Wake-up signal

Abstract

Examples of the present disclosure relate to a wake-up signal for a device without a primary radio or with a primary radio turned off. A device may be set in a low-power state and may be set to receive a wake-up signal via a low-power receiver when in the low-power state. The wake-up signal includes information identifying a device or a device type, and instructions to perform one or more actions in response to the wake-up signal. The device may determine whether the wake-up signal is for the device based on the information in the wake-up signal identifying the device or device type. The device may perform the one or more actions indicated in the wake-up signal based on the determination.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various examples of the present disclosure relate to wake-up signals. Some relate to wake-up signals for devices that do not have a main radio or whose main radio is turned off. Background Art

[0002] In some cases, it may be useful to enable one or more network devices to communicate with a device that is not equipped with a primary radio or has its primary radio turned off. For example, a low-cost tracking device may be added to a life jacket or other clothing. The low-cost tracking device may include a low-power receiver and may be used to facilitate rescue in the event of an accident or emergency. Summary of the invention

[0003] According to various but not necessarily all examples of the present disclosure, there may be provided a device comprising:

[0004] means for placing the device in a low power state;

[0005] means for receiving a wake-up signal, wherein the means for receiving comprises a low-power receiver operable in the low-power state, and the wake-up signal comprises information identifying a device or a type of device, and instructions to perform one or more actions in response to the wake-up signal;

[0006] means for determining whether the wake-up signal is intended for the device based on the information identifying the device or the device type in the wake-up signal; and

[0007] Means for performing one or more actions indicated in the wake-up signal based on the determination.

[0008] The apparatus may include means for transitioning the apparatus to a high power state to perform the one or more actions.

[0009] The device may include a main radio, wherein the main radio is separate from the low power receiver, has a higher power consumption than the low power receiver, and is placed in an off state when the device is in the low power state.

[0010] The wake-up signal may be modulated such that the wake-up signal may be received by an on-off keying receiver.

[0011] The one or more actions may include transmitting a wake-up confirmation signal.

[0012] The wake-up confirmation signal may include at least one of the following:

[0013] location information of the device;

[0014] An indication of one or more actions that the device has initiated.

[0015] The wake-up confirmation signal may be modulated using on-off keying.

[0016] The apparatus may include means for receiving a signal in response to the one or more actions, wherein the signal indicates that one or more actions performed by the apparatus have been observed.

[0017] The device may be at least one of an emergency device, a sensing device, a positioning device, and an Internet of Things device.

[0018] According to various but not necessarily all examples of the present disclosure, a method may be provided, including:

[0019] Put the device into a low-power state;

[0020] receiving a wake-up signal, wherein the wake-up signal is received using a low-power receiver operable in the low-power state and the wake-up signal includes information identifying a device or a type of device and instructions to perform one or more actions in response to the wake-up signal;

[0021] determining whether the wake-up signal is intended for the device based on information in the wake-up signal that identifies the device or the type of device; and

[0022] The one or more actions indicated in the wake-up signal are performed based on the determination.

[0023] According to various but not necessarily all examples of the present disclosure, a computer program may be provided, which includes instructions, and when the instructions are executed by a device, the device at least performs the following operations:

[0024] placing the device into a low power state;

[0025] receiving a wake-up signal, wherein the wake-up signal is received using a low-power receiver operable in the low-power state and the wake-up signal includes information identifying a device or a type of device, and instructions to perform one or more actions in response to the wake-up signal;

[0026] determining whether the wake-up signal is directed to the device based on the information identifying the device or the device type in the wake-up signal; and

[0027] The one or more actions indicated in the wake-up signal are performed based on the determination.

[0028] According to various but not necessarily all examples of the present disclosure, a user equipment may be provided, comprising:

[0029] means for determining whether the user equipment satisfies one or more location criteria; and

[0030] Means for broadcasting a wake-up signal based on the determination, wherein the wake-up signal includes information identifying a device or a type of device and instructions to perform one or more actions in response to the wake-up signal.

[0031] The wake-up signal may be modulated such that the wake-up signal may be received by an on-off keying receiver.

[0032] The user equipment may include means for receiving a broadcast signal, wherein the broadcast signal is indicative of the one or more location criteria.

[0033] The user equipment may include means for receiving a request to broadcast the wake-up signal.

[0034] The information identifying the device or device type and the instructions to perform one or more actions used in the wake-up signal may be based on information received in the request to broadcast the wake-up signal.

[0035] The user equipment may include means for transmitting an indication that one or more actions have been observed to be performed by the device.

[0036] The user equipment may include means for detecting a user input and broadcasting the wake-up signal in response to the detected user input.

[0037] According to various but not necessarily all examples of the present disclosure, a method may be provided, comprising:

[0038] determining whether the user equipment satisfies one or more location criteria; and

[0039] A wake-up signal is broadcast based on the determination, wherein the wake-up signal includes information identifying a device or a type of device and instructions to perform one or more actions in response to the wake-up signal.

[0040] According to various but not necessarily all examples of the present disclosure, a computer program may be provided, which includes instructions that, when executed by a user device, cause the user device to at least perform the following operations:

[0041] determining whether the user equipment satisfies one or more location criteria; and

[0042] A wake-up signal is broadcast based on the determination, wherein the wake-up signal includes information identifying a device or a type of device and instructions to perform one or more actions in response to the wake-up signal.

[0043] According to various but not necessarily all examples of the present disclosure, a network node may be provided, comprising:

[0044] means for broadcasting a signal indicative of one or more position criteria;

[0045] means for using the received responses to the broadcast signal to select one or more user equipment for broadcasting a wake-up signal; and

[0046] Means for transmitting a request to broadcast the wake-up signal, wherein the request is transmitted to the one or more selected user equipments.

[0047] The one or more user devices may be selected based on location criteria.

[0048] The request to broadcast a wake-up signal may include information to be used in the wake-up signal.

[0049] The network node may be one of the following:

[0050] Base station,

[0051] satellite.

[0052] According to various but not necessarily all examples of the present disclosure, a method may be provided, comprising:

[0053] broadcasting a signal indicative of one or more position criteria;

[0054] using the received responses to the broadcast signal to select one or more user devices to broadcast a wake-up signal; and

[0055] A request to broadcast the wake-up signal is transmitted, wherein the request is transmitted to one or more selected user devices.

[0056] According to various but not necessarily all examples of the present disclosure, a computer program may be provided, which includes instructions that, when executed by a network node, cause the network node to at least perform the following operations:

[0057] broadcasting a signal indicative of one or more position criteria;

[0058] using the received responses to the broadcast signal to select one or more user devices for broadcasting a wake-up signal; and

[0059] A request to broadcast the wake-up signal is transmitted, wherein the request is transmitted to one or more selected user devices.

[0060] According to various but not necessarily all examples of the present disclosure, a network node may be provided, comprising:

[0061] Means for broadcasting a wake-up signal, wherein the wake-up signal includes information identifying a device or a type of device and instructions to perform one or more actions in response to the wake-up signal.

[0062] The wake-up signal may be modulated such that the wake-up signal may be received by an on-off keying receiver.

[0063] The wake-up signal may be broadcast using fixed radio resources.

[0064] The wake-up signal may be repeated throughout the discontinuous reception period.

