Systems, methods, and devices for indicating SCell dormancy using DCI

Abstract

The techniques described herein can include solutions for indicating dormancy of a secondary cell (SCell) using downlink control information (DCI). For a DCI without a specific field for indicating dormancy of a SCell, one or more fields of the DCI can be repurposed to report SCell dormancy. The repurposed fields can be arranged according to radio resource control (RRC) configuration information, most significant bits (MSBs), least significant bits (LSBs), and / or one or more bits for specific SCell dormancy and one or more other bits for SCell group dormancy, SCell subsets, and / or predefined rules. These and numerous other features and examples are described herein.

Description

Cross-reference to related applications

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 596,054, filed November 3, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates to wireless communication networks and mobile device capabilities. Background Technology

[0003] Wireless communication networks and services are becoming increasingly dynamic, complex, and ubiquitous. For example, wireless communication networks can be developed to implement fourth-generation (4G), fifth-generation (5G), or new radio (NR) technologies. Such technologies can include solutions for enabling user equipment (UE) and network devices, such as base stations, to communicate with each other. Some scenarios may involve managing the operation and availability of base stations within the network. Attached Figure Description

[0004] This disclosure will be readily understood and implemented through detailed description and accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals may designate the same features and structural elements. The drawings and corresponding descriptions are provided as non-limiting examples of aspects, embodiments, etc., of this disclosure, and references to “a” or “an” aspect, embodiment, etc., may not necessarily refer to the same aspect, embodiment, etc., and may mean at least one, one, or more, etc.

[0005] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an example of an overview of using downlink control information (DCI) to instruct a secondary cell (SCell) to sleep, according to one or more specific implementations described herein.

[0006] Figure 2 This is a diagram of an example network based on one or more specific implementations described in this document.

[0007] Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a primary cell group (MCG) and secondary cell group (SCG) based on one or more specific implementations described herein.

[0008] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an example process for instructing a SCELL to hibernate using DCI, based on one or more specific implementations described herein.

[0009] Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating an example of reusing the DCI field to indicate SCELL hibernation according to one or more specific implementations described herein.

[0010] Figure 6This is a diagram illustrating an example of using the most significant bit (MSB) and least significant bit (LSB) to indicate SCell sleep according to one or more specific implementations described herein.

[0011] Figure 7 This is a diagram illustrating an example of using bit groups to indicate the sleep state of SCells and SCell groups, according to one or more specific implementations described herein.

[0012] Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating an example of using a subset of SCells to indicate SCELL hibernation, based on one or more specific implementations described herein.

[0013] Figure 9 This is a diagram illustrating an example of using a subset index of SCells to indicate SCell hibernation, based on one or more specific implementations described herein.

[0014] Figure 10 This is an illustration of an example of a component of a device according to one or more specific implementations described herein.

[0015] Figure 11 This is a block diagram illustrating components according to one or more specific embodiments described herein that are capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable medium or a computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methods discussed herein. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals in different drawings may identify the same or similar features, elements, operations, etc. Additionally, this disclosure is not limited to the following description, as other specific embodiments and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0017] Telecommunication networks may include user equipment (UEs) capable of communicating with base stations and / or other network access nodes. UEs and base stations may implement various technologies and communication standards that enable UEs and base stations to discover each other, establish and maintain connectivity, and exchange information in an ongoing manner. The objectives of such technologies may include the UE providing capability information to the base station, the network determining how to configure the UE based on this capability information, the network providing configuration information to the UE, and the UE and base station further communicating based on this configuration information.

[0018] In some scenarios, a UE can connect to multiple cells simultaneously, which may include a primary cell (PCell) and / or one or more secondary cells (SCells). The UE can gain initial network access via the PCell and subsequently establish connections with one or more SCells. The UE can connect to the PCell via the primary component carrier (PCC) and to the SCell via the secondary component carrier (SCC). Uplink (UL) data, as well as control and user data, can be transmitted to the PCell via the PCC. In some implementations, the PCell can manage and / or enable connections between the UE and one or more SCells. For example, in some instances, one or more SCells can transition from an active state to a dormant state and thus become available to the UE. In such scenarios, the PCell can communicate control information (e.g., downlink control information (DCI)) to indicate whether one or more cells should transition to dormant mode.

[0019] A PCell (or SCell) can use a DCI to schedule and / or allocate physical resources for the Physical Downlink (DL) Shared Channel (PDSCH), Physical Uplink (UL) Shared Channel (PUSCH), and / or adjust the UL transmit power used in the Physical UL Shared Channel (PUSCH) or Physical UL Control Channel (PUCCH). A DCI may correspond to one or more types, referred to as Type 0, Type 1, Type 2, etc. Type 0 may include a bitmap indicating the Resource Block Groups (RBGs) allocated to the UE. RBGs may include a set of contiguous Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs). Type 2 may include a bitmap indicating PRBs from a subset of RBGs determined by the system bandwidth, or from a set of PRBs. Type 2 may include a set of contiguously allocated physical or virtual resource blocks. Allocation varies from a single PRB to a maximum number of PRBs spanning the system bandwidth.

[0020] DCI can correspond to DCI formats, such as DCI format 0_0, DCI format 0_1, DCI format 1_0, etc. DCI format 0_0 can be used to schedule resources for PUSCH; DCI format 1_0 can be used to schedule resources for PDSCH; DCI format 2_0 can be used to notify a group of UEs of the slot format; and so on. Therefore, different DCI formats can be used for different purposes and can include different fields and information. DCI fields can correspond to types (e.g., type 1A, type 1B, type 2, etc.). Type 1A fields can include common fields that can be applied to all cells in a cell group, while Type 1B fields can include a combined field pointing to an index of a list that includes combinations of different values ​​for cells in the group. Type 2 fields can include fields with multiple extreme values ​​corresponding to multiple cells, and Type 3 fields can include configurable fields that can be configured by the network to be either type 1 or type 2 fields.

[0021] The UE may provide UE capability information indicating its communication capabilities to the network (e.g., PCell and / or SCell). The network may determine Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration information based on the UE capability information and may transmit the RRC configuration information to the UE. The UE may determine what type of DCI to receive from the PCell based on the RRC configuration information. More specifically, the UE may determine the DCI type and format to receive from the PCell. This can be useful because DCI can be used to enable and / or disable connections between the UE and one or more SCells, and because different DCI types and formats can have different types, numbers, and arrangements of fields, carrying different types, numbers, and arrangements of data.

[0022] A DCI may include specific fields for explicitly indicating SCell hibernation. Such scenarios may involve providing a DCI according to a certain type of DCI format (such as DCI format 0_3). In contrast, in other scenarios, a DCI may not have specific fields for explicitly indicating SCell hibernation. Therefore, currently available technologies cannot provide a suitable solution for using a DCI to indicate SCell hibernation because some DCI formats (e.g., DCI 1_3) may not include specific fields for indicating SCell hibernation.

[0023] The techniques described herein may include one or more solutions to the deficiencies described above. For example, one or more of the techniques described herein may implicitly indicate SCell sleep by reusing one or more DCI fields. Examples of such fields may include fields indicating the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of transport block 1, fields indicating the New Data Indicator (NDI) of transport block 1, fields indicating the Redundancy Version (RV) of transport block 1, fields indicating the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process number, and / or fields indicating one or more antenna ports when DCI type 2 is applicable. When using DCI formats 1-3, these DCI fields may be reused to indicate SCell sleep. In some specific implementations, the reuse of antenna port fields may vary depending on the number of configured SCells for which sleep may be indicated. Furthermore, the techniques described herein may include solutions for when and how antenna port fields are reused.

[0024] Figure 1This is a diagram illustrating an example of an overview 100 using DCI to indicate SCell hibernation according to one or more specific implementations described herein. As shown, overview 100 may include UE 110, PCell 120, and one or more SCells 130. UE 110 may be able to communicate with PCell 120 and SCell 130. UE 110 may convey UE capability information to PCell 120 (at 1.1). UE may receive RRC configuration information from PCell 120 (at 1.2) and may use the RRC configuration information to determine what type of DCI PCell 120 may use to indicate hibernation information for SCell 130 (1.3).

