Terminal device and method executed by terminal device

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to terminal equipment and a method executed by the terminal equipment. In one aspect, a terminal device determines a short discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle and a long DRX cycle configured for the terminal device. Based on at least one of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle, at least one of the terminal devices determines (i) whether the terminal device is allowed to relax the measurement, or (ii) an evaluation period for relaxation of the measurement. In this way, UE behavior is predictable, and thus communication efficiency or effectiveness in a communication system may be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of communications, and particularly to terminal devices, methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media executed by terminal devices. Background Art

[0002] A communication network can be regarded as a device that enables communication between two or more communication devices or provides access of a communication device to a data network. A mobile or wireless communication network is an example of a communication network. A communication device can be served by an application server.

[0003] Such a communication network operates according to standards provided by, for example, 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) or ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). An example of a standard is the so-called 5G (Fifth Generation) standard provided by 3GPP. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Generally, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for measuring relaxation, particularly for radio link monitoring (RLM) measurements and beam failure detection (BFD) measurements.

[0005] In a first aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to at least: determine a short discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle and a long DRX cycle configured for the terminal device, and determine, based on at least one of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle, (i) whether the terminal device is allowed to relax measurements, or (ii) at least one of evaluation periods for relaxation of measurements.

[0006] In a second aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to at least: determine a short discontinuous reception DRX cycle and a long DRX cycle configured for the terminal device; detect a transition from using one of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle to using the other of the short DRX cycle and the long DRX cycle; and avoid reporting a relaxation state of measurements caused by the transition.

[0007] In a third aspect, a method is provided. The method includes determining a short discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle and a long DRX cycle configured for a terminal device, and determining, based on at least one of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle, (i) whether the terminal device is allowed to relax measurements, or (ii) at least one of evaluation periods for relaxation of measurements.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. The method includes determining a short discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle and a long DRX cycle configured for a terminal device; detecting a transition from using one of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle to using the other of the short DRX cycle and the long DRX cycle; and avoiding reporting a relaxed state of measurement caused by the transition.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a device is provided. The device includes: components for determining a short discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle and a long DRX cycle configured for a terminal device; and components for determining at least one of (i) whether the terminal device is allowed to relax measurement or (ii) an evaluation period for relaxation of measurement based on at least one of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a device is provided. The device includes components for determining a short discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle and a long DRX cycle configured for a terminal device; components for detecting a transition from using one of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle to using the other of the short DRX cycle and the long DRX cycle; and components for avoiding reporting a relaxed state of measurement caused by the transition.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, which includes program instructions for causing a device to at least execute the methods according to the third and fourth aspects.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, a computer program including instructions is provided. When the instructions are executed by a device, the instructions cause the device to at least execute the methods according to at least one of the third and fourth aspects.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes a determination circuit configured to determine a short discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle and a long DRX cycle configured for the terminal device; and a determination circuit configured to determine at least one of (i) whether the terminal device is allowed to relax measurement or (ii) an evaluation period for relaxation of measurement based on at least one of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes a determination circuit configured to determine a short discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle and a long DRX cycle configured for the terminal device; a detection circuit configured to detect a transition from using one of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle to using the other of the short DRX cycle and the long DRX cycle; and an avoidance circuit configured to avoid reporting a relaxed state of measurement caused by the transition.

[0015] It should be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Through the following description, other features of the present disclosure will become readily understandable. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0017] Figure 1A An example of a network environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented is shown;

[0018] Figure 1B A discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle related to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0019] Figure 2A A flowchart of a method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0020] Figure 2B A flowchart of a method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0021] Figure 2C A flowchart of a method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0022] Figure 3 Some principles of rules according to some embodiments of the present disclosure are shown;

[0023] Figure 4 A simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown; and

[0024] Figure 5 A block diagram of an example of a computer-readable medium according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0025] In all the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that the description of these embodiments is for illustrative purposes only and helps those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways different from those described below.

[0027] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains.

[0028] References to "an embodiment", "embodiment", "example embodiment", etc. in this disclosure mean that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not necessarily every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, these phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is considered within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to combine such feature, structure, or characteristic with other embodiments (whether explicitly described or not).

[0029] It should be understood that although terms such as "first" and "second" 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. For example, a first element may be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element may be termed a first element, and vice versa. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0030] The terms used herein are for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and are not intended to limit example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes", and / or "including" when used herein specify the presence of the stated features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof. As used herein, at least one of the following: "a list of two or more elements" and "at least one of " and similar phrases, where the list of two or more elements is joined by "and" or "or", means at least any one element, or at least any two or more elements, or at least all elements.

