Method and apparatus for paging

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to a paging method and device. The first apparatus receives a subgroup configuration from the second apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of: a number of subgroups based on device identification for a predetermined type of device, or a number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of device. The first device monitors a paging advance indicator, PEI, based on the subgroup configuration. The scheme can improve grouping efficiency for saving power and meeting battery life requirements for different types of devices.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly, to methods, apparatus, and computer-readable storage media for paging. Background Art

[0002] A wireless network may transmit a paging message to a group of terminal devices at a paging occasion (PO) to indicate the arrival of downlink information for the terminal devices. If the terminal device is in an idle / inactive state, the terminal device monitors the paging message and initiates an appropriate process (e.g., a connection establishment process). The paging function in a communication system can be energy-consuming, especially if the terminal device is rarely paged or its paging occasion (PO) suffers from a high false paging alarm rate. Therefore, a paging enhancement with a paging advance indication (PEI) is being developed for power saving, wherein the terminal may be notified before its target PO whether it must monitor for paging messages at the PO. If the PEI indicates that the terminal device does not need to monitor the PO or there is no PEI indicating that the terminal device needs to monitor the PO, the terminal device may skip the associated PO monitoring and may skip synchronization based on the system synchronization block (SSB). Summary of the Invention

[0003] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus includes: one or more processors; and one or more transceivers coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more transceivers are configured to, together with the one or more processors, cause the first apparatus to: receive a subgroup configuration from a second apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of subgroups based on device identifications for devices of a predetermined type, or the number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type; and monitor a paging advance indicator (PEI) based on the subgroup configuration.

[0004] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a second apparatus is provided. The second apparatus includes: one or more processors; and one or more transceivers coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more transceivers are configured to, together with the one or more processors, cause the second apparatus to: transmit a subgroup configuration to a first apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of subgroups based on device identifications for a predetermined type of device, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of device; and transmit a paging early indicator (PEI) to the first apparatus based on the subgroup configuration.

[0005] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving, by a first device, a subgroup configuration from a second device, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of subgroups based on device identifications for devices of a predetermined type, or the number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type; and monitoring, by the first device, a paging early indicator (PEI) based on the subgroup configuration.

[0006] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: transmitting, by a second device, a subgroup configuration to a first device, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of subgroups based on device identifiers for devices of a predetermined type, or the number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type; and transmitting, based on the subgroup configuration, a paging early indicator (PEI) to the first device.

[0007] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus includes: a component for receiving a subgroup configuration from a second apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of subgroups based on device identifications for devices of a predetermined type, or the number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type; and a component for monitoring a paging advance indicator (PEI) based on the subgroup configuration.

[0008] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a second apparatus is provided. The second apparatus includes: a component for transmitting a subgroup configuration to a first apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: a number of subgroups based on device identifications for devices of a predetermined type, or a number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type; and a component for transmitting a paging early indicator (PEI) to the first apparatus based on the subgroup configuration.

[0009] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus includes: one or more processors; and one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the first apparatus to at least: receive a subgroup configuration from a second apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of subgroups based on device identifiers for a predetermined type of device, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of device; and monitor a paging advance indicator (PEI) based on the subgroup configuration.

[0010] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, a second apparatus is provided. The second apparatus includes: one or more processors; and one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the second apparatus to at least: transmit a subgroup configuration to a first apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of subgroups based on device identifiers for a predetermined type of device, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of device; and transmit a paging early indicator (PEI) to the first apparatus based on the subgroup configuration.

[0011] In a ninth 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.

[0012] In a tenth 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.

[0013] In an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions, which, when executed by a device, cause the device to at least perform the method according to the third aspect.

[0014] In a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions, which, when executed by a device, cause the device to at least perform the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0015] It should be understood that this 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

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

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

[0018] Figure 2A An example diagram illustrating paging advance indication and paging occasion monitoring without subgrouping is shown;

[0019] Figure 2B An example diagram illustrating paging advance indication and paging occasion monitoring with subgroups is shown;

[0020] Figure 3 shows a signaling flow for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating a method implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0022] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating a method implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0023] Figure 6 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0024] Figure 7 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is shown, according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0025] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and to 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 as described below.

[0027] 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.

[0028] 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 must include 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 intended that those skilled in the art would recognize and incorporate such feature, structure, or characteristic into other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0029] It should be understood that although the terms "first", "second", etc. can be used to describe various elements in this article, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments, the first element can be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element can be referred to as the first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0030] As used herein, “at least one of: ” and “at least one of ” and similar expressions, where a list of two or more elements is joined by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0031] As used herein, unless explicitly stated, performing a step "in response to A" does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after "A" occurs and may include one or more intermediate steps.

[0032] 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, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should be further understood that the terms "comprise," "including," "having," "containing," "include," and / or "comprising" when used herein specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0033] 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 circuit(s) with software / firmware and (ii) any portion of a hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s), software, memory(s) that work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions) and (c) Hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portions of microprocessor(s) that require software (e.g., firmware) for operation (but where software is not required for operation, the software may not be present).

[0034] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also encompasses implementations of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors), or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor, and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also encompasses, for example, and as applicable to a particular claim element, 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.

[0035] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal equipment and the network equipment in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including but not limited to fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocols and / or other protocols, such as super 5G. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communications, there will certainly be future types of communication technologies and systems that can embody the present disclosure. It should not be considered that the scope of the present disclosure is limited to the aforementioned systems.

[0036] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and / or serves a terminal device in the communication network. A network device may refer to at least one of a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a Node B (Node B or NB), an evolved Node B (e Node B or eNB), an NR NB (also known as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node (such as a femto, a pico), a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite network device), a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. In some example embodiments, the radio access network (RAN) split architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at the IAB donor node. The IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) part that behaves like a UE towards the parent node, and the DU part of the IAB node behaves like a base station towards the next hop IAB node.

