Improving base station transmit efficiency

Abstract

Methods and systems for managing communications between a user equipment (UE) and a telecommunications network, the UE having a primary receiver and a secondary receiver, the method comprising the UE monitoring characteristics of a radio link between the UE and a base station of the telecommunications network. If the characteristic indicates that the radio link is degraded to a predetermined threshold, the secondary receiver is powered down. Information indicative of a receiver status of the UE is provided to the telecommunications network. If the receiver status of the UE provided in the information indicates that the secondary receiver is powered down, the telecommunications network stops transmission to the secondary receiver.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to systems, methods, and user equipment (UE) for more efficient and effective wake-up of UEs by improving base station efficiency. BACKGROUND

[0002] Battery life of mobile devices or user equipment (UE) is a consideration in 5G systems along with throughput, latency, and reliability. Many operations implemented within individual UEs can impact their battery life. Therefore, there is a purpose to achieve improved energy efficiency and thus reduce battery consumption. Study item TR 38.840 in Release 16 (Rel-16) has led to adoption of different techniques to reduce power consumption of UEs, and RP-221543 has introduced further techniques.

[0003] It is recognized in both Release 16 and 17 that one process in the UE that consumes considerable energy is the paging procedure. The UE can be configured with a wake-up period of a certain length (e.g., in terms of discontinuous reception or DRX cycle). During these times, the UE is able to receive paging signals. The DRX cycle can be extended to allow the UE to sleep for a longer period of time and reduce power consumption, but this results in increased latency, which is undesirable.

[0004] During periods where there is no signaling or data traffic, the UE needs to wake up periodically (e.g., once per DRX cycle) in order to perform coarse synchronization by measuring synchronization blocks so that it can receive a paging message, if one is sent. Figure 1 The procedure is illustrated and how the UE changes the power mode of the receiver from deep sleep (DS) to light sleep (LS) period when it can receive a synchronization signal block (SSB) burst (where energy overhead occurs) and change back to the DS power mode (see Figure 1 Timing diagram A in Figure 1 An example configuration is illustrated.

[0005] In Release 17, a new behavior is introduced involving paging early indication (PEI), as shown in Figure 1 Timing diagram B in Figure 1 The PEI indicates to the UE not to monitor the paging occasions, and therefore, the receiver can enter a deep sleep mode and reduce its power consumption, as shown in Timing diagram B of

[0006] In Release 18, a new scheme requires an additional new low power receiver within the UE. This low power or secondary receiver is separate from the main or primary receiver. When the secondary receiver receives a signal, it wakes up the primary receiver. This can happen, for example, when the network needs to page the UE (or for other reasons). This secondary or low power wake up receiver (LP-WUR) can need to monitor for ultra low power wake up signals (LP-WUS) sent by the base station (gNB) and this can indicate whether or not to wake up the main or primary receiver (allowing the primary receiver to remain in a deep sleep mode at the same time).

[0007] However, because the primary receiver can then be configured to remain in a low power or deep sleep mode for longer and the secondary receiver has much lower sensitivity than the primary receiver (to reduce power consumption), there is a risk that the low power secondary receiver loses these LP-WUS signals and fails to trigger the primary receiver to change power mode and become able to receive signals, which increases latency.

[0008] Although the UE can reduce power consumption by powering down its main receiver, there is also a need to reduce power used by the base station (gNB), where energy usage is also important.

[0009] Therefore, methods and systems are required that overcome these problems. SUMMARY

[0010] A user equipment (UE) such as a mobile phone or IoT device contains a main or primary receiver (which is used to communicate with a gNB or base station or telecommunications network) and a secondary receiver. The secondary or low power receiver uses much lower power than the primary receiver, but cannot receive most signals used to implement cellular communication. The primary receiver can change operation from a high power mode in which it can receive signals from a base station to a low power mode in which it cannot receive signals from a base station. It can also have other intermediate power mode(s).

[0011] If the secondary receiver operates all of the time (even in the case of limited resources), this will still consume some power. Furthermore, the secondary receiver will not be as sensitive as the primary receiver. Therefore, there can be situations where the base station is sending signals to the secondary receiver (trying to trigger a wake up event) but the secondary receiver does not receive these signals and so does not wake up the primary receiver or change it to a high power mode. This uses power and computational resources for the base station or gNB with no benefit (the UE cannot receive or act on the signals).

[0012] The UE can monitor the radio link with the base station. This can be based on either or both of the primary and / or secondary receivers. If the UE determines that the radio link is below a certain quality or signal level (e.g. based on the radio link characteristics), for example when there is no or minimal likelihood that the secondary receiver receives a wake-up signal from the base station, then the UE can switch off the secondary receiver (which will save its own computational and battery resources) and transmit data or information in a message (e.g. one or more flags) indicating that this has occurred. Thus, the UE can inform the telecommunication network of the receiver status of the UE (e.g. that the secondary and / or primary receiver is powered on or off, or the radio link characteristics that have been monitored). When the telecommunication network is informed or can infer from the received information that the secondary receiver can no longer receive transmissions (i.e. because it is powered off), the telecommunication network can save its own computational and power resources by not sending further wake-up transmissions to the secondary receiver of that particular UE.

[0013] According to a first aspect, there is provided a method for managing communication between a user equipment, UE, and a telecommunication network, the UE having a primary receiver and a secondary receiver, the method comprising the steps of: the UE monitoring characteristics of a radio link between the UE and a base station of the telecommunication network; if the characteristics indicate that the radio link degrades to a predetermined threshold, powering off the secondary receiver; providing information to the telecommunication network indicating the receiver status of the UE (e.g. by transmitting this information from the UE to the telecommunication network); and if the receiver status of the UE provided in the information indicates that the secondary receiver is powered off, the telecommunication network ceasing transmissions to the secondary receiver. Thus, the telecommunication network can reduce bandwidth usage (on the frequency band used by the secondary receiver) and lower power consumption, as the telecommunication network does not send unnecessary transmissions to the secondary receiver of the UE when the secondary receiver (of a particular UE) is powered off.