[0031] As used in this application, the term "circuit" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0032] (a) only hardware circuits (e.g., in analog and / or digital circuits) and

[0033] (b) a combination of hardware circuits and software, e.g., (as applicable):

[0034] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software (e.g., firmware); and

[0035] (ii) any part of a hardware processor (including a digital signal processor), software, and memory having software, which work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or a server to perform various functions, and

[0036] (c) Hardware circuits and / or processors, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but the software may be absent when it is not required to operate.

[0037] This definition of a circuit applies to all applications of this term in this application, including in any claim. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuit also encompasses an implementation of only a hardware circuit or a processor (or processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or a processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuit also encompasses (e.g., and if applicable to a particular claim element) a baseband integrated circuit or a processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, or other computing or networking device.

[0038] As used herein, the term "cellular network" refers to a network that operates according to any suitable radio access technology defined by standards such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), New Radio 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 of a cellular network can be performed according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, future fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocol known currently or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various cellular networks. Considering the rapid development of communication, and of course future types of communication technologies and systems, with which the present disclosure can be implemented. It should not be regarded as limiting the scope of the present invention to the above systems.

[0039] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to any device in a cellular network through which a terminal device accesses a data network and receives services presented by other network devices of the cellular network. In some examples, the network device may include or implement network functions of a fifth generation communication system (5GS) (e.g., a core network) of a cellular network. In some examples, the network device may be located at the RAN of the 5GS. Depending on the terms and technologies applied, the network device may be part of a satellite, a base station (BS), or an access point (AP), such as Node B (Node B or NB), evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), NR NB (also referred to as gNB), remote radio unit (RRU), radio head (RH), remote radio head (RRH), relay, low power nodes such as femto, pico nodes, etc. The gNB may include a centralized unit CU and one or more distributed DUs. Femto and Pico nodes are small base stations with a smaller coverage area.

[0040] The term "terminal device" refers to a device of a communication system of a cellular network, such as a 5th generation communication system (5GS) capable of wireless (e.g., radio) communication with the NR-RAN of the 5GS. By way of example and not limitation, the terminal device may also be referred to as a wireless communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). Examples of terminal devices include but are not limited to mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, IP voice (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablet computers, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, game terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless client devices (CPEs), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearables, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, targets, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or automation processing chain environment), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment", and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0041] A user equipment (UE) may be configured with discontinuous reception (DRX). Such a configuration may include long DRX and additional short DRX. Thus, the UE may be configured with a short DRX cycle and a long DRX cycle. However, when the configured DRX cycle is longer than, for example, 80 ms, the UE may no longer be allowed to relax RLM or BFD measurements. When the UE is configured with a short DRX cycle shorter than, for example, 80 ms and a long DRX cycle longer than, for example, 80 ms, the UE behavior is unclear. It is unclear whether the UE is allowed to relax RLM / BFD measurements. Without a clear and defined UE behavior, the network cannot determine the expected UE behavior. Therefore, without defining the UE behavior, when configured with long DRX and short DRX and also allowing RLM / BFD relaxation, different UEs in practice may implement differently and behave differently. This will complicate the network's use of these features.

[0042] In some scenarios, the network knows when the UE uses a short DRX cycle or a long DRX cycle for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring. Therefore, if the UE initiates a UE-assisted information procedure for reporting its RLM and / or BFD relaxation status every time when switching from using a short DRX cycle to using a long DRX cycle (or from using a long DRX cycle to using a short DRX cycle), this results in unnecessary signaling and increased UE power consumption.

[0043] In addition, when the configured short DRX cycle is shorter than, for example, 80 ms and the long DRX cycle is longer than, for example, 80 ms, the UE behavior is not clear. In this case, it is also not clear whether the UE is allowed to relax RLM / BFD measurements and whether the UE should report its RLM and / or BFD relaxation status accordingly.

[0044] In view of the above, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions for measurement relaxation. In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal device can determine a short discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle and a long DRX cycle configured for the terminal device. Based on at least one of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle, the terminal device can determine at least one of (i) whether the terminal device is allowed to relax measurements or (ii) an evaluation period for measurement relaxation. In this way, the UE behavior is predictable, and thus the communication efficiency or effectiveness in the communication system can be improved.

[0045] Figure 1A An example of a network environment 100a in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented is shown. Environment 100a can be part of a communication network and includes a plurality of terminal devices and network devices, such as terminal device 110 and network device 120. As an example, terminal device 110 can be implemented as a user equipment (UE) or an access terminal (AT), and network device 120 can be implemented as a base station (BS). Network device 120 can transmit various data to terminal device 110 via network environment 100a.

[0046] To transmit data and / or control information, terminal device 110 can perform communication with network device 120. The link from network device 120 to terminal device 110 is referred to as the downlink (DL), while the link from terminal device 110 to network device 120 is referred to as the uplink (UL).

