Methods, apparatuses and computer programs

Abstract

A terminal device (UE) comprising: means for detecting a wake-up signal during a low-power mode operation of the terminal device; means for decoding signal information from the wake-up signal; means for switching a main radio transceiver of the terminal device to an active mode of operation in response to detecting the wake-up signal; and means for performing, by the main radio transceiver, a first control channel decoding operation if the signal information indicates a first value, and a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation if the signal information indicates a second value.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to a method, apparatus, system, and computer program, and specifically, but not exclusively, to an apparatus for employing a low-power wake-up signal. Background Technology

[0002] A communication system can be viewed as a facility that enables a communication session between two or more entities (such as user terminals, base stations, and / or other nodes) by providing carrier waves between various entities involved in the communication path. A communication system can be provided, for example, by means of a communication network and one or more compatible communication devices. The communication session can include, for example, data communication for carrying communications such as voice, video, email, text messages, multimedia, and / or content data. Non-limiting examples of the services provided include two-way or multiplexed calls, data communication or multimedia services, and access to data network systems such as the Internet.

[0003] In wireless communication systems, at least a portion of a communication session between at least two stations occurs over a wireless link. Examples of wireless systems include Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs), satellite-based communication systems, and various wireless local area networks (WLANs). Some wireless systems can be divided into cells and are therefore often referred to as cellular systems.

[0004] Users can access the communication system using appropriate communication equipment or terminals. A user's communication equipment can be referred to as User Equipment (UE) or User Device. The communication equipment is equipped with appropriate signal receiving and transmission devices to enable communication, such as access to a communication network or direct communication with other users. The communication equipment can access a carrier provided by a station (e.g., a base station in a cell) and transmit and / or receive communication on that carrier.

[0005] Communication systems and associated equipment typically operate according to a given standard or specification that defines the operations permitted to be performed by the various entities associated with the system and how those operations should be performed. Communication protocols and / or parameters used for connectivity are also usually defined. An example of a communication system is UTRAN (3G Radio). Other examples include the Long Term Evolution (LTE) of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio access technology and so-called 5G or New Radio (NR) networks. NR is being standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0006] Energy efficiency, latency, reliability, and availability are critical in communication systems. Typically, 5G terminal devices consume tens of milliwatts in Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle / inactive mode and hundreds of milliwatts in RRC connected mode. Currently, the UE needs to be periodically woken up once per discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, which accounts for the majority of power consumption during periods without signaling or data traffic. Power consumption can be significantly reduced if the UE is only woken up when addressed (e.g., via paging). This can be achieved by using a wake-up signal to trigger / wake up the main radio and using a separate receiver capable of monitoring the wake-up signal with ultra-low power. Summary of the Invention

[0007] According to a first aspect, a terminal device (UE) is provided, comprising: means for detecting a wake-up signal during low-power mode operation of the terminal device; means for decoding signal information from the wake-up signal; means for switching the main radio transceiver of the terminal device to an active operation mode in response to detecting the wake-up signal; and means for performing a first control channel decoding operation by the main radio transceiver when the signal information indicates a first value, and performing a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation when the signal information indicates a second value.

[0008] Signal information can be addressing information that identifies one or more intended recipients of the wake-up signal.

[0009] The first value may be a first address value used to address a group of terminal devices, and the second value may be a second address value used to address one or more terminal devices in the group of terminal devices, wherein the one or more terminal devices include the terminal device.

[0010] This group of terminal devices may include terminal devices that are in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state with network devices and are operating in low-power mode.

[0011] The terminal device may also include a component for receiving configuration information for configuring the first control channel decoding operation and the second control channel decoding operation.

[0012] The first control channel decoding operation may differ from the second control channel decoding operation in at least one of the following: the minimum duration of the control channel decoding operation until the terminal device resumes low-power operation mode; the search space set configuration; the periodicity of the control channel decoding operation when the main radio transceiver is in active operation mode; or the number of time slots to be monitored for the control channel decoding operation when the main radio transceiver is in active operation mode.

[0013] The terminal device may also include a component for suspending the low-power operation mode when the signal information indicates a first value.

[0014] Low-power operation mode can be paused for a configured duration or a predetermined duration.

[0015] The low-power operation mode can be suspended for an indeterminate duration, and the terminal device may further include: a component for receiving signaling information indicating the resumption of the low-power operation mode; and a component for resuming the low-power operation mode in response to the receipt of the signaling information.

[0016] Signaling information can be at least one of the following: downlink control information (DCI); and media access control element (MAC-CE).

[0017] According to a second aspect, a method is provided, the method comprising: a terminal device: detecting a wake-up signal during low-power mode operation of the terminal device; decoding signal information from the wake-up signal; switching a main radio transceiver of the terminal device to an active operation mode in response to detecting the wake-up signal; and performing a first control channel decoding operation by the main radio transceiver if the signal information indicates a first value, and performing a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation if the signal information indicates a second value.

[0018] Signal information can be addressing information that identifies one or more intended recipients of the wake-up signal.

[0019] The first value may be a first address value used to address a group of terminal devices, and the second value may be a second address value used to address one or more terminal devices in the group of terminal devices, wherein the one or more terminal devices include the terminal device.

[0020] This group of terminal devices may include terminal devices that are in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state with network devices and are operating in low-power mode.

[0021] The method may further include receiving configuration information for configuring the first control channel decoding operation and the second control channel decoding operation.

[0022] The first control channel decoding operation may differ from the second control channel decoding operation in at least one of the following: the minimum duration of the control channel decoding operation until the terminal device resumes low-power operation mode; the search space set configuration; the periodicity of the control channel decoding operation when the main radio transceiver is in active operation mode; or the number of time slots to be monitored for the control channel decoding operation when the main radio transceiver is in active operation mode.

