR:

[0055] CSI-RS, channel state information reference signal, can be used for channel state information acquisition and beam management

[0056] PDSCH DMRS, demodulation reference signal, can be used for PDSCH demodulation

[0057] PDCCH DMRS, demodulation reference signal, can be used for PDCCH demodulation

[0058] PBCH DMRS, demodulation reference signal, can be used for PBCH demodulation

[0059] PTRS, Phase Tracking Reference Signal, can be used to track the phase of PDSCH,

[0060] Tracking reference signal, which can be used for time tracking

[0061] In addition, the PBCH DMRS may be exemplarily considered as a part of the SSB reference signal (see 3GPP TS 38.215 v15.3.0 Section 5.1.1 “SS reference signal received power (SS-RSRP)”).

[0062] The main difference between reference signals in 5G NR communication system and reference signals in LTE is that in 5G NR, there are no cell-specific reference signals, a new reference signal PTRS is introduced for time / phase tracking, DMRS is introduced for downlink and uplink channels, and in NR, reference signals are sent only when needed.

[0063] As a DL-only signal, the CSI-RS received by the UE is used to estimate the channel and report channel quality information to the gNB. During MIMO operation, NR can use different antenna methods based on the carrier frequency. At lower frequencies, the system uses a moderate number of active antennas for MU-MIMO and adds FDD operation. In this case, the UE can use CSI-RS to calculate CSI and report it in the UL direction. CSI-RS can be further characterized according to the following:

[0064] Used for DL ​​CSI acquisition.

[0065] Used for RSRP measurements during mobility and beam management

[0066] Also used for frequency / time tracking, demodulation and precoding based on UL reciprocity

[0067] CSI-RS is UE-specific, but multiple users can share the same resource

[0068] The 5G NR standard allows for high flexibility in CSI-RS configuration, with resources being configured for up to 32 ports.

[0069] The CSI-RS resource can start from any OFDM symbol of a slot, and it usually occupies 1 / 2 / 4 OFDM symbols, depending on the number of configured ports.

[0070] CSI-RS can be periodic, semi-persistent or aperiodic (due to DCI triggering)

[0071] For time / frequency tracking, CSI-RS can be periodic or aperiodic. It is sent in bursts of two or four symbols distributed over one or two time slots.

[0072] Quasi-Co-location (QCL) Concept

[0073] The quasi co-location (QCL) concept is applied in LTE and NR and can be explained in the following simplified way: if two signals are QCL, it means that the UE can adopt the same receive / transmit parameters in large-scale channel parameters, such as Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread, spatial reception parameters and beam direction. This helps improve channel estimation and reception performance.

[0074] As described above, typically, the UE is performing PDCCH monitoring and blind decoding, which is not always required, thus wasting energy unnecessarily.

[0075] Therefore, the inventors have identified the possibility of reducing the overhead of PDCCH monitoring and blind decoding by providing a power saving signal PoSS, which allows triggering the UE to monitor PDCCH or instructs the UE to skip PDCCH monitoring until a predetermined time point. When the UE skips PDCCH monitoring, the UE activity time can be shortened, thereby saving power. Figure 3A and Figure 3B As shown in Figure 1, the base station sends PoSS to the UE, which usually causes the UE to follow two different behaviors. Figure 3A In the first behavior shown, the PoSS indicates to the UE that it should monitor the PDCCH. In this case, the UE receives the PDCCH and sends back the scheduled transmission based on the received PDCCH. On the other hand, if the PoSS instructs the UE to follow the second behavior, the UE skips monitoring the PDCCH, as shown in FIG. Figure 3BAs shown schematically in Figure 1, the gNB will not send any PDCCH signal to the UE. Even if the PDCCH is sent, the UE cannot receive it.

[0076] In the following, mobile terminals, base stations and processes that meet these requirements will be described in conjunction with new radio access technologies envisioned for 5G mobile communication systems, but the technology can also be used for LTE mobile communication systems. Different implementations and variants will also be described. The above discussion and findings promote the following disclosure and can, for example, be based at least in part on the following disclosure.

[0077] Generally, it should be noted that many assumptions have been made here so that the basic principles of the present disclosure can be explained in a clear and understandable manner. However, these assumptions should be understood as examples made here for illustrative purposes only and should not limit the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the principles of the following disclosure and the principles set forth in the claims can be applied to different scenarios and in different scenarios in ways not explicitly described here.

[0078] 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 3GPP5G standardization, although the specific terms used in the context of the new radio access technology of the next 3GPP 5G communication system have not yet been fully determined. 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 finally agreed terms, but should be understood more broadly based on the functions and concepts on which the functions and principles of the present disclosure are based.

