Behavior of terminal devices and network devices in discontinuous coverage

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a scheme for specifying behaviors of terminal devices and network devices in discontinuous coverage. In the scheme, a first device obtains first information and second information, the first information indicates a first effective duration of an uplink synchronization parameter, and the second information indicates a second effective duration of a service coverage area of a second device. Wherein the uplink synchronization parameter is used by the first device for communication between the first device and the second device. Further, after determining that the first effective duration is about to expire, the first device skips reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameter based at least in part on the first information and the second information. In this way, unnecessary power consumption can be avoided accordingly.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatus, and computer-readable storage media for specifying the behavior of terminal devices and network devices in non-contiguous coverage. Background Art

[0002] In New Radio non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), it is assumed that user equipment (UE) always has Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) measurement capabilities and will obtain its position based on the measured GNSS information. In Release 17 of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), it was agreed that deployments with non-contiguous coverage should be supported. Specifically, non-contiguous coverage is considered a special deployment scenario for NTNs, where the number of satellites (and therefore radio cells) is insufficient to provide continuous coverage on the Earth's surface. Therefore, there will be periods when radio coverage is available and periods when the UE will not be able to detect any NTN cells.

[0003] More work on supporting the Internet of Things (IoT) over NTN will be discussed and completed in Release 18. In particular, it is expected that both mobility management enhancements and power saving enhancements for non-contiguous coverage will be studied and specified. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a first device is provided. The first device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to at least: acquire first information and second information, the first information indicating a first validity duration of an uplink synchronization parameter, the second information indicating a second validity duration of a service coverage of a second device, the uplink synchronization parameter being used by the first device for communication between the first device and the second device; and, after determining that the first validity duration is about to expire, skip reacquiring the uplink synchronization parameter based at least in part on the first information and the second information.

[0005] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a second device is provided. The second device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to at least: generate a message including at least one parameter, the at least one parameter being used by a first device within coverage of the second device so that the first device, after determining that a first validity duration of the uplink synchronization parameter is about to expire, skips reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters based on the at least one parameter; and send the message to the first device.

[0006] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: acquiring, at a first device, first information and second information, the first information indicating a first validity duration of an uplink synchronization parameter, the second information indicating a second validity duration of a service coverage of a second device, the uplink synchronization parameter being used by the first device for communication between the first device and the second device; and, after determining that the first validity duration is about to expire, skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameter based at least in part on the first information and the second information.

[0007] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: generating, at a second device, a message including at least one parameter, the at least one parameter being used by a first device within coverage of the second device so that the first device skips reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters according to the at least one parameter after determining that a first validity duration of the uplink synchronization parameters is about to expire; and sending the message to the first device.

[0008] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus includes: a component for acquiring first information and second information, the first information indicating a first validity duration of an uplink synchronization parameter, the second information indicating a second validity duration of a service coverage of a second apparatus, the uplink synchronization parameter being used by the first apparatus for communication between the first apparatus and the second apparatus; and a component for, after determining that the first validity duration is about to expire, skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameter based at least in part on the first information and the second information.

[0009] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a second apparatus is provided. The second apparatus includes: a component for generating a message including at least one parameter, the at least one parameter being used by a first apparatus within coverage of the second apparatus so that the first apparatus skips reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters according to the at least one parameter after determining that a first validity duration of the uplink synchronization parameters is about to expire; and a component for sending the message to the first apparatus.

[0010] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon, the instructions being configured to cause a device to at least execute the method according to the third aspect.

[0011] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon, the instructions being configured to cause a device to at least execute the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0012] It should be understood that the invention summary is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0014] Figure 1A An example communication environment is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0015] Figure 1B Another example communication environment is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0016] Figure 1C A histogram showing the average value of the effective duration for different non-continuous coverage scenarios;

[0017] Figure 2 shows a signaling diagram for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 3 shows another signaling diagram for communications according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating a method implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0020] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating a method implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0021] Figure 6 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0022] Figure 7 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is shown, according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0023] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and help those skilled in the art understand and implement the present disclosure without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways except for the manner described below.

[0025] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0026] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc., indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is considered within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments (whether or not explicitly described).

[0027] It should be understood that although the terms "first," "second," etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. 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, without departing from the scope of the example embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0028] As used herein, “at least one of: ” and “at least one of ” and similar expressions (where a list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”) refer to at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0029] As used herein, unless explicitly stated, performing a step “in response to A” does not mean performing the step immediately after “A” occurs, and one or more intermediate steps may be included.

[0030] The terms used herein are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit the example embodiments. As used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well. It will be further understood that when used herein, the terms "comprise," "including," "having," "including," and / or "comprising" specify the presence of 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.

[0031] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation only in analog and / or digital circuitry), and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (if applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware; and (ii) any portion of a hardware processor with software (including a digital signal processor, software and storage machines that work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions); and (c) A hardware circuit and / or processor, such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor, that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but in which the software may not be present when not required for operation.

[0032] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, and if applicable to the particular claim element, the term circuitry also covers a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or networking device.

[0033] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network is performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including but not limited to the first generation (1G) communication protocol, the second generation (2G) communication protocol, the 2.5G communication protocol, the 2.75G communication protocol, the third generation (3G) communication protocol, the fourth generation (4G) communication protocol, the 4.5G communication protocol, the fifth generation (5G) communication protocol and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communications, there are of course future types of communication technologies and systems that can implement the present disclosure. It should not be considered that the scope of the present disclosure is limited to the above-mentioned systems.

[0034] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from it. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), such as a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a NR NB (also known as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a repeater, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node (such as a femto, a micro), a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, etc.), depending on the terminology and technology applied. In some example embodiments, a radio access network (RAN) split architecture includes a central unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion similar to a UE toward a parent node, and the DU portion of the IAB node is similar to a base station toward a next-hop IAB node.

[0035] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile station (MS) or access terminal (AT). Terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablet computers, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image acquisition 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 customer premises equipment (CPEs), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of industrial and / or automated processing chains), consumer electronic devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) portion of an IAB node (eg, a relay node).In the following description, the terms "terminal device," "communication device," "terminal," "user equipment," and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0036] As used herein, the terms "resource," "transmission resource," "resource block," "physical resource block" (PRB), "uplink resource," or "downlink resource" may refer to any resource used to perform communication (e.g., communication between a terminal device and a network device), such as resources in the time domain, resources in the frequency domain, resources in the spatial domain, resources in the code domain, or any other combination thereof for achieving communication. Hereinafter, unless explicitly stated otherwise, resources in the frequency domain and the time domain will be used as examples of transmission resources for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Note that the example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0037] As described above, in Release 17, it has been agreed that deployment of non-contiguous coverage should be supported, and in subsequent Release 18 of 3GPP, both mobility management enhancements and power saving enhancements for non-contiguous coverage are expected to be studied and specified.

[0038] In some example embodiments, in order to ensure better communication performance and quality, the terminal device needs to obtain and dynamically maintain (multiple) uplink synchronization parameters, such as GNSS-based position, ephemeris information, common timing advance, and other relevant information for the service coverage area (i.e., serving cell). As a specific example, the terminal device / network device can start an effective timer for maintaining the uplink synchronization parameters, and periodically re-acquire / trigger the terminal device to re-acquire the uplink synchronization parameters when the timer expires. Generally speaking, the process of re-acquiring synchronization parameters is a power-consuming process.

[0039] Furthermore, in the case of non-contiguous coverage deployment, each coverage area may have a validity duration relative to a specific terminal. If the remaining time of the service coverage area is insufficient, re-acquiring uplink synchronization parameters may interfere with any pending data transfer and may be unnecessary. In view of this, how to specify the behavior of terminal devices and network devices based on the validity of uplink synchronization parameters and service coverage is worth discussing.

[0040] According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, a solution for specifying the behavior of terminal devices and network devices in non-contiguous coverage is provided. In the solution, a first device (such as a terminal device) obtains first information and second information, the first information indicating a first validity duration of an uplink synchronization parameter, and the second information indicating a second validity duration of a service coverage of a second device (such as a network device), wherein the uplink synchronization parameter is used by the first device for communication between the first device and the second device. In addition, after determining that the first validity duration is about to expire, the first device skips re-acquiring the uplink synchronization parameter based at least in part on the first information and the second information.

[0041] Since the process of reacquiring uplink synchronization can be skipped based on the first information and the second information, unnecessary power consumption can be avoided.

[0042] The principles and implementations of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0043] It should be noted that any section / subsection headings provided herein are not intended to be limiting. Embodiments are described throughout this document, and any type of embodiment may be included under any section / subsection. Furthermore, embodiments disclosed in any section / subsection may be combined in any manner with any other embodiments described in the same section / subsection and / or in different sections / subsections.

[0044] To facilitate discussion, some of the terms used in the following description are listed below: First Validity Duration: refers to the validity duration of the uplink synchronization parameter. Furthermore, the first information may be used to indicate the first validity duration. If the uplink synchronization parameter is based on GNSS location, the first validity duration may be the GNSS validity duration. If the uplink synchronization parameter is satellite assistance-related information, the first validity duration may be the satellite assistance-related validity duration. The satellite assistance-related information discussed herein includes, but is not limited to, satellite ephemeris and / or common timing advance. ● Second validity duration: refers to the validity duration of the service coverage area, wherein the service coverage area may be a part of a plurality of non-contiguous coverage areas. In addition, the second information may be used to indicate the second validity duration.

[0045] As used herein, the terms “serving coverage,” “serving cell,” “serving area,” “serving satellite,” “serving network,” and “serving gNB” may be used interchangeably.