[0037] The term "terminal device" refers to any end device capable of wireless communication. By way of 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 ring phones, tablet computers, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless 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 process 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.

[0038] 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 a time domain resource, a frequency domain resource, a spatial domain resource, a code domain resource, or any other communication-enabling resource. Hereinafter, unless explicitly stated otherwise, resources in both 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.

[0039] Figure 1 An example communication environment 100 is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The communication environment 100 includes a plurality of communication devices, including one or more first apparatuses 110-1, 110-2 (collectively or individually referred to as first apparatuses 110) and second apparatuses 120 operating in a radio access network (RAN).

[0040] exist Figure 1In the example of FIG. 1 , the first device 110 may include a terminal device, and the second device 120 may include a network device. The service area of ​​the second device 120 may be referred to as a cell. The first device 110 and the second device 120 may operate in a radio access network (RAN). Although two terminal devices (e.g., the first device) are shown, more or fewer terminal devices may exist within the service area of ​​the network device.

[0041] In some example embodiments, first device 110 and / or second device 120 may communicate with network devices (entities / functions) in a core network (CN), such as access and mobility management function (AMF) 130 and / or location management function (LMF) 140. In some example embodiments, as discussed below, one or more first devices 110 may be configured for positioning services. In some example embodiments, LMF 140 may be configured to manage services for one or more first devices 110.

[0042] Communications in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any suitable communication protocol(s), including but not limited to third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G) and above, wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and / or any other protocol currently known or 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 developed in the future.

[0043] It should be understood that Figure 1 The number of devices and their connections shown in the figure is for illustrative purposes only and does not imply any limitation. The communication environment 100 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 within the communication environment 100. Note that although shown as a terminal device, the first device 110 may be a device other than a terminal device. Although shown as a network device, the second device 120 may be a device other than a network device.

[0044] 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.

[0045] In the context of paging, for example, a first device 110 in an idle / inactive state (RRC_IDLE / RRC_INACTIVE state) can monitor a paging occasion (PO) to receive a paging message from a second device 120. A paging occasion represents a time interval or time window during which a group of first devices monitor paging information (paging downlink control information, DCI). A second device 120 can page one first device 110 within a paging occasion. To further conserve power, a paging advance indication (PEI) is used to notify the first device 110 of its target PO in advance, informing it whether it must monitor for paging information at that PO. The PEI may include wake-up signaling for paging of the first device 110. First devices 110 not indicated by the PEI may skip synchronization based on SSB and associated PO monitoring. In some example embodiments, the PEI may be signaled via a DCI message carried in a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). In some example embodiments, DCI format 2_7 may be used to signal paging advance indications for one or more first devices. It will be appreciated that PEI may be signaled by other means, such as by sequence.

[0046] Figure 2A An example 210 is shown, which shows a paging advance indication and paging occasion monitoring with sub-packets. As shown, in the absence of sub-packets, the first device 110 needs to receive 1 to 3 SSB bursts before PO for time-frequency synchronization based on signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR). If the first device 110 supports PEI and is provided with a Paging Advance Indication (PBI) in an SSB burst ( Figure 2A In the example of SSB burst 1), if the PO received after the PO indicates not to monitor the PO, it can skip the subsequent PO monitoring and synchronization based on the subsequent SSB bursts (SSB burst 2 and SSB burst 3) for power saving. Therefore, the first device 110 may not need to receive the paging record.

[0047] In addition, subgroup information can be indicated in the PEI to indicate which subgroups of the first device 110 are to be paged. If the PEI and subgroups are configured, the first devices 110 monitoring the same PO can be divided into one or more subgroups. Using subgroups, if the corresponding bit for the subgroup to which the first device 110 belongs is indicated as 1 by the PEI corresponding to the PO of the first device, the first device 110 monitors the associated PO.

[0048] Figure 2B An example 220 is shown showing paging advance indication and paging occasion monitoring with subgroups. If the associated PEI indicates that the subgroup of the first device 110 is paged, the first device 110 can monitor the corresponding PO. If its subgroup is not paged, the first device 110 can skip DCI and paging message reception, which will result in a lower group paging rate and fewer false paging alerts. Figure 2B As shown, only the first device 110 of subgroup 1 monitors PO, and the first devices 110 of other subgroups can skip PO and SSB bursts for power saving.

[0049] Note that there is currently only one Paging Radio Network Temporary Identity (P-RNTI), which means that if at least one first device is to be paged, all devices of the PO may have to receive a paging record. In this case, there are false paging alerts for all other first devices.

[0050] Currently, for paging using PEI, CN-assigned subgroups (also known as CN-controlled subgroups) and subgroups based on device identity (e.g., UE ID) are supported. CN-assigned subgroups can be considered non-access stratum (NAS) capabilities, and device identity-based subgroups are considered radio capabilities.

[0051] If the first device 110 supports CN-assigned subgroups, a network function or entity in the CN (e.g., AMF 130) determines a paging subgroup ID assignment for the first device 110 and then sends the subgroup ID to the first device 110, for example, via NAS signaling. Simultaneously, the AMF 130 notifies the second device 120 of the CN-assigned subgroup ID for paging the first device 110 in an idle / inactive state. Before the first device 110 is paged in the PO, the second device 120 transmits an associated PEI and indicates the corresponding CN-assigned subgroup of the first device 110 to be paged in the PEI.

