Method and apparatus for secondary frequency scan signaling

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for secondary frequency scan signaling are described. A method for wireless communication at a cell may include entering a semi-active state corresponding to an energy saving mode of operation of the cell; configuring a downlink signal to assist at least one user equipment (UE) in detecting a synchronization signal transmitted from at least one cell in an active state; and transmitting the downlink signal during the semi-active state. A method for wireless communication at a UE may include receiving a downlink signal from a cell in a semi-active state corresponding to an energy saving mode of operation of the cell; detecting a synchronization signal transmitted from at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on the downlink signal; and establishing a connection with the at least one cell in the active state based at least in part on the synchronization signal.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. patent application No. 17 / 933,732, filed on September 20, 2022, entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR ASSISTED FREQUENCY SCAN SIGNALING,” which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications, and to techniques, devices, and systems for network energy / power conservation. In some more specific aspects, the techniques described herein relate to assisted frequency scan signaling. Background Art

[0004] Power is generally defined as the amount of energy transferred or converted per unit time. In the International System of Units, the unit of power is the watt (W), which is equal to one joule (J) per second (s). However, in the context of the present disclosure, the terms power and energy may be used interchangeably.

[0005] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide a variety of telecommunication services, such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies that can support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth or transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, and long term evolution (LTE). LTE / LTE-Advanced is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0006] The above-mentioned multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different UEs to communicate at a city, country, region and / or global level. New Radio (NR), which may be referred to as 5G, is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by improving spectrum efficiency, reducing costs, improving services, utilizing new spectrum, and using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with cyclic prefix (CP) (CP-OFDM) on the downlink, CP-OFDM and / or single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) (also known as discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM)) on the uplink to better integrate with other open standards, as well as supporting beamforming, multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna technology and carrier aggregation. As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, further improvements in LTE, NR and other radio access technologies remain useful.

[0007] In 5G systems, wireless devices (e.g., UEs) may have limited battery power or be subject to maximum permitted exposure (MPE) levels that may limit transmit power levels. In addition to developing techniques for UE power conservation, it may also be desirable to develop techniques and features that allow wireless network nodes (e.g., cells) to conserve power (i.e., energy). This may be particularly desirable in 5G systems, where the density of network nodes may be higher than in earlier wireless communication systems. Summary of the invention

[0008] The present invention is defined by the independent claims. Some advantageous embodiments are defined by the dependent claims or described elsewhere in the present disclosure. In general, the present disclosure relates to methods, systems, devices and apparatuses for achieving power saving (i.e., energy saving) at a wireless network node (e.g., a cell). In the context of the present disclosure, the terms power and energy can be used interchangeably.

[0009] A wireless network may include one or more base stations (also referred to herein as network access nodes, network nodes, cells, NodeBs, gNodeBs, gNBs, etc.) that support communication for a user equipment (UE) or multiple UEs. A UE may communicate with a base station via downlink and uplink communications. A "downlink" (or "DL") refers to the communication link from a base station to a UE, and an "uplink" (or "UL") refers to the communication link from a UE to a base station.

[0010] The techniques described herein add the option of a cell entering a semi-active state, which can be considered to represent an intermediate state between an inactive state and an active state from the perspective of energy / power consumption and / or functionality and / or latency. According to various aspects of the present disclosure, a cell can be in an inactive state, one of an active state, and in (at least) one semi-active state at the same time. For example, in response to an event (e.g., a condition is met, a trigger signal, a timer, etc.), a cell can transition between any states.

[0011] The inactive state may correspond to a state with low energy / power consumption and / or limited functionality, for example, in which the cell may only respond to a trigger signal commanding the cell to switch to a state with higher energy / power consumption and / or more functionality. In some aspects, the energy / power consumption in the inactive state may be below a first energy / power threshold P TH1 Therefore, the inactive state may be considered an energy-saving mode of operation. One disadvantage associated with a cell in the inactive state may be the latency for the cell to respond to a trigger signal, which may be the highest among all energy / power states of the cell.

[0012] The semi-active state may also correspond to an energy-saving mode of operation, in which the energy / power consumption at the cell may be only slightly higher than the energy / power consumption in the inactive state (e.g., at its peak and / or average). In some aspects, the energy / power consumption of the cell in the semi-active state may be higher than the first energy / power threshold P TH1 , but below the second energy / power threshold P TH2 . During at least one semi-active state, the cell may be capable of a streamlined mode of operation, specifically, the cell may transmit and / or receive a reduced number of signals. For example, a cell in a semi-active state may transmit a downlink signal, which may be periodic and may be conveniently referred to as an assisted frequency scan (AFS) signal. The AFS signal may be configured to help at least one UE receiving the signal find (i.e., detect) at least one cell in an active state. The latency of a cell in a semi-active state may be lower than the latency of a cell in an inactive state. In some aspects, there may be multiple semi-active states, each characterized by different energy / power thresholds, functionality, and latency.

[0013] The active state may correspond to an energy-consuming operating mode of the cell, i.e., an operating mode in which the energy / power consumption of the cell may be the highest (e.g., at its peak and / or average) among all states. Specifically, the energy / power consumption during the active state may be higher than the energy / power consumption during at least one semi-active state, e.g., it may be higher than the second energy / power threshold P TH2, the second energy / power threshold defines an upper limit on the energy / power consumption of one (or more) semi-active states. In some aspects, a cell in an active state may transmit at a power higher than the nominal power to compensate for the coverage gap of a neighboring cell in an inactive or semi-active state corresponding to one or more energy-saving operation modes of the corresponding cell. During the active state, the cell is fully operational and its latency may be the lowest of all states. In some aspects, the latency of a cell in a state may be inversely proportional to its power consumption.

[0014] A cell in an active state may also be referred to as an active cell, a cell in (at least one) semi-active state may also be referred to as a semi-active cell, and a cell in an inactive state may also be referred to as an inactive cell. In some aspects, a cell in a semi-active state and a cell in an active state may belong to the same base station or to different base stations. Alternatively, a cell may be identified as a base station. The term cell may be used interchangeably to refer to a base station, a subcomponent of a base station, or a coverage area of ​​a base station. A base station may also be denoted as a gNB or a gNodeB.

[0015] A method of wireless communication by a cell is described. The method includes: entering a semi-active state corresponding to a power saving operation mode; configuring a downlink signal to help at least one user equipment (UE) detect a synchronization signal transmitted from at least one cell in an active state; and transmitting the downlink signal during the semi-active state.

[0016] Another method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) is described. The method includes: receiving a downlink signal from a cell in a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of the cell; detecting a synchronization signal transmitted from at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on the downlink signal; and establishing a connection with the at least one cell in the active state based at least in part on the synchronization signal.

[0017] An apparatus for wireless communication by a cell is described. The apparatus includes a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: enter a semi-active state corresponding to a power saving operation mode; configure a downlink signal to help at least one user equipment (UE) detect a synchronization signal sent from at least one cell in an active state; and send a downlink signal during the semi-active state.

[0018] Another apparatus for wireless communication by a cell is described. The apparatus includes: means for entering a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of the cell; means for configuring a downlink signal to assist at least one user equipment (UE) in detecting a synchronization signal transmitted from at least one cell in an active state; and means for transmitting the downlink signal during the semi-active state.

[0019] An apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) is described. The apparatus includes: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive a downlink signal from a cell in a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of the cell; detect a synchronization signal sent from at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on the downlink signal; and establish a connection with at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on the synchronization signal.

[0020] Another apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) is described. The apparatus includes: means for receiving a downlink signal from a cell in a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of the cell; means for detecting a synchronization signal transmitted from at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on the downlink signal; and means for establishing a connection with at least one cell in the active state based at least in part on the synchronization signal.

[0021] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a plurality of processor-executable instructions (i.e., also referred to as computer or processor-executable code or program code) is described. Execution of the processor-executable instructions causes one or more processors associated with a cell to: enter a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of the cell; configure a downlink signal to assist at least one user equipment (UE) in detecting a synchronization signal transmitted from at least one cell in an active state; and transmit a downlink signal during the semi-active state.

[0022] Another non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a plurality of processor-executable instructions (i.e., also referred to as computer or processor-executable code or program code) is described. Execution of the processor-executable instructions causes one or more processors associated with a user equipment (UE) to: receive a downlink signal from a cell in a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving mode of operation of the cell; detect a synchronization signal transmitted from at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on the downlink signal; and establish a connection with at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on the synchronization signal.

[0023] A method for wireless communication by at least one first cell and at least one second cell is described. The method includes: entering a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of the at least one first cell and at least one second cell at the at least one first cell and at least one second cell; configuring at least one first downlink signal at the at least one first cell and configuring at least one second downlink signal at the at least one second cell to help at least one user equipment (UE) detect a synchronization signal sent from at least one cell in an active state on at least one frequency channel; wherein the at least one first downlink signal is configured to indicate that the at least one frequency channel is within a preconfigured range on a frequency grid, and wherein the at least one second downlink signal is configured to indicate that the at least one frequency channel is not within a preconfigured range on the frequency grid; and during the semi-active state corresponding to the energy-saving operation mode of the at least one first cell and at least one second cell, sending at least one first downlink signal from at least one first cell and sending at least one second downlink signal from at least one second cell.

[0024] A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) is described. The method includes: receiving at least one first downlink signal from at least one first cell in a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of at least one first cell, wherein the at least one first downlink signal is configured to indicate that at least one frequency channel is within a preconfigured range on a frequency grid; receiving at least one second downlink signal from at least one second cell in a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of at least one second cell, wherein the at least one second downlink signal is configured to indicate that at least one frequency channel is not within a preconfigured range on the frequency grid; detecting a synchronization signal sent from at least one cell in an active state on at least one frequency channel based at least in part on one first downlink signal and at least one second downlink signal; and establishing a connection with the at least one cell in the active state based at least in part on the synchronization signal.

[0025] In some examples of the methods, apparatus, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, a 6 Gigahertz (GHz) frequency band may be operated, and one or more cells may correspond to a base station (e.g., a gNB). A cell in a semi-active state and a cell in an active state may belong to the same base station or they may belong to different base stations. Alternatively, a cell may be identified as a base station. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] In order to fully understand the above-mentioned features of the present disclosure, a more specific description of the invention briefly summarized above can be obtained by referring to various aspects (some of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings). However, it should be noted that the accompanying drawings only illustrate certain typical aspects of the present disclosure and are therefore not to be considered as limiting the scope thereof, as the specification may admit of other equally effective aspects. The same reference numerals in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

[0027] Figure 1 An example of a system for wireless communication supporting methods for power / energy conservation according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0028] FIG. 2A to FIG. 2B An example of a network configuration of a wireless communication subsystem according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0029] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3B Other examples of network configurations of wireless communication subsystems according to aspects of the present disclosure are shown.

[0030] FIG. 4A to FIG. 4B An example of a wireless communication subsystem supporting a method for energy conservation according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0031] Figure 5 Examples of synchronization grids in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are shown.

[0032] FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C Examples of synchronization grids in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are shown.

[0033] FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B Additional examples of synchronization grids according to aspects of the present disclosure are shown.

[0034] Figure 8 A diagram of a message exchange involving a cell in a semi-active state and a UE is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0035] Fig. 9 A diagram of message exchanges involving a cell in a semi-active state, a cell in an active state, and a UE is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0036] Fig.10 A flow chart of a method for energy saving at a cell according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0037] Fig.11 A flow chart of a method for energy saving at a cell according to further aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0038] Fig.12 Another flow chart of a method for energy saving at a cell according to further aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0039] Fig.13 A method for energy saving at a cell according to certain aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0040] Fig.14 Another flow chart of a method for energy saving at a cell according to some further aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0041] Fig.15 A flow chart of a method for energy saving at a UE according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0042] Fig.16 Another flow chart of a method for energy saving at a UE according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0043] Fig.17 A diagram illustrating an apparatus for supporting energy saving at a base station according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0044] Fig.18 A block diagram of an apparatus for supporting energy saving at a base station according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0045] Fig.19 A diagram illustrating an apparatus for supporting energy saving at a UE according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0046] Fig. 20 A block diagram of an apparatus supporting energy saving at a UE according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] Methods and apparatus that can provide excellent power / energy savings at a network node (e.g., a cell) are described herein. In the context of the present disclosure, the terms power and energy can be used interchangeably. Although terms generally associated with 5G or new radio (NR) radio access technology (RAT) may be used herein to describe various aspects, various aspects of the present disclosure may be applied to other RATs, such as 3G RATs, 4G RATs, and / or RATs after 5G (e.g., 6G).

[0048] The power consumed at a wireless device, such as a user equipment (UE), may be proportional to the carrier frequency. In addition, some of the power may be converted into heat, so wireless communication regulations set upper thresholds on the transmit power that an antenna or antenna module can use when human tissue is close to the antenna. For example, a maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limit may be defined based on the maximum power density over a given frequency range.

[0049] Power saving at the wireless device can be achieved in various ways. For example, reducing the transmit power can reduce the effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP), but can negatively affect the communication range. Therefore, in one approach, establishing a relay link through a relay node (i.e., a relay station) can achieve communication at a transmit power level lower than the transmit power level used for a direct communication link, thereby saving power at the wireless device while retaining the communication range. In addition, establishing a relay link can also achieve communications that would otherwise cause the wireless device to exceed the MPE. Another power saving approach includes dropping carriers in shared access (SA), dual carrier connections (EN-DC) involving evolved universal terrestrial radio access and new radio, and other systems. Other approaches to improve power saving at the wireless device may include reducing the MIMO level, reducing the number of antennas used, using a low-order modulation and coding scheme (MCS), switching the antenna module used or the RFIC used, or disabling the radio.

[0050] A related aspect of power saving at a wireless device (e.g., UE) is power / energy saving at a network node (e.g., cell). Therefore, in addition to techniques for power saving of UEs, it is also desirable to develop techniques and features that enable network nodes to save energy. For example, in a wireless communication system (such as 5G NR), only very few cells may be active and transmit synchronization signal blocks (SSBs), i.e., cell-defined SSBs (CD-SSBs), respectively. Therefore, many synchronization grids in a 5G NR network will be idle, and the frequency scanning of the UE (e.g., for initial system access) will consume too much time and power. Therefore, the problem to be solved is how to achieve network power / energy saving without negatively affecting UE power saving.

[0051] The techniques described herein add the option of a cell entering a semi-active state, which can be considered to represent an intermediate state between an inactive state and an active state from the perspective of energy / power consumption and / or functionality and / or latency. According to various aspects of the present disclosure, a cell can be in an inactive state, one of an active state, and in (at least) one semi-active state at the same time. For example, in response to an event (e.g., a condition is met, a trigger signal, a timer, etc.), a cell can transition between any states.

[0052] The inactive state may correspond to a state with low energy / power consumption and / or limited functionality, for example, in which the cell may only respond to a trigger signal commanding the cell to switch to a state with higher energy / power consumption and / or more functionality. In some aspects, the energy / power consumption in the inactive state may be below a first energy / power threshold P TH1Therefore, the inactive state may be considered an energy-saving mode of operation. One disadvantage associated with a cell in the inactive state may be the latency for the cell to respond to a trigger signal, which may be the highest among all energy / power states of the cell.

[0053] The semi-active state may also correspond to an energy-saving mode of operation, in which the energy / power consumption at the cell may be only slightly higher than the energy / power consumption in the inactive state (e.g., at its peak and / or average). In some aspects, the energy / power consumption of the cell in the semi-active state may be higher than the first energy / power threshold P TH1 , but below the second energy / power threshold P TH2 . During at least one semi-active state, the cell may be capable of a streamlined mode of operation, specifically, the cell may transmit and / or receive a reduced number of signals. For example, a cell in a semi-active state may transmit a downlink signal, which may be periodic and may be conveniently referred to as an assisted frequency scan (AFS) signal. The AFS signal may be configured to help at least one UE receiving the signal find (i.e., detect) at least one cell in an active state. The latency of a cell in a semi-active state may be lower than the latency of a cell in an inactive state. In some aspects, there may be multiple semi-active states, each characterized by different energy / power thresholds, functionality, and latency.

[0054] The active state may correspond to an energy-consuming operating mode of the cell, i.e., an operating mode in which the energy / power consumption of the cell may be the highest (e.g., at its peak and / or average) among all states. Specifically, the energy / power consumption during the active state may be higher than the energy / power consumption during at least one semi-active state, e.g., it may be higher than the second energy / power threshold P TH2 , the second energy / power threshold defines an upper limit on the energy / power consumption of one (or more) semi-active states. In some aspects, a cell in an active state may transmit at a power higher than the nominal power to compensate for the coverage gap of a neighboring cell in an inactive or semi-active state corresponding to one or more energy-saving operation modes of the corresponding cell. During the active state, the cell is fully operational and its latency may be the lowest of all states. In some aspects, the latency of a cell in a state may be inversely proportional to its power consumption.

[0055] A cell in an active state may also be referred to as an active cell, a cell in (at least one) semi-active state may also be referred to as a semi-active cell, and a cell in an inactive state may also be referred to as an inactive cell. In some aspects, a cell in a semi-active state and a cell in an active state may belong to the same base station or to different base stations. Alternatively, a cell may be identified as a base station. The term cell may be used interchangeably to refer to a base station, a subcomponent of a base station, or a coverage area of ​​a base station. A base station may also be denoted as a gNB or a gNodeB.

[0056] The UE may receive a downlink signal (i.e., an AFS signal) transmitted by a cell in a semi-active state, and detect at least one synchronization signal (i.e., SSB / CD-SSB) transmitted by at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on the downlink signal. The UE may then access the network via the cell in an active state.