[0047] Although terminal device 110 and network device 120 are described in the Figure 1A communication environment 100a, embodiments of the present disclosure can equally be applied to any other suitable communication devices that communicate with each other. That is, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the Figure 1A exemplary scenario. In this regard, it should be noted that although in theFigure 1A The terminal device is schematically described as a mobile phone, and the network device 120 is schematically described as a base station. However, it should be understood that these descriptions are exemplary in nature and do not imply any limitation. In other embodiments, the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 can be any other communication devices, such as any other wireless communication device.

[0048] It should be understood that Figure 1A The specific number of various communication devices shown and the specific number of various communication links are for illustrative purposes only and do not imply any limitation. The communication environment 100a can include any suitable number of communication devices and any suitable number of communication links for implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure. In addition, it should be understood that there can be various wireless and wired communications (if needed) between all communication devices.

[0049] Figure 1B A discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle 100b related to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. UE power saving can be achieved by the terminal device or the UE 110 relaxing the measurement of RLM / BFD. When configured, the UE can determine whether it is in a low mobility state and / or whether the radio link quality of its serving cell is better than a threshold. The configuration of the low mobility and good serving cell quality criteria is provided by dedicated RRC signaling. RLM and BFD relaxation can be enabled / disabled respectively through one or more RRC configurations. Additionally, RLM relaxation can be enabled / disabled on a per cell group basis, while BFD relaxation can be enabled / disabled on a per serving cell basis.

[0050] When the relaxation measurement criteria for low mobility and / or for good serving cell quality are met, the UE is allowed to perform RLM and / or BFD relaxation. If configured to do so, the UE can trigger the reporting of its RLM and / or BFD relaxation state through UE assistance information if the UE changes its corresponding RLM and / or BFD relaxation state while meeting the UE minimum requirements.

[0051] If at least one of the following conditions is met, the UE is not allowed to relax the RLM measurement and apply relaxed radio link monitoring: The UE sends a synchronization indication to a higher layer; The timer T310 is running; Or DRX is not configured or the configured DRX cycle 100b is longer than, for example, 80 ms. If at least one of the following conditions is met, the UE may not be allowed to relax the BFD measurement and apply the relaxed link recovery process: The timer beamFailureDetectionTimer is running; Or DRX is not configured or the configured DRX cycle 100b is longer than, for example, 80 ms.

[0052] When configuring DRX 100b, the UE does not have to continuously monitor the PDCCH. The on-duration is the duration for which the UE can wait at least to receive the PDCCH after waking up. If the UE successfully decodes the PDCCH, the UE can stay awake and start the inactivity timer. The inactivity timer is the duration for which the UE can wait for a successful PDCCH decoding, starting from the last successful decoding of the PDCCH. If it fails, the UE can return to sleep. The UE can restart the inactivity timer after a single successful decoding of the PDCCH only for the first transmission (i.e., not for retransmissions). The retransmission timer is the duration until a retransmission can be expected. This cycle can specify the periodic repetition of the on-duration, followed by a possible inactivity period.

[0053] The active time is the total duration for which the UE monitors the PDCCH. It can include the "on-duration" of the DRX cycle, the time when the UE is performing continuous reception while the inactivity timer has not expired, and the time when the UE is performing continuous reception while waiting for a retransmission opportunity. The UE can also be configured with a short DRX cycle, which is used after the drx-InactivityTimer expires, or if the UE receives a DRX command MAC CE.

[0054] When DRX is configured, the MAC entity can start or restart the drx-ShortCycleTimer of the DRX group in the first symbol after the drx-InactivityTimer expires, and use the short DRX cycle of the DRX group if the drx-InactivityTimer of the DRX group expires and the short DRX cycle is configured. Otherwise, the MAC entity can use the long DRX cycle of the DRX group.

[0055] If a DRX command MAC CE indicated by a PDCCH addressed to a C-RNTI or CS-RNTI is received, or a DRX command MAC CE indicated by a configured downlink assignment for a single transmission is received, and a short DRX cycle is configured, the MAC entity can start or restart the drx-ShortCycleTimer for each DRX group in the first symbol after the end of the DRX command MAC CE reception, and use the short DRX cycle for each DRX group. Otherwise, the MAC entity can use the long DRX cycle for each DRX group.

[0056] If the drx-ShortCycleTimer of a DRX group expires, the MAC entity may use the long DRX cycle for that DRX group. If a long DRX command MAC CE is received, the MAC entity may stop the drx-ShortCycleTimer for each DRX group and use the long DRX cycle for each DRX group.