[0046] Hereinafter, satellites will be used as an example of network devices to describe some specific exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Note that the exemplary embodiments described with respect to satellites are also applicable to other types of network devices. The present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0047] In addition, GNSS-based location and satellite assistance-related information are used as examples of uplink synchronization parameters to describe some specific exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Note that the exemplary embodiments described above are also applicable to other uplink synchronization parameters. The present disclosure is not limited thereto. Sample Environment

[0048] Figure 1AAn example communication environment 100 is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. In the communication environment 100, a plurality of communication devices including a first device 110 and a second device 120-1 may communicate with each other.

[0049] In the example of FIG1 , the first device 110 may include a terminal device, and the second device 120-1 may include a network device serving the terminal device. The service area of ​​the second device 120-1 may be referred to as a cell 102-1. It should be understood that the second device 120-1 may be deployed within or outside the cell 102-1 according to different demand scenarios. In addition, in some example embodiments, either or both of the first device 110 and the second device 120-1 may move over time, which may cause the positional relationship between the first device 110, the second device 120-01, and the cell 102-01 to change.

[0050] In some example embodiments, communication environment 100 is an NTN network including one or more satellites. In some example embodiments, access network equipment (such as gNBs) may be deployed at the satellites, also known as a regenerative architecture. Alternatively, in some example embodiments, the access network equipment may be deployed separately from the satellites, for example, on the ground, also known as a transparent architecture. In the present disclosure, depending on the specific application scenario or requirements, either or both of the satellites and the access network equipment may be considered as the second device 120. The present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0051] Furthermore, deployment of non-contiguous coverage areas is supported in the communication environment 100. Figure 1A As shown, communication environment 100 may also optionally include a second device 120-2 providing a service area (i.e., cell 102-2). In particular, cells 102-1 and 102-2 are non-contiguous, resulting in periods of time when neither second device 120-1 nor second device 120-1 provides coverage for the area of ​​first device 110. In other words, there are periods of time when first device 110 is not covered by any cell and cannot access the network accordingly.

[0052] Hereinafter, for ease of discussion, the second device 120 - 1 and the second device 120 - 2 are individually or collectively referred to as the second device 120 , and the cell 102 - 1 and the cell 102 - 2 are individually or collectively referred to as the cell 102 .

[0053] Just for better understanding, now refer to Figure 1B ,Should Figure 1B A specific example communication environment 150 is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. For discussion purposes, reference is made to Figure 1A To describe the communication environment 150. Figure 1BAs shown, the communication environment 150 includes a second device 120-1, a second device 120-2, and a second device 20-3 providing cells 102-1, 102-2, and 102-3, respectively. Figure 1B In the specific example of FIG, the communication environment 150 further includes the first device 110 served by the second device 120-1.

[0054] To support cell search and improve battery life of the first device 110 , a system information block 3 (SIB3) may be provided to the first device 110 , wherein the SIB3 provides time information about when a serving cell is about to stop serving the area in the case of an Earth Fixed Cell (EFC).

[0055] Alternatively, ephemeris / coverage information (such as system information block SIB 32) may be provided by the second device 120-1 to the first device 110, wherein the ephemeris / coverage information may provide information about up to 4 satellites that will provide coverage in the future. Figure 1B As shown in FIG, second device 120-1 can communicate with second device 120-2 and second device 120-3. In particular, second device 120-1 can receive ephemeris / coverage information from either second device 120-2 or second device 120-3. Using this information, second device 120-1 can generate SIB32 indicating information about cell 102-1 and cell 102-3 and / or second device 120-2 and second device 120-3, and then send SIB32 to first device 110.

[0056] In some example embodiments, SIB 32 may provide ephemeris information or a t-serviceStart parameter (sometimes also referred to as t-service) that defines satellite movement. The t-serviceStart parameter is used for Earth Fixed Cells (EFCs) to define when a satellite will provide the EFC using Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). In addition, SIB 32 may contain coverage area information, for example, information about how a satellite provides radio coverage on Earth. In one specific embodiment, SIB 32 may include a satellite reference point (i.e., the location at which the satellite points its beam(s)) and an estimated coverage radius. In another specific embodiment, SIB 32 may provide an elevation angle between the first device 110 and a satellite where coverage is expected.

[0057] By using the SIB 32 information, the first device 110 may estimate the remaining coverage availability and may not need to perform radio resource control (RRC) idle mode tasks (such as cell search) when the first device 110 is out of coverage of satellite(s).

[0058] Generally speaking, the average value of the effective duration varies according to different satellite constellations. For a better understanding, now refer to Figure 1C ,Should Figure 1C A histogram 180 is shown of the average values ​​of the effective duration for different non-continuous coverage scenarios. Figure 1C As shown, the average effective duration ranges from 1 / 2 hour to 5 hours.

[0059] exist Figure 1B In a specific example, the first device 110 has GNSS measurement capabilities and can realize its position based on the measured GNSS information. Despite the movement of the satellite, the GNSS-based position can be used to perform pre-compensation in the time and frequency domains of the uplink transmission so that the transmission is aligned at the receiver. In some example embodiments, the first device 110 cannot operate GNSS measurement and normal data transmission (such as IoT transmission) simultaneously.

[0060] In some example embodiments, it is desirable to study and specify a communication environment 150, improved GNSS operation for new position fixes for UE pre-compensation during long connection times and for reduced power consumption.

[0061] Depending on the movement of the first device 110 and / or the second device 120 , the GNSS-based position has a certain GNSS validity duration (which is sometimes referred to as a first validity duration hereinafter).

[0062] exist Figure 1B In a specific example, the first device 110 may report a GNSS valid duration to the network during the connection establishment phase. When the GNSS valid duration expires, the first device 110 is no longer allowed to transmit, and thus the first device 110 may transition to RRC idle to potentially reacquire GNSS position information.

[0063] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may report the GNSS valid duration using a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), and may operate GNSS measurement during a period of the RRC connected mode.

[0064] In the present disclosure, the GNSS measurement may be triggered by the second device 120 or by the first device 110 .

[0065] Specifically, in some example embodiments, the second device 120 may trigger the first device 110 to perform GNSS measurements during a scheduled gap. In addition, in some example embodiments, the second device 120 may at least support triggering the first device 110 to perform GNSS measurements aperiodically. In the case of aperiodic triggering, the second device 120 may use a MAC CE to trigger the first device 110 to perform GNSS measurements. The triggering by the second device 120 is expected to be based on the reported GNSS valid duration. In addition, in some example embodiments, the first device 110 is also required to report the "GNSS position fix time duration" (i.e., the time required for the first device 110 to perform GNSS measurements), at least during the initial access phase. The second device may use the parameter "GNSS position fix time duration" to determine the GNSS measurement gap length.

[0066] Alternatively, in some example embodiments, if first device 110 does not receive a trigger for GNSS measurement from second device 120, first device 110 may autonomously perform GNSS measurement. In this scenario, second device 120 and first device 110 should have a common understanding of when and how to initiate GNSS measurement. As a specific example, since first device 110 is unavailable for scheduling during the GNSS measurement period, first device 110 may autonomously perform GNSS measurement upon expiration of the GNSS validity duration.

[0067] As a specific embodiment, for GNSS measurements in an RRC connection, if the second device 120 aperiodically triggers the first device 110 in the connected state to perform GNSS measurements, and if autonomous triggering of GNSS measurements is enabled, the first device 110 may autonomously reacquire GNSS if it does not receive a trigger to perform GNSS measurements from the second device 120.

[0068] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 monitors the ephemeris, common timing advance, and other related information in SIB 31, and in addition, the satellite assistance validity duration (i.e., T317) may be used to indicate the validity of the satellite assistance related information. When the validity duration (T317) expires, the first device 110 must start T318 and attempt to reacquire SIB 31. If the first device 110 does not obtain the satellite assistance related information before T318 expires, the first device 110 may transition to RRC idle, similar to the behavior during a radio link failure (RLF).

[0069] It should be understood that both the first device 110 and the second device 120 - 1 may obtain the remaining coverage availability duration through appropriate notification or estimation.

[0070] In some example embodiments, in a 5G system or an Evolved Packet System (EPS), NTN Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) / Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites or satellite constellations providing non-contiguous coverage may be deployed for power saving enhancements. In this scenario, the UE unreachable period (i.e., the remaining coverage availability duration) may be provided to both the terminal device and the AMF / MME.

[0071] Additionally, in some example embodiments, the UE unreachable periods provided to the terminal device and / or AMF / MME may include timing information when the UE moves out of / into NTN coverage, or information about satellite coverage at the UE's current and potential future locations.

[0072] In some example embodiments, both network-centric and UE-centric procedures are used to determine and coordinate UE unreachable periods. These two approaches are not mutually exclusive, they serve different use cases, and they can coexist in the same network. Specifically, in the network-centric procedure, the AMF / MME takes into account the UE unreachable period to determine the power saving mode (PSM) parameters. In the UE-centric procedure, the terminal device notifies the network of the UE's determined UE unreachable period and / or an indication of when it leaves / enters coverage.

[0073] It should be understood that Figure 1A and Figure 1B The number of devices and their connections shown in the figures is for illustrative purposes only and does not imply any limitation. Communication environment 100 and communication environment 150 may include any suitable number of devices configured to implement the example embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it should be understood that one or more additional devices may be located in cell 102, and one or more additional cells may be deployed in communication environment 100 and communication environment 150. Note that although shown as a network device, second device 120 may be a device other than a network device. Although shown as a terminal device, first device 110 may be a device other than a terminal device.