[0023] The method may also include suspending the low-power operation mode when the signal information indicates a first value.

[0024] Low-power operation mode can be paused for a configured duration or a predetermined duration.

[0025] The low-power operation mode can be paused for an indeterminate duration, and the method may further include: receiving signaling information indicating the resumption of the low-power operation mode; and resuming the low-power operation mode in response to the receipt of the signaling information.

[0026] Signaling information can be at least one of the following: downlink control information (DCI); and media access control element (MAC-CE).

[0027] According to a third aspect, a network device (NW) is provided, comprising: components for encoding signal information in a wake-up signal; components for transmitting a wake-up signal to a terminal device during low-power mode operation of the terminal device, the wake-up signal triggering a switch of the terminal device's main radio transceiver to an active operating mode; and components for: assigning a first value to the signal information to cause the terminal device to perform a first control channel decoding operation, or assigning a second value to the signal information to cause the terminal device to perform a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation.

[0028] Signal information can be addressing information that identifies one or more intended recipients of the wake-up signal.

[0029] The first value may be a first address value used to address a group of terminal devices, and the second value may be a second address value used to address one or more terminal devices in the group of terminal devices, wherein the one or more terminal devices include the terminal device.

[0030] This group of terminal devices may include terminal devices that are in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state with network devices and are operating in low-power mode.

[0031] The network device may also include a component for transmitting configuration information for configuring the first control channel decoding operation and the second control channel decoding operation.

[0032] The first control channel decoding operation may differ from the second control channel decoding operation in at least one of the following: the minimum duration of the control channel decoding operation until the terminal device resumes low-power operation mode; the search space set configuration; the periodicity of the control channel decoding operation when the main radio transceiver is in active operation mode; or the number of time slots to be monitored for the control channel decoding operation when the main radio transceiver is in active operation mode.

[0033] The network device may also include a component for assigning a first value to signal information to suspend the low-power operation mode of the terminal device.

[0034] Low-power operation mode can be paused for a configured duration or a predetermined duration.

[0035] The low-power operation mode can be suspended for an indeterminate duration, and the network device may also include components for transmitting signaling information that instructs the terminal device to resume the low-power operation mode.

[0036] Signaling information can be at least one of the following: downlink control information (DCI); and media access control element (MAC-CE).

[0037] According to a fourth aspect, a method performed by a network device is provided, comprising: encoding signal information in a wake-up signal; transmitting the wake-up signal to the terminal device during low-power mode operation of the terminal device, the wake-up signal triggering a switch of the terminal device's main radio transceiver to an active operation mode; and assigning a first value to the signal information to cause the terminal device to perform a first control channel decoding operation, or assigning a second value to the signal information to cause the terminal device to perform a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation.

[0038] Signal information can be addressing information that identifies one or more intended recipients of the wake-up signal.

[0039] The first value may be a first address value used to address a group of terminal devices, and the second value may be a second address value used to address one or more terminal devices in the group of terminal devices, wherein the one or more terminal devices include the terminal device.

[0040] This group of terminal devices may include terminal devices that are in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state with network devices and are operating in low-power mode.

[0041] The method may further include: transmitting configuration information for configuring the first control channel decoding operation and the second control channel decoding operation.

[0042] The first control channel decoding operation may differ from the second control channel decoding operation in at least one of the following: the minimum duration of the control channel decoding operation until the terminal device resumes low-power operation mode; the search space set configuration; the periodicity of the control channel decoding operation when the main radio transceiver is in active operation mode; or the number of time slots to be monitored for the control channel decoding operation when the main radio transceiver is in active operation mode.

[0043] The method may also include: assigning a first value to the signal information to suspend the low-power operation mode of the terminal device.

[0044] Low-power operation mode can be paused for a configured duration or a predetermined duration.

[0045] The low-power operation mode can be paused for an indeterminate duration, and the method may further include transmitting signaling information that instructs the terminal device to resume the low-power operation mode.

[0046] Signaling information can be at least one of the following: downlink control information (DCI); and media access control element (MAC-CE).

[0047] According to a fifth aspect, an apparatus (terminal device (UE)) is provided, the terminal device (UE) including at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions causing the apparatus, when executed by the at least one processor, to at least: detect a wake-up signal during low-power mode operation of the terminal device; decode signal information from the wake-up signal; switch the main radio transceiver of the terminal device to an active operation mode in response to detecting the wake-up signal; and perform a first control channel decoding operation by the main radio transceiver if the signal information indicates a first value, and perform a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation by the main radio transceiver if the signal information indicates a second value.

[0048] Signal information can be addressing information that identifies one or more intended recipients of the wake-up signal.

[0049] The first value may be a first address value used to address a group of terminal devices, and the second value may be a second address value used to address one or more terminal devices in the group of terminal devices, wherein the one or more terminal devices include the terminal device.

[0050] This group of terminal devices may include terminal devices that are in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state with network devices and are operating in low-power mode.

[0051] The terminal device may also include a component for receiving configuration information for configuring the first control channel decoding operation and the second control channel decoding operation.

[0052] The first control channel decoding operation may differ from the second control channel decoding operation in at least one of the following: the minimum duration of the control channel decoding operation until the terminal device resumes low-power operation mode; the search space set configuration; the periodicity of the control channel decoding operation when the main radio transceiver is in active operation mode; or the number of time slots to be monitored for the control channel decoding operation when the main radio transceiver is in active operation mode.

[0053] The device can also be made to: suspend the low-power operation mode when the signal information indicates a first value.

[0054] Low-power operation mode can be paused for a configured duration or a predetermined duration.