[0065] Although the above examples and optional features of the present disclosure are described separately, it should be understood that their provision in all possible combinations and arrangements is included in the present disclosure. It should be understood that various examples of the present disclosure may include any or all features described with respect to other examples of the present disclosure, and vice versa. In addition, it should be understood that any one or more or all features in any combination may be implemented / included in / executable by devices, methods and / or computer program instructions as needed and appropriate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0066] Some examples will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0067] Figure 1 An example network is shown;

[0068] Figures 2A to 2C An example method is shown;

[0069] Figure 3 An example method is shown;

[0070] Figure 4 An example method is shown;

[0071] Figure 5 An example method is shown;

[0072] Figure 6 An example method is shown;

[0073] Figure 7 An example method is shown;

[0074] Fig. 8A and 8B An example device with a low-power receiver is shown;

[0075] Fig. 9 Multi-carrier on-off keying signal generation is shown;

[0076] Fig.10 The on-off keying signal inside the OFDM symbol is shown;

[0077] Fig.11 An on-off keying receiver is shown;

[0078] Fig.12 An on-off keying receiver is shown; and

[0079] Fig.13 An example controller is shown.

[0080] The drawings are not necessarily to scale. For clarity and brevity, certain features and views of the drawings may be shown schematically or in scale. For example, to aid in explanation, the dimensions of certain elements in the drawings may be exaggerated relative to other elements. Corresponding reference numerals are used in the drawings to indicate corresponding features. For clarity, not all reference numerals must be shown in all drawings.

[0081] definition

[0082] 3GPP Standardization Organization

[0083] ADC Analog-to-Digital Converter

[0084] BPF Band Pass Filter

[0085] BW Bandwidth

[0086] DFT Direct Fourier Transform

[0087] FSK Frequency Shift Keying

[0088] gNB 5G base station

[0089] IF Intermediate Frequency

[0090] IFFT Inverse Fast Fourier Transform

[0091] ISI Inter-symbol interference

[0092] LNA Low Noise Amplifier

[0093] LPF Low Pass Filter

[0094] LR Low Power Radio

[0095] MC-OOK Multi-Carrier OOK

[0096] MR Master Radio

[0097] NR New Radio

[0098] NTN Non-Terrestrial Network

[0099] OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing

[0100] OOK On / Off Keying

[0101] RE Resource Element

[0102] RF

[0103] RRC Radio Resource Control

[0104] SCS subcarrier spacing

[0105] SIB System Information Broadcast

[0106] UE User Equipment

[0107] WUR Wake-up Receiver

[0108] WUS wake-up signal DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0109] Figure 1 An example of a network 100 such as a 5G NR network is shown. The network 100 includes a plurality of user equipments (UEs) 110 and a plurality of network entities 120, 130. The network entities 120, 130 may include one or more network nodes 120 that may be configured to communicate with the UEs 110. The network entities may also include one or more core network devices 130. The one or more core network devices 130 communicate with the network nodes 120. In some examples, the one or more core network devices 130 communicate with the UEs 110. The network 100 may also include one or more devices 140. The device 140 may not include a primary radio device, or may include a primary radio device that is in an off state. The device 140 may include a low power receiver that may be configured to receive a wake-up signal.

[0110] In some examples, one or more core network devices 130 may communicate with each other. In some examples, one or more network nodes 120 may communicate with each other.

[0111] The network 100 may be a cellular network comprising a plurality of cells 122, each cell being served by a network node 120. In this example, the interface between the UE 110 and the network node 120 defining the cells 122 is a wireless interface 124.

[0112] The network node 120 includes one or more cellular radio transceivers. The UE 110 includes one or more cellular radio transceivers. The cellular radio transceiver may include a main radio for the UE 110. The device 140 may include one or more cellular radio transceivers, but these transceivers may be powered in an off state so that the device 140 does not receive signals via the wireless interface 124.

[0113] In the example shown, the cellular network 100 is a third generation partnership project (3GPP) network. The network node 120 may be an access node such as a base station (gNB) or other type. The network node 120 may be a network entity responsible for radio transmission and reception to or from the UE 110 in one or more cells. In some examples, the network node 120 may include a satellite such as a non-terrestrial network (NTN) satellite.

[0114] The term "UE" is used to designate a mobile device that includes a smart card for authentication / encryption, such as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). In some examples, the term "user equipment" is used to designate a mobile device that includes circuitry for authentication / encryption embedded as part of the user equipment, such as a software SIM.

[0115] Core network device 130 may be part of a core network. Core network device 130 may be configured to manage functions related to connection for UE 110. For example, core network device 130 may be configured to manage functions such as connection, mobility, authentication, authorization, and / or other suitable functions.

[0116] exist Figure 1 In the example of FIG. 1 , core network device 130 is shown as a single entity. In some examples, core network device 130 may be distributed across multiple entities. For example, core network device 130 may be cloud-based or distributed in any other suitable manner.

[0117] The network 100 may be, for example, a 4G or 5G network. For example, it may be a new air interface (NR) network using a gNB or an eNB as a network node 120. The new air interface is the 3GPP name for 5G technology. In such a case, the network node 120 may include a gNodeB (gNB) 120, which is configured to provide user plane and control plane protocol terminations to the UE 110 and / or perform any other suitable functions. The network nodes 120 are interconnected to each other by means of an X2 / Xn interface 126. The network node 120 is also connected to a core network device 130 by means of an N2 interface 128. Other types of networks and interfaces may be used in other examples. Other types of networks may include next generation mobile and communication networks, such as 6G networks.

[0118] In some use case scenarios, it may be useful to instruct one or more devices 140 to perform one or more actions. For example, if the devices 140 are part of an emergency response device, they may be instructed to perform actions that may help locate the device 140 or otherwise facilitate providing rescue or warning. The actions that may be performed in such cases may be to transmit a signal or provide other types of outputs that may be detected by nearby devices. In some examples, the devices 140 may be sensing devices. In such examples, it may be useful to instruct the sensing devices to take one or more measurements and / or report the measurements.

[0119] Device 140 may be a low-power device that does not have a main radio or that is turned off. In addition, device 140 may not be within network coverage. This means that ordinary cellular signals cannot be used to control device 140. Therefore, examples of the present disclosure enable such a device 140 to be contacted and instructed to perform one or more actions by using a low-power wake-up signal that can be detected without a main radio.

[0120] Figures 2A to 2C An example method is shown that can be used in examples of the present disclosure.

[0121] Figure 2A An example method that may be implemented by device 140 is shown. Device 140 may be a device having a low power receiver and not having a primary radio. In some examples, device 140 may include a primary radio that is turned off or placed in a sleep mode. Fig. 8A and 8B An example device that may be used as device 140 is shown.

[0122] In some examples, device 140 may be part of a more complex device, or integrated into another product. In some examples, device 140 may be integrated into a wearable product such as a life jacket or wristband or other tag that a user may wear or attach to any suitable entity.

[0123] In some examples, device 140 may be an emergency device. The emergency device may be used to help find a user or entity associated with the emergency device, or provide other assistance or warnings to the user or entity. The emergency device may be a piece of clothing or a portion of clothing, or a tag attached to the user or other item associated with the user.

[0124] In some examples, device 140 may be a sensing device. The sensing device may be located in a remote location so it may not have access to network 100, or may be a very low-power device that does not have a main radio. The sensing device may include one or more sensors that can measure environmental parameters and may be used to monitor weather conditions or other environmental conditions.

[0125] In some examples, device 140 may include a positioning device. The positioning device may be used to determine the location of a user of the device. This may be used to help locate lost items, such as people or items.

[0126] In some examples, device 140 may include an Internet of Things device or any other suitable type of device.

[0127] exist Figure 2A In an example of , the method includes placing the device 140 in a low power state at block 200. The low power state may be a state in which the low power receiver is arranged to receive a wake-up signal WUS, but in which other components of the device 140 are turned off or arranged in a sleep mode so that they reduce power consumption. For example, if the device 140 includes a main radio device, the main radio device may be set to an off state in the low power state. The main radio device and the low power receiver may be separated from each other because they may operate independently of each other. The off state may be a state in which the main radio device does not receive or transmit a signal. The off state may be a state in which the main radio device is completely turned off or in a sleep mode.