[0079] For example, a mobile station or mobile node or user terminal or user equipment (UE) is a physical entity (physical node) in a communication network. 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 the node to a communication facility or medium through which the node can communicate. Similarly, a network entity may have a logical interface that attaches the functional entity to a communication facility or medium through which the network entity can communicate with other functional entities or communication nodes.

[0080] The term "base station" or "radio base station" here refers to a physical entity in a communication network. Like a mobile station, a base station 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. The physical entity performs some control tasks regarding the communication device, including one or more of scheduling and configuration. Note that the base station functionality and the communication device functionality may also be integrated in a single device. For example, a mobile terminal may also implement the functionality of a base station for other terminals. The term used in LTE is eNB (or eNodeB), while the term currently used in 5G NR is gNB.

[0081] Figure 4 A general, simplified and exemplary block diagram of a user equipment (also referred to as a communication device) and a scheduling device (here exemplarily assumed to be located in a base station, such as an eLTE eNB (alternatively referred to as ng-eNB) or a gNB in ​​5G NR) is shown. The UE and the eNB / gNB communicate with each other on a (radio) physical channel using a transceiver, respectively.

[0082] The communication device may include a transceiver and a processing circuit. The transceiver may include and / or be used as a receiver and a transmitter. The processing circuit may be one or more hardware, such as one or more processors or any LSI. There is an input / output point (or node) between the transceiver and the processing circuit, and the processing circuit may control the transceiver through the input / output point, that is, control the receiver and / or transmitter and exchange receive / transmit data. As a transmitter and receiver, the transceiver may include an RF (radio frequency) front end, which includes one or more antennas, amplifiers, RF modulators / demodulators, etc. The processing circuit may 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 may also be responsible for executing other processes, such as determining, deciding, calculating, measuring, etc. The transmitter may be responsible for executing the sending process and other processes related thereto. The receiver may be responsible for executing the receiving process and other processes related thereto, such as monitoring the channel.

[0083] The solutions provided below will be described primarily in conjunction with 5G NR standardization for unlicensed operation (e.g., standalone or dual connectivity). However, as already implied above, the current concepts, ideas, and improvements are not limited to 5G NR unlicensed standardization, but are equally applicable to licensed operation of 5G NR, as well as to unlicensed and / or licensed operation in LTE-(A) communication systems. Future communication systems may also benefit from the concepts disclosed herein.

[0084] The following will refer to Figure 5 and Figure 6 A first embodiment is described.

[0085] Figure 5 The simplified and exemplary UE structure according to the present solution is shown, and can be combined with the above Figure 4 The various structural elements of the UE shown in the figure can be interconnected with each other, for example, through corresponding input / output nodes (not shown), for example, to exchange control and user data and other signals. Although not shown for illustrative purposes, the UE may include other structural elements.

[0086] As can be seen, the UE may include a power saving signal receiver, a power saving signal monitoring circuit, a behavior determination circuit, and a configuration selection circuit to participate in an improved process for reducing UE power consumption, which will be described below.

[0087] In the present case, as will become apparent from the following disclosure, the processor (processing circuit) can therefore be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following steps: monitor the reception of a power saving signal PoSS from a serving base station on which the UE resides to determine a UE behavior regarding the processing of a physical downlink control channel PDCCH, wherein the PoSS includes a behavior indication indicating that the UE follows a first behavior or a second behavior, and wherein the PoSS also includes a configuration indication indicating at least one configuration parameter associated with the first or second behavior. The processor determines to perform PDCCH monitoring in the case of indicating the first behavior, skip PDCCH monitoring in the case of indicating the second behavior, and apply the at least one configuration parameter accordingly.

[0088] The receiver may in turn be configured to be capable of at least partially performing one or more of the following steps: receiving a power saving signal, and receiving information about a threshold via a system information or configuration message (such as a message of an RRC protocol).

[0089] Figure 6 is a sequence diagram of UE behavior according to the improved power saving procedure.

[0090] It is exemplarily assumed that the UE is in idle mode, but the UE may also be in connected mode. The radio cell in which the UE currently camps is exemplarily referred to as a serving radio cell in the following, which is controlled by a serving base station.

[0091] like Figure 6As shown, the UE first receives the PoSS and determines that it has correctly received the PoSS. Next, the UE determines the behavior indication of the PoSS. Two possible behaviors may be indicated: the first behavior may include performing PDCCH monitoring, while the second behavior may include skipping PDCCH monitoring and thus saving energy. Depending on the indicated behavior, the UE next evaluates the configuration indication of the PoSS and accordingly performs PDCCH monitoring and applies the (multiple) configuration parameters associated with the first behavior. Otherwise, the UE evaluates the configuration indication of the DCI and skips PDCCH monitoring. In this case, the UE applies the (multiple) configuration parameters associated with the second behavior.

