Flexible beam power sharing method and apparatus

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, are described for wireless communication. An example method includes a wireless device receiving, from a network device, configuration information related to beam power sharing in a serving cell, and the wireless device making a decision regarding a transmission operation or a reception operation of the wireless device based on the configuration information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This patent document generally relates to wireless communication. Background Technology

[0002] Wireless communication technologies are driving the world toward an increasingly interconnected and networked society. The rapid growth and technological advancements in wireless communication have led to greater demands for capacity and connectivity. Other factors, such as energy consumption, equipment cost, spectrum efficiency, and latency, are also important for meeting the needs of various communication scenarios. Next-generation systems and wireless communication technologies need to support an ever-increasing number of users and devices, and to support an increasingly mobile society, compared to existing wireless networks. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Various techniques that can be implemented by embodiments of mobile communication technologies, including 5th Generation (5G), New Radio (NR), and other wireless networks, are disclosed.

[0004] In one exemplary aspect, a wireless communication method is disclosed. The method includes: a wireless device receiving configuration information from a network device relating to beam power sharing in a serving cell; and the wireless device making a decision regarding a transmission operation or a reception operation based on the configuration information.

[0005] In another exemplary aspect, a different wireless communication method is disclosed. The method includes: a network device sending configuration information relating to beam power sharing to a wireless device, wherein the configuration information allows the wireless device to make decisions regarding transmission or reception operations.

[0006] In another exemplary aspect, a different wireless communication method is disclosed. The method includes: a wireless device receiving configuration information from a network device relating to discontinuous reception (DRX) operation and / or discontinuous transmission (DTX) operation; and the wireless device making a decision regarding uplink or downlink transmission based on the received configuration information.

[0007] In another exemplary aspect, a different wireless communication method is disclosed. The method includes: a network device sending configuration information to a wireless device relating to discontinuous reception (DRX) and / or discontinuous transmission (DTX) operations, the configuration information allowing the wireless device to make a decision regarding uplink or downlink transmission.

[0008] In another exemplary aspect, a different wireless communication method is disclosed. The method includes: a wireless device receiving from a network device an instruction instructing the wireless device to initiate a handover process; and selectively initiating a handover process based on the wireless device's inability to support beam power sharing.

[0009] In yet another exemplary aspect, a different wireless communication method is disclosed. The method includes: a network device sending an instruction to a wireless device, wherein the instruction instructs the wireless device to switch to another cell because the wireless device cannot support beam power sharing.

[0010] In yet another exemplary aspect, the above method is embodied in the form of a computer-readable medium storing processor-executable code for implementing the method.

[0011] In yet another exemplary embodiment, an apparatus configured or operable to perform the methods described above is disclosed. The apparatus includes at least one processor configured to implement the methods described above.

[0012] The foregoing and other aspects, and their implementations, are described in more detail in the accompanying drawings, specification, and claims. Attached Figure Description

[0013] Figure 1 An example block diagram of a wireless communication system is shown.

[0014] Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating an example method of wireless communication is shown.

[0015] Figure 3A An example of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) is shown.

[0016] Figure 3B Another example of NTN is shown.

[0017] Figure 4A and Figure 4B An example process of wireless communication is shown.

[0018] Figure 5 An example timeline of wireless device operation is shown.

[0019] Figure 6 Another example timeline of wireless device operation is shown.

[0020] Figure 7 An example of message interaction between a wireless device and a network device is shown.

[0021] Figures 8 to 13 An example of a wireless communication method is shown.

[0022] In the accompanying diagram depicting message interactions, dashed lines represent optional messages, such as messages that may only be sent if specific preconditions are met. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The use of chapter headings in this document is solely for readability purposes and does not limit the scope of the embodiments and techniques disclosed in each chapter to that chapter only. Certain features are described using examples of 3GPP and fifth-generation (5G) radio protocol terminology. However, the applicability of the disclosed techniques is not limited to 5G radio systems. Furthermore, in this patent document, the separator " / " is used to indicate that the listed options are alternatives to the conjunction "or". Additionally, examples of various Information Elements (IEs) disclosed herein include fields marked OPTIONAL, meaning that these fields can be optionally implemented by embodiments using a naming convention similar to that of the 3GPP protocol. In this document, the term "cell with beam power sharing" is used, which can refer to a cell supporting at least one of the following features: enhanced beam pattern (e.g., extended beam period), cell-specific DRX for inter-satellite beam power sharing, cell DTX for inter-satellite beam power sharing, user equipment (UE) specific DRX / DTX, etc. The term "cell with beam power sharing" is just one example, and other terms may also be used, such as cell with enhanced downlink coverage or cell with power sharing enabled.

[0024] In some embodiments, the satellite beam / beam power sharing solution discussed in this document may be part of a solution for improving coverage of at least one of the downlink and uplink.

[0025] The beam discussed in this document may be at least one of SSB (Synchronization Signal Block, or Synchronization Signal and Physical Broadcast Channel (SS / PBCH)), CSI-RS (Channel State Information Reference Signal), TRS (Tracking Reference Signal), SRS (Sound Reference Signal), PRS (Positioning Reference Signal), or other reference signals used in wireless communication systems.

[0026] In this document, unless otherwise stated, the terms “cell DRX” and “cell DTX” refer to cell DRX for beam power sharing and cell DTX for beam power sharing, respectively.

[0027] The following abbreviations are used in this document.

[0028]

[0029] 1. Introduction For satellite-assisted wireless communication systems, hundreds of satellite beams may be used to cover a wide area. However, due to the maximum power limitations supported by the hardware implemented in the satellites, and considering the minimum power requirements for robust transmission and reception on the network (NW) side, it is difficult (and sometimes impossible) for the NW to activate all satellite beams simultaneously. This problem is more severe in the downlink than in the uplink, as the power used for downlink transmission is much higher than that in the uplink. In this document, NTN will be used to describe satellite-assisted wireless communication systems that can be based on at least one of NR, Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (EUTRA), or other generations of radio access technologies (e.g., 6G). The NTN payload type can be at least one of transparent forwarding payload (e.g., NW on the ground) or regenerative payload (e.g., NW or part of the NW's functionality on satellite). The NW can be at least one of a base station (e.g., gNB, eNB) or a core network (CN).

[0030] One approach to this problem is to allow power sharing between satellite beams, for example, by periodically activating selective satellite beams or activating selective beams on demand, such as based on service requirements. Due to the power sharing scheme used, beam transmission in the time domain (SSB / CSI-RS) may be sparser compared to beam transmission used in terrestrial networks (TN). In this case, if the UE still uses a small period / sense window to detect the beam, it may not detect the beam for extended periods due to satellite beam deactivation, potentially leading to unnecessary power consumption or triggering unnecessary radio link failures (RLF). Therefore, enhancements are needed to address these issues.

[0031] The satellite beams disclosed in this document are not always equivalent to the beams used by the UE to perform synchronization / transmission / reception. In the NTN 300, multi-cell / beam (e.g., SSB / CSI-RS) schemes can be used. Figure 3AAs shown, a satellite can cover one or more cells, where each cell can consist of one or more satellite beams, and each satellite beam can consist of one or more beams. Only the SSB beam type is shown in the figure, but in different deployments, the beam type can be at least one of SSB, CSI-RS, TRS, or other reference signals used in the wireless communication system. Therefore, power sharing between satellite beams can lead to power sharing between different serving cells, or power sharing between different beams (e.g., SSB / CSI-RS) within the same cell.

[0032] Figure 3B Another example of the NTN 350 is shown, in which one satellite covers a single cell, and the beam can be based on the SSB or another reference signal.

