Terminal device and method performed by terminal device

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a terminal device and a method performed by a terminal device. In one aspect, the 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 device determines (i) whether the terminal device is allowed to relax measurements, or (ii) an evaluation period for the relaxation of measurements. In this way, UE behavior is predictable, and thus, communication efficiency or effectiveness in a communication system can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to the field of communications, and more particularly to terminal devices, methods performed by terminal devices, apparatus, and computer-readable storage media. Background Technology

[0002] A communication network can be viewed as a device that enables communication between two or more communication devices, or provides communication devices with access to a data network. Mobile or wireless communication networks are an example of communication networks. Communication devices may be served by application servers.

[0003] Such communication networks operate according to standards provided by organizations such as 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) or ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). An example of such a standard is the so-called 5G (fifth generation) standard provided by 3GPP. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Typically, the exemplary embodiments of this 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) period and a long DRX period configured for the terminal device, and determine, based on at least one of the short DRX period or the long DRX period, at least one of (i) whether the terminal device is permitted to relax a measurement, or (ii) an evaluation period for relaxation of the measurement.

[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 period and a long DRX period configured for the terminal device; detect a transition from using one of the short DRX period or the long DRX period to using the other of the short DRX period and the long DRX period; and avoid reporting a relaxation state of measurement due to the transition.

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

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. This method includes determining a short discontinuous reception DRX period and a long DRX period configured for a terminal device; detecting a transition from using either the short or long DRX period to using the other of both; and avoiding reporting a relaxation state in measurements due to the transition.

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

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

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

[0012] In an eighth aspect, a computer program comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least one method according to a third aspect and a fourth aspect.

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

[0014] In a tenth aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes determining circuitry configured to determine a short discontinuous reception (DRX) period and a long DRX period configured for the terminal device; a detection circuitry configured to detect a transition from using either the short DRX period or the long DRX period to using the other of the short DRX period and the long DRX period; and an avoidance circuitry configured to avoid reporting a relaxation state of measurement due to the transition.

[0015] It should be understood that the overview section is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Other features of this disclosure will become readily apparent from the following description. Attached Figure Description

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

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

[0018] Figure 1B Discontinuous reception (DRX) cycles associated with some embodiments of this disclosure are 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 This illustrates some principles of the rules according to some embodiments of this disclosure;

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

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

[0025] In all the accompanying figures, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The principles of this disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing this disclosure, and do not imply any limitation on the scope of this disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways other than 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 this disclosure pertains.

[0028] In this disclosure, references to "an embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc., indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment needs to include that particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, these phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Additionally, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is believed that combining it with other embodiments (whether explicitly described or not) to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0029] It should be understood that while the terms “first” and “second”, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element, and unlike that, a second element may be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0030] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the exemplary 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 “comprising,” “including,” “having,” “owning,” “containing,” and / or “comprising” as used herein specify the presence of the stated 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. As used herein, at least one of the following: “a list of two or more elements” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, wherein a list of two or more elements is connected 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 of the following:

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

[0033] (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (if applicable):

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

[0035] (ii) Any part of a hardware processor (including a digital signal processor), software, and memory that works together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions.

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

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

[0038] As used herein, the term "cellular network" refers to a network operating according to any suitable radio access technology defined by standards such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-A Advanced (LTE-A), New Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), and Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT). Furthermore, communication between terminal devices and network devices in a cellular network can be performed according to any suitable communication protocol, including but not limited to fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, future fifth-generation (5G) communication protocols, and / or any other currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to a variety of cellular networks. Given the rapid development of communications, there are, of course, future types of communication technologies and systems that can be used to implement this disclosure. This should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention to the systems described above.

[0039] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to any device in a cellular network through which terminal devices access data networks and receive services offered by other network devices in the cellular network. In some examples, a network device may include or implement the network functions of a fifth-generation communication system (5GS) (e.g., the core network) of the cellular network. In some examples, a network device may be located at the RAN of the 5GS. Depending on the terminology and technologies applied, a network device may be part of a satellite, base station (BS), or access point (AP), such as a Node B (Node B or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), an NRNB (also known as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Head (RH), a Remote Radio Head (RRH), a relay, a low-power node such as a femto, a pico node, etc. A gNB may include a centralized unit (CU) and one or more distributed units (DUs). Femto and Pico nodes are small base stations with small coverage areas.

