Energy saving techniques for network control repeaters

Abstract

A network control relay (NCR) may receive configuration information from a base station to configure one or more receive (Rx) beams and corresponding time domain resources for potential reception from one or more user equipments (UEs). The NCR may monitor for receiving a physical uplink channel or signal from the one or more UEs on the configured one or more Rx beams on the corresponding time domain resources, and determine that the physical uplink channel or signal is not received for at least a threshold amount of time. Additionally, the NCR may determine to avoid at least one of additional monitoring of receiving the physical uplink channel or signal from the one or more UEs or transmitting one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) to the one or more UEs for a duration.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to wireless communications, and more particularly to apparatus, systems and methods for energy-saving techniques for network-controlled repeaters, such as in 5G NR systems and beyond.

[0002] Related technical description

[0003] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting phone calls, many mobile devices now also provide access to the Internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the Global Positioning System (GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications that utilize these functions.

[0004] Long Term Evolution (LTE) is currently the technology of choice for most wireless network operators around the world, providing mobile broadband data and high-speed Internet access to their subscriber base. LTE was first proposed in 2004 and first standardized in 2008. Since then, as the use of wireless communication systems has grown exponentially, the need for wireless network operators to support higher capacity for a higher density of mobile broadband users has also risen. As a result, research on new radio access technologies began in 2015, and in 2017, the first version of the fifth generation new radio (5G NR) was standardized.

[0005] 5G-NR (also referred to as NR) provides higher capacity for a higher density of mobile broadband users compared to LTE, while also supporting ultra-reliable and massive machine-type communications from device to device, as well as lower latency and / or lower battery consumption. In addition, NR may allow for more flexible UE scheduling compared to current LTE. Therefore, efforts are being made to continue the development of 5G-NR to take advantage of the higher throughput possible at higher frequencies. Improvements in the art are expected. Summary of the invention

[0006] Embodiments relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, to apparatus, systems, and methods for energy-saving techniques for network controlled repeaters (NCRs).

[0007] In some embodiments, the NCR may receive configuration information from a base station to configure one or more receive (Rx) beams and corresponding time domain resources for potential reception from one or more user equipment (UE). The NCR may monitor the reception of a physical uplink channel or signal from the one or more UEs on the configured one or more Rx beams on the corresponding time domain resources, and determine that the physical uplink channel or signal has not been received for at least a threshold amount of time. Additionally, the NCR may determine to avoid at least one of the following for a duration: additional monitoring of the reception of the physical uplink channel or signal from the one or more UEs, or sending one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) to the one or more UEs.

[0008] In some embodiments, avoiding additional monitoring of receiving the physical uplink channel or signal from the one or more UEs or transmitting at least one of the one or more SSBs to the one or more UEs for the duration may include transitioning at least a portion of the transceiver circuitry to an off state. Additionally or alternatively, transitioning the at least a portion of the transceiver circuitry to the off state for the duration may include disabling or deconfiguring at least a portion of the transceiver circuitry for the duration.

[0009] According to some embodiments, the period of the threshold amount of time may correspond to a random access channel (RACH) resource periodicity. Additionally or alternatively, the threshold amount of time may be based on at least one of: a fixed duration; a pre-configured or semi-statically configured table corresponding to one or more indices; or a number of physical random access channel (PRACH) opportunities within the threshold amount of time. In some embodiments, the physical uplink channel may include a physical random access channel (PRACH) or a configuration grant physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH).

[0010] According to further embodiments, the NCR may be configured to adjust the period for monitoring PRACH resources. Additionally or alternatively, according to some embodiments, the NCR may determine the corresponding non-valid time domain resources associated with at least one of the one or more configured Rx beams or one or more configured transmit (Tx) beams based on the adjusted period, and disable the non-valid time domain resources. In some embodiments, the NCR may adjust the periodicity corresponding to the subsequent transmission of the one or more SSBs in response to adjusting the period for monitoring the physical uplink channel or signal.

[0011] According to some embodiments, the base station may be configured to send configuration information to the NCR to configure one or more Rx beams and corresponding time domain resources, wherein the configuration information may include at least one of a threshold amount of time or a duration. Additionally or alternatively, the threshold amount of time may correspond to the NCR monitoring the physical uplink channel or signal from one or more user equipment (UE) on the one or more Rx beams on the corresponding time domain resources, and the duration may correspond to the NCR avoiding additional monitoring of the physical uplink channel or signal received from the one or more UEs or sending at least one of one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) to the one or more UEs. In some embodiments, the base station may also be configured to receive a request message from the NCR to adjust at least one of the threshold amount of time or the duration, and send additional configuration information to the NCR including at least one of the updated threshold amount of time or the updated duration.

[0012] According to some embodiments, the request message may include a request for the BS to perform at least one of the following: a procedure to disable at least one of the one or more transmitters or one or more receivers of the NCR, a procedure to update a pattern of on and off states of the NCR. According to some embodiments, the BS may be configured to receive signaling from the NCR indicating that the NCR is to disable at least one of the one or more transmitters of the NCR or the one or more receivers of the NCR.

[0013] In some scenarios, the BS may be configured to send lateral control information to the NCR, wherein the lateral control information can be used by the NCR to determine not to encode or decode at least one of the signaling for a duration. According to some embodiments, the lateral control information may be sent via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and may include configuration information as part of at least one of downlink control information (DCI), a medium access control-control element (MAC-CE), or a system information block (SIB). Additionally or alternatively, the BS may also be configured to receive from the NCR a request for adjusting the monitoring periodicity of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carrying the lateral control information. In some embodiments, the BS may be configured to send to the NCR an indication of support for configuring the NCR for at least one of the following or for sending lateral control information with an adjusted periodicity: enabling or disabling at least one of one or more transmitters of the NCR or one or more receivers of the NCR.

[0014] In some embodiments, the NCR may be configured to receive configuration information from the BS to configure one or more Rx beams, wherein the configuration information includes at least one of a threshold amount of time or a duration. Additionally or alternatively, the threshold amount of time may correspond to the NCR monitoring a physical uplink channel or signal from one or more user devices (UEs) on the one or more Rx beams on the corresponding time domain resource, and the duration may correspond to the NCR avoiding additional monitoring of the physical uplink channel or signal received from the one or more UEs or sending at least one of one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) to the one or more UEs. In some embodiments, the NCR may be configured to send a request to the BS to adjust at least one of the threshold amount of time or the duration. The NCR may also be configured to receive additional configuration information from the BS including at least one of an updated threshold amount of time or an updated duration.

[0015] According to another embodiment, the NCR may be configured to receive capability signaling from the BS indicating support for configuring the NCR for at least one of the following: enabling or disabling at least one of the one or more transmitters or one or more receivers. In some embodiments, the request message may include a request for the BS to perform at least one of the following: a procedure to disable at least one of the one or more transmitters or one or more receivers of the NCR, or a procedure to update a mode of active and inactive states of the NCR. Additionally or alternatively, the NCR may be configured to send signaling to the NS indicating that the NCR will disable at least one of the one or more transmitters of the NCR or one or more receivers of the NCR.

[0016] This summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the topics described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or essence of the topics described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the topics described herein will become apparent through the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] A better understanding of the present subject matter may be obtained when the following detailed description of various embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0018] Figure 1A An example wireless communication system is illustrated in accordance with some embodiments.

[0019] Figure 1B Examples of base stations and access points in communication with user equipment (UE) devices are illustrated in accordance with some embodiments.

[0020] Figure 1CAn example wireless communication system including a network controlled repeater (NCR) according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0021] Figure 2 An example block diagram of a base station according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0022] Figure 3 An example block diagram of an NCR according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0023] Figure 4 An example block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments is illustrated.

[0024] Figure 5 An example architecture of an NCR according to some embodiments is illustrated, the example architecture including a control and forwarding entity for communicating with one or more network nodes and UEs.

[0025] Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method for power conservation for NCR according to some embodiments.

[0026] Figure 7 is a communication flow diagram illustrating example aspects of a power conservation method for an NCR according to some embodiments.

[0027] Figure 8 An example timeline of physical random access channel (PRACH) reception as part of a power saving method for NCR in accordance with some embodiments is illustrated.

[0028] Fig. 9 An example timeline is illustrated for transmission of a synchronization signal block (SSB) as part of a power saving method for an NCR in accordance with some embodiments.

[0029] Although the features described herein may be susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to be limited to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Acronyms

[0031] Various acronyms are used throughout this disclosure. Definitions of the most commonly used acronyms that may appear throughout this disclosure are provided below:

[0032] 3GPP: Third Generation Partnership Project

[0033] UE: User Equipment

[0034] RF: Radio Frequency

[0035] BS: Base Station

[0036] DL: Downlink

[0037] UL: Uplink

[0038] gNB: Next Generation Node B

[0039] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0040] NR: New Radio

[0041] NCR: Network Control Repeater

[0042] 5GS: 5G system

[0043] 5GMM: 5GS Mobility Management

[0044] 5GC / 5GCN: 5G core network

[0045] SIM: Subscriber Identity Module

[0046] eSIM: Embedded Subscriber Identity Module

[0047] CE: Control Element

[0048] MAC: Media Access Control

[0049] SSB: Synchronous Signal Block

[0050] PDCCH: Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0051] PDSCH: Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0052] PUCCH: Physical Uplink Control Channel

[0053] PUSCH: Physical Uplink Shared Channel

[0054] RRC: Radio Resource Control

[0055] DCI: Downlink Control Information

[0056] FWD: Forward

[0057] MT: Mobile Terminal

[0058] NW:Network

[0059] PRACH: Physical Random Access Channel

[0060] RAN: Radio Access Network

[0061] RRM: Radio Resource Management

[0062] TA: Timing Advance

[0063] TCI: Transmission Configuration Indicator

[0064] DRX: Discontinuous Reception

[0065] C link: control link

[0066] TX: Send

[0067] RX: Receive

[0068] UCI: Uplink Control Information

[0069] FR: Frequency range

[0070] the term

[0071] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0072] Memory medium—any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media, such as CD-ROM, floppy disk, or tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory, such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory, such as flash memory, magnetic media, such as hard disk drives or optical storage devices; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of non-transitory memory or combinations thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a first computer system executing a program, or may be located in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media, which may reside in different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as a computer program) that may be executed by one or more processors.

