Cell shutdown indication via downlink control information

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a solution for cell closing indication via DCI. In particular, the group common DCI format is used to indicate activation / deactivation for entering NES mode cell shutdown. The DCI in the group common DCI format may include independent bits for a first indication relating to activation / deactivation of cell shutdown for entering the NES mode and for a second indication relating to activation / deactivation of cell DTX / DRX. Alternatively, the DCI may include a common bit for the first indication and for the second indication, and a flag for indicating which indication. In this manner, cell shutdown for entering NES mode may be more effectively indicated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for cell shutdown indication via downlink control information (DCI). Background Art

[0002] Network Energy Saving (NES) is a hot topic in the field of communications. For example, in order to save power at the network equipment, cell discontinuous transmission / discontinuous reception (DTX / DRX) is proposed on the network equipment side. The cell DTX / DRX configuration can be activated / deactivated by a group common downlink control information (DCI) message or via a higher layer configuration. In addition, a cell shutdown for entering the network energy saving (NES) mode in the case of a triggered conditional handover (CHO) is proposed to save power on the network side. Therefore, how to activate or deactivate the cell shutdown for entering the NES mode in the case of a triggered CHO needs to be studied. Public Content

[0003] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a first device is provided. The first device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory. The at least one memory stores instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to: receive first downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format from a second device, wherein the first downlink control information includes a first indication as to whether a cell shutdown for entering a network energy saving mode is activated; and receive second downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format from the second device, wherein the second downlink control information includes a second indication as to whether a cell discontinuous operation is activated. The cell discontinuous operation includes at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception. In the predefined downlink control information format, different bit fields are used for the first indication and for the second indication, or, in the predefined downlink control information format, the same bit field is used for the first indication and for the second indication, and a flag is used to indicate whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication.

[0004] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a second device is provided. The second device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory. At least one memory stores instructions, which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the second device to: transmit first downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format to the first device, wherein the first downlink control information includes a first indication as to whether the cell shutdown for entering the network energy saving mode is activated; and transmit second downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format to the first device, wherein the second downlink control information includes a second indication as to whether the cell discontinuous operation is activated. The cell discontinuous operation includes at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception. In the predefined downlink control information format, different bit fields are used for the first indication and for the second indication, or in the predefined downlink control information format, the same bit field is used for the first indication and for the second indication, and a flag is used to indicate whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication.

[0005] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method comprises: receiving first downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format from a second device, wherein the first downlink control information comprises a first indication as to whether a cell shutdown for entering a network energy saving mode is activated; and receiving second downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format from the second device, wherein the second downlink control information comprises a second indication as to whether a cell discontinuous operation is activated. The cell discontinuous operation comprises at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception. In the predefined downlink control information format, different bit fields are used for the first indication and for the second indication, or, in the predefined downlink control information format, the same bit field is used for the first indication and for the second indication, and a flag is used to indicate whether the bit field comprises the first indication or the second indication.

[0006] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: transmitting first downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format to a first device, wherein the first downlink control information includes a first indication as to whether a cell shutdown for entering a network energy saving mode is activated; and transmitting second downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format to the first device, wherein the second downlink control information includes a second indication as to whether a cell discontinuous operation is activated, and the cell discontinuous operation includes at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception. In the predefined downlink control information format, different bit fields are used for the first indication and for the second indication, or in the predefined downlink control information format, the same bit field is used for the first indication and for the second indication, and a flag is used to indicate whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication.

[0007] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a first device is provided. The first device includes: a component for receiving first downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format from a second device, wherein the first downlink control information includes a first indication as to whether a cell shutdown for entering a network energy saving mode is activated; and a component for receiving second downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format from the second device, wherein the second downlink control information includes a second indication as to whether a cell discontinuous operation is activated. The cell discontinuous operation includes at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception. In the predefined downlink control information format, different bit fields are used for the first indication and for the second indication, or, in the predefined downlink control information format, the same bit field is used for the first indication and for the second indication, and a flag is used to indicate whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication.

[0008] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a second device is provided. The second device includes: a component for transmitting first downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format to the first device, wherein the first downlink control information includes a first indication as to whether a cell shutdown for entering a network energy saving mode is activated; and a component for transmitting second downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format to the first device, wherein the second downlink control information includes a second indication as to whether a cell discontinuous operation is activated. The cell discontinuous operation includes at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception. In the predefined downlink control information format, different bit fields are used for the first indication and for the second indication, or in the predefined downlink control information format, the same bit field is used for the first indication and for the second indication, and a flag is used to indicate whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication.

[0009] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon, and the instructions are used to cause a device to at least execute the method according to the third aspect.

[0010] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon, and the instructions are used to cause a device to at least execute the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0011] It should be understood that the abstract is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0013] Figure 1 An example communication environment is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0014] Figure 2 shows a signaling diagram for cell shutdown entering a NES according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0015] FIG. 3A to FIG. 3H Schematic diagrams showing downlink control information (DCI) formats according to example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 4 A flowchart showing a method implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0017] Figure 5 A flowchart showing a method implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0018] Figure 6 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0019] Figure 7 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is shown according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are only for illustrative purposes and are helpful for those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways different from the ways described below.

[0022] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0023] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0024] It should be understood that although the terms "first", "second", etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element, and they do not limit the order of the nouns. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiment, the first element may be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element may be referred to as the first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0025] As used herein, “at least one of: ” and “at least one of ” and similar expressions, where a list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”, means at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0026] As used herein, unless explicitly stated, performing a step "in response to A" does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after "A" occurs and may include one or more intervening steps.