[0092] The process may return to the step of checking whether PoSS is detected.

[0093] Figure 7 is a sequence diagram of UE behavior according to another example improved power saving process. In the first step, it must be determined whether the UE is configured by the base station to monitor the power saving signal PoSS. If not, the process returns to the start procedure. On the other hand, if the UE is configured to monitor PoSS, then in the next step, the UE receives PoSS and monitors the reception of PoSS, which can be in the form of DCI according to an exemplary implementation. In the case where PoSS is not detected, the UE performs a default behavior. In the exemplary implementation, the default behavior is defined as the behavior in the case where PoSS is misled by the UE. Then, the UE has no behavior indication from the PoS DCI. Specifically, it is shown in the flow chart that in the case where PoSS is not detected, the UE may have two different possibilities for the default behavior. If the UE is in a discontinuous reception DRX state, which is turned on ("DRX_ON"), the UE can only perform conventional PDCCH monitoring. Alternatively, the default behavior in the case where PoSS is not detected can also be not monitoring PDCCH during DRX_OFF.

[0094] In case PoSS is detected, the UE evaluates the behavior indication contained in the DCI of the PoSS. Based on the behavior indication, the UE determines whether the indicated UE behavior is to skip PDCCH monitoring or to perform PDCCH monitoring. If the behavior indication indicates that PDCCH monitoring is to be performed, the configuration indication of the DCI is evaluated and the configuration parameters associated with the first behavior are applied. According to this embodiment, the first behavior involves monitoring of PDCCH and therefore does not provide any energy saving features.

[0095] On the other hand, if the behavior indication indicates that PDCCH monitoring is to be skipped, evaluation of the configuration indication causes the UE to apply at least one configuration parameter associated with a second behavior. The second behavior is related to energy saving and in particular comprises skipping PDCCH monitoring.

[0096] The process may return to the step of checking whether PoSS is detected.

[0097] Figure 8 A first behavior of a UE in a timing diagram according to an exemplary aspect is shown. According to this embodiment, the UE monitors a power saving signal PoSS, also referred to as a power saving channel, in configured resources.

[0098] As will be described in more detail later, the first behavior typically includes triggering the UE to start monitoring the PDCCH. If no trigger is detected, the default behavior of the UE may be, for example, not to receive and decode the PDCCH. This means that the base station may need to schedule the UE very quickly. In order to facilitate power saving, the interval between the indication and the actual scheduling can be as short as possible. To this end, the UE needs to start performing time / frequency tracking, automatic gain control AGC, channel state information CSI / radio resource management RRM, measurement and reporting, and sounding reference signal SRS transmission. In this way, the base station obtains the downlink / uplink (DL / UL) channel conditions in a timely manner and can start scheduling very quickly. Then, the total UE activity time can be shortened to save power. In addition, in order to save power, PDCCH monitoring can be reduced by further indicating the control resource set CORESET, search space information and / or a group of time slots.

[0099] like Figure 8 As schematically and exemplarily described in the schematic diagram of , the UE ramps up before it receives a synchronization signal block SSB burst, and shortly thereafter the PoSS indicates the start of PDCCH monitoring. In the warm-up block, the UE receives reference signals RS for time and / or frequency tracking, automatic gain control AGC, channel state information CSI, reference resources and radio resource management RRM, reference resources. In addition, the UE can use CSI reporting resources, and finally sounding reference signal SRS transmission resources.

[0100] like Figure 8 As shown, the UE remains active during the next two SSB bursts and then returns to the inactive state.

[0101] and Figure 8 on the contrary, Fig. 9 A timing diagram is shown for a case where the UE receives a PoSS indicating that the UE should skip PDCCH monitoring. In the present disclosure, this may be referred to as the second behavior of the UE. In this case, the UE ramps down after receiving the PoSS and remains inactive during the off period. For example, the off duration lasts for more than two SSB bursts.

[0102] In particular, PoSS may instruct the UE to skip PDCCH monitoring until a defined point in time. If PoSS is not detected, the default behavior of the UE may be to receive PDCCH.

[0103] For the second behavior, no further time / frequency tracking, AGC training, CSI / RRM measurement / reporting, or SRS transmission is required. The UE may be indicated not to receive PDCCH until the next semi-static DRX cycle, or until the next opportunity to receive a configured PoSS. Alternatively, the UE may be indicated not to receive PDCCH in the next X time slots, where X may be dynamically indicated or semi-statically configured.