[0073] Carrier Media—Memory media as described above, as well as physical transmission media such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission media that convey signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals.

[0074] Programmable hardware element - includes various hardware devices that include multiple programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), PLDs (programmable logic devices), FPOAs (field programmable object arrays), and CPLDs (complex PLDs). Programmable function blocks can range from fine-grained (combinatorial logic or lookup tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "reconfigurable logic units."

[0075] Computer system (or computer)—any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), a mainframe computer system, a workstation, a network appliance, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a television system, a grid computing system, or other devices or combinations of devices. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0076] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") - any of various types of computer system devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM , based on Android TM phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, other handheld devices, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (e.g., drones), UAV controllers (UACs), etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to cover any electronic device, computing device, and / or telecommunication device (or combination of devices) that is easily transportable by a user and capable of wireless communication.

[0077] Base Station—The term “base station” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0078] Processing element (or processor) - refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing functions in a device, such as user equipment or a cellular network device. Processing elements may include, for example, processors and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, processor arrays, circuits such as ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), programmable hardware elements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any of the above combinations.

[0079] Channel - a medium used to convey information from a transmitter (sender) to a receiver. It should be noted that, since the characteristics of the term "channel" may vary according to different wireless protocols, the term "channel" as used herein may be considered to be used in a manner that conforms to the standards of the type of device to which the term is used. In some standards, the channel width may be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, frequency band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths of 1.4MHz to 20MHz. In contrast, a WLAN channel may be 22MHz wide, while a Bluetooth channel may be 1Mhz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. In addition, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, such as different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data, control information, etc.

[0080] Frequency band—The term “frequency band” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a segment of the spectrum (eg, radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.

[0081] Wi-Fi—The term "Wi-Fi" (or WiFi) has the full scope of its usual meaning and includes at least wireless communication networks or RATs that are served by wireless LAN (WLAN) access points and provide connectivity to the Internet through these access points. Most modern Wi-Fi networks (or WLAN networks) are based on the IEEE 802.11 standard and are marketed under the name "Wi-Fi". Wi-Fi (WLAN) networks are distinct from cellular networks.

[0082] 3GPP access—refers to access (e.g., radio access technology) specified by the 3GPP standards. These accesses include, but are not limited to, GSM / GPRS, LTE, LTE-A, and / or 5G NR. In general, 3GPP access refers to various types of cellular access technologies.

[0083] Non-3GPP access - refers to any access (e.g., radio access technology) not specified by the 3GPP standards. These accesses include, but are not limited to, WiMAX, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, WLAN, and / or fixed networks. Non-3GPP accesses can be divided into two categories, "trusted" and "untrusted": trusted non-3GPP accesses can interact directly with the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and / or 5G Core (5GC), while untrusted non-3GPP interoperates with the EPC / 5GC via network entities (such as Evolved Packet Data Gateways and / or 5GNR Gateways). In general, non-3GPP access refers to various types of non-cellular access technologies.

[0084] Automatic—refers to an action or operation being performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., a circuit, a programmable hardware element, an ASIC, etc.) without the action or operation being directly specified or performed by a user input. Thus, the term "automatically" is in contrast to an operation being manually performed or specified by a user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic process may be initiated by input provided by a user, but subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user, i.e., are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing in information, selecting checkboxes, radio selections, etc.) is manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user action. The form may be automatically filled out by a computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills out the form without any user input specifying the answers to the fields. As indicated above, a user may invoke automatic filling out of a form, but not participate in the actual filling out of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields but rather they are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions that a user has taken.

[0085] Approximately - refers to a value that is nearly correct or exact. For example, approximately can refer to a value that is within 1% to 10% of an exact (or desired) value. However, it should be noted that the actual threshold (or tolerance) can be application dependent. For example, in some embodiments, "approximately" can mean within 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various other embodiments, the threshold can be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, etc., depending on the expectations or requirements of a particular application.

[0086] Concurrency - refers to parallel execution or implementation, where tasks, processes, or programs are executed in an at least partially overlapping manner. For example, concurrency can be implemented using "strong" or strict parallelism, where tasks are executed (at least partially) in parallel on respective computing elements, or using "weak parallelism," where tasks are executed in an interleaved manner (e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads).

[0087] Various components may be described as being "configured to" perform one or more tasks. In such contexts, "configured to" is a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing the task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors may be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, "configured to" may be a broad statement that generally means "having a circuit" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently turned on. Generally speaking, circuits that form a structure corresponding to "configured to" may include hardware circuits.

[0088] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". Representing a component configured to perform one or more tasks expressly intends that the component does not invoke the interpretation of 35 U.S.C. §112(f).

[0089] Figures 1A to 1C :Communication System

[0090] Figure 1A A simplified example wireless communication system according to some embodiments is illustrated. Note that Figure 1A The system is merely one example of a possible system, and features of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of systems, as desired.

[0091] As shown, the example wireless communication system includes a base station 102A, which communicates with one or more user equipment 106A, user equipment 106B, etc. to user equipment 106N through a transmission medium. Each user equipment in the user equipment may be referred to as a "user equipment" (UE) in this article. Therefore, user equipment 106 is referred to as UE or UE device.

[0092] The base station (BS) 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site ("cellular base station") and may include hardware that enables wireless communications with the UEs 106A-106N.

[0093] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell". The base station 102A and the UE 106 may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), which are also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), 5G New Radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP2CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc. It should be noted that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". It should be noted that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0094] As shown, base station 102A may also be configured to communicate with network 100 (e.g., a cellular service provider's core network, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, among other possibilities). Thus, base station 102A may facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. Specifically, cellular base station 102A may enable UE 106 to have various communication capabilities, such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0095] Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B, ..., 102N) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards can therefore be provided as a network of cells that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping services to UEs 106A to 106N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0096] Thus, although base station 102A may act as a "serving cell" for UEs 106A to 106N as illustrated in FIG. 1 , each UE 106 may also be able to receive signals from (and possibly be within communication range of) one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B to 102N and / or any other base station), which may be referred to as "neighboring cells." Such cells may also be able to facilitate communication between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or cells of any various other granularity that provide service area sizes. For example, base stations 102A to 102B illustrated in FIG. 1 may be macro cells, while base station 102N may be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0097] In some embodiments, base station 102A may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or "gNB". In some embodiments, a gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0098] It should be noted that the UE 106 may be capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer), etc. in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.). If desired, the UE 106 may also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), and / or any other wireless communication protocols. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0099] Figure 1B A user equipment 106 (e.g., one of device 106A through device 106N) is illustrated in accordance with some embodiments in communication with base station 102 and access point 112. UE 106 may be a device with cellular communication capabilities and non-cellular communication capabilities (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc.), such as a mobile phone, handheld device, computer or tablet computer, or virtually any type of wireless device.

[0100] UE 106 may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. UE 106 may perform any of the method implementations described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) configured to perform any of the method implementations described herein or any portion of any of the method implementations described herein.

[0101] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD), LTE / Advanced LTE, or 5G NR using a single shared radio component and / or GSM, LTE, Advanced LTE, or 5G NR using a single shared radio component. The shared radio component may be coupled to a single antenna, or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communications. Generally speaking, the radio component may include any combination of a baseband processor, an analog RF signal processing circuit (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.) or a digital processing circuit (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio component may use the aforementioned hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains. For example, UE 106 may share one or more parts of a receive chain and / or a transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0102] In some embodiments, UE 106 may include a separate transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol configured to communicate with it. As another possibility, UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radio components used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 may include a shared radio component for communicating using either LTE or 5GNR (or LTE or 1xRTT, or LTE or GSM), and a separate radio component for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0103] Figure 1C A communication scenario is illustrated in which a network controlled relay (NCR) 108 facilitates communication between a base station 102A and one or more UEs 102A to 106N. In some deployments, a base station may be able to effectively communicate with a subset of the UEs it serves (e.g., UE 106A), but may be out of effective range of one or more other UEs (e.g., UE 106B). In this case, the network may direct the NCR 108 to forward / relay messages between the UE 106B and the base station. As described in more detail below, the NCR may receive side link control information from the base station to configure the forwarding communication.

[0104] Figure 2 :Block diagram of base station

[0105] Figure 2An example block diagram of a base station 102 according to some embodiments is illustrated. Note that Figure 3 The base station of is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor 204 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor 204 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 240 or other circuit or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 204 and convert those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 260 and read-only memory (ROM) 250).

[0106] The base station 102 may include at least one network port 270. The network port 270 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to multiple devices (such as the UE device 106) as described above in FIG. Figure 2 Access to the telephone network described in.