[0057] Therefore, energy savings are achieved in the network by allowing non-serving cells to enter a semi-active state corresponding to the energy-saving operation mode; at the same time, energy savings are also achieved at these UEs by providing further guidance to UEs attempting to access the network in the form of specially configured downlink signals (also referred to as AFS signals in this article) to enable them to find cells in an active state transmitting SSB / CD-SSB.

[0058] Since AFS signals are not required to provide as much information as SSB / CD-SSB, they can be specially designed for power / energy conservation, i.e., they may occupy only one or two symbols, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols. In contrast, SSB / CD-SSB typically occupies four OFDM symbols.

[0059] The various aspects of the present disclosure are described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure can be embodied in many different forms, and should not be interpreted as being limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout the present disclosure. Instead, these aspects are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and the protection scope of the present disclosure will be fully conveyed to those skilled in the art. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the present disclosure disclosed herein, whether it is implemented independently or in combination with any other aspect of the present disclosure. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein may be used to implement a device or practice method. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover such devices or methods implemented using other structures, functionality, or structures and functionality in addition to or different from the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of the present claim.

[0060] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various devices and techniques. These devices and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, or algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements can be implemented using hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Whether these elements are implemented as hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0061] Aspects of the present disclosure are first described in the context of a wireless communication system. Aspects of the present disclosure are further illustrated by and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, subsystem diagrams, and method flow diagrams.

[0062] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system 100 supporting methods for energy saving according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 may include a base station 105, a UE 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may be a long term evolution (LTE) network, an advanced LTE (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, or a new radio (NR) network. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission-critical) communications, low-latency communications, communications with low-cost and low-complexity devices, or any combination thereof.

[0063] Each base station 105 may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form a wireless communication system 100, and may be a device of different forms or devices with different capabilities. In some aspects, the term "base station" (e.g., base station 105), "network node" or "network entity" may refer to an aggregated base station, a decomposed base station, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, and / or one or more components thereof. For example, in some aspects, a "base station", "network node" or "network entity" may refer to a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a radio unit (RU), a near real-time (near RT) radio access network (RAN) intelligent controller (RIC) or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC or a combination thereof.

[0064] In some aspects, the term "base station", "network node" or "network entity" may refer to a device configured to perform one or more functions (such as those described herein in conjunction with base station 105). In some aspects, the term "base station", "network node" or "network entity" may refer to multiple devices configured to perform one or more functions. For example, in some distributed systems, each of a plurality of different devices (which may be located in the same geographical location or in different geographical locations) may be configured to perform at least a portion of a function, or to repeat the execution of at least a portion of the function, and the term "base station", "network node" or "network entity" may refer to any one or more of these different devices. In some aspects, the term "base station", "network node" or "network entity" may refer to one or more virtual base stations and / or one or more virtual base station functions. For example, in some aspects, two or more base station functions may be instantiated on a single device. In some aspects, the term "base station", "network node" or "network entity" may refer to one of the base station functions, rather than another base station function. In this way, a single device may include more than one base station.

[0065] The base stations 105 and the UEs 115 may communicate wirelessly via one or more communication links 125. Each base station 105 may provide a coverage area 110 over which the UEs 115 and the base stations 105 may establish a communication link 125. The coverage area 110 may be an example of a geographic area over which the base stations 105 and the UEs 115 support signal communications according to one or more radio access technologies. In some examples, the base stations 105 may be mobile and thus provide communication coverage for mobile geographic coverage areas 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas 110 may be supported by the same base station 105. In other examples, overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by different base stations 105. The wireless communication system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of base stations 105 use the same or different radio access technologies to provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110.

[0066] Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage via one or more cells (e.g., macro cells, small cells, hot spots, or other types of cells, or various combinations thereof). The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used to communicate with the base station 105 (e.g., via a carrier), and may be associated with an identifier (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID), or other) used to distinguish adjacent cells. In some examples, a cell may also refer to a geographic coverage area 110 or a portion of a geographic coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) on which a logical communication entity operates. The range of such a cell may range from a smaller area (e.g., a structure, a subset of a structure) to a larger area depending on various factors (such as the capabilities of the base station 105). For example, a cell may be or may include a building, a subset of a building, an external space between or overlapping a geographic coverage area 110, and the like.

[0067] A macro cell typically covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access to UEs 115 with service subscriptions to a network provider that supports the macro cell. A small cell may be associated with a lower power base station 105 (compared to a macro cell), and the small cell may operate in the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed) spectrum band as the macro cell. A small cell may provide unrestricted access to a UE 115 with a service subscription to a network provider, or may provide restricted access to a UE 115 associated with a small cell (e.g., a UE 115 in a closed subscriber group (CSG), a UE 115 associated with a user in a home or office, etc.). A base station 105 may support one or more cells, and may also use one or more component carriers to support communications on one or more cells.

[0068] One or more of the base stations 105 may include or may be referred to by one of ordinary skill in the art as a transceiver base station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next generation NodeB, or a giga NodeB (any of which may be referred to as a gNB), a home NodeB, a home eNodeB, or other suitable terminology. A gNB may include a gNB central unit (gNB-CU) and one or more gNB distributed units (gNB-DUs). The gNB-CU terminates the F1 interface connected to the gNB-DU. The operation of the gNB-DU is controlled in part by the gNB-CU. A gNB-DU may support one or more cells. A cell may be supported by one gNB-DU.

[0069] The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the coverage area 110 of the wireless communication system 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary or mobile, or stationary and mobile at different times. The UEs 115 may be devices in different forms or with different capabilities. Figure 1 Some example UEs 115 are illustrated. The UEs 115 may be capable of communicating with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115, base stations 105, or network equipment (e.g., core network nodes, relay devices, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, or other network equipment), as described in reference to FIG. Figure 1 shown.

[0070] The base stations 105 may communicate with the core network 130 or with each other or both. For example, the base stations 105 may interface with the core network 130 via a backhaul link 120 (e.g., via S1, N2, N3, or other interfaces). The base stations 105 may communicate with each other directly (e.g., directly between the base stations 105), or indirectly (e.g., via the core network 130), or directly and indirectly on the backhaul link 120 (e.g., via X2, Xn, or other interfaces). In some examples, the backhaul link 120 may be or include one or more wireless links.

[0071] UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable terminology, where a "device" may also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, etc. UE 115 may also include or may be referred to as a personal electronic device, such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communication (MTC) device, etc., which may be implemented in various objects such as appliances or vehicles, meters, etc.

[0072] UE 115 may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115, which may sometimes act as relays, as well as base stations 105 and network equipment, including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations, etc., as described in reference Figure 1As shown. UE 115 and base station 105 may communicate wirelessly with each other via one or more communication links 125 on one or more carriers. In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types that may provide access to different types of devices (e.g., MTC, narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others). The term "carrier" may refer to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting communication link 125. For example, a carrier for communication link 125 may include a portion of a radio spectrum band that operates according to a physical layer channel for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). Each physical layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information), control signaling to coordinate carrier operation, user data, or other signaling. In some examples, the receive and transmit bands of the UE 115 may not need to be as large as the bandwidth of the cell, and may be adjusted in a process that may be referred to as bandwidth adaptation (BA), i.e., the width may be commanded to change (e.g., shrink during low activity periods to save power), the location may be moved in the frequency domain (e.g., to increase scheduling flexibility), and the subcarrier spacing may be commanded to change (e.g., to allow different services). A subset of the total cell bandwidth of a cell may be referred to as a bandwidth part (BWP), and BA may be implemented by configuring the UE with a BWP and telling the UE which of the configured BWPs is currently the active BWP.

[0073] The wireless communication system 100 may support communications with the UE 115 using carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation. Depending on the carrier aggregation configuration, the UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers. Carrier aggregation may be used for both frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) component carriers.

[0074] In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling that coordinates the operation of other carriers. A carrier may be associated with a frequency channel (e.g., an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (EARFCN)) and may be located according to a channel grid for discovery by UE 115. A carrier may operate in a stand-alone mode in which initial acquisition and connection may be made by UE 115 via the carrier, or a carrier may operate in a non-stand-alone mode in which connections are anchored using different carriers (e.g., different carriers of the same or different radio access technologies).

[0075] The communication link 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include an uplink transmission from the UE 115 to the base station 105, or a downlink transmission from the base station 105 to the UE 115. A carrier may carry downlink or uplink communications (e.g., in an FDD mode), or may be configured to carry both downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in a TDD mode).

[0076] A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of a radio frequency spectrum, and in some examples, the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as a "system bandwidth" of the carrier or wireless communication system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of a determined number of bandwidths (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 megahertz (MHz)) of a carrier of a particular radio access technology. Devices (e.g., base stations 105, UEs 115, or both) of the wireless communication system 100 may have a hardware configuration that supports communications on a particular carrier bandwidth, or may be configurable to support communications on one of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may include base stations 105 and UEs 115 that support simultaneous communications via carriers associated with multiple carrier bandwidths. In some examples, each served UE 115 may be configured to operate on a portion (e.g., subband, BWP) or all of a carrier bandwidth.

[0077] The signal waveform transmitted on the carrier may be composed of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)). In a system employing MCM techniques, a resource element may consist of a symbol period (e.g., the duration of a modulation symbol) and a subcarrier, where the symbol period and the subcarrier spacing are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or both). Therefore, the more resource elements received by UE 115 and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate for UE 115 may be. Wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of radio frequency spectrum resources, time resources, and spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers or beams), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further improve the data rate or data integrity of communications with UE 115.

[0078] One or more parameter sets for a carrier may be supported, where the parameter set may include a subcarrier spacing (Δf) and a cyclic prefix. A carrier may be divided into BWPs with the same or different parameter sets. In some examples, a UE 115 may be configured with multiple BWPs. In some examples, a single BWP for a carrier may be active at a given time, and communications for a UE 115 may be limited to the active BWP. The time interval of a base station 105 or a UE 115 may be expressed in multiples of a basic time unit, which may refer to, for example, a sampling period T s =1 / (Δf max ·N f ) seconds, where Δf max It can represent the maximum supported subcarrier spacing, and N f The maximum supported discrete Fourier transform (DFT) size may be indicated. Time intervals of communication resources may be organized according to radio frames, each having a specific duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023).

[0079] Each frame may include multiple consecutively numbered subframes or time slots, and each subframe or time slot may have the same duration. In some examples, the frame may be divided into subframes (e.g., in the time domain), and each subframe may be further divided into a number of time slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable number of time slots, and the number of time slots may depend on the subcarrier spacing. Each time slot may include a number of symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of the cyclic prefix added before each symbol period). In some wireless communication systems 100, the time slot may be further divided into a plurality of micro time slots containing one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may contain one or more (e.g., N f The duration of a symbol period may depend on the subcarrier spacing or the operating spectrum band.

[0080] A subframe, a time slot, a mini-time slot, or a symbol may be the smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wireless communication system 100 and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 may be dynamically selected (e.g., in the form of a burst of shortened TTIs (sTTIs)).

[0081] Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according to various techniques. Physical control channels and physical data channels may be multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example, using a time division multiplexing (TDM) technique, a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) technique, or a hybrid TDM-FDM technique. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET)) for a physical control channel may be defined by a number of symbol periods and may extend across a system bandwidth or a subset of a system bandwidth of a carrier. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) may be configured for a set of UEs 115. For example, a UE 115 may monitor or search a control region for control information according to one or more search space sets, and each search space set may include one or more control channel candidates in one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. The aggregation level for a control channel candidate may refer to the number of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs)) associated with the coded information for a control information format having a given payload size. The search space sets may include a common search space set configured for transmitting control information to a plurality of UEs 115 , and a UE-specific search space set for transmitting control information to a specific UE 115 .

[0082] The wireless communication system 100 may support synchronous operation or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have different frame timing, and in some examples, transmissions from different base stations 105 may not be aligned in time. These techniques may be used for synchronous operation or asynchronous operation.

[0083] Some UEs 115, such as MTC devices or IoT devices, may be low-cost or low-complexity devices and may provide automated communication between machines (e.g., via machine-to-machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication technology that allows devices to communicate with each other or with a base station 105 without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communication from devices with integrated sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay such information to a central server or application that utilizes the information or presents the information to a person interacting with the application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or implement automated behavior of machines or other devices. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based business charging.

[0084] Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ an operating mode for reducing power consumption, such as half-duplex communication (e.g., a mode that supports unidirectional communication via transmission or reception but does not support transmission and reception simultaneously). In some examples, half-duplex communication may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power saving techniques for UEs 115 include entering a power saving deep sleep mode when not engaged in active communications, operating over a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communications), or a combination of these techniques. For example, some UEs 115 may be configured to operate using a narrowband protocol type that is associated with a defined portion or range (e.g., a subcarrier or resource block (RB) set) within a carrier, within a guard band of a carrier, or outside a carrier.

[0085] The wireless communication system 100 can be configured to support ultra-reliable communication or low-latency communication or various combinations thereof. For example, the wireless communication system 100 can be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) or mission-critical communication. UE 115 can be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency or critical functions (e.g., mission-critical functions). Ultra-reliable communication may include private communication or group communication, and may be supported by one or more mission-critical services, such as mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT), mission-critical video (MCVideo), or mission-critical data (MCData). Support for mission-critical functions may include prioritization of services, and mission-critical services may be used for public safety or general commercial applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, mission-critical, and ultra-reliable low-latency may be used interchangeably herein.

[0086] In some examples, UE 115 is also able to communicate directly with other UE 115 via a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 135 (e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) protocol or a D2D protocol). One or more UEs 115 utilizing D2D communication may be located within a geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 105. Other UEs 115 in such a group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105, or may be unable to receive transmissions from the base station 105 for other reasons. In some examples, a group of UEs 115 communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, in which each UE 115 transmits to each other UE 115 in the group. In some examples, the base station 105 facilitates scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other examples, D2D communication is performed between UEs 115 without involving the base station 105.

[0087] In some systems, the D2D communication link 135 can be an example of a communication channel, such as a sidelink communication channel between vehicles (e.g., UE 115). In some examples, the vehicles can communicate using vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, or some combination of these. The vehicles can signal information related to traffic conditions, signal scheduling, weather, safety, emergency situations, or any other information related to the V2X system. In some examples, vehicles in the V2X system can communicate with roadside infrastructure (such as roadside units), or with the network, or both, using vehicle-to-network (V2N) communications via one or more network nodes (e.g., base station 105).

[0088] The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC), which may include at least one control plane entity (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF)) for managing access and mobility, and at least one user plane entity (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), a packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), a user plane function (UPF)) for routing packets or interconnecting to an external network. The control plane entity may manage non-access layer (NAS) functions, such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management of UE 115 served by a base station 105 associated with the core network 130. User IP packets may be delivered through the user plane entity, which may provide IP address allocation and other functions. The user plane entity may be connected to a network operator IP service 150. The operator IP service 150 may include access to the Internet, an intranet, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), or a packet-switched streaming service.

[0089] Some network devices (such as base stations 105) may include subcomponents, such as access network entities 140, which may be examples of access node controllers (ANCs). Each access network entity 140 may communicate with each UE 115 through several other access network transmission entities 145, which may be referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission / reception points (TRPs). Each access network transmission entity 145 may include one or more antenna panels. In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity 140 or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and ANCs) or merged into a single network device (e.g., base station 105).

[0090] The wireless communication system 100 may typically operate using one or more bands of radio frequency spectrum in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Generally speaking, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is referred to as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelength range is about one decimeter to one meter long. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features, but these waves may penetrate various structures sufficiently for macro cells to provide services to UEs 115 located indoors. Transmission of UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100 kilometers) compared to transmission using smaller frequencies and longer waves in the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

[0091] The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in a super high frequency (SHF) region using a radio frequency spectrum band from 3 GHz to 30 GHz (also known as a centimeter band), or in an extremely high frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz) (also known as a millimeter band). In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support millimeter wave (mmW) communications between the UE 115 and the base station 105, and the EHF antennas of the corresponding devices may be smaller and spaced more closely than UHF antennas. In some examples, this may facilitate the use of antenna arrays within the device. However, the propagation of EHF transmissions may be affected by greater atmospheric attenuation and shorter range than SHF or UHF transmissions. The technology disclosed herein may be employed across transmissions using one or more different frequency regions, and the use of frequency bands specified across these frequency regions may vary by country or regulatory agency.

[0092] The wireless communication system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may employ license assisted access (LAA), LTE unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in unlicensed bands such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. When operating in an unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band, devices (such as base stations 105 and UEs 115) may employ carrier sensing for conflict detection and avoidance. In some examples, operations in unlicensed bands may be based on a carrier aggregation configuration combined with component carriers operating in a licensed band (e.g., LAA). Operations in the unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions, and the like.

[0093] The base station 105 or UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which can be used to employ technologies such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication, or beamforming. The antennas of the base station 105 or UE 115 may be located in one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels that can support MIMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some examples, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with the base station 105 may be located at different geographical locations. The base station 105 may have an antenna array having several rows and columns of antenna ports, which the base station 105 may use to support beamforming for communications with the UE 115. Similarly, the UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays that can support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally or alternatively, the antenna panel may support radio frequency beamforming for signals sent via the antenna ports.

[0094] The base station 105 or UE 115 can use MIMO communication to utilize multipath signal propagation and improve spectral efficiency by sending or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers. Such technology may be referred to as spatial multiplexing. The multiple signals may be sent, for example, by a transmitting device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Similarly, the multiple signals may be received by a receiving device via different antennas or different combinations of antennas. Each of these multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream and may carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams (e.g., different codewords). Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO technologies include: single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO), in which multiple spatial layers are sent to the same receiving device; and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), in which multiple spatial layers are sent to multiple devices.