[0128] If device 140 includes components for performing one or more actions, these components may be turned off or placed in a sleep mode when device 140 is placed in a low power state. The components for performing one or more actions may be output devices, such as speakers or light sources. In some examples, the components for performing one or more actions may include sensors or any other suitable devices.

[0129] At block 202, the method includes receiving a wake-up signal. The wake-up signal may be received using a low power receiver operable in a low power state.

[0130] The wake-up signal includes information identifying a device or a type of device, and instructions to perform one or more actions in response to the wake-up signal.

[0131] The wake-up signal may be modulated so that the wake-up signal can be received by a low power receiver. In some examples, the wake-up signal may be modulated so that it can be received by an on-off keying (OOK) receiver. The wake-up signal need not use OOK. For example, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or other types of modulation may be used to simulate OOK.

[0132] At block 204 , the method includes determining whether the wake-up signal is intended for device 104 based on information in the wake-up signal identifying device 140 or a type of device 140 .

[0133] At block 206, the method includes performing one or more actions indicated in the wake-up signal based on the determination. If it is determined that the wake-up signal is intended for device 140, the one or more actions may be performed. If it is determined that the wake-up signal is not intended for device 140, the one or more actions are not performed.

[0134] Device 140 may transition from a low power state to a high power state to enable device 140 to perform one or more actions. As an example, the action performed at block 206 may be transmitting a wake-up confirmation signal. To enable transmission of the wake-up confirmation signal, device 140 may be transitioned out of a low power state by turning on a main radio of device 140, thereby enabling transmission of the wake-up confirmation signal.

[0135] The wake-up confirmation signal may be used to indicate that the wake-up signal has been received by device 140. In some examples, the wake-up confirmation signal may include an indication of the location of device 140 and / or an indication that device 140 has initiated one or more actions as indicated in the wake-up signal. The wake-up confirmation signal may be modulated using OOK or any other suitable type of modulation and may be transmitted by the primary radio.

[0136] In some examples, other components of device 140 may transition from a closed or sleep state to an active state in which actions may be performed. For example, an output device or sensor may be set to an active mode so that the appropriate function is performed.

[0137] In some examples, the method may include Figure 2A . For example, device 140 may receive one or more signals in response to performing one or more actions. The response signal may indicate that one or more actions performed by device 140 have been observed. For example, if a wake-up confirmation signal is transmitted, any device that receives this signal may respond to indicate that the wake-up confirmation signal has been received. If the actions performed by device 140 include other outputs, such as light or sound, any device that detects these may transmit signals to indicate that they have been detected.

[0138] The response signal may also provide additional information, such as the location of nearby devices, a timestamp, an expected arrival time of rescuers or other help, or any other suitable information.

[0139] Figure 2B An example method that may be implemented by UE 110 is shown. UE device 110 may be a device having a low power receiver and a main radio device and / or may be any other suitable type of device. UE 110 may be a smartphone or other communication device. UE 110 may be configured to communicate with a user in a manner such as Figure 1 The network 100 communicates within such a network 100.

[0140] exist Figure 2B In the example method of , at block 210, it is determined whether UE 110 satisfies one or more location criteria.

[0141] In some examples, the location criteria may be indicated in a broadcast signal received by the UE 110. The broadcast signal may be broadcast by a gNB or any other suitable network node 120.

[0142] The location criteria may be used to identify UEs 110 that are located in the same geographic area as the device 140 to be awakened. The geographic area may be determined based on a known or estimated location of the device 140 that is the intended recipient of the wake-up signal.

[0143] At block 212, the method includes broadcasting a wake-up signal. The wake-up signal is broadcast based on a determination of whether the UE 110 meets the location criteria. That is, if the UE 110 meets the location criteria, the wake-up signal is broadcast. If the UE 110 does not meet the location criteria, the wake-up signal is not broadcast.

[0144] The wake-up signal includes information identifying the device or type of device, and instructions to perform one or more actions in response to the wake-up signal.

[0145] The wake-up signal may be modulated so that the wake-up signal can be received by a low power receiver. In some examples, the wake-up signal may be modulated so that it can be received by an on-off keying (OOK) receiver. The wake-up signal need not use OOK. For example, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or other types of modulation may be used to simulate OOK.

[0146] The method performed by UE 110 may include Figure 2B . For example, in some examples, UE 110 may receive a request to broadcast a wake-up signal. The wake-up signal may be broadcast in response to such a request. The request to broadcast the wake-up signal may be received in response to UE 110 confirming that it meets one or more location criteria. For example, if at box 210, the UE determines that it meets the location criteria, the UE 110 may transmit an indication thereof to a network node 120, such as a gNB. The network node 120 may then select an appropriate UE to broadcast the wake-up signal and may send a request to the selected UE 110.

[0147] The request to broadcast a wake-up signal may include information identifying the device 140 or type of device 140 to which the wake-up signal is directed, and instructions for the device 140 to perform one or more actions. At least some of this information may then be used for the wake-up signal.

[0148] In some examples, if device 140 receives the wake-up signal and performs one or more actions as indicated, then UE 110 may observe the one or more actions. In such a case, UE 110 may transmit a signal to device 140 indicating that the one or more actions have been observed. Such a signal may also provide other information, such as the location of nearby devices, a timestamp, an expected arrival time of rescuers or other assistance, or any other suitable information.

[0149] In some examples, the wake-up signal may be broadcast automatically without any input from a user of UE 110. In such a case, if UE 110 meets the location criteria, UE 110 may transmit the wake-up signal without any input to user 110. In other examples, the wake-up signal may be broadcast in response to user input. In such a case, UE 110 may include means for detecting user input and enabling the wake-up signal to be broadcast in response to the detected user input. The means for detecting user input may include any suitable type of user interface. This may enable the user to control whether and when the wake-up signal is broadcast.

[0150] exist Figure 2B In the example of , UE 110 may be configured to broadcast the wake-up signal directly to device 140. In other examples, one or more intervening UEs 110 may be used to relay the wake-up signal to device 140.

[0151] For example, a wake-up signal transmitted by a UE 110 may be detected by another UE 110. The UE 110 may then use the information identifying the device or device type to determine whether the wake-up signal is intended for the UE 110. In such a case, the UE 110 is not the device 140 to which the wake-up signal is intended. Therefore, the UE 110 may broadcast the wake-up signal instead of performing one or more actions indicated in the wake-up signal. This may enable a UE 110 that meets the location criteria but has not received a request from the network node 120 to broadcast a wake-up signal to broadcast the wake-up signal. For example, this may enable a UE 110 outside of a cell coverage area to broadcast a wake-up signal.

[0152] Figure 2C An example method is shown that may be implemented by a network node 120. The network node 120 may be a base station such as a gNB, a satellite such as a non-terrestrial network (NTN) satellite, or any other suitable type of device.

[0153] At block 220, the method includes broadcasting a signal indicating one or more location criteria. The location criteria may be used to identify UEs 110 located in the same geographic region as the device 140 to be awakened. The geographic region may be determined based on a known or estimated location of the device 140 that is the intended recipient of the wake-up signal.

[0154] At block 222, the method includes using the received responses to the broadcast signal to select one or more UEs 110 for broadcasting a wake-up signal. The one or more UEs 110 may be selected based on location criteria and / or any other suitable criteria. For example, if the UEs 110 are located within an area defined by the network node 120, they may be selected.