[0025] UE 110 may determine that the DCI may not include specific fields used to explicitly transmit sleep SCell 130. Instead, UE 110 may determine that one or more fields of the DCI can be reused to indicate SCell sleep. This allows UE 110 to properly receive the DCI, as the size and arrangement of the DCI can vary based on characteristics such as the DCI format used, DCI field types, etc. UE 110 may receive the DCI from PCell 120, which may include SCell sleep information (at 1.4) in the reused DCI fields. The reused DCI fields may have multi-cell scheduling DCI.

[0026] SCell hibernation information can indicate that one or more SCells have transitioned or will transition from an active communication state to a hibernation communication state. UE 110 can implement and / or update communications (e.g., communication channels, resource allocation, etc.) based on SCell hibernation information (at 1.5) and can continue to communicate with PCell 120 and one or more SCells in a manner consistent with the most recently received SCell hibernation information. Therefore, one or more techniques described herein can enable the DCI field to be reused to convey SCell hibernation information to the UE. While some examples described herein may include PCell 120 using a DCI to configure UE 110, which may include using a reused DCI field to indicate SCell hibernation, the techniques described herein may also include SCell 130 performing such operations. That is, SCell 140 may transmit RRC configuration information and / or a DCI with a reused DCI field to UE 110 to indicate SCell scheduling. Therefore, operations performed by PCells as described herein may also be performed by SCells or alternatively.

[0027] Furthermore, as described in further detail below, the techniques described herein may include one or more additional solutions for reusing DCI fields to indicate SCell sleep. In one example, UE 110 may use RRC configuration information to create a bitmap based on the number and order of DormancyGroupIDs indicated in the RRC configuration information, arranged from most significant bit (MSB) to least significant bit (LSB). Bits of the bitmap may be reused from fields in a field-specific order (e.g., MSC field, NDI field, RV field, HPN field, and antenna port field).

[0028] In another example, the DCI field can be reused by arranging its bits to include a total of M bits. The first N bits of the M bits can be used to indicate the sleep state of a specified SCell, while the remaining M bits can indicate the sleep state of one or more groups of SCells. The first bit of both the N bits and the total M bits can include the most significant bit (MSB), while the last bit of both the N bits and the total M bits can include the least significant bit (LSB). In still other examples, based on the SCells being arranged into subsets and the subsets being associated with subset indexes, UE capability information, etc., SCell sleep can be indicated in the reused DCI field. Therefore, the techniques described herein include numerous examples and specific implementations for using DCI to indicate SCell sleep.

[0029] When the antenna port field is configured as a Type 2 field for UE 210, there may be sufficient bits to indicate SCell sleep via the reused DCI field. When the antenna port field is configured as a field of another type (e.g., Type 1A), the antenna port field may not be available for reuse, in which case other fields (e.g., MCS field, NDI field, RV field, and HPN field) may not have sufficient bits to indicate SCell sleep via field reuse. Therefore, in such scenarios, additional or alternative solutions may be beneficial. Thus, one or more techniques described herein may relate to indicating SCell sleep via field reuse when the UE's antenna port field is configured according to something other than Type 2. These and other features and examples are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0030] Figure 2 This is an exemplary network 200 according to one or more specific implementations described herein. The example network 200 may include UE 210, 210-2, etc. (collectively referred to as "UE 210" and individually referred to as "UE 210"), radio access network (RAN) 220, core network (CN) 230, application server 240 and external network 250.

[0031] The systems and devices of Example Network 200 may operate according to one or more communication standards, such as 2G, 3G, 4G (e.g., LTE), and / or 5G (e.g., NR) communication standards of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the systems and devices of Example Network 200 may operate according to other communication standards and protocols discussed herein, including future versions or generations of 3GPP standards (e.g., 6G, 7G, etc.), IEEE standards (e.g., Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN), Global Microwave Access Interoperability (WiMAX), etc.), and more.

[0032] As shown in the figure, UE 210 may include a smartphone (e.g., a handheld touchscreen mobile computing device capable of connecting to one or more wireless communication networks). Additionally or alternatively, UE 210 may include other types of mobile or non-mobile computing devices capable of wireless communication, such as personal data assistants (PDAs), pagers, laptops, desktop computers, cordless phones, etc. In some implementations, UE 210 may include an Internet of Things (IoT) device (or IoT UE) that may include a network access layer designed to utilize low-power IoT applications with short-lived UE connections. Additionally or alternatively, the IoT UE may utilize one or more types of technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) communication or machine-type communication (MTC) (e.g., to exchange data with an MTC server or other device via a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), Proximity Services (ProSe) or Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, sensor networks, IoT networks, etc. Depending on the scenario, the M2M or MTC exchange of data may be machine-initiated, and the IoT network may include IoT UEs interconnected with short-lived connections (which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices within an internet infrastructure). In some scenarios, IoT UEs can execute background applications (e.g., keeping track of activity messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity in IoT networks.

[0033] UE 210 can communicate with and establish connections with one or more other UEs 210 via one or more radio channels 212, each of which may include a physical communication interface / layer. Connections may include M2M connections, MTC connections, D2D connections, SL connections, etc. Connections may involve a PC5 interface. In some implementations, UE 210 can be configured to discover each other, negotiate radio resources with each other, and establish connections with each other without the intervention or communication of RAN node 222 or another type of network node. In some implementations, discovery, authentication, resource negotiation, registration, etc., may involve communication with RAN node 222 or another type of network node.

[0034] UE 210 may communicate with each other using one or more radio channels 212. As described herein, UE 210 may communicate with RAN node 222 to request SL resources. RAN node 222 may respond to this request by providing UE 210 with a Dynamic Grant (DG) or Configuration Grant (CG) regarding SL resources. A DG may involve granting based on a grant request from UE 210. A CG may involve granting resources without a grant request and may be based on the type of service offered (e.g., a service with strict timing or latency requirements). UE 210 may perform an Empty Channel Assessment (CCA) procedure based on a DG or CG, select SL resources based on the CCA procedure and a DG or CG, and communicate with another UE 210 based on SL resources. UE 210 may communicate with RAN node 222 using licensed frequency bands and with another UE 210 using unlicensed frequency bands.

[0035] UE 210 can communicate with and establish a connection with RAN 220 (e.g., communicatively coupled), which may involve one or more radio channels 214-1 and 214-2, each of which may include a physical communication interface / layer. In some implementations, the UE may be configured with dual connectivity (DC) as multi-radio access technology (multi-RAT) or multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), where a UE capable of multiple receive and transmit (Rx / Tx) can use resources provided by different network nodes (e.g., 222-1 and 222-2), which may be connected via non-ideal backhaul (e.g., one network node provides NR access and another provides E-UTRA for LTE or NR access for 5G). In such scenarios, one network node may act as a primary node (MN) and the other as a secondary node (SN). MN and SN may be connected via a network interface, and at least MN may be connected to CN 230. Additionally, at least one of the MN or SN can operate via a shared spectrum channel access, and the functionality specified for UE 210 can be used for Integrated Access and Backhaul Mobile Terminal (IAB-MT). Similar to UE 210, the IAB-MT can access the network using a single network node or two different nodes with an Enhanced Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) architecture or a New Radio Dual Connectivity (NR-DC) architecture, etc. In some specific implementations, the base station (as described herein) can be an example of network node 222. In some scenarios, RAN 220 can coordinate with core network 230 via interfaces 224, 226, and / or 228.

[0036] As described herein, UE 210 may receive and store one or more configurations, instructions, and / or other information for implementing SL-U communication with quality and priority standards. PQI can be determined and used to indicate the QoS associated with SL-U communication (e.g., channels, data streams, etc.). Similarly, L1 priority values ​​can be determined and used to indicate the priority of SL-U transmissions, SL-U channels, SL-U data, etc. PQI and / or L1 priority values ​​can be mapped to CAPC values, and PQI, L1 priority, and / or CAPC can indicate SL Channel Occupancy Time (COT) sharing, Maximum Channel Occupancy Time (MCOT), timing intervals for COT sharing, LBT configuration, traffic, and channel priority, etc.