[0095] Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signal processing technique that can be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) to shape or steer an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming can be achieved by combining signals conveyed via antenna elements of an antenna array so that some signals propagating at a particular orientation relative to the antenna array experience constructive interference, while other signals experience destructive interference. Adjustments to signals conveyed via antenna elements may include the transmitting device or the receiving device applying an amplitude offset, a phase offset, or both to signals carried via antenna elements associated with the device. Adjustments associated with each antenna element may be defined by a set of beamforming weights associated with a particular orientation (e.g., for an antenna array of a transmitting device or a receiving device, or for some other orientation).

[0096] The base station 105 or the UE 115 may use beam scanning techniques as part of a beamforming operation. For example, the base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g., antenna panels) to perform beamforming operations for directional communication with the UE 115. Some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be sent multiple times by the base station 105 in different directions. For example, the base station 105 may send signals according to different sets of beamforming weights associated with different transmission directions. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify (e.g., by a transmitting device (such as the base station 105) or a receiving device (such as the UE 115)) a beam direction used by the base station 105 for subsequent transmission and reception.

[0097] Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device, may be sent by base station 105 in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with a receiving device such as UE 115). In some examples, the beam direction associated with transmission along the single beam direction may be determined based on signals sent in different beam directions. For example, UE 115 may receive one or more of the signals sent by base station 105 in different directions and may report to base station 105 an indication of the signal received by UE 115 with the highest signal quality or other acceptable signal quality.

[0098] In some examples, transmission by a device (e.g., by a base station 105 or a UE 115) may be performed using multiple beam directions, and the device may use a combination of digital precoding or radio frequency beamforming to generate a combined beam for transmission (e.g., from the base station 105 to the UE 115). The UE 115 may report feedback indicating precoding weights for one or more beam directions, and the feedback may correspond to a configured number of beams across the system bandwidth or one or more subbands. The base station 105 may transmit reference signals (e.g., cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS)) that may or may not be precoded. The UE 115 may provide feedback for beam selection, which may be a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) or codebook-based feedback (e.g., a multi-panel type codebook, a linear combination type codebook, a port selection type codebook). Although these techniques are described with reference to signals sent by base station 105 in one or more directions, UE 115 may employ similar techniques for sending signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., for determining a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by UE 115), or for sending signals in a single direction (e.g., for sending data to a receiving device).

[0099] A receiving device (e.g., UE 115) may try multiple reception configurations (e.g., directional listening) when receiving various signals (such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) from a base station 105. For example, the receiving device may try multiple reception directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, processing received signals according to different antenna subarrays, receiving according to different reception beamforming weight sets (e.g., different directional listening weight sets) applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or processing received signals according to different reception beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, wherein any of these operations may be referred to as "listening" according to different reception configurations or reception directions. In some examples, a receiving device may use a single reception configuration to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal). The single reception configuration may be aligned on a beam direction determined based on listening according to different reception configuration directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have the highest signal strength, the highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or other acceptable signal quality based on listening according to multiple beam directions).

[0100] As part of directional communication, one or more of the base stations 105 or UEs 115 may support beam management of one or more downlink receive directional beams corresponding to one or more physical downlink channels or one or more uplink transmit directional beams corresponding to one or more physical uplink channels. In some examples, beam management may include performing beam switching from one or more downlink receive directional beams to one or more alternative downlink receive directional beams, or from one or more uplink transmit directional beams to one or more alternative uplink transmit directional beams to improve communication between one or more of the base stations 105 or UEs 115 or between different UEs 115. In some examples, the alternative directional beams may have one or more of a higher reference signal received power (RSRP), a smaller SNR, or a smaller signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) compared to an existing directional beam used by one or more of the base stations 105 or UEs 115.

[0101] The wireless communication system 100 may be a packet-based network that operates according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, the communication at the bearer or packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer may be IP-based. The radio link control (RLC) layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate through logical channels. The medium access control (MAC) layer may perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels to transport channels. The MAC layer may also use error detection techniques, error correction techniques, or both to support retransmission at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the radio resource control (RRC) protocol layer may provide the establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection that supports radio bearers of user plane data between UE 115 and base station 105 or core network 130. At the physical (PSY) layer, transport channels may be mapped to physical channels.

[0102] UE 115 and base station 105 may support retransmission of data to increase the likelihood that the data is successfully received. Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback is a technique for increasing the likelihood of correctly receiving data through communication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ may improve the throughput of the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise ratio conditions). In some examples, a device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, wherein the device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific time slot for data received in a previous symbol in the time slot. In other examples, a device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent time slot or according to some other time interval.

[0103] One or more of the base station 105 or the UE 115 may support directional communication in the wireless communication system 100. The directional communication may include one or more downlink receive directional beams corresponding to one or more physical downlink channels or one or more uplink transmit directional beams corresponding to one or more physical uplink channels. The one or more physical downlink channels may include one or more of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), or a synchronization signal physical broadcast channel (SS / PBCH) block, and the one or more physical uplink channels may include one or more of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). In some examples, one or more of the base station 105 or the UE 115 may perform a beam scanning procedure to determine and select one or more downlink receive directional beams and one or more uplink transmit directional beams to establish a connection.

[0104] In some examples, one or more of base station 105 or UE 115 may support directional communication in one or more radio frequency bands. In some examples, a radio frequency band may be defined by the radio frequency (f) range within that radio frequency band. For example, a first frequency range (FR1) may have a frequency range between 410 MHz and 7.125 GHz (410 MHz < f < 7.125 GHz), a second frequency range (FR2) may have a different frequency range from FR1, such as between 24.25 GHz and 52.6 GHz (24.25 GHz < f < 52.6 GHz), and a third frequency range (FR3) may have a different frequency range from FR1 and FR2, such as between 7.125 GHz and 24.25 GHz (7.125 GHz < f < 24.25 GHz). In some examples, one or more of FR1, FR2, or FR3 may be referred to as a low radio frequency band. Thus, in some examples, one or more of base station 105 or UE 115 may support directional communication in a low radio frequency band.

[0105] Additionally or alternatively, one or more of base station 105 or UE 115 may support directional communication in one or more high radio frequency bands. A high radio frequency band may refer to a radio frequency band greater than or equal to the frequency (f) (e.g., greater than 52.6 GHz). In some examples, a radio frequency band including frequencies between 52.6 GHz and 114.25 GHz (52.6 GHz < f < 114.25 GHz) may be referred to as a fourth frequency range (FR4), and a radio frequency band including frequencies between 114.25 GHz and 275 GHz (114.25 GHz < f < 275 GHz) may be referred to as a fifth frequency range (FR5). Thus, FR4 and FR5 may be referred to as high radio frequency bands.

[0106] Each radio frequency band (such as FR1, FR2, FR3, FR4, and FR5) may be associated with a transmission parameter set. Table 1 below defines examples of different transmission parameter sets. In some examples, one or more of base station 105 or UE 115 may support one or more transmission parameter sets as defined in Table 1. Each parameter set in Table 1 may be labeled as parameter μ. In some examples, the parameter set may be based on an exponentially scalable subcarrier spacing Δf = 2 μ × 15 kHz, where μ = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4}. As defined in Table 1, the parameter set (μ = 0) represents a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz. Among other examples, as defined in Table 1, the parameter set (μ = 1) represents a subcarrier spacing of 30 kHz, the parameter set (μ = 2) represents a subcarrier spacing of 60 kHz, the parameter set (μ = 3) represents a subcarrier spacing of 120 kHz, and the parameter set (μ = 4) represents a subcarrier spacing of 240 kHz.

[0107] Table 1: Send parameter sets.

[0108] μ <![CDATA[Δf=2 μ ·15[kHz]]]> Cyclic prefix Supporting data Provide support for synchronization 0 15 conventional yes yes 1 30 conventional yes yes 2 60 General, Extended yes no 3 120 conventional yes yes 4 240 conventional no yes

[0109] By way of example, radio frequency spectrum band FR1 may involve a transmission parameter set μ={0,1,2}. For example, radio frequency spectrum band FR1 may support subcarrier spacings of 15kHz, 30kHz, and 60kHz, which may correspond to symbol durations of approximately 71 microseconds (μs), 36μs, and 18μs, respectively. The symbol duration (e.g., approximately 71μs, 36μs, and 18μs) may include the duration of a cyclic prefix of the symbol. The base station 105 or UE 115 may append a cyclic prefix to each symbol to improve the transmission of the symbol. The cyclic prefix may represent a protection period at the beginning of each symbol, which may improve the transmission reliability of the symbol by preventing one or more factors in the wireless communication system 100 (such as multipath delay propagation). Among other examples, radio frequency spectrum band FR2 may involve a transmission parameter set μ={2,3,4}. For example, radio frequency spectrum band FR2 may support subcarrier spacings of 60 kHz, 120 kHz, and 240 kHz, which may correspond to symbol durations of approximately 18 μs, 9 μs, and 4.5 μs, respectively. Similarly, a symbol duration (e.g., approximately 18 μs, 9 μs, and 4.5 μs) may include the duration of a cyclic prefix of a symbol.

[0110] In some examples, as shown in Table 1, the duration of the cyclic prefix may depend on the transmission parameter set. That is, based on the transmission parameter set, the length of the duration of the cyclic prefix may be shorter or longer. For example, the cyclic prefix may have a duration of 4.7 μs for a 15 kHz subcarrier spacing (e.g., parameter set μ = 0), and may have a duration of 0.57 μs for a 120 kHz subcarrier spacing (e.g., parameter set μ = 3). In some examples, as defined in Table 1, a conventional cyclic prefix may be supported for each subcarrier spacing (e.g., for each transmission parameter set), while an extended cyclic prefix may be supported specifically for parameter set μ = 2. The length of the conventional cyclic prefix may be shorter than that of the extended cyclic prefix. For example, a conventional cyclic prefix may have a duration of 4.7 μs, while an extended cyclic prefix may have a duration of 16.7 μs. As the demand for communication efficiency increases, the wireless communication system 100 may support larger subcarrier spacings for one or more high-frequency spectrum bands (e.g., FR4 and FR5). Some examples of the wireless communication system 100 may support one or more of 480 kHz, 960 kHz, 1.92 MHz, or 3.84 MHz subcarrier spacings for one or more high frequency spectrum bands (e.g., FR4 and FR5). However, the wireless communication system 100 is not limited to the above examples of subcarrier spacings (e.g., 480 kHz, 960 kHz, 1.92 MHz, or 3.84 MHz), as other subcarrier spacings may be supported in the wireless communication system 100.

[0111] In some examples, for radio frequency spectrum band FR2, the base station 105 or UE 115 may support a 240kHz subcarrier spacing specifically for synchronization signal blocks (SSBs). In general, the term "SSB" may generally refer to synchronization signals and PBCH blocks. SSBs may span four OFDM symbols and may include a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a PBCH. PSS and SSS may occupy each OFDM symbol and 127 subcarriers, while PBCH may span three OFDM symbols and 240 subcarriers, but an unused range of 127 subcarriers is left in the middle of the SSS in one of the three OFDM symbols. The periodicity of the SSB may be configurable by the network, and the time position where the SSB can be transmitted may be determined by the subcarrier spacing. In some examples, multiple SSBs may be sent within the frequency span of the carrier, and the physical cell identifiers (PCIs) of those SSBs do not have to be unique, i.e., different SSBs may have different PCIs. However, in some examples, when the SSB is associated with the remaining minimum system information (RMSI), the SSB may correspond to a separate cell, which may have a unique NR cell global identifier (NCGI). Thus, such an SSB may be referred to as a cell-defined SSB (CD-SSB).

[0112] In related aspects, the term "global channel grid" may refer to a set of radio frequency (RF) reference frequencies that may be used in signaling to identify the location of RF channels, SSB, and other elements in a wireless communication system, such as NR. Specifically, RF frequencies may be specified by NR absolute radio frequency channel numbers (NR-ARFCN) on a global frequency grid. In some examples, a global frequency grid may be defined for all frequencies from 0 to 100 GHz, with a granularity represented as ΔF 全局 , which may depend on the frequency range. For example, ΔF 全局 In the frequency range of 0 to 3 GHz, it may be equal to 5 kHz, in the frequency range of 3 GHz to 24.25 GHz, it may be equal to 15 kHz, and in the frequency range of 24.25 GHz to 100 GHz, it may be equal to 60 kHz. In other related aspects, the term "channel grid" may refer to an RF reference frequency F that can be used to identify the location of RF channels in uplink and downlink. REF The RF reference frequencies of the RF channels may be mapped to resource elements on the carrier. For each operating frequency band that may be predefined, only a subset of frequencies from the global frequency grid may be applicable to the frequency band and may form a granularity ΔF 栅格 (which may be equal to or greater than ΔF 全局 )'s channel grid.

[0113] In some related aspects, the term "synchronization grid" may be used to refer to the frequency locations of SSBs that may be used by a UE for system acquisition in the absence of explicit signaling of the SSB locations. A global synchronization grid may be defined for all frequencies. For example, in a wireless communication system such as NR, the frequency locations of SSBs may be defined as SSBs with corresponding global synchronization channel numbers (GSCNs). REF The synchronization grid and subcarrier spacing of the SSB may be defined separately for each operating band and may therefore be considered as multiple different synchronization grids. In some examples, the operating bands may correspond to those defined in Table 2 for NR FR2.

[0114] Table 2: NR operating bands in FR2

[0115]

[0116] In some examples, the synchronization grid for each operating band shown in Table 2 may be defined as indicated in Table 3, where the distance between GSCN entries may be given by <step size>. The SSB mode may correspond to Case D (SCS: 120 kHz, the first symbol of the candidate SS / PBCH block has an index of {4, 8, 16, 20} + 28·n, where n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18 for carrier frequencies within FR2) or Case E (SCS: 240 kHz, the first symbol of the candidate SS / PBCH block (SSB) has an index of {8, 12, 16, 20, 32, 36, 40, 44} + 56·n, where n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8 for carrier frequencies within FR2).

[0117] Table 3: Applicable SS grid entries for each operating band.

[0118]

[0119] In further related aspects, the term "cell search" may refer to the procedure by which a UE acquires time and frequency synchronization with a cell and detects the cell ID of a cell. For example, NR cell search may be based on PSS, SSS, and PBCH demodulation reference signal (PBCH DMRS) located on a synchronization raster. In some examples, a PCell may always be associated with a CD-SSB located on a synchronization raster.

[0120] The techniques described in the present disclosure may improve power / energy savings at one or more cells by allowing the cells to enter a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving mode of operation. In addition, the techniques described herein may improve power / energy savings at one or more UEs 115 by helping the UEs 115 to more easily detect cells that are in an active state and may be transmitting CD-SSBs.

[0121] In some aspects, the advantages provided by these technologies may also apply to massive MTC (mMTC) and NB-IoT use cases. For example, low-power sensors communicating with a gateway can use these technologies, and the gateway can relay information to the gNB. For example, another example includes multiple sensors that cooperate with each other in transmitting information to a remote radio head (RRH), gNB, or smart meter. Other examples may also include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2X), vehicle-to-infrastructure, or connected vehicle scenarios. Other examples may include LTE direct connection applications.

[0122] Figure 2A and Figure 2B Different network configurations according to various aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated, in which one or more cells transmit downlink signals, such as synchronization signals (eg, periodic SSB and / or CD-SSB).

[0123] More specifically, Figure 2A A network configuration in which all cells AG are active (i.e., in an active state) is illustrated at the left side 210A. In their active state, the cells AG may transmit downlink signals, such as synchronization signals (e.g., periodic SSB and / or CD-SSB), which may have similar transmit power levels and similarly sized coverage areas. Therefore, in this example, the coverage areas are represented by ellipses of similar size. However, in other examples and deployment scenarios, the transmit power levels and coverage areas may be different (e.g., different from each other).

[0124] Accordingly, Figure 2B The left side 210B illustrates the Figure 2A 210A in FIG. 210A illustrates an example of a possible representation of a downlink signal transmitted by an active cell AG on a frequency grid. In this example, each active cell in the active cell AG transmits a downlink signal, such as a synchronization signal (e.g., a periodic SSB and / or a CD-SSB), on their respective synchronization channels / frequencies of the synchronization grid. Each of the rectangles may represent an instance of a downlink signal transmission (e.g., a periodic SSB and / or a CD-SSB), which may be associated with certain time and frequency resources and a certain transmit power level. Schematically, the horizontal dimension may represent time (e.g., resources), and the vertical dimension may represent frequency (e.g., resources). The rectangles are drawn in different patterns to illustrate that the corresponding downlink signals can be distinguished from each other (e.g., CD-SSB signals may carry different cell identifiers).

[0125] Figure 2AA network configuration is illustrated at right 220A in which only cell A is active (e.g., in an active state) and cell BG is in an energy saving (ES) operation mode and is inactive (e.g., cell BG does not send any synchronization signal). In this example, cell A compensates for the inactive cell BG by transmitting, for example, a synchronization signal (e.g., periodic SSB and / or CD-SSB) at a higher power, so that the coverage area transmitted by it can at least partially compensate or bridge the coverage gap caused by the non-transmission of cell BG.

[0126] Accordingly, Figure 2B At right 220B, only cell A is shown actively sending downlink signals, such as synchronization signals (e.g., periodic SSB and / or CD-SSB) on its synchronization channel / frequency, while cells BG are in energy saving (ES) mode and are inactive (i.e., in an inactive state), so they do not send any downlink signals at all, or at least they do not send any synchronization signals (e.g., periodic SSB and / or CD-SSB). The empty rectangle shown for cell BG at 220B graphically illustrates that no signals are transmitted on the allocated time and frequency resources. Schematically, the horizontal dimension can represent time (e.g., resources), and the vertical dimension can represent frequency (e.g., resources).