[0074] Hereinafter, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments are described in which the first device 110 operates as a terminal device and the second device 120 operates as a network device. However, in some example embodiments, the operations described in conjunction with the terminal device may be implemented at a network device or other device, and the operations described in conjunction with the network device may be implemented at a terminal device or other device.

[0075] In some example embodiments, if first device 110 is a terminal device and second device 120 is a network device, the link from second device 120 to first device 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL), and the link from first device 110 to second device 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In the DL, second device 120 is a transmitting (TX) device (or transmitter), and first device 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or receiver). In the UL, first device 110 is a TX device (or transmitter), and second device 120 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0076] Communications in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol(s), including but not limited to first generation (1G), second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G), etc. cellular communication protocols, wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc., and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. In addition, communications may utilize any suitable wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and / or any other technology currently known or to be developed in the future. Working principles and example signaling for communication

[0077] As discussed above, in order to ensure better communication performance and quality, the terminal device needs to obtain and dynamically maintain (multiple) uplink synchronization parameters, such as GNSS-based position, ephemeris information, public timing advance, and other relevant information for the service coverage area (i.e., serving cell). Generally speaking, the process of re-acquiring synchronization parameters is a power-consuming process for the terminal device.

[0078] Furthermore, as discussed above, in a discontinuous coverage scenario, the terminal device may determine that the remaining coverage availability time for the current serving cell is short based on information such as SIB 3, SIB 31, and SIB 32. Furthermore, the second device 120-1 may sometimes also determine the remaining coverage availability.

[0079] As a normal operation, if the remaining coverage availability duration is short / insufficient and the first validity duration of the uplink synchronization parameters is about to expire, the terminal device will re-acquire the uplink synchronization parameters regardless of the remaining coverage availability duration. However, this operation may be inappropriate in some scenarios.

[0080] Take GNSS measurement as an example. GNSS position fix is ​​a power-consuming process, and if radio coverage disappears during or shortly after a new GNSS position fix is ​​obtained, GNSS measurement may be an ambiguous process because the terminal device does not have sufficient time for further communication with the second device 120. In other words, the above-mentioned conventional operation may introduce unnecessary power consumption.

[0081] On the other hand, the UE is not allowed to transmit and must transition to RRC Idle when the GNSS availability duration expires. Therefore, if GNSS measurements are always skipped to achieve power conservation, if the terminal device 120 is performing or about to perform data transfer with the second device 120, the data transfer will be interrupted due to RRC Idle. As a result, the terminal device will not be able to complete / perform any further data transfer during the short remaining coverage availability duration. In the case where the next service coverage will be available for several hours, the user experience will be significantly degraded.

[0082] Similar to GNSS measurement, the first device 110 also needs to monitor SIB 31 to periodically obtain satellite assistance related information. In view of this, if the remaining coverage availability duration is short / insufficient and whether the first device 110 needs to monitor SIB 31 also needs to be further discussed.

[0083] According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, the behavior of terminal devices and network devices can be well defined based on first information indicating a first validity duration of an uplink synchronization parameter and second information indicating a second validity duration of a service coverage area. In this way, unnecessary power consumption can be avoided accordingly.

[0084] Hereinafter, the GNSS scenario is used as an example to describe some specific example embodiments. As discussed above, the process for monitoring satellite assistance-related information (i.e., SIB 31) is similar to the GNSS scenario, so "GNSS-based position" can be equivalently replaced by "satellite assistance-related information / SIB 31", "GNSS valid duration" can be equivalently replaced by "satellite assistance valid duration / T317", "performing GNSS measurement" can be equivalently replaced by "monitoring SIB 31", and so on. For the sake of brevity, some similar content is omitted herein.

[0085] Now refer to Figure 2 ,Should Figure 2 2 shows a signaling diagram 200 for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, reference is made to Figure 1A and Figure 1B To describe the signaling diagram 200. Figure 2As shown, the signaling diagram 200 involves a first device 110 and a second device 120 - 1 .

[0086] In the following, although some operations are described from the perspective of the first device 110, it should be understood that the corresponding operations should be performed by the second device 120-1. Similarly, although some operations are described from the perspective of the second device 120-1, it should be understood that the corresponding operations should be performed by the first device 110. For the sake of brevity, some of the same or similar content is omitted here.

[0087] It should be understood that operations at the first device 110 and the second device 20-1 should be coordinated. In other words, the first device 110 and the second device 120-1 should have a common understanding of configurations, parameters, transmission resources, etc. so that communication between the first device 110 and the second device 120-1 can proceed.

[0088] In some example embodiments, such a common understanding may be achieved by both the first device 110 and the second device 120-1 applying the same parameter(s) / configuration(s). Figure 2 As shown, relevant information (including but not limited to relevant parameter(s) / configuration(s)) may be predefined 205-1 and 205-1. As an example, the relevant information may be predefined by a communication organization (such as 3GPP), or by a network operator or service provider. In this way, no additional signaling exchange is required between the first device 110 and the second device 120.

[0089] Alternatively or additionally, such common understanding may be achieved through any suitable interaction between the first device 110 and the second device 120-1. Figure 2 As shown, the above-mentioned relevant information can be pre-configured 210 in the initial access phase, semi-statically configured 215 via RRC signaling or MAC CE, or dynamically configured 220 via DCI as needed.

[0090] In addition, it should be understood that such interaction can be implemented in a single signaling / message or multiple signaling / messages, including system information (SI), RRC signaling, downlink control information (DCI) message, uplink control information (UCI) message, MAC CE, etc. The present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0091] In operation, the first device 110 obtains first information indicating a first valid duration of an uplink synchronization parameter and second information indicating a second valid duration of a service coverage of the second device 120 - 1 .

[0092] In some example embodiments, first device 110 determines a first validity duration of the uplink synchronization parameter, and second device 120-1 may also obtain the first validity duration. Taking a GNSS scenario as an example, first device 110 determines the GNSS validity duration, and first device 110 reports the GNSS validity duration to second device 120-1 during the connection establishment phase (and possibly after each new GNSS measurement).

[0093] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 determines a second valid duration for the service coverage. Specifically, the first device may receive ephemeris / coverage information (such as system information block SIB 32) and determine the second valid duration based on the ephemeris / coverage information and its position. For the second device 120, in the case of EFC, the second device 120 may determine the second valid duration, and in the case of an Earth Mobile Cell (EMC), if the second device can obtain the position of the first device 110 (optionally obtain the trajectory / path of the movement of the first device 110), the second device 120 may determine the second valid duration. Taking the GNSS scenario as an example, the second valid duration may be the coverage availability duration of the serving cell.

[0094] Then, if Figure 2 As shown, after determining that the first validity duration is about to expire, the first device 110 skips 260-1 reacquiring uplink synchronization parameters based at least in part on the first information and the second information. Accordingly, the second device 120-1 disables 260-2 assisting or triggering the first device 110 to reacquire uplink synchronization parameters.

[0095] In some example embodiments, the uplink synchronization parameter is based on GNSS location, and first device 110 skips reacquiring the uplink synchronization parameter by skipping performing GNSS measurements. Alternatively, in some example embodiments, the uplink synchronization parameter is satellite assistance-related information, and first device 110 skips reacquiring the uplink synchronization parameter by skipping monitoring system information (i.e., SIB 31) including satellite assistance-related information.

[0096] In some example embodiments, the process of reacquiring uplink synchronization parameters may be a network-triggered process or an autonomously executed process. Taking the GNSS scenario as an example, the GNSS measurement may be triggered by the second device 120 - 1 or performed autonomously by the first device 110 .

[0097] Additionally, in some example embodiments, if the process of reacquiring uplink synchronization parameters is a network-triggered process, first device 110 may skip reacquisition by ignoring the trigger for reacquiring uplink synchronization parameters sent by second device 120-1.

[0098] Furthermore, in some example embodiments, second device 120-1 may send a first indication indicating that first device 110 is enabled or disabled for skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters. Alternatively or additionally, first device 110 may send a second indication indicating that first device 110 supports skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters. In this manner, the skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters feature may be activated as needed.

[0099] Hereinafter, conditions for triggering to determine whether to skip reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters (or whether to disable assistance or trigger the first device 110 to reacquire uplink synchronization parameters) will be discussed.

[0100] In some example embodiments, first device 110 determines a first remaining valid duration based on the first information and determines a second remaining valid duration based on the second information. Then, if the first remaining valid duration is less than or equal to a first threshold (i.e., the first valid duration is about to expire) and the second remaining valid duration is less than or equal to a second threshold (i.e., the second valid duration is about to expire), first device 110 may accordingly determine whether to skip reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters.

[0101] Alternatively, if the difference between the second remaining valid and the first remaining valid is less than or equal to a third threshold, the first device 110 may accordingly determine whether to skip re-acquisition of uplink synchronization parameters.

[0102] In some example embodiments, any of the first, second, and third thresholds may be default values ​​(such as via actions of 205-1 and 205-2) or configured by the second device 120-1 (such as via actions of 210, 215, or 220).