[0037] As shown in the figure, UE 210 may or alternatively connect to access point (AP) 216 via connection interface 218, which may include an air interface enabling UE 210 to communicatively couple with AP 216. AP 216 may include a wireless local area network (WLAN), a WLAN node, a WLAN endpoint, etc. Connection 216 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 702.11 protocol, and AP 216 may include Wi-Fi. ® Router or other access points. Although in Figure 2 While not explicitly described, AP 216 can connect to another network (e.g., the Internet) without needing to connect to RAN 220 or CN230. In some scenarios, UE 210, RAN 220, and AP 216 can be configured to utilize LTE-WLAN aggregation (LWA) technology or LTE / WLAN radio-level technology with integrated IPsec tunneling (LWIP). LWA may involve RAN 220 configuring UE 210 in RRC_CONNECTED state to utilize LTE and WLAN radio resources. LWIP may involve UE 210 using WLAN radio resources (e.g., connection interface 218) to authenticate and encrypt packets (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP) packets) transmitted via connection interface 218 via IPsec protocol tunneling. IPsec tunneling may include encapsulating the entire original IP packet and adding a new packet header to protect the original IP packet header.

[0038] RAN 220 may include one or more RAN nodes 222-1 and 222-2 (collectively referred to as RAN node 222, and individually referred to as RAN node 222) that enable the establishment of channels 214-1 and 214-2 between UE 210 and RAN 220. RAN node 222 may include a network access point configured to operate based on one or more of the communication technologies described herein (e.g., 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, WiFi). ®RAN nodes (e.g., E-UTRAN Node B, eNodeB, eNB, 4G base station, etc.) provide radio baseband functionality for data and / or voice connections between users and the network. Therefore, as an example, a RAN node can be an E-UTRAN Node B (e.g., enhanced Node B, eNodeB, eNB, 4G base station, etc.), a next-generation base station (e.g., 5G base station, NR base station, next-generation eNB (gNB), etc.). RAN node 222 may include roadside units (RSUs), transmit / receive points (TRxPs or TRPs), and one or more other types of ground stations (e.g., ground access points). In some scenarios, RAN node 222 may be dedicated physical equipment such as macrocell base stations and / or low-power (LP) base stations for providing smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells, such as femtocells, picocells, etc.

[0039] Some or all of the RAN nodes or portions thereof may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network that may be referred to as a Centralized RAN (CRAN) and / or a Virtual Baseband Unit Pool (vBBUP). In these specific implementations, the CRAN or vBBUP may be implemented as follows: RAN function splitting, such as Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) splitting, where the Radio Resource Control (RRC) and PDCP layers can be operated by CRAN / vBBUP, and other Layer 2 (L2) protocol entities can be operated by individual RAN nodes 222; Medium Access Control (MAC) / Physical (PHY) layer splitting, where the RRC, PDCP, Radio Link Control (RLC), and MAC layers can be operated by CRAN / vBBUP, and the PHY layer can be operated by individual RAN nodes 222; or “lower PHY” splitting, where the upper portions of the RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC, and PHY layers can be operated by CRAN / vBBUP, and the lower portions of the PHY layer can be operated by individual RAN nodes 222. This virtualization framework allows the idle processor cores of RAN node 222 to perform or execute other virtualization applications.

[0040] In some implementations, a single RAN node 222 may represent a single gNB distributed unit (DU) connected to the gNB control unit (CU) via a single F1 or other interface. In such implementations, the gNB-DU may include one or more remote radio headends or radio frequency (RF) front-end modules (RFEMs), and the gNB-CU may operate in a manner similar to CRAN / vBBUP by a server (not shown) located in RAN 220 or by a server pool (e.g., a group of servers configured to share resources). Additionally or alternatively, one or more RAN nodes in RAN node 222 may be next-generation eNBs (i.e., gNBs) that provide Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) user plane and control plane protocol termination to UE 210 and can be connected to the 5G core network (5GC) 230 via an NG interface.

[0041] Any RAN node in RAN 222 can serve as the endpoint of the air interface protocol and can be the first point of contact for UE 210. In some implementations, any RAN node in RAN 222 can perform various logical functions of RAN 220, including but not limited to the functions of the Radio Network Controller (RNC), such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management, data packet scheduling, and mobility management. UE 210 can be configured to communicate with each other or with any of RAN nodes 222 on a multi-carrier communication channel using Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals according to various communication technologies, such as, but not limited to, OFDMA communication technologies (e.g., for downlink communication) or single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication technologies (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink (SL) communication), but the scope of such implementations is not limited in this respect. OFDM signals may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0042] In some implementations, the downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmissions from any of the RAN nodes in RAN node 222 to UE 210, and uplink transmissions can utilize similar techniques. This grid can be a time-frequency grid (e.g., a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid), representing the physical resources of the downlink in each time slot. Such time-frequency representations are common practice for OFDM systems, making radio resource allocation intuitive. Each column and row of the resource grid corresponds to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to a time slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is represented as a resource element. Each resource grid comprises resource blocks that describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block may include a set of resource elements (REs); in the frequency domain, this may represent the minimum amount of resources currently available for allocation. Such resource blocks are used to transmit several different physical downlink channels.

[0043] Furthermore, RAN node 222 can be configured to wirelessly communicate with UE 210 and / or with each other via licensed media (also referred to as “licensed spectrum” and / or “licensed band”), unlicensed shared media (also referred to as “unlicensed spectrum” and / or “unlicensed band”), or a combination thereof. Licensed spectrum may correspond to channels or bands selected, reserved, regulated, etc., for certain types of wireless activity (e.g., wireless telecommunications network activity), while unlicensed spectrum may correspond to one or more bands that are unrestricted for certain types of wireless activity. Whether a particular band corresponds to licensed or unlicensed media may depend on one or more factors, such as frequency allocations determined by public sector organizations (e.g., government agencies, regulatory bodies, etc.) or frequency allocations determined by private sector organizations involved in developing wireless communication standards and protocols.

[0044] The PDSCH can carry user data and higher-layer signaling to UE 210. The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) can carry information such as transmission format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel. The PDCCH can also inform UE 210 about transmission format, resource allocation, and Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to UE 210 within the cell) can be performed on any RAN node in RAN node 222 based on channel quality information fed back from any UE in UE 210. Downlink resource allocation information can be sent on the PDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each UE in UE 210.

[0045] One or more of the techniques described herein enable a DCI to indicate the hibernation of one or more SCells. For DCIs that do not have a specific field for indicating SCell hibernation, one or more fields of the DCI can be reused to report SCell hibernation. The reused fields can be arranged based on RRC configuration information, MSB, LSB, and / or one or more bits for hibernation of a specific SCell and one or more other bits for hibernation of a group of SCells, a subset of SCells, and / or predefined rules. These and many other features and examples of using a DCI to indicate the hibernation of one or more SCells are implemented through the descriptions provided herein.

[0046] RAN nodes 222 can be configured to communicate with each other via interface 223. In a specific implementation where the system is an LTE system, interface 223 may be an X2 interface. In an NR system, interface 223 may be an Xn interface. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more RAN nodes 222 (e.g., two or more eNBs / gNBs or combinations thereof) connected to the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or CN 230, or between two eNBs connected to the EPC. In some implementations, the X2 interface may include an X2 user plane interface (X2-U) and an X2 control plane interface (X2-C). X2-U may provide flow control mechanisms for user data packets transmitted via the X2 interface and may be used to convey information about the delivery of user data between eNBs or gNBs. For example, X2-U can provide specific sequence number information about user data transmitted from the primary eNB (MeNB) to the secondary eNB (SeNB); information about the successful in-order delivery of PDCP Packet Data Units (PDUs) from the SeNB to the UE 210 for user data; information about PDCP PDUs not delivered to the UE 210; information about the current minimum expected buffer size at the SeNB for transmitting user data to the UE; and so on. X2-C can provide LTE in-network access mobility functions (e.g., including context transfer from the source eNB to the target eNB, user plane transmission control, etc.), load management functions, and inter-cell interference coordination functions.