[0027] The terms used herein are used only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that when used herein, the terms "comprise", "comprising", "having", "having", "includes", and / or "including", when used herein, specify the presence of the described features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0028] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) Hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation only in analog and / or digital circuitry). (b) Combinations of hardware circuits and software such as (where applicable): (i) a combination of (multiple) analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and (ii) a hardware processor with software (including a digital signal processor), any portion of software and memory that work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions, and (c) a hardware circuit and / or processor, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, which requires software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but the software may be absent when not required for operation.

[0029] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit, or a processor (or multiple processors), or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device, if applicable to a particular claim element.

[0030] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G) communication protocol and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there are of course communication technologies and systems of future types that can implement the present disclosure. It should not be considered that the scope of the present disclosure is limited to the above-mentioned system.

[0031] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network, via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from it. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a Node B (Node B or NB), an evolved Node B (e Node B or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node such as a femto, a micro, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite network device), a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. In some example embodiments, a radio access network (RAN) split architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. The IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion that behaves like a user equipment (UE) to a parent node, and a distributed unit (DU) portion of the IAB node that behaves like a base station to a next-hop IAB node.

[0032] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a user station (SS), a portable user station, a mobile station (MS) or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device (such as a digital camera, a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device), a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of an industrial and / or automated processing chain), consumer electronic devices, equipment operating on a commercial and / or industrial wireless network, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) part of an IAB node (eg, a relay node).In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0033] As used herein, the terms "resource", "transmission resource", "resource block", "physical resource block" (PRB), "uplink resource" or "downlink resource" may refer to any resource used to perform communication, for example, communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as resources in the time domain, resources in the frequency domain, resources in the spatial domain, resources in the code domain, or any other combination of time, frequency, space and / or code domain resources to achieve communication. In the following, unless explicitly stated, resources in the frequency domain and the time domain will be used as examples of transmission resources for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Note that the example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0034] As used herein, the term "cell discontinuous reception (DRX)" used herein may refer to a technology that allows a network device to receive data during a period of time and sleep during another period of time when no data packets need to be received. The term "cell discontinuous transmission (DTX)" used herein refers to a technology that allows a network device to transmit data during a period of time and sleep during another period of time when no data packets need to be transmitted. Cell DRX / DTX can be used in mobile communications to save power and / or energy of network devices. The term "cell shutdown" used herein may refer to a technology that allows a network device to shut down a cell for energy saving purposes. The term "downlink control information (DCI)" used herein may refer to information that provides necessary information (such as physical layer resource allocation, power control commands, etc.) to a user equipment (UE). The term "DCI format" used herein may refer to a format that indicates how the DCI is composed and can be used to distinguish between DCI types.

[0035] The term "bit string" used herein may refer to a set of information bits in DCI format 2-X. The term "bit field" used herein may refer to a set of information bits in DCI format 2-X that can be used for different characteristics. For example, the bit field of the first 30 information bits of the bit string is used for the cell DTX / DRX (de) activation characteristic, and the bit field of the second 30 information bits of the bit string is used for the NES cell shutdown of the CHO characteristic. The information bits are divided into several blocks / bit blocks, each of which includes one or more bits indicating the cell DTX / DRX of a given serving cell. Therefore, the bit field may include a (de) activation bit, which indicates the cell DTX / DRX of each serving cell / block. As described above, cell DTX / DRX is proposed. In particular, the cell DTX / DRX configuration can be activated / deactivated by a group common downlink control information (DCI) message, the so-called DCI format 2-9, which includes at least N information (bit) block fields, and each information block field contains a (de) activation indication of the configuration of the cell DTX and / or DRX of the serving cell. In addition, the starting bit position for each information block is determined by a new parameter provided by a higher layer to the UE.

[0036] In some solutions, a group common DCI format 2-X (e.g., DCI format 2-9) may be used to indicate a cell shutdown that may subsequently trigger a conditional handover (CHO) NES event. DCI format 2-9, originally designed for cell DTX / DRX (de)activation indication, may be reused for this new purpose. For example, 1 bit may be added in each bit block corresponding to each serving cell to indicate a serving cell NES shutdown for CHO, since from a network perspective, each serving cell / block may be viewed as a primary cell (Pcell) for one UE, or a secondary cell (Scell) for other UEs. However, if a given block / serving cell carrier is used only as an Scell ​​for all UEs in a cell, the 1 bit added for each serving cell to indicate NES cell shutdown may be bit redundant, meaning that the Scell ​​for the UE does not need to perform an NES cell shutdown indication, and the cell shutdown indication via the Pcell is sufficient for the UE performing HO. Furthermore, a cell switching off indication may not be combined or mixed with an indication of a (de)activation of a cell DTX / DRX, as these two features do not need to be enabled at the same time, ie a cell intended to be switched off will not indicate a cell DTX / DRX (de)activation.

[0037] The difference between the "cell off" state and DTX / DRX is that a specific cell is completely or substantially shut down, including suspending transmission and reception in the cell, while cell DTX / DRX has active and inactive periods for transmission / reception based on the configured mode. Therefore, if we consider a certain time period, in the cell off state, the cell is shut down for the entire duration, while in DTX / DRX, the cell has alternating DTX / DRX active and inactive periods. Since the cell will be shut down in the cell off state, the UE in the cell may be triggered to perform CHO to other cells. In DTX / DRX, the UE may stay in the cell, so no CHO is required.

[0038] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a solution for a cell shut-down indication for triggering CHO via DCI is proposed. In particular, the activation / deactivation of the cell shut-down for entering the NES mode is indicated using a group common DCI format. The DCI in the group common DCI format may include a separate bit or utilize different bit fields for a first indication regarding the activation / deactivation of the cell shut-down for entering the NES mode and a second indication regarding the activation / deactivation of the cell DTX / DRX. Alternatively, the DCI may include a common bit field for the first indication and the second indication and a flag for indicating which indication is to be applied. In this way, the cell shut-down for entering the NES mode can be indicated more effectively.