[0052] Regarding device identity-based subgrouping, a network function or entity (e.g., the second device 120) may determine and broadcast the total number of subgroups in the PO (e.g., subgroupsNumPerPO) and the number of subgroups in the cell for device identity-based subgrouping (e.g., subgroupsNumForUEID). The first device 110 may then determine its subgroup in the cell based on subgroupsNumPerPO, subgroupsNumForUEID, and its device ID. Before the first device 110 is paged in the PO, the second device 120 transmits the associated PEI and indicates the corresponding subgroup obtained based on the device identity of the first device 110 to be paged in the PEI.

[0053] According to some mechanisms, the subgroup ID (SubgroupID) based on the device identity can be determined by the following formula (1): SubgroupID=(floor(UE_ID / (N*Ns))mod subgroupsNumForUEID)+(subgroupsNumPerPO-subgroupsNumForUEID), in: N: the number of all paging frames in a certain period T; Ns: number of paging occasions for a paging frame (PF); UE_ID: device identifier; subgroupsNumPerPO: the total number of subgroups in the PO, including both the subgroups allocated to the CN (if any) and the subgroups based on the device identity (if any), which can be broadcast in the system information; subgroupsNumForUEID: The number of subgroups in PO for device identity based subgrouping, which can be broadcast in system information.

[0054] In some example embodiments, the RRC state (RRC_IDLE / RRC_INACTIVE) may not affect which subgroup the first device belongs to.

[0055] Both the paging function and the early paging indication function are used to conserve power. In wireless communication systems, some devices have strict energy requirements, an example of which is a low-power, high-precision positioning (LPHAP) device. It should be noted that while the term "LPHAP" is used herein, such devices with strict power conservation requirements may be referred to by other terms.

[0056] Low-power, high-precision positioning is an integral component of numerous industrial applications. The total energy required for a given operating time for such LPHAP devices is a combination of the energy used for positioning (which varies depending on the positioning method used), the energy used for communication / synchronization, and unpredictable factors such as security, power management, microcontroller, and battery self-discharge. Examples of target applications for low-power, high-precision positioning include asset tracking in process automation, vehicle tracking, and tool tracking.

[0057] LPHAP devices have very challenging battery life requirements. Table 1 gives examples of the required battery life requirements of LPHAP devices for different use cases. Table 1: Low-power high-precision positioning use cases

[0058] We have studied and concluded that in most of the evaluated scenarios examined, existing positioning for terminal devices in RRC_INACTIVE state cannot meet the target battery life required by LPHAP use case 6 and above. Therefore, at least for LPHAP devices, further enhancements to the power saving mechanism are needed to meet the power consumption requirements.

[0059] According to the traditional communication mechanism, a terminal device in RRC_IDLE / RRC_INACTIVE is periodically awakened to monitor the PDCCH at its PO. If the terminal device is rarely paged and the false paging alarm rate is high when other terminal devices with the same PO are paged, this is quite power-consuming. As mentioned above, Paging Early Indication (PEI) with sub-groups is defined to reduce the false paging alarm rate for power saving. In order to meet the strict battery life requirements of some devices (e.g., LPHAP devices), an alternative solution is to apply PEI with sub-groups to reduce the false paging rate and thus save device power.

[0060] However, the existing sub-grouping approach may require further investigation for power saving enhancement.

[0061] Typically, a terminal device supporting a subgroup allocated by a CN in an idle / inactive state may be assigned a subgroup ID (e.g., between 0 and 7) by the AMF via NAS signaling. The terminal device belonging to the allocated subgroup ID monitors its associated PEI, which indicates the subgroup(s) being paged.

[0062] However, the subgroups allocated by the CN depend on the UE and network capabilities. To support the subgroups allocated by the CN, terminal devices including LPHAP devices need to report their capability information to the AMF. Therefore, the AMF may determine and configure the subgroup ID allocated by the CN for the terminal device, which will result in additional power consumption and implementation complexity for the device. In addition, the AMF may not support the subgroups allocated by the CN.

[0063] Unlike the subgroups allocated by the CN, the subgroups based on device identification are implemented independently in the RAN. The terminal device and the serving network device implicitly determine the subgroup of the terminal device based on the device identification and the number of subgroups based on device identification in the PO, which may not require interaction between the CN entity (e.g., AMF), the serving network device, and the terminal device (with signaling overhead for allocating and configuring subgroup information for the terminal device). Therefore, it is beneficial to reduce the power consumption and implementation complexity of the terminal device, especially for LPHAP devices. To this end, for terminal devices with lower paging rates, it makes sense to support subgroups based on device identification rather than subgroups allocated by the CN to save device power.

[0064] However, the inventors have found that because the device identity allocation does not take into account the requirements for paging subgrouping of terminal devices, it is difficult to ensure that devices with the same or similar paging characteristics (e.g., lower paging rates) can be mapped to (multiple) dedicated subgroups using the scheme for device identity-based subgroup ID allocation, and thus leads to high false paging alert rates for some terminal devices whenever any other device in the same subgroup is paged.

[0065] In order to achieve greater energy savings for certain devices, it is beneficial to provide an enhanced mechanism for assigning sub-group IDs to devices.

[0066] According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, an improved scheme for paging subgroups is provided. This scheme involves subgrouping based on device identification. In this scheme, a first device may receive a subgroup configuration from a second device, where the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of subgroups based on device identification for devices of a predetermined type, or the number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type. The first device monitors the PEI based on the subgroup configuration. This scheme improves grouping efficiency for power conservation and meets battery life requirements for different types of devices.

[0067] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0068] Now refer to Figure 3 , which shows a signaling flow 300 for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 3As shown, the signaling flow 300 involves the first device 110 and the second device 120. For the purpose of discussion, reference is made to Figure 1 3. The signaling flow 300 is described below. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may be a terminal device, and the second apparatus 120 may be a network device.

[0069] In the signaling flow 300, the second device 120 transmits (305) and the first device 110 receives (310) a subgroup configuration indicating at least one of the number of subgroups for devices of a predetermined type based on device identification or the number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type.