[0047] As shown in the figure, RAN 220 may be connected (e.g., communicatively coupled) to CN 230. CN 230 may include multiple network elements 232 configured to provide various data and telecommunications services to customers / subscribers (e.g., users of UE210) connected to CN 230 via RAN 220. In some implementations, CN 230 may include an evolved packet core (EPC), a 5G CN, and / or one or more additional or alternative types of CN. Components of CN 230 may be implemented in a physical node or separate physical nodes, including components for reading and executing instructions from machine-readable or computer-readable media (e.g., non-transitory machine-readable storage media). In some implementations, network function virtualization (NFV) may be used to virtualize any or all of the aforementioned network node roles or functions via executable instructions stored in one or more computer-readable storage media (described in further detail below). A logical instance of CN 230 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instance of a portion of CN 230 may be referred to as a network subslice. Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) architectures and infrastructures can be used to virtualize one or more network functions onto physical resources, including a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storage hardware, or switches (or alternatively, proprietary hardware). In other words, NFV systems can be used to perform virtual or reconfigurable concrete implementations of one or more EPC components / functions.

[0048] As shown in the figure, CN 230, application server 240, and external network 250 can be interconnected via interfaces 234, 236, and 238, which may include IP network interfaces. Application server 240 may include one or more server devices or network elements (e.g., Virtual Network Functions (VNFs) that provide applications with access to IP bearer resources via CM 230 (e.g., Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Packet Service (UMTSPS) domain, LTE PS Data Service, etc.). Application server 240 may also or alternatively be configured to support one or more communication services for UE 210 via CN 230 (e.g., Voice over IP (VoIP sessions, push-to-talk (PTT) sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.). Similarly, external network 250 may include one or more networks from various networks, including the Internet, thereby providing network access to various additional services, information, interconnectivity, and other network features to the mobile communication network and UE 210.

[0049] Figure 3This is an illustration of example 300 of a primary cell group (MCG) 310 and a secondary cell group (SCG) 320 according to one or more specific implementations described herein. The MCG may include a set of cells associated with the primary node, including PCells and one or more SCells. The SCG may include a set of serving cells associated with the secondary node, including the primary cell (PSCell) of the secondary cell group and optionally including one or more SCells. The MCG 310 and SCG 320 may each be implemented using one or more base stations 222 and / or another type of RAN node or access point.

[0050] MCG 310 may be implemented by one or more base stations and may include one or more layers. Examples of such layers may include a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and multiple PHY layers. Each PHY layer may correspond to a different implementation of the cell relative to UE 210. Additionally or alternatively, the PHY layers may operate in conjunction with (e.g., managed, controlled, etc. by) the PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers. In some implementations, a PHY layer 340 may operate as a PCell or a special cell (SpCell), and other PHY layers 342 and 344 may operate as SCells to the PCell.

[0051] SCG 320 may also include multiple layers, including an RLC layer, a MAC layer, and multiple PHY layers 350, 352, and 354. SCG 320 may not include a PDCP layer, but may instead rely on the PDCP layer of MCG 310 via connection 330. Similar to the PHY layers of MCG 310, the PHY layers of SCG 320 may each function or operate as a cell relative to UE 210. In some implementations, a PHY layer 350 may operate as a primary cell (PCell) for PHY layers 352 and 354, and may operate as a secondary cell for the PCells of PHY layer 350. Additionally, MCG 310 and SCG 320 may each include PCells (e.g., 340 and 350), and these PCells may be referred to herein as special cells or special primary cells, denoted as SpCell. In addition, the SCell of the MCG 310 or SCG 320 can operate as a scheduling secondary cell (sSCell), which is configured to provide configuration, scheduling, activation, deactivation and other functions or commands to the SpCell of the MCG 310 or SCG 320.

[0052] MCG 310 and SCG 320 can be involved in dual-connectivity scenarios with UE 210, in which case procedures such as the Random Access Channel (RACH) can be routed to MCG 310. MCG 310 and SCG 320 can also implement standalone (SA) and / or non-standalone (NSA) network environments for UE 210. In an SA network environment, MCG 310 and SCG 320 can communicate with UE 210 using the 5G NR communication standard. In an NSA network environment, MCG 310 and SCG 320 can communicate with UE 210 using a combination of 4G LTE and 5G NR communication standards. MCG 310 and / or SCG 320 can be configured to implement and support the techniques and / or operate according to the techniques described herein for using DCI to indicate SCell sleep.

[0053] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an example procedure 400 for instructing a SCELL to sleep using DCI, according to one or more specific implementations described herein. Procedure 400 may be implemented by UE 210 and base station 222. As referenced herein, a PCell may include base station 222 and / or MCG 310 operating as a PCell. A SCell may include base station 222 and / or SCG 320 operating as a SCell. Reference to SCell may also apply to SCG 320. Additionally, operations described as being performed by a PCell may also be performed by one or more SCells.

[0054] In some specific implementations, some or all of process 400 may be performed by one or more other systems or devices (including...) Figure 2 The process is executed by one or more devices in the device. Additionally, process 400 may include... Figure 4 The operations shown are fewer, additional, of a different order, and / or arranged than one or more. In some specific implementations, some or all of the operations of process 400 may be performed independently, sequentially, simultaneously, etc., with respect to one or more other operations of process 400. Therefore, the techniques described herein are not limited to those described herein. Figure 4 The number, sequence, arrangement, timing, etc. of the operations or processes described.

[0055] As shown in the figure, process 400 may include UE 210 transmitting UE capability information to PCell 222 (box 410). For example, UE 210 may provide information about the capabilities of UE 210 to base station 222 operating as PCell. This may include, for example, capabilities and / or services supported by UE 210 for communicating with one or more base stations 222 and / or within the network environment described herein. In some implementations, the UE capability information may relate to UE 210's ability to communicate with PCell and one or more SCells 222. UE 210 may provide the UE capability information as part of an RRC attachment procedure or another type of procedure.

[0056] UE capability information may include an indication of whether UE 210 supports the reuse of a DCI field that indicates enabling SCell sleep. Reusing a DCI field to indicate SCell sleep can be referred to as an implicit indication of SCell sleep, as the DCI field can be reused to do so. In some implementations, UE capability information may include an indication of whether UE 210 supports the reuse of a DCI field to enable SCell sleep if and / or when the antenna port field is not configured according to Type 2 (e.g., when the antenna port field is configured to Type 1A). In some implementations, UE configuration information may include an indication of the maximum number of SCells for which UE 210 can receive the indication of SCell sleep via the reuse of the DCI field. In some implementations, UE 210 may ignore one or more indications of SCell sleep if or when the network (e.g., PCell 222) configures UE 210 to communicate with more SCells than UE 210 supports. For example, UE 210 can ignore the instruction to put a SCell to sleep for SCells that exceed the maximum number of SCells supported by UE 210.

[0057] Process 400 may include PCell 222 determining RRC configuration information (box 420). For example, a base station operating as a PCell of UE 210 may determine the RRC configuration information of UE 210 at least in part based on UE capability information provided by UE 210. For example, the RRC configuration information may include one or more instructions, parameters, and / or one or more other types of configuration information to enable UE 210 to communicate with PCell 222 and / or SCell 222. In some implementations, the RRC configuration information may be referred to as higher-layer information. In such cases, higher-layer information may be relative to another type of configuration information, such as DCI.

[0058] Process 400 may include PCell 222 communicating RRC configuration information to UE 210 (box 430). For example, base station 222 operating as PCell may provide RRC configuration information to UE 210. RRC configuration may include a variety of one or more types of information, including indications of carrier, cell, resource allocation, scheduling information, etc. RRC configuration may include information about PCell 222 and / or one or more SCells 222, information about DCI, DCI format and / or type of DCI information (e.g., type 1A, type 1B, type 2, etc.). RRC configuration may include information about PCell 222, one or more SCells 222, the total number of SCells 222, the arrangement or subset of SCells and / or SCell groups, etc.

[0059] Process 400 may include UE 210 determining the DCI used to indicate SCell sleep (box 440). For example, UE 210 may examine and / or analyze UE configuration information to determine one or more characteristics of the DCI to be received from PCell 222. For example, UE 210 may determine whether PCell and / or one or more SCells can indicate SCell sleep by reusing one or more DCI fields. UE 210 may also or alternatively determine additional information regarding the indication of SCell sleep based on one or more of the examples or specific implementations described herein. Examples of such information may include or relate to one or more DCI fields, one or more DCI formats, the type of DCI or DCI fields, cascading of reused DCI fields to indicate SCell sleep, using MSB and / or LSB to indicate SCell sleep, indicating SCell sleep for individual SCells and / or subsets of SCells, etc. In some specific implementations, base station 222, operating as PCell, may also or alternatively determine one or more characteristics of the DCI to be conveyed to UE 210 based on UE configuration information and / or RRC configuration information.