[0039] Figure 1An example communication environment 100 is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. In the communication environment 100, a first device 110 and a second device 120 may communicate with each other.

[0040] The first device 110 may be a terminal device, such as a UE. The second device 120 may be a network device, such as a gNB. The first device 110 may be in a cell 102 that is one of the serving cells.

[0041] In the following, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments of the first device 110 operating as a terminal device and the second device 120 operating as a network device are described. However, in some example embodiments, the operations described in conjunction with the terminal device may be implemented at a network device or other device, and the operations described in conjunction with the network device may be implemented at a terminal device or other device.

[0042] In some example embodiments, if first device 110 is a terminal device and second device 120 is a network device, a link from second device 120 to first device 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL), and a link from first device 110 to second device 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In DL, second device 120 is a transmission (TX) device (or transmitter), and first device 110 is a reception (RX) device (or receiver). In UL, first device 110 is a TX device (or transmitter), and second device 120 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0043] The communication in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol(s), including but not limited to cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G), etc., wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc., and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. In addition, the communication may utilize any suitable wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technology currently known or developed in the future.

[0044] The embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0045] refer to Figure 2 , which shows a signaling process 200 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1 The signaling process 200 is discussed, for example, by using the first device 110 and the second device 120 .

[0046] The second device 120 may transmit 2010 a configuration indicating a starting bit position for monitoring one or more indications in the DCI to the first device 110. In other words, the first device 110 may receive 2010 a configuration from the second device 120. For example, the configuration may be transmitted via radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0047] In some example embodiments, the configuration may indicate a starting bit position for monitoring an indication of whether the cell discontinuous operation is activated (hereinafter referred to as a "second indication"). Figure 3A , 3B , 3C, 3E and 3G, the configuration may indicate one or more starting bit positions 314-1, starting bit positions 314-2, ... and starting bit positions 314-N, where N is an integer. Figures 3A to 3G The DCI format shown in may be associated with N cells. As an example, starting position 314-1 may be used for a UE whose serving cell is cell #1, starting position 314-2 may be used for a UE whose serving cell is cell #2, starting position 314-3 may be used for a UE whose serving cell is cell #3, and starting position 314-N may be used for a UE whose serving cell is cell #N.

[0048] Alternatively or additionally, the configuration may indicate a starting bit position for monitoring an indication of whether cell shutdown for entering NES mode is activated (hereinafter referred to as a "first indication"). For example, the starting bit position for monitoring the first indication may be different from the starting position for the second indication.

[0049] For example, Figure 3A , 3B , 3D, 3F and 3H, the configuration may indicate one or more starting bit positions 315-1, starting bit positions 315-2, ..., and starting bit positions 315-M, where M is an integer. As an example, starting position 315-1 may be used for a UE whose serving cell is cell #1, starting position 315-2 may be used for a UE whose serving cell is cell #2, starting position 315-3 may be used for a UE whose serving cell is cell #3, and starting position 315-M may be used for a UE whose serving cell is cell #M.

[0050] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may be configured with (multiple) starting positions corresponding to the associated Pcell for monitoring (i.e., reading) the first indication. Thus, such first devices may be configured with the same or different starting positions. In some other example embodiments, if all first devices can be served by the same Pcell in the second device 120, the first indication may require only one bit, and all first devices may have the same starting position. Thus, all first devices may perform CHO together. In yet another example embodiment, a single bit may be used in the DCI to indicate the first indication, thereby triggering CHO for any first device configured to monitor the DCI or indication containing the single bit, regardless of whether different devices have the same PCell.

[0051] The second device 120 transmits (2020) a first DCI to the first device 110, the first DCI including a first indication of a predefined DCI format. In other words, the first device 110 receives (2020) the first DCI from the second device 120. The second device transmits (2030) a second DCI to the first device 110, the second indication including a second indication of a predefined DCI format. In other words, the first device 110 receives (2030) the second DCI from the second device 120. In some example embodiments, the first DCI and the second DCI may be part of the same DCI transmitted by the second device 120 and received by the first device 110, which means that the first DCI and the second DCI may be transmitted in the same DCI message. That is, the transmission (2020) and the transmission (2030) may be regarded as one transmission. Alternatively, the first DCI and the second DCI may be provided in different DCIs, for example, the first DCI and the second DCI may be sent and received in different DCI messages and at different time intervals. There may be other transmissions or at least one pause between different DCI messages.

[0052] In some example embodiments, in the predefined DCI format, different bit fields / bit positions may be used for the first indication and the second indication. For example, in the predefined DCI format, padding bits may be used for the first indication. Alternatively, in the predefined DCI format, the same bit field / bit position may be used for the first indication, with a flag indicating whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication. The bit position may be understood to refer to the position of a particular DCI in the DCI format.

[0053] In an example embodiment, the first indication may be in the form of a single block of information bit string. Figure 3A and Figure 3BAs shown, the information bit string for the first indication includes information bits 312-1, 312-2, ..., 312-M of a single block 312. In another exemplary embodiment, the first indication may be in the form of an information bit string of a multi-bit block. For example, Figure 3A and Figure 3B As shown, each of the information bits 312-1, 312-2, ..., and 312-M may be considered as a block having a fixed 1 bit.

[0054] In some example embodiments, the number of bits in the information bit string may be equal to the total number of serving cells of second device 120. For example, the number of information bits 312-1, 312-2, ..., 312-M may be equal to the total number of serving cells, ie, M equals N.