[0033] Considering that some UEs may not be able to use the enhanced solution in cells with power sharing enabled, mechanisms need to be defined to allow UEs without power sharing solution capabilities to move to other cells, and / or prevent UEs without power-saving solution capabilities from accessing cells with power sharing enabled.

[0034] As further disclosed throughout this document and in the embodiments, various preferred embodiments may employ the following features.

[0035] [1] Due to the power sharing among a large number of satellite beams, existing beam transmission modes (e.g., beam periodicity) can be enhanced to meet the dynamic power sharing (periodic or on-demand) among satellite beams.

[0036] [2] Power sharing among a large number of satellite beams may lead to unnecessary power consumption or frequent RLF on the UE side, which may require solutions for energy saving / avoiding unnecessary RLF claims (e.g., DRX and / or DTX, timer adaptation).

[0037] [3] Mechanisms are defined to allow UEs without power sharing capabilities to move to other cells and / or prevent UEs without beam power saving capabilities from accessing cells with beam power sharing enabled. This can be achieved by providing the UE with a Conditional Handover (CHO) signal, which allows the UE to initiate a handover process using the available CHO configuration stored at the UE.

[0038] Since a satellite beam can consist of one or more beams (e.g., SSBs), power sharing between satellite beams will also result in power sharing between beams. Unless otherwise defined, the term "beam power sharing" can refer to power sharing between satellite beams or at least one of power sharing between beams.

[0039] In this document, solutions for beam power sharing include DTX (e.g., per cell, per beam, or per UE level), DRX (e.g., per cell, per beam, or per UE level), or enhanced SSB beam transmission mode, solutions for redirecting UEs to other cells, or at least one of the UE preference reports discussed in this document (e.g., Examples 2 to 7).

[0040] In some embodiments, the satellite beam / beam power sharing solution discussed in this document may be part of a solution for improving coverage of at least one of the downlink and uplink.

[0041] Although the solutions discussed in this article focus on the technical issues raised in NTN, these solutions can be used in networks other than NTN (NR NTN / IoT NTN), such as TN, Air to Ground (ATG), and Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV).

[0042] 2. Example Implementation 1: Residency Restriction In some embodiments, different beam patterns (e.g., SSB periods) and discontinuous receive / transmit schemes can be used in the cell to facilitate the power sharing strategy discussed in this document. For legacy UEs that do not have the capabilities of the solutions discussed in this document, if they access a cell with beam power sharing, the UE may frequently fail to detect the beam (SSB) used for transmission during the listening window due to the extended beam (e.g., SSB) transmission period, which may lead to performance degradation. Furthermore, this will cause UEs that do not support power sharing solutions (e.g., extended beam (e.g., SSB) periods) to perform unnecessary beam listening, which is a waste of UE power consumption. To prevent such UEs from accessing cells with beam power sharing, at least one of the following solutions can be considered. Figure 4A An example procedure that can be implemented is shown, in which the NW sends (and the UE receives) a message 401 including an indication (e.g., system information). At 402, the UE determines whether the cell is blocked from access because the UE supports beam power sharing.

[0043] ●Alternative 1: The NW can provide an indication to the UE to indicate whether the current cell is blocking access for UEs that do not support the solution defined for cells with beam power sharing. The solution for power sharing can be at least one of the following: enhanced beam transmission mode (e.g., extended SSB cycle), DRX for inter-satellite beam power sharing (e.g., cell-specific DRX, UE-specific DRX), DTX for inter-satellite beam power sharing (e.g., cell-specific DTX, UE-specific DTX), the solution for redirecting the UE to another cell discussed in this document, or a UE preference report. At least one of the following signaling options can be considered: ■Option 1: In some examples, this indication can have two values: one value (e.g., barred) indicates that the current cell is blocked from access by UEs with beam power sharing capabilities, and the other value (e.g., notBarred) indicates that the current cell is not blocked from access by UEs with beam power sharing capabilities. In some examples, the absence of this indication has the same meaning as the indication being set to barred.

[0044] ◆In some examples, when this indication appears in a cell with the value notBarred, the cell is considered not to be blocked for the UE if the UE supports at least one of the power-sharing solutions. Otherwise, the UE considers the cell to be blocked.

[0045] ◆In another example, when this indication appears in the cell with the value notBarred, the cell is considered not to be blocked for the UE if the UE supports all solutions for power sharing. Otherwise, the UE considers the cell to be blocked.

[0046] ◆In some examples, when the indication specifies that the cell supports beam power sharing, if the UE supports at least one of DRX or DTX for power sharing, then the cell is considered not to be blocked for the UE. Otherwise, the UE considers the cell to be blocked.

[0047] ■ Option 2: In another example, the indication may have only one value (e.g., notBarred), which indicates that the current cell is not blocked for UEs with beam power sharing capabilities, while the absence of this indication indicates that the current cell is blocked for UEs with beam power sharing solutions. Similar to Option 1, the solutions used to determine whether to allow UE access to a cell with an indication of "notBarred" include at least one of the following: the UE supports at least one of the solutions for power sharing, or the UE supports all solutions for power sharing.

[0048] ●Alternative 2: An indication can be provided from the NW to the UE to indicate whether the current cell is a beam power sharing cell. In some examples, this indication may have two values: one indicating that the current cell supports the beam power sharing solution, and the other indicating that the current cell does not support the beam power sharing solution. In some examples, the absence of this indication indicates that the current cell does not support the beam power sharing solution.

[0049] ■ In some examples, when the indication specifies that the cell supports beam power sharing, if the UE supports at least one of the solutions for power sharing, then the cell is considered not to be blocked for the UE. Otherwise, the UE considers the cell to be blocked.

[0050] ■ In another example, when the indication specifies that the cell supports beam power sharing, the cell is considered not to be blocked for the UE if the UE supports all solutions for power sharing. Otherwise, the UE considers the cell to be blocked.

[0051] ■ In some examples, when the indication specifies that the cell supports beam power sharing, if the UE supports at least one of DRX or DTX for power sharing, then the cell is considered not to be blocked for the UE. Otherwise, the UE considers the cell to be blocked.

[0052] ●Alternative 3: A separate indication can be provided for each solution / feature designed for cells with power sharing, indicating whether the current cell supports the corresponding solution / feature. Solutions for power sharing can be at least one of the following: enhanced beam transmission modes (e.g., extended SSB cycles), DRX for inter-satellite beam power sharing (e.g., cell-specific DRX, UE-specific DRX), DTX for inter-satellite beam power sharing (e.g., cell-specific DTX, UE-specific DTX), solutions for redirecting the UE to other cells discussed in this document, or UE preference reporting. In some examples, support for cell DTX / DRX can be considered coupled, i.e., if the UE supports cell DTX, it also supports cell DRX. In this example, only one indication is used to indicate whether the cell supports cell DTX / DRX for power sharing. In some examples, support for UE-specific DTX / DRX can be considered coupled, i.e., if the UE supports UE-specific DTX, it also supports UE-specific DRX. In this example, only one indication is used to indicate whether the cell supports UE-specific DTX / DRX for power sharing.

[0053] For this alternative, at least one of the following options can be considered for the UE to decide whether to block access to the cell: ■ In some examples, for a cell that indicates support for at least one power sharing solution, if the UE supports at least one of the features / solutions indicated as supported / enabled by the cell based on the corresponding indication, then the cell is considered not to be blocked for the UE.

[0054] ■ In some examples, for a cell that indicates support for at least one power sharing solution, if the UE supports all features / solutions indicated as supported / enabled by the cell based on the corresponding indication, then the cell is considered not to be blocked for the UE.