[0014] Preferably, the method can further comprise the steps of: the UE powering on the secondary receiver; the UE providing further information to the telecommunication network indicating the receiver status of the UE; and if the receiver status of the UE provided in the further information indicates that the secondary receiver is powered on, the telecommunication network resuming transmissions to the secondary receiver. Thus, the telecommunication network can know both when the UE is unable to use its secondary receiver to receive signals (i.e. wake-up messages) and when it is again able to use its secondary (low power) receiver to receive signals and respond accordingly by resuming transmissions.

[0015] Advantageously, the UE can power up the secondary receiver in response to determining that the characteristic indicates that the radio link improves to a second predetermined threshold. Thus, the UE can monitor the radio link when the secondary receiver is both active and powered down. The second predetermined threshold can optionally be set to a different value than the first predetermined threshold (e.g. set at a level indicating a higher quality link). This provides a hysteresis to avoid repeatedly powering up and powering down the secondary receiver when the radio link hovers around a particular level or threshold.

[0016] Optionally, the transmission to the secondary receiver can be a transmission to cause the UE to change a power mode of the primary receiver from a second power mode to a first power mode, wherein the primary receiver consumes more power in the first power mode than when in the second power mode. Thus, the transmission to the secondary receiver can be a wake-up signal or contain a wake-up message. The primary receiver can be powered down (at least partially), but implement at least a background process to detect a signal received from the secondary receiver (generated in response to receiving the radio signal), thereby causing the primary receiver to be fully powered up.

[0017] Optionally, the monitored characteristic of the radio link between the UE and the base station can comprise any one or more of: a received signal strength; a reference signal received power, RSRP; a reference signal received quality, RSRQ; and / or a number of repetitions of a message transmitted to the secondary receiver within a predetermined time period. Other characteristics or parameters can be measured. The number of repetitions of a message transmitted to the secondary receiver within a predetermined time period can indicate that the secondary receiver is only receiving a small subset of messages transmitted to it. If too many failures are detected (e.g. because the telecommunications network monitors how many transmissions are not acknowledged positively and informs the UE when it does become available), then the secondary receiver can be powered down or other actions can be taken (e.g. the primary receiver is kept active for a longer period).

[0018] Optionally, the UE can be in a radio resource control, RRC, idle mode or an RRC inactive mode. The UE can also be in other modes during the time the method is performed.

[0019] Preferably, the information indicative of a status of the secondary receiver provided to the telecommunications network can comprise an identifier of the UE. This can be a unique identifier and / or an identifier assigned by the telecommunications network.

[0020] Optionally, the identifier of the UE can be an inactive radio network temporary identifier, I-RNTI, assigned by a radio access network, RAN. Other identifiers can be used (especially when the UE is in different RRC modes).

[0021] Optionally, information indicating the receiver status of the UE (which can be used to indicate that the secondary receiver has lost power) can be transmitted to the telecommunications network within the scheduled uplink physical uplink shared channel (UL PUSCH) transmission. Other communication channels may be used.

[0022] Optionally, the method may further include the following steps: The UE moves to a new base station; and The new base station retrieves information indicating the receiver status of the UE from the original base station. Therefore, even when the UE moves to a different cell location, the telecommunications network does not need to send unnecessary transmissions to the UE's secondary receiver.

[0023] Optionally, the UE's identifier can be a Serving Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (S-TMSI) assigned by the core network. Other identifiers can be used (especially when the UE is in a different RRC mode).

[0024] Optionally, information indicating the receiver status of the UE can be transmitted to the telecommunications network within radio resource control (RRC) communications between the UE and the base station. Other communication methods may also be used.

[0025] Optionally, when the UE is in RRC idle mode, the step of providing information indicating the UE's receiver status to the telecommunications network can be transmitted by the UE. The telecommunications network can put the UE into RRC connected mode to receive the receiver status, but this is not necessary. The receiver status can be transmitted by the UE to the telecommunications network, and the connection can be released if the UE is not connected.

[0026] Optionally, the method may further include the step of the core network providing the base station with information indicating the receiver status of the UE. Therefore, the base station (gNB) may be able to stop sending signals to the secondary receiver of a specific UE, even if the UE is not in RRC connection mode and does not have the assigned identifier.

[0027] Optionally, the core network can simultaneously provide the base station with information indicating the receiver status of the UE while paging the UE. Therefore, it is unnecessary to send a wake-up message (since the base station will know that the message cannot be received by the UE).

[0028] Optionally, the method may further include the following step: the base station sends an RRC message to the UE that causes the UE to release its connection with the base station.

[0029] Optionally, when the UE is in RRC connection mode, the step of providing information indicating the receiver status of the UE to the telecommunications network can be transmitted by the UE.

[0030] Advantageously, the receiver status of the UE can be transmitted by the UE within a UE assistance information message. Other formats or message types can be used.

[0031] Optionally, the method may further include the following steps: The base station stores the receiver status of the UE.

[0032] Optionally, the base station can associate the stored receiver state of the UE with the UE's context. For example, the UE's context could be RRC mode (idle, inactive, etc.). Therefore, this information can be used by the base station or provided to the core network once the connection between the base station and the UE ends.

[0033] Optionally, the information provided to the telecommunications network indicating the receiver status of the UE may include any one or more of the following: the power-on or power-off status of the primary receiver; and / or the power-on or power-off status of the secondary receiver. This may be explicitly included in the message or encoded in the message (e.g., using specific bits or tags in an existing message).

[0034] According to the second aspect, a telecommunications network is provided, comprising: One or more base stations; One or more UEs; and An apparatus adapted to perform the method according to any of the preceding claims. The UE and / or base station may be configured to operate any of the methods described above.

[0035] The methods described above can be implemented in conjunction with the following operations at the UE. As previously described, in low-power mode, the primary receiver can continue certain restricted operations, such as those controlling or changing the power mode of the primary receiver. For example, the primary receiver can include a timer that switches from low-power mode to high-power mode at regular intervals, allowing the UE to check whether any signal is being transmitted to the UE by the telecommunications network. If no signal is received by the primary receiver, it can return to low-power or sleep mode after a predetermined period. The primary receiver can also be switched to high-power mode when triggered by the secondary receiver. This occurs when the secondary receiver receives a signal from the base station.