[0103] In some example embodiments, the third threshold is associated with a length of time for first device 110 to reacquire uplink synchronization parameters. Taking the GNSS scenario as an example, the third threshold is configured by second device 120-1 based on a UE-specific GNSS position time fix. For better understanding, if the GNSS position time fix value falls within a first range (e.g., <2 seconds), third threshold #1 may be determined; if the GNSS position time fix value falls within a second range (e.g., between 2 and 5 seconds), third threshold #2 may be determined; and if the GNSS position time fix value falls within a third range (e.g., >5 seconds), third threshold #3 may be determined, and so on. Furthermore, the aforementioned rule for determining the third threshold may be predefined or preconfigured by second device 120-1. Using this rule, second device 120-1 may accordingly determine an appropriate third threshold and further configure the determined third threshold of first device 110. Furthermore, if such a rule is known to first device 110 (i.e., such a rule is predefined or preconfigured), first device 110 may also determine an appropriate third threshold on its own.

[0104] For a better understanding, now refer to Figure 3 At block 310 , the first device 110 may determine whether a threshold condition as discussed above is met and then proceed to block 320 , block 340 , or block 360 .

[0105] Optionally, in some example embodiments, the transmission activity of the first device 110 may also be used as a factor in determining whether to skip reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters. Examples of the transmission activity of the first device 110 are as follows: ● The first device 110 has sent a scheduling request (SR) or a buffer status report (BSR) to the second device 120-1, ● The first device 110 is about to send an SR or BSR to the second device 120-1, ●The first device 110 is waiting for feedback information from the second device 120-1, • The first device 110 receives a rejection of the SR from the second device 120-1, • The first device 110 receives authorization for the SR from the second device 120-1, • The first device 110 receives a resource schedule from the second device 120-1, or • The first device 110 is communicating with the second device 120-1.

[0106] In the following, reference will be made to Figure 3 Behaviors of the first device 110 and the second device 120 are discussed.

[0107] In some example embodiments, first device 110 skips reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters by transitioning to an idle state before the expiration of the second valid duration. That is, first device 110 transitions to an idle state in advance. Furthermore, second device 120 may configure such an operation as a default operation. In this manner, unnecessary power consumption is avoided.

[0108] exist Figure 3 In the specific example of , at block 320 , the first device 110 ignores the trigger for reacquiring uplink synchronization parameters and transitions to an idle state.

[0109] For the second device 120-1, the second device 120 may send a trigger in both the EFC and the EMC. Alternatively, the second device 120 sends a trigger only when the second device 120-1 fails to obtain accurate information for the discontinuous coverage prediction (such as in the case of the EMC), without obtaining the location of the first device 110 and / or the trajectory / path of the movement of the first device 110.

[0110] In addition, the state of the first device should be consistent at the first device 110 and the second device 120-1. In view of this, if the first device 110 transitions to the idle state, the second device 120-1 should be aware of the transition.

[0111] In some example embodiments, first device 110 sends a report indicating the transition to second device 120 - 1 so that second device 120 - 1 may be informed that first device 110 is leaving the RRC connected state.

[0112] In addition, whether to send a report is performed based on network deployment. Specifically, in some example embodiments, first device 110 sends a report indicating a switch to second device 120-1 only when the service coverage is EMC (or is EMC without reporting the location of first device 110).

[0113] This is because, in the case of EFC, the second device 120 may know the remaining coverage availability time, and therefore the second device 120-1 may be aware of the transition. However, in the case of EMC, the second device 120 may not know the remaining coverage availability time because determining the remaining coverage availability time depends on the location of the first device 110. Therefore, if the first device 110 has reported an accurate location to the second device 120-1 (optionally also including a track / path of movement of the first device 110), the first device 110 does not need to notify the second device 120-1 to move to the RRC idle state. However, if the second device 120-1 does not know the location of the first device 110, the first device 110 should notify the second device 120 of the transition so that the first device 110 and the second device 120 can have a common understanding of the RRC state of the first device 110.

[0114] In addition, a new cause for indicating the above transition may be introduced. In one specific embodiment, the first device 110 uses a MAC CE including Release Assistance Information (RAI), where the MAC CE includes a newly introduced condition, such as "GNSS expiration." After sending the above RAI, the first device 110 may immediately release the relevant resources.

[0115] Alternatively, if there is a data transfer being performed or to be performed, the first device 110 may suspend the transition to the idle state. In a specific embodiment, if the first device 110 has sent a scheduling request (SR) or a buffer status report (BSR) to the second device 120-1, the first device 110 may suspend the transition to the idle state. Alternatively, in a specific embodiment, if the first device 110 is about to send an SR or BSR to the second device 120-1, or the first device 110 is waiting for feedback information about the SR / BSR / data transmission from the second device 120-1, the first device 110 may suspend the transition to the idle state. For example, the first device 110 has sent an SR, a BSR and / or a data transmission to the second device 120-1, and the first device 110 is waiting for a scheduling result (i.e., grant or rejection) for the SR / BSR, or a HARQ for the data transmission.

[0116] exist Figure 3 In a specific example, at block 360, if the first device 110 aborts the transition to the idle state, the first device 110 may reacquire the uplink synchronization parameters and continue the data transfer that is being performed or to be performed. Figure 3As shown in , at block 380, the first device further determines whether the data transfer has been completed or whether the SR is rejected. If the first device 110 does not obtain an uplink scheduling grant or the data transfer has been completed, the first device 110 can transition to an idle state (i.e., proceed to block 320).

[0117] Alternatively, first device 110 and second device 120-1 may negotiate whether to activate the feature of transitioning to the idle state before the expiration of the second valid duration. In some example embodiments, second device 120-1 may send a third indication instructing first device 110 to enable or disable transitioning to the idle state before the expiration of the second valid duration. Alternatively or additionally, first device 110 may send a fourth indication instructing first device 110 to support transitioning to the idle state before the expiration of the second first valid duration.

[0118] According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, if there is data transfer being performed or to be performed between the first device 110 and the second device 120-1, further improvements may be performed on the above data transfer. In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may continue / start data transfer without updating the uplink synchronization parameter.

[0119] like Figure 3 As shown, at block 340, after the expiration of the first valid duration, the first device continues the data transfer being executed or to be executed with the second device 120-1. Taking the GNSS scenario as an example, before the first device 110 transitions to the RRC idle mode, the first device 110 does not expect / will not monitor for a trigger for GNSS measurement and will not stop IoT Tx / Rx (even if there is a trigger for GNSS measurement from the network).

[0120] In some example embodiments, the data transfer is continued after the expiration of the first valid duration. Specifically, if the first device 110 is transmitting data to the second device 120-1, the first device 110 is receiving data from the second device 120-1 (the first device 110 needs to send feedback information / HARQ of the received data transfer to the second device 120-1), or the first device 110 has received / configured a grant for UL / DL transmission, the data transfer is continued. Alternatively or additionally, if the percentage of the amount of data completed in the data transfer exceeds a threshold percentage, the data transfer is continued. In this way, the maximum time available for data transfer is ensured.

[0121] In some example embodiments, second device 120 may send a first configuration to first device 110, wherein the first configuration includes a flag for starting or stopping data transfer. In this way, data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration may be controlled by second device 120-1.

[0122] Furthermore, in some example embodiments, in the case of performing data transfer, the data transfer may continue the data transfer by using the resources previously scheduled for data transfer. In addition, the second device 120 may send a first configuration to the first device 110, wherein the first configuration includes a parameter instructing the first device 110 to continue the data transfer by using the resources previously scheduled for data transfer.

[0123] Alternatively, in some example embodiments, in the event that data transfer is to be performed, in order to reduce interference with other devices, the second device 120 may schedule specific resources for data transfer (which may also be referred to as specific "protected" resources). In addition, the second device 120 may send a first configuration to the first device 110, wherein the first configuration includes a resource configuration indicating resources to be used for data transfer after expiration of the first validity duration.

[0124] In some example embodiments, the specific resources include at least one of the following: resources of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), resources of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or resources of a physical random access channel (PRACH). In this way, even if the uplink synchronization parameters are invalid, the quality of the uplink transmission can still be guaranteed. In addition, interference between the first device 110 that continues data transmission after the expiration of the first valid duration and other devices with the valid first valid duration is avoided.

[0125] In addition, if Figure 3 As shown in , at block 340 , the first device 110 can continue the data transfer until the data transfer has been completed.

[0126] Alternatively or additionally, in some example embodiments, first device 110 may continue data transfer by extending the first valid duration for a predetermined period. Alternatively or additionally, in some example embodiments, first device 110 may continue data transfer by continuing to use the uplink synchronization parameter for a predetermined period. In addition, first device 110 may receive a second configuration from second device 120-1, the second configuration indicating the length of the predetermined period.

[0127] Additionally, in case the predetermined period is a default value or has been preconfigured by the second device 120 - 1 , the second device 120 - 1 may send a flag to initiate data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration.

[0128] Alternatively or additionally, in some example embodiments, first device 110 may continue data transfer by using another uplink synchronization parameter. Taking the GNSS scenario as an example, when the GNSS valid duration expires, second device 120-1 may initiate an alternative solution using UE-based GNSS measurements, such as closed-loop time (common timing advance) and / or frequency correction for first device 110.

[0129] Alternatively, first device 110 and second device 120-1 may negotiate whether to activate a feature that allows continued data transfer after the first valid duration has expired. In some example embodiments, second device 120-1 may send a fifth indication instructing first device 110 to enable or disable continued data transfer after the first valid duration has expired. Alternatively or additionally, first device 110 may send a sixth indication instructing first device 110 to support continued data transfer after the first valid duration has expired.

[0130] Due to the diversity of data transfer, the above-discussed process for continuing data transfer after the expiration of the first validity duration is preferably dynamically enabled / configured, although pre-configuration and semi-static configuration are also supported. This is because the second device 120-1 may only desire to allow data transfer to continue in the case of expired GNSS for certain UEs / data types / traffic flows / quality of service requirements. In view of this, the UE / data type / traffic flow / quality of service requirements may also be used as a factor in determining whether to continue data transfer after the expiration of the first validity duration.