[0055] ■ In some examples, when the indication specifies that the cell supports beam power sharing, if the UE supports at least one of DRX or DTX for power sharing, then the cell is considered not to be blocked for the UE. Otherwise, the UE considers the cell to be blocked.

[0056] The indication discussed in the above alternatives may be included in at least one of a cell with NTN access, a cell with TN access, or a cell with ATG (air-to-ground) access. It may be deployed in NR, EUTRA, or higher-generation radio access networks (e.g., 6G). In some examples, the indication is optionally provided in the NTN; otherwise, it is missing. In this case, for a UE with power-sharing solution capability, the UE considers the cell not to be prohibited from access if the cell is not prohibited from NTN access and the cell indication supports beam power-sharing solution. In some examples, for a UE with power-sharing solution capability, it ignores the cell prohibition indication included in the MIB and relies on the power-sharing indication discussed herein to determine whether the cell is prohibited from access.

[0057] The indications discussed in the above alternatives may be included in at least one of system information, RRC messages, etc. For example, when accessing an NR network, the indication may be included in SIB1 or SIB19, or when accessing an EUTRA network, it may be included in systemInformationBlockType1 or systemInformationBlockType31. The RRC messages include at least one of the RRC messages used to establish / restore / release / reconfigure RRC connections.

[0058] In some embodiments, during the cell selection and cell reselection process, the UE assesses whether a cell is denied access based on the solutions discussed above.

[0059] Figure 4B An example procedure is given below. At 452, the NW sends a message including a prohibition indication (e.g., system information). At 454, the UE (based on its capabilities) determines whether the cell is prohibited for its access. At 456, the NW sends a power sharing configuration to the UE. For example, this power sharing configuration may include a cell DRX or cell DTX configuration with an active state. At 458, based on the received configuration, the UE can determine whether it is in an active or deactivated period.

[0060] At position 460, the NW can send a cell DRX / cell DTX deactivation configuration. Based on the reception of this configuration, the UE can decide at position 462 not to use the cell DRX or cell DTX configuration.

[0061] 3. Example Implementation 2: A New Beam Transmission Mode As mentioned above, it may be necessary to enhance the beam pattern (e.g., SSB) to meet the dynamic beam power sharing scheme, which may include at least one of the following configurations: ● Configuration in the time domain for indicating the starting position of the reference signal ■ In some examples, the initial configuration may include at least one of the following: initial symbol index, initial time slot index, initial SFN; ● Configuration in the time domain for indicating the transmission duration of the reference signal ■ In some examples, the duration can be indicated by at least one of the following: number of symbols, number of time slots, number of SFNs, in seconds, or in milliseconds; ● Configuration in the time domain for indicating the end position of the reference signal ■ In some examples, the end configuration may include at least one of the following: end symbol index, end gap index, end SFN; ● Beam transmission period. In some examples, to meet the requirements of dynamic beam power sharing schemes, it may be necessary to extend / shorten the SSB period. At least one of the following solutions can be considered: ■Option 1: A smaller or larger range of values ​​can be introduced; where each value indicates a beam period.

[0062] ■Option 2: An offset can be introduced to extend / shorten the beam period. For example, the configured beam period is equal to one beam period plus this offset. This offset can be positive or negative.

[0063] ■ Option 3: A scaling factor can be introduced to increase / decrease the beam period. For example, the configured beam period is equal to one beam period multiplied by the scaling factor. The scaling factor can be a positive number greater than or less than 1.

[0064] The cycle can be measured in terms of the number of time slots, symbols, SFNs, seconds, or milliseconds.

[0065] ● Beam transmission duration. In some examples, this can indicate the duration for which the beam is considered available to the area, or the duration for which the beam continuously serves the area.

[0066] ● Beam stopping time. In some examples, this indicates the point in time when the beam stops serving the area.

[0067] ● Beam start time. In some examples, this indicates the point in time when the beam begins serving the area.

[0068] ● Transmit power used for beam ■ In some examples, the transmit power is uniform for all beams within the cell; for example, all beams within the cell are configured with the same power level.

[0069] ■ In some examples, the transmit power is not uniform across all beams within the cell; for example, different power levels can be configured for different beams.

[0070] ●Target receiving power for beam ■ In some examples, the target received power is uniform for all beams within the cell; for example, all beams within the cell are configured with the same power level.

[0071] ■ In some examples, the target received power is not uniform across all beams within the cell; for example, different power levels can be configured for different beams.

[0072] ● An indication used to specify whether the beam / beam configuration is used for uplink or downlink scheduling.

[0073] ■ In some examples, the UE can deduce whether these beams are used for uplink or downlink based on other configurations.

[0074] ◆For example, a beam configured with target receive power is used for uplink, while a beam configured with transmit power is used for downlink, and a beam configured with both can be used for both downlink and uplink.

[0075] ◆Or in some examples, the beam with lower transmit power is used only for uplink, while the beam with higher transmit power is used for both uplink and downlink.

[0076] The beam pattern configuration discussed may be provided to the UE via at least one of system information or RRC messages. In some examples, it may be included as part of the serving cell configuration. It may be configured per cell or per UE. When the beam is considered to serve the area or be available for a certain duration, the UE in that serving area may perform at least one of the actions discussed in this document during the activation time of DTX and / or DRX (e.g., cell DTX / cell DRX). When the beam is considered to be deactivated or unavailable for a certain duration, the UE in that serving area may perform at least one of the actions discussed in this document during the deactivation time of DTX and / or DRX (e.g., cell DTX / cell DRX).

[0077] 4. Example 3: Cell DTX / DRX for Beam Power Sharing 4.1 DRX / DTX Configuration For cells with beam power sharing, only selective beams can be activated (e.g., beams with power allocation). In some examples, beams within a cell can be activated periodically. In this case, the UE can be provided with a configuration for the activation duration of that beam to allow the UE to listen for scheduling information and / or transmit / receive data. To accommodate this, the UE can be provided with at least one of a DTX or DRX configuration for power sharing. In this document, unless otherwise stated, the terms DRX and DTX refer to either DRX for power sharing or DTX for power sharing. A DTX configuration is a configuration for downlink transmission activities, while a DRX configuration is a configuration for uplink transmission activities. This DTX or DRX configuration can be configured for a cell (e.g., cell DRX / DTX) or for a beam (e.g., beam DRX / DTX). Detailed configurations are discussed below. Downlink scheduling includes at least one of the following: UE behavior regarding listening to the PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), dynamic grant transmissions in the downlink, and configured downlink allocations. Uplink transmissions include at least one of scheduling requests and configured grant transmissions.

[0078] For DRX / DTX configurations (e.g., cell DRX / DTX or beam DRX / DTX), it may include at least one of the following parameters: ●Activation Duration: Indicates the duration of the activation period. In some examples, it may also be referred to as activation time, activation duration, or activation period, during which downlink and / or uplink transmissions are permitted. If the duration is configured for downlink transmissions (e.g., cell DTX), downlink transmissions are permitted during this period. If the duration is configured for uplink transmissions (e.g., cell DRX), uplink transmissions are permitted during this period.

[0079] ● The starting position in the time domain, used to indicate the start time of the on / off duration. In some examples, this start time can be at the slot level, frame level, second level, or millisecond level.

[0080] ● The period within this activation duration indicates the period during which the UE expects to listen for scheduling information (e.g., PDCCH). In other words, the UE considers the activation time to be within the time instance indicated by this period. In some examples, this period is optionally configurable; when not configured, the UE listens for the PDCCH during this activation duration, meaning the activation time is the entire activation duration.