[0036] Because the secondary receiver must operate continuously, it must do so with limited resources. Furthermore, it is not as sensitive as the primary receiver, which requires more power when operating in high-power mode. Therefore, it is possible for a situation to arise where the base station is sending signals to the secondary receiver (attempting to trigger a wake-up event), but the secondary receiver does not receive these signals and thus fails to wake up the primary receiver or switch it to high-power mode.

[0037] During this period, the UE does not communicate with the network. When the master receiver changes from low-power mode to high-power mode (wake-up), it can then receive any lost signals or messages that the network has attempted to send. The network includes in these signals data or information used by the UE or master receiver to change how the master receiver changes its power mode. For example, the network will know if the UE has lost any messages and how often they are lost. If they are lost very regularly, the information can instruct the master receiver to remain in its high-power mode for a longer period than usual.

[0038] Alternatively or additionally, the information may include an indication of the number of signals lost by the secondary receiver before it successfully receives a signal and wakes up the primary receiver. The UE may compare this information with a threshold (e.g., three lost signals). If the number of lost signals is equal to or greater than the threshold, the primary receiver determines that it should remain in high-power mode for a longer period than usual. The information may also change the threshold number and / or the time the primary receiver remains in high-power mode (e.g., update parameters). The information may also change (increase or decrease) the timeout period used to remain in sleep or low-power mode before returning to high-power mode.

[0039] Although this information, which influences how the power mode of the primary receiver changes, is included along with the signal sent to the primary receiver, this information can be alternatively or additionally included in the signal sent to the secondary receiver. Therefore, even if the secondary receiver loses a certain percentage or ratio of the signal, some signal can still be retained and processed. Thus, the secondary receiver can pass this information to the primary receiver (or another processor) for further processing.

[0040] Information can also change parameters in another direction, allowing the primary receiver to remain in sleep or low-power mode for longer periods (e.g., if a few or no signals are lost by the secondary receiver).

[0041] The method described above can be implemented as a computer program, including program instructions for operating a computer. The computer program can be stored on a computer-readable medium, including a non-transient computer-readable medium.

[0042] A computer system may include one or more processors (e.g., local, virtual, or cloud-based), such as a central processing unit (CPU) and / or a single graphics processing unit (GPU) or a collection of GPUs. The processors may execute logic as software programs. The computer system may include memory, comprising volatile and non-volatile storage media. Computer-readable media may be included to store logic or program instructions. Different parts of the system may be connected using a network (e.g., wireless and wired networks). The computer system may include one or more interfaces. The computer system may contain a suitable operating system, such as, for example, UNIX, Windows (RTM), or Linux.

[0043] It should be noted that any of the features described above may be used in conjunction with any particular aspect or embodiment of the invention. Attached Figure Description

[0044] The invention can be practiced in many ways, and embodiments will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 A schematic diagram illustrating the timing of signals between the network and the user equipment (UE) is shown. Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a system for initiating communication between the network and the UE is shown; Figure 3 The operation is shown Figure 2 A flowchart of the system's methodology; Figure 4 The operation is shown Figure 2 Further methods for the system; Figure 5 The operation is shown Figure 2 Further methods for the system; Figure 6 The operation is shown Figure 2 Further methods for the system; Figure 7 The operation is shown Figure 2 Further methods for the system; Figure 8 The operation is shown Figure 2 A sequence diagram of the system's methods; Figure 9 It shows in Figure 8 Example messages used within the method; and Figure 10 The operation is shown Figure 2 A sequence diagram of the system's methods.

[0045] It should be noted that the accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals are provided for similar features. Detailed Implementation

[0046] Using a low-power secondary receiver to wake up the primary receiver has characteristics different from those of the primary receiver in new radio (NR) user equipment (UE). Preferably, the secondary receiver has reduced complexity, allowing the primary receiver to be powered down more frequently while the secondary receiver remains operational, and the overall system can then consume less power. This difference and energy savings can be substantial. The primary receiver is configured to receive certain types of signals (e.g., a first signal or a first signal type), and the secondary receiver is configured to receive different types of signals (e.g., a second signal or a second signal type). Therefore, the secondary receiver (i.e., the low-power wake-up receiver – LP-WUR) consumes less power than the primary receiver (e.g., at most 1 / 10). To allow for this lower complexity, the types of signals received by the secondary receiver should also follow a simpler design. The characteristics of this new (second) signal LP-WUS (low-power wake-up signal) can include, but are not limited to: 1) Lower modulation orders (OOK, FSK); and 2) A smaller amount of data to be transmitted.

[0047] The second signal (LP-WUS) can be used as a substitute for (or attached to) the PEI (Early Paging Indication) function in some situations, such as Figure 1 As shown in timing diagram B, or to be used as a trigger to monitor one or more paging opportunities, for example by monitoring the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) in the master receiver, such as... Figure 1 As shown in timing diagram A.

[0048] The secondary receiver (LP-WUR) can have a simpler architecture with components that are less expensive and less complex than the primary receiver, because the demodulation of the wake-up (second) signal is not as complex as the demodulation of conventional signals (e.g., NR channels / signals) received by the primary receiver.

[0049] For example, the receiver architecture for the secondary receiver can be based on: 1) RF envelope detection; 2) Heterodyne architecture with mid-frequency envelope detection; 3) Zero-difference / zero-IF architecture with baseband envelope detection; and 4) FSK (Frequency Shift Keying) receiver.

[0050] These secondary receiver architectures are optimized for lower power consumption compared to the primary receiver, at the cost of lower receiver sensitivity. Primary or master receiver sensitivity values ​​can be found in TS 38.101-1 and can be as low as -96.8 dBm to receive quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) signals with a 15 kHz SCS against n1 using a 2RX receiver. For comparison, the types of architectures mentioned above for secondary receivers can have sensitivity values ​​between -50 dBm and -90 dBm.