[0155] If the network node 120 does not obtain responses from enough UEs 110 that meet the location criteria, the network node 120 may redefine the location criteria. For example, the size of the area defined by the location criteria may be increased until a sufficient number of UEs 110 have been selected.

[0156] At block 224 , the method includes transmitting a request to broadcast a wake-up signal, wherein the request is transmitted to one or more selected UEs 110 .

[0157] The request to broadcast a wake-up signal may include information to be used in the wake-up signal and any other suitable information. The information used in the wake-up signal may include information identifying a device or device type and instructions to perform one or more actions in response to the wake-up signal.

[0158] exist Figure 2C In the example of FIG. 1 , the network node 120 can cause the wake-up signal to be broadcasted to the device 140 via one or more intermediary devices such as the UE 110 .

[0159] In some examples, the network node 120 may broadcast the wake-up signal itself. In such a case, the wake-up signal includes information identifying the device or device type and instructions to perform one or more actions in response to the wake-up signal. The wake-up signal may be modulated so that the wake-up signal can be received by an on-off keying receiver. The wake-up signal may be broadcast using fixed radio resources. The wake-up signal may be repeated throughout the discontinuous reception period.

[0160] Figure 3 An example method that can be used in certain use case scenarios is shown. In such a case, device 140 is within the coverage of a wake-up signal (WUS) transmitted by gNB 120.

[0161] like Figure 2A In the example implementation of block 200 in FIG. 1 , device 140 may be any suitable apparatus or device placed in a low power state.

[0162] In some examples, the low power state can be a state in which the low power receiver is turned on and is able to receive WUS signals. In some examples, when device 140 is in the low power state, the main radio or higher power receiver is turned off. When the main radio is turned off, the main radio cannot receive signals from gNB 120 or other wireless devices.

[0163] In some examples, device 140 may include only a low-power receiver, and may not include any other receivers or radios.

[0164] In some examples, the low power state may include a state in which other components of device 140 are in a low power mode. Output devices such as lights, displays, or speakers may be turned off or inactive. When device 140 is in a low power state, a processor or controller of device 140 may be in an idle state or sleep mode.

[0165] At block 300, gNB 120 broadcasts WUS. Figure 2A In the example implementation of block 202 , the WUS may be received by the device 140 .

[0166] In some examples, if the gNB 120 satisfies the location criteria, the gNB 120 will broadcast the WUS. The location criteria may define an area, and the gNB 120 may satisfy the location criteria if the gNB 120 is located within the area and / or if the WUS signal transmitted by the gNB 120 may be received within the area. For example, an expected location of one or more devices 140 may be determined, and an area of ​​the location criteria may be defined to include the expected location. The expected location may be estimated based on the last known location of the device 140, a trajectory of the device 140, or any other suitable information.

[0167] The WUS includes information identifying the device 140 or the type of device 140. In some examples, the WUS may include information uniquely identifying a specific device 140. If the WUS is for a single entity, it may be used. For example, if a person has gone missing and the WUS is to contact devices associated with the single person, it may be used.

[0168] In some examples, the WUS may include information identifying the type of device. This may be used if the gNB is to contact multiple devices 140 and / or if the identity of a single device is not known. This may be used, for example, if a group of people have gone missing but multiple people in the group are associated with one type of device. For example, if the people are wearing life jackets equipped with devices 140, or if they have other emergency equipment that includes devices 140.

[0169] The WUS also includes instructions for device 140 to perform one or more actions in response to receiving the WUS.

[0170] In some examples, the WUS may include parameters as shown in Table 1.

[0171] Table 1

[0172]

[0173]

[0174] When device 140 receives a WUS, device 140 may determine whether the WUS is intended for device 140, such as Figure 2A Device 140 may use information included in the WUS that identifies device 140 or the type of device 140 to determine whether the WUS is for device 140. Device 140 may compare the information included in the WUS that identifies device 140 or the type of device 140 with the identity or type of device 140.

[0175] If it is determined that the WUS is for device 140, then at block 302, device 140 performs one or more actions indicated in the WUS, such as Figure 2A An example implementation of block 206. If it is determined that the WUS is not intended for device 140, then device 140 does not perform one or more actions.

[0176] In some examples, device 140 may transition from a low-power state to a high-power state to enable device 140 to perform one or more actions. This may enable device 140 to emit an output such as a noise or light, or may enable device 140 to transmit a response to a WUS, or may enable any other suitable type of action to be performed.

[0177] If it is determined that the WUS is not intended for device 140, device 140 may remain in the low power state and not transition to the high power state.

[0178] Figure 4 Another example method that may be used in certain use case scenarios is shown. In such a case, device 140 is not within the coverage of the WUS transmitted by gNB 120. In such a case, the WUS may be transmitted by UE 110. UE 110 may be a device carried by a rescue team or any other suitable type of device. UE 110 may be carried to an area outside of network coverage, such as a cave or a remote area such as a mountain range.

[0179] Device 140 may be any suitable device or apparatus configured in a low power state, such as Figure 2A The device 140 may be as follows: Figure 3 As described.

[0180] At block 400, if Figure 2B In the example implementation of block 212, UE 110 broadcasts WUS. Figure 2A In an example implementation of block 202 , device 140 may receive a WUS.

[0181] UE 110 may broadcast a WUS in response to any suitable triggering event. In some examples, the triggering event may include a determination that UE 110 meets location criteria. The location criteria may define an area, and if UE 110 is located within the defined area and / or if the WUS signal broadcast by UE 110 can be received within the defined area, then UE 110 may meet the location criteria. For example, an expected location of one or more devices 140 may be determined, and an area of ​​the location criteria may be defined to include the expected location. The expected location may be estimated based on the last known location of device 140, a trajectory of device 140, or any other suitable information.

[0182] In some examples, the triggering event may include user input. For example, UE 110 may be configured to detect user input and transmit the WUS in response to the detected user input. The user input may be performed using any suitable type of user interface such as a touch screen, a keyboard, a button, voice activation, or any other suitable type of user input.

[0183] The WUS includes information identifying the device 140 or a type of device. The information identifying the device 140 or a type of device may be as described above.

[0184] The WUS also includes instructions for device 140 to perform one or more actions in response to receiving the WUS. When device 140 receives the WUS, device 140 may determine whether the WUS is intended for device 140. This may be Figure 2A The implementation examples of the middle frame 204 are as described above.

[0185] The WUS may include the parameters shown above in Table 1 and / or any other suitable parameters.

[0186] If it is determined that the WUS is intended for device 140, then device 140 performs one or more actions indicated in the WUS at block 402. If it is determined that the WUS is not intended for device 140, then device 140 does not perform the one or more actions.

[0187] Figure 5 Another example method that can be used in certain use case scenarios is shown. In such a case, device 140 is outside of network coverage, but gNB 120 can instruct one or more UEs 110 to broadcast a WUS. Figure 2A In an example implementation of block 200 in FIG. 1 , device 140 may be in a low power state.

[0188] At block 500, gNB 120 broadcasts a signal to one or more UEs 110, such as Figure 2C An example of an implementation of block 220 in FIG. Figure 5 Only one UE 110 is shown in the example of FIG, but in other examples, any number of UEs 110 may receive the broadcast signal.

[0189] The broadcast signal may be used to discover candidate UEs 110 that may be used to broadcast the WUS. This may enable UE 110 to be used to relay the WUS to device 140.

[0190] Any suitable type of signal may be used as a broadcast signal. In some examples, the signal may be a system information broadcast (SIB) signal. The signal may be a SIBx signal. The SIBx signal may include parameters as shown in Table 2 and / or any other suitable parameters. The reference numeral x may indicate a new SIB message, or a parameter may be added to a new SIBs message.