[0127] In this example and other related examples and aspects, given that most synchronization channels / frequencies are idle when the cell BG is in energy saving (ES) operation mode and is inactive, it may be difficult for the UE to detect the synchronization channel on which the only active cell A is transmitting, although the UE may be within the coverage area of ​​the active cell A, which may result in increased latency and increased energy / power consumption at the UE. According to various aspects of the present disclosure, the synchronization channels / frequencies of a cell may also be interchangeably referred to as synchronization grids, because the synchronization channels / frequencies of different cells may be on different synchronization grids. In related aspects, only one (or only a few) synchronization channels may be active on a certain synchronization grid. In some aspects, the synchronization grid may be viewed as representing a set of frequencies known to the UE on which the UE will search to find synchronization signals (e.g., periodic SSBs and / or CD-SSBs). Those cells that transmit on any frequency in the frequencies of the synchronization grid will be discovered by the UE. Not all cells have to use the same frequency, but if the cell frequency is not a frequency of the synchronization grid, the UE needs help to discover it, otherwise it will not be discovered.

[0128] Figure 3A and Figure 3B Different network configurations according to various aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated, in which one or more cells transmit downlink signals, such as synchronization signals (eg, periodic SSB and / or CD-SSB).

[0129] More specifically, Figure 3A A network configuration in which all cells AG are active (e.g., in an active state) is illustrated at the left side 310A. In their active state, the cells AG may transmit downlink signals, such as synchronization signals (e.g., periodic SSB and / or CD-SSB), which may have similar transmit power levels and similarly sized coverage areas. Therefore, in this example, the coverage areas are represented by ellipses of similar size. However, in other examples and deployment scenarios, the transmit power levels and coverage areas may be different (e.g., different from each other).

[0130] Accordingly, Figure 3B The left side 310B illustrates the Figure 3A 310A in FIG. 310A illustrates an example of a possible representation of a downlink signal transmitted by an active cell AG on a frequency grid. In this example, each active cell in the active cell AG transmits a downlink signal, such as a synchronization signal (e.g., a periodic SSB and / or a CD-SSB), on their respective synchronization channels / frequencies of the synchronization grid. Each of the rectangles may represent an instance of a downlink signal transmission (e.g., a periodic SSB and / or a CD-SSB), which may be associated with certain time and frequency resources and a certain transmit power level. Schematically, the horizontal dimension may represent time (e.g., resources), and the vertical dimension may represent frequency (e.g., resources). The rectangles are drawn in different patterns to illustrate that the corresponding downlink signals can be distinguished from each other (e.g., CD-SSB signals may carry different cell identifiers). Figure 3A 310A and Figure 3B The network and signaling configuration shown at 310B corresponds to Figure 2A 210A and Figure 2B The network and signaling configuration shown at 210B in FIG. 2 (eg, when all cells are active).

[0131] Figure 3A A network configuration is illustrated at right 320A in which only cell BG is active (e.g., in an active state) while cell A is in an energy saving (ES) mode of operation and is inactive (e.g., cell A does not transmit any synchronization signals). In this example, cell BG compensates for the inactive cell A by transmitting, for example, synchronization signals (e.g., periodic SSB and / or CD-SSB) at a higher power. In this example, the combined coverage area of ​​the transmissions from the active cell BG can at least partially compensate or bridge the coverage gap caused by the inactive cell A not transmitting.

[0132] Accordingly, Figure 3BAt right 320B, cells BG are shown actively sending downlink signals, such as synchronization signals (e.g., periodic SSB and / or CD-SSB) on their respective synchronization channels / frequencies, while cell A is in energy saving (ES) mode and is inactive (i.e., in an inactive state), so cell A does not send any downlink signals at all, or at least does not send any synchronization signals (e.g., periodic SSB and / or CD-SSB). The empty rectangle shown for cell A at 320B graphically illustrates that no signals are transmitted on the allocated time and frequency resources. Schematically, the horizontal dimension can represent time (e.g., resources), and the vertical dimension can represent frequency (e.g., resources).

[0133] In this example and other related examples, given that the synchronization channel / frequency corresponding to cell A is idle, it may be difficult for the UE to detect the synchronization channel of the active cell BG, which may result in increased latency and increased power consumption at the UE. According to various aspects of the present disclosure, the synchronization channel / frequency of a cell may also be interchangeably referred to as a synchronization grid, because the synchronization channels / frequencies of different cells may be on different synchronization grids. In related aspects, only one (or only a few) synchronization channels may be active on a certain synchronization grid. In some aspects, the synchronization grid may be viewed as representing a set of frequencies known to the UE on which the UE will search to find synchronization signals (e.g., periodic SSB and / or CD-SSB). Those cells that transmit on any frequency in the frequencies of the synchronization grid will be discovered by the UE. Not all cells have to use the same frequency, but if the cell frequency is not a frequency of the synchronization grid, the UE needs help to find it, otherwise it will not be found.

[0134] Figure 4A A network configuration is illustrated at 410A on the left, in which the cell BG is in energy saving (ES) mode and is inactive (i.e., not transmitting any signal), while only cell A is active and compensates by transmitting at a higher power (compensating coverage); and a configuration is illustrated at 420A on the right, in which cell A is still active and compensates, while the cell BG is in energy saving (ES) mode and is semi-active. For example, the semi-active cell BG may send an auxiliary frequency scanning (AFS) signal, which may be simpler and more efficient than SSB / CD-SSB in some aspects.

[0135] In some aspects, the AFS signal may be sent periodically (e.g., with a predefined or configurable periodicity). In the context of the present disclosure, the AFS signal may also be referred to as a downlink signal, a downlink reference signal (RS), or an AFS reference signal (AFS-RS). The AFS-RS may span only one or two symbols (e.g., OFDM symbols), while the SSB spans four symbols. Therefore, the AFS-RS burst may be much more compact than the SSB burst, which allows energy / power savings at semi-active cells. Additionally or alternatively, the AFS-RS may support a wide range of indexes, may also support indications of multiple grid candidates and inter-band grid indications, and may provide more information about active cells (e.g., cell ID, SSB configuration, periodicity). Some of the design options for carrying information may include a sequence scrambling ID for the AFS-RS, a payload for the broadcast channel (which may be transmitted on demand, triggered by an uplink signal transmitted by the UE), and / or reuse of the master information block (MIB) content.

[0136] Figure 4B At the left side 410B, a corresponding representation of the transmission configuration shown at 410A of FIG. 4a on the synchronization grid is illustrated, and at the right side 420B, Figure 4A 420A of the transmission configuration shown on the frequency grid. Schematically, the horizontal dimension can represent time (eg, resources), and the vertical dimension can represent frequency (eg, resources). Specifically, Figure 4B As illustrated at 420B, a UE that detects a synchronization signal from one of the semi-active cells in the semi-active cell BG may determine the synchronization channel of the active cell A based on the AFS signal sent by the semi-active cell. In this way, the UE does not have to perform a (time-consuming and) energy / power-consuming (exhaustive) search for the synchronization channel of the active cell A on the synchronization grid.

[0137] In some aspects, the semi-active cell BG consumes more power than in the inactive state, for example, above a first energy / power threshold P TH1 , but consumes less power than in the active state, for example, below a second energy / power threshold P TH1 The latency of the semi-active cell BGs may also be (e.g., significantly) lower than the latency when they are in the inactive state. For example, if necessary, the semi-active cell BGs may transition to the active state faster than when they are in the inactive state. In addition, the semi-active cell BGs may help UEs in the (extended) coverage area of ​​the active cell A to find the synchronization frequency on which the active cell A sends synchronization signals (e.g., periodic SSB and / or CD-SSB), such as Figure 4B As illustrated at 420B on the right, the semi-active state of the cell may thus enable energy / power savings at both the cell / RAN level and the UE level.

[0138] Figure 5 An example of a synchronization / frequency grid 510 is illustrated in diagram 500. However, multiple synchronization / frequency grids may be provided. Figure 5 Each vertical line may represent a time dimension / axis associated with a particular synchronization / frequency channel (e.g., the channel represented by numbers 520, 530, 540 on grid 510). Figure 5 , the synchronization / frequency grid 510 is relative to Figure 2B 210B and 220B in Figure 3B 310B and 320B in Figure 4B The synchronization / frequency grid illustrated at 410B and 420B in FIG. 1 is rotated 90°.

[0139] In some aspects, such as combining Figure 1 As explained in Tables 2 and 3, the term "synchronization grid" may generally refer to the frequency position of a synchronization signal block (SSB) that may be used by a UE for system acquisition when there is no explicit signaling of the SSB position. A global synchronization grid may be defined for all frequencies. For example, in a wireless communication system such as NR, the frequency position of an SSB may be defined as an SSB with a corresponding global synchronization channel number (GSCN). REF . The synchronization grid and subcarrier spacing of the SSB may be defined separately for each operating band and may therefore be considered as multiple different synchronization grids (e.g., the operating bands may correspond to those defined in Table 2, and the synchronization grid for each operating band may be defined as indicated in Table 3). The term "cell search" may refer to the procedure by which the UE acquires time and frequency synchronization with a cell and detects the cell ID of the cell. For example, NR cell search may be based on the PSS, SSS, and PBCH demodulation reference signal (PBCH DMRS) located on the synchronization grid. In some examples, the PCell may always be associated with a CD-SSB located on the synchronization grid.

[0140] In the context of the present disclosure, the terms "channel", "synchronization channel", "frequency channel", "synchronization frequency", "synchronization frequency channel" may be used interchangeably. The terms "grid", "frequency grid", "synchronization grid" may also be used interchangeably. In addition, the terms "range", "frequency range", "channel range" may be used interchangeably. In some aspects, a "channel" on a "synchronization grid" on which an active cell is transmitting a synchronization signal may be referred to as a "synchronization channel", while a "channel" on a "synchronization grid" on which a semi-active cell is transmitting an AFS signal may be referred to simply as a "frequency channel".

[0141] Figure 5The synchronization / frequency channel 520 of an active cell is illustrated, which can transmit downlink signals, such as a synchronization signal 550 (e.g., periodic SSB and / or CD-SSB). For example, the active cell can be cell A, which can transmit periodic SSB / CD-SSB at a higher power to compensate for the coverage gap left by the semi-active cell BG operating in energy saving mode, such as Figure 4A Example of location 420A.

[0142] Figure 5 Also illustrated in diagram 500 is the transmission of downlink signals 560 (such as auxiliary frequency scanning (AFS) signals) from two semi-active cells on frequency channels 530 and 540 for assisting at least one UE 115 in detecting a synchronization signal 550 transmitted by active cell A on synchronization channel 520. The AFS signal 560 may occupy fewer resources (e.g., one or two symbols) than the synchronization signal 550 and may convey sufficient information for the UE to identify the synchronization channel 520 of active cell A. For example, the AFS signal may be configured to indicate that the synchronization channel 520 is within a range 515 on the grid 510. The range 515 may be expressed in any suitable manner, such as a number of channels. In some aspects, the range 515 may be signaled implicitly (e.g., the range may be preconfigured) or explicitly (e.g., the range may be specified as a parameter or information element (IE) of the AFS signal).

[0143] For example, two semi-active cells transmitting AFS signals on frequency channels 530 and 540 may correspond to Figure 4A Semi-active cells B and C are shown at right 420. One or more UEs 115 may be found in the overlapping coverage area of ​​semi-active cells B and C ( Figure 4A), these overlapping coverage areas are marked with dashed lines to illustrate that the coverage corresponds only to the transmission of AFS signals and not to the transmission of synchronization signals. In contrast, the coverage area of ​​active cell A that compensates for semi-active cell BG is marked with solid lines to illustrate that the coverage corresponds to the transmission of synchronization signals (e.g., periodic SSB / CD-SSB). A particular UE 115 in the overlapping coverage area of ​​semi-active cells B and C may receive one or more of the (e.g., periodic) AFS signals 560 transmitted by semi-active cell B on frequency channel 530 and by semi-active cell C on frequency channel 540 (e.g., depending on the frequency channels that the UE 115 is configured to search). The UE 115 may determine the particular synchronization channel 520 on which the active cell A transmits the synchronization signal 550 (e.g., periodic SSB / CD-SSB) based on the one or more AFS signals 560 (e.g., based at least in part on the range 515). The UE 115 may then tune its receiver to the synchronization channel 520 and acquire a signal 550 from the active cell A for system access. In some aspects, the cell AG may correspond to Figure 1 Any of the cells 105 shown.

[0144] Therefore, a UE 115 receiving one of the AFS signals 560 may more easily learn the presence of an active cell and the synchronization channel 520 on which the active cell transmits a synchronization signal 550 (e.g., a periodic SSB and / or a CD-SSB). Therefore, in addition to the network energy / power savings resulting from at least two semi-active cells 105 operating in an energy saving (ES) operation mode rather than an energy consuming operation mode corresponding to an active state, the UE 115 may also save power that would otherwise be wasted on searching all synchronization / frequency channels on the search grid 510 until the UE 115 detects the synchronization channel 520 on which the active cell 105 transmits the synchronization signal 550. When the UE 115 detects a CD-SSB transmitted by the active cell 105, the UE may acquire a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) in order to access the active cell 105.

[0145] at last, Figure 5An illustration of the signals shown in diagram 500 is illustrated in diagram 505. For example, an instance of a synchronization signal block (SSB) signal (e.g., a cell definition SSB (CD-SSB) signal) is represented by a black rectangle 550. Accordingly, an instance of an AFS signal is represented by a shaded rectangle 560. The SSB signal 550 is shown in an extended representation on the vertical / time axis to illustrate that it may occupy more time resources (e.g., four OFDM symbols) than the AFS signal 560 (e.g., one or two OFDM symbols). However, the figures are not drawn to scale, and the different sizes may qualitatively, rather than quantitatively, illustrate the difference in resources occupied by the SSB and AFS signals, respectively.

[0146] FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C Various configurations for transmitting various types of AFS signals are illustrated, which may represent Figure 5 A specific example of an AFS signal 560 is shown.

[0147] For example, Fig. 6A In diagram 600A, an active cell (eg, a downlink synchronization signal 650A) is illustrated that is transmitting one or more downlink synchronization signals 650A (eg, periodic SSB and / or CD-SSB) on a synchronization channel 620A. Figure 4A and / or Figure 4B The active cell A in Figure 1 AFS signals 660A (i.e., AFS signals of synchronization channel / grid 620A indicating the presence of active cells within a certain frequency range 615A relative to frequency channel 630A and / or frequency channel 640A on synchronization / frequency grid 610A) are transmitted on frequency channels 630A and 640A, respectively. Figure 4A and / or Figure 4B A semi-active cell in a BG, which may correspond to Figure 1 615A). The frequency range 615A may be expressed in any suitable manner, such as a number of channels. In some aspects, the frequency range 615A may be signaled implicitly (e.g., the range may be preconfigured) or explicitly (e.g., the range may be specified as a parameter or information element (IE) of a “positive” AFS signal 660A). In some examples, the range 615A relative to channel 630A may be different from the range 615A relative to channel 640A. In other examples, the range 615A may be the same.

[0148] Fig. 6AA legend of the signals shown in diagram 600A is also illustrated in diagram 605A. In this example, an instance of a synchronization signal block (SSB) signal (e.g., a cell definition SSB (CD-SSB) signal) is represented by a black rectangle 650A. Accordingly, an instance of a "positive" AFS signal (which may be represented as "AFS(+)") is represented by a shaded rectangle 660A. The SSB signal 650A is shown in an extended representation on the vertical / time axis to illustrate that it may occupy more resources in the time domain (e.g., four OFDM symbols) compared to the "positive" AFS signal 660A (e.g., one or two OFDM symbols). However, the drawings are not drawn to scale, and the different sizes may qualitatively, rather than quantitatively, illustrate any differences in the resources occupied by the SSB and AFS signals, respectively.

[0149] In another example, Figure 6B In diagram 600B, an active cell transmitting one or more downlink synchronization signals 650B (e.g., periodic SSB and / or CD-SSB) on a synchronization channel 620B and two semi-active cells transmitting one or more "negative" AFS signals 670B on frequency channels 630B and 640B, respectively (i.e., an AFS signal indicating that there is no active cell in any synchronization channel / grid 620B within some frequency range 625B relative to frequency channel 630B and / or frequency channel 640B on synchronization / frequency grid 610B) are illustrated. The frequency range 625B may be expressed in any suitable manner, such as the number of channels. In some aspects, the frequency range 625B may be signaled implicitly (e.g., the range may be preconfigured) or explicitly (e.g., the range may be specified as a parameter or information element (IE) of the "negative" AFS signal 670B). In some examples, the frequency range 625B relative to frequency channel 630B may be different from the frequency range 625B relative to frequency channel 640B. In other examples, frequency ranges 625B may be the same.

[0150] Figure 6BA legend of the signals shown in diagram 600B is also illustrated in diagram 605B. In this example, an instance of a synchronization signal block (SSB) signal (e.g., a cell definition SSB (CD-SSB) signal) is represented as a black rectangle 650B. Accordingly, an instance of a "negative" auxiliary frequency scan (AFS) signal (which may be represented as "AFS (-)") is represented as a shaded rectangle 670B, where the shading pattern is different from the shading pattern of the "positive" AFS signal 660A. The SSB signal 650B is shown in an extended representation on the vertical / time axis to illustrate that it may occupy more resources in the time domain (e.g., four OFDM symbols) compared to the "negative" AFS signal 670B (e.g., one or two OFDM symbols). However, the drawings are not drawn to scale, and the different sizes may qualitatively, rather than quantitatively, illustrate any differences in the resources occupied by the SSB and AFS signals, respectively.