[0107] The network port 270 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as the UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 270 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0108] In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or "gNB". In such embodiments, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) network. Furthermore, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Furthermore, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0109] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 234 and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna 234 may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may also be configured to communicate with the UE device 106 via the radio component 230. The antenna 234 communicates with the radio component 230 via a communication chain 232. The communication chain 232 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. The radio component 230 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to 5GNR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0110] The base station 102 may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, the base station 102 may include multiple radio components that enable the base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, the base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for performing communications according to LTE and a 5GNR radio component for performing communications according to 5G NR. In this case, the base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5GNR base station. As another possibility, the base station 102 may include a multimode radio component that can perform communications according to any one of a plurality of wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0111] As further described later herein, BS 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting the features described herein. The processor 204 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support implementing part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor 204 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 230, 232, 234, 240, 250, 260, 270, the processor 204 of the BS 102 may be configured to implement or support implementing part or all of the features described herein.

[0112] In addition, as described herein, processor 204 may be composed of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in processor 204. Therefore, processor 204 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 204. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 204.

[0113] In addition, as described herein, radio 230 may be comprised of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in radio 230. Thus, radio 230 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of radio 230. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio 230.

[0114] Figure 3 :Block diagram of NCR

[0115] Figure 3 An example block diagram of a network controlled repeater (NCR) according to some embodiments is illustrated. Note that Figure 3 The NCR 108 is only one example of a possible NCR. As shown, the NCR 108 may include a processor 304 that may execute program instructions for the NCR 108. The processor 304 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 304 and convert these addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 360 and read-only memory (ROM) 350), or to other circuits or devices.

[0116] NCR 108 may include at least one network port 370. Network port 370 may be configured to couple to a base station, such as a gNB, and to communicate with the base station as described above in FIG. Figure 2 Forwarding communications between multiple devices such as UE device 106 described in.

[0117] In some embodiments, NCR 108 can communicate using next generation cellular technology (e.g., 5G New Radio (5G NR) radio access technology (RAT)). NCR 108 can include at least one antenna 334 (possibly multiple antennas) and transceiver circuitry. At least one antenna 334 can be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver (via transceiver circuitry), and can also be configured to communicate with base station 102 and UE device 106 via radio component 330. Antenna 334 communicates with radio component 330 via communication chain 332. Communication chain 332 can be a receiving chain, a transmitting chain, or both. Radio component 330 can be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards including but not limited to 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc. In some scenarios, NCR 108 can communicate with base station 102 and UE 106 using various (e.g., different) radio components 330, antenna 334, and / or communication chain 332. Additionally or alternatively, these various components of the NCR may be independently enabled or disabled (eg, turned on / off) such that communications between the NCR and base stations 102 and / or UEs 106 may be individually controlled.

[0118] NCR 108 may be configured to use multiple wireless communication standards for wireless communication. In some cases, NCR 108 may include multiple radio components that enable NCR 108 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, NCR 108 may include an LTE radio component for performing communication according to LTE and a 5G NR radio component for performing communication according to 5G NR. In such a case, NCR 108 may be able to communicate with both LTE base stations, 5G NR base stations, and potential 6th generation base stations. As another possibility, NCR 108 may include a multimode radio component that can perform communication according to any one of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0119] As further described later herein, NCR 108 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting the features described herein. The processor 304 of NCR 108 may be configured to implement or support implementing part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable memory medium). Additionally, the processor 304 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 330, 332, 334, 340, 350, 360, 370, the processor 304 of NCR 108 may be configured to implement or support implementing part or all of the features described herein.

[0120] In addition, as described herein, processor 304 may be composed of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in processor 304. Therefore, processor 304 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 204. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 304.

[0121] In addition, as described herein, radio 330 may be comprised of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in radio 330. Thus, radio 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of radio 330. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio 330.

[0122] Figure 4 :UE block diagram

[0123] Figure 4 An example simplified block diagram of a UE 106 according to some embodiments is illustrated. Note that Figure 4 The block diagram of the UE is only an example of a possible UE. According to the embodiment, UE 106 can be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or a mobile station, a wireless device or a wireless station, a desktop computer or a computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop computer, a notebook or a portable computing device), a tablet computer, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a UAV controller (UAC) and / or a combination of devices and other devices. As shown, UE 106 may include a group of components 400 configured to perform core functions. For example, the group of components may be implemented as a system on a chip (SOC), which may include parts for various purposes. Alternatively, the group of components 400 may be implemented as a separate component or a group of components for various purposes. This group of components 400 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to various other circuits of UE 106.

[0124] For example, the UE 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 410), input / output interfaces such as a connector I / F 420 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; a docking station; a charging station; an input device such as a microphone, a camera, a keyboard; an output device such as a speaker; etc.), a display 460 that may be integrated with the UE 106 or external to the UE, and cellular communication circuits 430 such as for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc., and short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuits 429 (e.g., Bluetooth TM and WLAN circuitry). In some embodiments, UE 106 may include wired communications circuitry (not shown), such as, for example, a network interface card for Ethernet.

[0125] Cellular communication circuitry 430 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 435 and 436 as shown. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 429 may also be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 437 and 438 as shown. Alternatively, short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 429 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to antennas 435 and 436 in addition to or in lieu of being (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to antennas 437 and 438. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 429 and / or cellular communication circuitry 430 may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration.

[0126] In some embodiments, as further described below, the cellular communication circuit 430 may include dedicated receive chains (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). In addition, in some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 430 may include a single transmit chain that can switch between radio components dedicated to specific RATs. For example, a first radio component may be dedicated to a first RAT, such as LTE, and may communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with an additional radio component, such as a second radio component that may be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and may communicate with the dedicated receive chain and the shared transmit chain. The UE 106 may be configured to communicate with one or more base stations 102 and a network controlled relay 108.

[0127] UE 106 may also include and / or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. The user interface element may include any of a variety of elements, such as a display 460 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or a speaker, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of a variety of other elements capable of providing information to a user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0128] UE 106 may also include one or more smart cards 445 including SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card) cards 445. Note that the term "SIM" or "SIM entity" is intended to include any of various types of SIM implementations or SIM functionality, such as removable or embedded one or more UICC cards 445, one or more eUICCs, one or more eSIMs, etc. In some embodiments, UE 106 may include at least two SIMs. Each SIM may execute one or more SIM applications and / or implement SIM functionality in other ways. Thus, each SIM may be a single smart card that may be embedded, for example, on a circuit board that may be soldered to UE 106, or each SIM 410 may be implemented as a removable smart card. Thus, the SIM may be one or more removable smart cards (such as UICC cards, sometimes referred to as "SIM cards"), and / or the SIM 410 may be one or more embedded cards (such as embedded UICCs (eUICCs), sometimes referred to as "eSIMs" or "eSIM cards"). In some embodiments (such as when the SIM includes an eUICC), one or more of the SIMs may implement embedded SIM (eSIM) functionality; in such embodiments, a single SIM in the SIM may execute multiple SIM applications. Each of the SIMs may include components such as a processor and / or a memory; instructions for performing SIM / eSIM functionality may be stored in the memory and executed by the processor. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may include a combination of removable smart cards and fixed / non-removable smart cards (such as one or more eUICC cards that implement eSIM functionality) as needed. For example, the UE 106 may include two embedded SIMs, two removable SIMs, or a combination of one embedded SIM and one removable SIM. Various other SIM configurations are also contemplated.

[0129] As described above, in some embodiments, UE 106 may include two or more SIMs. Including two or more SIMs in UE 106 may allow UE 106 to support two different phone numbers, and may allow UE 106 to communicate on corresponding two or more corresponding networks. For example, the first SIM may support a first RAT such as LTE, and the second SIM 410 may support a second RAT such as 5G NR. Of course, other specific implementations and RATs are also possible. In some embodiments, when UE 106 includes two SIMs, UE 106 may support dual card dual communication (DSDA) functionality. The DSDA functionality may allow UE 106 to be connected to two networks (and use two different RATs) at the same time, or allow two connections supported by two different SIMs using the same or different RATs to be maintained on the same or different networks at the same time. The DSDA functionality may also allow UE 106 to receive voice calls or data traffic on any phone number at the same time. In some embodiments, voice calls may be packet-switched communications. In other words, voice calls may be received using voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology and / or voice over NR (VoNR) technology. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may support dual SIM dual standby (DSDS) functionality. The DSDS functionality may allow either of the two SIMs in the UE 106 to standby for a voice call and / or data connection. In DSDS, when a call / data is established on one SIM, the other SIM is no longer active. In some embodiments, the DSDx functionality (DSDA or DSDS functionality) may be implemented using a single SIM (e.g., eUICC) that executes multiple SIM applications for different carriers and / or RATs.

[0130] As shown, the SOC 400 may include a processor 402 that may execute program instructions for the UE 106 and a display circuit 404 that may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 460. The processor 402 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 (which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 402 and convert those addresses to locations in a memory (e.g., a memory 406, a read-only memory (ROM) 450, a NAND flash memory 410), and / or to other circuits or devices (such as the display circuit 404, the short-range to mid-range wireless communication circuit 429, the cellular communication circuit 430, the connector I / F 420, and / or the display 460). The MMU 440 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 440 may be included as part of the processor 402.

[0131] As described above, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuits.UE 106 may be configured to perform methods for revoking and / or modifying user consent in MEC, for example in 5G NR systems and beyond, as further described herein.

[0132] As described herein, the processor 402 of the UE 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 402 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more other components 400, 404, 406, 410, 420, 429, 430, 440, 445, 450, 460, the processor 402 of the UE 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein.

[0133] Furthermore, as described herein, processor 402 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 402 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 402. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 402.

[0134] In addition, as described herein, the cellular communication circuit 430 and the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 429 may each include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in the cellular communication circuit 430, and similarly, one or more processing elements may be included in the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 429. Therefore, the cellular communication circuit 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 430. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 430. Similarly, the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 429 may include one or more ICs configured to perform the functions of the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 429. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 429.