[0055] The low-power operation mode can be paused for an indeterminate duration, and the device can also be caused to: receive signaling information indicating the resumption of the low-power operation mode; and resume the low-power operation mode in response to the receipt of the signaling information.

[0056] Signaling information can be at least one of the following: downlink control information (DCI); and media access control element (MAC-CE).

[0057] According to a sixth aspect, an apparatus (network device) is provided, the network device including at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: encode signal information in a wake-up signal; transmit a wake-up signal to a terminal device during low-power mode operation of the terminal device, the wake-up signal triggering a switch of the terminal device's main radio transceiver to an active operating mode; and assign a first value to the signal information to cause the terminal device to perform a first control channel decoding operation, or assign a second value to the signal information to cause the terminal device to perform a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation.

[0058] Signal information can be addressing information that identifies one or more intended recipients of the wake-up signal.

[0059] The first value may be a first address value used to address a group of terminal devices, and the second value may be a second address value used to address one or more terminal devices in the group of terminal devices, wherein the one or more terminal devices include the terminal device.

[0060] This group of terminal devices may include terminal devices that are in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state with network devices and are operating in low-power mode.

[0061] The device can also be made to perform: transmitting configuration information for configuring the first control channel decoding operation and the second control channel decoding operation.

[0062] The first control channel decoding operation may differ from the second control channel decoding operation in at least one of the following: the minimum duration of the control channel decoding operation until the terminal device resumes low-power operation mode; the search space set configuration; the periodicity of the control channel decoding operation when the main radio transceiver is in active operation mode; or the number of time slots to be monitored for the control channel decoding operation when the main radio transceiver is in active operation mode.

[0063] The device can also be made to: assign a first value to the signal information to suspend the low-power operation mode of the terminal device.

[0064] Low-power operation mode can be paused for a configured duration or a predetermined duration.

[0065] The low-power operation mode can be paused for an indeterminate duration, and the device can also be made to perform: transmit signaling information that instructs the terminal device to resume the low-power operation mode.

[0066] Signaling information can be at least one of the following: downlink control information (DCI); and media access control element (MAC-CE).

[0067] According to a seventh aspect, an apparatus (terminal device (UE)) is provided, comprising components for performing the following operations: detecting a wake-up signal during low-power mode operation of the terminal device; decoding signal information from the wake-up signal; switching the main radio transceiver of the terminal device to an active operation mode in response to detecting the wake-up signal; and performing a first control channel decoding operation by the main radio transceiver if the signal information indicates a first value, and performing a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation if the signal information indicates a second value.

[0068] According to an eighth aspect, an apparatus (network device (NW)) is provided, comprising components for performing the following operations: encoding signal information in a wake-up signal; transmitting the wake-up signal to the terminal device during low-power mode operation of the terminal device, the wake-up signal triggering a switch of the terminal device's main radio transceiver to an active operating mode; assigning a first value to the signal information to cause the terminal device to perform a first control channel decoding operation, or assigning a second value to the signal information to cause the terminal device to perform a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation.

[0069] According to a ninth aspect, a computer-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by a device (terminal device (UE)), cause the device to perform at least the following operations: detect a wake-up signal during low-power mode operation of the terminal device; decode signal information from the wake-up signal; switch the main radio transceiver of the terminal device to an active operation mode in response to detecting the wake-up signal; and perform a first control channel decoding operation by the main radio transceiver if the signal information indicates a first value, and perform a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation if the signal information indicates a second value.

[0070] According to a tenth aspect, a computer-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by a device (network device (NW)), cause the device to perform at least the following operations: encoding signal information in a wake-up signal; transmitting a wake-up signal to the terminal device during low-power mode operation of the terminal device, the wake-up signal triggering a switch of the terminal device's main radio transceiver to an active operating mode; assigning a first value to the signal information to cause the terminal device to perform a first control channel decoding operation, or assigning a second value to the signal information to cause the terminal device to perform a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation.

[0071] According to one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided comprising program instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least the method according to any one of the foregoing aspects.

[0072] Many different embodiments have been described above. It should be understood that other embodiments can be provided by any combination of two or more of the above embodiments. Attached Figure Description

[0073] Embodiments will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 Representations of a network system according to some example embodiments are shown; Figure 2 A representation of a control device according to some example embodiments is shown; Figure 3 A representation of an apparatus according to some example embodiments is shown; Figure 4 The following are examples illustrating the implementation of a low-power wake-up receiver and main radio receiver configuration according to some example embodiments. Figure 3 The device shown is a representation of the device. Figures 5 to 7 An example of control channel decoder activation associated with a wake-up signal according to some embodiments is shown; and Figure 8 An overview of the operation of a wake-up signal application according to some embodiments is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0074] The following relates to low-power wake-up signal configurations on 5G or NR air interfaces. In the hereinafter, certain embodiments are explained with reference to mobile communication devices capable of communicating via wireless cellular systems and mobile communication systems serving such mobile communication devices. Before explaining the exemplary embodiments in detail, refer to... Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3This document provides a brief explanation of some general principles of wireless communication systems, their access systems, and mobile communication devices to aid in understanding the underlying technologies of the described examples. It should be understood that the following description is not limited to 5G systems and can be extended to systems developed in the future (e.g., 6G and above).

[0075] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a 5G system (5GS) is shown. 5GS may include terminal equipment or user equipment (UE), a 5G radio access network (5GRAN) or a next-generation radio access network (NG-RAN), a 5G core network (5GC), one or more application functions (AF), and one or more data networks (DN).

[0076] 5GC can include the following entities: Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF); Network Exposure Function; Network Repository Function (NRF); Policy Control Function (PCF); Unified Data Management (UDM); Application Function (AF); Authentication Server Function (AUSF); Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF); and Session Management Function (SMF). Figure 1 It also shows the various interfaces (N1, N2, etc.) that can be implemented between the elements of the system.