[0151] In another example, Figure 6C The combination of a "positive" AFS signal 660C and a "negative" AFS signal 670C is illustrated in diagram 600C. An active cell is transmitting one or more downlink synchronization signals 650C (e.g., periodic SSB and / or CD-SSB) on a synchronization channel 620C of a synchronization / frequency grid 610C. A semi-active cell is transmitting one or more "positive" AFS signals 660C on a frequency channel 630C, while another semi-active cell is transmitting one or more "negative" AFS signals 670C on a frequency channel 640C of the grid 610C. The "positive" AFS signal 660C indicates that there is a synchronization channel 620C of the active cell within a first range 615C relative to the frequency channel 630C, while the "negative" AFS signal 670C indicates that there is no synchronization channel of the active cell, such as channel 620C, within a second range 625C relative to the frequency channel 640C. The ranges 615C and 625C may be expressed in any suitable manner, such as channel numbers. In some aspects, ranges 615C and 625C may be signaled implicitly (e.g., the ranges may be preconfigured) or explicitly (e.g., the ranges may be specified as parameters or information elements (IEs) of respective AFS signals 660C and 670C), and various combinations are contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure. In some examples, range 615C may be the same as range 625C. In other examples, the ranges may be different from one another.

[0152] Figure 6CA legend of the signals shown in diagram 600C is also illustrated in diagram 605C. In this example, an instance of a synchronization signal block (SSB) signal (e.g., a cell definition SSB (CD-SSB) signal) is represented as a black rectangle 650C. An instance of a "positive" AFS signal (which may be represented as "AFS (+)") is represented as a shaded rectangle 660C. Similarly, an instance of a "negative" AFS signal (which may be represented as "AFS (-)") is represented as a differently shaded rectangle 670C. The SSB signal 650C is shown in an extended representation on the vertical / time axis to illustrate that it may occupy more resources in the time domain (e.g., four OFDM symbols) compared to the "positive" AFS signal 660C (e.g., one or two OFDM symbols) and / or the "negative" AFS signal 670C (e.g., one or two OFDM symbols). However, the figures are not drawn to scale, and the different dimensions may illustrate qualitatively rather than quantitatively any differences in resources occupied by SSB and AFS signals, respectively.

[0153] FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B Other types of AFS signals are illustrated. For example, Fig. 7A In diagram 700A, a grid 710A is illustrated in which an active cell transmits a synchronization signal 750A (e.g., SSB and / or CD-SSB) on a synchronization channel 720A, and two semi-active cells transmit AFS signals 760A and 770A on frequency channels 730A and 740A, respectively, of the grid 710A. The AFS signal 760A may be viewed as an explicit "positive" AFS signal, e.g., an AFS signal that explicitly indicates a frequency / channel offset 715A (or frequency / channel range 715A) to the synchronization channel 720A relative to the frequency channel 730A on the grid 710 of the active cell transmitting the synchronization signal 750A (e.g., CD-SSB and / or CD-SSB). AFS signal 770A may be considered an explicit "negative" AFS signal, e.g., an AFS signal that explicitly indicates a frequency / channel offset 725A (or frequency / channel range 725A) relative to frequency channel 740A where a synchronization channel for an active cell cannot be found on grid 710A. The vertical lines may represent a time axis / dimension such that Fig. 7A Two semi-active cells are shown transmitting respective AFS signals 760A and 770A with the same period as the synchronization signal 750A transmitted by the active cell. However, the AFS signals 760A and 770A may be transmitted with a different periodicity than the synchronization signal 750A. In the context of the present disclosure, the term "period" may refer to a portion of time determined by a recurring phenomenon (e.g., the transmission of an AFS signal), and the term "periodicity" may refer to the quality, state, or fact of an event that regularly recurs or has a "period." In some aspects, the terms "period" and "periodicity" may be used interchangeably.

[0154] Despite Fig. 7A In the illustrated diagram 700A, the AFS signals 760A and 770A appear to be transmitted at the same time (e.g., synchronously) as the synchronization signal 750A, but in other examples, this is not necessarily the case. Alternatively, the AFS signals 760A and 770A may be transmitted at different times relative to the synchronization signal 750A (e.g., shifted in time), have the same periodicity as the synchronization signal 750A, or have a different periodicity (e.g., different from the synchronization signal 750A and different from each other). Furthermore, these properties may be predefined or configurable (e.g., by a network operator). Fig. 7A An example diagram with the signals illustrated in diagram 700A is shown in diagram 705A. Specifically, diagram 705A shows synchronization signals 750A (e.g., SSB and / or CD-SSB) as black rectangles. An explicit "positive" AFS signal 760A, represented as "AFS(+)", and an explicit "negative" AFS signal 770A, represented as "AFS(-)", are both represented by hashed rectangles having different patterns.

[0155] Figure 7B An example of a semi-active cell transmitting an AFS signal 760B on a frequency channel 730B of a grid 710B is illustrated in diagram 700B. In this example, the AFS signal 760B may be accompanied by additional auxiliary information signals 780B, which may be transmitted periodically or on demand. Specifically, the additional auxiliary information signals 780B may include more fine-grained information, such as the exact location of the synchronization / frequency channel 720B (and / or synchronization grid 710B) of the active cell with (or without) transmitting the synchronization signal 750B (e.g., SSB and / or CD-SSB), the periodicity of the synchronization signal, the cell ID of the active cell, and the like.

[0156] In some aspects, according to a first alternative (Alt1), the additional auxiliary information 780B may be provided in a channel or with a reference signal (RS) associated with the AFS signal 760B, and may have the same or greater periodicity as the AFS signal 760B (e.g., the additional auxiliary information 780B may be transmitted as frequently or less frequently than the AFS signal 760B). In other aspects, according to Figure 7BIn a second alternative (Alt2) illustrated in diagram 700B of , the semi-active cell may periodically transmit an AFS signal 760B containing minimal information. The UE 115 may receive the AFS signal 760B, and in response thereto, the UE 115 may transmit an uplink trigger (ULT) signal 770B requesting additional assistance information 780B. The semi-active cell receiving the ULT signal 770B may provide additional assistance information signal 780B in response to the request. The AFS signal may also be referred to as an AFS reference signal (AFS-RS).

[0157] It should be understood that reference Figure 1 , FIG. 2A to FIG. 2B , FIG. 3A to FIG. 3B , FIG. 4A to FIG. 4B , Figure 5 , FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C , FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B The examples given represent only some aspects of the present disclosure. Figures 8 to 20 These and other relevant aspects are discussed further below.

[0158] Figure 8 Diagram 800 is shown illustrating an example of wireless communication between a cell 105-B and a UE 115 according to some aspects of the present disclosure. A cell may be referred to as a base station, a network node, a gNB, etc. Optionally, at 805, the cell may determine that it is not a serving cell for any UE. At 810, the cell may enter a semi-active state corresponding to an energy saving (ES) mode of operation. At 815, the cell may configure a DL signal to help at least one UE 115 detect a synchronization signal (e.g., CD-SSB) transmitted by at least one other cell in an active state. The DL signal may be as described in the aforementioned figures (e.g., FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C and / or FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B ) in one of the figures. At 820, the cell may send a DL signal during the semi-active state and the UE 115 may receive the DL signal. Figure 8 Not shown, but UE 115 may learn the synchronization grid of another cell that is actively transmitting CD-SSB from the DL signal.

[0159] Fig. 9 A diagram 900 is shown illustrating another example of wireless communications involving a UE 115 and two cells 105-B (cell B) and 105-A (cell A) in accordance with some aspects of the present disclosure. Cell B may be in a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving mode of operation, and cell A may be in an active state corresponding to an energy-consuming mode of operation (e.g., a mode in which the cells are fully operational). The terms energy and power may be used interchangeably in the context of the present disclosure. At 905, cell B may send a DL signal (e.g., as described in previous figures (e.g., FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C and / or FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B ) to help at least one UE 115 detect a synchronization signal (e.g., CD-SSB) transmitted by at least one other cell in an active state. The at least one other cell in an active state may be cell A. The UE 115 may receive a DL signal and may configure its transceiver at 905 to receive a synchronization signal transmitted from at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on the received DL signal. At 915, cell A in an active state may transmit a synchronization signal (e.g., CD-SSB), which may be received by the UE 115. At 920, the UE 115 and cell A may establish a connection based at least in part on the synchronization signal received by the UE.

[0160] Fig.10 A flowchart illustrating a method 1000 performed by a cell (e.g., a base station, a network node, a gNB, etc.) (or at the cell) according to a first (cell-related) aspect of the present disclosure is shown. Optionally, at 1005, the cell (e.g., Figure 8 and / or Fig. 9 105-B) may determine that it is not a serving cell. For example, a cell may determine that it has not provided service to any UE for a certain period of time, wherein the period of time may be predetermined (e.g., "inherent" in the system and may be defined in the corresponding wireless communication standard) or adjustable, i.e., configurable (e.g., configurable by a network entity). A specific example of a predetermined time period may be a "zero" time unit, e.g., "zero" milliseconds (ms). In other words, once there are no UEs left to be served by the cell (e.g., after the last or a single UE is handed over to another cell), the cell may determine (i.e., establish) that it is not a serving cell. In other examples, the time period may be a non-negative integer of a time unit greater than zero (e.g., 10 or 20 ms). In some aspects, the predetermined time period has the benefit of reducing the complexity of implementation and deployment (e.g., minimizing signaling within the network, i.e., signaling from the network entity that configures the cell). In related aspects, the adjustable time period has the benefit of improving the flexibility of implementation and deployment (e.g., in terms of the tradeoff between network latency and energy saving).

[0161] In other related aspects, the time period may be adjusted (i.e., configured) by the cell itself without involvement of another network entity (e.g., based at least in part on network load, one or more statistics associated with the cell, such as the number of UEs served by the cell, the time interval during which the cell serves as a serving cell, etc.). The configurable time period may be adjusted by a local optimization algorithm (e.g., at a cell level or a routing area level) and / or a global optimization algorithm (e.g., at a network level).

[0162] The optimization algorithm may employ supervised and / or unsupervised machine learning (e.g., using an artificial neural network), and the optimization criteria may include network latency and energy savings. As previously mentioned, both the network (i.e., cell, network node, base station, gNB) and the UE seeking to access the network may benefit from the techniques for energy saving according to the present disclosure. Therefore, the optimization criterion of "energy saving" may adhere to the best compromise between network energy saving and UE energy saving. For example, the network may save energy in a particular service area by making only one cell active and all other cells semi-active. However, the UE may save energy (i.e., battery power) for uplink transmissions by having active cells in the immediate neighborhood, thereby minimizing the transmit power used to access and communicate with the active cells. Therefore, from the perspective of UE power saving, several active cells that provide multiple options for communicating in a service area may be more beneficial than a single active cell. These and other aspects may prompt optimization as an adjustable time period for determining (i.e., declaring) a threshold that a cell is not a serving cell.

[0163] At 1010, the cell may enter a semi-active state corresponding to an energy saving (ES) mode of operation of the cell. Optionally, at 1010, the cell may enter the semi-active state based at least in part on determining at 1005 that the cell is not a serving cell. Additionally or alternatively, the cell may enter the semi-active state based at least in part on receiving a previous message (i.e., a trigger signal, Fig.10 In other words, the cell may enter the semi-active state based at least in part on: (a) determining that the cell is not a serving cell (e.g., the cell does not provide service to any UE for a certain period of time), and / or (b) receiving a trigger signal from a network entity. Other triggers that cause the cell to enter the semi-active state fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0164] At 1015, the cell may configure a downlink signal to assist at least one UE (eg, Figure 8 and / or Fig. 9 1) detects a signal from at least one cell (eg, Fig. 9105-A) shown in Figure 105-A). As previously mentioned, a cell in an active state can be considered to be fully functional, that is, all functions of the cell are available, resulting in the highest power consumption. Both the downlink signal sent by a cell in a semi-active state and the synchronization signal sent by at least one cell in an active state can be periodic signals with the same or different periods (also interchangeably referred to as periodicity). In some aspects, the transmission period of the downlink signal is higher than the transmission period of the synchronization signal, that is, the transmission frequency of the downlink signal is lower than the transmission frequency of the synchronization signal, so that the cell in a semi-active state saves more energy than the cell in an active state. For example, the frequency of the synchronization signal sent by at least one cell in an active state can be a non-negative integer multiple (greater than zero) of the frequency of the downlink signal sent by the cell in a semi-active state. In addition, the two periodic signals may be time-shifted relative to each other. The time shift may be sufficient to allow a UE that receives, decodes and interprets the downlink signal to tune to the frequency channel of the next event on which the cell in an active state sends a synchronization signal.

[0165] Finally, at 1020, the cell may send a downlink signal. Conversely, a UE within the radio coverage of the cell may receive the downlink signal and derive therefrom information for detecting a synchronization signal from at least one other cell in an active state. Some steps of method 1000 may represent optional aspects of the present disclosure. For example, to emphasize the optional aspects, step 1005 is shown in a box with a dashed line.

[0166] The downlink signal may be as shown in the above figure (eg, FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C and / or FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B ) in one or more of the AFS signals exemplified in FIG. The semi-active cell and the active cell may belong to the same network node (e.g., base station, gNB, etc.). Alternatively, they may belong to, for example Fig. 9 Different network nodes are illustrated, where cell B (105-B) represents a cell in a semi-active state, and cell A (105-A) represents a cell in an active state. In addition, in related aspects, there may be a first plurality of cells in a semi-active state and a second plurality of cells in an active state that exchange signaling with the same UE or with different UEs.

[0167] In a second aspect related to the first (cell-related) aspect described above, the downlink signal may be configured to implicitly indicate at least one frequency channel corresponding to at least one cell that is in an active state. In a third aspect related to the second aspect, the downlink signal may be configured to implicitly indicate that at least one frequency channel is within a preconfigured range on a frequency grid, for example, relative to a frequency channel corresponding to a cell in a semi-active state. In a fourth aspect related to the second aspect, the downlink signal may be configured to implicitly indicate that at least one frequency channel is not within a preconfigured range on a frequency grid, for example, relative to a frequency channel corresponding to a cell in a semi-active state.

[0168] In a fifth aspect related to the first aspect, the downlink signal may be configured to explicitly indicate at least one frequency channel corresponding to at least one cell in an active state. In a sixth aspect related to the fifth aspect, the downlink signal may be configured to explicitly indicate that at least one frequency channel is within a specified range on a frequency grid, for example, relative to a frequency channel corresponding to a cell in a semi-active state. In a seventh aspect related to the fifth aspect, the downlink signal may be configured to explicitly indicate that at least one frequency channel is not within a specified range on a frequency grid, for example, relative to a frequency channel corresponding to a cell in a semi-active state.

[0169] In an eighth aspect related to any one of the preceding aspects, a cell in a semi-active state (eg, Figure 8 and / or Fig. 9 A cell 105-B in the cell 105-B may be received from at least one UE (e.g., Figure 8 and / or Fig. 9 The semi-active cell may configure an additional downlink signal to provide the additional assistance information based at least in part on the uplink request. Finally, the semi-active cell may send the additional downlink signal to the UE.

[0170] In a ninth aspect related to one or more of the preceding aspects, configuring the downlink signal may include configuring the downlink signal according to a default configuration. In a tenth aspect related to one or more of the preceding aspects, configuring the downlink signal may include: receiving a request to configure the downlink signal; and configuring the downlink signal based at least in part on the request. For example, the request may be received from a network entity at a cell in a semi-active state.

[0171] In an eleventh aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, sending a downlink signal includes sending a downlink signal on a synchronization grid. For example, the synchronization grid may correspond to a wireless communication system compatible with the 3GPP Release 15 series of standards. In a twelfth aspect related to the eleventh aspect, the synchronization grid may be a legacy synchronization grid. For example, the legacy synchronization grid may be a synchronization grid of a wireless communication system operating according to the 3GPP Release 15 series of standards (which may be considered by those skilled in the art as the first version of the 5G NR wireless communication standard). In a thirteenth aspect related to the eleventh aspect, the synchronization grid may be different from the legacy synchronization grid.

[0172] In a fourteenth aspect related to one or more of the preceding aspects, the synchronization grid may be selected from a plurality of synchronization grids based at least in part on the configuration of the downlink signal. In a fifteenth aspect related to one or more of the preceding aspects, configuring the downlink signal may include configuring the downlink signal to indicate at least one other synchronization grid, wherein the at least one other synchronization grid may be configured to carry at least one other downlink signal configured to assist at least one UE (e.g., Figure 8 and / or Fig. 9 115 in the UE 115) detects at least one cell in an active state (e.g., Fig. 9 A synchronization signal is sent by cell 105-A).

[0173] In a sixteenth aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, sending a downlink signal may include sending a downlink signal with a default periodicity. For example, the default periodicity may correspond to the periodicity of the transmission of SSB / CD-SSB in a wireless communication system compatible with the 3GPP Release 15 series of standards, such as 20 milliseconds (ms). In a seventeenth aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, sending a downlink signal may include sending a downlink signal with a preconfigured periodicity, wherein the preconfigured periodicity may be different from the default periodicity. In some examples, the transmission with a preconfigured periodicity may be less frequent (i.e., the preconfigured periodicity may be greater than the default periodicity). In some examples, the preconfigured periodicity may be a non-negative integer multiple (greater than zero) of the default periodicity (e.g., 40ms), which may achieve better power / energy saving at a cell in a semi-active state. In an eighteenth aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, sending a downlink signal may include sending a downlink signal with a configurable periodicity. For example, the configurable periodicity may improve the flexibility that a network operator can use to fine-tune the trade-off between latency and network energy / power saving.

[0174] In a nineteenth aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, sending a downlink signal may include sending the downlink signal in a beam scanning manner. This may advantageously improve the spatial coverage of the transmission and increase the probability of the UE receiving the downlink signal. In a twentieth aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, the downlink signal may include at most two symbols (e.g., OFDM symbols), and / or the preconfigured range may exceed a threshold. In an example, the threshold may be greater than or equal to a first value of the negative AFS signal (e.g., 15) (see, e.g., Fig. 6A ), and is greater than or equal to a second value (e.g., 256) of the positive AFS signal (see, e.g., Figure 6B ). In a twenty-first aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, the downlink signal may include a reference signal in the preamble (e.g., such as a primary synchronization signal (PSS)). The preamble may occupy only the first symbol. In the first symbol and / or the second symbol, the downlink signal may include additional auxiliary information, which may be time division multiplexed (TDM) and / or frequency division multiplexed (FDM) with the preamble. In a twenty-second aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, the additional auxiliary information may include one or more of periodicity / timing information, cell identification information, synchronization grid offset information, etc.