[0040] The term "terminal equipment" refers to equipment in a cellular network communication system, such as a 5th generation communication system (5GS) capable of wireless (e.g., radio) communication with the NR-RAN of 5GS. As an example and not a limitation, terminal equipment may also be referred to as wireless communication equipment, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). Examples of terminal devices include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, Voice over IP (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, gaming 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 industrial and / or automated processing chain environments, consumer electronics 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" are used interchangeably.

[0041] User equipment (UE) can be configured with discontinuous reception (DRX). Such a configuration can include a long DRX and an additional short DRX. Therefore, a UE can be configured with both short and long DRX periods. However, when the configured DRX period is longer than, for example, 80 ms, the UE may no longer be allowed to relax RLM or BFD measurements. When a UE is configured with a short DRX period shorter than, for example, 80 ms and a long DRX period 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 clearly defined UE behavior, the network cannot determine the expected UE behavior. Therefore, without defining UE behavior, different UEs in practice may implement and behave differently when configured with both long and short DRX and also allowing RLM / BFD relaxation. This complicates the use of these features by the network.

[0042] In some scenarios, the network knows when the UE will use short or long DRX cycles for Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring. Therefore, if the UE initiates a UE assistance information procedure to report its RLM and / or BFD relaxation state every time it switches from using short to using long DRX cycles (or vice versa), this results in unnecessary signaling and increased UE power consumption.

[0043] Furthermore, when the configured short DRX period is shorter than, for example, 80ms and the long DRX period is longer than, for example, 80ms, the UE behavior is unclear. In this case, it is also unclear 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 foregoing, exemplary embodiments of this disclosure provide a solution for measurement relaxation. In example embodiments of this disclosure, a terminal device may determine a short discontinuous reception (DRX) period and a long DRX period configured for the terminal device. Based on at least one of the short DRX period or the long DRX period, the terminal device may determine at least one of (i) whether the terminal device is permitted to relax the measurement or (ii) the evaluation period for the relaxation used in the measurement. Thus, UE behavior is predictable, and therefore communication efficiency or effectiveness in the communication system can be improved.

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

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

[0047] Despite Figure 1A The terminal device 110 and network device 120 are described in the communication environment 100a, but the embodiments of this disclosure can also be applied to any other suitable communication devices communicating with each other. That is, the embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to... Figure 1A An exemplary scenario. In this regard, it should be noted that, although in Figure 1A The terminal device 110 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 may be any other communication device, such as any other wireless communication device.

[0048] It should be understood that Figure 1A The specific numbers of various communication devices and communication links shown are for illustrative purposes only and do not imply any limitation. Communication environment 100a may include any suitable number of communication devices and any suitable number of communication links for implementing embodiments of this disclosure. Furthermore, it should be understood that various wireless and wired communications (if desired) may exist between all communication devices.

[0049] Figure 1B Discontinuous Receive (DRX) cycle 100b is illustrated in relation to some embodiments of this disclosure. UE power savings can be achieved by relaxing RLM / BFD measurements by the terminal device or UE 110. When configured, the UE can determine whether it is in a low mobility state and / or whether its serving cell radio link quality is better than a threshold. Configuration of low mobility and good serving cell quality criteria is provided via dedicated RRC signaling. RLM and BFD relaxation can be enabled / disabled separately through one or more RRC configurations. Furthermore, 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 good serving cell quality are met, the UE is allowed to perform RLM and / or BFD relaxation. If configured to do so, if the UE changes its corresponding RLM and / or BFD relaxation state while meeting the UE minimum requirements, the UE can trigger a report of its RLM and / or BFD relaxation state via UE auxiliary information.

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

[0052] When DRX 100b is configured, the UE does not need to continuously monitor the PDCCH. The on-duration is the minimum duration the UE can wait to receive the PDCCH after waking up. If the UE successfully decodes the PDCCH, it can remain awake and start an inactivity timer. The inactivity timer is the duration the UE can wait for 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 for the first transmission only (i.e., not for retransmissions). The retransmission timer is the duration until a retransmission can be expected. This period can specify a periodic repetition of the on-duration, followed by a possible inactivity period.