[0057] If the short DRX cycle is used for a DRX group and [(SFN × 10) + subframe number] modulo (drx-ShortCycle) = (drx-StartOffset) modulo (drx-ShortCycle), the MAC entity may start the drx-onDurationTimer for that DRX group after drx-SlotOffset from the start of the subframe.

[0058] Figure 2A A flowchart of a method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For purposes of discussion, method 200a will be referred to Figure 1A to describe. It should be understood that although the processing flow 200a is described with reference to Figure 1A the processing flow 200a, the processing flow 200a can equally be applied to other similar communication scenarios.

[0059] In processing flow 200a, the terminal device 110 may determine (202) the short discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle and the long DRX cycle configured for the terminal device. Based on the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle (or based on both), the terminal device 110 may determine (204) whether the terminal device is allowed to relax measurements, or determine the relaxation evaluation period for measurements, or both.

[0060] For example, in some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine that the terminal device 110 is allowed to relax measurements regardless of the long DRX cycle based on determining that the short DRX cycle is less than or equal to a threshold duration. In some other embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine that the terminal device is allowed to relax measurements based on determining that the short DRX cycle is less than or equal to a threshold duration and the long DRX cycle is greater than the threshold duration.

[0061] Also in some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine that the terminal device is allowed to relax measurements based on determining that the short DRX cycle is less than or equal to a threshold duration. Additionally or alternatively, the terminal device 110 may determine that the terminal device is not allowed to relax measurements based on determining that the short DRX cycle is greater than the threshold duration.

[0062] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine whether to allow the terminal device to exit relaxed measurements based on the short DRX cycle.

[0063] In some other examples, the terminal device 110 may determine the evaluation period of the measurement as follows: Based on determining that the short DRX cycle is less than or equal to a threshold duration, and the long DRX cycle is greater than the threshold duration, determine the relaxed evaluation period based on the DRX cycle used by the terminal device 110 to determine that the terminal device 110 is allowed to relax the measurement.

[0064] Also in some examples, the terminal device 110 may determine the evaluation period of the measurement as follows: Based on determining that both the short DRX cycle and the long DRX cycle are less than or equal to a threshold duration, determine the relaxed evaluation period based on the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle. Which DRX cycle is used to determine the relaxed evaluation period may be predefined using the long DRX cycle, indicated by the UE in the UE capabilities for example, or configured by the network.

[0065] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the evaluation period of the measurement as follows: Based on determining that the terminal device is allowed to relax the measurement, determine the relaxed evaluation period for evaluating whether the downlink radio link quality has become worse than a threshold based on one of the long DRX cycle or the short DRX cycle. Additionally or alternatively, the terminal device 110 may determine the evaluation period of the measurement as follows: Determine the relaxed evaluation period for evaluating whether the downlink radio link quality has become better than a threshold based on the other of the long DRX cycle or the short DRX cycle.

[0066] Additionally or alternatively, the threshold duration may be 80 milliseconds or any other appropriate time length.

[0067] In some example embodiments, the measurement includes radio link monitoring (RLM) measurements and / or beam failure detection (BFD) measurements.

[0068] Figure 2B A flowchart of a method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For purposes of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1A Method 200b is described. It should be understood that although the processing flow 200b has been described with reference to Figure 1A the processing flow 200b, the processing flow 200b can equally be applied to other similar communication scenarios.

[0069] In the processing flow 200b, the terminal device 110 may first determine (206) the short discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle and the long DRX cycle configured for the terminal device. Then, the terminal device 110 may detect (208) a transition from using one of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle to using the other of the short DRX cycle and the long DRX cycle. The terminal device 110 may avoid (210) reporting the relaxed state of the measurement caused by the transition.

[0070] In some other embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine that the measured relaxation state has changed due to a transition. In some example embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine whether to allow the terminal device to relax the measurement based on a short DRX cycle or a long DRX cycle or based on both.

[0071] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may avoid initiating a UE assistance information procedure for reporting the relaxation state of the measurement. In some examples, the terminal device 110 may exclude reporting of the relaxation state of the measurement from the UE assistance information procedure. In some examples, the terminal device 110 may determine that the relaxation state of the measurement has changed due to reasons other than a transition (e.g., mobility, good channel quality), and the terminal device 110 may then report the current relaxation state of the measurement.

[0072] In some examples, the terminal device 110 may compare the relaxation state of the measurement with the previously reported relaxation state of the measurement. The terminal device 110 may report the current relaxation state of the measurement based on determining that the relaxation state is different from the previously reported relaxation state. The report may include initiating a UE assistance information procedure for reporting the relaxation state of the measurement. Also in some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may avoid reporting the current relaxation state of the measurement based on determining that the relaxation state is the same as the previously reported relaxation state. Additionally or alternatively, the measurement may include radio link monitoring (RLM) measurements and / or beam failure detection (BFD) measurements.