[0051] Due to its lower receive sensitivity compared to the primary receiver, the secondary receiver (LP-WUR) may experience coverage degradation depending on the second signal (LP-WUS) design, and therefore may not always be able to detect the second signal (LP-WUS) indicating that the UE should be paged. Consequently, there may be no trigger to wake up the primary receiver, and therefore, paging (or other) messages may be lost when transmitted by the base station, gNodeB, or gNB. If the UE cannot be paged due to coverage issues caused by the lower sensitivity of the secondary receiver (LP-WUR) resulting in the failure to detect the second signal (LP-WUS), the UE may remain in a state where it is not woken up because it has not been triggered by the secondary receiver (LP-WUR). This may prevent the UE from receiving paging messages even when there are no coverage level issues (i.e., if the primary receiver is in high-power mode).

[0052] Meanwhile, the base station (gNB) is unaware of the signal level, characteristics, or quality encountered by the UE. For example, these may include any one or more of the following: received signal strength, reference signal received power (RSRP), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and / or the number of times a message is repeated to the secondary receiver within a predetermined time period (i.e., it is invalid and must be repeated until a positive response is received). When, for example, the device is in an IDLE / inactive mode and is not sending measurements to the network, these receiver signal characteristics or monitored radio link characteristics can be measured by the primary and / or secondary (LP-WUS) receivers. Therefore, the telecommunications network and / or radio access network (RAN) can use the secondary receiver (LP-WUS) and the normal physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to page the device to ensure that the paging is received.

[0053] Sending two signals to the same device on a regular basis increases the energy consumption of a telecommunications network. This can be calculated for a typical network, with simulation results showing an increase in energy consumption between 0.002% and 1.724%. Avoiding their transmission when the corresponding receiver cannot receive the signal (because the radio link is at a certain quality or below a certain value) can improve energy efficiency by up to that amount.

[0054] If the UE cannot receive the wake-up signal using the secondary receiver, it can fall back to the traditional paging monitoring procedure, i.e., using the primary receiver (which has higher sensitivity and corresponding power requirements). Therefore, paging messages can be received and decoded in a situation where the primary receiver outperforms the secondary receiver (LP-WUR) (i.e., in terms of coverage level and radio link quality).

[0055] Although the purpose of employing the LP-WUR / LP-WUS (Second Signal / Secondary Receiver) mechanism is to wake up the primary or main radio when triggered by the network, this does not require the primary receiver to be completely shut down. Instead, it will change to a deeper sleep state without being completely shut down.

[0056] Several different power modes or sleep states can exist. Deep sleep or minimum power modes can be defined relative to a fully active state. Active or maximum power states or modes can have a relative power unit of 1. A deep sleep power state can consume approximately 0.015 times the power of the active state of the master receiver. This can be found in TR 38.869.

[0057] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of system 10 is shown, which incorporates UE 20 and base station (gNB or gNodeB) 30 connected to other parts of telecommunications network 70. System 10 may include multiple base stations 30 and many UEs 20, but Figure 2 For the sake of simplicity, only a single UE 20 and base station 30 are shown.

[0058] A primary receiver 40 and a secondary receiver 50 are shown within UE 20. Both receivers are shown connected to the UE's antenna 90, but separate antennas may exist and each receiver may have its own antenna in some alternative implementations. A processing unit 60 is illustrated with the primary receiver 40, but this processing unit may be located elsewhere. Base station 30 also has its own processor 80, which controls how and when the first and second signals are transmitted from base station 30 using antenna 85.

[0059] exist Figure 2 The diagram illustrates a system with a first signal 45 between base station 30 and main receiver 40. A second signal 55 is also schematically shown between base station 30 and auxiliary receiver 50. Auxiliary receiver 50 is shown communicating with main receiver 40. Specifically, when auxiliary receiver 50 receives the second signal 55, it sends a trigger 25 to main receiver 40. Trigger 25 is processed by processing device 60 of the main receiver to change the power state of main receiver 40 from any low-power mode to a high (or higher) power mode, thereby enabling main receiver 40 to receive the first signal 45 from base station 30.

[0060] In an example implementation where the first signal is a paging signal, UE 20 can be paged in an area that may be a tracking area or a RAN-based notification area (RNA) depending on the state of UE 20 (idle or inactive). This can include multiple cells. UE 20 needs to know whether a particular cell will support the new signaling architecture described above. This indication can be configured as a Wake-up Signal (WUS) configuration (e.g., as part of the DownlinkConfigCommonSIB IE within SIB1) and can be sent by base station (gNB) 30 to all UE 20s. If the WUS is supported by a cell (e.g., base station 30) and UE 20 has the corresponding capability previously indicated to base station 30, base station 30 can use the WUS signal to wake up UE 20. Other parameters associated with the new signal may include: the signal payload; the number of paging locations associated with the signal; the UE identity or UE group identity format in the presence of different supported formats; physical layer parameters used to assist UE 20 in monitoring the new signal; or other parameters.

[0061] One of the parameters that can be provided to UE 20 within a System Information Block (SIB) (e.g., SIB1) is a fallback threshold. There are at least two alternative methods that can implement the fallback process.

[0062] Alternative Solution 1: The internal clock 65 of the main receiver or radio 40 is kept running to maintain synchronization of the various components. Furthermore, the processing unit 60 of the main receiver is also able to receive a wake-up command or trigger 25 from the auxiliary receiver 50 (LP-WUR). Even with this function, the main receiver 40 can be maintained in a low-power state. If no wake-up command or trigger 25 has been provided by the auxiliary receiver 50 (LP-WUR) within a time threshold (static or dynamic), the internal timer 65 is monitored by the main receiver 40 to wake it up or return it to a high-power mode. This time period can be, for example, 1-2 hours.