[0081] ● An offset used to determine the start of the activation duration. If configured, this is the offset configured by the UE for the listening time delay during the activation duration. For example, the UE considers this offset to be optional in some examples. When not configured, the UE does not consider this offset when determining the start time of the activation period.

[0082] ● Shutdown Duration: Indicates the duration of the deactivation period. In some examples, this shutdown duration begins counting immediately after the end of the on duration. In some examples, it may also be referred to as the deactivation period, shutdown duration, or shutdown period, during which downlink and / or uplink transmissions are not permitted. If this duration is configured for downlink transmissions (e.g., cell DTX), downlink transmissions are not permitted during this period. If this duration is configured for uplink transmissions (e.g., cell DRX), uplink transmissions are not permitted during this period.

[0083] ● Cycle: Used to indicate the periodicity of DRX or DTX. In some examples, the cycle consists of an on duration and an off duration, and therefore can be derived based on the configuration of the on and off durations. Alternatively, in some examples, the off duration can be derived based on the cycle configuration and the on duration configuration.

[0084] ● A parameter used to indicate whether the configuration is for DTX or DRX.

[0085] ■ In some examples, different Information Elements (IEs) are used to configure cell DRX for beam power sharing and cell DTX for beam power sharing. The distinction between configuration types is made by the IE name.

[0086] ■ In some examples, this indicator can have three values ​​to indicate whether it is configured for cell DRX, cell DRX, or both.

[0087] ■ In some examples, this indicator can have two values ​​to indicate whether it is used for cell DRX or for cell DRX configuration. ● Status indicator, used to indicate whether the cell DTX / DRX configuration associated with the indicator is active. In some examples, the indicator may have two values, one indicating that the cell DTX / DRX is active and the other indicating that the cell DTX / DRX is deactivated. In some examples, the indicator has only one value, indicating that the cell DTX / DRX is active, while the absence of the indicator indicates that the cell DTX / DRX is deactivated. In some examples, the indicator has only one value, indicating that the cell DTX / DRX is deactivated, while the absence of the indicator indicates that the cell DTX / DRX is active.

[0088] ● The RNTI value used to scramble the CRC used by the DCI, which is used to activate or deactivate the cell's DRX / cell DTX configuration.

[0089] ● The RNTI value used to scramble the CRC used by the DCI, which is used to activate or deactivate the CHO indication for power sharing.

[0090] ● Alternatively, in some examples, only one RNTI value is used to scramble the CRC used by the DCI, which is used to activate or deactivate the cell's DRX / DTX configuration and / or CHO indication for power sharing. In this case, the same DCI format is used to activate / deactivate the cell's DRX / DTX configuration and / or CHO indication for power sharing.

[0091] The following description provides some examples to indicate sample UE actions when the UE is in the activation or deactivation period.

[0092] 4.2 UE actions when DTX is configured and activated: ● During the activation time for downlink transmission (e.g., activation time for cell DTX, or activation time for a cell, or activation time for a beam), at least one of the following actions can be considered on the UE side: ■ Monitoring the PDCCH in the serving cell where the configuration is activated ■ If downlink allocation is configured in the serving cell where the configuration is active, then receive the downlink allocation. ■ If the RAR window was previously paused, restart the RAR (Random Access Response) window. Alternatively, if the RAR window has not been started since the last preamble / MsgA transmission, start the RAR window. The RAR window can be at least one of a 4-step RACH RAR window or a 2-step RACH MsgB response window (e.g., msgB-ResponseWindow). ■ Extending the RAR window length. In some examples, the RAR window length can be extended by one DTX cycle. For example, if the RAR window is equal to x before extension, then when DTX is configured and activated, the extended RAR window is equal to x plus the DTX cycle. In some examples, the UE does not listen to the PDCCH when entering the deactivation time and the RAR window is running. This RAR window can be a 4-step RACH RAR window or a 2-step RACH MsgB response window.

[0093] ■ For a 4-step RACH, if the contention-resolver timer was previously paused, then restart it. Alternatively, if the contention-resolver timer has not been started since the last Msg3 transmission, then start it. ■ Extend the contention resolution timer length. In some examples, the contention resolution timer length can be extended by one DTX cycle. For example, if the contention resolution timer was equal to y before extension, then when DTX is configured and activated, the extended contention resolution timer will be equal to y plus the DTX cycle. In some examples, the UE does not listen to the PDCCH when entering the deactivation period and the contention resolution timer is running.

[0094] ■ If previously paused, restart the DRX retransmission timer. This retransmission timer includes at least one of drx-RetransmissionTimerDL, drx-RetransmissionTimerUL, or drx-RetransmissionTimerSL.

[0095] ■ Perform measurements on the serving cell based on the configuration provided by NW ■ Perform neighbor cell / neighbor frequency measurements based on the configuration provided by NW ■ Obtain system information (e.g., MIB, SIB1, SIB19) ◆In some examples, a valid duration can be associated with system information, which specifies the period during which the UE does not need to reacquire the system information. If the system information is considered valid based on this valid duration during the activation period, the UE does not need to reacquire the system information. ◆In some examples, a timer can be configured for system information. If the timer expires during the activation period or is paused, the UE can reacquire the corresponding system information. ■ Perform at least one of the following actions related to wireless link monitoring.

[0096] ◆In some examples, if a timer configured for radio link monitoring (e.g., T310, T312) has been paused during the deactivation period, the UE can reset the timer when it returns to the activation period.

[0097] ◆Perform Radio Link Monitoring (RLM), or resume RLM if the action was previously paused. ◆ Perform physical layer synchronization state detection. In some examples, when returning from deactivation time to activation time, the UE can reset the counter used to count out-of-synchronization indications.

[0098] ■ Perform at least one of the following adaptations for the TAT (timeAlignmentTimer) timer: ◆If the TAT timer was previously paused, restart the TAT timer. ◆ Extend the TAT timer length. In some examples, the TAT timer length can be extended by one DTX cycle. When the DTX configuration is configured for a cell, the UE applies at least one of the aforementioned actions during the activation time for the cell associated with the activated DTX configuration. When the DTX configuration is configured for a beam, the UE applies at least one of the aforementioned actions during the activation time for the beam associated with the activated DTX configuration.

[0099] ● During the deactivation time used for downlink transmission (e.g., cell DTX deactivation time, cell-specific deactivation time, or beam-specific deactivation time), at least one of the following actions can be considered on the UE side: ■ Do not listen to the PDCCH in the serving cell.

[0100] ◆In some examples, the UE does not listen to the PDCCH regardless of whether the UE is considered to be in active time based on the operation of other timers or based on the DRX timer specified in the 3GPP standard, regardless of whether there is an ongoing RACH-less procedure, regardless of whether there is a suspended SR, or regardless of whether a new PDCCH indicating a C-RNTI (Radio Network Temporary Identifier) ​​addressed to the MAC entity has not been received after successfully receiving a random access response for a random access preamble not selected by the MAC entity in a contention-based random access preamble. The other timers include at least one of the following: the RAR window of the RACH procedure (e.g., ra-ResponseWindow, msgB-ResponseWindow), the contention resolution timer of the RACH procedure, the retransmission timer specified for DRX (e.g., drx-RetransmissionTimerDL, drx-RetransmissionTimerUL, or drx-RetransmissionTimerSL), drx-onDurationTimer, or drx-InactivityTimer.

[0101] ■ The physical layer is not instructed to receive transport blocks on the DL-SCH of the serving cell according to the downlink allocation configured for SPS; ■ It does not indicate the existence of the configured downlink allocation and does not deliver the stored HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information to the HARQ entity; ■ Do not set the HARQ process ID to a HARQ process ID associated with the duration of the configured downlink allocated PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel); ■ It is not assumed that the NDI bits of the HARQ process corresponding to the PDSCH duration of the configured downlink allocation have been flipped for the downlink allocation of this configuration.