[0191] Table 2

[0192]

[0193] The geographic area defined in the broadcast signal may be determined by a known location of device 140 or an expected location of device 140 .

[0194] At block 502, if Figure 2C In an implementation example of block 222 of , gNB 120 may select one or more UEs 110 to broadcast the WUS. At block 500, gNB 120 may select UE 110 for transmitting the WUS based on a received response to the signal broadcast. For example, if UE 110 receives a broadcast signal, UE 110 may transmit a response to the broadcast signal. In some examples, the response may establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection. The location of UE 110 may be reported during the setup of the RRC connection. gNB 120 may select UE 110 for broadcasting the WUS based on the location of UE 110 and / or any other suitable criteria.

[0195] At block 504, Figure 2C In an example implementation of block 224 of , gNB 120 transmits a request to broadcast a WUS to the selected UE 110. Figure 5 One UE 110 is shown in FIG. 1 , but any number of UEs 110 may be selected in other examples.

[0196] The request to broadcast WUS may be an RRC signal or any other suitable type of signal. In some examples, the request to broadcast WUS may be an RRCEmergentWake-upReq (RRC emergency wake-up request). RRCEmergentWake-upReq may include parameters as shown in Table 3 and / or any other suitable parameters.

[0197] Table 3

[0198]

[0199] The relay parameters may enable the request to broadcast a WUS to be forwarded from a UE 110 to one or more other UEs 110. For example, if a UE 110 that does not meet the location criteria receives a request to broadcast a WUS, the broadcast WUS request may be forwarded to one or more other UEs 110. The request may be forwarded using a PC5 (sidelink) interface or any other suitable means.

[0200] The request to broadcast the WUS may also include information indicating actions for device 140 to perform when it receives the WUS. UE 110 may then forward this information in the WUS.

[0201] At block 506, if Figure 2B In an example implementation of block 210 of , UE 110 determines whether it is in an indicated geographic area for broadcasting a WUS. For example, UE 110 may determine whether it meets location criteria.

[0202] If UE 110 is within the indicated geographic area, UE 110 will broadcast a WUS at block 508, such as Figure 2B If the UE 110 is not in the indicated geographic area, the UE 110 does not broadcast or otherwise transmit a WUS.

[0203] The WUS broadcast at block 508 may be as described above. When device 140 receives the WUS, device 140 may begin to perform one or more actions indicated in the WUS at block 510, such as Figure 2A An example of an implementation of blocks 202 to 206 of FIG.

[0204] Figure 6 Another example method that can be used in certain use case scenarios is shown. In such a case, device 140 is outside of network coverage, but the gNB can instruct one or more NTN satellites to broadcast WUS. In this example, device 140 can receive WUS directly from the NTN satellite.

[0205] At block 600, the gNB 120 transmits a request to broadcast a WUS to the NTN satellite. Figure 6One NTN satellite is shown in FIG, but any number of NTN satellites may be selected in other examples.

[0206] The request to broadcast WUS may be an RRC signal or any other suitable type of signal. In some examples, the request to broadcast WUS may be an RRCEmergentWake-upReq. The RRCEmergentWake-upReq may include parameters as shown in Table 3 above and / or any other suitable parameters.

[0207] The request to broadcast the WUS may also include information indicating actions to be performed by device 140 upon receipt of the WUS. This information may then be forwarded by the NTN satellite in the WUS.

[0208] The request to broadcast the WUS may also include information indicating the geographic area in which the WUS is to be broadcast. This area may be based on the expected location of device 140.

[0209] At block 602, the NTN may determine a geographic area for the WUS. The NTN may determine whether it can cover the indicated geographic area for broadcasting the WUS. For example, the NTN may determine a beam for covering the geographic area indicated in the request.

[0210] If the NTN can cover the indicated geographic area for broadcasting the WUS, then at block 604, the NTN satellite broadcasts the WUS using an appropriate beam.

[0211] The WUS broadcast at block 604 may be as described above. When device 140 receives the WUS, device 140 may begin to perform one or more actions as indicated in the WUS at block 606, such as Figure 2A An example of an implementation of blocks 202 to 206 of FIG.

[0212] When NTN satellites are used to broadcast signals, there may be severe Doppler shifts. For low earth orbit satellites, such shifts can exceed 20kHz. To address this issue, NTN satellites can pre-compensate the broadcast WUS for a geographic area. In some examples, the modulation used for the WUS can be selected to accommodate large Doppler shifts.

[0213] Figure 7 shows another example method that can be used in some use case scenarios. This use case is similar to Figure 6 In the case of a use case of , this is because the device 140 is outside the network coverage, and the gNB may instruct one or more NTN satellites to broadcast the WUS. However, in such a case, the NTN satellite may send the WUS via one or more UEs 110.

[0214] At block 700, gNB 120 transmits a request to broadcast a WUS to the NTN satellite. Figure 7 One NTN satellite is shown in FIG, but any number of NTN satellites may be selected in other examples.

[0215] The request to broadcast WUS may be an RRC signal or any other suitable type of signal. In some examples, the request to broadcast WUS may be an RRCEmergentWake-upReq. The RRCEmergentWake-upReq may include parameters as shown in Table 3 above and / or any other suitable parameters.

[0216] The request to broadcast the WUS may also include a parameter indicating that the WUS may be relayed from the NTN satellite to the device 140 by one or more UEs.

[0217] At block 702, Figure 2C In an example implementation of block 220 in FIG. 1 , an NTN satellite broadcasts a signal to one or more UEs 110. Figure 7 Only one UE 110 is shown in the example of FIG, but in other examples, any number of UEs 110 may receive the broadcast signal.

[0218] The broadcast signal may be used to discover candidate UEs 110 that may be used to broadcast the WUS. This may enable the UE 110 to be used to relay the WUS from the NTN satellite to the device 140.

[0219] Any suitable type of signal may be used as a broadcast signal. In some examples, the signal may be a system information broadcast (SIB) signal. The signal may be a SIBx signal. The SIBx signal may include parameters as shown in Table 2 above and / or any other suitable parameters.

[0220] The geographic area defined in the broadcast signal may be determined by the expected location of device 140 or any other relevant factors.

[0221] At block 704, as Figure 2C In an implementation example of block 222 of , the NTN satellite may select one or more UEs 110 for broadcasting the WUS. At block 702, the NTN satellite may select UE 110 for broadcasting the WUS based on a received response to a signal broadcast. For example, if UE 110 receives a broadcast signal, UE 110 may transmit a response to the broadcast signal. In some examples, the response may establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection. The location of UE 110 may be reported during the setup of the RRC connection. The NTN satellite may select UE 110 to broadcast the WUS based on the location of UE 110 and / or any other suitable criteria.

[0222] At block 706, if Figure 2C In an example implementation of block 224 of FIG. 1 , the NTN satellite transmits a request to broadcast a WUS to the selected UE 110. Figure 7 One UE 110 is shown in FIG. 1 , but any number of UEs 110 may be selected in other examples.

[0223] The request to broadcast WUS may be an RRC signal or any other suitable type of signal. In some examples, the request to broadcast WUS may be an RRCEmergentWake-upReq. RRCEmergentWake-upReq may include the parameters shown in Table 3 above and / or may include any other suitable parameters.

[0224] The request to broadcast the WUS may also include information indicating actions for device 140 to perform when it receives the WUS. UE 110 may then forward this information in the WUS.

[0225] At block 708, if Figure 2B In an implementation example of block 210 in FIG. 1 , UE 110 determines whether it is in the indicated geographic area for broadcasting the WUS. For example, UE 110 may determine whether it meets location criteria.