[0175] In a twenty-third aspect related to one or more of the preceding aspects, a cell in a semi-active state may receive information for configuring a downlink signal from a network entity. In addition, in a related twenty-fourth aspect, the information for configuring a downlink signal may include one or more of the following: time and / or frequency resource configuration, periodicity / timing information, transmit power settings, and beamforming configuration information.

[0176] In a twenty-fifth aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, the cell in the semi-active state may also determine that at least one UE has established a connection with at least one cell in the active state. The cell in the semi-active state may send additional assistance information to the at least one UE based at least in part on the determination, wherein the additional assistance information may be configured to help the at least one UE perform one or more of the following: subsequent access procedures, cell reselection procedures, and radio resource management (RRM) measurement procedures. In a twenty-sixth aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, the cell in the semi-active state may receive a notification that the at least one UE has received a downlink signal.

[0177] In a twenty-seventh aspect related to one or more of the preceding aspects, the additional assistance information may be carried on a non-legacy physical broadcast channel (PBCH) (i.e., a PBCH different from a legacy PBCH of a wireless communication system operating according to the 3GPP Release 15 series of standards). Alternatively, the additional assistance information may be carried on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), or a combination thereof.

[0178] In a twenty-eighth aspect related to one or more of the preceding aspects, the additional auxiliary information may include the exact position and / or timing of the SSB (both CD-SSB and non-CD-SSB) on the synchronization grid, other types of AFS signals, and other information.

[0179] In a twenty-ninth aspect related to one or more of the preceding aspects, configuring a downlink signal may include configuring a downlink signal to assist at least one UE in detecting a synchronization signal sent from at least one cell in an active state on a synchronization grid, and wherein sending the downlink signal includes sending the downlink signal on a frequency grid different from the synchronization grid during a semi-active state.

[0180] Fig.11 A flow chart illustrating a method 1100 of wireless communication by a cell (e.g., a base station, a network node, a gNB, etc.) (or at the cell) according to some aspects of the present disclosure is shown. Optionally, at 1105, the cell may determine that it is not a serving cell. For example, the cell may determine that it has not provided service to any UE for a certain period of time, which may be predetermined or configurable, such as in conjunction with Fig.10 Detailed description. At 1110, the cell may enter a semi-active state corresponding to an energy saving (ES) operating mode of the cell. Optionally, at 1110, based at least in part on the cell determining at 1105 that it is not a serving cell, the cell may enter a semi-active state. Optionally, at 1115, the cell may receive information for configuring a downlink signal from a network entity. At 1120, the cell may configure a downlink signal to help at least one UE detect a synchronization signal sent from at least one cell in an active state corresponding to an energy consuming operating mode. At 1120, the configuration of the downlink signal may be based at least in part on the information received at 1115. Finally, at 1125, the cell may send a downlink signal.

[0181] Some steps of method 1100 correspond to Fig.10 The steps of method 1000 are shown and combined Fig.10The description of those steps applies mutatis mutandis to the corresponding steps of method 1100. Some steps of method 1100 may represent optional aspects of the present disclosure. For example, to emphasize the optional aspects, steps 1105, 1115 are each shown in a box with a dashed line.

[0182] The downlink signal may be as shown in the above figure (eg, FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C and / or FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B ) in one or more of the AFS signals exemplified in FIG. The semi-active cell and the active cell may belong to the same network node (e.g., base station, gNB, etc.). Alternatively, they may belong to, for example Fig. 9 Different network nodes are illustrated, where cell B (105-B) represents a cell in a semi-active state, and cell A (105-A) represents a cell in an active state. In addition, in related aspects, there may be a first plurality of cells in a semi-active state and a second plurality of cells in an active state that exchange signaling with the same UE or with different UEs.

[0183] Fig.12 A flow chart illustrating a method 1200 for wireless communication by a cell (e.g., a base station, a network node, a gNB, etc.) (or at the cell) according to some aspects of the present disclosure is shown. Optionally, at 1205, the cell may determine that it is not a serving cell. For example, the cell may determine that it has not provided service to any UE for a certain period of time, which may be predetermined or configurable, such as in conjunction with Fig.10 At 1210, the cell may enter a semi-active state corresponding to the energy-saving operation mode of the cell. Optionally, at 1210, the cell may enter the semi-active state based at least in part on the cell's determination at 1205 that it is not a serving cell. At 1215, the cell may configure a downlink signal to assist at least one UE in detecting a synchronization signal transmitted from at least one cell in an active state corresponding to the energy-consuming operation mode. Fig.12 , but the configuration at 1215 may be based at least in part on the cell receiving information from a network entity for configuring a downlink signal (e.g., Fig.11 At 1220, the cell may send a downlink signal during the semi-active state. Optionally, at 1225, the cell may receive a notification that at least one UE has received the downlink signal.

[0184] Some steps of method 1200 correspond to Fig.10 The steps of method 1000 are shown and combined Fig.10The description of those steps applies mutatis mutandis to the corresponding steps of method 1200. Some steps of method 1200 may represent optional aspects of the present disclosure. For example, to emphasize the optional aspects, steps 1205, 1225 are each shown in a box with a dashed line.

[0185] The downlink signal may be as shown in the above figure (eg, FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C and / or FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B ) in one or more of the AFS signals exemplified in FIG. The semi-active cell and the active cell may belong to the same network node (e.g., base station, gNB, etc.). Alternatively, they may belong to, for example Fig. 9 Different network nodes are illustrated, where cell B (105-B) represents a cell in a semi-active state, and cell A (105-A) represents a cell in an active state. In addition, in related aspects, there may be a first plurality of cells in a semi-active state and a second plurality of cells in an active state that exchange signaling with the same UE or with different UEs.

[0186] Fig.13 A flow chart illustrating a method 1300 for wireless communication by a cell (e.g., a base station, a network node, a gNB, etc.) (or at the cell) according to some aspects of the present disclosure is shown. Optionally, at 1305, the cell may determine that it is not a serving cell. For example, the cell may determine that it has not provided service to any UE for a certain period of time, which may be predetermined or configurable, such as in conjunction with Fig.10 At 1310, the cell may enter a semi-active state corresponding to the energy-saving operation mode of the cell. Optionally, at 1310, based on the determination at 1305 that it is not a serving cell, the cell may enter a semi-active state. At 1315, the cell may configure a downlink signal to assist at least one UE in detecting a synchronization signal transmitted from at least one cell in an active state corresponding to the energy-consuming operation mode. Optionally, despite Fig.13 , but the cell may configure the downlink signal (e.g., as shown in FIG. 1 ) based at least in part on receiving information for configuring the downlink signal from a network entity. Fig.11 1115 in FIG. 110 ). At 1320, the cell may send a downlink signal during the semi-active state. Optionally, at 1325, the cell may receive an uplink request for additional assistance information from at least one UE. Further optionally, at 1330, the cell may configure an additional downlink signal to provide the additional assistance information based at least in part on the uplink request, and at 1335, send the additional downlink signal to the at least one UE.

[0187] Some steps of method 1300 correspond to Fig.10The steps of method 1000 are shown and combined Fig.10 The description of those steps applies mutatis mutandis to the corresponding steps of method 1300. Some steps of method 1300 may represent optional aspects of the present disclosure. For example, to emphasize the optional aspects, steps 1305, 1325, 1330, 1335 are each shown in a box with a dashed line.

[0188] The downlink signal may be as shown in the above figure (eg, FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C and / or FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B ) in one or more of the AFS signals exemplified in FIG. The semi-active cell and the active cell may belong to the same network node (e.g., base station, gNB, etc.). Alternatively, they may belong to, for example Fig. 9 Different network nodes are illustrated, where cell B (105-B) represents a cell in a semi-active state, and cell A (105-A) represents a cell in an active state. In addition, in related aspects, there may be a first plurality of cells in a semi-active state and a second plurality of cells in an active state that exchange signaling with the same UE or with different UEs.

[0189] Fig.14 A flow chart illustrating another method 1400 for wireless communication by a cell (e.g., a base station, a network node, a gNB, etc.) (or at the cell) is shown. Optionally, at 1405, the cell may determine that it is not a serving cell. For example, the cell may determine that it has not provided service to any UE for a certain period of time, which may be predetermined or configurable, such as in conjunction with Fig.10 Described in more detail. At 1410, the cell may enter a semi-active state corresponding to the energy-saving operation mode of the cell. At 1415, the cell may configure a downlink signal to help at least one user equipment (UE) detect a synchronization signal sent from at least one cell in an active state corresponding to the energy-consuming operation mode. At 1420, the cell may send a downlink signal during the semi-active state. Optionally, at 1425, the cell may determine that at least one UE has established a connection with at least one cell in an active state. For example, the cell may receive a notification from a UE and / or a network entity. In one example, the network entity may be at least one cell in an active state. Further optionally, at 1430, the cell may send additional auxiliary information to at least one UE based at least in part on the determination.

[0190] Some steps of method 1400 correspond to Fig.10 The steps of method 1000 are shown and combined Fig.10The description of those steps applies mutatis mutandis to the corresponding steps of method 1400. Some steps of method 1400 may represent optional aspects of the present disclosure. For example, to emphasize the optional aspects, steps 1405, 1425, 1430 are each shown in a box with a dashed line.

[0191] The downlink signal may be as shown in the above figure (eg, FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C and / or FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B ) in one or more of the AFS signals exemplified in FIG. The semi-active cell and the active cell may belong to the same network node (e.g., base station, gNB, etc.). Alternatively, they may belong to, for example Fig. 9 Different network nodes are illustrated, where cell B (105-B) represents a cell in a semi-active state, and cell A (105-A) represents a cell in an active state. In addition, in related aspects, there may be a first plurality of cells in a semi-active state and a second plurality of cells in an active state that exchange signaling with the same UE or with different UEs.

[0192] Fig.15 A flow chart illustrating a method 1500 for wireless communication by (or at) a user equipment (UE) according to a first (UE-related) aspect of the present disclosure is shown. At 1505, the UE may receive a downlink signal from a cell (e.g., a base station, a network node, a gNB, etc.) in a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of the cell. The cell may Figures 10 to 14 The method 1000, 1100, 1200, 1300, 1400 illustrated in the flowchart of is operated. At 1510, the UE may detect a synchronization signal (e.g., SSB, CD-SSB) sent from at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on a downlink signal. Therefore, in addition to the network energy savings achieved by the cell (or cells) in a semi-active state, the UE (or UEs) may save battery power by avoiding a large number of searches for all possible synchronization frequency channels on one or more frequency grids of the wireless communication system, which would otherwise be required to find an active cell. The combined energy savings (cell and UE) may be considered an environmentally friendly "green technology" for advanced wireless communications. Finally, at 1515, the cell may establish a connection with at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on a synchronization signal.

[0193] Method 1500 may include additional optional steps according to one or more related examples and / or aspects described below ( Fig.15In one example, detecting the synchronization signal may include: the UE configuring its transceiver to receive the synchronization signal sent from at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on the downlink signal received from the cell in a semi-active state; and receiving the synchronization signal. In another related example or aspect (in Fig.16 ), the method may optionally include: sending an uplink request for additional auxiliary information to a cell in a semi-active state; and receiving an additional downlink signal including the additional auxiliary information, wherein detecting a synchronization signal sent from at least one cell in an active state is also at least partially based on the additional downlink signal.

[0194] The downlink signal may be as shown in the above figure (eg, FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C and / or FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B ) in one or more of the AFS signals exemplified in FIG. The semi-active cell and the active cell may belong to the same network node (e.g., base station, gNB, etc.). Alternatively, they may belong to, for example Fig. 9 Different network nodes are illustrated, where cell B (105-B) represents a cell in a semi-active state, and cell A (105-A) represents a cell in an active state. In addition, in related aspects, there may be a first plurality of cells in a semi-active state and a second plurality of cells in an active state that exchange signaling with the same UE or with different UEs.

[0195] In a second aspect related to the first (UE-related) aspect described above, the downlink signal may be configured to implicitly indicate at least one frequency channel corresponding to at least one cell that is in an active state. In a third aspect related to the second aspect, the downlink signal may be configured to implicitly indicate that at least one frequency channel is within a preconfigured range on a frequency grid, for example, relative to a frequency channel corresponding to a cell in a semi-active state. In a fourth aspect related to the second aspect, the downlink signal may be configured to implicitly indicate that at least one frequency channel is not within a preconfigured range on a frequency grid, for example, relative to a frequency channel corresponding to a cell in a semi-active state.

[0196] In a fifth aspect related to the first (UE-related) aspect, the downlink signal may be configured to explicitly indicate at least one frequency channel corresponding to at least one cell in an active state. In a sixth aspect related to the fifth aspect, the downlink signal may be configured to explicitly indicate that at least one frequency channel is within a specified range on a frequency grid, for example, relative to a frequency channel corresponding to a cell in a semi-active state. In a seventh aspect related to the fifth aspect, the downlink signal may be configured to explicitly indicate that at least one frequency channel is not within a specified range on a frequency grid, for example, relative to a frequency channel corresponding to a cell in a semi-active state.

[0197] In an eighth aspect related to any one of the preceding aspects, a UE (eg, Figure 8 and / or Fig. 9 115) may transmit an uplink request for additional assistance information, and a cell in a semi-active state (e.g., Figure 8 and / or Fig. 9 The cell 105-B in the semi-active state may receive an uplink request for additional assistance information. In response thereto, the cell in the semi-active state may configure an additional downlink signal to provide the additional assistance information based at least in part on the uplink request. Finally, the cell in the semi-active state may send an additional downlink signal (i.e., including the additional assistance information), and the UE may receive the additional downlink signal (i.e., including the additional assistance information).

[0198] In a ninth aspect related to one or more of the preceding aspects, the downlink signal may be configured according to a default configuration. In a tenth aspect related to one or more of the preceding aspects, the downlink signal may be configured based at least in part on a request (e.g., from a network entity) to configure the downlink signal.

[0199] In an eleventh aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, a cell in a semi-active state may send a downlink signal on a synchronization grid, and a UE may receive a downlink signal on the synchronization grid. For example, the synchronization grid may correspond to a wireless communication system compatible with the 3GPP Release 15 series of standards. In a twelfth aspect related to the eleventh aspect, the synchronization grid may be a legacy synchronization grid. For example, the legacy synchronization grid may be a synchronization grid of a wireless communication system operating according to the 3GPP Release 15 series of standards (which may be regarded as the first version of the 5G NR wireless communication standard by a person skilled in the art). In a thirteenth aspect related to the eleventh aspect, the synchronization grid may be different from the legacy synchronization grid.

[0200] In a fourteenth aspect related to one or more of the preceding aspects, the synchronization grid may be selected from a plurality of synchronization grids based at least in part on the configuration of the downlink signal. In a fifteenth aspect related to one or more of the preceding aspects, the downlink signal may be configured to indicate at least one other synchronization grid, wherein the at least one other synchronization grid may be configured to carry at least one other downlink signal, the at least one other downlink signal configured to assist the UE (e.g., Figure 8 and / or Fig. 9 115 in the UE 115) detects at least one cell in an active state (e.g., Fig. 9 A synchronization signal is sent by cell 105-A).

[0201] In a sixteenth aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, a downlink signal may be sent by a cell in a semi-active state with a default periodicity known to the UE. For example, the default periodicity may correspond to the periodicity of the transmission of SSB / CD-SSB in a wireless communication system compatible with the 3GPP Release 15 series of standards, such as 20 milliseconds (ms). In a seventeenth aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, a downlink signal may be sent with a preconfigured periodicity, wherein the preconfigured periodicity may be different from the default periodicity. In some examples, the transmission with a preconfigured periodicity may be less frequent (e.g., the preconfigured periodicity may be greater than the default periodicity). In some examples, the preconfigured periodicity may be a non-negative integer multiple (greater than zero) of the default periodicity (e.g., 40ms), which may achieve better power / energy saving at a cell in a semi-active state. In an eighteenth aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, a downlink signal may be sent with a configurable periodicity. For example, a configurable periodicity may improve the flexibility that a network operator can use to fine-tune the trade-off between latency and network energy / power saving.

[0202] In a nineteenth aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, a downlink signal may be transmitted in a beam scanning manner. This may advantageously improve the spatial coverage of the transmission and increase the probability of the UE receiving the downlink signal. In a twentieth aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, the downlink signal may include at most two symbols (e.g., OFDM symbols), and / or the preconfigured range may exceed a threshold. In an example, the threshold may be greater than or equal to a first value (e.g., 15) of the negative AFS signal (see, e.g., Fig. 6A ), and is greater than or equal to a second value (e.g., 256) of the positive AFS signal (see, e.g., Figure 6B ). In a twenty-first aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, the downlink signal may include a reference signal in the preamble (e.g., such as a primary synchronization signal (PSS)). The preamble may occupy only the first symbol. In the first symbol and / or the second symbol, the downlink signal may include additional auxiliary information, which may be time division multiplexed (TDM) and / or frequency division multiplexed (FDM) with the preamble. In a twenty-second aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, the additional auxiliary information may include one or more of periodicity / timing information, cell identification information, synchronization grid offset information, etc.

[0203] In a twenty-third aspect related to one or more of the preceding aspects, a cell in a semi-active state may receive information for configuring a downlink signal (i.e., in a manner transparent to the UE) from a network entity. In addition, in a related twenty-fourth aspect, the information for configuring the downlink signal may include one or more of the following: time and / or frequency resource configuration, periodicity / timing information, transmit power settings, and beamforming configuration information.