[0077] 5G-RAN may include one or more gNodeBs (gNBs), or one or more gNodeB (GNB) distributed unit functions connected to one or more gNodeB (gNB) centralized unit functions.

[0078] 5G-RAN can be configured to support low-power operation of terminal devices when they operate in RRC connectivity mode. As discussed in further detail herein, this support involves transmitting appropriate wake-up signals to terminal devices within the cell.

[0079] Figure 2 It shows the control Figure 1An example of a control device 200 for the functions of a 5GRAN or 5GC is shown. The control device may include at least one random access memory (RAM) 211a, at least one read-only memory (ROM) 211b, at least one processor 212, 213, and an input / output interface 214. At least one processor 212, 213 may be coupled to RAM 211a and ROM 211b. At least one processor 212, 213 may be configured to execute appropriate software code 215. Software code 215 may, for example, allow the execution of one or more steps to implement one or more aspects of this disclosure. Software code 215 may be stored in ROM 211b. Control device 200 may be interconnected with another control device 200 controlling another function of the 5GRAN or 5GC. In some embodiments, each function of the 5GRAN or 5GC includes control device 200. In alternative embodiments, two or more functions of the 5GRAN or 5GC may share a control device.

[0080] Figure 3 An example of terminal device 300 is shown, for example Figure 1 The terminal device 300 is shown. Terminal device 300 can be provided by any device capable of transmitting and receiving radio signals. Non-limiting examples include user equipment, mobile station (MS) or mobile device such as a mobile phone or so-called "smartphone," computer equipped with a wireless interface card or other wireless interface facility (e.g., a USB adapter), personal data assistant (PDA) or tablet computer equipped with wireless communication capabilities, machine-type communication (MTC) device, Internet of Things (IoT) type communication device, or any combination of these devices. Terminal device 300 can, for example, provide data communication for carrying communication. Communication can be one or more of voice, email, text messages, multimedia, data, machine data, etc.

[0081] Terminal equipment 300 can receive signals via an air interface or radio interface 307 through a suitable receiving device, and can transmit signals via a suitable means for transmitting radio signals. Figure 3 In the diagram, the transceiver device is schematically represented by block 306. The transceiver device 306 can be provided, for example, by means of radio components and an associated antenna arrangement. The antenna arrangement can be located inside or outside the mobile device.

[0082] Terminal device 300 may be provided with at least one processor 301, at least one memory ROM 302a, at least one RAM 302b, and other possible components 303 for software and hardware-assisted performance of tasks it is designed to perform, including controlling access to and communication with access systems and other communication devices. At least one processor 301 is coupled to RAM 302b and ROM 302a. At least one processor 301 may be configured to execute appropriate software code 308. Software code 308 may, for example, allow the execution of one or more steps to implement one or more aspects of this disclosure. Software code 308 may be stored in ROM 302a.

[0083] Processors, storage devices, and other related control devices can be housed on appropriate circuit boards and / or in chipsets. This feature is indicated by reference numeral 304. The device may optionally have a user interface, such as a keypad 305, a touchscreen or touchpad, combinations thereof, etc. Optionally, depending on the type of device, one or more of a display, speakers, and microphones may be provided.

[0084] Low Power Wake-up Signal (LP-WUS) operation mode is a power-saving mechanism introduced in NR Release 16. LP-WUS operation mode attempts to reduce power consumption by keeping the terminal device in sleep mode, even if the terminal device is operating in RRC connected mode or during the discontinuous reception (DRX) OnDuration period when the terminal device has no data. The network device (gNB) is configured to notify the terminal device using a "wake-up" signal when data for the terminal device is available. The terminal device is then configured to wake up and receive data during the configured OnDuration period. Although the following example is described for a terminal device operating in CONNECTED mode, this operation mode can also be used in other modes such as IDLE / INACTIVE.

[0085] Additionally, the terminal equipment may include a main radio and a separate low-power wake-up receiver (which may also be referred to as an ultra-low-power wake-up receiver or more generally a WUS receiver). This configuration is in Figure 4 As shown, the terminal device 300 is illustrated as including a separate ultra-low power wake-up receiver 421 and a main radio 431. Figure 4As shown, network devices can trigger precise event-driven wake-up of terminal devices when needed by transmitting a special WUS to the terminal device. This special WUS is monitored by a dedicated low-power WUS receiver at the terminal device. When the terminal device receives the WUS, the WUS receiver can trigger the wake-up of the ordinary NR transceiver, and communication can begin. Therefore, the ultra-low power receiver can wake up the terminal device's main radio (NR transceiver), such as... Figure 4 As shown on the right side of 403. Otherwise, the terminal device's main radio is turned off, or it remains in deep sleep mode, as... Figure 4 As shown in 401 on the left.

[0086] Therefore, the purpose of using the LP-WUS operating mode and a separate radio is that the main radio of the terminal device can be in sleep mode (or even powered off) to save power and is only activated when a wake-up signal is received from the network device.

[0087] In some embodiments, the WUS receiver can operate with very low power consumption in an always-on manner. The WUS receiver is expected to consume significantly less power compared to the main radio (NR transceiver). This can be achieved by designing a simple (WUS) signal and employing low-complexity coding and modulation schemes for WUS. The low complexity and simplicity of WUS allow the WUS receiver to monitor WUS using dedicated hardware configured to receive only WUS signals.