[0104] In addition to being indicated that it does not need to receive PDCCH, the UE may also be indicated that it does not need to receive PoSS before the next semi-static DRX cycle, or before the next opportunity to receive the configured PoSS. Alternatively, the UE may be indicated that it does not need to receive PoSS in the next X time slots, where X may be dynamically indicated or semi-statically configured.

[0105] In order to provide a PoSS capable of indicating the first and second behaviors to the UE as needed, it is proposed to send a PoS SDCIT to the UE, which allows the different functionalities of PDCCH monitoring triggering and skipping to be integrated into one DCI design.

[0106] Typically, one DCI is shared by UE behavior indications for both PDCCH monitoring and triggering. Therefore, the UE only needs to decode one unified PoSS DCI to access further behavior indications. Exemplarily, three concepts can be used for this purpose, which will be explained in more detail below. First, detailed UE behavior indications (i.e., configuration) are encoded into a second field, which can be based on the interpretation of the first field. Secondly, indications for skipping and triggering PDCCH monitoring and configuration indications can be jointly encoded in only one common field. Third, the interpretation of the indication for skipping or triggering PDCCH monitoring is based on the detected radio network temporary identifier RNTI, while the configuration for indicating the behavior is encoded into another field in the PoSS.

[0107] In addition, the PoSSDCI may be UE group specific or UE specific. For the UE group specific case, the bitmap may be constructed in a manner similar to the existing NR DCI format_*. Each UE may be exemplarily configured with an index to address its own indication within the DCI, and thus allow the UE to determine which indication within the UE group specific PoSS is for itself.

[0108] Solution 1 - First and Second Fields

[0109] Now refer to Fig.10 A first exemplary solution of PoS S DCI is described. According to this solution, DCI includes a first field and a second field.

[0110] The first field includes, for example, one bit, which indicates to the UE that a behavior of performing PDCCH monitoring (first behavior) or skipping PDCCH monitoring (second behavior) is required. According to the indicated behavior, the UE processes a second field indicating a configuration associated with the first or second behavior. The second field can be arranged directly in succession to the corresponding first field and contains an identifier linked to a previously configured table.

[0111] According to an exemplary embodiment, the first field indicates whether monitoring is performed or not performed with respect to PDCCH monitoring, wherein the default behavior of the UE is not to monitor PDCCH. Alternatively, the first field indicates skipping or not skipping monitoring of PDCCH. In this case, the default behavior is not to skip PDCCH monitoring.

[0112] according to Fig.10 In the illustrated embodiment, a second field is provided in the DCI, which is interpreted according to the indication of the first field. The second field includes a configuration indication depending on the content of the first field. For example, if the first field indicates that monitoring of the PDCCH is performed, the UE interprets the second field as indicating at least one configuration related to how to monitor the PDCCH, such as one or a combination of the following:

[0113] Channel State Information (CSI) reference resources,

[0114] Radio Resource Management (RRM) reference resources,

[0115] CSI report resources,

[0116] RRM reporting resources,

[0117] Sounding reference signal SRS transmission resources,

[0118] Quasi-co-location of CSI / RRM reference resources,

[0119] Quasi-co-location of CSI reporting resources, RRM reporting resources and / or SRS transmission resources,

[0120] Control-resource set CORESET information,

[0121] Search space information,

[0122] A set of time slots for PDCCH monitoring,

[0123] PoSS monitoring is skipped within specific time or frequency resources, which means, for example, once the PoSS instructs the UE to start monitoring the PDCCH, subsequent PoSS monitoring can be skipped or partially skipped,

[0124] Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgement HARQ-ACK resource parameter indication.

[0125] For example, these configuration parameters may be included in a first table associated with a first behavior.

[0126] On the other hand, if the first field indicates that PDCCH is not to be monitored, the UE interprets the second field to configure how to skip monitoring of PDCCH, such as, for example, indicating at least one or a combination of the following configurations: in the case where the first field indicates to skip PDCCH monitoring, until the next semi-static DRX cycle, or until the next occurrence of a configured power saving signal / channel, or in the next X time slots, PDCCH monitoring and / or PoSS monitoring is skipped, where X is dynamically indicated or semi-statically configured.

[0127] The configuration parameters may be included in a second table associated with the second behavior.

[0128] For both types of indications, the behavior and / or configuration parameter combinations may be configured via the Radio Resource Control (RRC).

[0129] In addition, if Fig.11 As shown, the improvement of the present invention can also be implemented with a PoS SDC I specific to a UE group. Here, the DCI includes a bitmap pattern, in each bitmap, for each UE in a group of UEs (e.g., UE#1, UE#2, and UE#3), the bitmap pattern has a first field and a second field. Fig.11 In the example, three UEs are depicted. However, it is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the PoSSDCI can of course also address more than three UEs. As described above, the gNB and the UE can exchange index values ​​with respect to the group-specific PoSSDCI in order to allow the UE to determine which of the various sets of the first and second fields is for itself.