[0055] Alternatively, the number of bits in the information bit string may be equal to the number of serving cells in the subset of serving cells. As an example, the number of bits in the information bit string may be equal to the number of primary cells. For example, the number of information bits 312-1, information bits 312-2, ..., information bits 312-M may be equal to the number of serving cells in the subset of serving cells including M serving cells, i.e., M is less than N. For example, a subset of serving cells may be configured by the second device 120. As an example, a higher layer configuration (such as an RRC configuration) may be transmitted by the second device 120, which indicates to which (which) serving cells a 1-bit for a cell shutdown indication for NES mode is presented. By way of example only, a subset of serving cells may include cell #1, cell #2, ..., and cell #M.

[0056] Each bit in the information bit string may correspond to a serving cell of the second device 120. For example, each bit in the information bit string may be used to notify the cell off state for NES of a given serving cell in the second device 120. As an example, bit 312-1 may correspond to cell #1, bit 312-2 may correspond to cell #2, and bit 312-M may correspond to cell #M.

[0057] In some example embodiments, in the predefined DCI format, the information bit string may be located after the second indication. Figure 3A As shown, the predefined DCI may include: a bit block 311-1, which includes 2 bits for indicating activation / deactivation of cell DTX and DRX for cell #1; a bit block 311-2, which includes 1 bit for indicating activation / deactivation of cell DTX or DRX for cell #2; and a bit block 311-3, which includes 2 bits for indicating activation / deactivation of cell DTX and DRX for cell #3. Figure 3AAs shown, the information bit string including bit 312-1, bit 312-2, ..., bit 312-M is located after the bit block 311-N.

[0058] Alternatively, in the predefined DCI format, the information bit string may be located before the second indication. Figure 3B As shown, the predefined DCI may include: a bit block 311-1, which includes 2 bits for indicating activation / deactivation of cell DTX and DRX for cell #1; a bit block 311-2, which includes 1 bit for indicating activation / deactivation of cell DTX or DRX for cell #2; and a bit block 311-3, which includes 2 bits for indicating activation / deactivation of cell DTX and DRX for cell #3. Figure 3B As shown, the information bit string including bit 312-1, bit 312-2, ..., bit 312-M is located before the bit block 311-1. In this case, for all UEs, the starting bit position for the first indication can be assumed (or defaulted) to start from the beginning / start of the information bit string (e.g., the first bit position). In this way, the number of bits used to indicate the starting position can be reduced.

[0059] In some example embodiments, if the first indication indicates that the cell shutdown for entering the network energy saving mode is activated for the serving cell, the first device 110 may skip the information for the serving cell carried in the second indication. Figure 3B As shown, if the serving cell of the first device 110 is cell #2 and bit 312-2 indicates that cell shutdown for entering the network energy saving mode is activated for cell #2, the first device 110 can skip the information for cell #2 carried in bit block 311-2.

[0060] As described above, in the predefined DCI format, the same bit field may be used for both the first indication and the second indication, and a flag is used to indicate whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication. In other words, the bit field may be reinterpreted for the first indication. In this case, the first indication may not be combined or mixed with the second indication in the same string.

[0061] In some example embodiments, a flag of each information bit string in the predefined DCI format may indicate whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication for all serving cells. For example, a flag in the information bit string (e.g., the first bit of the information bit string) may inform all first devices which of the two NES characteristics (e.g., cell DTX / DRX or cell shutdown for entering NES mode) needs to be considered for the indication information in the information bit string. For example, Figure 3C and Figure 3DAs shown, the flag bit 320 may be used to indicate whether the bit position includes the first indication or the second indication. It should be noted that the flag may not be limited to the indication of cell DTX / DRX and cell shutdown for entering NES mode, and may also be used for other NES features in the future.

[0062] In some example embodiments, the flag bit having the first predefined value may indicate that the information bit string is used for cell DTX / DRX (de)activation purposes (i.e., the second indication), wherein the multi-block structure is applied / considered by the first device 110. For example, Figure 3C As shown, if the flag bit 320 indicates a first predefined value (e.g., "0"), it means that the information bit string including the bit block 321-1, the bit block 321-2, the bit block 321-2, ... and the bit block 321-N is used for the second indication. As an example only, the bit block 321-1 may include 2 bits for activation / deactivation indication of cell DTX and DRX for cell #1, the bit block 321-2 may include 1 bit for activation / deactivation indication of cell DTX or DRX for cell #2, the bit block 321-3 may include 2 bits for activation / deactivation indication of cell DTX and DRX for cell #3, and the bit block 321-N may include 2 bits for activation / deactivation indication of cell DTX and DRX for cell #N.

[0063] In some exemplary other embodiments, the flag bit with the second predefined value may indicate that the information bit string is for a cell shutdown (i.e., the first indication) of CHO, where the single block structure is applied / considered by the first device. Figure 3D As shown, if the flag bit 320 indicates the second predefined value (eg, "1"), it means that the information bit string 322 is used for the first indication. In this case, in some example embodiments, each bit in the information bit string 322 may correspond to a serving cell.

[0064] Alternatively, a multi-block structure may also be applied to the first indication for CHO, wherein each bit in the information bit string 322 is used to notify the cell off state of a given serving cell in the second device 120. In this case, the length of the information bit string 322 (the number of bits in the information bit string) may be equal to the total number of serving cells of the second device 120. Alternatively, the length of the information bit string 322 may be equal to the number corresponding to the serving cell subset.

[0065] In some example embodiments, a single starting bit position may be configured via higher layer configuration for monitoring a first indication for a second indication. Figure 3D As shown, the starting bit position 315 - 1 may be configured by the second device 120 to monitor for the first indication.