[0102] ■ Perform at least one of the following adaptations on the timer / window specified in the RACH procedure, which may be a 2-step RACH or a 4-step RACH.

[0103] ◆ If a RAR window is running, pause its operation. This RAR window can be at least one of a 4-step RACH RAR window or a 2-step RACH MsgB response window (e.g., msgB-ResponseWindow). ◆For 4-step RACH, if a contention resolution timer is running, then pause the running of that contention resolution timer.

[0104] One of the intentions behind pausing the timer discussed above is to avoid unnecessary retransmissions of uplink messages that trigger the RACH process due to timer / window timeouts. This is because the NW may have already received previous PUSCH / preamble transmissions, but the corresponding downlink response cannot occur because the cell is in the cell DTX deactivation period. Furthermore, when the cell is in the cell DTX activation period, the NW may resume transmitting the corresponding downlink transmissions. ◆In some examples, if the timer / window of the RACH procedure discussed above is not paused, at least one of the following behaviors can be considered on the UE side: ● When the RA contention resolution timer times out, the UE does not consider the contention resolution to have failed. ● When the RAR window times out, the UE does not consider the RA response reception to have failed. ● When the MsgB response window (e.g., msgB-ResponseWindow) times out, the UE does not consider MsgB reception to have failed. ◆ In some examples, the RAR window or MsgB response window (e.g., msgB-ResponseWindow) or RA contention-resolving timer can be extended for a period of time to prevent the timer or window from timing out during the deactivation period. In some examples, the window length (e.g., RAR window length, MsgB response window length) or timer length (e.g., contention-resolving timer length) can be extended by one DTX cycle.

[0105] ■ Perform at least one of the following adaptations on the DRX retransmission timer. ◆If the DRX retransmission timer is running, then pause the operation of the DRX retransmission timer. The retransmission timer specified for DRX can be at least one of drx-RetransmissionTimerDL, drx-RetransmissionTimerUL, or drx-RetransmissionTimerSL.

[0106] ■Does not trigger RACH ■ No measurement is performed on the serving cell. ■ If configured, measurements will not be performed on neighboring cells / neighboring frequencies. ■ Perform at least one of the following actions related to system information acquisition: ◆ Do not acquire system information (e.g., MIB, SIB1, etc.); ◆In some embodiments, if an effective duration has been configured for the system information, at least one of the following can be considered: ●If the effective duration expires during the deactivation duration of the cell DTX, the UE will not reacquire the system information during the deactivation period; ● If a timer has been specified for counting the effective duration of the system information, then during the deactivation period / when the UE enters the deactivation period, if the timer is running, then the timer should be paused or stopped. Doing so avoids triggering the reacquisition of the system information. ■ Perform at least one of the following RLM-related adaptations: ◆In some examples, if a timer (e.g., T310, T312) configured for radio link monitoring is running when the UE enters a deactivation period, the UE can pause or stop the timer. Alternatively, in some examples, if the timer times out during the deactivation period, the UE does not trigger a radio link recovery procedure. Or, in some examples, the length of the timer configured for radio link monitoring can be extended by one DTX cycle.

[0107] ◆ Do not perform wireless link monitoring, or suspend RLM execution. ◆Do not perform or suspend the detection of physical layer synchronization status.

[0108] When the DTX configuration is configured for a cell, the UE applies at least one of the aforementioned actions during the deactivation time for the cell associated with the activated DTX configuration. When the DTX configuration is configured for a beam, the UE applies at least one of the aforementioned actions during the deactivation time for the beam associated with the activated DTX configuration.

[0109] The following provides an example implementation of RACH process adaptation using cell DTX. 4.3 Example 3a RACH Adaptation When Cell DTX is Configured 4.3.1 For a 4-step RACH: Step 1. The UE transmits a preamble on the selected beam; Step 2. After sending the preamble: If the UE is in the cell DTX active time: ● If the RAR window has not been started since the corresponding preamble transmission, start the RAR window to listen for the PDCCH. ■ In some examples in NTN, the UE first sets the UE-gNBRTT (round-trip time) as specified in the RAR window start delay standard. If the start time of the RAR window falls within the cell DTX activation time after this delay, the UE starts the RAR window.

[0110] ●If the RAR window is paused, restart the RAR window to listen for PDCCH; ● If a PDCCH is received and the scheduled RA response is within the active time of cell DTX, the UE receives the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) (e.g., the RA response). ● If a PDSCH reception that was suspended based on a previously received PDCCH (e.g., RA response) exists, then that PDSCH reception is resumed. In some examples, this behavior may not occur, and instead, the NW (Network Controller) ensures that the scheduled PDSCH transmission and the PDCCH that scheduled the transmission are on the same active time duration.

[0111] If the UE enters the cell DTX deactivation time: ●If a RAR window is running, the UE will pause that RAR window.

[0112] ● If a PDCCH has been received during the active period but an RA response has not yet been received, then reception of the RA response is suspended. In some examples, this behavior may not occur, and instead, the NW (Network Controller) ensures that the scheduled PDSCH transmission and the PDCCH that scheduled the transmission are within the same active period.

[0113] Step 3: After successfully receiving the RA response, the UE performs the Msg3 transmission. Following the Msg3 transmission: If the UE is in the cell DTX active time: ●If the contention resolution timer has not been started since the corresponding RA response transmission, then start the contention resolution timer to listen for the PDCCH. ■ In some examples in NTN, the UE first sets the UE-gNB RTT (Round Trip Time) as specified in the standard for the start delay of the contention resolution timer. If the start time of the contention resolution timer falls within the active time of the cell DTX after this delay, the UE starts the contention resolution timer.

[0114] ●If the contention resolution timer is paused, restart the contention resolution timer to listen for the PDCCH used for contention resolution; ● If a PDCCH is received and the scheduled Msg4 transmission is in the active time of cell DTX, the UE receives a PDSCH (e.g., Msg4) for contention resolution. ● If a PDSCH (e.g., Msg4) reception is paused based on a previously received PDCCH, then that PDSCH reception is resumed. In some examples, this behavior may not occur, and instead, the NW (Network Window) ensures that the scheduled PDSCH transmission and the PDCCH that scheduled the transmission are within the same active time duration.

[0115] If the UE enters the cell DTX deactivation time: ●If the contention resolution timer is running, the UE pauses the contention resolution timer.

[0116] ● If a PDCCH has been received during the active period but Msg4 has not yet been received, then the reception of Msg4 is paused. In some examples, this behavior may not occur, and instead, the NW will ensure that the scheduled PDSCH transmission and the PDCCH that scheduled the transmission are within the same active period duration.

[0117] 4.3.2 For a 2-step RACH: This process is the same as steps 1 and 2 of the 4-step RACH procedure. The differences are as follows: ● For step 1 of a 2-step RACH, the first message sent by the UE is MsgA. This MsgA may include the transmission of a preamble and a MsgA payload.

[0118] ● For step 2 of a 2-step RACH, the second message from the NW to the UE is MsgB, which is also used for contention resolution. The window used to listen to the PDCCH to receive the RA response is the MsgB window (e.g., msgB-ResponseWindow).