[0226] If UE 110 is within the indicated geographic area, then Figure 2B 212 of the embodiment, UE 110 will broadcast a WUS at block 710. If UE 110 is not in the indicated geographic area, UE 110 does not broadcast or otherwise transmit a WUS.

[0227] The WUS broadcast at block 710 may be as described above. When device 140 receives the WUS, device 140 may determine whether the WUS is intended for device 140, and at block 712, determine whether the WUS is intended for device 140. Figure 2A 202 to 206 of the embodiment of the invention, start to perform one or more actions indicated in the WUS

[0228] Figures 3 to 7 The examples of show various examples where a WUS can be broadcast to device 140 even if device 140 is out of network coverage. This can be used to trigger emergency or recovery actions at device 140, or to provide a warning. For example, it can be used to find a person or something that has gone missing. This can be achieved by using a low power and low cost receiver that can be integrated into different types of devices. Different types of devices can be electronic devices that can have a main radio that can be turned off to save power and / or devices that do not have a main radio.

[0229] Examples of the present disclosure may also be used for other use cases. For example, they may be used to activate a sensing device when the sensing device is not within network coverage and / or for any other suitable purpose.

[0230] The actions that the device 140 can perform can be determined by the instructions in the WUS. In an example of the device 140 of the present disclosure being used for rescue or providing emergency assistance, the device 140 can be configured to provide a beacon that can be used to help find the device 140. The beacon can be a light, an acoustic signal, an RF signal, or any other suitable type of signal.

[0231] In some examples, the action may be transmitting a response to the WUS. The response may be transmitted by a master radio device that is converted from an off state (or a sleep state) to an on state in response to receiving the WUS. The transmitted response may include information related to the location of the device 140. In some examples, the transmitted response may include an indication of an action that has been performed in response to receiving the WUS. In some examples, the response signal may include a PC5EmergencyWake-upCnf signal or any other suitable type of signal. The PC5EmergencyWake-upCnf signal may include the parameters shown in Table 4 and / or may include any other suitable parameters.

[0232] Table 4

[0233]

[0234]

[0235] In examples where device 140 transmits a response signal, the response may be detected by UE 110 or any other suitable means.

[0236] UE 110 or other device may transmit a signal indicating that it has observed one or more actions performed by device 140. For example, UE 110 may detect a response signal, an audio signal, a light, or any other suitable observable action emitted by device 140. When UE 110 or other device observes an action, UE 110 or other device may transmit a signal to device 140 indicating that the action has been observed.

[0237] In some examples, the response signal may include WUSEmergencyActionObservedRsp (WUS Emergency Action Observed Response). WUSEmergencyActionObservedRsp may include parameters as shown in Table 5 and / or any other suitable type of parameters.

[0238] Table 5

[0239]

[0240] Fig. 8A and 8B An example apparatus 800 is shown having a low power receiver 802 and a primary radio 804. The apparatus 800 may be a device 140 as described above. In other examples, the apparatus 800 may be a UE 110 or any other suitable type of apparatus. Fig. 8A In the example of FIG. 8 , the device 800 is placed in a low power state and in Figure 8B In the example device 800 is placed in a high power state.

[0241] The device 800 includes a low power receiver 802 and a main radio 804. The device 800 may also include Fig. 8A and 8B For example, if the apparatus 800 is a device 140, it may include a component capable of performing one or more actions in response to the WUS. The component may include a light, a speaker, or any other suitable component.

[0242] The low power receiver 802 is configured so that it can operate in an always-on manner with very low power consumption. Compared to the power consumption of the main radio 804, the power consumption of the low power receiver 802 can be very low.

[0243] The low power receiver 802 may be configured to receive the WUS. The low power receiver 802 may be configured so that the only signal it can receive is the WUS. This may be configured by the design of the WUS or by the hardware of the device 800. The low power receiver 802 may not receive signals that may be received by the network 100 (such as Figure 1 Signals such as NR are transmitted by a wireless interface in the network 100 shown.

[0244] The primary radio 804 may be configured to receive signals such as NR signals, which may be received by a receiver such as a Figure 1 The network 100 shown is used to transmit via a wireless interface in the network 100.

[0245] In such Fig. 8A In the low power state shown in , the main radio device 804 is set to an off mode to save power. In some examples, the main radio device 804 can be in a sleep mode or a deep sleep mode. When the main radio device 804 is in the off state or sleep mode, the main radio device 804 does not receive or transmit any network signals such as NR signals.

[0246] The low power receiver 802 is configured to detect a WUS. When no WUS is received, the device 800 will remain in the low power state.

[0247] In response to receiving a WUS by a low-power receiver, the device 800 may be switched from a low-power state (eg, Fig. 8A ) to a high power state (as shown in Figure 8B ). The WUS may be an emergency WUS as described above.

[0248] In the high power state, the primary radio device 804 is set to an on mode. When the primary radio device 804 is in the on state, the primary radio device 804 can receive or transmit network signals such as NR signals.

[0249] Once the apparatus 800 is placed in the high power state, the apparatus 800 may perform other actions. For example, if the apparatus 800 is a device 140, the device 140 may perform actions such as those indicated in the WUS, which may be transmitting a signal using the primary radio 804, or performing other actions such as emitting a light or audio alarm.

[0250] In examples of the present disclosure, the WUS signal may be modulated so that it can be received by an OOK receiver. In some examples, the WUS may be modulated using OFDM to mimic OOK. For example, a group of subcarriers may be switched ON / OFF for each OFDM symbol. This may be referred to as multi-carrier OOK (MC-OOK) because multiple carriers are turned on and off.

[0251] The low power receiver of the device 140 or any other device 800 that can detect the WUS can be arranged to detect the symbol by detecting the signal power after filtering the relevant subcarriers. Some protection subcarriers can be used. The number of protection subcarriers used will determine the order of the filters used. Manchester encoding or other suitable encoding formats can be applied to the transmitted symbols. The encoding ensures that the DC level of the transmitted WUS is constant. The constant DC level enables the receiving device to compare the detected power with a threshold value, where the threshold value is equal to the average power level.

[0252] The OOK signal may be divided into OFDM symbol OOK or DFT (Direct Fourier Transform)-s-OFDM based OOK.

[0253] For OFDM symbol OOK, the ON / OFF is performed at the symbol rate. The entire bandwidth (BW) is used to transmit a portion of the Manchester coded bits. OFDM symbol OOK is robust to frequency selective fading, but does not fully utilize the useful spectrum.

[0254] OOK based on DFT-s-OFDM involves DFT spreading using an M-point DFT before a final M<<N-point inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT). This allows multiple OOK symbols or multiple ON / OFF durations of OOK symbols to be transmitted in an OFDM symbol depending on the BW of the WUS. Therefore, this uses the available spectral efficiency because more bits can be transmitted in an OFDM symbol.

[0255] However, DFT-s-OFDM-based OOK does add complexity. The BW determines the smearing of the ON / OFF signaling, and in rich scattering environments, performance may be affected by inter-symbol interference (ISI). Some of these issues can be addressed by using sufficiently long ON / OFF durations.

[0256] Fig. 9 An example of how to approximate an OOK signal inside an OFDM symbol using DFT-s-OFDM-based OOK is schematically shown. In this example, the required OOK symbol 1000 is upsampled to the required sampling rate. The upsampling factor is given by M / K, where M is the number of subcarriers allocated for WUS and K is the number of OOK ON / OFF symbols per OFDM symbol.