[0053] The activation time is the total duration for which the UE monitors the PDCCH. It can include the "on-hook duration" of the DRX cycle, the time the UE is continuously receiving data while the inactivity timer has not expired, and the time the UE is continuously receiving data 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. If the drx-InactivityTimer of the DRX group expires and a short DRX cycle is configured, the short DRX cycle of the DRX group is used. Otherwise, the MAC entity can use the long DRX cycle of the DRX group.

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

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

[0057] If a short DRX cycle is used for a DRX group, and [(SFN×10)+subframe number] modulo (drx-ShortCycle) = (drx-StartOffset) modulo (drx-ShortCycle), then the MAC entity can start the drx-onDurationTimer for that DRX group after the drx-SlotOffset of 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, reference will be made to... Figure 1A Method 200a is described. It should be understood that, although referenced... Figure 1A Processing flow 200a is described, but this processing flow 200a can also be applied to other similar communication scenarios.

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

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

[0061] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 may determine whether to allow the terminal device to relax the measurement based on determining that the short DRX period is less than or equal to a threshold duration. Additionally or alternatively, terminal device 110 may determine whether to disallow the terminal device to relax the measurement based on determining that the short DRX period is greater than a threshold duration.

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

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

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

[0065] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 may determine the evaluation period of the measurement by: determining that the terminal device is allowed to relax the measurement, and determining the relaxation evaluation period for assessing whether the downlink radio link quality has become worse than a threshold based on either a long DRX period or a short DRX period. Alternatively or additionally, terminal device 110 may determine the evaluation period of the measurement by: determining the relaxation evaluation period for assessing whether the downlink radio link quality has become better than a threshold based on either a long DRX period or a short DRX period.

[0066] Alternatively or additionally, the threshold duration can be 80 milliseconds or any other suitable 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 referenced... Figure 1A Processing flow 200b is described, but this processing flow 200b can also be applied to other similar communication scenarios.

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

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

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

[0072] In some examples, terminal device 110 may compare the measured relaxation state with a previously reported relaxation state. Terminal device 110 may report the current relaxation state of the measurement based on determining that the relaxation state differs from a previously reported relaxation state. This reporting may include initiating a UE-assisted information procedure for reporting the relaxation state of the measurement. In some embodiments, terminal device 110 may avoid reporting the current relaxation state of the measurement based on determining that the relaxation state is the same as a 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 process flow 200c can be considered as... Figure 1A Another example. For instance, terminal device 230 may be one of the example devices of terminal device 110, and network device 240 may be one of the example devices of network device 120. It should be understood that these devices are described for illustrative purposes only and do not imply any limitation on the scope of this disclosure.

[0074] In some embodiments, network device 240 may configure DRX cycles to terminal device 230, and terminal device 230 may send capability indication 205 to network device 240, which indicates the 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, network device 240 may transmit RRC reconfiguration 207, including relaxation configuration and DRX period, to terminal device 230. In some embodiments, terminal device 230 may determine (215) whether to relax the measurement. In still some embodiments, 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 network device 240.

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

[0077] exist Figure 3 In this configuration, element X can represent a configured long DRX, and element Y can represent a configured short DRX. In some embodiments, the UE is configured with a long DRX X and a short DRX Y, and it can 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 can be allowed to relax RLM / BFD. Still in some examples, if X ≤ 80 ms and Y ≤ 80 ms, the UE can be allowed to relax RLM / BFD.

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

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

[0080] In some examples, if the length of the configured short DRX period is, for example, 80ms or less than, for example, 80ms (even if or not considering the length of the configured long DRX period), the UE can determine to allow the UE to relax RLM / BFD measurements.

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

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

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

[0084] The method of this invention can also be applied to determine the evaluation period for relaxing RLM / BFD measurements. In some cases, when both short and long DRX are configured, it may be unclear what the "DRX period" refers to.