[0066] If both cell shutdown and cell non-continuous operation for entering network energy saving mode are enabled or configured via higher layer parameters than DCI, the flag may exist. In other words, the flag bit may exist only if both cell DTX / DRX and cell shutdown for entering NES mode are enabled. Otherwise, if only one of the NES features is enabled, the information bit string is only used for the enabled NES feature. For example, if Figure 3E As shown, if only cell DTX / DRX is enabled, the information bit string including bit block 321-1, bit block 321-2, bit block 321-2, ... and bit block 321-N is used for the second indication. Figure 3F As shown in , if cell deactivation only for entering NES mode is enabled, the information bit string 322 is used for the first indication.

[0067] In some example embodiments, the block information bits may be reinterpreted at each serving cell level, in particular for the first indication. The first indication may not be combined or mixed with the second indication in the same block information.

[0068] In some example embodiments, in a predefined DCI format, a flag for each information bit string indicates whether the bit field includes a first indication or a second indication for each serving cell or each block. For example, a flag in each block information of the information bit string (e.g., the flag bit is the first bit of each block information) can inform the first device 110 which of the two NES characteristics (i.e., cell DTX / DRX or cell shutdown) needs to be considered for the indication information in subsequent bits. As an example, if the flag bit 320 indicates a first predefined value (e.g., "0"), it means that the subsequent bit is used for the second indication, and if the flag bit 320 indicates a second predefined value (e.g., "1"), it means that the subsequent bit is used for the first indication.

[0069] For example, Figure 3G As shown, bit block 331-1 may include a flag and a first or second indication for cell #1, bit block 331-2 may include a flag and a first or second indication for cell #2, bit block 331-3 may include a flag and a first or second indication for cell #3, and bit block 331-N may include a flag and a first or second indication for cell #N. As an example, if block 331-1 indicates "011", it indicates that cell DTX and cell DRX are activated for cell #1. Alternatively, if bit block 331-1 indicates "11", it indicates that cell shutdown for entering NES mode is activated for cell #1.

[0070] In some example embodiments, in the predefined DCI format, the DCI may include a first indication and a second indication for each serving cell or each block. In some other example embodiments, the DCI may include a first indication and a second indication for each Pcell. In this case, which cell(s) or which Pcell(s) configured with the first indication may be configured / indicated by the second device 120. For example, in addition to the cell DTX / DRX (de)activation indication, a one-bit indication of cell shutdown for entering NES mode may be added for each block / serving cell. In other words, for the serving cell, the first device 110 may also be configured with a block, which includes a cell shutdown indication for CHO in addition to the cell DTX / DRX (de)activation indication. For example, as Figure 3H As shown, bit block 332-1 may include a first indication and a second indication for cell #1, bit block 332-2 may include a first indication and a second indication for cell #2, bit block 332-3 may include a first indication and a second indication for cell #3, and bit block 332-N may include a first indication and a second indication for cell #N. Alternatively, if the second device 120 indicates that cell #2 and cell #3 are Pcells and other cells are Scells, bit block 332-2 may include a first indication and a second indication for cell #2, bit block 332-3 may include a first indication and a second indication for cell #3, and other bit blocks (e.g., 332-1) may include a second indication for its related cell.

[0071] The first device 110 may perform (2040) CHO based on the first indication. For example, after receiving the first indication indicating that cell shutdown for entering NES mode is enabled, the corresponding conditional handover may be triggered accordingly. In this case, the threshold for CHO may be lower than the threshold for traditional HO to assist handover to other cells in the event that NES serving cell shutdown occurs.

[0072] According to reference Figure 2 The described example embodiments propose to efficiently handle cell shut down indications for CHO events by reusing DCI format 2_9 originally designed for cell DTX / DRX (de)activation indications.

[0073] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example method 400 implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the first device may be Figure 1 The first device 110 in.

[0074] At block 410, the first device receives first downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format from the second device. The first downlink control information includes a first indication of whether cell deactivation for entering a network energy saving mode is activated.

[0075] At box 420, the first device receives second downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format from the second device. The second downlink control information includes a second indication of whether cell discontinuous operation is activated, and the cell discontinuous operation includes at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception. In the predefined downlink control information format, different bit fields are used for the first indication and for the second indication. Alternatively, in the predefined downlink control information format, the same bit field is used for the first indication and for the second indication, and a flag is used to indicate whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication.

[0076] In some example embodiments, the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information are included in the same downlink control information message.

[0077] In some example embodiments, the first indication is in the form of a single-block information bit string, or the first indication is in the form of a plurality of blocks of information bit strings.

[0078] In some example embodiments, the number of bits in the information bit string is equal to the total number of serving cells of the second apparatus, or the number of bits in the information bit string is equal to the number of serving cells in a serving cell subset configured by a higher layer by the second apparatus.

[0079] In some example embodiments, each information bit in the string of information bits corresponds to a serving cell of the second apparatus.

[0080] In some example embodiments, in the predefined downlink control information format, the information bit string is located after the second indication, or, in the predefined downlink control information format, the information bit string is located before the second indication.

[0081] In some example embodiments, method 400 further includes: based on determining that the first indication indicates that a cell shutdown for entering a network energy saving mode is activated for a serving cell, skipping information for the serving cell carried in the second indication.

[0082] In some example embodiments, the same downlink control information message includes a first indication and a second indication for each serving cell or each block in a predefined downlink control information format, or the same downlink control information message includes a first indication for each primary cell having a higher layer configured by the second device.

[0083] In some example embodiments, the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information are received in different downlink control information messages.

[0084] In some exemplary embodiments, the bit field of the first indication in the first downlink control information is different from the bit field of the second indication in the second downlink control information.

[0085] In some exemplary embodiments, the bit field of the first indication in the first downlink control information is the same as the bit field of the second indication in the second downlink control information. At least one information bit in the bit field includes a flag indicating whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication.

[0086] In some example embodiments, a flag for each bit field in a predefined downlink control information format indicates whether the bit field includes a first indication or a second indication in a second device, or a flag for each service cell or each bit block in a predefined downlink control information format indicates whether the bit field includes a first indication or a second indication for each service cell or each bit block in a predefined downlink control information format.