[0130] Solution 2 - Combine fields

[0131] Now refer to Fig.12 A second exemplary solution of PoSSDCI is described.

[0132] According to the solution, the PoSSDCI includes a combined field of a behavior indication and a configuration indication for the first or second behavior.

[0133] like Fig.12As shown, PoSSDCI includes a common field that jointly encodes information of skipping, triggering and related configuration parameters according to the required UE behavior. For example, the UE's bitmap may include a 3-bit word indicating an index of a configuration table. Table 1 below describes an example of such a combined configuration table.

[0134] Table 1

[0135]

[0136] The entries in Table 1 may be configured by, for example, RRC. As described above, a corresponding bitmap in the common field selects a row and thus a set of configuration parameters and behaviors (column "PDCCH monitoring" is true or false).

[0137] As shown in Table 1, this number may be unbalanced between those configuration parameters applicable to performing PDCCH monitoring and those configuration parameters related to the case of skipping PDCCH monitoring. Overall, compared to, for example, Solution 1 above, Fig.12 The joint encoding in the common field shown allows to reduce the overhead.

[0138] The improvement of the present invention can also be implemented with PoSSDCI specific to a UE group. Fig.13 , PoSSDCI includes a bitmap pattern having a combination field for each UE of a group of UEs (e.g., UE#1, UE#2, and UE#3). Fig.11 In FIG, three UEs are exemplarily depicted. However, it is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the PoSSDCI can of course also address only one UE or more than three UEs.

[0139] like Fig.13 As shown, PoSSDCI includes a set of bitmaps for each UE, which jointly encode information of skipping, triggering and related configuration parameters according to the required UE behavior. For example, the bitmap for each UE may include a 3-bit word indicating the index of the configuration table. Table 1 describes an example of such a combined configuration table.

[0140] Solution 3 - Use RNTI and PoSSDCI fields

[0141] Now refer to Fig.14 A third exemplary solution of PoS S DCI is described. According to this solution, the DCI includes a field containing an indication indicating a configuration in the first behavior case, or a field containing an indication indicating a configuration in the second behavior case. In addition, according to the third embodiment, different RNTIs are used to indicate the expected behavior and to address specific UEs.

[0142] For example, different RNTIs are used to mask the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) value of the PoSSDCI depending on whether PDCCH monitoring is performed or skipped.

[0143] like Fig.14 As shown, within the DCI of the detected PoSS, the CRC is sent together with a field containing an indication of at least one specific configuration parameter associated with the first or second behavior. This field may, for example, include 3 bits.

[0144] For example, if the CRC descrambling check reveals an RNTI related to skipping PDCCH monitoring, the UE interprets the indication field in the DCI packet as an indication of configuration parameters related to skipping PDCCH monitoring. For example, the UE knows how long it can stay in sleep mode.

[0145] On the other hand, if the CRC descrambling check reveals an RNTI associated with performing PDCCH monitoring, the UE interprets the indication in the DCI packet as indicating a configuration associated with the first behavior. For example, the UE accesses a table as shown in Table 2 below and retrieves a set of configuration parameters, then knows where to send CSI reports and SRS transmissions, and then starts PDCCH monitoring. It is also possible to perform an update.

[0146] Table 2

[0147]

[0148] The configuration entry to trigger or skip the indication may be configured, for example, by the RRC together with specific first and second RNTIs respectively relating to the first and second behaviors.

[0149] The improvement of the present invention can also be implemented with PoSSDCI specific to a UE group, such as Fig.15 According to this embodiment, the DCI includes a bitmap pattern, and each bitmap pattern has a field for each UE in a group of UEs (e.g., UE#1, UE#2, and UE#3). Fig.15 In the example, three UEs are depicted. However, it is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the PoSS DCI can of course also address only one UE or more than three UEs. In addition, according to the third embodiment, different RNTIs are used to indicate the expected behavior and to address specific UEs.

[0150] The corresponding UE of each group accesses the appropriate field according to the sequence position of the field in the complete bitmap pattern based on the previously defined index.

[0151] Other aspects

[0152] According to a first aspect, a UE is provided, comprising: a receiver, receiving a power saving signal PoSS from a serving base station where the UE resides; a UE-side processing circuit, monitoring the reception of the PoSS to determine a UE behavior regarding processing of a physical downlink control channel PDCCH, wherein the PoSS comprises a behavior indication indicating that the UE follows a first behavior or a second behavior, and wherein the PoSS further comprises a configuration indication indicating at least one configuration parameter associated with the first or second behavior, and wherein the processing circuit determines to perform PDCCH monitoring when the first behavior is indicated, to skip PDCCH monitoring when the second behavior is indicated, and to apply the at least one configuration parameter accordingly.