[0204] In a twenty-fifth aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, the cell in a semi-active state may also determine that the UE has established a connection with at least one cell in an active state. For example, the UE may notify the cell in a semi-active state of the connection established with the cell in an active state. Alternatively, the cell in an active state may notify the cell in a semi-active state of the connection established with the UE. Based at least in part on determining that the UE has established a connection with the cell in an active state, the cell in a semi-active state may send additional auxiliary information, and the UE may receive the additional auxiliary information, wherein the additional auxiliary information may be configured to help the UE perform one or more of the following: subsequent access procedures, cell reselection procedures, and radio resource management (RRM) measurement procedures. In a twenty-sixth aspect related to one or more of the foregoing aspects, the cell in a semi-active state may receive a notification that at least one UE has received a downlink signal.

[0205] In a twenty-seventh aspect related to one or more of the preceding aspects, the additional assistance information may be carried on a non-legacy physical broadcast channel (PBCH) (i.e., a PBCH different from a legacy PBCH of a wireless communication system operating according to the 3GPP Release 15 series of standards). Alternatively, the additional assistance information may be carried on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), or a combination thereof.

[0206] In a twenty-eighth aspect related to one or more of the preceding aspects, the additional auxiliary information may include the exact position and / or timing of the SSB (both CD-SSB and non-CD-SSB) on the synchronization grid, other types of AFS signals, and other information.

[0207] In aspect 29 related to one or more of the preceding aspects, a downlink signal may be configured to assist a UE in detecting a synchronization signal sent from at least one active cell on a synchronization grid, wherein the downlink signal is sent by a semi-active cell on a frequency grid different from the synchronization grid.

[0208] Fig.16A flow chart illustrating another method 1600 for wireless communication by (or at) a user equipment (UE) is shown. At 1605, a UE (e.g., Figure 8 and / or Fig. 9 UE 115 in the energy-saving mode may be connected to a cell in a semi-active state corresponding to the energy-saving mode of operation (e.g., Figure 8 and / or Fig. 9 Optionally, at 1610, the UE may send an uplink request for additional assistance information, and the semi-active cell (e.g., Figure 8 and / or Fig. 9 The cell 105-B in Fig.13 In response to this, the cell in the semi-active state may configure an additional downlink signal to provide the additional assistance information based at least in part on the uplink request, such as Fig.13 As shown at 1330 in FIG. Then, the cell in the semi-active state can be as follows Fig.13 The additional downlink signal including the additional assistance information may be sent as shown at 1335 in the method 1600, and the UE may receive the additional downlink signal including the additional assistance information at 1615. Steps 1610 and 1615 of method 1600 are Fig.16 1600. The UE may detect a synchronization signal sent from at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on the downlink signal and / or the additional downlink signal (if available). Finally, at 1625, the UE may establish a connection with at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on the synchronization signal.

[0209] The downlink signal may be as shown in the above figure (eg, FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C and / or FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B ) in one or more of the AFS signals exemplified in FIG. The semi-active cell and the active cell may belong to the same network node (e.g., base station, gNB, etc.). Alternatively, they may belong to, for example Fig. 9 Different network nodes are illustrated, where cell B (105-B) represents a cell in a semi-active state, and cell A (105-A) represents a cell in an active state. In addition, in related aspects, there may be a first plurality of cells in a semi-active state and a second plurality of cells in an active state that exchange signaling with the same UE or with different UEs.

[0210] Fig.17A diagram of a system 1700 including an apparatus 1705 for wireless communication by (or at) a cell (e.g., a base station, a network node, a gNB, etc.) in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The apparatus may include a processor 1740 and a memory 1730 coupled to the processor 1740. The memory 1730 may include code 1735, i.e., instructions stored in the memory 1730 and executable by the processor 1740 to cause the apparatus 1705 to: enter a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of a cell; configure a downlink signal to help at least one UE 115 detect a synchronization signal transmitted from at least one cell in an active state (i.e., a state corresponding to an energy-consuming operation mode); and transmit a downlink signal during the semi-active state. Optionally, the memory 1730 may also include instructions executable by the processor 1740 to cause the apparatus to determine that the cell is not a serving cell, wherein the apparatus 1705 may enter the semi-active state based at least in part on determining that the cell is not an active cell. Further optionally, the memory 1730 may include instructions that can be executed by the processor 1740 to cause the device 1705 to perform the combined Figures 10 to 14 Any of the methods described.

[0211] The downlink signal may be as shown in the above figure (eg, FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C and / or FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B ) in one or more of the AFS signals exemplified in FIG. The semi-active cell and the active cell may belong to the same network node (e.g., base station, gNB, etc.). Alternatively, they may belong to, for example Fig. 9 Different network nodes are illustrated, where cell B (105-B) represents a cell in a semi-active state, and cell A (105-A) represents a cell in an active state. In addition, in related aspects, there may be a first plurality of cells in a semi-active state and a second plurality of cells in an active state that exchange signaling with the same UE or with different UEs.

[0212] In addition to the memory 1730 and the processor 1740, the device 1705 may also include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for sending and receiving communications, including a communication manager 1710, a network communication manager 1715, a transceiver 1720, an antenna 1725, and an inter-station communication manager 1745. These components may communicate electronically via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1750). Alternatively, the device 1705 may represent a portion of a wireless device (e.g., a component, a subsystem, a system on a chip (SoC), etc.) that includes one or more of the above-mentioned additional components. For example, the device may be the smallest marketable unit that implements various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0213] The communication manager 1710 may be primarily responsible for managing communications with one or more UEs 115. The network communication manager 1715 may manage communications with the core network (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links). For example, the network communication manager 1715 may manage the delivery of data communications for client devices (such as one or more UEs 115).

[0214] The transceiver 1720 may communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links as described above. For example, the transceiver 1720 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1720 may also include a modem for modulating packets and providing the modulated packets to an antenna for transmission, and demodulating packets received from an antenna.

[0215] In some cases, the apparatus 1705, or alternatively a wireless device including the apparatus 1705, may include a single antenna 1725. However, in some cases, the apparatus 1705 may have more than one antenna 1725, which may be capable of transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions simultaneously.

[0216] Memory 1730 may include RAM, ROM, or a combination thereof. Memory 1730 may store computer readable code 1735, which includes instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., processor 1740), cause device 1705 to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, memory 1730 may also contain, among other things, a BIOS that may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0217] Processor 1740 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, processor 1740 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some cases, the memory controller may be integrated into processor 1740. Processor 1740 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1740) to cause device 1705 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting a method for achieving power savings using millimeter wave relays).

[0218] The inter-site communication manager 1745 may manage communications with other base stations 105 and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with UE 115 in cooperation with other base stations 105. For example, the inter-site communication manager 1745 may coordinate scheduling of transmissions to UE 115 for various interference suppression techniques, such as beamforming or joint transmission. In some examples, the inter-site communication manager 1745 may provide an X2 interface within an LTE / LTE-A wireless communication network technology to provide communications between base stations 105.

[0219] The code 1735 may include instructions for implementing various aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions for supporting wireless communications. The code 1735 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code 1735 may not be directly executable by the processor 1740, but may (e.g., when compiled and executed) cause a computer to perform the functions described herein.

[0220] Fig.18 A block diagram 1800 of an apparatus 1805 for wireless communications by (or at) a cell (e.g., a base station, a network node, a gNB, etc.) in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The apparatus 1805 may include a communication manager 1815, a receiver 1810, and a transmitter 1835. However, in some aspects, the apparatus 1805 may include only the communication manager 1815, which may represent a minimum salable unit (e.g., a component, a subsystem, a system on a chip (SoC)) that implements various aspects of the present disclosure.

[0221] The communication manager 1815 may include means for entering a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of a cell, such as a semi-active state management component 1820. Optionally, the communication manager 1815 may include means for determining that the cell is not a serving cell ( Fig.18 ), wherein the means for entering the semi-active state (i.e., the semi-active state management component 1820) may be capable of operating based at least in part on the output of the means for determining that the cell is not a serving cell. The communication manager 1815 may also include means for configuring a downlink signal to assist at least one UE 115 in detecting a synchronization signal transmitted from at least one cell in an active state corresponding to the energy-consuming operating mode, such as a downlink signal configuration management component 1825. The communication manager 1815 may include means for transmitting a downlink signal during the semi-active state (or alternatively, means for managing the transmission), such as a downlink signal transmission management component 1830.

[0222] Optionally, the communication manager 1815 and / or the device 1805 may include a Figures 10 to 14Additional components and / or management components of one or more of the methods described in its various aspects.

[0223] The downlink signal may be as shown in the above figure (eg, FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C and / or FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B ) in one or more of the AFS signals exemplified in FIG. The semi-active cell and the active cell may belong to the same network node (e.g., base station, gNB, etc.). Alternatively, they may belong to, for example Fig. 9 Different network nodes are illustrated, where cell B (105-B) represents a cell in a semi-active state, and cell A (105-A) represents a cell in an active state. In addition, in related aspects, there may be a first plurality of cells in a semi-active state and a second plurality of cells in an active state that exchange signaling with the same UE or with different UEs.

[0224] Fig.19 A diagram of a system 1900 including an apparatus 1905 for wireless communication by (or at) a UE 115 in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The apparatus may include a processor 1940 and a memory 1930 coupled to the processor 1940. The memory 1930 may include code 1935, i.e., instructions stored in the memory 1930 and executable by the processor 1940 to cause the apparatus 1905 to perform the following operations: receiving a downlink signal from a cell in a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of the cell. The instructions may also cause the apparatus 1905 to detect a synchronization signal sent from at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on the downlink signal. The active state may correspond to an energy-consuming operation mode of the at least one cell. In addition, the instructions may cause the apparatus 1905 to establish a connection with at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on the synchronization signal.

[0225] Optionally, the memory 1930 may further include instructions that can be executed by the processor 1940 to enable the device 1905 to implement the combination Figure 15 to Figure 16 Any of the described aspects.

[0226] The downlink signal may be as shown in the above figure (eg, FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C and / or FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B ) in one or more of the AFS signals exemplified in FIG. The semi-active cell and the active cell may belong to the same network node (e.g., base station, gNB, etc.). Alternatively, they may belong to, for example Fig. 9Different network nodes are illustrated, where cell B (105-B) represents a cell in a semi-active state, and cell A (105-A) represents a cell in an active state. In addition, in related aspects, there may be a first plurality of cells in a semi-active state and a second plurality of cells in an active state that exchange signaling with the same UE or with different UEs.

[0227] The device 1905 may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for sending and receiving communications, including a communication manager 1910, an I / O controller 1915, a transceiver 1920, an antenna 1925, a memory 1930, and a processor 1940. These components may communicate electronically via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1945).

[0228] The communication manager 1910 may be primarily responsible for managing communications with one or more cells 105, which may include one or more cells in a semi-active state and one or more cells in an active state, according to various aspects of the present disclosure. In addition, the communication manager 1910 may be responsible for managing communications with one or more UEs 115 (e.g., using sidelink communications).

[0229] I / O controller 1915 can manage input and output signals for device 1905. I / O controller 1915 can also manage peripheral devices that are not integrated into device 1905. In some cases, I / O controller 1915 can represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some cases, I / O controller 1915 can utilize an operating system such as Or another known operating system. In other cases, I / O controller 1915 may represent or interact with a modem, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, or similar device. In some cases, I / O controller 1915 may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user may interact with device 1905 via I / O controller 1915 or via hardware components controlled by I / O controller 1915.

[0230] The transceiver 1920 may communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links as described above. For example, the transceiver 1920 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1920 may also include a modem for modulating packets and providing the modulated packets to an antenna for transmission, and demodulating packets received from an antenna.

[0231] In some cases, the device 1905 may include a single antenna 1925. However, in some cases, the device 1905 may have more than one antenna 1925, which may be able to simultaneously transmit or receive multiple wireless transmissions. Each antenna 1925 may have one or more phasors.

[0232] Memory 1930 may include RAM and ROM. Memory 1930 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 1935 including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform the various functions described herein. In some cases, memory 1930 may also contain, among other things, a BIOS that may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0233] Processor 1940 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, processor 1940 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into processor 1940. Processor 1940 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1930) to cause device 1905 to perform basic functions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting beam selection in a handheld wireless communication device) in addition to the functions described herein.

[0234] The code 1935 may include instructions for implementing various aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions for supporting wireless communications. The code 1935 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code 1935 may not be directly executable by the processor 1940, but may (e.g., when compiled and executed) cause a computer to perform the functions described herein.

[0235] Fig. 20 A block diagram 2000 of an apparatus 2005 for wireless communications by (or at) a UE 115 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The apparatus 2005 may include a communications manager 2015, a receiver 2010, and a transmitter 2035. However, in some aspects, the apparatus 2005 may include only the communications manager 2005, which may represent a minimum marketable unit (e.g., component, subsystem, system on chip (SoC)) that implements aspects of the present disclosure.

[0236] The communication manager 2015 may include means for receiving a downlink signal from a cell in a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of the cell, such as a downlink signal reception management component 2020. The communication manager 2015 may also include means for detecting a synchronization signal transmitted from at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on the downlink signal, such as a synchronization signal detection management component 2025. The communication manager 2015 may also include means for establishing a connection with at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on the synchronization signal, such as a connection establishment management component 2030.

[0237] Optionally, the communication manager 2015 and / or the device 2005 may include a device configured to perform the combined Figure 15 to Figure 16 Additional components and / or management components of one or more of the methods described in its various aspects.

[0238] The downlink signal may be as shown in the above figure (eg, FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C and / or FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B ) in one or more of the AFS signals exemplified in FIG. The semi-active cell and the active cell may belong to the same network node (e.g., base station, gNB, etc.). Alternatively, they may belong to, for example Fig. 9 Different network nodes are illustrated, where cell B (105-B) represents a cell in a semi-active state, and cell A (105-A) represents a cell in an active state. In addition, in related aspects, there may be a first plurality of cells in a semi-active state and a second plurality of cells in an active state that exchange signaling with the same UE or with different UEs.

[0239] It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and other implementations are possible. In addition, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.

[0240] The information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips mentioned throughout the specification may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or optical particles, or any combination thereof.

[0241] The various illustrative blocks and modules described in conjunction with the disclosure herein may be implemented or executed using a general purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic components, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0242] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium, or sent via a computer-readable medium. Other examples and specific implementations are within the scope of this disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hard wiring, or any combination of these. Features that implement the functions may also be physically located at various locations, including being distributed so that the functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0243] Computer-readable medium includes both non-transient computer storage medium and communication medium, and it includes any medium that facilitates computer program to be transmitted from one place to another place.Non-transient storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by general or special-purpose computer.By way of example and not limitation, non-transient computer-readable medium can include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disc (CD) ROM or other optical disc storage device, disk storage device or other magnetic storage device, or can be used to carry or store required program code parts in the form of instruction or data structure and can be accessed by general or special-purpose computer, or any other non-transient medium of general or special-purpose processor.Moreover, any connection is appropriately referred to as computer-readable medium.For example, if software is sent from website, server or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) or wireless technology such as infrared, radio and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL or wireless technology such as infrared, radio and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc, where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0244] As used herein (including in the claims), "or" used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items followed by a phrase such as "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates an inclusive list, so that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). In addition, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be interpreted as a reference to a closed set of conditions. For example, an exemplary step described as "based on condition A" can be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "based at least in part on."

[0245] In the drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference number. In addition, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference number with a dash and a second reference number to distinguish between the similar components. If only the first reference number is used in the specification, the description may apply to any of the similar components having the same first reference number, regardless of the second or other subsequent reference numbers.

[0246] The descriptions set forth herein in conjunction with the accompanying drawings describe example configurations and do not represent all examples that may be implemented or within the scope of the claims. The term "exemplary" as used herein means "used as an example, instance, or illustration" and does not mean "better than" or "better than other examples". The specific implementation includes specific details to provide an understanding of the described techniques. However, these techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some cases, in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form.

[0247] The description herein is provided to enable those skilled in the art to implement or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but conforms to the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

[0248] The following provides an overview of various embodiments illustrating different aspects of the present disclosure:

[0249] Embodiment 1: A method for wireless communication by a cell (e.g., of a base station), the method comprising: (e.g., optionally, determining that the cell does not serve a serving cell) entering a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of the cell (e.g., based at least in part on the determination); configuring a downlink signal to help at least one user equipment (UE) detect a synchronization signal sent from the at least one cell in an active state (e.g., corresponding to an energy-consuming operation mode of at least one cell); and sending the downlink signal during the semi-active state. The downlink signal may be as described in the aforementioned figures (e.g., FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C and / or FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B ) in one or more of the AFS signals exemplified in the semi-active state. The cell in the semi-active state and the cell in the active state may belong to the same network node (e.g., base station, gNB, etc.). Alternatively, they may belong to, for example Fig. 9 Different network nodes are illustrated, wherein cell B (105-B) represents the cell in the semi-active state, and cell A (105-A) represents the cell in the active state. In addition, in related aspects, there may be a first plurality of cells in the semi-active state and a second plurality of cells in the active state that exchange signaling with the same UE or with different UEs.

[0250] Embodiment 2: The method according to embodiment 1, wherein the downlink signal is configured to implicitly indicate at least one frequency channel corresponding to the at least one cell in the active state.

[0251] Embodiment 3: A method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein the downlink signal is configured to implicitly indicate that the at least one frequency channel is within a preconfigured range on a frequency grid (e.g., relative to a frequency channel corresponding to the cell in the semi-active state).

[0252] Embodiment 4: A method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein the downlink signal is configured to implicitly indicate that the at least one frequency channel is not within a preconfigured range on the frequency grid (e.g., relative to the frequency channel corresponding to the cell in the semi-active state).