[0135] Energy-saving technology for network control repeaters

[0136] It is expected that in upcoming cellular deployments (e.g., 3GPP NR Rel-18), network controlled repeaters (NCRs) may be utilized to improve downlink (DL) and / or uplink (UL) coverage by deploying spatially directional repeaters in areas where base stations (e.g., gNBs) and / or transmit receive points (TRPs) are unable to provide reliable coverage. Current implementations have deployed radio frequency (RF) repeaters that receive (but not decode), amplify, and forward transmissions between base stations and UEs. However, in scenarios where NCRs are not typically utilized (e.g., by UEs or BSs), power saving techniques may be beneficial in order to save power. For example, with respect to network controlled repeaters, a motivation for power savings may be the ability to introduce NCRs to automatically or semi-automatically control the active use of their receivers and / or transmitters (e.g., transceiver circuits). Specifically, for scenarios where NCRs are providing service to a minimum number of UEs (or no UEs), it may not be very beneficial or power efficient to continue to have their transceivers operate under normal conditions. Therefore, an NCR that can control transceiver usage at a repeater (or is controlled by the network) can further improve the way the NCR manages power conservation. In order to efficiently and dynamically implement these energy conservation techniques, the NCR can receive control information from the network to be instructed or configured to manage the state of its transceiver or transceiver circuits.

[0137] In some embodiments, the NCR that provides uplink control information (UCI) to the base station may establish a configuration from the radio resource control (RRC), the open application model (OAM), or it may be hard-coded in various embodiments. These configurations may include configurations of physical (PHY) channels for carrying L1 / L2 signaling, including configurations for receiving PDCCH and / or PDSCH messaging and sending PUCCH and / or PUSCH messaging. In various embodiments, the L1 / L2 signaling configuration may include configurations for downlink control information (DCI), lateral control information UCI, and / or medium access control (MAC) control elements (CE). In some scenarios, the configuration may be usable by the NCR when forwarding downlink signaling (received from the network) to one or more UEs. Additionally or alternatively, the configuration may be usable by the NCR when forwarding uplink signaling (received from one or more UEs) to the network.

[0138] According to some scenarios, the NCR may be generally configured with both a control link (for transmitting control information) and a backhaul link (for transmitting information to be forwarded to the UE) for communication between the NCR and the gNB. In addition, the NCR may be equipped with an access link for communication with the UE (e.g., forwarding messages (from the BS) to the UE and forwarding from the UE (to the BS)). According to some embodiments, the NCR may be able to independently enable or disable (e.g., turn on / off) the transceiver circuits corresponding to its access and backhaul links so that the communication between the NCR and the base station 102 and / or the UE 106 can be controlled separately. However, in some cases, when the NCR does not receive any or a large amount of messaging / signaling for forwarding, the NCR may be over-using power. In other words, if the NCR has not received any signaling for forwarding (to the UE or BS) for an extended period of time, it may be beneficial for the NCR to reduce its power usage by managing its transceiver (e.g., transceiver circuit) state. More specifically, the NCR may be able to save power by controlling whether its transmitter or receiver is actively used. To address these and other concerns, embodiments herein present mechanisms that assist NCRs in saving power by managing various transmit and / or receive components.

[0139] Figure 5 - Example communication system including a network controlled repeater (NCR)

[0140] Figure 5 An example communication system including an NCR, a base station (e.g., a gNB), and a UE according to some embodiments is illustrated. More specifically, Figure 5 Various links used by the NCR in forwarding messages or signaling to and from the BS and one or more UEs are illustrated.

[0141] For example, Figure 5 The gNB 502 is illustrated as communicating with the NCR 506 via a control link 512 and a backhaul link 514. According to some embodiments, the control link 512 may be used by the gNB 502 to transmit control information to the NCR. For example, the control information provided by the gNB may include lateral control information or configuration information that may be used by the NCR 506 in performing certain operations. In addition, the control link 512 may be interfaced with a mobile terminal (MT) entity (NCR-MT) of the NCR. More specifically, the NCR-MT 508 may be described as a functional entity of the NCR that is used to communicate with the gNB via the control link 512 (also referred to as a C-link) to enable information exchange of control information (e.g., lateral control information), which control information may be further used to control the forwarding entity (NCR-Fwd 510) of the NCR. According to some embodiments, the C-link 512 may be based on a new radio (NR) Uu interface.

[0142] In addition, backhaul link 514 may be used by NCR 506 when forwarding messages from one or more UEs, such as UE 504. For example, NCR 506 may receive signaling from UE 504 via access link 516 for forwarding to gNB 502 via backhaul link 514. In addition, access link 516 may be used by NCR 506 when forwarding messages to one or more UEs, such as UE 504. For example, NCR 506 may receive signaling from gNB 502 via backhaul link 514 for forwarding to UE 504 via access link 516. In addition, access link 516 and backhaul link 514 may both be interfaced with a forwarding entity (e.g., NCR-Fwd 510) of the NCR. More specifically, according to some embodiments, NCR-Fwd 510 may be described as a functional entity of the NCR to perform forwarding of uplink (UL) or downlink (DL) radio frequency (RF) signaling (and potentially including amplification of the signaling) between gNB 502 and UE 504 via backhaul link 514 and access link 516. Additionally or alternatively, the behavior or function of NCR-Fwd 510 may be controlled based on lateral control information received from gNB 502.

[0143] Figure 6 - Example energy saving method used in NCR

[0144] Figure 6 An example of a flow chart of a method for power conservation for NCR according to some embodiments is illustrated. Figure 6 Aspects of the method may be implemented, for example, by a network controlled repeater (NCR) in communication with a cellular base station (such as BS102 and one or more UEs 106A to 106N illustrated and described with respect to the various views herein), or more generally in conjunction with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements or components, etc. illustrated in the above-mentioned figures as desired. For example, a processor (and / or other hardware) of such a device may be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the illustrated method elements and / or other method elements. Figure 6 Various aspects of the method may also be implemented from the perspective of a base station or a UE.

[0145] Note that although described in a manner involving the use of communication techniques and / or features associated with 3GPP and / or NR specification documents, Figure 6 However, this description is not intended to limit the present disclosure and may be used in any suitable wireless communication system as needed. Figure 6In various embodiments, some of the elements of the method shown may be performed concurrently in an order different from that shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as needed. As shown in the figure, Figure 6 The method can be operated as follows.

[0146] At 602, according to some embodiments, the NCR may receive configuration information from a base station or other network node. According to some embodiments, the NCR may receive the configuration information via a control link (C link) and a corresponding NCR-MT. In addition, the configuration information may include beam configuration information, which may be used by the NCR when configuring one or more receive (Rx) or transmit (Tx) beams and corresponding time domain resources for potential reception from one or more UEs. For example, according to some embodiments, the configuration information may also indicate which time resources the configured beams need to apply at the NCR-Fwd access link. Therefore, the NCR may utilize these configured Rx or Tx beams to communicate with one or more UEs via an access link, and communicate with a network node (e.g., a gNB) via a backhaul and / or control link. It should be noted that the same and / or different beams may be used for the access link relative to the backhaul and / or control link. For example, one set of beams may be configured for communication with a base station, and another set of beams may be configured for communication with a UE. In other words, after receiving configuration information from the network via the C-link between the gNB and the NCR-MT entity, the NCR can utilize the configuration information to subsequently forward the information via the NCR-Fwd entity by utilizing the access and backhaul links.

[0147] In accordance with some embodiments, the NCR may receive lateral control information from the base station via a control link as part of the configuration information or separately from the configuration information. For example, various types of lateral control information may be exchanged between the gNB and the NCR, potentially including but not limited to beamforming information, scheduling information for subsequent signaling transmission and / or reception performed by the NCR, information related to UL-DL time division duplex (TDD) configuration, active / inactive (on / off) information for efficient interference management and improved energy efficiency, and / or power control information for efficient interference management (e.g., on-off mode), as well as other possibilities. In various embodiments, the lateral control information may be communicated via a combination of layer 1 (L1) and / or layer 2 (L2) signaling. Additionally or alternatively, in accordance with some embodiments, the lateral control information may include configuration information as part of downlink control information (DCI), medium access control-control element (MAC-CE), or system information block (SIB) such as SIB-1.

[0148] In some embodiments, implicit signaling such as beam information configured to the NCR may be applied to determine when to transition the transceiver circuit to an active state (e.g., turned on) or an inactive state (e.g., turned off). In other words, according to some embodiments, the NCR may receive configuration information from the network, which may be used by the NCR when adjusting the manner and time of its transceiver operation. For example, the network may be able to provide an on-off mode to the NCR via configuration information, which may indicate which transceivers should be inactive or active at a specified time. In addition, according to some embodiments, the configuration information may also indicate which time domain resources the configured beams need to apply at the appropriate NCR-Fwd link. According to some embodiments, when the NCR is not configured with any beams for transmission and / or reception in certain time slots / symbols (e.g., not configured with any transmit configuration indication identifier (TCI) state), then the NCR (or certain components of the NCR) may be configured to transition to an inactive state (e.g., as an example, turned off).

[0149] In accordance with some embodiments, implicit signaling may involve configuration of PRACH opportunities and corresponding Rx beams for receiving from one or more UEs at the NCR. For example, a base station (e.g., a gNB) may be able to configure the NCR to send synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) and receive corresponding PRACH signaling from the UE. However, depending on the beam information framework such as TCI, the BS may not be aware of the Tx and Rx beams of the NCR-Fwd (e.g., corresponding to the access link), and it is therefore possible that one or more of the beams of the NCR are not currently serving any UE. As an alternative, the BS may be aware of the Tx and Rx beams of the NCR-Fwd (based on configuration information provided by the BS to the NCR) and may be able to further determine (based on the lack of forwarded transmissions) that the NCR is not currently providing forwarding or relay services to any significant number of UEs (e.g., providing services to very few or no UEs). Therefore, it may be beneficial for the NCR to automatically or quasi-automatically control its transceiver circuit state or its mode through controlled transitions between active (ON) and inactive (OFF) states depending on actual reception from the UE at the NCR-Fwd.