[0153] According to a second aspect provided in addition to the first aspect, in a case where the first field indicates that PDCCH monitoring is to be performed, the at least one configuration parameter includes at least one or a combination of the following:

[0154] Channel State Information (CSI) reference resources,

[0155] Radio Resource Management (RRM) reference resources,

[0156] CSI report resources,

[0157] RRM reporting resources,

[0158] Sounding reference signal SRS transmission resources,

[0159] Quasi-co-location of CSI / RRM reference resources,

[0160] Quasi-co-location of CSI reporting resources, RRM reporting resources and / or SRS transmission resources,

[0161] Control-resource set CORESET information,

[0162] Search space information,

[0163] A set of time slots for PDCCH monitoring,

[0164] PoSS monitoring skipped,

[0165] Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgement HARQ-ACK resource parameter indication.

[0166] According to a third aspect provided in addition to the first or second aspect, in a case where the first field indicates skipping of PDCCH monitoring, at least one configuration parameter includes one of the following: until the next semi-static DRX cycle, or until the next opportunity of the configured power saving signal / channel, or in the next X time slots, skipping PDCCH monitoring and / or PoSS monitoring, where X is dynamically indicated or semi-statically configured.

[0167] According to a fourth aspect provided in addition to any one of the first to third aspects, the UE selects at least one configuration parameter from a configuration table, optionally wherein the configuration table is configured by a radio resource control RRC.

[0168] According to a fifth aspect in addition to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the PoSS received by the UE includes a group of behavior indications and / or configuration indications of the UE.

[0169] According to a sixth aspect provided in addition to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the PoSS is received as downlink control information DCI, wherein the DCI includes at least one first field for behavior indication, the first field containing a value indicating a first or second behavior, and wherein the DCI includes at least one second field for configuration indication, the second field containing a value interpreted as indicating at least one configuration parameter associated with the first or second behavior according to the value of the first field.

[0170] According to the seventh aspect provided in addition to the sixth aspect, the first field indicates to the UE whether to start PDCCH monitoring or not to start PDCCH monitoring, and the default behavior is not to start PDCCH monitoring, or wherein the first field indicates to the UE whether to skip PDCCH monitoring or not to skip PDCCH monitoring, and the default behavior is not to skip PDCCH monitoring.

[0171] According to an eighth aspect provided in addition to the first to fifth aspects, the PoSS is received as downlink control information DCI, and wherein the behavior indication and the configuration indication are jointly encoded in a common field of the DCI.

[0172] According to a ninth aspect provided in addition to the eighth and fourth aspects, content of the common field includes a bitmap used by the UE to select at least one configuration parameter, wherein the configuration table includes a behavior indication and a configuration indication.

[0173] According to a tenth aspect provided in addition to the first to fifth aspects, PoSS is received as downlink control information DCI, and wherein the behavior indication is encoded as a first or second radio network temporary identifier RNTI, masking a cyclic redundancy check CRC value of the DCI, wherein the RNTI identifies the UE and indicates a first or second behavior.

[0174] According to the eleventh aspect provided in addition to the tenth and fourth aspects, the DCI includes at least one bit map used by the UE to select at least one configuration parameter from the configuration table.

[0175] According to a twelfth aspect, a method is provided, the method comprising the following steps performed by a UE: receiving a power saving signal PoSS from a serving base station on which the UE resides, monitoring the reception of the PoSS to determine the UE behavior regarding the processing of a physical downlink control channel PDCCH, wherein the PoSS includes a behavior indication indicating that the UE follows a first behavior or a second behavior, and wherein the PoSS also includes a configuration indication indicating at least one configuration parameter associated with the first behavior or the second behavior, and wherein the processing circuit determines to perform PDCCH monitoring when the first behavior is indicated, determines to skip PDCCH monitoring when the second behavior is indicated, and applies at least one configuration parameter accordingly.

[0176] According to a thirteenth aspect, a base station BS is provided, comprising: a transmitter, which sends a power saving signal PoSS to a user equipment UE residing at the base station; a BS-side processing circuit, which generates the PoSS, wherein the PoSS includes a behavior indication indicating that the UE follows a first behavior or a second behavior, and wherein the PoSS also includes a configuration indication indicating at least one configuration parameter associated with the first or second behavior, and wherein the PoSS is generated so that the UE performs PDCCH monitoring when the first behavior is indicated, skips PDCCH monitoring when the second behavior is indicated, and applies at least one configuration parameter accordingly.