[0087] In some example embodiments, the flag is present if both cell off and cell non-continuous operation for entering the network energy saving mode are enabled or configured via higher layer parameters above the physical layer.

[0088] In some example embodiments, the method 400 further comprises: receiving at least one higher layer configuration from the second apparatus, the at least one higher layer configuration indicating at least one starting bit position for monitoring the first indication.

[0089] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network device.

[0090] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example method 500 implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the second device may be Figure 1 The second device 120 in.

[0091] At block 510, the second device transmits first downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format to the first device. The first downlink control information includes a first indication of whether cell deactivation for entering a network energy saving mode is activated.

[0092] At box 520, the second device transmits second downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format to the first device. The second downlink control information includes a second indication of whether the cell discontinuous operation is activated, and the cell discontinuous operation includes at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception. In the predefined downlink control information format, different bit fields are used for the first indication and for the second indication. Alternatively, in the predefined downlink control information format, the same bit field is used for the first indication and for the second indication, and a flag is used to indicate whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication.

[0093] In some example embodiments, the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information are included in the same downlink control information message.

[0094] In some example embodiments, the first indication is in the form of a single-block information bit string, or the first indication is in the form of a plurality of blocks of information bit strings.

[0095] In some example embodiments, the number of bits in the information bit string is equal to the total number of serving cells of the second apparatus, or the number of bits in the information bit string is equal to the number of serving cells in a serving cell subset configured by a higher layer by the second apparatus.

[0096] In some example embodiments, each information bit in the string of information bits corresponds to a serving cell of the second apparatus.

[0097] In some example embodiments, in the predefined downlink control information format, the information bit string is located after the second indication, or, in the predefined downlink control information format, the information bit string is located before the second indication.

[0098] In some example embodiments, the same downlink control information message includes a first indication and a second indication for each serving cell or each block in a predefined downlink control information format, or the same downlink control information message includes a first indication for each primary cell having a higher layer configured by the second device.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information are received in different downlink control information messages.

[0100] In some exemplary embodiments, the bit field of the first indication in the first downlink control information is different from the bit field of the second indication in the second downlink control information.

[0101] In some example embodiments, the bit field of the first indication in the first downlink control information is the same as the bit field of the second indication in the second downlink control information, and at least one information bit in the bit field includes a flag indicating whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication.

[0102] In some example embodiments, a flag for each bit field in a predefined downlink control information format indicates whether the bit field includes a first indication or a second indication in a second device, or a flag for each service cell or each bit block in a predefined downlink control information format indicates whether the bit field includes a first indication or a second indication for each service cell or each bit block in a predefined downlink control information format.

[0103] In some example embodiments, the flag bit is present if both cell off and cell non-continuous operation for entering the network energy saving mode are enabled or configured via higher layer parameters above the physical layer.

[0104] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: transmitting at least one higher layer configuration to the first apparatus, the at least one higher layer configuration indicating at least one starting bit position for monitoring the first indication.

[0105] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network device.

[0106] In some example embodiments, a first device (eg, Figure 1 The first device 110 in the method 400 may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of the method 400. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. The first device may be implemented as or included in Figure 1 In the first device 110.

[0107] In some example embodiments, the first device includes: a component for receiving first downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format from a second device, wherein the first downlink control information includes a first indication as to whether a cell shutdown for entering a network energy saving mode is activated; and a component for receiving second downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format from the second device, wherein the second downlink control information includes a second indication as to whether a cell discontinuous operation is activated. The cell discontinuous operation includes at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception. In the predefined downlink control information format, different bit fields are used for the first indication and for the second indication, or wherein, in the predefined downlink control information format, the same bit field is used for the first indication and for the second indication, and a flag is used to indicate whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication.

[0108] In some example embodiments, the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information are included in the same downlink control information message.

[0109] In some example embodiments, the first indication is in the form of a single-block information bit string, or the first indication is in the form of a plurality of blocks of information bit strings.

[0110] In some example embodiments, the number of bits in the information bit string is equal to the total number of serving cells of the second apparatus, or the number of bits in the information bit string is equal to the number of serving cells in a serving cell subset configured by a higher layer by the second apparatus.

[0111] In some example embodiments, each information bit in the string of information bits corresponds to a serving cell of the second apparatus.

[0112] In some example embodiments, in the predefined downlink control information format, the information bit string is located after the second indication, or wherein, in the predefined downlink control information format, the information bit string is located before the second indication.

[0113] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for skipping information on the serving cell carried in the second indication based on determining that the first indication indicates that cell shutdown for entering the network energy saving mode is activated for the serving cell.

[0114] In some example embodiments, the same downlink control information message includes a first indication and a second indication for each serving cell or each block in a predefined downlink control information format, or the same downlink control information message includes a first indication for each primary cell having a higher layer configured by the second device.

[0115] In some example embodiments, the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information are received in different downlink control information messages.

[0116] In some exemplary embodiments, the bit field of the first indication in the first downlink control information is different from the bit field of the second indication in the second downlink control information.

[0117] In some example embodiments, the bit field of the first indication in the first downlink control information is the same as the bit field of the second indication in the second downlink control information. At least one information bit in the bit field includes a flag indicating whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication.

[0118] In some example embodiments, a flag for each bit field in a predefined downlink control information format indicates whether the bit field includes a first indication or a second indication in a second device, or a flag for each service cell or each bit block in a predefined downlink control information format indicates whether the bit field includes a first indication or a second indication for each service cell or each bit block in a predefined downlink control information format.

[0119] In some example embodiments, the flag is present if both cell off and cell non-continuous operation for entering the network energy saving mode are enabled or configured via higher layer parameters above the physical layer.