[0088] An example WUS receiver may, for example (and described in further detail in TS 38.869), include a matching network coupled to an antenna configured to receive WUS. Following the matching network, an RF bandpass filter and an RF low-noise amplifier are then configured to pass the RF signal to an RF envelope detector. The output of the RF envelope detector is passed to a baseband amplifier and a baseband low-pass filter, the output of which is an analog baseband signal. The analog baseband signal can be converted to the digital domain using a 1-bit or multi-bit ADC, and the digital signal is output to a digital baseband processor. Therefore, the output of the WUS receiver is a low-bit-rate signal or symbol.

[0089] The WUS discussed here is suitable for low-traffic-load scenarios because these WUS are configured to address one terminal device at a time. However, in high-traffic-load scenarios where there are many terminal devices in the cell performing frequent data transmissions, congestion may occur. This is especially true when the terminal device is in CONNECTED mode rather than IDLE / INACTIVE mode, in which wake-up signals are not expected to be triggered frequently.

[0090] Although WUS can be transmitted continuously to provide sufficient capacity to address more than one or all terminal devices in a cell, this can still lead to a significant increase in the power consumption of network terminals, even if there are interruptions in the transmission to save power.

[0091] The concepts discussed in further detail in the following embodiments relate to the design and implementation of suitable WUS configurations to overcome network capacity or congestion. Additionally, the following embodiments employ currently implemented WUS time periods to attempt to optimize the transmission power used by network terminals, and further employ known terminal device WUS receiver designs, thus overcoming the need for more complex receiver arrangements (e.g., multiple frequency-domain multiplexed WUS receivers).

[0092] The embodiments described in further detail herein employ a WUS capable of initiating one or more terminal devices to switch the primary radio to active operating mode for one-time control channel (e.g., Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)) decoding. Switching the primary radio to active mode allows the system to simultaneously schedule / wake up multiple terminal devices. Alternatively, the WUS can be designed such that terminal devices, upon detecting a specific or defined WUS value, are configured to switch the primary radio to perform periodic "regular" PDCCH decoding. This eliminates the need for addressing the terminal device each time.

[0093] In other words, the terminal device includes components for detecting wake-up signals during low-power mode operation of the terminal device.

[0094] In addition, the terminal device includes components for decoding signal information from the wake-up signal.

[0095] In response to the detection of a wake-up signal, the terminal device may further include components for switching the terminal device's main radio transceiver to an active operating mode. In some embodiments, the switching of the main radio transceiver may also be considered as waking up the main radio transceiver.

[0096] The terminal device also includes components for performing a first control channel decoding operation by the main radio transceiver when the signal information indicates a first value, and performing a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation when the signal information indicates a second value.

[0097] In some embodiments, the signaling information may be addressing information identifying one or more intended recipients of the wake-up signal. The addressing information may be configured to be detected at the terminal device to identify the terminal device.

[0098] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the first value may be a first address value for addressing a group of terminal devices, and the second value may be a second address value for addressing one or more terminal devices within that group, wherein the one or more terminal devices include the terminal device. In this way, the WUS value can address a selection of terminal devices within the group in the cell. In other words, the addressing information can uniquely identify the terminal device or a limited group of terminal devices (including the terminal device) as the expected and addressed recipient of a wake-up signal, or identify many terminal devices (including the terminal device) or all terminal devices as the expected and addressed recipient of a wake-up signal.

[0099] Additionally, in some embodiments, as discussed above, the terminal device is in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state with the network device and operates in a low-power mode.

[0100] In some embodiments, the terminal device includes a component for receiving configuration information for configuring a first control channel decoding operation and a second control channel decoding operation. This configuration information may be received, for example, by an RRC configuration component or any other suitable component.

[0101] In some embodiments, the first control channel decoding operation differs from the second control channel decoding operation in that the control channel decoding operation has a minimum duration until the terminal device resumes low-power operation mode.

[0102] It should be understood that although the duration of the control channel decoding operation can be configured or controlled based on signal information, such as by setting a decoding operation timer during which the decoding operation is performed, this configuration can be used to set a minimum duration when, for example, the terminal device anticipates new incoming traffic, but this duration can be extended.

[0103] In other words, whether the primary radio remains active largely depends on whether PDSCH / PUSCH traffic is scheduled for the terminal device. In practice, if traffic is scheduled for the terminal device, an additional "inactivity timer" may be started to extend the primary radio's activity mode, as further traffic to the UE may be expected (similar to discontinuous DRX reception). However, if there is no traffic for the terminal device, the primary radio is only active for that minimum duration; if traffic is scheduled for the terminal device, the primary radio can remain active for periods exceeding that minimum duration.

[0104] In some embodiments, the first control channel decoding operation differs from the second control channel decoding operation in the search space set configuration. In other words, the signal information value can be configured to identify or address a specific search space set configuration. The search space set configuration can, for example, identify the timing of control channel monitoring to be performed in the time domain.

[0105] In some embodiments, the first control channel decoding operation differs from the second control channel decoding operation in that the control channel decoding operation is periodic when the main radio transceiver is in active operation mode. For example, signal information values ​​may identify the monitoring frequency used for decoding the control channel.

[0106] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the first control channel decoding operation differs from the second control channel decoding operation in that, when the main radio transceiver is in active operation mode, the number of time slots to be monitored for the control channel decoding operation is, for example, the number of consecutive time slots to be monitored.

[0107] In some embodiments, the association between different Search Space Sets (SSS) configurations and the first and second control channel decoding operations can define the CORESET ID associated with the SSS, the position of the CORESET within the time slot (the starting symbol of the CORESET), the number of consecutive time slots to be monitored, and the periodicity of the monitored time slots.