[0177] According to a fourteenth aspect provided in addition to the thirteenth aspect, the processing circuit combines PoSSs of a group of UEs into a combined bitmap pattern.

[0178] According to a fifteenth aspect provided in addition to the thirteenth or fourteenth aspect, the PoSS is transmitted as downlink control information DCI, and

[0179] The DCI comprises at least one first field for behavior indication, the first field containing a value indicating the first or second behavior, and wherein the DCI comprises at least one second field for configuration indication, the second field containing a value interpreted as indicating at least one configuration parameter associated with the first or second behavior according to the value of the first field,

[0180] Or the behavior indication and configuration indication are jointly encoded in a common field of the DCI,

[0181] Or the behavior indication is encoded as a first or second radio network temporary identifier RNTI, masking a cyclic redundancy check CRC value of the DCI, wherein the RNTI identifies the UE and indicates the first or second behavior.

[0182] Hardware and software implementations of the present disclosure

[0183] The present disclosure can be realized by software, hardware, or software and hardware. Each functional block used in the description of each embodiment described above can be partially or entirely realized by LSI such as integrated circuit, and each process described in each embodiment can be partially or entirely controlled by the same LSI or a combination of LSI. LSI can be formed as a chip alone, or a chip can be formed to include some or all of these functional blocks. LSI can include data input and output coupled thereto. Depending on the difference in integration, the LSI here can be referred to as IC (integrated circuit), system LSI, super LSI, or super LSI. However, the technology for realizing integrated circuit is not limited to LSI, and can be realized 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 the manufacture of LSI, or a reconfigurable processor in which the connection and setting of the circuit unit arranged inside the LSI can be reconfigured can be used. The present disclosure can be realized as digital processing or analog processing. If future integrated circuit technology replaces LSI due to the progress of semiconductor technology or other derivative technologies, future integrated circuit technology can be used to integrate functional blocks. Biotechnology can also be applied.

[0184] The present disclosure may be implemented by any type of device, apparatus or system having a communication function, which is referred to as a communication device.

[0185] Some non-limiting examples of such communication devices include phones (e.g., cellular phones (mobile 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, e-book readers, telehealth / telemedicine (remote health and medicine) devices, and vehicles that provide communication capabilities (e.g., cars, airplanes, ships), and various combinations thereof.

[0186] Communication devices are not limited to portable or transportable, and may also include any kind of non-portable or fixed device, equipment, or system, such as smart home devices (e.g., appliances, lighting, smart meters, control panels), vending machines, and any other "things" in an "Internet of Things (IoT)" network.

[0187] Communications may include exchanging data via, for example, cellular systems, wireless LAN systems, satellite systems, etc., and various combinations thereof.

[0188] The communication device may include a device such as a controller or a sensor that is coupled to a communication device that performs the communication functions described in the present disclosure. For example, the communication device may include a controller or a sensor that generates a control signal or a data signal that is used by the communication device that performs the communication functions of the communication device.

[0189] The communication device may also include infrastructure such as base stations, access points, and any other device, equipment, or system that communicates with or controls devices such as those in the above non-limiting examples.

[0190] 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 be further noted that individual features of different embodiments may be the subject of another embodiment, either individually or in any combination.

[0191] It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and / or modifications may be made to the present disclosure as shown in the specific embodiments. Therefore, the present embodiments are considered to be illustrative and non-restrictive in all aspects.

Claims

1. A user equipment UE, comprising: A receiver, receiving a power saving signal PoSS from a serving base station where the UE resides; and processing circuitry that monitors reception of the PoSS to determine UE behavior with respect to processing of a physical downlink control channel PDCCH, The PoSS includes a behavior indication instructing the UE to follow a first behavior or a second behavior, wherein the processing circuit determines to perform PDCCH monitoring if the first behavior is indicated, and to skip PDCCH monitoring if the second behavior is indicated, and The PoSS is received as downlink control information DCI, and the behavior indication in the field of the DCI further indicates a third behavior regarding channel state information CSI measurement.

2. The user equipment UE according to claim 1, wherein: In the case where the behavior indication indicates the first behavior of performing PDCCH monitoring, the POSS further includes a configuration indication, and the configuration indication indicates that at least one configuration parameter includes at least one or a combination of the following: Radio Resource Management RRM reference resources, CSI report resources, RRM reporting resources, Sounding reference signal SRS transmission resources, Quasi-co-location of CSI / RRM reference resources, Quasi-co-location of CSI reporting resources, RRM reporting resources and / or SRS transmission resources, Control-resource set CORESET information, Search space information, A set of time slots for PDCCH monitoring, PoSS monitoring skipped, Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request Acknowledgement HARQ-ACK resource parameter indication.