[0063] In terms of programming, this behavior can be described in the following example scenario: 1) When the master receiver 40 is turned on (i.e., changed to a high-power operating mode), the internal timer 65 of the master receiver 40 is set to 0 (or reset). Once the master receiver 40 changes its power mode to a low-power mode (e.g., its ultra-deep sleep mode), the internal timer 65 starts running; 2) Normal operation of the secondary receiver 50 (LP-WUR) occurs, wherein the UE 20 has the capability to receive the second signal 55 (LP-WUS) and trigger the coverage level of the primary receiver 40, thereby waking it up if necessary. Whenever the primary receiver 40 is switched to its high-power mode (wake-up), timer 65 is again set to 0 (e.g., for several seconds or minutes). When the primary receiver 40 returns to a low-power mode (e.g., deep sleep), timer 65 starts running; 3) Observe the coverage level degradation; the secondary receiver 50 (LP-WUR) is unable to receive the second signal (LP-WUS) 55. Timer 65 continues to run. 4) When timer 65 reaches a given threshold (e.g., 2 hours), it automatically wakes up master receiver 40. Master receiver 40 may attempt to monitor paging opportunities (PO) following a conventional process, and then return to sleep (low-power mode) if no paging message is received within a second time period, which can be defined as a pre-configured number of discontinuous reception (DRX) cycles. Upon master receiver 40 waking up, timer 0 is set, and if no paging message is received, master receiver 40 returns to sleep and sets timer 65 to run again; and 5) Steps 3) and 4) can continue until the coverage level degradation is not observed by the secondary receiver (LP-WUR) 50, i.e., return to step 1).

[0064] Alternative Solution 2: Another method to provide a mechanism for the master receiver 40 to fall back to the conventional paging monitoring process is to have the base station 30 (gNB) indicate the number of spurious paging receptions, i.e., how many times the base station 30 transmitted the second signal 55 without the master receiver 40 changing to a high-power mode and / or receiving the first signal 45. This can be defined as a failure ratio or other value. This can be a failure indication (to the network or base station 30) from the master receiver 40 (which may include or be linked to a transmitter) in response to the first signal 45 (e.g., a paging message). The threshold can be predetermined for such spurious paging receptions (i.e., the number of repetitions required until success), and this threshold can be part of the WUS configuration (similar to the second time period or fallback threshold in alternative scheme 1 described above).

[0065] Since paging is UE-specific, base station 30 knows how many paging messages (or other first signals 45) have been sent to a specific UE 20 after the second signal 55 and how many messages have been received back from it, thus establishing a paging reception failure rate or ratio. If base station 30 can report this ratio (or data indicating the ratio) to the UE, it can provide information for UE 20 to revert to a conventional paging monitoring procedure. Furthermore, this information can indicate the characteristics of the radio link between the UE and the base station. This ratio can be transmitted in the second signal 55 (LP-WUS) or included in the information accompanying the first signal 45 (when finally received). Depending on a threshold of this ratio or number, UE 20 can revert to a conventional procedure.

[0066] In terms of programming, the behavior can be described in the following example scenarios: 1) The auxiliary receiver 50 (LP-WUR) is in normal operation at a coverage level that allows it to receive the second signal 55 (LP-WUS) and trigger the main receiver or radio 40 to wake up if necessary. When a trigger 25 is present to allow the main receiver to change from low-power mode to high-power mode (wake up), the first signal 45 (and / or the second signal 55, if received) contains the paging reception failure ratio or number. The main receiver 40 stores this ratio, number, or other indication of this value; 2) At each point in time that the master receiver 40 and / or UE 20 is woken up (changing from low power mode to high power mode), a new ratio can be received and the stored ratio can be updated within the master receiver 40 or elsewhere within the UE 20. Although this value or ratio may not be received every time, once it is received, the UE 20 can become aware of the current failure range or rate; 3) When the ratio reaches a threshold provided in the WUS configuration (or elsewhere), it automatically wakes up the master receiver 40, allowing it to perform the conventional paging monitoring process; and 4) When the coverage level of the secondary receiver 50 (LP-WUR) can be maintained (i.e., operated according to step 1), the criterion for reverting to the LP-WUR mechanism (i.e., triggered by the secondary receiver 50) can occur. The process can revert to using the secondary receiver 50 (LP-WUR) after a period of time defined as a number of discontinuous reception (DRX) cycles, which can also be defined as part of the WUS configuration.

[0067] Alternative options 1 and 2 can be operated in combination or in isolation.

[0068] Figure 3 The operation is shown Figure 2The flowchart of method 100 of system 10 shown is shown. Method 100 begins at step 110 with the main receiver 40 in a low-power mode. As previously described, during the low-power mode, the main receiver 40 may perform some operations such as running timer 65, but cannot receive the first signal 45 from any base station 30.

[0069] At step 120, the secondary receiver 50 receives the second signal 55. This causes a trigger 25 to be transmitted internally within the UE 20, which causes the primary receiver 40 to switch from a low-power mode to a high-power mode at step 130. The primary receiver 40 is thus in a power mode that enables it to receive the first signal 45 from the base station 30 when it is set up.

[0070] At step 140, the primary receiver 40 receives a first signal 45 from the base station 30. The first signal 45 includes information or data that the primary receiver 40 can use to change parameters controlling how the power mode of the primary receiver 40 is changed. At step 150, the information within the first signal 45 received by the primary receiver 40 (or alternatively or additionally, within the second signal 55) is used to change these parameters, such that the power mode of the primary receiver is changed in a manner different from how it operated before receiving the first signal 45. Therefore, depending on the location of the UE 20 and how effective the secondary receiver 50 is when receiving the second signal 55, the power mode for the primary receiver 40 can be changed in a more optimal manner. For example, these parameters can be changed and switched between the two alternative methods described above, or additional functionality can be provided to change how the power mode of the primary receiver 40 is changed in different situations and radio conditions. At step 160, the power mode of the primary receiver 40 is controlled according to the changed (or unchanged) parameters. For example, the main receiver 40 can remain in its high-power mode for a longer period of time than normal.