[0108] In this way, the decoding operation can be defined by the following elements: the (minimum) duration of the control channel decoding operation; the search space for decoding the control channel; the periodicity of the control channel decoding operation; or the number of time slots or control channel instances to be monitored (or the number of control channel decoding instances to be performed). Therefore, based on the detected signal information values, the decoding operation can be configured or controlled to last for the required duration, be performed at the required frequency, and be performed the required number of times. The advantage of this embodiment is that when longer and / or more frequent control channel decoding operations are anticipated, WUS can effectively schedule more terminal device wake-ups without having to send signaling to the terminal devices individually each time data is to be transmitted.

[0109] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the terminal device may also include components for suspending the low-power operation mode when signal information indicates a first value. Therefore, during high-traffic periods, where the WUS will trigger the primary receiver very frequently and thus potentially cause congestion for other terminal devices in the cell, low-power mode signaling can be suspended.

[0110] In some embodiments, the low-power operation mode can be paused for a configured duration or a predetermined duration. Otherwise, in some embodiments, the pause can last for an undetermined duration, in which case the terminal device may further include components for receiving a signal to resume the low-power operation mode. This signal for resuming the low-power operation mode may be transmitted via downlink control information (DCI) or media access control-control element (MAC-CE) signaling.

[0111] From the perspective of a network device (such as a gNB or other suitable RAN controller), in some embodiments there may be a network device that includes components for encoding signal information in a wake-up signal and components for transmitting a wake-up signal to the terminal device during low-power mode operation of the terminal device, the wake-up signal triggering a switch of the terminal device's main radio transceiver to an active operating mode (or triggering the wake-up of the terminal device's main radio transceiver).

[0112] Additionally, the network device includes components for: assigning a first value to signal information to cause the terminal device to perform a first control channel decoding operation, or assigning a second value to signal information to cause the terminal device to perform a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation. Therefore, as described above, the network device can control the control channel decoding operation in the wake-up operation of the terminal device by assigning different values ​​to the signal information, wherein different values ​​control different operating modes of the control channel decoding.

[0113] As described above, signal information can be addressing information that identifies one or more intended recipients of the wake-up signal. Therefore, the signal information value identifies one or more terminal devices.

[0114] The network may also include components for transmitting configuration information for configuring the first control channel decoding operation and the second control channel decoding operation.

[0115] To summarize the operation of the methods regarding terminal devices, the following steps are involved: (a) Detecting a wake-up signal during low-power mode operation of the terminal device; (b) Decode signal information from the wake-up signal; (c) In response to detecting a wake-up signal, switch the main radio transceiver of the terminal device to active operation mode; and (d) The main radio transceiver performs a first control channel decoding operation when the signal information indicates a first value, and performs a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation when the signal information indicates a second value.

[0116] Furthermore, an overview of the operation methods for network devices can achieve the following steps: (a) Encode the signal information in the wake-up signal; (b) During low-power mode operation of the terminal device, a wake-up signal is transmitted to the terminal device, which triggers a switch of the terminal device's main radio transceiver to active operation mode; and (c) Assign a first value to the signal information to cause the terminal device to perform a first control channel decoding operation, or assign a second value to the signal information to cause the terminal device to perform a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation.

[0117] about Figures 5 to 8 An example illustrating the data transmission improvements when using the embodiment can be seen.

[0118] For example, Figure 5 A typical signaling scenario is illustrated, where wake-up signal 501 is configured to wake up a single terminal device, and activity time 503 illustrates a low data volume 505 per user in the wake-up signal mode. This can lead to the transmission buffer filling up, as described above.

[0119] Figure 6 An example of a signaling scenario implementing the above embodiments is shown. In this example, a single terminal device wake-up signal 501 is shown (where the signal information has a value addressing a single terminal device), which is generated as follows: Figure 5 The low data volume shown is 505. Additionally, Figure 6 A multi-terminal device wake-up signal 601 is also shown, which includes values ​​detected by multiple terminal devices and generates a one-time PDCCH decoding instruction 605 for multiple users, thereby significantly increasing data transmission during the active time 503.

[0120] Figure 7 by Figure 6 Based on the example shown, the multi-terminal device wake-up signal 601 includes values ​​detected by multiple terminal devices and generates periodic PDCCH decoding instructions 701 for multiple users. The periodic PDCCH decoding instructions can control the decoding frequency, the number of decoding instances, or more generally, the timing 703 of the decoding.

[0121] Figure 8 A flowchart illustrating a high-level or overview implementation of some embodiments is shown.

[0122] Therefore, as shown in 801, the terminal device or UE is configured to connect to a network device or base station (BS).

[0123] Then, as shown in 803, the terminal device or UE is configured to report WUS capabilities to the network device. In other words, the terminal device reports to the network device whether it is able to perform and process WUS operations.

[0124] If the terminal device is not capable of performing WUS operations, then the conventional operation based on PDCCH decoding is implemented, as shown in 807.

[0125] If the terminal device has the capability to implement WUS operation, then it is determined whether the terminal device has been configured with WUS and PDCCH decoding periodicity, as shown in 805. More generally, 805 may be an operation to determine whether the terminal device has been configured to detect different signal information values ​​from WUS and implement different control channel decoding operations based on different values.

[0126] If the terminal device is not configured with WUS and PDCCH decoding periodicity, the terminal device can be configured to perform regular operations based on PDCCH decoding, as shown in 807.

[0127] If the terminal device is configured with WUS and PDCCH decoding periodicity, the terminal device can be configured to monitor WUS, as shown in 809.

[0128] At a certain moment, as shown in 811, a wake-up signal is received, which in this example includes signal information values ​​indicating a specific periodic control channel decoding operation.

[0129] Then, as shown in 813, it is determined whether a PDCCH indicating data reception via the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) has been found.

[0130] In the absence of a PDCCH indicating PDSCH reception, the terminal device can be configured to switch back to monitoring WUS (as shown in 809).