[0131] Furthermore, with dynamic configuration, the second device 120-1 may dynamically schedule resources used by the first device 110 for “less synchronized” transmissions as discussed above, i.e., when the first validity duration of the first device 110 expires / uplink synchronization parameters of the first device 110 become outdated, the second device 120-1 may dynamically schedule resources for the first device 110. For example, the second device 120-1 may schedule resources for data transfer in the time and frequency domains with some protection / buffering after the expiration of the first validity duration, so as to ensure communication quality despite the first device 110 being unable to provide appropriate uplink pre-compensation in the event of an expired GNSS.

[0132] In addition, if reacquiring uplink synchronization parameters is a process performed autonomously by the first device 110, the second device 120 may not know whether the first device 110 will continue data transfer after the expiration of the first validity duration. In view of this, it is expected that the first device 110 can notify the second device 120-1 that the first device 110 is available for scheduling so that the second device can enable / configure data transfer accordingly.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the behavior of first device 110 may be determined / instructed by second device 120, particularly when first device 110 may require gaps for reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters, as discussed below.

[0134] In some example embodiments, first device 110 sends a request to second device 120-1 to reacquire uplink synchronization parameters, where the request includes one of the first information and the second information, or a first remaining valid duration of the first valid duration and a second remaining valid duration of the second valid duration. First device 110 then receives a rejection response to the request from second device 120-1.

[0135] Additionally, in some example embodiments, the rejection response indicates one of: a rejection reason, the first device 110 transitioning to an idle state before expiration of the second valid duration, or the first device 110 continuing the data transfer being performed or to be performed with the second device 120 - 1 .

[0136] In a specific embodiment, when the first device 110 requests a connected mode gap using UE assistance information to start GNSS acquisition in connected mode, the first device 110 may also include a GNSS expiration time. In addition, in the case of an EMC (or an EMC that does not report the location of the first device 110 and / or the track / path of movement of the first device 110), the first device 110 may also include a remaining coverage availability duration in the request.

[0137] The second device 120-1 may then decide whether to enable or disable the requested gap. If the second device 120-1 determines to reject the request, the second device 120-1 may respond with a rejection response (e.g., RRC signaling), where the rejection response may include a rejection reason (e.g., "short cell availability time" or "early RLF," etc.). Alternatively or additionally, the rejection response may also indicate a behavior of the first device 110, such as transitioning to an idle state, continuing data transfer, etc.

[0138] According to the above example embodiments, the behavior of the terminal device and the network device can be well defined, and one or more advantages can be achieved. One example advantage can be avoiding unnecessary re-acquisition of uplink synchronization parameters when the remaining coverage availability time is insufficient, and correspondingly extending the battery life of the terminal device.

[0139] Another example advantage may be that when the remaining coverage availability time is insufficient, data transfer can still be continued despite the expiration of the first validity duration so that the time to complete the data transfer is maximized because the data transmission is not interrupted to reacquire uplink synchronization parameters.

[0140] Another example advantage may be avoiding waste of network resources (and maintenance of the RRC state machine for the UE) since the network equipment may control the behavior of the terminal device when the remaining coverage availability time is insufficient. Example Methods

[0141] Figure 4 FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example method 400 implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, Figure 1A and Figure 1B The method 400 is described from the perspective of the first device 110.

[0142] At box 410, the first device 110 obtains first information and second information, wherein the first information indicates a first valid duration of an uplink synchronization parameter and the second information indicates a second valid duration of a service coverage of the second device 120, and the uplink synchronization parameter is used by the first device 110 for communication between the first device 110 and the second device 120.

[0143] At block 420, upon determining that the first validity duration is about to expire, reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters is skipped based at least in part on the first information and the second information.

[0144] In some example embodiments, the uplink synchronization parameter is based on a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) position, and skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameter includes skipping performing GNSS measurements.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the uplink synchronization parameter is satellite assistance related information, and skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameter includes skipping monitoring system information including satellite assistance related information.

[0146] In some example embodiments, skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters based at least in part on the first information and the second information includes: determining a first remaining valid duration based on the first information; determining a second remaining valid duration based on the second information; and skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters if at least one of the following is satisfied: the first remaining valid is less than or equal to a first threshold, and the second remaining valid is less than or equal to a second threshold, and the difference between the second remaining valid and the first remaining valid is less than or equal to a third threshold.

[0147] In some example embodiments, any one of the first threshold, the second threshold, and the third threshold is a default value or is configured by the second device 120 .

[0148] In some example embodiments, the third threshold is associated with a length of time for first device 110 to reacquire the uplink synchronization parameters.

[0149] In some example embodiments, skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters comprises ignoring a trigger sent by the second device 120 to reacquire uplink synchronization parameters.

[0150] In some example embodiments, skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters based at least in part on the first information and the second information includes skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters based on the first information and the second information and transmission activity of the first device.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the transmission activity is one of the following: the first device 110 has sent a scheduling request (SR) or a buffer status report (BSR) to the second device 120, the first device 110 is about to send an SR or a BSR to the second device 120, the first device 110 is waiting for feedback information from the second device 120, the first device 110 receives a rejection of the SR from the second device 120, the first device 110 receives an authorization of the SR from the second device 120, the first device 110 receives a resource schedule from the second device 120, or the first device 110 is communicating with the second device 120.

[0152] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 further receives a first indication from the second device 120, the first indication being used to instruct the first device 110 to enable or disable skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters, or sends a second indication to the second device 120, the second indication being used to indicate that the first device 110 supports skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters.

[0153] In some example embodiments, skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameters includes transitioning the first device 110 from a connected state to an idle state prior to expiration of the second validity duration.

[0154] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 also suspends transitioning the first device 110 to the idle state if one of the following occurs: the first device 110 has sent a scheduling request (SR) or a buffer status report (BSR) to the second device 120; the first device 110 is about to send an SR or a BSR to the second device 120; or the first device 110 is waiting for feedback information from the second device 120.

[0155] In some example embodiments, first device 110 also sends a report to second device 120 indicating the transition.

[0156] In some example embodiments, sending the report includes sending a report indicating the switching to the second device 120 if the service coverage is an Earth Mobile Cell (EMC).

[0157] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 further receives a third indication from the second device 120, the third indication being used to instruct the first device 110 to enable or disable transitioning to the idle state before expiration of the second valid duration; or sends a fourth indication to the second device 120, the fourth indication being used to instruct the first device 110 to support transitioning to the idle state before expiration of the second first valid duration.

[0158] In some example embodiments, after the expiration of the first valid duration, the first device 110 also continues the data transfer being executed or to be executed with the second device 120 .

[0159] In some example embodiments, continuing the data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration includes continuing the data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration if one of the following: the first device 110 is sending data to the second device 120; the first device 110 is receiving data from the second device 120; or the percentage of the amount of data that has been completed in the data transfer exceeds a threshold percentage.

[0160] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 also receives from the second device 120 a first configuration indicating at least one of: a resource configuration indicating resources to be used for data transfer after expiration of the first validity duration; a parameter indicating that the first device 110 is to continue data transfer by using resources previously scheduled for data transfer; or a flag for starting or stopping data transfer.

[0161] In some example embodiments, the resources include at least one of: resources of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), resources of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or resources of a physical random access channel (PRACH).

[0162] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 also receives a fifth indication from the second device 120, which is used to instruct the first device 110 to enable or disable continued data transfer after the expiration of the first valid duration, or sends a sixth indication to the second device 120, which is used to indicate that the first device 110 supports continued data transfer after the expiration of the first valid duration.

[0163] In some example embodiments, continuing the data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration includes continuing the data transfer by at least one of: continuing the data transfer until the data transfer has been completed, extending the first valid duration for a predetermined period of time, continuing to use the uplink synchronization parameter for a predetermined period of time, or using another uplink synchronization parameter.

[0164] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 further receives a second configuration from the second device 120 , the second configuration indicating a time length of the predetermined period.

[0165] In some example embodiments, skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters based at least in part on the first information and the second information includes: sending a request to reacquire the uplink synchronization parameters to the second device 120, the request including one of: the first information and the second information, or a first remaining valid duration of the first valid duration and a second remaining valid duration of the second valid duration; and receiving a rejection response to the request from the second device 120.

[0166] In some example embodiments, the rejection response indicates one of: a rejection reason, the first device 110 transitioning to an idle state before expiration of the second valid duration, or the first device 110 continuing the data transfer being performed or to be performed with the second device 120 .

[0167] In some example embodiments, the service coverage area of ​​the second device 120 is part of a plurality of non-contiguous coverage areas.

[0168] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is a terminal device, and the second device 120 is a network device.

[0169] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example method 500 implemented at the second device 120 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, Figure 1A and Figure 1B The method 500 is described from the perspective of the second device 120.

[0170] At box 510, the second device 120 generates a message that includes at least one parameter, which is used by the first device 110 within the coverage area of ​​the second device 120 so that the first device 110 skips reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters according to the at least one parameter after determining that a first validity duration of the uplink synchronization parameters is about to expire.

[0171] At block 520 , the second device 120 sends a message to the first device 110 .

[0172] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 also receives a request from the first device 110 to reacquire uplink synchronization parameters, the request including one of: first information indicating a first valid duration and second information indicating a second valid duration of the coverage range, or a first remaining valid duration of the first valid duration and a second remaining valid duration of the second valid duration; and a rejection response to send the request to the first device 110.