[0073] Figure 2C A flowchart of a method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. It should be noted that the processing flow 200c can be regarded as Figure 1A another instance of. For example, the terminal device 230 may be one of the example devices of the terminal device 110, and the network device 240 may be one of the example devices of the network device 120. It should be understood that the description of these devices is for illustrative purposes only and does not imply any limitation to the scope of the present disclosure.

[0074] In some embodiments, the network device 240 may configure a DRX cycle for the terminal device 230, and the terminal device 230 may send a capability indication 205 to the network device 240, where the capability indication 205 indicates a preferred DRX cycle for relaxation and whether the terminal device is capable of performing per cell group (per CG) relaxation measurements.

[0075] In some other embodiments, the network device 240 may transmit an RRC reconfiguration 207 to the terminal device 230, including a relaxation configuration and a DRX cycle. In some embodiments, the terminal device 230 may determine (215) whether to relax the measurement. Also in some embodiments, the terminal device 230 may perform (217) the measurement based on the relaxation or non-relaxation behavior. The terminal device may transmit a measurement report 219 to the network device 240.

[0076] Figure 3 Some principles of rule 300 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure are shown. It should be noted that the processing flow 300 may be regarded as another example of the processing flow 200. It should be understood that these elements are described only for illustrative purposes and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure.

[0077] In Figure 3 , element X may represent a configured long DRX, and element Y may represent a configured short DRX. In some embodiments, the UE is configured with a long DRX X and a short DRX Y, and it may also be configured to allow relaxation of RLM / BFD measurements. For example, in some embodiments, if X > 80 ms, the UE is not allowed to relax RLM or BFD. In another example, if X > 80 ms and Y <= 80 ms, the UE may be allowed to relax RLM / BFD. Also in some examples, if X <= 80 ms and Y <= 80 ms, the UE may be allowed to relax RLM / BFD.

[0078] In some detailed embodiments, if the configured short DRX cycle is shorter than, for example, 80 ms and / or if the configured long DRX cycle is longer than, for example, 80 ms, the UE may determine that the UE is not allowed to relax RLM / BFD measurements.

[0079] In an example embodiment, if the configured long DRX cycle is longer than, for example, 80 ms, the UE may determine that the UE is not allowed to relax RLM / BFD measurements, regardless of the length of the configured short DRX cycle.

[0080] In some examples, if the length of the configured short DRX cycle is, for example, 80 ms or less than, for example, 80 ms (even regardless of the length of the configured long DRX cycle), the UE may determine that the UE is allowed to relax RLM / BFD measurements.

[0081] Additionally or alternatively, the UE may use the shortest or longest configured DRX cycle (short or long) to determine whether to allow the UE to relax RLM / BFD measurements. For example, if short DRX is configured with a DRX cycle of 80 ms or less than, for example, 80 ms, the UE may be allowed to relax RLM / BFD measurements. In another example, if the configured longest DRX cycle (long or short) is, for example, 80 ms or less than, for example, 80 ms, the UE may be allowed to relax RLM / BFD measurements.

[0082] In some embodiments, if both the short DRX cycle and the long DRX cycle are longer than, for example, 80 ms, the UE may determine that the UE is not allowed to relax RLM / BFD measurements. In other examples, if both the short DRX cycle and the long DRX cycle are shorter than, for example, 80 ms, the UE may be allowed to relax RLM / BFD measurements.

[0083] In some example embodiments, the UE may use the shortest configured DRX cycle to determine whether to allow the UE to relax RLM / BFD measurements, and the UE may use the longest configured DRX cycle to determine whether to allow the UE to exit the relaxed RLM / BFD measurements. The method of the present disclosure may be applied when the configured short DRX cycle or long DRX cycle is not longer than, for example, 80 ms.

[0084] The method of the present invention may also be applied to determine the evaluation period for relaxing RLM / BFD measurements. In some cases, when both short DRX and long DRX are configured, it may not be clear what the "DRX cycle" refers to.

[0085] In some example embodiments, the UE determines that the short DRX cycle is less than or equal to a threshold duration (e.g., 80 ms), and the long DRX cycle is greater than the threshold duration. The UE will determine the relaxation evaluation period for RLM / BFD measurements based on the DRX cycle used by the terminal device to determine that the terminal device is allowed to relax the measurements, or determine the relaxation evaluation period based on the long DRX cycle. For example, if the UE uses the short DRX cycle to determine that the terminal device is allowed to relax the measurements without considering the long DRX cycle, the relaxation evaluation period is determined based on the short DRX cycle. Alternatively, when the UE performs relaxation measurements for both the short DRX cycle and the long DRX cycle, the UE may determine the relaxation evaluation period for RLM / BFD measurements based on the long DRX cycle.