[0150] At 604, the NCR may monitor the physical uplink channel or signal received from one or more UEs on the configured one or more Rx beams on the corresponding time domain resources. For example, the NCR may monitor one or more receive (Rx) beams corresponding to the UE using configuration information received by the network. More specifically, according to some embodiments, the NCR may perform monitoring within a minimum duration or a minimum number of instances or cycles. For example, according to some embodiments, the NCR may monitor PRACH signaling from one or more UEs on the indicated or configured Rx beams within a threshold amount of time. In other words, the NCR may be configured to monitor a specified, configured or indicated amount of time. In some embodiments, the threshold amount of time may correspond to at least one of a minimum time value or a maximum time value. For example, the maximum threshold amount of time may correspond to the maximum allowed time for monitoring signaling (e.g., PRACH) from the UE. According to some embodiments, the physical uplink channel may include PRACH or a configuration grant physical uplink control channel (PUSCH).

[0151] In some embodiments, the period of the threshold amount of time may correspond to a random access channel (RACH) resource periodicity. For example, the RACH resource periodicity may correspond to the duration before the RACH resource pattern is repeated. In other words, the threshold amount of time may include one or more time periods corresponding to the RACH resources and a period associated with monitoring the RACH resources. For example, according to some embodiments, the threshold amount of time may correspond to the number of PRACH monitoring opportunities multiplied by the duration of each PRACH monitoring opportunity.

[0152] In some cases, the threshold amount of time may be based on at least one of the fixed durations. For example, as an example, the threshold amount of time may be preconfigured by the network. Additionally or alternatively, the threshold amount of time may be hard-coded as part of the operating procedure of the NCR. For example, according to some embodiments, the threshold amount of time may be specified to the NCR based on known conditions or empirical data, so that the NCR monitors the PRACH for an appropriate amount of time. According to some scenarios, the threshold amount of time may be based on a value from a preconfigured or semi-statically configured table corresponding to one or more indexes. In other words, the threshold amount of time may be specified to the NCR using one or more indexes of a table (e.g., a lookup table), the one or more indexes corresponding to preferred threshold values ​​associated with known conditions or empirical data. Therefore, according to some embodiments, the NCR may be able to flexibly apply a preferred threshold amount of time to monitor using an appropriate index (of the lookup table), so that the NCR monitors the PRACH for a threshold amount of time based on the conditions associated with the index.

[0153] In some embodiments, the NCR may be configured to adjust the periodicity for monitoring PRACH resources. In other words, the threshold amount of time may be adjusted so that the monitoring window is increased or decreased. For example, if the NCR receives PRACH signaling multiple times within the monitoring window, the NCR may be able to reduce the threshold amount of time (e.g., the monitoring period) while still receiving appropriate signaling. In other words, the threshold amount of time may be further refined to reduce the amount of monitoring time necessary to receive PRACH signaling. Additionally or alternatively, if no PRACH is received, the NCR may be able to extend or increase the monitoring window (e.g., the threshold amount of time) so that it provides more time for the NCR to potentially receive PRACH signaling from one or more UEs. In addition, the NCR may be configured to adjust the periodicity corresponding to the subsequent transmission of one or more SSBs in response to adjusting the period for monitoring the physical uplink channel or signal.

[0154] In some embodiments, the NCR may adjust the threshold amount of time based on configuration information received (e.g., from the network) or in response to signaling (or lack thereof) from zero or more UEs to which the NCR may be providing forwarding or relay services. Additionally or alternatively, the NCR may determine corresponding non-valid time domain resources associated with at least one of one or more configured Rx beams or one or more configured transmit (Tx) beams based on the adjusted period. In addition, the NCR may de-configure or disable the determined time domain resources (e.g., non-valid time domain resources) corresponding to the adjusted monitoring window in order to perform monitoring more efficiently. In other words, the NCR may appropriately utilize and / or configure only valid time domain resources for more accurately monitoring the UE to which the NCR is providing (or supplying) forwarding services.

[0155] At 606, the NCR may determine that a physical uplink channel or signal has not been received on one or more configured Rx beams on the corresponding time domain resources for at least a threshold amount of time. For example, based on monitoring performed for a threshold amount of time, the NCR may become aware or determine that it has not received physical uplink channel (e.g., PRACH) signaling from one or more UEs on the configured beams. The NCR may be configured with resources for receiving PRACH signaling on one or more configured Rx beams corresponding to one or more UEs to which the NCR may be providing forwarding services. However, although the NCR may be configured with Rx beams to receive signaling from one or more UEs, the UE may not utilize the NCR's forwarding service (e.g., not sending PRACH signaling) to forward the message to the network. Therefore, the NCR may not actually receive any signaling (e.g., PRACH signaling), particularly for semi-statically scheduled reception.

[0156] At 608, the NCR may determine to avoid performing additional monitoring of receiving a physical uplink channel or signal from one or more UEs or sending at least one of one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) to one or more UEs for a duration. For example, in response to determining that a physical uplink channel or signal has not been received on one or more Rx beams configured on a corresponding time domain resource for at least a threshold amount of time, the NCR may choose to avoid performing additional monitoring (e.g., receiving) or sending operations. According to some embodiments, avoiding performing the additional monitoring or sending may include transitioning to a state with less power consumption (e.g., an inactive or off state) in order to save the power. As an example, the NCR may determine that since it has not received PRACH signaling from one or more UEs during a specified monitoring window (e.g., corresponding to a threshold amount of time), it should avoid making or encoding subsequent transmissions or performing any decoding procedures associated with any reception. Additionally or alternatively, according to some embodiments, the NCR may transition at least a portion of its transceiver circuitry to an inactive state (e.g., an off state) by disabling or deconfiguring appropriate portions of the transceiver circuitry (e.g., corresponding to various links of the NCR) so that no transmission or reception procedures are performed for a duration. Thus, the NCR may benefit from power savings associated with a state of reduced or minimal transmission and / or reception.

[0157] In some embodiments, the duration associated with avoiding additional monitoring or SSB transmission may be based on at least one of a fixed duration. For example, as an example, a duration (similar to a threshold amount of time) may be preconfigured by the network. Additionally or alternatively, as part of the operating procedure of the NCR, the duration may be hard-coded. According to some scenarios, the duration may be based on a value from a preconfigured or semi-statically configured table corresponding to one or more indexes. In some embodiments, the NCR may be configured to adjust the duration of the transceiver circuit in an inactive state. In other words, the duration may be adjusted so that the time for the NCR to avoid sending or receiving signaling may be increased or decreased. In some embodiments, the NCR may adjust the duration based on configuration information received (e.g., from the network) or in response to signaling (or lack thereof) from one or more UEs to which the NCR is providing services.

[0158] According to some embodiments, determining that subsequent signaling is not to be encoded or decoded for the duration may include disabling at least a portion of transceiver circuitry for the duration. For example, the NCR may disable or deconfigure one or more of its receivers and / or transmitters in response to determining that no PRACH signaling is expected for a threshold amount of time. In other words, according to some embodiments, the NCR may transition a receiver or transmitter associated with the NCR-MT and / or NCR-Fwd entity to a less active or inactive state based on a lack of received PRACH signaling for a threshold amount of time.

[0159] In other embodiments, the NCR may perform additional monitoring for PRACH signaling from one or more UEs after the duration has elapsed. For example, the NCR may configure the transition of the receiver / transmitter state to resume after the duration has elapsed. In some embodiments, the timer may be configured (e.g., by the NCR or external signaling from the network) to correspond to the transition (and / or re-transition) of the state of the transceiver circuit (or a transmitter and / or receiver included as part of the transceiver circuit) so that the receiver and / or transmitter of the NCR-MT and / or NCR-Fwd are transitioned to an inactive state after the timer is started. Additionally or alternatively, according to some embodiments, the NCR may configure the timer so that the NCR-MT and / or NCR-Fwd entities of the NCR may resume or re-transition back to an active state of sending, receiving and / or monitoring after the timer expires. In other words, the NCR and the duration corresponding to avoiding additional monitoring and / or sending (e.g., not encoding or decoding signaling) may be configured so that normal encoding and / or decoding operations continue after the duration has elapsed.

[0160] According to some embodiments, the duration may be configured to increase to a maximum duration. For example, the NCR and / or external signaling (e.g., via the network) may configure a duration corresponding to a less active or inactive transmit / receive state, which may be increased in an adjustable manner up to a maximum amount of time. This maximum amount of time may be specified or limited so that the NCR does not enter an inactive state for an inappropriately large amount of time. In other words, the duration may be limited to a maximum amount of time so that the NCR will eventually recover back to an active state in order to avoid inappropriately long gaps in the services provided to the UE. In some embodiments, the duration may be increased via an additive factor. For example, the duration may be increased incrementally according to a certain time period (e.g., 10ms, 20ms, for example). Additionally or alternatively, the incremental and additive time periods may correspond to PRACH or RACH resource periodicity or time periods. For example, the PRACH or RACH resource periodicity may correspond to the duration before the same PRACH or RACH resource pattern is repeated. Therefore, this periodicity (e.g., the duration between each repetition) may be able to be adjusted by the NCR or the network. According to further embodiments, the threshold amount of time may also be configured (eg, by the NCR or the network) to be decreased or shortened in addition to increasing the duration.