[0257] The OOK symbol 900 is converted to the frequency domain by an M-point DFT 902. The M-point DFT 902 provides as output the resource elements (Res) 904 for the WUS. The REs 1004 and the non-OOK data 1006 are input to the IFFT 908. The IFFT provides as output a time domain signal 910.

[0258] Fig.10 An example of an OOK signal inside an OFDM symbol is shown. In this case, the sequence "1,0,1,0,0,1,1,0" is approximated inside an OFDM symbol.

[0259] The ideal OOK signal would be a square wave, as indicated by curve 1000. The generated OOK signal is the best fit using the M-point DFT method, and is indicated by curve 1002.

[0260] The OOK signal can coexist with other NR signals within the same OFDM symbol because the OOK signal is generated using normal NR subcarriers and SCS.

[0261] Fig.11An example OOK receiver is schematically shown. The OOK receiver includes a matching network 1100, a radio frequency (RF) bandpass filter (BPF) 1102, an RF low noise amplifier (LNA) 1104, a mixer 1106 and a local oscillator (LO) 1108, a baseband (BB) amplifier 1110, a BB low pass filter (LPF) 1112, and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC 1114).

[0262] The OOK receiver is arranged so that the received signal passes through a matching network 1100 before being provided to the RF BPF 1102. The filtered signal is amplified by the LNA 1104 and mixed with the signal from the LO 1108 and then down-converted to the BB or intermediate frequency IF. The down-converted signal passes through the BB LPF 1112 to remove unwanted signals. In some examples, a BPF may be used instead of the BB LPF 1112. The filtered signal is then provided to the ADC 1114 to generate a digital output that can be used for digital BB processing 1116.

[0263] Fig.11 The example receiver shown in uses only a few hardware blocks, namely a low-resolution ACD1114 with a low clock, and it does not use advanced baseband processing. Therefore, the receiver is a very power-efficient receiver.

[0264] Fig.12 Another OOK receiver example is shown schematically. If frequency shift keying (FSK) has been used for modulation of the WUS, then Fig.12 OOK receiver.

[0265] Fig.12 The OOK includes a matching network 1100, a radio frequency (RF) bandpass filter (BPF) 1102, an RF low noise amplifier (LNA) 1104, a mixer 1106 and a local oscillator (LO) 1108, and a baseband (BB) amplifier 1110. These can be Fig.11 As shown and described above.

[0266] The OOK receiver also includes two branches, each of which includes a BB BPF 1112 and an ADC 1114. The BB BPF 1112A in the first branch filter is used for the first frequency f0 and the BBBPF 112B in the first branch filter is used for the second frequency f1. The corresponding filtered signal is then provided to the ADC 1114 to generate a digital output that can be used for digital BB processing 1116.

[0267] Fig.13An example controller 1300 is shown. The controller 1300 may be provided in any suitable apparatus such as device 140, UE 110, or network node 120. An implementation of the controller 1300 may be a controller circuit. The controller 1300 may be implemented solely in hardware, have certain aspects in software including separate firmware, or may be a combination of hardware and software (including firmware).

[0268] like Fig.13 As shown in , the controller 1300 may be implemented using instructions to enable hardware functionality, for example, by using executable instructions of a computer program 1306 in a general or special purpose processor 1302, which may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium (disk, memory, etc.) for execution by such a processor 1302.

[0269] The processor 1302 is configured to read from and write to the memory 1304. The processor 1302 may also include an output interface through which data and / or commands are output by the processor 1302 and an input interface through which data and / or commands are input by the processor 1302.

[0270] The memory 1304 stores a computer program 1306, which includes computer program instructions (computer program code) that control the operation of the controller 1300 when loaded into the processor 1302. The computer program instructions of the computer program 1306 provide logic and routines that enable the device to perform the methods shown in the various figures. The processor 1302 can load and execute the computer program 1306 by reading the memory 1304.

[0271] Thus, the controller 1300 includes: at least one processor 1302; and at least one memory 1304 storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor 1302, cause the device 140 to at least perform:

[0272] placing the device 140 in a low power state 200;

[0273] receiving 202 a wake-up signal, wherein the wake-up signal is received using a low power receiver operable in a low power state and the wake-up signal includes information identifying a device or a type of device and instructions to perform one or more actions in response to the wake-up signal;

[0274] determining 204 whether the wake-up signal is intended for device 140 based on information identifying the device or device type in the wake-up signal; and

[0275] One or more actions indicated in the wake-up signal are performed 206 based on the determination.

[0276] Therefore, the controller 1300 includes: at least one processor 1302; and at least one memory 1304, which stores instructions, when it is executed by the at least one processor 1302, causing the UE 110 to at least perform:

[0277] determining 210 whether the UE 110 meets one or more location criteria; and

[0278] A wake-up signal is broadcast 212 based on the determination, wherein the wake-up signal includes information identifying the device or a type of device and instructions to perform one or more actions in response to the wake-up signal.

[0279] Therefore, the controller 1300 includes: at least one processor 1302; and at least one memory 1304, which stores instructions, when executed by the at least one processor 1302, causing the network node 120 to at least perform:

[0280] broadcasting 220 a signal indicative of one or more location criteria;

[0281] using the received responses to the broadcast signal to select 222 one or more UEs 110 to broadcast a wake-up signal; and

[0282] A request to broadcast the wake-up signal is transmitted 224 , wherein the request is transmitted to one or more selected UEs 110 .

[0283] Computer program 1306 may reach UE 110 or gNB 120 via any suitable delivery mechanism 1308. Delivery mechanism 1308 may be, for example, a machine-readable medium, a computer-readable medium, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, a computer program product, a memory device, a recording medium such as a compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM) or a digital versatile disk (DVD) or a solid-state memory, an article of manufacture including or tangibly embodying computer program 1306. The delivery mechanism may be a signal configured to reliably transmit computer program 1306. The device may propagate or transmit computer program 1306 as a computer data signal.

[0284] The computer program 1306 may include computer program instructions for causing the device 140 to at least perform the following operations or for performing the following operations:

[0285] placing 200 the device 140 in a low power state;

[0286] receiving 202 a wake-up signal, wherein the wake-up signal is received using a low power receiver operable in a low power state, and the wake-up signal includes information identifying a device or a type of device, and instructions to perform one or more actions in response to the wake-up signal;

[0287] determining 204 whether the wake-up signal is intended for device 140 based on information identifying the device or device type in the wake-up signal; and

[0288] One or more actions indicated in the wake-up signal are performed 206 based on the determination.

[0289] The computer program 1306 may include computer program instructions for causing the UE 110 to at least perform the following operations or for performing the following operations:

[0290] determining 210 whether the UE 110 meets one or more location criteria; and

[0291] A wake-up signal is broadcast 212 based on the determination, wherein the wake-up signal includes information identifying the device or a type of device and instructions to perform one or more actions in response to the wake-up signal.

[0292] The computer program 1306 may include computer program instructions for causing the network node 120 to at least perform the following operations or for performing the following operations:

[0293] broadcasting 220 a signal indicative of one or more location criteria;

[0294] using the received responses to the broadcast signal to select 222 one or more UEs 110 for broadcasting a wake-up signal; and

[0295] A request to broadcast the wake-up signal is transmitted 224 , wherein the request is transmitted to one or more selected UEs 110 .

[0296] The computer program instructions may be included in a computer program, a non-transitory computer readable medium, a computer program product, a machine readable medium. In some but not necessarily all examples, the computer program instructions may be distributed over multiple computer programs.

[0297] Although memory 1304 is shown as a single component / circuit, it may be implemented as one or more separate components / circuit, some or all of which may be integrated / removable, and / or may provide permanent / semi-permanent / dynamic / cache storage.