[0120] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for receiving at least one higher layer configuration from the second apparatus, the at least one higher layer configuration indicating at least one starting bit position for monitoring the first indication.

[0121] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network device.

[0122] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 400 or the first device 110. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the execution of the first apparatus.

[0123] In some example embodiments, a second device (eg, Figure 1 The second device 120 in the method 500 may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of the method 500. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module. The second device may be implemented as or included in Figure 1 In the second device 120 in.

[0124] In some example embodiments, the second device includes: a component for transmitting first downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format to the first device, wherein the first downlink control information includes a first indication as to whether a cell shutdown for entering a network energy saving mode is activated; and a component for transmitting second downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format to the first device, wherein the second downlink control information includes a second indication as to whether a cell discontinuous operation is activated. The cell discontinuous operation includes at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception. In the predefined downlink control information format, different bit fields are used for the first indication and for the second indication, or in the predefined downlink control information format, the same bit field is used for the first indication and for the second indication, and a flag is used to indicate whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication.

[0125] In some example embodiments, the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information are included in the same downlink control information message.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the first indication is in the form of a single-block information bit string, or the first indication is in the form of a plurality of blocks of information bit strings.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the number of bits in the information bit string is equal to the total number of serving cells of the second apparatus, or the number of bits in the information bit string is equal to the number of serving cells in a serving cell subset configured by a higher layer by the second apparatus.

[0128] In some example embodiments, each information bit in the string of information bits corresponds to a serving cell of the second apparatus.

[0129] In some example embodiments, in the predefined downlink control information format, the information bit string is located after the second indication, or, in the predefined downlink control information format, the information bit string is located before the second indication.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the same downlink control information message includes a first indication and a second indication for each serving cell or each block in a predefined downlink control information format, or the same downlink control information message includes a first indication for each primary cell having a higher layer configured by the second device.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus is configured as means for transmitting the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information in different downlink control information messages.

[0132] In some exemplary embodiments, the bit field of the first indication in the first downlink control information is different from the bit field of the second indication in the second downlink control information.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the bit field of the first indication in the first downlink control information is the same as the bit field of the second indication in the second downlink control information. At least one information bit in the bit field includes a flag indicating whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication.

[0134] In some example embodiments, a flag for each bit field in a predefined downlink control information format indicates whether the bit field includes a first indication or a second indication in a second device, or a flag for each service cell or each bit block in a predefined downlink control information format indicates whether the bit field includes a first indication or a second indication for each service cell or each bit block in a predefined downlink control information format.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the flag bit is present if both cell off and cell non-continuous operation for entering the network energy saving mode are enabled or configured via higher layer parameters above the physical layer.

[0136] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for transmitting at least one higher layer configuration to the first apparatus, the at least one higher layer configuration indicating at least one starting bit position for monitoring the first indication.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network device.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 500 or the second device 120. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the execution of the second apparatus.

[0139] Figure 6 600 is a simplified block diagram of a device 600 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 600 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1 The first device 110 or the second device 120 is shown. As shown in the figure, the device 600 includes one or more processors 610, one or more memories 620 coupled to the processor 610, and one or more communication modules 640 coupled to the processor 610.

[0140] The communication module 640 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 640 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communicating with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 640 may include at least one antenna.

[0141] As non-limiting examples, processor 610 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network, and may include one or more of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 600 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips, which are time-slaved to a clock that synchronizes a master processor.

[0142] The memory 620 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 624, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), optical disk, laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 622 and other volatile memories that do not persist over the duration of a power outage.

[0143] The computer program 630 includes computer executable instructions executed by the associated processor 610. The instructions of the program 630 may include instructions for performing the operations / actions of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 630 may be stored in a memory, such as ROM 624. The processor 610 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 630 into the RAM 622.

[0144] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 630, so that the device 600 may execute the following steps: Figures 2 to 5 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the program 630 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 600 (such as in the memory 620) or other storage device accessible by the device 600. The device 600 may load the program 630 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 622 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible rather than a signal), not a limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM versus ROM).

[0146] Figure 7 An example of a computer readable medium 700 is shown which may be in the form of a CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 700 has a program 630 stored thereon.

[0147] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof in non-limiting examples.

[0148] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those instructions included in a program module, executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor to perform any method as above. In general, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. The functions of program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed in various embodiments. Machine executable instructions for program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in local and remote storage media.

[0149] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device so that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, enables the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be implemented. The program code can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0150] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier wave, so that a device, apparatus or processor can perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carrier waves include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0151] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor system, device or apparatus, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer readable storage media would include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0152] In addition, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in a sequential order, or performing all of the operations shown to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these details should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but should be interpreted as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Unless explicitly stated, certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, unless explicitly stated, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0153] Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor cause the first device to: receiving first downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format from a second device, wherein the first downlink control information includes a first indication as to whether cell deactivation for entering a network energy saving mode is activated; and receiving second downlink control information in the predefined downlink control information format from the second device, wherein the second downlink control information includes a second indication on whether a cell discontinuous operation is activated, the cell discontinuous operation including at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception; and Wherein, in the predefined downlink control information format, different bit fields are used for the first indication and for the second indication, or wherein in the predefined downlink control information format, the same bit field is used for the first indication and for the second indication, and a flag is used to indicate whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication. 2 . The first device according to claim 1 , wherein the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information are included in the same downlink control information message.

3. The first device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first indication is in the form of a single block of information bit string, or The first indication is in the form of a multi-block information bit string.

4. The first device according to claim 3, wherein the number of bits in the information bit string is equal to the total number of serving cells of the second device, or The number of bits in the information bit string is equal to the number of serving cells in the serving cell subset configured by the second apparatus at a higher layer. 5 . The first device according to claim 3 , wherein each information bit in the information bit string corresponds to a serving cell of the second device.