[0085] In some example embodiments, the UE determines that the short DRX period is less than or equal to a threshold duration (e.g., 80 ms), and the long DRX period is greater than the threshold duration. The UE determines the relaxation evaluation period for RLM / BFD measurements based on the DRX period used by the terminal device to determine whether the terminal device is allowed to relax the measurement, or based on the long DRX period. For example, if the UE uses the short DRX period to determine whether the terminal device is allowed to relax the measurement regardless of the long DRX period, then the relaxation evaluation period is determined based on the short DRX period. Alternatively, when the UE performs relaxation measurements for both the short and long DRX periods, the UE may determine the relaxation evaluation period for RLM / BFD measurements based on the long DRX period.

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

[0087] In some other example embodiments, the UE may determine that the terminal device is allowed to relax the measurement. The UE may then determine the relaxation assessment period for assessing whether the downlink radio link quality has become worse than a threshold (e.g., Qout) based on one of the long DRX period and the short DRX period, and determine the relaxation assessment period for assessing whether the downlink radio link quality has become better than a threshold (e.g., Qin) based on the other of the long DRX period and the short DRX period.

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

[0089] Additionally or alternatively, when the relaxation state changes due to a transition from using a short DRX cycle to a long DRX cycle (or from using a long DRX cycle to a short DRX cycle), the UE may or may not initiate a UE-assisted information procedure for reporting the relaxation state for RLM / BFD measurements.

[0090] In some examples, the UE can exclude RLM / BFD relaxation state reporting as the UE switches from a short DRX cycle to a long DRX cycle or vice versa.

[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 UEAssistanceInformation message including the cell group's rlm / bfd-MeasRelaxationState, and the change in relaxation state is not (or is) due to a transition from using a short DRX cycle to a long DRX cycle (or from using a long DRX cycle to a short DRX cycle).

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

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

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

[0095] In some embodiments, the component for determining whether to allow the terminal device to relax the measurement includes: a component for determining whether to allow the terminal device to relax the measurement based on determining that the short DRX period is less than or equal to a threshold duration. In other embodiments, the component for determining whether to allow the terminal device to relax the measurement includes a component for determining whether to disallow the terminal device to relax the measurement based on determining that the short DRX period is greater than a threshold duration.

[0096] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further includes components for determining whether to allow the terminal device to exit the relaxation measurement based on a short DRX cycle. In some exemplary embodiments, the components for determining the evaluation period of the measurement include: components for determining the relaxation evaluation period based on a DRX cycle used by the terminal device to determine whether the terminal device is allowed to relax the 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; or components for determining the relaxation evaluation period based on a long DRX cycle.

[0097] In some embodiments, the components for determining the evaluation period of the measurement include: components for determining the relaxation evaluation period based on either the short DRX period or the long DRX period, based on determining that both the short DRX period and the long DRX period are less than or equal to a threshold duration.

[0098] In some embodiments, the components for determining the evaluation period of the measurement include: components for determining the evaluation period for estimating whether the downlink radio link quality has deteriorated below a threshold based on determining that the terminal device is allowed to relax the measurement, and based on one of a long DRX period and a short DRX period; and components for determining the evaluation period for estimating whether the downlink radio link quality has deteriorated below the threshold based on the other of the long DRX period and the short DRX period. 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 additional steps in some embodiments of method 200a. In some embodiments, the device 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 affect the performance of the device together with the at least one processor.

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

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

[0102] In some exemplary embodiments, the apparatus further includes components for determining whether the relaxation state of the measurement changes due to the transition. In some example embodiments, the apparatus further includes a module for determining whether to allow the terminal device to relax the measurement based on at least one of a short DRX period or a long DRX period.

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

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

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

[0106] In some embodiments, the device further includes components for performing additional steps in some embodiments of method 200b. In some embodiments, the device 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 affect the performance of the device together with the at least one processor.

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

[0108] Communication module 440 is used for bidirectional communication. Communication module 440 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface can represent any interface required for communication with other network elements.

[0109] Processor 410 can be any type suitable for a local technology network and can include one or more of the following: as non-limiting examples, general-purpose computers, special-purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), and processors based on multi-core processor architectures. Device 400 can have multiple processors, such as application-specific integrated circuit chips that are time-dependent on a clock that synchronizes with the main processor.