[0298] Although processor 1302 is shown as a single component / circuit, it may be implemented as one or more separate components / circuit, some or all of which may be integrated / removable.Processor 1302 may be a single-core or multi-core processor.

[0299] References to "computer-readable storage medium", "computer program product", "tangibly embodied computer program", etc. or "controller", "computer", "processor", etc. should be understood to cover not only computers with different architectures such as single / multi-processor architectures and sequential (von Neumann) / parallel architectures, but also special-purpose circuits such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific circuits (ASICs), signal processing devices and other processing circuits. References to computer programs, instructions, code, etc. should be understood to cover software or firmware for programmable processors, such as, for example, the programmable content of hardware devices, whether instructions for a processor, or configuration settings for a fixed-function device, gate array or programmable logic device, etc.

[0300] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0301] (a) hardware circuit implementations only (such as implementations in analog and / or digital circuits only) and

[0302] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (where applicable):

[0303] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware, and

[0304] (ii) any portion of a hardware processor and software (including a digital signal processor), software and memory that work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions, and

[0305] (c) Hardware circuits and / or processors, such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor, that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but where the software may not be present, the software may not be required for operation.

[0306] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers implementations of hardware-only circuits or processors and their (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to a particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0307] The stages shown in the figures may represent steps in a method and / or code segments in a computer program 1306. The illustration of a particular order of blocks does not necessarily imply a required or preferred order of the blocks, and the order and arrangement of the blocks may vary. In addition, some blocks may be omitted.

[0308] The word "comprising" is used in this document in an inclusive rather than exclusive sense. That is, any reference to X comprising Y indicates that X may comprise only one Y or may comprise multiple Ys. If the exclusive meaning of "comprising" is intended, it will be made clear in the context by referring to "comprising only one..." or by using "consisting of".

[0309] In this description, the words "connected," "coupled," and "in communication" and their derivatives refer to being operationally connected / coupled / in communication. It should be understood that any number or combination of intervening components (including no intervening components) may be present, i.e., to provide direct or indirect connection / coupling / in communication. Any such intervening components may include hardware and / or software components.

[0310] As used herein, the term "determining" (and grammatical variations thereof) may include at least the following: calculating, computing, processing, deriving, measuring, investigating, identifying, searching (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), confirming, etc. In addition, "determining" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), obtaining, etc. In addition, "determining" may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, etc.

[0311] In this specification, reference has been made to various examples. The description of features or functions associated with an example indicates that these features or functions are present in the example. The use of the term "example" or "for example" or "may" or "possibly" in the text indicates that, whether explicitly stated or not, these features or functions are present in at least the example described, whether described as an example or not, and they may, but not necessarily, be present in some or all other examples. Therefore, "example", "for example", "may" or "can" refers to a specific instance in a class of examples. The attributes of an instance may be attributes of only that instance, or may be attributes of a class or of a subclass of a class, the subclass including some but not all instances in the class. Therefore, it is implicitly disclosed that features described with reference to one example rather than with reference to another example may be used as part of a working combination in that other example where possible, but not necessarily in that other example.

[0312] Although the examples have been described in the preceding paragraphs with reference to various examples, it should be appreciated that modifications to the examples given can be made without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0313] Features described in the preceding description may be used in combinations other than the combinations explicitly described above.

[0314] Although functions have been described with reference to certain features, those functions may be performable by other features whether described or not.

[0315] Although features have been described with reference to certain examples, those features may also be present in other examples whether described or not.

[0316] The terms "a", "an", or "the" are used in this document in an inclusive, rather than exclusive, sense. That is, any reference to X that includes a / an / the Y indicates that X may include only one Y or more than one Y, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. If the exclusive meaning of "a", "an", or "the" is intended, it will be clearly stated in the context. In some cases, the use of "at least one" or "one or more" may be used to emphasize the inclusive meaning, but the absence of these terms should not be regarded as inferring any exclusive meaning.

[0317] The presence of a feature (or combination of features) in a claim is a reference to the feature or (combination of features) itself, and also a reference to features that achieve substantially the same technical effect (equivalent features). Equivalent features include, for example, features that are variants and achieve substantially the same result in substantially the same way. Equivalent features include, for example, features that perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve substantially the same result.

[0318] In this specification, reference has been made to various examples using adjectives or adjective phrases to describe example features. Such description of features associated with examples indicates that the feature is exactly the same as described in some examples and substantially the same in other examples.

[0319] The above description describes some examples of the present disclosure, however, those of ordinary skill in the art will be aware of possible alternative structures and method features that provide equivalent functions to the specific examples of structures and features described above herein, and have been omitted from the above description for the sake of brevity and clarity. Nevertheless, the above description should be understood to implicitly include references to such alternative structures and method features that provide equivalent functions, unless such alternative structures or method features are explicitly excluded in the above description of examples of the present disclosure.

[0320] While an effort has been made in the foregoing description to call attention to those features regarded as important, it should be understood that the applicant may seek protection by way of the claims for any patentable feature or combination of features mentioned above and / or shown in the drawings, whether or not emphasized.

Claims

1. A device for communication, comprising: means for placing the device in a low power state; means for receiving a wake-up signal, wherein the means for receiving comprises a low-power receiver operable in a low-power state, and the wake-up signal comprises information identifying a device or a type of device, and instructions to perform one or more actions in response to the wake-up signal; means for determining whether the wake-up signal is directed to the device based on the information identifying the device or the device type in the wake-up signal; as well as means for performing the one or more actions indicated in the wake-up signal based on the determination.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising means for transitioning the apparatus to a high power state to perform the one or more actions.

3. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein: The device includes a main radio, wherein the main radio is separate from the low power receiver, has a higher power usage than the low power receiver, and is placed in an off state when the device is in the low power state.

4. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The wake-up signal is modulated such that the wake-up signal can be received by an on-off keying receiver.

5. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein: The one or more actions include transmitting a wake-up confirmation signal.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein: The wake-up confirmation signal includes at least one of the following: location information of the device; An indication of one or more actions that the device has initiated.

7. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising means for receiving a signal in response to the one or more actions, wherein the signal indicates that one or more actions performed by the apparatus have been observed.

8. A user equipment, comprising: means for determining whether the user equipment satisfies one or more location criteria; as well as Means for broadcasting a wake-up signal based on the determination, wherein the wake-up signal includes information identifying a device or a type of device and instructions to perform one or more actions in response to the wake-up signal.

9. The user equipment according to claim 8, wherein: The wake-up signal is modulated so that the wake-up signal can be received by an on-off keying receiver.

10. The user equipment of any one of claims 8 or 9, further comprising means for receiving a broadcast signal, wherein the broadcast signal is indicative of the one or more location criteria.

11. The user equipment according to any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising means for receiving a request to broadcast the wake-up signal.

12. The user equipment according to claim 11, wherein: The information identifying the device or device type and the instructions to perform one or more actions used in the wake-up signal are based on information received in the request to broadcast the wake-up signal.

13. A user equipment as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 12, further comprising means for transmitting an indication that one or more actions performed by the device have been observed.

14. The user equipment of any one of claims 8 to 13, further comprising means for detecting user input and broadcasting the wake-up signal in response to the detected user input.

15. A network node, comprising: means for broadcasting a signal indicative of one or more position criteria; means for using the received responses to the broadcast signal to select one or more user equipment for broadcasting a wake-up signal; as well as means for transmitting a request to broadcast the wake-up signal, wherein the request is transmitted to the one or more selected user equipments, wherein the one or more user equipments are selected based on location criteria, The request to broadcast a wake-up signal includes information to be used in the wake-up signal.

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