[0161] Figure 7 - Example communication flow of NCR power saving method

[0162] Figure 7 An example of a communication flow diagram illustrating example aspects of a method for power conservation for NCRs according to some embodiments is illustrated. Figure 7 is similar in some respects to Figure 5 and Figure 6 , and may be used in conjunction with various aspects of these drawings. Figure 7 Aspects of the method may be implemented, for example, by a network controlled repeater (NCR) in communication with a cellular base station (such as BS102 and one or more UEs 106A to 106N illustrated and described with respect to the various views herein), or more generally in conjunction with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements or components, etc. illustrated in the above-mentioned figures as desired. For example, a processor (and / or other hardware) of such a device may be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the illustrated method elements and / or other method elements. Figure 7 Various aspects of the method may also be implemented from the perspective of a base station or a UE.

[0163] Note that although described in a manner involving the use of communication techniques and / or features associated with 3GPP and / or NR specification documents, Figure 7 However, this description is not intended to limit the present disclosure and may be used in any suitable wireless communication system as needed. Figure 7 In various embodiments, some of the elements of the method shown may be performed concurrently in an order different from that shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as needed. As shown in the figure, Figure 7 The method can be operated as follows.

[0164] For example, in 708, the NCR 704 may receive configuration information from the base station 702 or other network node. According to some embodiments, the NCR 704 may receive the configuration information via a control link (C link) and a corresponding NCR-MT, as shown in 708. The configuration information may include beam configuration information, which may be used by the NCR 704 when configuring one or more Rx or Tx beams and corresponding time domain resources to communicate with the base station 702 and / or the UE 706. In some embodiments, the configuration information may include at least one of a threshold amount of time or a duration. Additionally or alternatively, the threshold amount of time may correspond to the NCR monitoring a physical uplink channel or signal from one or more user equipments (UEs) on one or more Rx beams on the corresponding time domain resources, and the duration may correspond to the NCR avoiding at least one of additional monitoring of receiving a physical uplink channel or signal from one or more UEs or sending one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) to one or more UEs.

[0165] Additionally or alternatively, NCR 704 may receive lateral control information from base station 702 via a control link as part of or separate from the configuration information received in 708. For example, as discussed above, various types of lateral control information may be exchanged between base station 702 and NCR 704. In other words, NCR 704 may receive configuration information in 708 for subsequent transmission to base station 702 and / or UE 706 and subsequent reception from base station 702 and / or UE 706.

[0166] For example, according to some embodiments, the active / inactive (e.g., on / off) mode included in the lateral control information may be considered a beneficial method to not only make the NCR more energy or power efficient but also avoid interference to and from the NCR relative to other nodes in the system or network. More specifically, according to some embodiments, the NCR may be able to flexibly implement, utilize and / or update the on / off mode corresponding to the active (on) or inactive (off) transceiver state in order to efficiently save power.

[0167] At 710, the NCR 704 may monitor for receiving a physical uplink channel or signal from one or more UEs, such as the UE 706. For example, the NCR 704 may utilize the configuration information provided in 708 for an Rx or Tx beam and corresponding time domain resources for communicating with the UE 706 via an access link. In other words, after receiving the configuration information from the network via a C-link between the base station 702 and the NCR-MT entity of the NCR 704, the NCR 704 may utilize this configuration information to subsequently forward the information via the NCR-Fwd entity by utilizing the access link. Thus, the NCR 704 may monitor for PRACH signaling expected to be received from the UE 706 in 710. In addition, according to some embodiments, the NCR 704 may not receive a physical uplink channel or signal (e.g., PRACH signaling) from the UE 706 and / or determine that a physical uplink channel or signal is not expected within a threshold amount of time.

[0168] However, according to some embodiments, explicit signaling and implicit signaling can be used to configure or signal the activity / inactivity (e.g., on / off) behavior of the NCR. For example, explicit signaling may include a dynamic or semi-static indication of an on / off mode that can be configured and implemented by the NCR. In addition, the on / off mode may include information that includes the duration and periodicity of both the monitoring window (on) state and the inactive (off) state. In other words, the NCR may be able to utilize one or more on / off modes and flexibly adjust the duration and period of the monitoring (e.g., active) state and / or inactive state in order to save power or energy more efficiently.

[0169] Thus, at 712, the NCR 704 may send a configuration request to the base station 702 via a control link. For example, the NCR 704 may request instructions, information, or configuration updates from the network or base station 702 in response to determining that it has not received or does not expect a physical uplink channel or signal from the UE 706. According to some embodiments, the NCR 704 may send a request to the base station 702 to execute or enable a procedure that disables, cancels configuration, or causes a state transition of one of the transmitters, receivers, or transceiver circuits of the NCR in response to determining that a physical uplink channel or signal is not expected or not received. In other words, the NCR 704 may request updated configuration information or an active / inactive (e.g., on / off) mode from the base station 702 in response to not receiving a physical uplink channel or signal from the UE 706 and may request instructions from the base station 702. In addition, according to some embodiments, NCR 704 may send signaling to base station 702 in response to not receiving a physical uplink channel or signal during a threshold amount of time, indicating that it plans, intends, or has transitioned at least some of its transceiver circuits to an inactive (e.g., off) state.

[0170] In addition, at 714, the base station 702 may send a configuration response to the NCR 704 via a control link. For example, the base station 702 may send a response to the NCR 704, which may include configuration information that can be used by the NCR 704 when performing energy saving methods. In some embodiments, the updated configuration information may include updated parameters that specify an updated threshold amount of time for subsequent physical uplink channel or signal monitoring events. For example, the base station 702 may provide an indication or updated configuration information so that the NCR 704 increases the threshold amount of time used for monitoring (e.g., for PRACH signaling). Additionally or alternatively, the base station 702 may provide an updated on / off mode for the NCR. In other words, based on a request from the NCR 704, the base station 702 may specify the mode and duration in which the NCR 704 should perform a monitoring procedure and the NCR 704 should be in an inactive or reduced power state (e.g., reduced transmission and / or reception).

[0171] According to some embodiments, this explicit indication may include an active / inactive (on / off) state (e.g., via dynamic or semi-static signaling) or an on / off pattern (e.g., a periodic / semi-static on / off pattern). Additionally or alternatively, base station 702 may provide configuration information related to an updated or new discontinuous reception (DRX) mode.

[0172] In other words, the network may be able to provide explicit signaling to specify the energy saving configuration of the NCR. More specifically, the network may be able to indicate to the NCR on / off information for controlling the behavior of the NCR-Fwd entity. However, since the NCR is required to send a request and receive an explicit indication of information corresponding to the on / off mode or other configuration information from the network, the explicit signaling may include additional power overhead.

[0173] According to some embodiments, in addition to being configured with a set of Rx beams and associated time domain resources for receiving on each of the PRACH opportunities corresponding to the SSB beams (and further forwarding the received PRACH to the BS via the NCR-Fwd backhaul link), the NCR may be configured by the network to have a set of Tx beams and associated time domain resources for forwarding multiple SSB beams to the UE via the NCR-Fwd access link. However, according to some embodiments, if the NCR does not receive any PRACH (Msg1 or MsgA preamble) on this set of configured Rx beams for a duration of at least "N" periods (one of which corresponds to the RACH resource periodicity), the NCR may be able to request the network to transition the NCR-Fwd used to send SSBs to the UE to an inactive state (e.g., turned off). Additionally or alternatively, the NCR may be able to request the network to transition the receiver of the NCR-Fwd used to receive the PRACH to an inactive state (e.g., turned off). In some embodiments, the NCR may be able to request the network to increase the periodicity of the SSB (to be sent) and / or the PRACH (to be received) so as to update the active / inactive (on / off) mode of the NCR-Fwd. According to another embodiment, the NCR may choose to notify the network on the resources and / or beams configured for SSB and / or PRACH that it will transition the NCR-Fwd to an inactive state (e.g., off). Additionally or alternatively, the NCR may notify the network of its intention on the configured UL resources (for sending to the base station) before or after sending a request to adjust the on / off mode.

[0174] Figure 8 - Example PRACH reception timeline for NCR power saving method

[0175] Figure 8 An example timeline of physical random access channel (PRACH) reception as part of a power saving method for NCR in accordance with some embodiments is illustrated.

[0176] As mentioned above about Figure 6 and Figure 7As briefly discussed, the NCR may be able to adjust its on / off mode (internally or in response to network instructions) for at least some of its components. In other words, the NCR may be able to dynamically control and / or transition the inactive (e.g., off) or active (e.g., on) state of its transceiver components (e.g., transceiver circuits). Such transceiver components or circuits may include an NCR-Fwd receiver at an access link for receiving uplink (UL) channels / signals from one or more UEs and for forwarding to a network node such as a gNB. Additionally or alternatively, the transceiver circuit may include an NCR-Fwd transmitter at an access link for forwarding (DL) channels / signals received from the gNB to the UE. Furthermore, according to some embodiments, adjusting these modes may be responsive to the absence of PRACH signaling received on a configured / indicated Rx beam within a minimum required duration or instance.