[0060] Process 400 may also include UE 210 receiving DCI from base station 222 operating as a PCell (at 450). As described above, UE 210 may have determined one or more characteristics of the DCI before receiving it. Examples of such characteristics may include whether the DCI will include specific fields for indicating SCell sleep and / or whether the DCI will indicate SCell sleep by reusing one or more DCI fields. As described herein, reused DCI fields may include MCS, NDI, RV, HPN, and / or antenna port fields. In some specific implementations, whether an antenna port field is reused may be based on one or more factors, such as whether the antenna port field is a Type 2 DCI field, the number of SCells for which sleep is indicated, the DCI format being used, and / or one or more factors or conditions.

[0061] Process 400 may include UE 210 implementing SCell hibernation information (block 460). For example, UE 210 may configure or reconfigure communication with one or more SCells 222 based on DCI information received from PCell 222. An indication that an SCell 222 is hibernating or has entered hibernation may imply that the SCell 222 is unavailable to UE 210. Therefore, UE 210 may implement cell hibernation information by interrupting communication with one or more SCells 222, initiating communication with one or more SCells 222, changing ongoing communication with one or more SCells, etc. Implementing SCell hibernation information may also, or alternatively, include updating one or more configuration parameters regarding which SCells are active, which SCells are hibernating, which SCells correspond to which SCell subsets, the total number of SCells and / or SCell subsets in the network, etc. In some implementations, one or more of these updates may be based on RRC configuration information or a combination of RRC configuration and DCI received from PCell 222.

[0062] Procedure 400 may include UE 210 communicating with PCell 222 and / or one or more SCell 222. For example, after UE 210 implements a DCI indicating SCell sleep via a reused DCI field, UE 210 may continue and / or proceed to communicate with PCell and one or more PCells. This may include UE 210 continuing to communicate with PCell 222 using existing UL and DL channels, communicating with one or more SCells 222 using one or more UL and DL channels, and / or establishing communication with one or more new or additional SCells 222. That is, SCell sleep information may cause, prompt, or otherwise enable UE 210 to interrupt communication with some SCells 222 and / or initiate communication with one or more other SCells 222. Therefore, procedure 400 provides an example of reusing a DCI field to indicate SCell sleep according to one or more of the techniques described herein. Additional features, details, and examples of these techniques are discussed below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0063] Figure 5 This is an illustration of example 500, which uses the reuse of DCI fields to indicate SCELL sleep according to one or more specific implementations described herein. As shown, the DCI according to format 1_3 may include various fields and information, including the MCS field, NDI field, RV field, HPN field, and antenna port field. In typical use cases and scenarios, the DCI format may not have DCI fields arranged as physically or logically concatenated fields. For example, the MCS field, NDI field, RV field, HPN field, and antenna port field may not be physically or logically adjacent in DCI format 1_3. However, according to one or more techniques described herein, non-adjacent DCI fields can be reused and rearranged to indicate SCell sleep as concatenated fields.

[0064] Physically concatenated DCI fields may include reordering or rearranging fields in the DCI format so that certain fields are sent and received as physically concatenated bits. In some implementations, logically concatenated DCI fields may include creating logical associations or mappings between physically separate DCI fields, making the logical order of sending and receiving DCI fields (relative to each other) meaningful, even if the bits of the logically concatenated DCI fields may not be physically adjacent. That is, conceptually concatenated fields may be physically separated by other DCI fields, but are logically concatenated and order-specific (e.g., the MCS field may be the first SCell dormant field, the NDI field may be the second SCell dormant field, etc.).

[0065] Reused DCI fields may each include a 1-bit field, where a "1" indicates that the SCell is active, and a "0" indicates that the SCell is dormant. In some implementations, reused DCI fields may include additional information, such as information identifying which SCell corresponds to which DCI field. In other implementations, this information may be conveyed through hints (e.g., through a sequence of DCI fields relative to how the SCell is indicated in another DCI field, how the SCell is indicated in RRC configuration information, etc.).

[0066] In some implementations, the MSB and LSB can be applied to a reused DCI field. In some implementations, the reused DCI field may include the MCS field, NDI field, RV field, HPN field, and antenna port field, where the MCS field is the MSB to LSB of the antenna port field. In other implementations, different arrangements of the DCI field and MSB / LSB may be used. Therefore, the techniques described herein may include reusing DCI fields to indicate SCell sleep, such that the reused DCI fields are cascaded and weighted according to the MSB and LSB.

[0067] Figures 6 to 9 This is a diagram illustrating a solution for indicating SCell sleep via reused DCI fields, according to one or more specific implementations described herein. Generally, UE 210 may determine the characteristics of the DCI that PCell 222 can transmit to UE 210 based on RRC configuration information. Examples of such characteristics may include the DCI format, the type of one or more DCI fields, etc. UE 210 may determine that the DCI may include specific fields to explicitly indicate sleep, relative to SCell sleep. An example of this may be a scenario where UE 210 is configured with DCI 0_3. Alternatively, UE 210 may determine that the DCI may not have specific fields for indicating SCell sleep. For example, DCI 1_3 may not have specific fields for indicating SCell sleep. Therefore, fields of DCI 1_3 may be reused to indicate SCell sleep. Examples of one or more DCI fields that can be reused may include the MCS field, NDI field, RV field, HPN field, and antenna port field.

[0068] refer to Figures 6 to 8 The described techniques can be applied to one or more scenarios. In one example, when the antenna port field for UE210 is not configured as a type 2 field, the following can be achieved: Figures 6 to 8 One or more of the technologies mentioned above. In another example, this can be achieved regardless of whether the antenna port field for UE 210 is configured as a type 2 field. Figures 6 to 8One or more of the technologies mentioned above. In yet another example, when the number of SCells for UE 210 that are not configured as Type 2 fields and can be indicated as dormant is less than (or equal to) the number of bits that become available by reusing the remaining fields (e.g., MCS field, NDI field, RV field, and HPN field), it is possible to achieve Figures 6 to 8 One or more of the technologies. Although Figures 6 to 9 Examples may include the number and arrangement of fields and bitmaps depicted, but one or more of the techniques described herein may include different numbers and / or arrangements of fields and bitmaps.

[0069] Figure 6 This is an illustration of Example 600 for indicating SCell sleep using MSB and LSB according to one or more specific implementations described herein. RRC configuration information may include a dormancyGroupWithinActiveTime information element (IE) configured to indicate one or more DormancyGroupIDs. Since a DormancyGroupID may correspond to a SCell or a group of SCells, UE 210 can use the number of DormancyGroupIDs to determine the number of bits that can be reused to deliver SCell sleep (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 bits). The order in which the DormancyGroupIDs are presented via dormancyGroupWithinActiveTime allows UE 210 to determine the corresponding bitmap, where the first bit is the most significant bit (MSB) and the last bit is the least significant bit (LSB). Therefore, the DormancyGroupID can be mapped from MSB to LSB by concatenating the bits from the DCI fields in the following order: MSC field, NDI field, RV field, HPN field, and antenna port field. In some implementations, additional or alternative ordering of fields may be used, and in some implementations, the antenna port field may be omitted. Bits in fields that are additionally or alternatively cascaded or reused may be reserved or set to default values ​​(e.g., "0" or "1").

[0070] Figure 7This is a diagram of example 700 for using bit groups to indicate the dormancy of SCells and SCell groups, according to one or more specific embodiments described herein. As shown, a reused or cascaded DCI field may include a bitmap of a total of M bits, with a subset of N bits. The M bits and N bits may be arranged from MSB to LSB. The N bits (MSB) may be used to indicate the dormancy of a first number of N SCells. The remaining bits (M bits minus N bits) may be used to indicate one or more SCGs configured by a higher layer or the RRC parameter dormancyGroupWithinActiveTime. SCGs may be mapped to the remaining bits, where the MSB-to-LSB of the bitmap corresponds to the first to the last configured SCG (in ascending order of DormancyGroupID), and the bits determined by cascading (if needed) 1-bit fields from the MSB-to-LSB mapping. In some specific embodiments, SCGs may be configured such that they include only SCells that cannot be indicated within the M bits (MSB).