[0070] In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, it is proposed to map specific types of devices to one or more dedicated subgroups for paging monitoring. Since devices of the same type can share the same or similar paging characteristics, a low false paging alert rate can be achieved, and thus the power consumption of the devices due to paging monitoring can be reduced. To support device identity-based subgrouping for specific types of devices, a subgroup configuration is provided to the first device 110. The first device 110 monitors (315) PEI based on the subgroup configuration. The second device 120 transmits (320) PEI to the first device 110 based on the subgroup configuration.

[0071] In some example embodiments, a conventional subgroup configuration information element (IE) (eg, SubgroupConfig-r17) may be used to transmit the subgroup configuration to the first device 110. In some example embodiments, a new IE may be defined to configure the number of subgroups based on device identification for a predetermined type of device.

[0072] As described above, the subgroup configuration may indicate the number of subgroups for devices of a predetermined type based on device identification (which may be one or more than one), and / or the number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type (which may be one or more than one). Thus, based on the subgroup configuration, devices of a predetermined type may be mapped to one or more specific subgroups for that device type, and devices of a non-predetermined type may be mapped to one or more other specific subgroups, respectively, according to certain subgrouping schemes.

[0073] In some example embodiments, the predetermined type of device may include LPHAP devices, which have strict battery life requirements and therefore require a low false paging alert rate to save power. The non-predetermined type of device may include non-LPHAP devices. In some example embodiments, the predetermined type of device may include any other type of device configured to be mapped to one or more dedicated subgroups for paging monitoring.

[0074] In some example embodiments, first devices 110 (e.g., terminal devices) that support sub-grouping based on device identification may be divided into predetermined type devices and non-predetermined type devices based on their device types, e.g., LPAHP devices and non-LPHAP devices. As described above, those first devices 110 may be mapped to corresponding sub-groups based at least on their device types.

[0075] In some example embodiments, the subgroup configuration may also indicate the total number of both subgroups allocated for the CN and subgroups based on device identification, for example, the total number of subgroups in the PO (considering that both subgroups allocated for the CN and subgroups based on device identification are supported in the PO). The subgroups based on device identification may include the number of subgroups for devices of the predetermined type and for devices of non-predetermined types. In this case, the number of subgroups allocated for the CN (if any) is determined by subtracting the sum of the number of subgroups based on device identification for devices of the predetermined type and the number of subgroups for devices of non-predetermined types (if any) from the total number of subgroups, which may be represented by the following equation (2): subgroupsNumForCN=subgroupsNumPerPO-subgroupsNumForLPHAPUEID-subgroupsNumForUEID Wherein, "subgroupsNumForCN" represents the number of subgroups of the subgrouping allocated for CN; "subgroupsNumPerPO" represents the total number of subgroups allocated for CN and subgroups based on device identification; "subgroupsNumForLPHAPUEID" represents the number of subgroups based on device identification for a predetermined type of device (in this example, LPHAP devices); and "subgroupsNumForUEID" represents the number of subgroups for non-predetermined types of devices. In this example, the parameters "subgroupsNumPerPO" and "subgroupsNumForUEID" can be defined as in conventional subgrouping based on device identification.

[0076] In some example embodiments of configuring the total number of subgroups, the subgroup ID(s) (also referred to as subgroup indexes) allocated for one or more subgroups for a predetermined type of device (e.g., a subgroup based on a device identity for LPHAP) may be after the subgroup ID(s) allocated for the subgroup allocated by the CN. If the first device 110 is a device of the predetermined type, the subgroup ID(s) (also referred to as subgroup indexes) may be allocated based on the device identity of the first device 110 (denoted as "UE ID”), the number of subgroups based on device identification for a predetermined type of device (e.g., “subgroupsNumForLPHAPUEID”), and the number of subgroups of subgroups allocated by the CN to determine the subgroup ID of the first device 110. The device identification “UE ID " can be determined as any suitable ID assigned to first device 110. In some examples, the subgroup ID of first device 110 can be determined by the following equation (3):

[0077] In this scheme, a single paging indication field can be used to indicate all subgroups for CN-assigned subgroups, non-LPHAP device identity-based subgroups, and LPHAP device identity-based subgroups, and each bit in the field indicates a subgroup for paging occasions based on subgroup ID assignment. For example, the paging indication field (e.g., the legacy paging indication field in DCI format 2_7) can include eight bits to indicate eight subgroups, respectively, where the eight subgroups can include multiple (zero, one, or multiple) subgroups for CN-assigned subgroups, multiple subgroups for device identity-based subgroups for predetermined types of devices (e.g., LPHAP devices), and multiple subgroups for device identity-based subgroups for non-predetermined types of devices (e.g., non-LPHAP devices). In this example, the total number of subgroups in the PO ("subgroupsNumPerPO"), the number of subgroups for non-predetermined types of devices ("subgroupsNumForUEID"), and the number of subgroups for predetermined types of devices ("subgroupsNumForLPHAPUEID") can be configured to be equal to 8, 4, and 2, respectively. This means that the total number of subgroups in the PO is 8, the number of subgroups based on device identification for devices of non-predetermined types is 4, and the number of subgroups based on device identification for devices of predetermined types is 2. Then, the number of subgroups for the subgrouping allocated to the CN is 2. It should be understood that the numbers provided here are for illustrative purposes only and do not imply any limitation. Any other suitable number of subgroups may also be applicable.