[0177] For example, the NCR may be configured by the network with a set of Tx beams and associated time domain resources for forwarding multiple SSB beams to one or more UEs via an NCR-Fwd access link. In addition, the NCR may be configured with a set of Rx beams and associated time domain resources for receiving at each PRACH opportunity in the PRACH opportunities corresponding to the SSB beams (for forwarding the received PRACH to the gNB via the NCR-Fwd backhaul link). However, according to some embodiments, if the NCR does not receive any PRACH (Msg1 or MsgA preamble) on this set of configured Rx beams for a duration of at least "N" configured periods (one of which may correspond to the RACH resource periodicity), the NCR may automatically or semi-automatically transition the NCR-Fwd receiver at the access link and the NCR-Fwd transmitter at the backhaul link to an inactive state (e.g., turned off) on the corresponding time domain resources associated with this set of configured Rx beams and / or Tx beams (e.g., enabling the transition to the inactive state). In addition, according to some embodiments, the NCR may not expect to receive further SSBs from the network (unless otherwise configured / indicated) and may automatically or semi-automatically transition the NCR-Fwd receiver at the backhaul link and the NCR-Fwd transmitter at the access link to an inactive state (e.g., turned off) on the corresponding time domain resources associated with this set of configured Tx and Rx beams.

[0178] Figure 8An example of an NCR power saving method based on physical random access channel (PRACH) reception (or lack thereof) is illustrated. As an example, the NCR may be preconfigured (or hard-coded) with a minimum monitoring period of two periods. Therefore, the NCR-Fwd shall monitor one or more Rx beams for receiving the corresponding UL channel / signal for forwarding to the gNB within two monitoring periods (period m and period m). More specifically, Figure 8 An example of an NCR semi-statically configured with four beams (PRACH Rx beams 1, 2, 3, and 4) corresponding to four symbols within a time slot is illustrated. In addition, the periodicity of the four beams (e.g., the duration before the resource pattern is repeated) can be configured for an interval of two time slots. For example, Figure 8 As shown, no PRACH signaling is received on PRACH Rx beams (e.g., 1, 2, 3, and 4) in cycle m and more specifically in time slot n+1. In addition, no PRACH signaling is received on PRACH Rx beams in cycle m+1 and more specifically in time slot n+3. Therefore, the NCR may not have received uplink signaling (e.g., PRACH) on four beams within the configured two monitoring cycles. More specifically, the NCR may not have received PRACH in cycles m to m+1 corresponding to four time slots (time slot n to time slot n+3).

[0179] Thus, according to some embodiments, the NCR-Fwd entity of the NCR may be configured to transition at least some of its transceiver circuits (receiver and / or transmitter) to an inactive state (e.g., turn off the receiver) at the access link after the second period of the configured beam. Figure 8 As shown, the NCR-Fwd receiver may be turned off in cycle m+2 and thus not use PRACH Rx beams 1 to 4 for the corresponding time slot n+5. According to some embodiments, the NCR-Fwd may be configured to be turned on (e.g., transitioned to an active state) for other configured or dynamically signaled beams or based on some other explicit / implicit indication.

[0180] According to some embodiments, the NCR may be able to adjust its monitoring period and subsequently transition the NCR-Fwd receiver to an inactive state within a shorter time frame. More specifically, the NCR may be configured (internally or externally via a network) to reduce its monitoring period from two cycles to one cycle after transitioning its NCR-Fwd receiver back to an active state (e.g., an on state). For example, Figure 8As further illustrated in FIG. 1 , the NCR may be configured to perform monitoring at time slot n+7 during cycle m+3 using PRACH Rx beams 1, 2, 3, and 4. Therefore, having not received uplink signaling on the Rx beam during cycle m+3, the NCR-Fwd may once again transition its receiver to an inactive or off state. In other words, Figure 8 An example method of power conservation by using a step-by-step active / inactive (eg, on / off) operating mode is illustrated. More specifically, Figure 8 The NCR-Fwd receiver is illustrated to gradually and flexibly reduce its monitoring period (and indeed the time its receiver is in an active state) due to lack of PRACH reception. Thus, the NCR can benefit from the power saved due to the extended period of reduced activity associated with the off state.

[0181] According to some embodiments, if the set of Rx beams for receiving PRACH is not explicitly configured, the NCR may be able to perform beam mapping by using the corresponding Tx beam as the Rx beam. Additionally or alternatively, the configuration signaling may be applied to Figure 8 According to some embodiments, the network may provide configuration signaling to the NCR so that the NCR determines the duration before it may transition at least one of its transmitter or receiver to an inactive state (e.g., switched off). For example, the fixed duration may be preconfigured or hard-coded and may further depend on the configured numerology and / or frequency range (FR). Thus, using the configured numerology and / or FR may allow the NCR to determine the number of time slots and / or symbols to be used for the period or monitoring or switched off state.

[0182] In some scenarios, the network may provide the NCR with a pre-configured or semi-statically configured table that includes an index to the table that may indicate a duration in terms of slots and / or symbols that does not need to be monitored for reception. Additionally or alternatively, according to some embodiments, a MAC-CE or DCI carrying lateral control information may signal the index to the configured table.

[0183] According to some examples, the duration may depend on or be associated with the number of PRACH opportunities in the monitoring period. For example, if the number of PRACH opportunities in the monitoring period is X, then N periods of no reception are monitored. Additionally or alternatively, according to some embodiments, M (>N) periods of no reception may be monitored.

[0184] According to some embodiments, the NCR may be configured (fixed, semi-statically or dynamically) with a factor for determining the periodic step increase and the maximum allowed periodicity for receiving PRACH on the associated Rx beam and the corresponding time resource within the period. Additionally or alternatively, according to some embodiments, after reaching the maximum periodicity, the NCR may be configured to correspondingly turn its NCR-Fwd transmitter and receiver into an inactive state (e.g., turned off) for RACH resources and / or SSB transmissions on all periods. In other words, the periodicity corresponding to the duration before the time resource is repeated may be incrementally increased to the maximum duration.

[0185] As an example, if the initial period of the RACH resource is 10 ms, the multiplication factor of the period increase is 2, and the maximum allowed period is 80 ms, the period of the RACH resource may be gradually increased from 10 ms to 20 ms to 40 ms to 80 ms. Thus, with each periodicity step increase, the NCR may be turned off for each alternating period. For example, if the initial configuration includes that the period of the RACH resource is 10 ms and when the period increases to 20 ms, the NCR is turned on in all periods, then effectively, the first and third periods of the NCR may correspond to an active (e.g., on) state, while the second and fourth periods may be associated with an inactive (e.g., off) state.

[0186] According to some embodiments, the duration of reception of the PRACH is observed may be a fixed value regardless of the increase in periodicity. Additionally or alternatively, the duration of reception of the PRACH may also be scaled as the periodicity increases. For example, for an initial periodicity of 10 ms, the off duration may be two cycles, and accordingly when the periodicity increases to 20 ms, the duration of observation of the PRACH may be adjusted to one cycle. In another example, the factor used to increase the periodicity may be additive, such that if the additive factor is one, the periodicity increases by one. For example, if a cycle is initially 10 ms, the next update period increased by a factor of 1 will be 20 ms and the next period increased by a factor of 1 will be 30 ms. Thus, the period may continue to increase by a factor of 1 and may be up to a maximum allowed periodicity.

[0187] Fig. 9 - Example SSB Transmission Timeline for NCR Power Saving Method

[0188] Fig. 9 An example timeline is illustrated for transmission of a synchronization signal block (SSB) as part of a power saving method for an NCR in accordance with some embodiments.

[0189] More specifically, Fig. 9An example scenario is illustrated in which an NCR may be configured by the network to have a set of Tx beams and associated time domain resources for forwarding multiple SSB beams to a UE via an NCR-Fwd access link. Figure 8 In the scenario described in , if the NCR does not receive any PRACH (Msg1 or MsgA preamble) on this set of configured Rx beams for a duration of at least "N" periods (a period corresponding to the RACH resource periodicity), the NCR may be able to adjust the periodicity of the PRACH resources. In other words, the NCR may be able to adjust the duration for which the PRACH resource pattern is repeated. In addition, according to some embodiments, the NCR may be able to transition the NCR-Fwd transmitter to an inactive state (e.g., turned off) at the backhaul link on the corresponding time domain resources associated with this set of configured Rx beams, which may not be valid (e.g., invalid or non-valid) due to the updated periodicity.

[0190] Additionally or alternatively, the NCR may be able to assume or determine that the periodicity of the SSB is adjusted and therefore may not expect to receive SSBs from the network (unless otherwise configured / indicated). Therefore, the NCR may choose to transition the NCR-Fwd receiver at the backhaul link and the NCR-Fwd transmitter at the access link to an inactive state (e.g., turned off) on corresponding time domain resources associated with this set of configured Tx beams that are no longer valid (e.g., invalid) based on the updated periodicity.

[0191] For example, Fig. 9 An example of an NCR power saving method based on SSB transmission is illustrated. Fig. 9 As illustrated in , according to some embodiments, the NCR may be preconfigured (or hard-coded) with a minimum monitoring period of two periods. Thus, NCR-Fwd may expect SSBs from the network (e.g., a base station) on one or more SSB beams during two monitoring periods (period m and period m+1) to receive corresponding DL channels / signals for forwarding to one or more UEs. More specifically, Fig. 9 An example of NCR in which four beams (SSB beams 1, 2, 3, and 4) corresponding to four symbols are semi-statically configured within a time slot is illustrated. In addition, the periodicity of the four beams can be configured for an interval of two time slots. For example, Figure 8As shown, no PRACH signaling is received on PRACH Rx beams (e.g., 1, 2, 3, and 4) in cycle m and more specifically in time slot n+1. In addition, no PRACH signaling is received on PRACH Rx beams in cycle m+1 and more specifically in time slot n+3. Therefore, the NCR may not have received uplink signaling (e.g., PRACH) on four beams within the configured two monitoring cycles. More specifically, the NCR may not have received PRACH in cycles m to m+1 corresponding to four time slots (time slot n to time slot n+3).