[0119] 4.4 UE actions when DRX is configured and activated: ● During the activation time for uplink transmission (e.g., cell DRX activation time, cell-specific activation time, or beam-specific activation time), at least one of the following actions can be considered on the UE side: ■ Perform PUSCH transmission based on a valid uplink grant. This uplink grant can be at least one of the grants received in the response to a random access procedure (e.g., the RA response of a 4-step RACH or the MsgB of a 2-step RACH); ■ RACH is triggered when the corresponding triggering conditions are met. ■ SR is triggered when the corresponding triggering conditions are met; ■ Perform PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) transmissions, for example, for CSI reporting. ■ Perform at least one of the following adaptations on the TAT timer: ◆If the TAT timer was previously paused, restart the TAT timer. ◆ Extend the TAT timer length. In some examples, the TAT timer length can be extended by one DRX cycle. When the DRX configuration is configured for a cell, the UE applies at least one of the aforementioned actions during the activation time for the cell associated with the activated DRX configuration. When the DRX configuration is configured for a beam, the UE applies at least one of the aforementioned actions during the activation time for the beam associated with the activated DRX configuration.

[0120] ● During the cell DRX deactivation time, at least one of the following actions can be considered on the UE side: ■ Do not instruct the physical layer to signal the SR on the PUCCH resource used for the SR; ■ Not applicable to SR incrementing SR_COUNTER; ■ Not for SR startup sr-ProhibitTimer; ■ Do not deliver any configured uplink authorization and associated HARQ information to the HARQ entity; ■ Do not instruct the HARQ process associated with the configured uplink grant to trigger a new transmission or retransmission; ■ Do not report periodic CSI on PUCCH or semi-persistent CSI configured on PUSCH.

[0121] ■ The triggering of the RACH process caused by emergency services initiated by higher layers in SpCell will be delayed until the UE enters the cell DRX activation time. ■ The RACH process is not triggered regardless of whether the triggering condition is met. ■ Regardless of whether the triggering condition is met, SR will not be triggered. ■ PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) transmission is not performed. ■ Do not perform PUCCH transmission.

[0122] ■ In some examples, the UE does not perform any uplink transmission. ■ Clear HARQ buffer ■ Perform at least one of the following adaptations on the TAT timer: ◆If the TAT timer is running, pause the TAT timer. ◆ Extend the TAT timer length. In some examples, the TAT timer length can be extended by one DRX cycle. When the DRX configuration is configured for a cell, the UE applies at least one of the aforementioned actions during the deactivation time for the cell associated with the activated DRX configuration. When the DRX configuration is configured for a beam, the UE applies at least one of the aforementioned actions during the deactivation time for the beam associated with the activated DRX configuration.

[0123] 4.5 DRX / DTX configurations can be common (identical) or different: In some examples, the serving cell / UE may be configured with only cell DRX, only cell DTX, or both cell DRX and cell DTX.

[0124] In some examples, when cell DTX / DRX is configured simultaneously, the cell DTX configuration and the cell DRX configuration can be the same. This example is applicable to situations where power is evenly distributed among the activated beams, for example, when the same beams are allocated for uplink / downlink transmissions.

[0125] In some examples, when cell DTX / DRX is configured simultaneously, the cell DTX configuration and cell DRX configuration can be different. This example can be applied to situations where power is not uniformly distributed among activated beams; for example, the number of beams used for uplink / downlink transmission can be different. The receive power required for uplink reception on the NW side is much lower than the transmit power required for downlink transmission on the NW side. Therefore, it is possible that the network can allocate more power to some beams and less power to others. Consequently, the number of beams available for uplink reception will be greater than the number of beams available for downlink transmission. In this scenario, the DRX period for uplink transmission can be shorter than the DTX period for downlink transmission, or the activation time of the DRX period for uplink transmission can be longer than the activation time of the DTX period for downlink transmission.

[0126] 4.6 Applicable RRC Modes: The applicable modes for cell DRX / cell DTX used for beam power sharing may include at least one of the IDLE, RRC_INACTIVE, and RRC_CONNECTED modes. In some examples, a single set of cell DRX and / or cell DTX is used for all modes. In some examples, separate cell DRX and / or cell DTX configurations can be configured for each mode. Alternatively, in some examples, a single set of cell DRX and / or cell DTX configurations can be configured for the RRC_CONNECTED mode, while a single set of cell DRX and / or cell DTX configurations can be configured for the IDLE / RRC_INACTIVE modes.

[0127] 4.7 Signaling used to configure or update the configuration of DRX / DTX Cell DRX / DTX configuration can be provided to the UE from the NW in at least one of the following signaling methods: in system information, in dedicated signaling, or in group signaling. Dedicated signaling indicates that the signaling is from the NW to a single UE. Group signaling indicates that the signaling is from the NW to a group of UEs, in which case, in extreme cases, the group of UEs may consist of only one UE.

[0128] Messages used for dedicated signaling or group signaling can be at least one of RRC messages, MAC CE signaling, DCI, or NAS messages. The RRC messages include at least one of RRC reconfiguration messages, RRC recovery messages, RRC establishment messages, or RRC release messages. For example, the NW can use an RRC reconfiguration message to configure or update the configuration of a UE in RRC_CONNECTED mode. For example, the NW can use an RRC release message to provide configuration or update the configuration received by the UE in connected mode when moving the UE to RRC_INACTIVE / IDLE mode. For example, the NW can use an RRC establishment message to provide configuration for the UE when establishing an RRC connection. For example, the NW can use an RRC recovery message to provide / update the configuration for the UE when restoring an RRC connection. Configuration updates include releasing the cell's DRX / DTX configuration.

[0129] In some examples, combinations of the signaling options described above can be considered. For instance, a cell-specific DTX and / or cell DRX can be provided in the system information, and the NW can further update the cell DRX and / or cell DTX configuration for one or more UEs via dedicated signaling or group signaling. In this case, the cell DRX and / or cell DTX configuration received via dedicated signaling or group signaling overrides those configurations configured in the system information. In some examples, only a portion of the cell DRX and / or cell DTX configuration can be overridden; for example, the UE only updates the portion of the configuration provided via dedicated / group signaling, while the portion of the configuration provided in the system information but not in the dedicated / group signaling remains unchanged.

[0130] Figure 5 and Figure 6 The document describes some features of Embodiments 2 and 3, which depict examples of on-time (e.g., cell activation time) and off-time (e.g., cell deactivation time).

[0131] Figure 5 Example timeline 500 is shown with no specified offset for on / off duration.

[0132] Figure 6 An example timeline 600 is shown, specifying the on / off duration of the offset. Therefore, in Figure 6 In this context, the activation duration and DRX / DTX cycle begin after the time period specified by the offset value has ended.

[0133] 5. Example Implementation 4: Dynamic (De)activation of Cell DTX / Cell DRX To allow for flexible adjustment of power sharing schemes without frequent reconfiguration of cell DRX / DTX configurations, methods that allow activation or deactivation of cell DRX / DTX configurations can be considered. At least one of the following options can be considered: ●In the first embodiment, an RRC message can be used to activate or deactivate cell DRX / DTX based on the status indication regarding the DRX / DTX configuration section discussed in Embodiment 3. The RRC message can be delivered to the UE via dedicated signaling or group signaling. ●In the second embodiment, MAC CE can be used to deactivate or activate the cell DRX / DTX configuration.

[0134] In some embodiments, one MAC CE is used to deactivate the cell DRX / DTX configuration, and one MAC CE is used to activate the cell DRX / DTX configuration. These two MAC CEs are distinguished based on the different LCIDs (Logical Channel Identifiers) used. For each of these MAC CEs, the MAC CE includes at least one of the following fields: ● R bits, which are set to zero and reserved for future use. ●LCID, which is used to identify the MAC CE type. ● For Activation MAC CE: A field indicating whether DRX / DTX is activated. In some examples, it can be two bits, one for cell DRX and one for cell DTX. For each bit, the value is set to 1 to indicate that the corresponding configuration is activated. In some examples, it can be two bits with four values: one value indicating cell DRX is activated, one value indicating cell DTX is activated, one value indicating both are activated, and one value is reserved.