[0173] In some example embodiments, the rejection response indicates one of: a rejection reason, the first device 110 transitioning to an idle state before expiration of the second valid duration, or the first device 110 continuing the data transfer being performed or to be performed with the second device 120 .

[0174] In some example embodiments, the at least one parameter includes at least one threshold value to be used by the first device 110, the at least one threshold value including at least one of: a first threshold value for comparison with a first remaining validity of a first validity duration; a second threshold value for comparison with a second remaining validity of a second validity duration of the coverage range, or a third threshold value for comparison with a difference between the second remaining validity and the first remaining validity.

[0175] In some example embodiments, any one of the first threshold, the second threshold, and the third threshold is a default value or is configured by the second device 120 .

[0176] In some example embodiments, the third threshold is associated with a length of time for first device 110 to reacquire the uplink synchronization parameters.

[0177] In some example embodiments, the request also disables assistance or triggers the first device 110 to reacquire uplink synchronization parameters.

[0178] In some example embodiments, disabling assistance or triggering the first device 110 to reacquire uplink synchronization parameters is performed based on a transmission activity of the first device 110 .

[0179] In some example embodiments, the transmission activity is one of the following: the first device 110 has sent a scheduling request (SR) or a buffer status report (BSR) to the second device 120, the first device 110 is about to send an SR or a BSR to the second device 120, the first device 110 is waiting for feedback information from the second device 120, the first device 110 receives a rejection of the SR from the second device 120, the first device 110 receives an authorization of the SR from the second device 120, the first device 110 receives a resource schedule from the second device 120, or the first device 110 is communicating with the second device 120.

[0180] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 further sends a first indication to the first device 110, the first indication being used to instruct the first device 110 to enable or disable skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters, or receives a second indication from the first device 110, the second indication being used to indicate that the first device 110 supports skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters.

[0181] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 also receives a report indicating that the first device 110 has transitioned to the idle state before expiration of the second valid duration of the coverage range.

[0182] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 also sends a third indication to the first device 110, which is used to instruct the first device 110 to enable or disable transitioning to the idle state before expiration of the second valid duration; or receives a fourth indication from the first device 110, which is used to indicate that the first device 110 supports transitioning to the idle state before expiration of the second valid duration.

[0183] In some example embodiments, after the expiration of the first valid duration, the second device 120 also continues the data transfer being executed or to be executed with the first device 110 .

[0184] In some example embodiments, continuing the data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration includes continuing the data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration if one of the following: the first device 110 is sending data to the second device 120; the first device 110 is receiving data from the second device 120; or the percentage of the amount of data that has been completed in the data transfer exceeds a threshold percentage.

[0185] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 also sends a first configuration to the first device 110, which indicates at least one of: a resource configuration indicating resources to be used for data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration; a parameter indicating that the first device 110 is to continue data transfer by using resources previously scheduled for data transfer; or a flag for starting or stopping data transfer.

[0186] In some example embodiments, the resources include at least one of: resources of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), resources of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or resources of a physical random access channel (PRACH).

[0187] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 also sends a fifth indication to the first device 110, which is used to instruct the first device 110 to enable or disable continued data transfer after the expiration of the first valid duration, or receives a sixth indication from the first device 110, which is used to instruct the first device 110 to support continued data transfer after the expiration of the first valid duration.

[0188] In some example embodiments, continuing the data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration includes continuing the data transfer by extending the first valid duration for a predetermined period of time.

[0189] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 further sends a second configuration to the first device 110 , the second configuration indicating a time length of the predetermined period.

[0190] In some example embodiments, the service coverage area of ​​the second device 120 is part of a plurality of non-contiguous coverage areas.

[0191] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 is a terminal device, and the second device 120 is a network device. Example devices, equipment, and media

[0192] In some example embodiments, a first device (eg, Figure 1A and Figure 1B The first device 110 in the embodiment may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of method 400. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. The first device may be implemented as or included in Figure 1A and Figure 1B In the first device 110.

[0193] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus includes: a component for acquiring first information and second information, the first information indicating a first valid duration of an uplink synchronization parameter, the second information indicating a second valid duration of a service coverage of the second device, the uplink synchronization parameter being used by the first device for communication between the first device and the second device; and a component for skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameter after determining that the first valid duration is about to expire, based at least in part on the first information and the second information.

[0194] In some example embodiments, the uplink synchronization parameter is based on a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) position, and skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameter includes means for skipping performing GNSS measurements.

[0195] In some example embodiments, the uplink synchronization parameter is satellite assistance related information, and skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameter comprises means for skipping monitoring system information including satellite assistance related information.

[0196] In some example embodiments, means for skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters based at least in part on first information and second information includes: means for determining a first remaining valid duration based on the first information; means for determining a second remaining valid duration based on the second information; and means for: skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters if at least one of the following is satisfied: the first remaining valid is less than or equal to a first threshold, and the second remaining valid is less than or equal to a second threshold, and a difference between the second remaining valid and the first remaining valid is less than or equal to a third threshold.

[0197] In some example embodiments, any one of the first threshold, the second threshold, and the third threshold is a default value or is configured by the second device.

[0198] In some example embodiments, the third threshold is associated with a length of time for the first device to reacquire the uplink synchronization parameters.

[0199] In some example embodiments, the means for skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters comprises means for ignoring a trigger sent by the second device to reacquire uplink synchronization parameters.

[0200] In some example embodiments, means for skipping reacquiring uplink synchronization parameters based at least in part on the first information and the second information includes means for skipping reacquiring uplink synchronization parameters based on the first information and the second information and transmission activity of the first device.

[0201] In some example embodiments, the transmission activity is one of the following: the first device has sent a scheduling request (SR) or a buffer status report (BSR) to the second device, the first device is about to send an SR or a BSR to the second device, the first device is waiting for feedback information from the second device, the first device receives a rejection of the SR from the second device, the first device receives an authorization of the SR from the second device, the first device receives a resource schedule from the second device, or the first device is communicating with the second device.

[0202] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: a component for receiving a first indication from the second device, the first indication being used to instruct the first device to enable or disable skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters, or a component for sending a second indication to the second device, the second indication being used to indicate that the first device supports skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters.

[0203] In some example embodiments, the means for skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters comprises means for: prior to expiration of the second validity duration, transitioning the first device from a connected state to an idle state.

[0204] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further includes a component for: suspending transitioning the first device to an idle state if one of the following occurs: the first device has sent a scheduling request (SR) or a buffer status report (BSR) to the second device; the first device is about to send an SR or a BSR to the second device; or the first device is waiting for feedback information from the second device.

[0205] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for sending a report indicating the transition to the second device.

[0206] In some example embodiments, the means for sending the report includes means for sending a report indicating the switching to the second device if the serving coverage is an Earth Mobile Cell (EMC).

[0207] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for receiving a third indication from the second device, the third indication being used to instruct the first device to enable or disable transitioning to the idle state before expiration of the second valid duration, or means for sending a fourth indication to the second device, the fourth indication being used to instruct the first device to support transitioning to the idle state before expiration of the second first valid duration.

[0208] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for continuing the data transfer being performed or to be performed with the second device after expiration of the first valid duration.

[0209] In some example embodiments, the means for continuing the data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration includes means for continuing the data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration if one of the following: the first device is sending data to the second device; the first device is receiving data from the second device; or the percentage of the amount of data that has been completed in the data transfer exceeds a threshold percentage.

[0210] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: a component for receiving a first configuration from the second device, the first configuration indicating at least one of: a resource configuration indicating resources to be used for data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration; a parameter instructing the first device to continue data transfer by using resources previously scheduled for data transfer; or a flag for starting or stopping data transfer.

[0211] In some example embodiments, the resources include at least one of: resources of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), resources of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or resources of a physical random access channel (PRACH).

[0212] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: a component for receiving a fifth indication from the second device, the fifth indication being used to instruct the first device to enable or disable continued data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration, or a component for sending a sixth indication to the second device, the sixth indication being used to instruct the first device to support continued data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration.

[0213] In some example embodiments, the means for continuing the data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration includes: means for continuing the data transfer by at least one of: means for continuing the data transfer until the data transfer has been completed, means for extending the first valid duration for a predetermined period of time, means for continuing to use the uplink synchronization parameter for a predetermined period of time, or means for using another uplink synchronization parameter.

[0214] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for receiving a second configuration from the second device, the second configuration indicating a time length of the predetermined period.

[0215] In some example embodiments, the means for skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters based at least in part on the first information and the second information includes: means for sending a request to the second device to reacquire the uplink synchronization parameters, the request including one of: the first information and the second information, or a first remaining valid duration of the first valid duration and a second remaining valid duration of the second valid duration; and means for receiving a rejection response to the request from the second device.

[0216] In some example embodiments, the rejection response indicates one of: a rejection reason, the first device transitioning to an idle state before expiration of the second valid duration, or the first device continuing the data transfer being performed or to be performed with the second device.

[0217] In some example embodiments, the service coverage area of ​​the second device is part of a plurality of non-contiguous coverage areas.

[0218] In some example embodiments, the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a network device.

[0219] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means or the first device 110 for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 400. In some example embodiments, the means comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause execution of the first apparatus.

[0220] In some example embodiments, a second device (eg, Figure 1A and Figure 1B The second device 120 in the embodiment may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of method 500. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit or a software module. The second device may be implemented as or included in Figure 1A and Figure 1B In the second device 120.