[0086] In some other example embodiments, the UE determines that both the short DRX cycle and the long DRX cycle are less than or equal to a threshold duration (e.g., 80 ms). The UE may determine the relaxation evaluation period based on the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle. For example, the relaxation evaluation period is always determined based on the long DRX cycle.

[0087] In some other example embodiments, the UE may determine to allow the terminal device to relax the measurement. Then, the UE may determine a relaxed evaluation period for evaluating whether the downlink radio link quality has become worse than a threshold (e.g., Qout) based on one of the long DRX cycle and the short DRX cycle, and determine a relaxed evaluation period for evaluating whether the downlink radio link quality has become better than a threshold (e.g., Qin) based on the other of the long DRX cycle and the short DRX cycle.

[0088] In some other embodiments, when the UE is configured with a short DRX cycle and a long DRX cycle, when the relaxation state is changed due to the transition from using the short DRX cycle to the long DRX cycle (or from using the long DRX cycle to the short DRX cycle), the UE may or may not trigger an RLM / BFD measurement relaxation state report.

[0089] Additionally or alternatively, when the relaxation state is changed due to the transition from using the short DRX cycle to the long DRX cycle (or from using the long DRX cycle to the short DRX cycle), the UE may or may not initiate a UE assistance information procedure for the RLM / BFD measurement relaxation state report.

[0090] In some examples, due to the UE transitioning from a short DRX cycle to a long DRX cycle or the UE transitioning from a long DRX cycle to a short DRX cycle, the UE may exclude the RLM / BFD relaxation state report.

[0091] In some embodiments, if the relaxation state of the RLM / BFD measurement of the cell group is currently different from the relaxation state reported in the last transmission of the UE Assistance Information message including the rlm / bfd-MeasRelaxationState of the cell group, and the change in the relaxation state is not (or is) due to the transition from using the short DRX cycle to the long DRX cycle (or from using the long DRX cycle to the short DRX cycle).

[0092] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., the terminal device 110) capable of performing the method 200A may include components for performing the respective steps of the method 200A. The components may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the device may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0093] In some embodiments, the device includes: components for determining a short discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle and a long DRX cycle configured for the terminal device; and components for determining at least one of (i) whether the terminal device is allowed to relax the measurement or (ii) a relaxed evaluation period of the measurement based on at least one of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle.

[0094] In some embodiments, the component for determining whether to allow the terminal device to relax measurement includes: a component for determining to allow the terminal device to relax measurement regardless of the long DRX cycle based on determining that the short DRX cycle is less than or equal to a threshold duration. In some embodiments, the component for determining whether to allow the terminal device to relax measurement includes: a component for determining to allow the terminal device to relax measurement based on determining that the short DRX cycle is less than or equal to a threshold duration and the long DRX cycle is greater than the threshold duration.

[0095] In some embodiments, the component for determining whether to allow the terminal device to relax measurement includes: a component for determining to allow the terminal device to relax measurement based on determining that the short DRX cycle is less than or equal to a threshold duration. Also in some embodiments, the component for determining whether to allow the terminal device to relax measurement includes a component for determining not to allow the terminal device to relax measurement based on determining that the short DRX cycle is greater than the threshold duration.

[0096] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further includes a component for determining whether to allow the terminal device to exit relaxed measurement based on the short DRX cycle. In some exemplary embodiments, the component for determining the evaluation period of the measurement includes: a component for determining the evaluation period of relaxation based on determining that the short DRX cycle is less than or equal to a threshold duration and the long DRX cycle is greater than the threshold duration, based on the DRX cycle used by the terminal device to determine to allow the terminal device to relax the measurement, or based on the long DRX cycle to determine the evaluation period of relaxation.

[0097] Also in some embodiments, the component for determining the evaluation period of the measurement includes: a component for determining the evaluation period of relaxation based on determining that both the short DRX cycle and the long DRX cycle are less than or equal to a threshold duration, based on the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle.

[0098] Also in some embodiments, the component for determining the evaluation period of the measurement includes: a component for determining, based on determining that the terminal device is allowed to relax measurement, the evaluation period of relaxation for estimating whether the downlink radio link quality has become worse than a threshold based on one of the long DRX cycle and the short DRX cycle, and a component for determining the evaluation period of relaxation for estimating whether the downlink radio link quality has become better than the threshold based on the other of the long DRX cycle and the short DRX cycle. Also in some embodiments, the threshold duration is 80 milliseconds. In some example embodiments, the measurement includes radio link monitoring (RLM) measurement and / or beam failure detection (BFD) measurement.