[0078] In some example embodiments, conventional signaling for subgroup configuration may be maintained for its use for device identity-based subgrouping (e.g., non-LPHAP UE_ID-based subgrouping) and CN-based subgrouping for devices of non-predetermined types. In addition, one or more subgroups may be configured for devices of a predetermined type. In some example embodiments, the total number of subgroups that is smaller than the actual subgroups supported in the PO may be configured by conventional signaling, wherein the total number of subgroups "subgroupsNumPerPO" may include the number of subgroups "subgroupsNumForUEID" allocated for CN and the number of subgroups "subgroupsNumForUEID" for devices of non-predetermined types. In addition, the subgroup for devices of a predetermined type may be configured as a separate subgroup for paging, which may be after the subgroup for devices of non-predetermined types and the subgroup for devices of a CN in the PO.

[0079] For example, if there are 8 bits for indexing subgroups for paging, the total number of subgroups "subgroupsNumPerPO" may be 6, the number of subgroups for non-predetermined types of devices "subgroupsNumForUEID" may be 4, and then the number of subgroups for CN-allocated subgroups "subgroupsNumForCN" may be 2. An additional two bits may be used to index two subgroups dedicated to the predetermined type of devices, respectively. In this case, the two bits for the two dedicated subgroups may not be visible to conventional or non-predetermined types of devices.

[0080] In some example embodiments where some bits are used to index a dedicated subgroup for a predetermined type of device, if the first apparatus 110 is a predetermined type of device, the device identifier (denoted as “UE ID ”), the number of subgroups based on device identification for the predetermined type of device (e.g., “subgroupsNumForLPHAPUEID”) to determine the subgroup ID of the first device 110. In some example embodiments, the subgroup ID of the first device 110 for the predetermined type of device may be further determined based on the number of all paging frames in a specific time period T and the number of paging occasions for the paging frame (PF). In some examples, the time period T may be a DRX (discontinuous reception) cycle in an idle state. In some examples, the subgroup ID of the first device 110 may be determined by the following equation (4): SubgroupID=(floor(UE_ID / (N*Ns))mod subgroupsNumForLPHAPUEID) Wherein N represents the number of total paging frames in time period T; Ns represents the number of paging occasions for a paging frame (PF); and "subgroupsNumForLPHAPUEID" represents the number of subgroups based on device identity for a predetermined type of device (for LPHAP devices in this example); and UE_ID represents the device identity.

[0081] According to this scheme, in some example embodiments, a subgroup of subgroups for a predetermined type of device (e.g., LPHAP devices) may be indicated by a new paging indication field, and each bit in the field indicates a subgroup of paging occasions for the device identification-based subgroup for devices of that type.

[0082] In some example embodiments, for first devices 110 that support CN allocated subgroups, they may also use conventional CN allocation for subgroups.In some example embodiments, the priorities of CN allocated subgroups and device identity based subgroups may be predefined or (pre)configured.

[0083] In an example embodiment, the subgroup allocated by the CN may be predefined or (pre)configured to have a higher priority than the subgroup based on the device identity (or higher than the subgroup based on the LPHAP UE_ID). In this case, if the first device 110 receives a subgroup ID from the CN entity (e.g., from the AMF 130), the first device 110 may determine to apply the received subgroup ID to paging monitoring (e.g., to PEI reception) instead of determining the subgroup ID based on its device identity.

[0084] In another example embodiment, the priority of the subgroup assigned by the CN may be predefined or (pre)configured to be lower than the priority of the subgroup based on the device identification. In this case, the first device 110 may determine the subgroup ID of the first device 110 based at least in part on the device identification and subgroup configuration of its subgroup ID (e.g., based at least on the number of subgroups based on the device identification for a predetermined type of device).

[0085] On the second device 120 side, in some cases, if the first device 110 supports the subgrouping assigned by the CN, the second device 120 may also receive the subgroup ID of the first device 110 from the CN entity (e.g., from the AMF 130). The second device 120 may also determine whether to apply the subgroup ID assigned by the CN or the subgroup ID based on the device identification for the first device 110 based on the priority of the subgrouping assigned by the CN and the subgrouping based on the device identification.

[0086] In some example embodiments, the subgroup configuration may be determined by the second device 120 that will page the first device 110, or by a CN entity / function (e.g., AMF 130). In some example embodiments, the subgroup configuration may be determined at least for the first device that supports device identity-based subgrouping (or for a predetermined type of device, such as an LPHAP device). The first device 110 may transmit paging subgroup assistance information of the first device 110 to, for example, the second device 120 and / or the AMF 130. The paging subgroup assistance information may include at least the device type of the first device 110 (e.g., indicating whether it is a predetermined type, such as an LPHAP device or a non-LPHAP device). In some example embodiments, the second device 120 and / or the AMF 130 may receive the paging subgroup assistance information of the first device 110 from another entity / function (such as the LMF 140).

[0087] Using the paging subgroup assistance information, the second device 120 and / or the AMF 130 may determine and provide a subgroup configuration for the first device 110. In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may determine whether to allocate a subgroup dedicated to a predetermined type of device to the first device 110 based on its device type. In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may determine a subgroup ID allocation for the first device 110 based on one of the schemes described above, for example. Depending on the subgroup ID allocation scheme, different parameters may be included in the subgroup configuration.

[0088] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may also determine the subgroup ID of the first device 110 based on the device type of the first device 110, the device identification of the first device 110, and the subgroup configuration (e.g., the number of subgroups based on the device identification for at least a predetermined type of device).

[0089] Using the provided subgroup configuration, the first device 110 can determine its subgroup ID, and the second device 120 can also determine the subgroup ID of the first device 110. The subgroup ID can be applied to PEI transmission and reception.

[0090] Specifically, if there are paging messages for any first device in the same subgroup, the second device 120 may determine the PO and associated PEI opportunities for the subgroup of the first device 110. The paging message(s) for the first device 110 may be received from the CN, generated at the second device 120, or obtained from any other source.