[0131] If a PDCCH indicating PDSCH reception is determined, the terminal device can be configured to perform PDSCH decoding, as shown in 815.

[0132] After PDSCH decoding, it can be determined, as shown in 817, whether another PDCCH was found or whether there are any pending retransmissions.

[0133] If it is determined that another PDCCH has been found or there is a retransmission to be processed, the terminal device can be configured to switch back to performing PDSCH decoding (as shown in 815).

[0134] If no other PDCCH is found and there are no pending retransmissions, the terminal device can be configured to switch back to monitoring WUS (as shown in 809).

[0135] The following discusses how to implement the above example embodiments in high-traffic load scenarios: First, LP-WUS monitoring is configured for the CONNECTED mode terminal device (UE) (by the network device or NW), so that LP-WUS can be used to trigger the terminal device to start onDurationTimer (start the duration timer) (thereby generating PDCCH monitoring), and conditions are configured based on which the terminal device can fall back to LP-WUS monitoring, for example by using InactivityTimer (inactive timer).

[0136] In such an example, the LP-WUS configuration also includes information fields or sequences that can be used to deactivate (multiple) LP-WUS monitoring configurations.

[0137] Additionally, in some implementations, there may be multiple different LP-WUS monitoring configurations, one or more of which may be active.

[0138] Secondly, the terminal device (e.g., UE) begins to apply the LP-WUS monitoring configuration and stops MR-based (PDCCH) monitoring based on a certain condition (e.g., due to a data inactivity timer) and begins to apply LP-WUS monitoring.

[0139] Third, the network experienced increased traffic load, and in order to limit LP-WUS overhead, it was decided to disable LP-WUS configuration for one or more terminal devices.

[0140] Fourth, after the terminal device falls back to LP-WUS monitoring (e.g., due to data inactivity), the terminal device detects LP-WUS that instructs the UE to deactivate the LP-WUS monitoring configuration.

[0141] Therefore, the terminal device stops LP-WUS monitoring and resumes normal MR monitoring.

[0142] The terminal device believes that the indicated LP-WUS monitoring configuration has been deactivated and does not resume LP-WUS monitoring.

[0143] For example, any associated triggers used to cause the terminal device to fall back to LP-WUS monitoring are considered invalid and not applied.

[0144] Fifth, traffic load decreases, and the network decides to re-enable LP-WUS-based operation for one or more terminal devices. The network, for example, transmits signaling information to the terminal devices(s) via DCI to activate the LP-WUS monitoring configuration.

[0145] The terminal device detects that the (selected) LP-WYS monitoring configuration is activated in the signaling information (such as DCI) and activates and applies the LP-WUS configuration.

[0146] Although the above examples show the main radio and the separate low-power wake-up receiver (which may also be referred to as an ultra-low-power wake-up receiver or more generally a WUS receiver) as separate parts or devices, it should be understood that in some embodiments, the main radio is configured to implement the functionality of the low-power wake-up receiver according to the above embodiments. For example, the main radio is configured to switch to a low-power operating mode that implements the functionality of the low-power wake-up receiver described above.

[0147] It should be understood that the device may include or be coupled to other units or modules for transmission and / or reception, such as a radio section or a radio head. Although the device is described as a single entity, different modules and memories may be implemented in one or more physical or logical entities.

[0148] Note that while some embodiments have been described with respect to 5G networks, similar principles can be applied to other networks and communication systems. Therefore, although some examples of wireless networks, technologies, and standards have been described above by way of example, these embodiments can be applied to any other suitable form of communication system besides those shown and described herein.

[0149] It should also be noted that although exemplary embodiments have been described above, several changes and modifications can be made to the disclosed solutions without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0150] As used herein, “at least one of the following: a list of two or more elements” and “at least one of the following: a list of two or more elements” and similar wording (where the list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”) means at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0151] Generally, various embodiments can be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects of this disclosure can be implemented in hardware, while others can be implemented in firmware or software that can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, but this disclosure is not limited thereto. Although various aspects of this disclosure may be shown and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representation, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, these blocks, apparatuses, systems, techniques, or methods described herein can be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0152] As used in this application, the term "circuit" may refer to one or more of the following: (a) Hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation in analog and / or digital circuits only) and (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (if applicable): (c) A combination of (multiple) analog and / or digital hardware circuits with software / firmware, and (i) Any part of the hardware processor(s) having software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(s) that work together to enable a device (e.g., a mobile phone or a server) to perform various functions; and (ii) (multiple) hardware circuits and / or (multiple) processors, such as (multiple) microprocessors or a portion thereof, which require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but may be absent when the software is not required to operate. This definition of "circuit" applies to all uses of the term in this application (including in any claim). As another example, as used herein, the term "circuit" also encompasses only hardware circuitry or a processor (or multiple processors) or a portion thereof and its accompanying software and / or firmware implementation. The term "circuit" also encompasses, for example and if applicable to a particular claim element, baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or network devices.

[0153] Embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented by computer software executable by a data processor in a mobile device (e.g., a data processor in a processor entity), or by hardware or a combination of hardware and software. The computer software or program (also referred to as a program product, including software routines, applets, and / or macros) can be stored in any device-readable data storage medium and includes program instructions for performing a specific task. The computer program product may include one or more computer-executable components that are configured to perform the embodiments when the program is run. The one or more computer-executable components may be at least one piece of software code or a portion thereof.

[0154] Furthermore, it should be noted that any block in the logical flow diagram in the accompanying drawings may represent a program step, interconnected logic circuits, blocks and functions, or a combination of program steps and logic circuits, blocks and functions. Software may be stored on physical media such as memory chips or memory blocks implemented within a processor, magnetic media such as hard disks or floppy disks, and optical media such as DVDs and their data variants, CDs, etc. The physical media are non-transitory media.