[0071] although Figure 3 Method 100 is shown to begin with the primary receiver 40 (primary RX) in a low-power mode, but it can also begin at different points in the cycle where the primary receiver is in a high-power mode 40. At this starting point, the primary receiver 40 can receive a signal containing information (step 140) and use the information to change parameters controlling its power mode (step 150). When these parameters are used to control the power mode (step 160), the primary receiver 40 will eventually return to a low-power mode (see the arrow returning to step 110), where the secondary receiver 50 waits to receive a second signal 120, which wakes up the primary receiver 40 (step 130), and the cycle can repeat.

[0072] Figure 4 The operation is shown Figure 2The system 10 further includes a method 200. The method 200 includes the same method steps as the method 100, but operates in a further parallel process, wherein the master receiver 40 can fall back to operate in a high-power mode even when the slave receiver 50 fails to receive any second signal 50 from the base station 30 and / or the trigger signal 25 fails to wake up the master receiver 40.

[0073] Either of the two processes can be used to change the power mode of the master receiver 40 from low power to high power. If the master receiver starts in low power mode (step 210), timer 65 runs until a first time period (timer 1) reaches a time threshold or expires (step 220). Then, after timer 1 has expired, the master receiver 40 changes from low power mode to high power mode at step 230. Timer 65 (or a different timer) can be reset to 0 and runs while high power mode is set and then until a second timer (timer 2) reaches a second time period at step 240 or reaches a threshold when that second time period expires. The master receiver 40 then changes from higher power mode to lower power mode at step 250, where timer 1 is reset to 0 and then monitored until timer 1 reaches the first time period value.

[0074] The information within the first signal 45 can modify various parameters that control how the power mode of the master receiver 40 operates. For example, the information can change either or both of timers 1 and 2 (i.e., their expiration or trigger times). Thus, changing the expiration time of timer 2 can be used to increase or decrease the time during which the master receiver 40 is in high-power mode and able to receive the first signal 45. For example, if network 70 considers it likely that UE 20 will need to be paged more frequently, it can include a change to the expiration value of timer 2 in the first signal 45, thereby keeping the master receiver 40 in high-power mode, for example, for additional DRX cycles. Although this uses more power, it can reduce latency. The information within the first signal 45 can temporarily or permanently adjust the expiration time of timer 2. For example, the information can change the expiration time of timer 2 by a certain number of DRX cycles or a specific time, where this information is also included in the first signal 45. Conversely, when paging is not expected for UE 20, the expiration time of timer 1 can be increased and / or timer 2 can be decreased, thereby saving power.

[0075] The information contained in the first signal 45 can indicate how much of the second signal 55 has been lost before the UE 20 responds to the base station 30 in a paging or other situation. This ratio or absolute number can be used by the UE 20 or the master receiver 40 to adjust the expiration times of timer 1 and / or timer 2. For example, when the ratio or number indicates that a threshold has been reached (i.e., too many wake-up signals 55 have been lost or the failure rate has been violated), the master receiver 40 can be kept in a higher power mode for a longer period of time by increasing the expiration time of timer 2; and / or by decreasing the expiration time of timer 1 to reduce the time the master receiver 40 sleeps or remains in a low power mode. Again, these changes can be temporary (i.e., expiring or resuming after a set period) or permanent, as defined in the information received in the first signal 45.

[0076] The threshold itself can also be modified to control how the master receiver's power mode is changed. For example, network 70 can determine that the threshold is rarely violated, and thus can increase the number or ratio of acceptable thresholds before temporarily increasing the expiration time of timer 2 to keep the master receiver 40 in high-power mode for a longer period. This can proceed in both directions.

[0077] Figure 5 A flowchart of a further method 300 for operating system 10 is shown. In this example, the master receiver 40 begins the process (310) in a high-power mode and is able to receive signals containing information for changing parameters controlling how the master receiver 40 is modified (steps 140, 150, and 160). At some point in this process, when the master receiver 40 can no longer receive signals but can operate a timer, it changes its power mode from a high-power mode to a low-power mode (arrows from 160 to step 330). In parallel, timers 1 and 2 operate to periodically change the power mode of the master receiver between the high-power mode and the low-power mode (steps 320, 330, 340, and 350). The thresholds of these timers can also be changed using information contained within the signals received by the master (or slave) receiver 40. The operation of method 300 can be adjusted whenever information is received or changed.

[0078] refer to Figure 3 , 4The method described in section 5 provides the UE with an improved operational technique to ensure that latency is reduced as much as possible. However, this still leaves the base station transmitting signals to a secondary receiver of a particular UE that is unable to receive them due to the current characteristics of the radio link between the UE and the base station. Therefore, UE 20 can monitor these characteristics and power down or shut down the secondary receiver 50 if the radio link is insufficient to allow it to receive a wake-up (or any other) signal, and also notify the telecommunications network 70 that this has been done, so that it can stop (at least temporarily) transmitting signals that will not be received to the secondary receiver 50. UE 20 can continue to monitor the radio link characteristics and restart or power on its secondary receiver 50 when these characteristics indicate that a transmission will be received. It can do this by monitoring the radio link characteristics of the primary receiver 40, since these can be used to determine whether the secondary receiver 50 can receive signals in the same environment (with lower power and sensitivity).

[0079] To conserve energy, telecommunications network 70 should preferentially avoid transmitting LP-WUS signals to UEs outside the coverage area of ​​low-power WUS. However, if a particular UE 20 is in Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle or RRC inactive mode, then telecommunications network 70 does not know whether the device is capable of receiving LP-WUS signals. Telecommunications network 70 is expected to continue transmitting paging messages on the air interface, regardless of whether the device is listening to PDCCH / paging / PEI (i.e., whether the primary receiver is on or off).