[0091] If second device 120 determines to page first device 110, the subgroup ID of first device 110 to be paged may be indicated in the PEI. In some example embodiments, if the subgroup ID of first device 110 is determined according to equation (3), second device 120 may transmit the PEI using the conventional paging indication field in format 2_7 to indicate the subgroup to be paged. In some example embodiments, if first device 110 is of a predetermined type and the subgroup ID of first device 110 is determined according to equation (4), second device 120 may transmit the PEI using the new paging indication field in format 2_7 or the new format to indicate the subgroup to be paged.

[0092] At the associated PEI opportunity, the first device 110 may monitor and receive the PEI. In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may be in an idle or inactive state and may wake up at the PEI opportunity to receive the PEI. If the subgroup ID of the first device 110 is indicated in the PEI, the first device 110 may continue to monitor the associated PO for paging messages. Otherwise, it may skip subsequent PO monitoring and synchronization to save power.

[0093] According to an example embodiment of the present disclosure, some terminal devices (e.g., LPHAP devices) can be mapped to one or more dedicated subgroups for paging monitoring based on device type, which is beneficial for reducing false paging alert rates and power consumption for those terminal devices. This can support device identity-based subgrouping for devices with low traditional signaling overhead and implementation complexity for terminal devices, and thus increase device battery life.

[0094] 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 1 The method 400 is described from the perspective of the first device 110.

[0095] At block 410, the first device 110 receives a request from a second device (e.g., Figure 1 The second device 120 in the embodiment receives a subgroup configuration. The subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of subgroups based on device identifications for devices of a predetermined type, or the number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type.

[0096] At block 420 , the first device 110 monitors the paging early indicator PEI based on the subgroup configuration.

[0097] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus may further transmit the paging subpacket assistance information of the first apparatus to the second apparatus.

[0098] In some example embodiments, the paging subpacket assistance information includes at least a device type of the first apparatus.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may also receive a subgroup identifier of the first device from a core network entity; or may determine the subgroup identifier of the first device based at least in part on the device identifier of the first device and the number of subgroups based on the device identifier for a predetermined type of device.

[0100] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may monitor the PEI in the following manner: if it is determined that the priority of the subgroup assigned by the core network is higher than the priority of the subgroup based on the device identifier, the PEI is monitored based on the received subgroup identifier; or if it is determined that the priority of the subgroup assigned by the core network is lower than the priority of the subgroup based on the device identifier, the PEI is monitored based on the determined subgroup identifier.

[0101] In some example embodiments, the subgroup configuration further indicates a total number of subgroups for both the subgroups allocated to the core network and the subgroups based on device identification. In some example embodiments, the first device is configured to determine the subgroup identification of the first device by: determining the number of subgroups of the subgroups allocated to the core network by subtracting the sum of the number of subgroups based on device identification for devices of the predetermined type and the number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type from the total number of subgroups; and determining the subgroup identification of the first device based on the device identification of the first device, the number of subgroups based on device identification for devices of the predetermined type, and the number of subgroups of the subgroups allocated to the core network.

[0102] In some example embodiments, the predetermined type of device comprises a low power high precision positioning (LPHAP) device, and the non-predetermined type of device comprises a non-LPHAP device.

[0103] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device, and the second apparatus comprises a network device.

[0104] Figure 5 FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example method 500 implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, Figure 1 The method 500 is described from the perspective of the second device 120.

[0105] At block 510, the second device 120 sends a message to the first device (eg, Figure 1 The first device 110 in the embodiment transmits a subgroup configuration. The subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of subgroups based on device identifications for devices of a predetermined type, or the number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type.

[0106] At block 520 , the second device 120 transmits a paging early indicator PEI to the first device based on the subgroup configuration.

[0107] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may also receive the paging subpacket assistance information of the first device from the first device or from a core network entity.

[0108] In some example embodiments, the paging subpacket assistance information includes at least a device type of the first apparatus.

[0109] In some example embodiments, if it is determined that the device type of the first device is a predetermined type, the second device 120 may further transmit the sub-group configuration to the first device.

[0110] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may also receive a subgroup identifier of the first device from a core network entity; or may determine the subgroup identifier of the first device based at least in part on the device identifier of the first device and the number of subgroups based on the device identifier for a predetermined type of device.

[0111] In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may transmit the PEI in the following manner: if it is determined that the priority of the subgroup assigned by the core network is higher than the priority of the subgroup based on the device identifier, the PEI is transmitted to the first device based on the received subgroup identifier; or if it is determined that the priority of the subgroup assigned by the core network is lower than the priority of the subgroup based on the device identifier, the PEI is transmitted to the first device based on the determined subgroup identifier.

[0112] In some example embodiments, the subgroup configuration further indicates a total number of subgroups for both the subgroups allocated to the core network and the subgroups based on device identification. In some example embodiments, the second device is configured to determine the subgroup identification of the first device by: determining the number of subgroups of the subgroups allocated to the core network by subtracting the sum of the number of subgroups based on device identification for devices of the predetermined type and the number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type from the total number of subgroups; and determining the subgroup identification of the first device based on the device identification of the first device, the number of subgroups based on device identification for devices of the predetermined type, and the number of subgroups of the subgroups allocated to the core network.

[0113] In some example embodiments, the predetermined type of device comprises a low power high precision positioning (LPHAP) device, and the non-predetermined type of device comprises a non-LPHAP device.

[0114] In some example embodiments, a first device (eg, Figure 1The first device 110 in the embodiment may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of the method 400. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module. The first device may be implemented as Figure 1 The first device 110 or the first device 110 included in Figure 1 In the first device 110.

[0115] In some example embodiments, the first device includes: a component for receiving a subgroup configuration from the second device, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of subgroups based on device identification for devices of a predetermined type, or the number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type; and a component for monitoring a paging advance indicator PEI based on the subgroup configuration.

[0116] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for transmitting the paging subpacket assistance information of the first apparatus to the second apparatus.