[0192] Thus, according to some embodiments, the NCR-Fwd entity of the NCR may be configured to transition at least some of its transceiver circuitry (e.g., transmitter) to an inactive state (e.g., turn off the transmitter) at the access link after the second period of the configured beam (e.g., after time slot n+3). Fig. 9 As shown, the NCR-Fwd transmitter may transition to an inactive state (e.g., turned off) at at least time slot n+4 (corresponding to cycle m+2). According to some embodiments, the NCR-Fwd may be configured to switch on (e.g., transition to an active state) for other configured or dynamically signaled beams or based on some other explicit / implicit indications.

[0193] According to some embodiments, the NCR may be able to adjust its monitoring period and subsequently transition the NCR-Fwd transmitter to an inactive state within a shorter time frame. More specifically, the NCR may be configured (internally or externally via a network) to reduce its monitoring period from two cycles to one cycle after transitioning its NCR-Fwd transmitter back to an active state (e.g., an on state). For example, Fig. 9 As further illustrated in FIG. 1 , the NCR-Fwd transmitter may transition to an inactive state (e.g., turned off) at time slot n+4 (corresponding to cycle m+2). Therefore, the NCR may not expect Tx SSB beams 1 to 4 again until time slot n+6 (corresponding to m+3). In other words, Fig. 9 An example method of power conservation by using a step-by-step active / inactive (eg, on / off) operating mode is illustrated. More specifically, Fig. 9 The NCR-Fwd transmitter is illustrated to gradually and flexibly reduce its transmission period (and indeed the time its transmitter is in the active state) as it is not expected to make any SSB transmissions. Thus, the NCR can benefit from the power saved due to the extended period of reduced activity associated with the off state.

[0194] Additional Information

[0195] In some embodiments, the NCR may be configured to transition the receiver and / or transmitter of the NCR-MT to an inactive state (e.g., turned off) based on the absence of PRACH signaling received within a specific duration (e.g., a threshold amount of time). In addition, according to some embodiments, the NCR may be configured to transition the NCR-MT to an inactive state based on the receipt of lateral control information including the application of a semi-static configuration. Additionally or alternatively, if there is no reception of PRACH at the NCR-Fwd, the periodicity of monitoring the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for receiving lateral control information may be updated. For example, the lack of PRACH reception for a long duration may indicate that the NCR is not providing service to any UE (or a relatively small number of UEs) and therefore the periodicity of the lateral control information (e.g., via the PDCCH) may also be increased (e.g., the duration before the resource pattern is repeated). Therefore, the NCR may be able to be inactive (e.g., turned off) for a longer duration.

[0196] In some embodiments, the network may be able to configure the NCR to activate or deactivate the features of automatic on / off and / or automatic periodic updates corresponding to the semi-static (and / or semi-persistent) channel / signal reception / transmission at the NCR. More specifically, according to some embodiments, such configuration performed by the network may be completed semi-statically or dynamically as part of the lateral control information delivered via DCI and / or MAC-CE. As an alternative, the configuration may be delivered via a system information block (SIB) such as SIB-1. In some embodiments, the network may be able to indicate whether it supports automatic on / off and / or automatic periodic updates through capability signaling. In other words, the network may notify the NCR that it may or may not perform periodic updates of the automatic on / off mode.

[0197] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0198] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0199] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein if executed by a computer system, the program instructions cause the computer system to perform a method, such as any method implementation of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any method implementation of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0200] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., UE 106) may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method implementations described herein (or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any of the method implementations described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of a variety of forms.

[0201] By interpreting each message / signal X received by a user equipment (UE) in the downlink as a message / signal X sent by the base station, and interpreting each message / signal Y sent by the UE in the uplink as a message / signal Y received by the base station, any of the methods for operating a UE described herein may become the basis for the corresponding method for operating a base station.

[0202] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to include all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A network controlled repeater (NCR), the network controlled repeater (NCR) comprising: transceiver circuitry configured to perform cellular communications with at least one base station (BS) and one or more user equipment (UE) using at least one radio access technology (RAT); and one or more processors coupled to the transceiver circuitry, wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the NCR to: receiving configuration information from the at least one BS to configure one or more receive (Rx) beams and corresponding time domain resources for potential reception from the one or more UEs; Monitoring physical uplink channels or signals received from the one or more UEs on the configured one or more Rx beams on the corresponding time domain resources; determining, based on the monitoring, that the physical uplink channel or signal is not received on the configured one or more Rx beams on the corresponding time domain resources for at least a threshold amount of time; as well as In response to the determination that the physical uplink channel or signal has not been received on the configured one or more Rx beams on the corresponding time domain resources for at least the threshold amount of time, it is determined to avoid additional monitoring of the physical uplink channel or signal received from the one or more UEs for a duration or to avoid sending at least one of one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) to the one or more UEs for a duration.

2. The NCR of claim 1, wherein avoiding additional monitoring of receiving the physical uplink channel or signal from the one or more UEs for a duration or avoiding sending at least one of the one or more SSBs to the one or more UEs for a duration includes transitioning at least a portion of the transceiver circuit to an off state.

3. The NCR of claim 2, wherein transitioning the at least a portion of the transceiver circuitry to the off state for the duration comprises disabling or deconfiguring at least a portion of the transceiver circuitry for the duration.

4. The NCR according to claim 1, The period of the threshold amount of time corresponds to a random access channel (RACH) resource periodicity.

5. The NCR according to claim 1, Wherein the threshold amount of time is based on at least one of: Fixed duration; a preconfigured or semi-statically configured table corresponding to one or more indexes; or The number of Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) opportunities within the threshold amount of time.

6. The NCR according to claim 1, The physical uplink channel includes: Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH); or Configuration grants the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).

7. The NCR according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the NCR to: adjusting a period for monitoring the physical uplink channel or signal; determining, based on the adjusted period, corresponding non-valid time domain resources associated with at least one of the one or more configured Rx beams or the one or more configured transmit (Tx) beams; and The non-valid time domain resources are disabled.

8. The NCR of claim 7, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the NCR to: In response to adjusting the period for monitoring the physical uplink channel or signal, adjusting the periodicity corresponding to subsequent transmissions of the one or more SSBs.

9. A device, comprising: at least one processor configured to cause a base station (BS): Sending configuration information to a network control repeater (NCR) to configure one or more receive (Rx) beams and corresponding time domain resources, wherein: The configuration information includes at least one of a threshold amount of time or a duration, The threshold amount of time corresponds to monitoring by the NCR of a physical uplink channel or signal from one or more user equipments (UEs) on the one or more Rx beams on the corresponding time domain resources, and The duration corresponds to the NCR avoiding the one or more 1. the one or more UEs receiving the physical uplink channel or signal for additional monitoring or avoiding sending at least one of the one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) to the one or more UEs corresponding to the NCR; receiving a request message from the NCR to adjust at least one of the time or duration of the threshold amount; and Additional configuration information including at least one of an updated threshold amount of time or an updated duration is sent to the NCR.

10. The device according to claim 9, The request message includes a request for the BS to perform at least one of the following: a procedure to disable at least one of one or more transmitters or one or more receivers of the NCR; or A procedure to update the mode of the on and off state of the NCR.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the BS to: Signaling is received from the NCR indicating that the NCR is to disable at least one of one or more transmitters of the NCR or one or more receivers of the NCR.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the BS to: Lateral control information is sent to the NCR, wherein the lateral control information is usable by the NCR to determine not to at least one of encode or decode signaling for a duration.

13. The device according to claim 12, The lateral control information is sent via a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

14. The device according to claim 12, Wherein the lateral control information comprises configuration information included as a part of at least one of downlink control information (DCI), medium access control-control element (MAC-CE), or system information block (SIB).

15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the BS to: A request is received from the NCR for adjusting a monitoring periodicity of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carrying the lateral control information.

16. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the BS to: A capability instruction is sent to the NCR, the capability instruction indicating support for configuring the NCR for at least one of: enabling or disabling at least one of one or more transmitters of the NCR or one or more receivers of the NCR, or sending lateral control information with an adjusted periodicity.

17. A network controlled repeater (NCR), the network controlled repeater (NCR) comprising: transceiver circuitry configured to perform cellular communications with at least one base station (BS) and one or more user equipment (UE) using at least one radio access technology (RAT); one or more processors coupled to the transceiver circuitry, wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the NCR to: receiving configuration information from the at least one BS to configure one or more receive (Rx) beams and corresponding time domain resources, wherein: The configuration information includes at least one of a threshold amount of time or a duration, The threshold amount of time corresponds to monitoring by the NCR of a physical uplink channel or signal from one or more user equipments (UEs) on the one or more Rx beams on the corresponding time domain resources, and The duration corresponds to the NCR avoiding the one or more 1. the one or more UEs receiving the physical uplink channel or signal for additional monitoring or avoiding sending at least one of the one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) to the one or more UEs corresponding to the NCR; sending a request to the at least one BS to adjust at least one of a time or a duration of the threshold amount; and Additional configuration information including at least one of an updated threshold amount of time or an updated duration is received from the at least one BS.

18. The NCR according to claim 15, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the NCR to: Capability signaling is received from the BS indicating support for using the NCR configuration for at least one of: enabling or disabling at least one of the one or more transmitters or the one or more receivers.

19. The NCR according to claim 17, The request message includes a request for the BS to perform at least one of the following: a procedure for disabling at least one of one or more transmitters or one or more receivers of the NCR; A procedure for updating modes of active and inactive states of the transceiver circuitry of the NCR.

20. The NCR of claim 17, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to cause the NCR to: An instruction is sent to the NS, the signaling indicating that the NCR is to disable at least one of the one or more transmitters of the NCR or the one or more receivers of the NCR.

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