[0099] In some embodiments, the device further includes means for performing other steps in some embodiments of method 200a. In some embodiments, the means includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to cause the performance of the device together with the at least one processor.

[0100] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., terminal device 110) capable of performing method 200B may include means for performing the respective steps of method 200B. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0101] In some exemplary embodiments, the means includes: means for determining a short discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle and a long DRX cycle configured for the terminal device; means for detecting a transition from using one of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle to using the other of the short DRX cycle and the long DRX cycle; and means for avoiding reporting a relaxed state of measurement due to the transition.

[0102] In some exemplary embodiments, the means further includes means for determining that the relaxed state of measurement has changed due to the transition. In some example embodiments, the means further includes a module for determining whether to allow the terminal device to relax measurement based on at least one of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle.

[0103] In some example embodiments, the means further includes an evaluation period for avoiding initiating a UE assistance information procedure for reporting the relaxed state of measurement. In some example embodiments, the means further includes an evaluation period for excluding the reporting of the relaxed state of measurement from the UE assistance information procedure.

[0104] In some exemplary embodiments, the device further includes means for determining that the relaxed state of measurement has changed due to reasons other than the transition; and means for reporting the current relaxed state of measurement.

[0105] In some exemplary embodiments, the device further includes means for comparing the relaxed state of the measurement with a previously reported relaxed state of the measurement, and means for reporting the current relaxed state of the measurement based on determining that the relaxed state is different from the previously reported relaxed state, wherein the reporting includes initiating a UE assistance information procedure for reporting the relaxed state of the measurement, and means for avoiding reporting the current relaxed state of the measurement based on determining that the relaxed state is the same as the previously reported relaxed state. In some example embodiments, the measurement includes radio link monitoring (RLM) measurement and / or beam failure detection (BFD) measurement.

[0106] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes components for performing other steps in some embodiments of method 200b. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to cause the performance of the apparatus together with the at least one processor.

[0107] Figure 4 FIG. 4 shows a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 400 suitable for implementing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus 400 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, such as Figure 1A shown in the terminal device 110 and the network device 120. As shown, the apparatus 400 includes one or more processors 410, one or more memories 420 coupled to the processor 410, and one or more communication modules 440 coupled to the processor 410.

[0108] The communication module 440 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 440 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communicating with other network elements.

[0109] The processor 410 may be of any type suitable for a local technical network and may include one or more of the following: by way of non-limiting example, 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. The apparatus 400 may have multiple processors, such as an application-specific integrated circuit chip that is subordinate to a clock that synchronizes the main processor in time.

[0110] The memory 420 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) 424, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), and other magnetic storage devices and / or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memories include but are not limited to random access memory (RAM) 422 and other volatile memories that do not persist during a power outage duration.

[0111] The computer program 430 includes computer-executable instructions executed by the associated processor 410. The program 430 may be stored in the ROM 424. The processor 410 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 430 into the RAM 422.

[0112] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by the program 430 such that the apparatus 400 may perform with reference to Figure 2A and Figure 2BAny process of the present disclosure discussed. Embodiments of the present disclosure can also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0113] In some example embodiments, the program 430 can be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium, which can be included in the device 400 (e.g., in the memory 420) or other storage devices accessible to the device 400. The device 400 can load the program 430 from the computer-readable medium into the RAM 422 for execution. The computer-readable medium can include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc.

[0114] Figure 5 A block diagram of an example of a computer-readable medium 500 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. The program 430 is stored on the computer-readable medium 500. Note that although the computer-readable medium 500 is shown in the form of a CD or DVD in Figure 5 , the computer-readable medium 500 can be any other form suitable for carrying or storing the program 430.

[0115] Generally, the various embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in hardware or a dedicated circuit, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented in hardware, and other aspects can be implemented in firmware or software, which can be executed by a controller, a microprocessor, or other computing devices. Although aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representation, it should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented as non-limiting examples in hardware, software, firmware, a dedicated circuit or logic, general hardware or a controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0116] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor, such as the instructions included in a program module, to perform the methods 200a and 200b described above with reference to Figure 2A and Figure 2B . Generally, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functions of the program modules can be combined or divided as needed among the program modules. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules can be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program modules can be located in local and remote storage media.

[0117] The program code for performing the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, such that when the program codes are executed by the processor or controller, the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams are implemented. The program codes may execute entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0118] In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of the carrier wave include signals, computer-readable media, etc.

[0119] 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, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer-readable storage medium will include an electrical connection having 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 disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing devices. The term "non-transitory" as used herein is a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, rather than a signal), rather than a limitation on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM versus ROM).