[0117] In some example embodiments, the paging subpacket assistance information includes at least a device type of the first apparatus.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further includes: a component for receiving a subgroup identifier of the first apparatus from a core network entity; or a component for determining the subgroup identifier of the first apparatus based at least in part on a device identifier of the first apparatus and a number of subgroups based on the device identifier for a predetermined type of device.

[0119] In some example embodiments, the means for monitoring the PEI includes: means for monitoring the PEI based on the received subgroup identifier if it is determined that the priority of the subgroup assigned by the core network is higher than the priority of the subgroup based on the device identifier; or means for monitoring the PEI based on the determined subgroup identifier if it is determined that the priority of the subgroup assigned by the core network is lower than the priority of the subgroup based on the device identifier.

[0120] In some example embodiments, the subgroup configuration further indicates a total number of subgroups for both the subgroups allocated by the core network and the subgroups based on device identification. In some example embodiments, the means for determining the subgroup identification of the first apparatus includes: means for determining the number of subgroups of the subgroups allocated by the core network by subtracting the sum of the number of subgroups based on device identification for devices of the predetermined type and the number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type from the total number of subgroups; and means for determining the subgroup identification of the first apparatus based on the device identification of the first apparatus, the number of subgroups based on device identification for devices of the predetermined type, and the number of subgroups of the subgroups allocated by the core network.

[0121] In some example embodiments, the predetermined type of device comprises a low power high precision positioning (LPHAP) device, and the non-predetermined type of device comprises a non-LPHAP device.

[0122] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device, and wherein the second apparatus comprises a network device.

[0123] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing the method 400 or other operations in some example embodiments of the first apparatus 110. 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 the first apparatus to perform the operations.

[0124] In some example embodiments, a second device (eg, Figure 1 The second device 120 in the embodiment may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of the method 500. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module. The second device may be implemented as Figure 1 The second device 120 in or included in Figure 1 In the second device 120.

[0125] In some example embodiments, the second device includes: a component for transmitting a subgroup configuration to the first device, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of subgroups based on device identification for devices of a predetermined type, or the number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type; and a component for transmitting a paging advance indicator PEI to the first device based on the subgroup configuration.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for receiving paging subpacket assistance information of the first apparatus from the first apparatus or from a core network entity.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the paging subpacket assistance information includes at least a device type of the first apparatus.

[0128] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for transmitting the sub-group configuration to the first apparatus if it is determined that the device type of the first apparatus is a predetermined type.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving a subgroup identifier of the first apparatus from a core network entity; or means for determining the subgroup identifier of the first apparatus based at least in part on a device identifier of the first apparatus and a number of subgroups based on device identifiers for a predetermined type of device.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the component for transmitting the PEI includes: a component for transmitting the PEI to the first device based on the received subgroup identifier if it is determined that the priority of the subgroup assigned by the core network is higher than the priority of the subgroup based on the device identifier; or a component for transmitting the PEI to the first device based on the determined subgroup identifier if it is determined that the priority of the subgroup assigned by the core network is lower than the priority of the subgroup based on the device identifier.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the subgroup configuration further indicates a total number of subgroups for both the subgroups allocated by the core network and the subgroups based on device identification. In some example embodiments, the means for determining the subgroup identification of the first apparatus includes: means for determining the number of subgroups of the subgroups allocated by the core network by subtracting the sum of the number of subgroups based on device identification for devices of the predetermined type and the number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type from the total number of subgroups; and means for determining the subgroup identification of the first apparatus based on the device identification of the first apparatus, the number of subgroups based on device identification for devices of the predetermined type, and the number of subgroups of the subgroups allocated by the core network.

[0132] In some example embodiments, the predetermined type of device comprises a low power high precision positioning (LPHAP) device, and the non-predetermined type of device comprises a non-LPHAP device.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for performing the method 500 or other operations of some example embodiments of the second apparatus 120. 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 the second apparatus to perform.

[0134] 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 configured to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1 As shown in the figure, the device 600 includes one or more processors 610, one or more memories 620 coupled to the processor 610, and one or more communication modules 640 coupled to the processor 610.

[0135] The communication module 640 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 640 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary to communicate with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 640 may include at least one antenna. The communication interface may be a hardware or software based interface. For example, the communication interface may be one or more transceivers. The one or more transceivers may be coupled to one or more antennas or antenna ports to wirelessly transmit and / or receive communication signals. The antennas or antenna ports may be of the same or different types. The antennas or antenna ports may be located at different locations on the device. The one or more transceivers allow the device to communicate with other devices that may be wired and / or wireless. The transceiver may support one or more radio technologies. For example, the one or more transceivers may include a cellular subsystem, a WLAN subsystem, and / or a Bluetooth subsystem. TM The one or more transceivers may include a processor, a controller, a radio transceiver, a socket, a plug, a buffer, and other circuitry to form one or more communication channels to one or more radio frequency units.

[0136] Processor 610 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network and may include one or more of the following: as non-limiting examples, a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 600 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips, that are time-slave to a clock of a synchronized master processor.

[0137] 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 memories. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 622 and other volatile memories that will not be maintained during a power outage.

[0138] Computer program 630 includes computer-executable instructions executed by associated processor 610. The instructions of program 630 may include instructions for performing the operations / actions of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Program 630 may be stored in a memory, such as ROM 624. Processor 610 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 630 into RAM 622.

[0139] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented with the aid of a program 630, so that the device 600 may perform the operations described with reference to FIG. Figure 5 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware, or by a combination of hardware and software.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the program 630 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 600 (e.g., memory 620) or in other storage devices accessible by the device 600. The device 600 may load the program 630 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 622 for execution. In some 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 is a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal), and not on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM versus ROM).