[0135] ● For Deactivation MAC CE: A field indicating whether DRX / DTX is deactivated. In some examples, it can be two bits, one for cell DRX and one for cell DTX. For each bit, the value is set to 1 to indicate that the corresponding configuration is deactivated. In some examples, it can be two bits with four values: one value indicating cell DRX is deactivated, one value indicating cell DTX is deactivated, one value indicating both are deactivated, and one value is left blank.

[0136] In some embodiments, one MAC CE is used to activate or deactivate the cell DRX configuration, and one MAC CE is used to activate or deactivate the cell DTX configuration. These two MAC CEs are distinguished based on the different LCIDs used. For both MAC CEs, the MAC CE includes at least one of the following fields: ● R bits, which are set to zero and reserved for future use. ●LCID, which is used to identify the MAC CE type; ● For cell DRX MAC CE: A field indicating whether DRX is active. In some examples, it can be a single bit that is set to 1 to indicate that cell DRX is active, set to zero to indicate that cell DRX is deactivated, or vice versa.

[0137] ● For cell DTX MAC CE: A field indicating whether DTX is active. In some examples, it can be a single bit that is set to 1 to indicate that cell DTX is active, set to zero to indicate that cell DTX is deactivated, or vice versa.

[0138] All of the fields mentioned above can be included in the MAC subheader or the MAC CE payload.

[0139] In some embodiments, a MAC CE is used to activate / deactivate cell DRX / cell DTX configuration. The MAC CE includes at least one of the following fields: ● R bits, which are set to zero and reserved for future use. ●LCID, which indicates that the MAC CE is a (de)activated MAC CE used for cell DRX / cell DTX. ● A field indicating whether the configuration is activated or deactivated. In some examples, it can be a bit that is set to 1 to indicate that the configuration is activated, set to zero to indicate that the configuration is deactivated, or vice versa.

[0140] ● A field indicating whether the MAC CE is for cell DRX and / or for cell DTX. In some examples, it can be two bits, one for cell DRX and one for cell DTX, where each bit is set to 1 to indicate that the MAC CE is for the corresponding configuration type (e.g., cell DRX / cell DTX). In some examples, it can be two bits with four values, one value indicating that cell DRX is considered in the MAC CE, one value indicating that cell DTX is considered in the MAC CE, one value indicating that both cell DRX and cell DTX are considered in the MAC CE, and one value is reserved.

[0141] All of the fields mentioned above can be included in the MAC subheader or the MAC CE payload.

[0142] In some examples, for all the embodiments mentioned above, the MAC CE is octet aligned. In some examples, the MAC CE may include only the MAC subheader, or in some examples, it may include both the MAC subheader and the MAC CE payload. The MAC CE may be fixed-size or variable-size. When using a variable-size MAC CE, a length field is used to indicate the length of the MAC CE. In some embodiments, the length field may be indicated by a format flag.

[0143] ● In the third embodiment, DCI can be used to deactivate or activate cell DRX / DTX configurations. This can be based on a new DCI format or an existing DCI format.

[0144] ■ When using DCI signaling, at least one of the following configurations shall be provided from the NW to the UE: ◆Size configuration, used to indicate the size of the DCI format for cell DRX / DTX activation or deactivation. ◆ RNTI value used to scramble the CRC used by this DCI The DCI may include at least one of the fields discussed above for the MAC CE example embodiment, such as a field indicating whether the configuration is for DRX, DTX or both; and a field indicating whether the DCI is activated or deactivated.

[0145] For all the options discussed above, the NW can deactivate or activate only the cell DRX, only the cell DTX, or both. In some examples, the DCI / MAC CE can be delivered to the UE via dedicated signaling or group signaling.

[0146] 6. Example 5: UE-specific activation time configuration In some examples, beams within a cell can be activated on demand, for example, due to the arrival of data in the downlink or uplink. This means that the activation time (e.g., start time / activation duration) of some activated beams may be irregular in the time domain. In this case, at least one of the following options can be considered to inform the UE of the timing of listening for scheduling information and / or the timing of transmissions in the uplink / downlink: ● Introduce configurations for configuring UE-specific activation times, including at least one of the following: ■Start of activation time ■ The duration from this start time indicates the duration of the activation time. In some examples, when this duration is exceeded (or equal to or greater than this duration), the UE may perform at least one of the following: the UE considers itself not to be in the activation time, or the UE releases the received UE-specific activation time configuration.

[0147] This configuration can be provided per cell per UE or per UE per beam.

[0148] In some examples, the aforementioned activation time can be implemented using a timer. For instance, the timer starts at the moment indicated by the received start time and times out when the configured duration is exceeded (or equal to or greater than the specified duration). During the timer's execution, the UE considers itself to be in the activation time. In some examples, if the timer times out or is not running, the UE considers itself not to be in the activation time. In some examples, the UE releases the configuration when the timer times out.

[0149] When the UE is in an active period according to the received configuration, it is allowed to perform at least one of the following actions: ● For the cell or beam that has provided and activated the configuration, perform at least one of the actions discussed in Examples 2 / 3 during the activation time of downlink / uplink transmission, such as listening to the PDCCH in the serving cell / beam where the configuration is activated. 7. Example 6: Redirecting the UE to another cell (group command / UE-specific command) As discussed in this document, some UEs may not be able to use the beam power sharing solutions / enhancements discussed herein. It is possible that some UEs without the capability for an enhancement to be activated may already be connected to the cell before certain enhancements (e.g., cell DRX / cell DTX for beam power sharing) are activated. In this case, enhancements are needed to allow the NW to move these UEs to other cells. To address this issue, at least one of the following solutions can be considered for the NW to handle UEs without beam power sharing enhancement capabilities: ●Option 1: If a CHO configuration is available on the UE side, at least one of the following options can be considered: ■ Option 1-1: The NW can hand over the UE to a CHO candidate cell simply by providing an identifier used to identify the CHO configuration. In some examples, this identifier can be a CHO index or a CHO candidate cell ID associated with the CHO configuration. Upon receiving this identifier, the UE performs the handover using the CHO configuration associated with that identifier. This identifier can be included in at least one of the DCI, MAC CE, or RRC messages from the NW to the UE.

[0150] ■Options 1-2: The NW can trigger the UE to proceed to a CHO candidate cell by including an indication of the CHO configuration. Using such an indication, the UE can perform a CHO regardless of whether the CHO execution condition associated with the radio condition is met. In some examples, the NW may configure two execution conditions for the UE, one associated with a location condition and one with a radio condition. The UE can then select from CHO candidates that meet the location condition, regardless of whether the radio condition is met. At least one of the following examples can be considered: ◆In some examples, the NW can indicate a CHO candidate cell so that the UE can perform a handover using the CHO configuration associated with that CHO candidate cell. ◆In some examples, the UE selects the target CHO candidate cell with the best radio quality from among the CHO candidate cells that meet the location conditions. After selection, the UE performs a handover to the selected target CHO candidate using the associated CHO configuration.

[0151] ◆In some examples, the UE randomly selects a target CHO candidate cell from among the CHO candidate cells that meet the location conditions. After selection, the UE performs a handover to the selected target CHO candidate cell using the associated CHO configuration.