6. The first device according to claim 3, wherein in the predefined downlink control information format, the information bit string is located after the second indication; or, In the predefined downlink control information format, the information bit string is located before the second indication.

7. The first device according to claim 3, wherein the first device: According to determining that the first indication indicates that the cell shutdown for entering the network energy saving mode is activated for the serving cell, the information for the serving cell carried in the second indication is skipped.

8. The first apparatus of claim 2, wherein the same downlink control information message comprises the first indication of each primary cell having a higher layer configured by the second apparatus.

9. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information are received in different downlink control information messages. 10 . The first apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein a bit field of the first indication in the first downlink control information is different from a bit field of the second indication in the second downlink control information.

11. The first apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the bit field of the first indication in the first downlink control information is the same as the bit field of the second indication in the second downlink control information, and At least one information bit in the bit field includes a flag indicating whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication.

12. The first device according to claim 9, wherein in the predefined downlink control information format, the flag of each bit field indicates whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication in the second device, or In the predefined downlink link control information format, the flag for each serving cell or each bit block indicates whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication for each serving cell or each bit block in the predefined downlink link control information format.

13. The first device of claim 12, wherein the flag exists if the cell deactivation and the cell discontinuous operation for entering a network energy saving mode are both enabled or configured via higher layer parameters above a physical layer.

14. The first device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first device: At least one higher layer configuration is received from the second device, the at least one higher layer configuration indicating at least one starting bit position for monitoring the first indication.

15. The first apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first apparatus comprises a terminal device, and the second apparatus comprises a network device.

16. A second device for communication, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor cause the second device to: transmitting first downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format to a first device, wherein the first downlink control information includes a first indication of whether cell deactivation for entering a network energy saving mode is activated; and transmitting second downlink control information in the predefined downlink control information format to the first device, wherein the second downlink control information includes a second indication of whether a cell discontinuous operation is activated, the cell discontinuous operation including at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception; and Wherein, in the predefined downlink control information format, different bit fields are used for the first indication and for the second indication, or wherein in the predefined downlink control information format, the same bit field is used for the first indication and for the second indication, and a flag is used to indicate whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication. 17 . The second apparatus according to claim 16 , wherein the first downlink control information and the second downlink control information are included in the same downlink control information message.

18. The second device according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the first indication is in the form of a single block of information bit string, or The first indication is in the form of a multi-block information bit string.

19. The second device according to claim 18, wherein the number of bits in the information bit string is equal to the total number of serving cells of the second device, or, The number of bits in the information bit string is equal to the number of serving cells in the serving cell subset configured by the second apparatus at a higher layer.

20. The second device of claim 18, wherein each information bit in the information bit string corresponds to a serving cell of the second device.

21. The second device according to claim 18, wherein in the predefined downlink control information format, the information bit string is located after the second indication; or, In the predefined downlink control information format, the information bit string is located before the second indication.

22. The second apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the downlink control information comprises the first indication and the second indication for each serving cell or each block in the predefined downlink control information format, or, The same downlink control information message includes the first indication of each primary cell having a higher layer configured by the second device.

23. The second device according to claim 16, wherein the second device is configured to: The first downlink control information and the second downlink control information are transmitted in different downlink control information messages.

24. The second apparatus according to claim 23, wherein a bit field of the first indication in the first downlink control information is different from a bit field of the second indication in the second downlink control information.

25. The second apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the bit field of the first indication in the first downlink control information is the same as the bit field of the second indication in the second downlink control information, and At least one information bit in the bit field includes the flag indicating that the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication.

26. The second device according to claim 23, wherein in the predefined downlink control information format, the flag of each bit field indicates whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication in the second device, or, In the predefined downlink link control information format, the flag for each serving cell or each bit block indicates whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication for each serving cell or each bit block in the predefined downlink link control information format.

27. The second device of claim 26, wherein the flag bit exists if the cell deactivation and the cell discontinuous operation for entering a network energy saving mode are both enabled or configured via a higher layer parameter than a physical layer.

28. The second device according to claims 16 to 17, wherein the second device: At least one higher layer configuration is transmitted to the first apparatus, the at least one higher layer configuration indicating at least one starting bit position for monitoring the first indication.

29. The second apparatus according to claims 16 to 17, the first apparatus comprising a terminal device, and the second apparatus comprising a network device.

30. A method for communication, comprising: At the first device, receiving first downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format from the second device, wherein the first downlink control information includes a first indication as to whether cell deactivation for entering a network energy saving mode is activated; and receiving second downlink control information in the predefined downlink control information format from the second device, wherein the second downlink control information includes a second indication as to whether a cell discontinuous operation is activated, the cell discontinuous operation including at least one of: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception; Wherein, in the predefined downlink control information format, different bit fields are used for the first indication and for the second indication, or wherein in the predefined downlink control information format, the same bit field is used for the first indication and the second indication, and a flag is used to indicate whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication.

31. A method for communication, comprising: At the second device, transmitting first downlink control information in a predefined downlink control information format to the first device, wherein the first downlink control information includes a first indication as to whether cell deactivation for entering a network energy saving mode is activated; Transmitting second downlink control information in the predefined downlink control information format to the first device, wherein the second downlink control information includes a second indication of whether a cell discontinuous operation is activated, the cell discontinuous operation including at least one of the following: cell discontinuous transmission or cell discontinuous reception; and In the predefined downlink control information format, different bit fields are used for the first indication and for the second indication, or in the predefined downlink control information format, the same bit field is used for the first indication and for the second indication, and a flag is used to indicate whether the bit field includes the first indication or the second indication.

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