[0253] Embodiment 5: The method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein the downlink signal is configured to explicitly indicate at least one frequency channel corresponding to the at least one cell in the active state.

[0254] Embodiment 6: A method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein the downlink signal is configured to explicitly indicate that the at least one frequency channel is within a specified range on the frequency grid (e.g., relative to the frequency channel corresponding to the cell in the semi-active state).

[0255] Embodiment 7: A method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein the downlink signal is configured to explicitly indicate that the at least one frequency channel is not within a specified range on the frequency grid (for example, relative to the frequency channel corresponding to the cell in the semi-active state).

[0256] Embodiment 8: According to the method described in one or more of the preceding embodiments, the method further includes: receiving an uplink request for additional auxiliary information from the at least one UE; configuring an additional downlink signal to provide the additional auxiliary information based at least in part on the uplink request; and sending the additional downlink signal to the at least one UE.

[0257] Embodiment 9: The method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein configuring the downlink signal comprises: configuring the downlink signal according to a default configuration.

[0258] Embodiment 10. A method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein configuring the downlink signal comprises: receiving a request to configure the downlink signal (e.g., from a network entity); and configuring the downlink signal based at least in part on the request.

[0259] Embodiment 11: The method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein sending the downlink signal comprises: sending the downlink signal on a synchronization grid.

[0260] Embodiment 12: A method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein the synchronization grid is a legacy synchronization grid (for example, the legacy synchronization grid corresponds to a wireless communication system compatible with or operating according to the 3GPP Release 15 series of standards).

[0261] Embodiment 13: A method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein the synchronization grid is different from a legacy synchronization grid (for example, the legacy synchronization grid corresponds to a wireless communication system compatible with or operating according to the 3GPP Release 15 series of standards).

[0262] Embodiment 14: The method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein the synchronization raster is selected from a plurality of synchronization raster based at least in part on a configuration of the downlink signal.

[0263] Embodiment 15: A method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein configuring the downlink signal comprises: configuring the downlink signal to indicate at least one other synchronization grid, wherein the at least one other synchronization grid is adapted to carry at least one other downlink signal, and the at least one other downlink signal is configured to help the at least one UE detect the synchronization signal sent from the at least one cell in the active state.

[0264] Embodiment 16: A method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein sending the downlink signal comprises: sending the downlink signal with a default periodicity (for example, 20 ms of a synchronization system block (SSB) of a wireless communication system compatible with or operating according to the 3GPP version 15 series standards).

[0265] Embodiment 17: A method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein sending the downlink signal comprises: sending the downlink signal with a preconfigured periodicity (e.g., 40 ms), wherein the preconfigured periodicity is different from a default periodicity (e.g., 20 ms of a synchronization system block (SSB) of a wireless communication system compatible with or operating according to the 3GPP Release 15 series standards) (e.g., less frequent to achieve better power saving in the semi-active state).

[0266] Embodiment 18: The method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein sending the downlink signal comprises: sending the downlink signal with a configurable periodicity.

[0267] Embodiment 19: A method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein sending the downlink signal comprises: sending the downlink signal in a beam scanning manner.

[0268] Embodiment 20: A method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein the downlink signal comprises at most two symbols, and / or wherein the preconfigured range exceeds a threshold. In one example, the threshold may be greater than or equal to a first value of a negative AFS signal (e.g., 15) (see, e.g., Fig. 6A ), and is greater than or equal to a second value (e.g., 256) of the positive AFS signal (see, e.g., Figure 6B ).

[0269] Embodiment 21: A method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein the downlink signal includes: a reference signal (e.g., such as PSS) in a preamble code (e.g., in the first symbol); and additional auxiliary information (e.g., timing information, ID information, synchronization grid offset information, etc.) in the same or another symbol (e.g., TDM or FDM performed with the preamble code).

[0270] Embodiment 22: A method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein the additional auxiliary information comprises one or more of the following: periodic (ie, timing) information, cell identification information, and synchronization grid offset information.

[0271] Embodiment 23: According to the method described in one or more of the preceding embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving information for configuring the downlink signal from a network entity.

[0272] Embodiment 24: A method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein the information used to configure the downlink signal includes one or more of the following: time and / or frequency resource configuration, periodicity (e.g., timing) information, transmit power setting, and beamforming configuration information.

[0273] Embodiment 25: According to the method described in one or more of the preceding embodiments, the method further includes: determining that the at least one UE has established a connection with the at least one cell in the active state; and sending additional auxiliary information to the at least one UE based at least in part on the determination, wherein the additional auxiliary information is configured to assist the at least one UE in performing one or more of the following: subsequent access procedures, cell reselection procedures, and radio resource management (RRM) measurement procedures.

[0274] Embodiment 26: According to the method described in one or more of the preceding embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a notification that the at least one UE has received the downlink signal.

[0275] Embodiment 27: A method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein the additional auxiliary information is carried on a (e.g., new / non-legacy) PBCH, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), or a combination thereof that is different from a legacy physical broadcast channel (PBCH) (e.g., a legacy PBCH corresponding to a wireless communication system that is compatible with or operates according to the 3GPP Release 15 series standards).

[0276] Embodiment 28: A method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein the additional auxiliary information includes the exact position and / or timing of the SSB (both CD-SSB and non-CD-SSB) on the synchronization grid, other types of AFS signals, and other information.

[0277] Embodiment 29: A method according to one or more of the preceding embodiments, wherein configuring the downlink signal comprises: configuring the downlink signal to help the at least one UE detect the synchronization signal sent from the at least one cell in the active state on a synchronization grid; and wherein sending the downlink signal comprises sending the downlink signal on a frequency grid different from the synchronization grid during the semi-active state.

[0278] Embodiment 30: A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving a downlink signal from a cell in a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of the cell; detecting a synchronization signal sent from the at least one cell in an active state (e.g., corresponding to an energy-consuming operation mode of at least one cell) based at least in part on the downlink signal; and establishing a connection with the at least one cell in the active state based at least in part on the synchronization signal. The downlink signal may be as described in the aforementioned figures (e.g., FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C and / or FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B ) in one or more of the AFS signals exemplified in the semi-active state. The cell in the semi-active state and the cell in the active state may belong to the same network node (e.g., base station, gNB, etc.). Alternatively, they may belong to, for example Fig. 9 Different network nodes are illustrated, wherein cell B (105-B) represents the cell in the semi-active state, and cell A (105-A) represents the cell in the active state. In addition, in related aspects, there may be a first plurality of cells in the semi-active state and a second plurality of cells in the active state that exchange signaling with the same UE or with different UEs.

[0279] Embodiment 31: According to the method described in Embodiment 30, the method further includes: sending an uplink request for additional auxiliary information to the cell in the semi-active state; and receiving an additional downlink signal including the additional auxiliary information; wherein detecting the synchronization signal sent from the at least one cell in the active state is also at least partially based on the additional downlink signal.

[0280] Embodiment 32: A device for wireless communication by a cell (e.g., of a base station), the device comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the device to: (e.g., optionally, determine that the cell does not serve a serving cell) enter a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operating mode of the cell (e.g., based at least in part on the determination); configure a downlink signal to assist at least one user equipment (UE) in detecting a synchronization signal sent from the at least one cell that is in an active state (e.g., corresponding to an energy-consuming operating mode of the at least one cell); and send the downlink signal during the semi-active state.

[0281] Embodiment 33: An apparatus for wireless communications by a cell (e.g., of a base station), the apparatus comprising: a component for entering a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operating mode of the cell (e.g., based at least in part on the determination) (e.g., optionally, a component for determining that the cell does not serve a serving cell); a component for configuring a downlink signal to assist at least one user equipment (UE) in detecting a synchronization signal sent from the at least one cell that is in an active state (e.g., corresponding to an energy-consuming operating mode of the at least one cell); and a component for sending the downlink signal during the semi-active state.

[0282] Embodiment 34: A device for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), the device comprising: a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions, the instructions being stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the device to: receive a downlink signal from a cell in a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of the cell; detect a synchronization signal sent from at least one cell in an active state (e.g., corresponding to an energy-consuming operation mode of at least one cell) based at least in part on the downlink signal; and establish a connection with the at least one cell in the active state based at least in part on the synchronization signal.

[0283] Embodiment 35: An apparatus for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: a component for receiving a downlink signal from a cell in a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of the cell; a component for detecting a synchronization signal sent from the at least one cell in an active state (e.g., corresponding to an energy-consuming operation mode of at least one cell) based at least in part on the downlink signal; and a component for establishing a connection with the at least one cell in the active state based at least in part on the synchronization signal.

[0284] Embodiment 36: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a plurality of processor-executable instructions, wherein execution of the processor-executable instructions causes one or more processors associated with a cell (e.g., of a base station): to enter a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operating mode of the cell (e.g., optionally, determining that the cell is not serving a serving cell) (e.g., based at least in part on the determination); to configure a downlink signal to assist at least one user equipment (UE) in detecting a synchronization signal sent from the at least one cell that is in an active state (e.g., corresponding to an energy-consuming operating mode of the at least one cell); and to send the downlink signal during the semi-active state.

[0285] Embodiment 37: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a plurality of processor-executable instructions, wherein execution of the processor-executable instructions causes one or more processors associated with a user equipment (UE) to: receive a downlink signal from a cell in a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operating mode of the cell; detect a synchronization signal sent from the at least one cell in an active state (e.g., corresponding to an energy-consuming operating mode of the at least one cell) based at least in part on the downlink signal; and establish a connection with the at least one cell in the active state based at least in part on the synchronization signal.

[0286] Embodiment 38: A computer program set comprising instructions, which, when executed on at least one processor of the device according to embodiment 31, cause the device to perform a method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 29, and when executed on at least one processor of the device according to embodiment 33, cause the device to perform a method according to embodiment 30.

[0287] Embodiment 39: A method for wireless communication by at least one first cell and at least one second cell, the method comprising: entering a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of the at least one first cell and the at least one second cell at the at least one first cell and the at least one second cell; configuring at least one first downlink signal at the at least one first cell and configuring at least one second downlink signal at the at least one second cell to help at least one user equipment (UE) detect a synchronization signal sent from at least one cell in an active state (e.g., corresponding to an energy-consuming operation mode) on at least one frequency channel; wherein the at least one first downlink signal is configured to indicate that the at least one frequency channel is within a preconfigured range on a frequency grid, and wherein the at least one second downlink signal is configured to indicate that the at least one frequency channel is not within a preconfigured range on the frequency grid; and during the semi-active state corresponding to the energy-saving operation mode of the at least one first cell and the at least one second cell, sending the at least one first downlink signal from the at least first cell and sending the at least one second downlink signal from the at least one second cell. The downlink signal may be as shown in the aforementioned figures (e.g., FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C and / or FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B ) in one or more of the AFS signals exemplified in the semi-active state. The cell in the semi-active state and the cell in the active state may belong to the same network node (e.g., base station, gNB, etc.). Alternatively, they may belong to, for example Fig. 9 Different network nodes are illustrated, wherein cell B (105-B) represents the cell in the semi-active state, and cell A (105-A) represents the cell in the active state. In addition, in related aspects, there may be a first plurality of cells in the semi-active state and a second plurality of cells in the active state that exchange signaling with the same UE or with different UEs.

[0288] Embodiment 40: A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving at least one first downlink signal from at least one first cell in a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of the at least one first cell, wherein the at least one first downlink signal is configured to indicate that at least one frequency channel is within a preconfigured range on a frequency grid; receiving at least one second downlink signal from at least one second cell in a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of the at least one second cell, wherein the at least one second downlink signal is configured to indicate that the at least one frequency channel is not within a preconfigured range on the frequency grid; detecting a synchronization signal sent from the at least one cell in an active state (e.g., corresponding to an energy-consuming operation mode of the at least one cell) on the at least one frequency channel based at least in part on the one first downlink signal and the at least one second downlink signal; and establishing a connection with the at least one cell in the active state based at least in part on the synchronization signal. The downlink signal may be as shown in the aforementioned figures (e.g., FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C and / or FIG. 7A to FIG. 7B ) in one or more of the AFS signals exemplified in the semi-active state. The cell in the semi-active state and the cell in the active state may belong to the same network node (e.g., base station, gNB, etc.). Alternatively, they may belong to, for example Fig. 9 Different network nodes are illustrated, wherein cell B (105-B) represents the cell in the semi-active state, and cell A (105-A) represents the cell in the active state. In addition, in related aspects, there may be a first plurality of cells in the semi-active state and a second plurality of cells in the active state that exchange signaling with the same UE or with different UEs.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication by a cell, the method comprising: entering a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving mode of operation of the cell; configuring a downlink signal to assist at least one user equipment (UE) in detecting a synchronization signal transmitted from at least one cell in an active state; as well as The downlink signal is sent during the semi-active state.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The downlink signal is configured to implicitly indicate at least one frequency channel corresponding to the at least one cell in the active state.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The downlink signal is configured to implicitly indicate that the at least one frequency channel is within a preconfigured range on a frequency grid.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The downlink signal is configured to implicitly indicate that the at least one frequency channel is not within a preconfigured range on a frequency grid.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The downlink signal is configured to explicitly indicate at least one frequency channel corresponding to the at least one cell in the active state.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The downlink signal is configured to explicitly indicate that the at least one frequency channel is within a specified range on a frequency grid.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein: The downlink signal is configured to explicitly indicate that the at least one frequency channel is not within a specified range on a frequency grid.

8. The method according to any one of claims 7, further comprising: receiving an uplink request for additional assistance information from the at least one UE; configuring an additional downlink signal to provide the additional assistance information based at least in part on the uplink request; as well as The additional downlink signal is sent to the at least one UE.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein configuring the downlink signal comprises: The downlink signal is configured according to a default configuration.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring the downlink signal comprises: receiving a request to configure the downlink signal; as well as The downlink signal is configured based at least in part on the request.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein sending the downlink signal comprises: The downlink signal is transmitted on a synchronization grid.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The synchronization grid is a legacy synchronization grid.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The synchronization grid is different from the legacy synchronization grid.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein: The synchronization raster is selected from a plurality of synchronization rasters based at least in part on a configuration of the downlink signal.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein configuring the downlink signal comprises: The downlink signal is configured to indicate at least one other synchronization grid, wherein the at least one other synchronization grid is adapted to carry at least one other downlink signal, and the at least one other downlink signal is configured to help the at least one UE detect the synchronization signal sent from the at least one cell in the active state.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the downlink signal comprises: The downlink signal is sent with a default periodicity.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the downlink signal comprises: The downlink signal is sent with a preconfigured periodicity, wherein the preconfigured periodicity is different from a default periodicity.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the downlink signal comprises: The downlink signal is sent with a configurable periodicity.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the downlink signal comprises: The downlink signal is sent in a beam scanning manner.

20. A method according to claim 1, wherein the downlink signal comprises at most two symbols, and / or wherein the downlink signal is configured to indicate that at least one frequency channel is within a preconfigured range on a frequency grid, or to indicate that at least one frequency channel is not within a preconfigured range on the frequency grid and the preconfigured range exceeds a threshold.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the downlink signal comprises: Reference signal in the preamble; and Additional auxiliary information.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein: The additional auxiliary information includes one or more of the following: Periodicity information, cell identification information, and synchronization grid offset information.

23. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Information for configuring the downlink signal is received from a network entity.

24. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: determining that the at least one UE has established a connection with the at least one cell in the active state; as well as sending additional assistance information to the at least one UE based at least in part on the determination, The additional assistance information is configured to help the at least one UE perform one or more of the following: a subsequent access procedure, a cell reselection procedure, and a radio resource management (RRM) measurement procedure.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising: A notification is received that the at least one UE has received the downlink signal.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring the downlink signal comprises: configuring the downlink signal to help the at least one UE detect the synchronization signal transmitted from the at least one cell in the active state on a synchronization grid; And wherein sending the downlink signal comprises: The downlink signal is transmitted during the semi-active state on a frequency grid different from the synchronization grid.

27. A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving a downlink signal from the cell in a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving mode of operation of the cell; detecting a synchronization signal transmitted from at least one cell in an active state based at least in part on the downlink signal; as well as A connection is established with the at least one cell in the active state based at least in part on the synchronization signal.

28. The method according to claim 27, further comprising: sending an uplink request for additional assistance information to the cell in the semi-active state; as well as receiving an additional downlink signal including additional assistance information; Wherein detecting the synchronization signal transmitted from the at least one cell in the active state is also based at least in part on the additional downlink signal.

29. An apparatus for wireless communication by a cell, the apparatus comprising: processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: entering a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving mode of operation of the cell; configuring a downlink signal to assist at least one user equipment (UE) in detecting a synchronization signal transmitted from at least one cell in an active state; as well as The downlink signal is sent during the semi-active state.

30. A method for wireless communication by at least one first cell and at least one second cell, the method comprising: entering, at the at least one first cell and at the at least one second cell, a semi-active state corresponding to an energy-saving operation mode of the at least one first cell and the at least one second cell; configuring at least one first downlink signal at the at least one first cell and configuring at least one second downlink signal at the at least one second cell to help at least one user equipment (UE) detect a synchronization signal transmitted from at least one cell in an active state on at least one frequency channel; wherein the at least one first downlink signal is configured to indicate that the at least one frequency channel is within a preconfigured range on a frequency grid, and wherein the at least one second downlink signal is configured to indicate that the at least one frequency channel is not within a preconfigured range on a frequency grid; as well as During the semi-active state corresponding to the energy saving operation mode of the at least one first cell and the at least one second cell, the at least one first downlink signal is transmitted from the at least one first cell and the at least one second downlink signal is transmitted from the at least one second cell.

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