3. The user equipment UE according to claim 2, wherein: In case the behavior indication indicates the second behavior of skipping PDCCH monitoring, the at least one configuration parameter comprises one of: skipping PDCCH monitoring and / or PoSS monitoring until the next semi-static DRX cycle, or until the next opportunity of a configured power saving signal / channel, or in the next X time slots, where X is dynamically indicated or semi-statically configured.

4. The user equipment UE according to claim 2, wherein: The processing circuit selects the at least one configuration parameter from a configuration table, wherein the configuration table is configured by a radio resource control RRC.

5. The user equipment UE according to claim 1, wherein: The PoSS received by the UE includes behavior indications and configuration indications for a group of UEs.

6. The user equipment UE according to claim 1, wherein: The behavior indication indicates to the UE whether to start PDCCH monitoring or not to start PDCCH monitoring, and the default behavior is not to start PDCCH monitoring, or wherein the behavior indication indicates to the UE to skip PDCCH monitoring or not to skip PDCCH monitoring, and the default behavior is not to skip PDCCH monitoring.

7. The user equipment (UE) according to claim 2, wherein the content of the field comprises a bitmap used by the UE to select the at least one configuration parameter from a configuration table.

8. The user equipment UE according to claim 1, wherein: The behavior indication is encoded as a first radio network temporary identifier or a second radio network temporary identifier RNTI, and a cyclic redundancy check CRC value of the DCI is masked, wherein the RNTI identifies the UE and indicates the first behavior or the second behavior.

9. The user equipment UE according to claim 8, wherein: The DCI includes at least one bitmap, and the bitmap is used by the UE to select the at least one configuration parameter from a configuration table.

10. A method comprising the following steps performed by a user equipment UE: receiving a power saving signal PoSS as downlink control information DCI from a serving base station where the UE resides, monitoring the reception of the PoSS to determine the UE behavior with respect to the processing of the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), in, The PoSS includes a behavior indication instructing the UE to follow a first behavior or a second behavior, and determining to perform PDCCH monitoring if the first behavior is indicated, and to skip PDCCH monitoring if the second behavior is indicated, The behavior indication in the field of the DCI further indicates a third behavior regarding channel state information CSI measurement.

11. A base station BS, comprising: a transmitter, transmitting a power saving signal PoSS as downlink control information DCI to at least one user equipment UE residing on the base station, and processing circuit, generating said PoSS, The PoSS includes a behavior indication indicating that the UE follows a first behavior or a second behavior regarding processing of a physical downlink control channel PDCCH, wherein the PoSS is generated so that the UE performs PDCCH monitoring if the first behavior is indicated, and skips PDCCH monitoring if the second behavior is indicated, and The behavior indication in the field of the DCI further indicates a third behavior regarding channel state information CSI measurement.

12. A method comprising the following steps performed by a base station BS: sending a power saving signal PoSS as downlink control information DCI to at least one user equipment UE camped on the base station, and Generate the PoSS, in, The PoSS includes a behavior indication instructing the UE to follow a first behavior or a second behavior regarding processing of a physical downlink control channel PDCCH, wherein the PoSS is generated so that the UE performs PDCCH monitoring if the first behavior is indicated, and skips PDCCH monitoring if the second behavior is indicated, and The behavior indication in the field of the DCI further indicates a third behavior regarding channel state information CSI measurement.

13. An integrated circuit for controlling a process, the process comprising the following steps performed by a user equipment UE: receiving a power saving signal PoSS as downlink control information DCI from a serving base station where the UE resides, monitoring the reception of the PoSS to determine the UE behavior with respect to the processing of the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), in, The PoSS includes a behavior indication instructing the UE to follow a first behavior or a second behavior, and determining to perform PDCCH monitoring if the first behavior is indicated, and to skip PDCCH monitoring if the second behavior is indicated, The behavior indication in the field of the DCI further indicates a third behavior regarding channel state information CSI measurement.

14. An integrated circuit for controlling a process comprising the following steps performed by a base station BS: sending a power saving signal PoSS as downlink control information DCI to at least one user equipment UE camped on the base station, and Generate the PoSS, in, The PoSS includes a behavior indication instructing the UE to follow a first behavior or a second behavior regarding processing of a physical downlink control channel PDCCH, wherein the PoSS is generated so that the UE performs PDCCH monitoring if the first behavior is indicated, and skips PDCCH monitoring if the second behavior is indicated, and The behavior indication in the field of the DCI further indicates a third behavior regarding channel state information CSI measurement.

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