[0120] Furthermore, although the operations are described in a specific order, this should not be construed as requiring that the operations be performed in the specific order shown or in sequential order, or that all of the illustrated operations be performed, 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 foregoing discussion, these details should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments. Certain features described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented separately or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments.

[0121] Although the present disclosure has been described in terms of structural features and / or method acts specific thereto, it should be understood that the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the above specific features or acts. Rather, the above specific features and acts are disclosed as example forms for implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to at least: determine a short discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle and a long DRX cycle configured for the terminal device; detect a transition from using one of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle to using the other of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle; and avoid reporting a relaxed state of a measurement caused by the transition.

2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is further caused to: determine that the relaxed state of the measurement has changed due to the transition.

3. The terminal device according to claim 2, wherein the terminal device is further caused to: determine that the terminal device is allowed to relax the measurement based on the short DRX cycle being less than or equal to a threshold duration and the long DRX cycle being greater than the threshold duration.

4. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the terminal device is further caused to at least one of the following: avoid initiating a UE assistance information procedure for reporting the relaxed state of the measurement, or exclude the reporting of the relaxed state of the measurement from the UE assistance information procedure.

5. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the terminal device is further caused to: determine that the relaxed state of the measurement has changed due to a reason other than the transition; and report the current relaxed state of the measurement.

6. The terminal device according to claim 5, wherein the terminal device is further caused to: compare the relaxed state of the measurement with a previously reported relaxed state of the measurement; report the current relaxed state of the measurement based on determining that the relaxed state is different from the previously reported relaxed state, wherein the reporting includes initiating a UE assistance information procedure for reporting the relaxed state of the measurement; and avoid reporting the current relaxed state of the measurement based on determining that the relaxed state is the same as the previously reported relaxed state.

7. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the measurement includes at least one of the following: radio link monitoring (RLM) measurement; or beam failure detection (BFD) measurement.

8. A terminal device, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to at least: determine a short discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle and a long DRX cycle configured for the terminal device; and determine that the terminal device is allowed to relax a measurement based on the short DRX cycle being less than or equal to a threshold duration and the long DRX cycle being greater than the threshold duration.

9. The terminal device according to claim 8, wherein the terminal device is further caused to: determine whether the terminal device is allowed to exit the relaxed measurement based on the short DRX cycle.

10. The terminal device according to any one of claims 8 to 9, wherein the terminal device is configured to: Determine a relaxed evaluation period for the measurement based on at least one of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle.

11. The terminal device according to claim 10, wherein the terminal device is configured to determine the relaxed evaluation period for the measurement by: Based on determining that the short DRX cycle is less than or equal to the threshold duration and the long DRX cycle is greater than the threshold duration, determine the relaxed evaluation period based on the DRX cycle used by the terminal device to determine that the terminal device is allowed to relax the measurement, or determine the relaxed evaluation period based on the long DRX cycle.

12. The terminal device according to any one of claims 10 to 11, wherein the terminal device is configured to determine the relaxed evaluation period for the measurement by: Based on determining that both the short DRX cycle and the long DRX cycle are less than or equal to the threshold duration, determine the relaxed evaluation period based on the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle.

13. The terminal device according to any one of claims 11 to 12, wherein the terminal device is configured to determine the relaxed evaluation period for the measurement by: Based on determining that the terminal device is allowed to relax the measurement, determine the relaxed evaluation period for evaluating whether the downlink radio link quality has become worse than the threshold based on one of the long DRX cycle or the short DRX cycle, and determine the relaxed evaluation period for evaluating whether the downlink radio link quality has become better than the threshold based on the other of the long DRX cycle or the short DRX cycle.

14. The terminal device according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein the threshold duration is 80 milliseconds.

15. The terminal device according to any one of claims 8 to 14, wherein the measurement includes at least one of the following: Radio Link Monitoring (RLM) measurement; or Beam Failure Detection (BFD) measurement.

16. A method performed by a terminal device, the method comprising: Determine a short Discontinuous Reception (DRX) cycle and a long DRX cycle configured for the terminal device; Detect a transition from using one of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle to using the other of the short DRX cycle or the long DRX cycle; And Avoid reporting a relaxed state of the measurement caused by the transition.

17. A method performed by a terminal device, the method comprising: Determine a short Discontinuous Reception (DRX) cycle and a long DRX cycle configured for the terminal device; And Based on the short DRX cycle being less than or equal to the threshold duration and the long DRX cycle being greater than the threshold duration, determine that the terminal device is allowed to relax the measurement.

18. A terminal device, comprising components for performing the method according to claim 16 or the method according to claim 17.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium, comprising program instructions which, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform the method according to claim 16 or the method according to claim 17.

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