[0080] Figure 6 The operation is shown Figure 2 A flowchart of example method 600 of UE 20. Method 600 operates as computer code executed within UE 20. (As can be seen from...) Figure 6 As can be seen, method 600 operates as a loop in progress, wherein method 600 returns to the step 610 of monitoring the radio link characteristics between UE 20 and base station 30. When the characteristics indicate that the radio link has degraded below a certain (first) threshold (which may be defined and compared in different ways) and is shown at step 620, then a check is performed to determine whether the secondary receiver 50 is powered and / or operational (step 630). If not, then method 600 returns to the monitoring step (610). If the secondary receiver 50 is operational but the radio link has degraded below the first threshold, then at step 640 the secondary receiver is powered down and the receiver status is transmitted to the telecommunications network 70 (step 650).

[0081] Radio link characteristics continue to be monitored. If the radio link improvement exceeds a second threshold that is the same as or higher than the first threshold (step 660), then method 600 checks whether the auxiliary receiver 50 is powered on (step 670). If not, monitoring continues. If the auxiliary receiver 50 is not powered on, then it is powered on at step 680, and the receiver status is sent to the telecommunications network 70 again (step 650), and monitoring continues.

[0082] Figure 7 A flowchart of method 700 for operation at base station 30 during operation of method 600 (i.e., at one or more UEs within a cell served by base station 30) is shown. At step 710, base station 30 receives a receiver status transmitted by UE 20. If the receiver status indicates that secondary receiver 50 is powered (step 720), then base station 30 will continue transmitting a wake-up signal to secondary receiver 50 at step 730 (or begin transmitting a wake-up signal if it has previously received an indication that secondary receiver 50 of UE 20 has been powered down). If the information received from UE 20 indicates that secondary receiver 50 of a particular UE 20 has been powered down, then base station 30 will stop (or continue not to) send a wake-up signal to secondary receiver 50 of UE 20.

[0083] The following provides an example implementation where UE 20 is in RRC inactive and IDLE (idle) modes.

[0084] Figure 8 A sequence diagram 800 shows the method steps implemented when the UE 20 is in inactive mode. The step numbers (0-4) correspond to... Figure 8 The step numbers shown.

[0085] Step 0: During the initial connection to the telecommunications network 70 (when the primary or main receiver 40 is on), the radio network (serving the base station or gNB 30) assigns a UE identifier to UE 20 to notify the telecommunications network 70 whether the LP-WUR state is on or off (i.e., the receiver state of UE 20). If UE 20 is in inactive mode, the identifier used can be an Inactive Radio Network Temporary Identifier (I-RNTI) – complete or short. Any other ID given to UE 20 by the RAN network can be used for this purpose.

[0086] Step 1: UE 20 (device) according to reference Figure 6 The described method 600 determines whether to turn the LP-WUR (secondary receiver 50) on or off. This decision may be based on: a specific threshold, or a hysteresis parameter that can be adjusted (e.g., on system information) to avoid frequent on / off switching of the low-power (secondary) receiver 50.

[0087] When UE 20 is in an inactive mode (no radio connection to the RAN, but the UE context is known within the RAN=gNB level), UE 20 can use a conventional mobile initiation procedure (using RACH or a configured grant) to send msg 3 (i.e., a scheduled UL (PUSCH) transmission). msg 3 carries an RRC message (e.g., RRC connection restoration) including the UE identity plus information indicating the LP-WUR or receiver state. Other UEs may be included in this message (e.g., MAC-I) to enable the base station (gNB) 30 to securely identify the context. The UE receiver state (e.g., LP-WUR) can be determined in different ways (e.g., based on different or new cause values ​​within the RRC restoration request or using sparse bits within the RRC restoration request).

[0088] Steps 2 and 3 (optional): If UE 20 moves between base stations (gNBs) and receiver (e.g., LPWUR) status needs to be delivered, the context of UE 20 needs to be retrieved from the last used base station (gNB) 30 to the new base station.

[0089] Step 4: Once the new receiver (e.g., LP-WUR) status is known to the serving base station 30, the process can end with an RRCRelease or RRCReject message, which allows UE 20 to remain in inactive mode.

[0090] Figure 9 The illustration shows the reference. Figure 8 Method 800 describes three example messages used in the method: 910, 920, and 930.

[0091] The following describes a further example implementation method 1000 in which UE 20 is in RRC idle mode. Method 1000 in... Figure 10 The sequence diagram is shown in the image. The following steps correspond to... Figure 10 The steps shown.

[0092] Step 0: This occurs during the initial connection to the telecommunications network 70 (e.g., if the primary or master receiver 40 is on). The core network (CN) assigns a UE identifier to be used to notify the core network of the UE receiver status (e.g., whether the LP-WUR or secondary receiver is on or off). If the UE 20 is in idle mode, the UE identifier may be the Serving Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (S-TMSI). This may be 40 bits in LTE and 48 bits in 5G.

[0093] Steps 1-3: If the state of the LP-WUR signal changes and UE 20 is in idle mode, UE 20 uses the RRC setup procedure to establish an RRC connection, which includes adding the assigned identifier to message 3 ( Figure 10 Step 1) or msg 5 ( Figure 10 In any of steps 3) of the above. The UE identifier can also be split, for example, between these messages.

[0094] Step 4: At base station (gNB) 30, once the receiver (e.g., LW-WUR) status and UE identifier are received, base station 30 forwards them to the core network. The core network associates and saves the received receiver (e.g., LW-WUR) status to the specific device identified by the assigned UE identifier. This can be achieved in such a way that the association is maintained even if the UE identifier or UE 20 is relocated.

[0095] Step 5: The core network uses one of its existing or new messages (on the NG-AP, or in the case of LTE, or on the S1-AP) to notify the base station (gNB) 30 that the connection can be released. Alternatively, a rejection message can be used.

[0096] Step 6: Base station (gNB) 30 releases the connection with UE 20.

[0097] Step 7: If there is data to be sent to or from that specific device or UE 20, the core network initiates a paging process that includes the currently valid S-TMSI and receiver (LP-WUR) status.

[0098] Step 8: Base station (gNB) 30 initiates a paging process that takes into account the current UE receiver (e.g., LP-WUR state).