[0141] Figure 7 An example of a computer readable medium 700 is shown which may be in the form of a CD, DVD, or other optical storage disc. The computer readable medium 700 has a program 630 stored thereon.

[0142] 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 that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representation, 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.

[0143] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium (non-transitory computer-readable medium). The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as computer-executable instructions included in a program module executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor to implement any method as described above. Typically, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functions of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed. 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 both local and remote storage media.

[0144] The program code for implementing 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 functions / operations specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be implemented. The program code can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0145] 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.

[0146] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer readable storage media would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0147] 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 order, or that all illustrated operations be performed to achieve the desired result. In certain cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of this disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the specific features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, unless expressly stated otherwise, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable subcombination.

[0148] 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: one or more processors; as well as one or more transceivers coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more transceivers are configured to, with the one or more processors, cause the first apparatus to: receiving a subgroup configuration from the second apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of: a number of subgroups based on device identifications for devices of a predetermined type, or a number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type; and A paging early indicator PEI is monitored based on the subgroup configuration.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first device is further configured to: The paging subpacket assistance information of the first device is transmitted to the second device. 3 . The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the paging sub-packet assistance information comprises at least a device type of the first apparatus.

4. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first device is further configured to: receiving a subgroup identifier of the first device from a core network entity; or The subgroup identification of the first apparatus is determined based at least in part on the device identification of the first apparatus and the number of subgroups based on the device identification for the predetermined type of apparatus.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first device is configured to monitor the PEI by: If it is determined that the priority of the subgroup assigned by the core network is higher than the priority of the subgroup based on the device identifier, monitoring the PEI based on the received subgroup identifier; or If it is determined that the priority of the subgroup assigned by the core network is lower than the priority of the subgroup based on the device identifier, the PEI is monitored based on the determined subgroup identifier.

6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the subgroup configuration further indicates a total number of subgroups for both subgroups allocated to the core network and subgroups based on device identification, and The first device is configured to determine the subgroup identifier of the first device in the following manner: Determining the number of subgroups of the subgroup allocated to the core network by subtracting the sum of the number of subgroups based on device identification for the predetermined type of device and the number of subgroups for the non-predetermined type of device from the total number of subgroups; and The subgroup identifier of the first device is determined based on the device identifier of the first device, the number of subgroups based on device identifiers for the predetermined type of device, and the number of subgroups for the subgroups allocated by the core network. 7 . The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined type of device comprises a Low Power High Precision Positioning (LPHAP) device, and the non-predetermined type of device comprises a non-LPHAP device.

8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first apparatus comprises a terminal device, and wherein the second apparatus comprises a network device.

9. A second device comprising: one or more processors; as well as one or more transceivers coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more transceivers are configured to, with the one or more processors, cause the second apparatus to: transmitting a subgroup configuration to the first apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of: a number of subgroups based on device identifications for devices of a predetermined type, or a number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type; and Based on the subgroup configuration, a paging early indicator (PEI) is transmitted to the first device.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the second device is further caused to: Paging sub-packet assistance information of the first device is received from the first device or from a core network entity.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the paging sub-packet assistance information comprises at least a device type of the first apparatus.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the second device is further caused to: If it is determined that the device type of the first apparatus is the predetermined type, the sub-group configuration is transmitted to the first apparatus.

13. The apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the second device is further configured to: receiving a subgroup identifier of the first device from a core network entity; or The subgroup identification of the first apparatus is determined based at least in part on the device identification of the first apparatus and the number of subgroups based on the device identification for the predetermined type of apparatus.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the second apparatus is configured to transmit the PEI by: If it is determined that the priority of the subgroup assigned by the core network is higher than the priority of the subgroup based on the device identifier, transmitting the PEI to the first apparatus based on the received subgroup identifier; or If it is determined that the priority of the subgroup assigned by the core network is lower than the priority of the subgroup based on the device identifier, the PEI is transmitted to the first apparatus based on the determined subgroup identifier.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the subgroup configuration further indicates a total number of subgroups for both subgroups allocated to the core network and subgroups based on device identification, and The second device is configured to determine the subgroup identifier of the first device in the following manner: Determining the number of subgroups of the subgroup allocated to the core network by subtracting the sum of the number of subgroups based on device identification for the predetermined type of device and the number of subgroups for the non-predetermined type of device from the total number of subgroups; and The subgroup identifier of the first device is determined based on the device identifier of the first device, the number of subgroups based on device identifiers for the predetermined type of device, and the number of subgroups for the subgroups allocated by the core network. 16 . The apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the predetermined type of device comprises a Low Power High Precision Positioning (LPHAP) device, and the non-predetermined type of device comprises a non-LPHAP device.

17. A method comprising: Receiving, by the first device, a subgroup configuration from the second device, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: a number of subgroups based on device identifications for devices of a predetermined type, or a number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type; as well as A paging early indicator PEI is monitored by the first device based on the subgroup configuration.

18. A method comprising: The second device transmits a subgroup configuration to the first device, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of subgroups based on the device identification for devices of a predetermined type, or the number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type; and Based on the subgroup configuration, a paging early indicator (PEI) is transmitted to the first device.

19. A first device comprising: means for receiving, from the second device, a subgroup configuration from the second device, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of: a number of subgroups based on device identifications for devices of a predetermined type, or a number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type; and means for monitoring a paging early indicator, PEI, based on the subgroup configuration.

20. A second device comprising: means for transmitting a subgroup configuration to the first apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of: a number of subgroups based on device identifications for devices of a predetermined type, or a number of subgroups for devices of a non-predetermined type; as well as means for transmitting a paging early indicator (PEI) to the first apparatus based on the subset configuration.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, the instructions being configured to cause an apparatus to at least perform the method according to claim 17 or the method according to claim 18.

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