[0071] Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating example 800 of using a subset of SCells to indicate SCell hibernation according to one or more embodiments described herein. As shown, SCells that can be indicated to hibernate via a reused DCI field can be configured or arranged into one or more subsets (e.g., SCell subset 1, SCell subset 2, etc.). In some embodiments, the number of SCells in a subset may not exceed the total number of bits that can be used by reusing and cascading DCI fields as described herein. In some embodiments, the SCells that can be indicated to hibernate via a reused DCI field can be determined based on predetermined rules. Examples of such rules include indicating a first number M SCells within a subset of SCells. Another example of such rules may include indicating a final number M SCells within a subset of SCells. In some embodiments, one or more additional or alternative rules may be applied, including using MSB or LSB to select SCells within a subset of SCells.

[0072] Figure 9This is a diagram illustrating Example 900 for indicating SCell hibernation using a subset index of SCells, according to one or more specific implementations described herein. As shown, SCells that can be indicated as hibernating via a reused DCI field can be configured or arranged into one or more subsets (e.g., SCell subset 1, SCell subset 2, etc.). Each subset of SCells can be associated with an index (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.). In such a scenario, a first number of X bits from the reused and / or cascaded DCI field can be used to indicate the index associated with the SCell subset. The remaining number of Y bits can be used to indicate the hibernation state of each SCell in the indicated SCell subset. The number of X bits may depend on the number of configured SCell subsets and / or the number of SCell subset indexes.

[0073] Figure 10 This is a diagram illustrating examples of components of a device according to one or more embodiments described herein. In some embodiments, device 1000 may include application circuitry 1002, baseband circuitry 1004, RF circuitry 1006, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 1008, one or more antennas 1010, and power management circuitry (PMC) 1012 (at least coupled together as shown). In some embodiments, device 1000 may include fewer components (e.g., the RAN node may not utilize application circuitry 1002, but may instead include a processor / controller to process data received from the core network). In some embodiments, device 1000 may include additional components such as, for example, memory / storage devices, displays, cameras, sensors (including one or more temperature sensors, such as a single temperature sensor, multiple temperature sensors at different locations in device 1000, etc.), or input / output (I / O) interfaces. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in more than one device (e.g., the circuitry may be individually included in more than one device for a cloud-RAN (C-RAN) embodiment).

[0074] Application circuitry 1002 may include one or more application processors. For example, application circuitry 1002 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage device and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications or operating systems to run on device 1000. In some specific implementations, the processor of application circuitry 1002 may process data packets received from a core network.

[0075] Baseband circuitry 1004 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Baseband circuitry 1004 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic components to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of RF circuitry 1006 and to generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of RF circuitry 1006. Baseband processing circuitry 1004 may interact with application circuitry 1002 to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of RF circuitry 1006. For example, in some implementations, baseband circuitry 1004 may include a 3G baseband processor 1004A, a 4G baseband processor 1004B, a 5G baseband processor 1004C, or other baseband processors 1004D for other existing, developing, or future generations (e.g., 5G, 6G, 7G, etc.). Baseband circuitry 1004 (e.g., one or more baseband processors among baseband processors 1004A-D) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via RF circuitry 1006. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the baseband processors 1004A-D may be included in modules stored in the memory 1004G and executed via the central processing unit (CPU) 1004E. Radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, and radio frequency shifting. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1004 may include Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), pre-decoding, or cluster mapping / demapping functionality. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 1004 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity-check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functionality. Specific implementations of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functions in other respects.

[0076] In some specific implementations, the memory 1004G may receive and / or store information and instructions for using a DCI to indicate the hibernation of one or more SCells. For a DCI without a specific field for indicating SCell hibernation, one or more fields of the DCI may be reused to report SCell hibernation. The reused fields may be arranged according to RRC configuration information, MSB, LSB, and / or one or more bits for hibernation of a specific SCell and one or more other bits for hibernation of a group of SCells, a subset of SCells, and / or predefined rules. The information and instructions 1004G may implement these and other features and examples described herein.

[0077] In some embodiments, the baseband circuit 1004 may include one or more audio digital signal processors (DSPs) 1004F. The audio DSP 1004F may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and in other embodiments may include other suitable processing elements. In some embodiments, components of the baseband circuit 1004 may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit 1004 and the application circuit 1002 may be implemented together, for example, on a system-on-a-chip (SoC).

[0078] In some implementations, baseband circuit 1004 can provide communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some implementations, baseband circuit 1004 can support communication with NG-RAN, Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN), or other Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMAN), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN), etc. Implementations in which baseband circuit 1004 is configured to support radio communication with more than one radio protocol may be referred to as multimode baseband circuits.

[0079] RF circuit 1006 can communicate with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, RF circuit 1006 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc., to facilitate communication with the wireless network. RF circuit 1006 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry that down-converts the RF signal received from FEM circuit 1008 and provides the baseband signal to baseband circuit 1004. RF circuit 1006 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry that up-converts the baseband signal provided by baseband circuit 1004 and provides the RF output signal to FEM circuit 1008 for transmission.

[0080] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of RF circuit 1006 may include mixer circuit 1006A, amplifier circuit 1006B, and filter circuit 1006C. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of RF circuit 1006 may include filter circuit 1006C and mixer circuit 1006A. RF circuit 1006 may also include synthesizer circuit 1006D, which is used to synthesize the frequency used by mixer circuit 1006A in both the receive and transmit signal paths. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 1006A in the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from FEM circuit 1008 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuit 1006D. Amplifier circuit 1006B may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and filter circuit 1006C may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF), configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal can be provided to the baseband circuit 1004 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero-frequency baseband signal, but this may not be necessary. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1006A in the receiving signal path may include a passive mixer, but the scope of the implementation is not limited in this respect.

[0081] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1006A of the transmit signal path can be configured to up-convert the input baseband signal based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 1006D to generate an RF output signal for the FEM circuit 1008. The baseband signal can be provided by the baseband circuit 1004 and can be filtered by the filter circuit 1006C. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1006A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1006A of the transmit signal path can include two or more mixers and can be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1006A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1006A of the transmit signal path can include two or more mixers and can be arranged for image suppression. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1006A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 1006A can be arranged for direct down-conversion and direct up-conversion, respectively. In some specific implementations, the mixer circuit 1006 for the receiving signal path and the mixer circuit 1006A for the transmitting signal path can be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0082] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the RF circuit 1006 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry, and the baseband circuit 1004 may include a digital baseband interface for communication with the RF circuit 1006.

[0083] In some dual-mode implementations, separate radio integrated circuits can be provided to process the signal for each spectrum, but the scope of implementation is not limited in this respect. In some implementations, the synthesizer circuit 1006D can be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of implementation is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers can also be suitable. For example, the synthesizer circuit 1006D can be a Δ-Σ synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0084] Synthesizer circuit 1006D can be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on a frequency input and a divider control input for use by mixer circuit 1006A of RF circuit 1006. In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 1006D can be a fractional N / N+1 synthesizer. In some embodiments, the frequency input can be provided by a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO). The divider control input can be provided by baseband circuit 1004 or application processor 1002 depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) can be determined from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by application circuit 1002.

[0085] The synthesizer circuit 1006D of the RF circuit 1006 may include a frequency divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the frequency divider may be a dual-mode divider (DMD), and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by N or N+1 (e.g., based on carry output) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a set of D-type flip-flops. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to divide the VCO period into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. Thus, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO period.

[0086] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 1006D may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and may be used in conjunction with quadrature generator and frequency divider circuitry to generate multiple signals having multiple different phases relative to each other at that carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuit 1006 may include an in-phase / quadrature (I / Q) / polarity converter.

[0087] FEM circuit 1008 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 1010, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to RF circuit 1006 for further processing. FEM circuit 1008 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify the transmitted signals provided by RF circuit 1006 for transmission through one or more of the one or more antennas 1010. In various specific embodiments, amplification via the transmit signal path or the receive signal path may be performed only in RF circuit 1006, only in FEM circuit 1008, or in both RF circuit 1006 and FEM circuit 1008.