[0110] 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, hard disk, optical disc (CD), digital video 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 power-off periods.

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

[0112] The embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented via program 430, enabling device 400 to execute reference... Figure 2A and Figure 2BAny process discussed in this disclosure. Embodiments of this disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0113] In some example embodiments, program 430 may be tangibly included in a computer-readable medium, which may be contained in device 400 (e.g., in memory 420) or in other storage devices accessible to device 400. Device 400 may load program 430 from the computer-readable medium into RAM 422 for execution. The computer-readable medium may 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 exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. A program 430 is stored on the computer-readable medium 500. Note that although in Figure 5 The computer-readable medium 500 is shown in the form of a CD or DVD, but the computer-readable medium 500 may be any other form suitable for carrying or storing the program 430.

[0115] Generally, the various embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects can be implemented in hardware, while others can be implemented in firmware or software, which can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although aspects of the embodiments of this disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or other illustrated representations, it should be understood that the blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented as non-limiting examples in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or combinations thereof.

[0116] This 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 that execute in a device targeting a real or virtual processor, such as instructions included in a program module, to perform the above-described instructions. Figure 2A and Figure 2B Methods 200a and 200b are described. Typically, 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 functionality of a program module can be combined or divided among program modules as needed. The machine-executable instructions of a program module can execute locally or on a distributed device. In a distributed device, the program module can reside on both local and remote storage media.

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

[0118] In the context of this disclosure, 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 carriers include signals, computer-readable media, etc.

[0119] Computer-readable media can be computer-readable signal media or computer-readable storage media. Computer-readable media can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatuses, or devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media will include electrical connections having one or more wires, portable computer disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, portable optical disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof. The term "non-transient" as used herein refers to a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not signaling), not a limitation on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM and ROM).

[0120] Furthermore, although the operations are described in a specific order, this should not be construed as requiring that these operations be performed in the specific order shown or sequentially, or that all of the shown operations be performed to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, while several specific implementation details are included in the foregoing discussion, these details should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments. Certain features described in the context of individual embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments.

[0121] Although this disclosure has been described using language specific to structural features and / or methodological actions, it should be understood that the disclosure as defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actions described above. Rather, the specific features and actions described above are disclosed as examples of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to at least: Determine the short discontinuous reception DRX period and long DRX period configured for the terminal device; Based on the fact that the short DRX period is less than or equal to the threshold duration and the long DRX period is greater than the threshold duration, it is determined that the terminal device is allowed to relax the measurement; Detect the transition from using one of the short DRX cycles or the long DRX cycles to using the other of the short DRX cycles; Determine that the measured relaxation state changes due to the transition; as well as Avoid reporting the relaxation state of the measurement caused by the conversion.

2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is further configured to include at least one of the following: Avoid initiating the UE assistance information process for reporting the relaxation state of the measurement, or The report excluding the measured relaxation state from the UE assistance information process.

3. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: Determine that the measured relaxation state has changed due to reasons other than the transition; and Report the current relaxation state as measured.

4. The terminal device according to claim 3, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: The measured relaxation state is compared with the previously reported relaxation state. Based on the determination that the relaxation state is different from the previously reported relaxation state, the measured current relaxation state is reported, wherein the reporting includes a UE assistance information procedure for initiating the reporting of the measured relaxation state; as well as Based on the determination that the relaxation state is the same as the previously reported relaxation state, the current relaxation state measured is avoided from being reported.

5. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the measurement includes at least one of the following: Radio link monitoring (RLM) measurements; or Beam failure detection (BFD) measurement.

6. A method executed by a terminal device, the method comprising: Determine the short discontinuous reception DRX period and long DRX period configured for the terminal device; Based on the fact that the short DRX period is less than or equal to the threshold duration and the long DRX period is greater than the threshold duration, it is determined that the terminal device is allowed to relax the measurement; Detect the transition from using one of the short DRX cycles or the long DRX cycles to using the other of the short DRX cycles; Determine that the measured relaxation state changes due to the transition; as well as Avoid reporting the relaxation state of the measurement caused by the conversion.

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