[0155] As used herein, the term “non-transient” refers to a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not signaling), rather than a limitation on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0156] The memory can be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and can be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. As a non-limiting example, the data processor can be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and can include one or more of general-purpose computers, special-purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), FPGAs, gate-level circuits, and processors based on multi-core processor architectures.

[0157] Embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented in various components such as integrated circuit modules. The design of integrated circuits is largely a highly automated process. Sophisticated and powerful software tools can be used to transform logic-level designs into semiconductor circuit designs ready to be etched and formed on a semiconductor substrate.

[0158] The scope of protection sought by the various embodiments of this disclosure is set forth in the independent claims. Embodiments and features (if any) described in this specification that do not fall within the scope of the independent claims are to be interpreted as examples useful for understanding the various embodiments of this disclosure.

[0159] The foregoing description has provided a complete and informative description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure by way of non-limiting example. However, various modifications and adjustments may become apparent to those skilled in the art when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and appended claims, given the foregoing description. Nevertheless, all such and similar modifications to the teachings of this disclosure will still fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Indeed, there are other embodiments that include combinations of one or more embodiments with any other embodiments discussed above.

Claims

1. A terminal device (UE), comprising: Components for detecting wake-up signals during low-power mode operation of the terminal device; A component for decoding signal information from the wake-up signal; Components for switching the main radio transceiver of the terminal device to an active operation mode in response to detecting the wake-up signal; as well as A component for performing a first control channel decoding operation by the main radio transceiver when the signal information indicates a first value, and performing a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation when the signal information indicates a second value.

2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the signal information is addressing information identifying one or more intended recipients of the wake-up signal.

3. The terminal device according to claim 2, wherein the first value is a first address value for addressing a group of terminal devices, and the second value is a second address value for addressing one or more terminal devices in the group of terminal devices, and wherein the one or more terminal devices includes the terminal device.

4. The terminal device according to claim 3, wherein the group of terminal devices includes terminal devices that are in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection state with the network device and are operating in a low-power mode.

5. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a component for receiving configuration information for configuring the first control channel decoding operation and the second control channel decoding operation.

6. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first control channel decoding operation differs from the second control channel decoding operation in at least one of the following: The minimum duration for the control channel decoding operation until the terminal device resumes the low-power operation mode; Search space set configuration; The periodicity of the control channel decoding operation when the main radio transceiver is in the active operation mode; or The number of time slots to be monitored for the control channel decoding operation when the main radio transceiver is in the active operation mode.

7. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising: A component for suspending the low-power operation mode when the signal information indicates the first value.

8. The terminal device according to claim 7, wherein the low-power operation mode is suspended for a configured duration or a predetermined duration.

9. The terminal device of claim 7, wherein the low-power operation mode is suspended for an undetermined duration, and wherein the terminal device further comprises: A component for receiving signaling information, the signaling information indicating the restoration of the low-power operation mode; as well as A component for resuming the low-power operation mode in response to the receipt of the signaling information.

10. A method comprising: a terminal device: A wake-up signal is detected during low-power mode operation of the terminal device; Decode signal information from the wake-up signal; In response to detecting the wake-up signal, the main radio transceiver of the terminal device is switched to active operation mode; as well as The main radio transceiver performs a first control channel decoding operation when the signal information indicates a first value, and performs a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation when the signal information indicates a second value.

11. A network device (NW), comprising: A component used to encode signal information in a wake-up signal; Components for transmitting the wake-up signal to the terminal device during low-power mode operation of the terminal device, the wake-up signal triggering a switch of the terminal device's main radio transceiver to an active operation mode; A component for: assigning a first value to the signal information to cause the terminal device to perform a first control channel decoding operation, or assigning a second value to the signal information to cause the terminal device to perform a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation.

12. The network device of claim 11, wherein the signal information is addressing information identifying one or more intended recipients of the wake-up signal.

13. The network device of claim 12, wherein the first value is a first address value for addressing a group of terminal devices, and the second value is a second address value for addressing one or more terminal devices in the group of terminal devices. And the one or more terminal devices mentioned above include the terminal devices.

14. The network device of claim 13, wherein the group of terminal devices includes terminal devices that are in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state with the network device and are operating in a low-power mode.

15. The network device according to any one of claims 11 to 14, further comprising: A component for transmitting configuration information for configuring the first control channel decoding operation and the second control channel decoding operation.

16. The network device according to any one of claims 11 to 15, wherein the first control channel decoding operation differs from the second control channel decoding operation in at least one of the following: The minimum duration for the control channel decoding operation until the terminal device resumes the low-power operation mode; Search space set configuration; The periodicity of the control channel decoding operation when the main radio transceiver is in the active operation mode; or The number of time slots to be monitored for the control channel decoding operation when the main radio transceiver is in the active operation mode.

17. The network device according to any one of claims 11 to 16, further comprising: A component for assigning the first value to the signal information to suspend the low-power operation mode of the terminal device.

18. The network device of claim 17, wherein the low-power operation mode is suspended for a configured duration or a predetermined duration.

19. The network device of claim 17, wherein the low-power operation mode is suspended for an undetermined duration, and wherein the network device further includes components for transmitting signaling information indicating that the low-power operation mode is resumed by the terminal device.

20. A method comprising a network device: Encode the signal information in the wake-up signal; During low-power mode operation of the terminal device, the wake-up signal is transmitted to the terminal device, and the wake-up signal triggers a switch of the terminal device's main radio transceiver to active operation mode; as well as A first value is assigned to the signal information to cause the terminal device to perform a first control channel decoding operation, or a second value is assigned to the signal information to cause the terminal device to perform a second control channel decoding operation different from the first control channel decoding operation.

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