[0088] In some implementations, the FEM circuit 1008 may include a transmit / receive switch to switch between transmit and receive mode operation. The FEM circuit 1008 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit 1008 may include a low-noise amplifier to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., provided to the RF circuit 1006). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 1008 may include a power amplifier to amplify the input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuit 1006) and include one or more filters to generate an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., through one or more antennas in one or more antennas 1010).

[0089] In some implementations, the PMC 1012 manages the power supplied to the baseband circuitry 1004. Specifically, the PMC 1012 controls power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DC (DC-to-DC) conversion. The PMC 1012 is typically included when the device 1000 is capable of being battery powered, for example, when the device 1000 is included in a UE. The PMC 1012 can improve power conversion efficiency while providing the desired implementation size and thermal characteristics.

[0090] and Figure 10PMC 1012 is shown coupled only to baseband circuit 1004. However, in other specific implementations, PMC 1012 may additionally or alternatively be coupled to other components, such as, but not limited to, application circuit 1002, RF circuit 1006, or FEM circuit 1008, and perform similar power management operations thereto.

[0091] In some implementations, the PMC 1012 may be controlled or otherwise integrated into various power-saving mechanisms of the device 1000. For example, if the device 1000 is in the RRC_Connected state, where it remains connected to the RAN node because it expects to receive traffic immediately, it may enter a state known as Discontinuous Receive Mode (DRX) after a certain period of inactivity. During this state, the device 1000 may be powered down for short intervals, thereby saving power.

[0092] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period, device 1000 may transition to the RRC_Idle state. In this state, device 1000 disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback or handover. Device 1000 may enter a very low power state and may perform paging, during which it may periodically wake up again to listen to the network and then power off again. Device 1000 may not receive data in this state; to receive data, device 1000 may transition back to the RRC_Connected state.

[0093] An additional power-saving mode allows the device to be unavailable from the network for periods exceeding the paging interval (ranging from seconds to hours). During this time, device 1000 may be unable to connect to the network and may be completely powered off. Any data transmitted during this period may cause significant delays, and device 1000 may assume that the delays are acceptable.

[0094] The processors of application circuit 1002 and baseband circuit 1004 can be used to execute elements of one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of baseband circuit 1004 can be used alone or in combination to perform layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, and the processor of baseband circuit 1004 can utilize data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further perform layer 4 functions (e.g., transmit communication protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP) layers). As mentioned herein, layer 3 may include the RRC layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 2 may include the Media Access Control (MAC) layer, the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 1 may include the physical (PHY) layer of the UE / RAN node, which will be described in further detail below.

[0095] Figure 11 This is a block diagram illustrating components, according to some examples, capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and executing any or more methods discussed herein. Specifically, Figure 11 A schematic representation of hardware resource 1100 is shown, comprising one or more processors 1110 (or processor cores), one or more memory / storage devices 1120, and one or more communication resources 1130, each of which may be communicatively coupled via bus 1140. For a specific implementation utilizing node virtualization or network function virtualization, a hypervisor may be executed to provide an execution environment for enabling one or more network slices / subslices to utilize hardware resource 1100. Hardware resource 1100 may interact with hypervisor 1102. For example, hypervisor 1102 may schedule or otherwise manage hardware resource 1100.

[0096] Processor 1110 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) (such as a baseband processor), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, processor 1112 and processor 1114.

[0097] In some implementations, memory / storage device 1120 may receive and / or store information and instructions 1155 for using a DCI to indicate the hibernation of one or more SCells. For a DCI without a specific field for indicating SCell hibernation, one or more fields of the DCI may be reused to report SCell hibernation. The reused fields may be arranged according to RRC configuration information, MSB, LSB, and / or one or more bits for hibernation of a specific SCell and one or more other bits for hibernation of a group of SCells, a subset of SCells, and / or predefined rules. Information and instructions 1155 may implement these and other features and examples described herein.

[0098] Communication resource 1130 may include interconnect or network interface components or other suitable devices for communicating with one or more peripheral devices 1104 or one or more databases 1106 via network 1108. For example, communication resource 1130 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via a Universal Serial Bus), cellular communication components, near-field communication components, Bluetooth, etc. ® Components (e.g., Bluetooth) ® Low power consumption, Wi-Fi ®Components and other communication components.

[0099] Instructions 1150A, 1150B, 1150C, 1150D, and / or 1150E may include software, programs, applications, applets, applications, or other executable code for causing at least one processor in processor 1110 to perform any one or more of the methods discussed herein. Instructions 1150 may reside wholly or partially within at least one of processors 1110 (e.g., within cache memory), memory / storage device 1120, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of instructions 1150A-E may be passed from any combination of peripheral device 1104 or database 1106 to hardware resource 1100. Therefore, the memory of processor 1110, memory / storage device 1120, peripheral device 1104, and database 1106 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0100] The embodiments and / or specific implementations herein may include subjects such as methods, components for performing actions or blocks of the method, at least one machine-readable medium including executable instructions that, when executed by a machine (e.g., a processor with memory, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.), cause the machine to perform actions of a method, apparatus, or system for concurrent communication using various communication technologies according to the described specific implementations and embodiments.

[0101] In Embodiment 1 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), a user equipment (UE) may include: a memory; and one or more processors configured to, when executing instructions stored in the memory, cause the UE to: receive Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration information from a primary cell (PCell) of a network; determine, based on the RRC configuration information, that downlink control information (DCI) to be received from the PCell will be reused via at least one reused DCI field of the multi-cell scheduling DCI, including an indication of sleep for at least one secondary cell (SCell) of the network; receive the DCI information from the PCell; and communicate with the network according to the indication of sleep for the at least one SCell.

[0102] In Embodiment 2 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), the at least one secondary cell (SCell) includes at least one SCell group (SCG). In Embodiment 3 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), the at least one reused DCI field includes a reused field of DCI format 1-3. In Embodiment 4 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), the at least one reused DCI field includes at least one of the following: a field for the modulation and coding scheme of transport block 1; a field for the new data indicator of transport block 1; a field for the redundant version of transport block 1; and a field for the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) procedure number. In Embodiment 5 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), the UE is configured to determine the number of bits of the at least one reused DCI field to be used in the DCI to indicate the sleep state of the at least one SCell based on the number of DormancyGroupID parameters in the RRC configuration information.

[0103] In Embodiment 6 (which may also include one or more of the embodiments described herein), the most significant bit (MSB) to the least significant bit (LSB) of the stated number of bits are mapped to the first SCell indicated by the first DormancyGroupID parameter of the RRC to the last SCell indicated by the last DormancyGroupID parameter of the RRC. In Embodiment 7 (which may also include one or more of the embodiments described herein), the number of fields in the at least one reused DCI field is based on the number of dormant bits used to indicate the at least one SCell. In Embodiment 8 (which may also include one or more of the embodiments described herein), unused bits of the at least one reused DCI field are reserved or set to default values.

[0104] In Embodiment 9 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), a first number of bits out of the total number of bits of the at least one reused DCI field are configured to indicate the dormancy of a certain number of SCells, a second number of bits out of the total number of bits of the at least one reused DCI field are configured to indicate the dormancy of at least one group of SCells, and the at least one group of SCells is indicated by the DormancyGroupID parameter of the RRC configuration information. In Embodiment 10 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), the second number of bits includes the remaining number of bits out of the total number of bits and is mapped from MSB to LSB according to the SCell groups indicated by the plurality of DormancyGroupID parameters of the RRC configuration information.

[0105] In Embodiment 11 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), the indication of hibernation for the at least one SCell includes an indication of hibernation for at least a subset of SCells. In Embodiment 12 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), the indication of hibernation for the at least one SCell corresponds to a rule defining a maximum number of SCells for which hibernation is indicated out of a total number of SCells. In Embodiment 13 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), a certain number of bits in the at least one reused DCI field includes: a first number of bits configured to indicate a subset of the at least one SCell; and a second number of bits configured to indicate hibernation for each SCell in the indicated subset of SCells.