[0221] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus includes: means for generating a message including at least one parameter to be used by a first device within coverage of the second device so that the first device skips reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters based on the at least one parameter after determining that a first validity duration of the uplink synchronization parameters is about to expire; and means for sending the message to the first device.

[0222] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: a component for receiving a request to reacquire uplink synchronization parameters from the first device, the request comprising one of: first information indicating a first valid duration and second information indicating a second valid duration of the coverage range, or a first remaining valid duration of the first valid duration and a second remaining valid duration of the second valid duration; and a component for sending a rejection response of the request to the first device.

[0223] In some example embodiments, the rejection response indicates one of: a rejection reason, the first device transitioning to an idle state before expiration of the second valid duration, or the first device continuing the data transfer being performed or to be performed with the second device.

[0224] In some example embodiments, the at least one parameter includes at least one threshold value to be used by the first device, the at least one threshold value including at least one of: a first threshold value for comparison with a first remaining validity of a first validity duration; a second threshold value for comparison with a second remaining validity of a second validity duration of the coverage range; or a third threshold value for comparison with a difference between the second remaining validity and the first remaining validity.

[0225] In some example embodiments, any one of the first threshold, the second threshold, and the third threshold is a default value or is configured by the second device.

[0226] In some example embodiments, the third threshold is associated with a length of time for the first device to reacquire the uplink synchronization parameters.

[0227] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for disabling assistance or triggering the first device to reacquire uplink synchronization parameters.

[0228] In some example embodiments, the means for disabling assistance or triggering the first device to reacquire uplink synchronization parameters is performed based on a transmission activity of the first device.

[0229] In some example embodiments, the transmission activity is one of the following: the first device has sent a scheduling request (SR) or a buffer status report (BSR) to the second device, the first device is about to send an SR or a BSR to the second device, the first device is waiting for feedback information from the second device, the first device receives a rejection of the SR from the second device, the first device receives an authorization of the SR from the second device, the first device receives a resource schedule from the second device, or the first device is communicating with the second device.

[0230] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: a component for sending a first indication to the first device, the first indication being used to instruct the first device to enable or disable skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters, or a component for receiving a second indication from the first device, the second indication being used to indicate that the first device supports skipping reacquisition of uplink synchronization parameters.

[0231] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for receiving a report indicating that the first device has transitioned to the idle state prior to expiration of the second valid duration of the coverage range.

[0232] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for sending a third indication to the first device, the third indication being used to instruct the first device to enable or disable transitioning to the idle state before expiration of the second valid duration, or means for receiving a fourth indication from the first device, the fourth indication being used to instruct the first device to support transitioning to the idle state before expiration of the second valid duration.

[0233] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for continuing the data transfer being performed or to be performed with the first device after expiration of the first validity duration.

[0234] In some example embodiments, the means for continuing the data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration includes means for continuing the data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration if one of the following: the first device is sending data to the second device; the first device is receiving data from the second device; or the percentage of the amount of data that has been completed in the data transfer exceeds a threshold percentage.

[0235] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: a component for sending a first configuration to the first device, the first configuration indicating at least one of: a resource configuration indicating resources to be used for data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration; a parameter instructing the first device to continue data transfer by using resources previously scheduled for data transfer; or a flag for starting or stopping data transfer.

[0236] In some example embodiments, the resources include at least one of: resources of a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), resources of a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or resources of a physical random access channel (PRACH).

[0237] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: a component for sending a fifth indication to the first device, the fifth indication being used to instruct the first device to enable or disable continued data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration, or a component for receiving a sixth indication from the first device, the sixth indication being used to instruct the first device to support continued data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration.

[0238] In some example embodiments, the means for continuing the data transfer after expiration of the first valid duration comprises means for continuing the data transfer by extending the first valid duration for a predetermined period.

[0239] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for sending a second configuration to the first device, the second configuration indicating a time length of the predetermined period.

[0240] In some example embodiments, the service coverage area of ​​the second device is part of a plurality of non-contiguous coverage areas.

[0241] In some example embodiments, the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a network device.

[0242] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means or the second device 120 for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 500. In some example embodiments, the means comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause execution of the second apparatus.

[0243] Figure 6 is a simplified block diagram of a device 600 suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The device 600 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1A and Figure 1B The first device 110 or the second device 120 is shown. As shown, the device 600 includes one or more processors 610, one or more memories 620 coupled to the processor 610, and one or more communication modules 640 coupled to the processor 610.

[0244] The communication module 640 is configured for bidirectional communication. The communication module 640 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. A communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communicating with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 640 may include at least one antenna.

[0245] Processor 610 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network and may include one or more of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. Device 600 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips, that are time-slave to a clock synchronized with a main processor.

[0246] The memory 620 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 624, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disks, compact discs (CDs), digital video discs (DVDs), optical discs, laser discs, and other magnetic and / or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 622 and other volatile memories that do not persist until power is removed.

[0247] The computer program 630 includes computer-executable instructions executed by the associated processor 610. The instructions of the program 630 may include instructions for performing the operations / actions of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 630 may be stored in a memory (e.g., ROM 624). The processor 610 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading the program 630 into the RAM 622.

[0248] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by the program 630 so that the device 600 may execute the procedures described in the reference Figures 2 to 5 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0249] In some example embodiments, program 630 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in device 600 (such as in memory 620) or in other storage devices accessible by device 600. Device 600 may load program 630 from the computer-readable medium into RAM 622 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. The term "non-transitory" as used herein refers to a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal), not a limitation on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM versus ROM).

[0250] Figure BBBB shows an example of a computer readable medium 700, which may be in the form of a CD, DVD or other optical storage disc.Computer readable medium 700 has program 630 stored thereon.

[0251] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or a controller or other computing device, or some combination thereof.

[0252] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium (such as a non-volatile computer-readable medium). The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in a program module, that are executed in a device on a target entity or virtual processor to perform any of the methods described above. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. The functions of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed in various embodiments. The machine-executable instructions for the program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, the program modules can be located in local and remote storage media.

[0253] The program code for performing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device so that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, causes the implementation of the functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram. The program code can be executed 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.

[0254] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, etc.

[0255] The computer-readable medium can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable medium can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, devices or equipment, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media will include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0256] In addition, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all described operations be performed, to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing can be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details have been included in the above discussion, these should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of this disclosure, but rather as describing features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Unless explicitly stated, certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, unless explicitly stated, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable subcombination.

[0257] Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as At least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to at least perform: Acquire first information and second information, where the first information indicates a first valid duration of an uplink synchronization parameter, and the second information indicates a second valid duration of a service coverage of a second device, the uplink synchronization parameter being used by the first device for communication between the first device and the second device; as well as After determining that the first validity duration is about to expire, reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameters is skipped based at least in part on the first information and the second information.

2. The first device of claim 1 , wherein the uplink synchronization parameter is based on a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) position, and skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameter comprises: Skip performing GNSS measurement.

3. The first device of claim 1 , wherein the uplink synchronization parameter is satellite assistance related information, and skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameter comprises: Skipping monitoring of system information including the satellite assistance related information.

4. The first device of claim 1 , wherein skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameter based at least in part on the first information and the second information comprises: determining a first remaining effective duration based on the first information; determining a second remaining effective duration based on the second information; as well as Re-acquisition of the uplink synchronization parameters is skipped if at least one of the following is satisfied: the first residual is effectively less than or equal to a first threshold, and the second residual is effectively less than or equal to a second threshold, A difference between the second remaining validity and the first remaining validity is less than or equal to a third threshold. 5 . The first device according to claim 4 , wherein any one of the first threshold, the second threshold, and the third threshold is a default value or is configured by the second device. 6 . The first device of claim 4 , wherein the third threshold is associated with a length of time for the first device to reacquire the uplink synchronization parameter.

7. The first device of claim 1 , wherein skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameters comprises: A trigger sent by the second device to reacquire the uplink synchronization parameters is ignored.

8. The first device of claim 1 , wherein skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameters based at least in part on the first information and the second information comprises: Reacquiring the uplink synchronization parameters is skipped based on the first information and the second information and the transmission activity of the first device.

9. The first device of claim 8, wherein the transmission activity is one of: The first device has sent a scheduling request (SR) or a buffer status report (BSR) to the second device, The first device is about to send the SR or the BSR to the second device, The first device is waiting for feedback information from the second device, The first device receives a rejection of the SR from the second device, The first device receives authorization for the SR from the second device, The first device receives a resource schedule from the second device, or The first device is communicating with the second device.

10. The first device of claim 1 , wherein the first device is further configured to perform: receiving a first indication from the second device, the first indication being used to instruct the first device to enable or disable skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameter, or A second indication is sent to the second device, where the second indication is used to indicate that the first device supports skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameter.

11. The first device of claim 1 , wherein skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameters comprises: Before expiration of the second validity duration, the first device is transitioned from a connected state to an idle state.

12. The first device of claim 11 , wherein the first device is further configured to perform: Transitioning the first device to the idle state is aborted if one of the following occurs: The first device has sent a scheduling request (SR) or a buffer status report (BSR) to the second device; The first device is about to send the SR or the BSR to the second device; or The first device is waiting for feedback information from the second device.

13. The first device of claim 11 , wherein the first device is further configured to perform: A report indicating the transition is sent to the second device.

14. The first device of claim 13, wherein sending the report comprises: If the service coverage is an Earth Mobile Cell (EMC), the report indicating the switching is sent to the second device.