[0099] When UE 20 is in RRC connected mode, the following procedure can be used. UE 20 can notify base station (gNB) 30 of its receiver status, such as its primary and / or secondary (LP-WUR) status. This may be done, for example, using a UE auxiliary information message. Once UE 20 is sent to RRC inactive mode, the receiver (secondary or LP-WUR) status can be stored in base station 30 and associated with the UE context, or the receiver (secondary or LP-WUR) status can be provided to the core network once the current connection ends (e.g., using a UE context release request).

[0100] As used throughout (including in the claims), unless the context otherwise indicates, the singular form of a term herein shall be understood to include the plural form, and vice versa. For example, unless the context otherwise indicates, singular references such as “a” or “an” (e.g., an ion multipolar device) herein (including in the claims) mean “one or more” (e.g., one or more ion multipolar devices). Throughout the specification and claims of this disclosure, the words “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and “containing,” as well as variations of these words (e.g., “including” and “comprising” or similar variations), mean “including, but not limited to,” and are not intended to exclude other components. Moreover, the use of “or” is inclusive, such that the phrase “A or B” is true when “A” is true, “B” is true, or both “A” and “B” are true.

[0101] The use of any and all examples or exemplary language (“e,” “such as,” “for example,” and similar language) provided herein is intended only to better illustrate this disclosure and does not indicate any limitation on the scope of this disclosure, unless otherwise claimed. The language in the specification should not be construed as indicating any unclaimed element as necessary for the practice of this disclosure.

[0102] Without altering the scope of this disclosure, the terms "first" and "second" may be reversed. That is, an element referred to as the "first" element may instead be referred to as the "second" element, and an element referred to as the "second" element may instead be considered the "first" element.

[0103] Any steps described in this specification may be performed in any order or simultaneously, unless otherwise stated or required by the context. Furthermore, where a step is described as being performed after another step, this does not preclude the performance of intermediary steps.

[0104] It should also be understood that, for any given component or embodiment described throughout, any of the possible candidates or alternatives listed for that component may generally be used individually or in combination with each other, unless implicitly or explicitly understood or stated otherwise. It will be understood that any list of such candidates or alternatives is illustrative only and not limiting, unless implicitly or explicitly understood or stated otherwise.

[0105] Unless otherwise described, all technical and scientific terms used throughout have the meanings commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the various embodiments described herein pertain.

[0106] As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the details of the above embodiments may vary without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0107] For example, although the method has been described with reference to the UE, other devices can be used. Many devices or UEs can exist in the telecommunications system and in many base stations or gNBs. The method has been described with reference to paging messages, but other messages can be used.

[0108] Many combinations, modifications, or alterations of the features of the above embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art and are intended to form part of this invention. Any of the features described specifically in relation to an embodiment or example can be used in any other embodiment by making appropriate changes.

Claims

1. A method for managing communication between a user equipment (UE) and a telecommunications network, the UE having a primary receiver and a secondary receiver, the method comprising the following steps: The UE monitors the characteristics of the radio link between the UE and the base station of the telecommunications network; If the characteristic indicates that the radio link has degraded to a predetermined threshold, then power down the secondary receiver; Information indicating the receiver status of the UE is provided to the telecommunications network; as well as If the receiver status of the UE provided in the information indicates that the secondary receiver has lost power, then the telecommunications network stops transmission to the secondary receiver.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the following steps: The UE powers on the auxiliary receiver; The UE provides the telecommunications network with further information indicating the receiver status of the UE; and If the receiver status of the UE provided in the further information indicates that the secondary receiver is powered on, the telecommunications network resumes transmission to the secondary receiver.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the UE powers on the secondary receiver in response to determining that the characteristic indicates the radio link is improved to a second predetermined threshold.

4. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the transmission to the secondary receiver is a transmission that causes the UE to change the power mode of the primary receiver from a second power mode to a first power mode, wherein the primary receiver consumes more power in the first power mode than when it is in the second power mode.

5. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the monitored characteristics of the radio link between the UE and the base station include any one or more of the following: received signal strength; reference signal received power (RSRP); reference signal received quality (RSRQ); and / or the number of times a message is repeated by the secondary receiver within a predetermined time period.

6. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the UE is in Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle mode or RRC inactive mode.

7. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the information indicating the state of the secondary receiver provided to the telecommunications network includes the identifier of the UE.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the identifier of the UE is an inactive radio network temporary identifier (I-RNTI) assigned by the radio access network (RAN).

9. The method of claim 8, wherein information indicating the receiver state of the UE is transmitted to the telecommunications network within a scheduled uplink physical uplink shared channel (UL PUSCH) transmission.

10. The method of claim 8 or claim 9, further comprising the following steps: The UE moves to a new base station; and The new base station retrieves information indicating the receiver status of the UE from the original base station.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the identifier of the UE is a Serving Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (S-TMSI) assigned by the core network.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein information indicating the receiver state of the UE is transmitted to the telecommunications network within radio resource control (RRC) communications between the UE and the base station.

13. The method of claim 11 or claim 12, wherein when the UE is in RRC idle mode, the step of providing information indicating the receiver status of the UE to the telecommunications network is transmitted by the UE.

14. The method of any of the preceding claims further comprises the step of: the core network providing the base station with information indicating the receiver status of the UE.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the core network and the paging of the UE simultaneously provide the base station with information indicating the receiver status of the UE.

16. The method of claim 14 or claim 15, further comprising the step of: the base station sending an RRC message to the UE causing the UE to release its connection with the base station.

17. The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein when the UE is in RRC connection mode, the step of providing information indicating the receiver status of the UE to the telecommunications network is transmitted by the UE.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the receiver state of the UE is transmitted by the UE within a UE assistance information message.

19. The method of claim 17 or claim 18, further comprising the following steps: The base station stores the receiver status of the UE.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the base station associates the stored receiver state of the UE with the context of the UE.

21. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the information provided to the telecommunications network indicating the receiver state of the UE includes any one or more of the following: the power-on or power-off state of the primary receiver; and / or the power-on or power-off state of the secondary receiver.

22. A telecommunications network, comprising: One or more base stations; One or more UEs; as well as An apparatus adapted to perform the method according to any of the preceding claims.

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