[0106] In Embodiment 14 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), the UE is further configured to: when the antenna port field is not configured as a Type 2 field, communicate UE capability information to the PCell via a reused DCI field, the UE capability information including an indication that the UE supports SCell sleep. In Embodiment 15 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), the UE is further configured to: communicate UE capability information to the PCell, the UE capability information including a maximum number of SCells for which it can indicate SCell sleep via a reused DCI field. In Embodiment 16 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), a base station may include: a memory; and one or more processors configured to, when executing instructions stored in the memory, cause the base station to: receive UE capability information from the user equipment (UE); and communicate a DCI including an indication of sleep for at least one secondary cell (SCell) to the UE via a reused downlink control information (DCI) field.

[0107] In Embodiment 17 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), the base station is configured to operate as the primary cell (PCell) for the UE. In Embodiment 18 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), the base station is further configured to: determine, based on the UE capability information, that the UE is capable of receiving the indication of sleep for at least one SCell via a reused DCI field. In Embodiment 19 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), the base station is further configured to: convey to the UE radio resource control (RRC) configuration information including sleep information for at least one SCell.

[0108] In Embodiment 20 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), the DCI corresponds to DCI formats 1-3. In Embodiment 21 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), a method performed by a user equipment (UE) according to one or more embodiments of Embodiments 1 to 20. In Embodiment 22 (which may also include one or more embodiments described herein), a computer-readable medium storing instructions configured to cause one or more processors to perform operations including one or more of claims 1 to 20.

[0109] The embodiments discussed above are also extended to methods, computer-readable media, and components plus functional claims and specific implementations, which may include one or more of the features or operations of any embodiment or combination of the embodiments mentioned above.

[0110] The above description of the subject matter of this disclosure, including the illustrative examples, embodiments, aspects, etc., as described in the specification summary, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed aspects to the precise form disclosed. While specific examples, embodiments, aspects, etc., have been described herein for illustrative purposes, various modifications may be contemplated within the scope of such examples, embodiments, aspects, etc., as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

[0111] In this regard, although the subject matter of this disclosure has been described in conjunction with various examples, embodiments, aspects, and corresponding drawings, it should be understood where applicable that other similar aspects may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the disclosed subject matter to perform the same, similar, alternative, or substitute functions without departing from the disclosed subject matter. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single example, embodiment, or aspect described herein, but should be interpreted in accordance with the breadth and scope of the appended claims.

[0112] In particular, regarding the various functions performed by the aforementioned components or structures (assemblies, devices, circuits, systems, etc.), unless otherwise stated, the terminology used to describe such components (including references to "part") is intended to correspond to any component or structure that performs the specified functions of the described component (e.g., functionally equivalent), even if it is not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure that performs the functions in the exemplary embodiments illustrated herein. Furthermore, although certain features have been disclosed with respect to only one of several embodiments, it may be desirable and advantageous for any given application to combine such features with one or more other features of other embodiments.

[0113] As used herein, the term “or” is intended to mean inclusive “or” rather than exclusive “or.” That is, unless otherwise stated or clearly apparent from the context, “X adopts A or B” is intended to mean any natural inclusive arrangement of natural inclusive arrangements. That is, if X adopts A; X adopts B; or X adopts both A and B, then “X adopts A or B” is satisfied in any of the foregoing cases. Additionally, the articles “a” and “an” used in this application and the appended claims should generally be interpreted as meaning “one or more” unless otherwise stated or clearly apparent from the context to refer to the singular form. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” “having,” “with,” or variations thereof are used in the embodiment or claims, such terms are intended to be included in a manner similar to the term “including.” Additionally, in the case of discussing one or more numbered items (e.g., “first X,” “second X,” etc.), generally, the one or more numbered items may be different or they may be the same, but in some cases, the context may indicate that they are different or that they are the same.

[0114] As is well known, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for protecting user privacy. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and disposed of to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and users should be clearly informed of the nature of authorized use.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), comprising: Memory; as well as One or more processors, the one or more processors being configured to cause the UE to: when executing instructions stored in the memory. Receive Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration information from the network's primary cell (PCell); Based on the RRC configuration information, the downlink control information (DCI) to be received from the PCell will be determined via at least one reused DCI field of the DCI, including an indication of sleep for at least one secondary cell (SCell) of the network. Receive the DCI from the PCell, including the instruction to hibernate the at least one SCell; as well as Communicate with the network according to the instruction to hibernate.

2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the at least one secondary cell (SCell) includes at least one SCell group (SCG).

3. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the at least one reused DCI field includes a reused field of DCI format 1-3.

4. The UE of claim 1, wherein the at least one reused DCI field comprises at least one of the following: Fields relating to the modulation and coding scheme of transport block 1; The field for the new data indicator for transport block 1; Fields for the redundant version of transport block 1; and Field for Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process number.

5. The UE of claim 1, wherein the UE is configured to determine the number of bits of the at least one reused DCI field to be used in the DCI to indicate the sleep state of the at least one SCell based on the number of the DormancyGroupID parameters of the RRC configuration information.

6. The UE of claim 5, wherein the most significant bit (MSB) to the least significant bit (LSB) of the number of bits are mapped to the first SCell indicated by the first DormancyGroupID parameter of the RRC to the last SCell indicated by the last DormancyGroupID parameter of the RRC.

7. The UE of claim 1, wherein the number of fields in the at least one reused DCI field is based on the number of bits used to indicate the at least one SCell in sleep mode.

8. The UE of claim 7, wherein the unused bits of the at least one reused DCI field are reserved or set to a default value.

9. The UE according to claim 1, wherein: A first number of bits out of the total number of bits in the at least one reused DCI field are configured to indicate the dormancy of a certain number of SCells. A second number of bits out of the total number of bits in the at least one reused DCI field are configured to indicate the dormancy of at least one SCell group, and The at least one SCell group is indicated by the DormancyGroupID parameter of the RRC configuration information.

10. The UE of claim 9, wherein the second number of bits includes the remaining number of bits out of the total number of bits and is mapped from MSB to LSB according to the SCell group indicated by the plurality of DormancyGroupID parameters of the RRC configuration information.

11. The UE of claim 10, wherein the indication for the sleep of the at least one SCell includes an indication for the sleep of at least a subset of SCells.

12. The UE of claim 1, wherein the indication for the hibernation of the at least one SCell corresponds to a rule defining a maximum number of SCells for which hibernation is indicated out of a total number of SCells.

13. The UE of claim 1, wherein a number of bits in the at least one reused DCI field comprises: A first number of bits are configured to indicate a subset of the at least one SCell; as well as The second number of bits is configured to indicate the sleep state of each SCell in the indicated subset of SCells.

14. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the UE is further configured to: When the antenna port field is not configured as a type 2 field, UE capability information is communicated to the PCell via a reused DCI field. The UE capability information includes an indication that the UE supports an indication to the SCell to sleep.

15. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the UE is further configured to: The UE capability information is communicated to the PCell, which includes the maximum number of SCells that can indicate the SCell's sleep state via a reused DCI field.

16. A base station, the base station comprising: Memory; as well as One or more processors, the one or more processors being configured to cause the base station to: when executing instructions stored in the memory. Receive UE capability information from User Equipment (UE); as well as By reusing at least one downlink control information (DCI) field, the UE is conveyed a DCI including an indication of sleep for at least one secondary cell (SCell).

17. The base station of claim 16, wherein the base station is configured to operate as a primary cell (PCell) for the UE.

18. The base station according to claim 16, wherein the base station is further configured to: Based on the UE capability information, it is determined that the UE is capable of receiving the instruction for sleep of at least one SCell via a reused DCI field.

19. The base station according to claim 16, wherein the base station is further configured to: The radio resource control (RRC) configuration information, including sleep information for at least one SCell, is communicated to the UE.

20. A method comprising: Receive Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration information from the network's primary cell (PCell); Based on the RRC configuration information, the downlink control information (DCI) to be received from the PCell will be determined via at least one reused DCI field of the DCI, including an indication of sleep for at least one secondary cell (SCell) of the network. Receive the DCI from the PCell, including the instruction to hibernate the at least one SCell; as well as Communicate with the network according to the instruction to hibernate.

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