15. The first device of claim 11 , wherein the first device is further configured to perform: receiving a third indication from the second device, the third indication being used to instruct the first device to enable or disable transitioning to the idle state before the expiration of the second valid duration; or A fourth indication is sent to the second device, where the fourth indication is used to indicate that the first device supports transitioning to the idle state before the expiration of the second first valid duration.

16. The first device of claim 1 , wherein the first device is further configured to perform: After expiration of the first validity duration, the data transfer being executed or to be executed with the second device is continued.

17. The first device of claim 16, wherein continuing the data transfer after the expiration of the first validity duration comprises: The data transfer is continued after the expiration of the first validity duration if one of the following: The first device is sending data to the second device; The first device is receiving data from the second device; or The percentage of the amount of data that has been completed in the data transfer exceeds a threshold percentage.

18. The first device of claim 16, wherein the first device is further configured to perform: receiving, from the second device, a first configuration indicating at least one of the following: a resource configuration indicating resources to be used by said data transfer after said expiration of said first validity duration, parameter, instructing the first device to continue the data transfer by using the resources previously scheduled for the data transfer, or Flag used to start or stop the data transfer.

19. The first device according to claim 18, wherein the resource comprises at least one of the following: Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resources, Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resources, or Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) resources.

20. The first device of claim 16, wherein the first device is further caused to perform: receiving a fifth indication from the second device, the fifth indication being used to instruct the first device to enable or disable continuation of the data transfer after the expiration of the first validity duration, or A sixth indication is sent to the second device, where the sixth indication is used to indicate that the first device supports continuing the data transfer after expiration of the first validity duration.

21. The first device of claim 16, wherein continuing the data transfer after the expiration of the first validity duration comprises: Continue the data transfer by at least one of the following: continuing said data transfer until said data transfer has been completed, extending the first effective duration by a predetermined period, continuing to use the uplink synchronization parameters for the predetermined period, or Use another uplink synchronization parameter.

22. The first device of claim 16, wherein the first device is further configured to perform: A second configuration is received from the second device, the second configuration indicating a time length of the predetermined period.

23. The first device of claim 1 , wherein skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameters based at least in part on the first information and the second information comprises: Sending a request to the second device to reacquire the uplink synchronization parameter, the request including one of the following: the first information and the second information, or a first remaining effective duration of the first effective duration and a second remaining effective duration of the second effective duration; as well as A denial response of the request is received from the second device.

24. The first device of claim 23, wherein the rejection response indicates one of: Reason for rejection, The first device transitions to the idle state before the expiration of the second validity duration, or The first device continues the data transfer that is being executed or to be executed with the second device.

25. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 24, wherein the service coverage area of ​​the second device is a part of a plurality of non-contiguous coverage areas.

26. The first device according to any one of claims 1 to 24, wherein the first device is a terminal device, and the second device is a network device.

27. A second device comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to at least perform: generating a message, the message comprising at least one parameter, the at least one parameter being used by a first device within coverage of the second device so that the first device skips reacquisition of an uplink synchronization parameter according to the at least one parameter after determining that a first validity duration of the uplink synchronization parameter is about to expire; as well as Send the message to the first device.

28. The second device of claim 27, wherein the second device is further configured to perform: receiving a request from the first device to reacquire the uplink synchronization parameter, the request comprising one of the following: first information indicating the first validity duration and second information indicating a second validity duration of the coverage area, or a first remaining effective duration of the first effective duration and a second remaining effective duration of the second effective duration; and A rejection response of the request is sent to the first device.

29. The second device of claim 28, wherein the rejection response indicates one of: Reason for rejection, the first device transitions to an idle state before the expiration of the second validity duration, or The first device continues the data transfer that is being executed or to be executed with the second device.

30. The second device of claim 27, wherein the at least one parameter comprises at least one threshold value to be used by the first device, the at least one threshold value comprising at least one of: a first threshold value for comparison with a first remaining validity of the first validity duration, a second threshold value for comparison with a second remaining validity period of the second validity duration of the coverage area, or a third threshold value, used for comparison with the difference between the second remaining validity and the first remaining validity. 31 . The second device according to claim 30 , wherein any one of the first threshold, the second threshold, and the third threshold is a default value or is configured by the second device.

32. The second device of claim 30, wherein the third threshold is associated with a length of time for the first device to reacquire the uplink synchronization parameter.

33. The second device of claim 27, wherein the second device is further configured to perform: Disabling assistance or triggering the first device to reacquire the uplink synchronization parameter.

34. The second device of claim 33, wherein disabling assistance or triggering the first device to reacquire the uplink synchronization parameters is performed based on a transmission activity of the first device.

35. The second device of claim 34, wherein the transmission activity is one of: The first device has sent a scheduling request (SR) or a buffer status report (BSR) to the second device, The first device is about to send the SR or the BSR to the second device, The first device is waiting for feedback information from the second device, The first device receives a rejection of the SR from the second device, The first device receives authorization for the SR from the second device, The first device receives a resource schedule from the second device, or The first device is communicating with the second device.

36. The second device of claim 27, wherein the second device is further caused to perform: sending a first indication to the first device, where the first indication is used to instruct the first device to enable or disable skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameter, or A second indication is received from the first device, where the second indication is used to indicate that the first device supports skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameter.

37. The second device of claim 27, wherein the second device is further caused to perform: A report is received indicating that the first device has transitioned to an idle state prior to expiration of a second valid duration of the coverage range.

38. The second device of claim 27, wherein the second device is further caused to perform: sending a third indication to the first device, where the third indication is used to instruct the first device to enable or disable transitioning to the idle state before the expiration of the second valid duration; or A fourth indication is received from the first device, the fourth indication being used to indicate that the first device supports transitioning to the idle state before the expiration of the second validity duration.

39. The second device of claim 27, wherein the second device is further configured to perform: After expiration of the first validity duration, the data transfer being executed or to be executed with the first device is continued.

40. The second device of claim 39, wherein continuing the data transfer after the expiration of the first validity duration comprises: The data transfer is continued after the expiration of the first validity duration if one of the following: The first device is sending data to the second device; The first device is receiving data from the second device; or The percentage of the amount of data that has been completed in the data transfer exceeds a threshold percentage.

41. The second device of claim 39, wherein the second device is further configured to perform: Sending a first configuration indicating at least one of the following to the first device: a resource configuration indicating resources to be used by said data transfer after said expiration of said first validity duration, parameter, instructing the first device to continue the data transfer by using the resources previously scheduled for the data transfer, or Flag used to start or stop the data transfer.

42. The second device of claim 41, wherein the resource comprises at least one of the following: Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resources, Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resources, or Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) resources.

43. The second device of claim 39, wherein the second device is further caused to perform: sending a fifth indication to the first device, the fifth indication being used to instruct the first device to enable or disable continuing the data transfer after the expiration of the first validity duration, or A sixth indication is received from the first device, the sixth indication being used to indicate that the first device supports continuation of the data transfer after expiration of the first validity duration.

44. The second device of claim 39, wherein continuing the data transfer after the expiration of the first validity duration comprises: The data transfer is continued by extending the first valid duration for a predetermined period of time.

45. The second device of claim 39, wherein the second device is further caused to perform: A second configuration is sent to the first device, where the second configuration indicates a time length of the predetermined period.

46. ​​The second device according to any one of claims 27 to 45, wherein the service coverage area of ​​the second device is part of a plurality of non-contiguous coverage areas.

47. The second device according to any one of claims 27 to 45, wherein the first device is a terminal device, and the second device is a network device.

48. A method comprising: At a first device, first information and second information are acquired, wherein the first information indicates a first valid duration of an uplink synchronization parameter, and the second information indicates a second valid duration of a service coverage of a second device, the uplink synchronization parameter being used by the first device for communication between the first device and the second device; as well as After determining that the first validity duration is about to expire, reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameters is skipped based at least in part on the first information and the second information.

49. A method comprising: generating, at a second device, a message comprising at least one parameter, the at least one parameter being used by a first device within a coverage area of ​​the second device so that the first device skips reacquisition of an uplink synchronization parameter according to the at least one parameter after determining that a first validity duration of the uplink synchronization parameter is about to expire; as well as Send the message to the first device.

50. A first device comprising: means for acquiring first information and second information, the first information indicating a first validity duration of an uplink synchronization parameter, the second information indicating a second validity duration of a service coverage of a second apparatus, the uplink synchronization parameter being used by the first apparatus for communication between the first apparatus and the second apparatus; as well as Means for skipping reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameters based at least in part on the first information and the second information after determining that the first validity duration is about to expire.

51. A second device comprising: means for generating a message, the message comprising at least one parameter, the at least one parameter being used by a first apparatus within coverage of the second apparatus so that the first apparatus skips reacquisition of an uplink synchronization parameter based on the at least one parameter after determining that a first validity duration of the uplink synchronization parameter is about to expire; as well as Means for sending the message to the first device.

52. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, the instructions being configured to cause a first device to at least perform: acquiring first information and second information, the first information indicating a first valid duration of an uplink synchronization parameter, the second information indicating a second valid duration of a service coverage of a second device, the uplink synchronization parameter being used by the first device for communication between the first device and the second device; and After determining that the first validity duration is about to expire, reacquisition of the uplink synchronization parameters is skipped based at least in part on the first information and the second information.

53. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, the instructions being configured to cause a second device to at least: generating, at a second device, a message including at least one parameter, the at least one parameter being used by a first device within a coverage area of ​​the second device so that the first device skips reacquisition of an uplink synchronization parameter according to the at least one parameter after determining that a first validity duration of the uplink synchronization parameter is about to expire; and The message is sent to the first device.

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