[0152] ■Options 1-3: The NW can trigger the UE to proceed to a CHO candidate cell by including an indication configured for the CHO. Using such an indication, the UE can perform a CHO regardless of whether the radio condition is met. In some examples, the NW may configure two execution conditions for the UE, one associated with a time condition and one with a radio condition, allowing the UE to select from CHO candidates that meet the time condition, regardless of whether the radio condition is met. At least one of the following examples can be considered: ◆In some examples, NW can indicate a CHO candidate cell for the UE to perform a handover using the CHO configuration associated with that CHO candidate cell.

[0153] ◆In some examples, the UE selects the candidate cell with the best radio quality from the CHO candidate cells that meet the time conditions. After selection, the UE performs a handover to the selected target CHO candidate using the associated CHO configuration.

[0154] ◆In some examples, the UE randomly selects a target CHO candidate cell from among the CHO candidate cells that meet the time conditions. After selection, the UE performs a handover to the selected target CHO candidate cell using the associated CHO configuration.

[0155] ■ In some examples, the instruction to trigger the UE to perform a handover to the CHO candidate cell, as discussed in Options 1-2 and 1-3, may also be sent to the UE from the NW via at least one of MAC CE or DCI signaling, or via an instruction in the system information. In those examples, the UE action is as discussed in the corresponding option.

[0156] ●Option 2: Switch the UE to another cell via a handover command ●Option 3: Release the UE to idle mode ●Option 4: Move the UE to inactive mode In some embodiments for option 3 / 4, at least one of the following parameters may be provided to the UE: ● Preferred cell information, which indicates the cell in which the NW recommends the UE attempt to establish / restore a new RRC connection. In some examples, this cell information includes PCI and / or frequency information.

[0157] ●Preferred frequency information, which indicates the frequency at which the NW recommends the UE perform measurements for cell discovery.

[0158] ● The reason value informs the UE why it has been moved to IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE mode. In some examples, this reason value may be because the current cell is a cell with beam power sharing. In some examples, this reason value may be because the current cell has activated cell DTX and / or cell DRX. In some examples, this reason value may be because the current cell has activated enhanced beam mode. In some examples, this reason value can be set to "Other".

[0159] For all the options mentioned above, NW can provide the signaling either in a dedicated manner (for a single UE) or in a group manner (for a group of UEs using group RNTI values).

[0160] 8. Example Implementation 7: UE Preference Report / UE Configuration Information Report In some examples, the UE can know the arrival time and / or possible duration of uplink data. To assist the NW in adjusting the power sharing solution (e.g., adjusting the cell DRX / DTX configuration), at least one of the following configuration information can be provided from the UE to the NW: ●Preferred cell DRX configurations include at least one of the configurations discussed for cell DRX in Example 3. For example, cell DRX period and activation duration.

[0161] ●Preferred cell DTX configurations include at least one of the configurations discussed for cell DTX in Example 2.

[0162] ●Estimated duration of uplink data to be sent ● An indication used to indicate the presence of pending uplink data to be sent. ●Amount of uplink data to be sent ● QoS requirements for pending uplink data In some examples, whether the UE can report configuration information for beam power sharing is controlled by the NW. In some examples, an indication is introduced to allow the UE to report configuration information for beam power sharing, which includes all configuration information introduced for this purpose. Alternatively, in some examples, a separate indication is introduced for each piece of configuration information introduced for beam power sharing, and the UE can only report the corresponding configuration information if that indication indicates that reporting to the NW is permitted. This indication for NW control of reporting behavior can be delivered to the UE using at least one of system information or RRC messages (e.g., RRC reconfiguration messages).

[0163] In some examples, the UE can be via, for example Figure 7 The UE assistance information reporting procedure shown in message interaction 700 provides the above configuration information. Here, after performing RRC reconfiguration between the UE and NW, the UE sends UE assistance information to the network, including at least one of the information discussed in embodiment 7 above. In some examples, the UE reports the preferred configuration for power sharing only when the NW indicates that reporting is allowed.

[0164] In some examples, the UE may also report UE capability information to the NW. This capability may include, for example, one or more bits indicating whether the UE supports one or more solutions for beam power sharing discussed in this document. In some examples, separate bits may be used to indicate separate solutions for beam power; for example, one bit may indicate whether the UE supports cell DRX / DTX according to the power sharing scheme disclosed in this document, one bit may indicate whether the UE supports CHO indication for beam power sharing, and one bit may indicate whether the UE supports enhanced beam transmission modes. In some examples, only one bit may be used to indicate whether the UE supports beam power sharing; if the UE indicates support, it means that the UE supports all features specified for beam power sharing.

[0165] Some preferred embodiments can achieve the following technical solutions.

[0166] 1. A wireless communication method (e.g., Figure 8 The method 800 described herein includes: a wireless device receiving (802) configuration information relating to beam power sharing in a serving cell from a network device; and the wireless device making (804) a decision regarding a transmission operation or a reception operation of the wireless device based on the configuration information.

[0167] 2. A wireless communication method (e.g., Figure 9 The method 900 described herein includes: a network device sending (902) configuration information relating to beam power sharing to a wireless device, wherein the configuration information allows the wireless device to make a decision regarding the wireless device’s transmission or reception operations.

[0168] 3. The method according to any of the above schemes, wherein the configuration information indicates that the serving cell is not blocked from access by wireless devices that support the beam power sharing.

[0169] 4. The method according to any of the above schemes, wherein the configuration information indicates that the serving cell is prohibited from accessing wireless devices that do not support beam power sharing.

[0170] 5. The method according to any of the above schemes, wherein the configuration information indicates whether the current cell is using the beam power sharing feature.

[0171] 6. The method according to any of the above embodiments, wherein the configuration information indicates information regarding the settings of the beam power sharing feature.

[0172] 7. The method according to any of the above schemes, wherein the decision includes determining whether the wireless device is prohibited from operating in the current cell.

[0173] 8. The method according to any of the above schemes, wherein the configuration information is used for downlink transmission.

[0174] 9. The method according to any of the above schemes, wherein the configuration information is used for uplink transmission.

[0175] 10. The method according to any of the above embodiments, wherein the decision regarding the transmission operation or the reception operation includes determining an activation period during which the wireless device is permitted to perform the uplink transmission or is expected to receive the downlink transmission.

[0176] 11. The method according to any of the above embodiments, wherein the decision regarding the transmission operation or the reception operation includes determining a deactivation period during which the wireless device is not allowed to perform uplink transmission or is not expected to receive downlink transmission.

[0177] 12. The method according to any of the above schemes, wherein the configuration information includes timing parameters indicating an activation time on the beam, during which the wireless device will perform a listening operation, a receiving operation, or a transmitting operation on the serving cell.

[0178] 13. The method according to Scheme 12, wherein the timing parameter includes a start time, a duration, or a timer value.

[0179] Further examples and features of the above scheme are described throughout this document, including, for example, Example 5.

[0180] 14. The method according to Scheme 1, wherein the wireless device is configured to send information relating to the beam power sharing to the network device.

[0181] 15. The method according to Scheme 1, wherein the network device is configured to receive information relating to the beam power sharing from the wireless device, and generate the configuration information based on the received information.

[0182] 16. The method according to any of the above schemes, wherein the information indicates one or more preferred discontinuous reception configurations for the wireless device.

[0183] 17. The method according to any of the above schemes, wherein the information indicates one or more preferred discontinuous transmission configurations for the wireless device.

[0184] 18. The method according to any of the above schemes, wherein the information indicates an estimate of uplink data to be transmitted by the wireless device or quality of service information of pending uplink data.

[0185] Further examples and features of the above scheme are described throughout this document, including, for example, Example 7.

[0186] 19. A wireless communication method (e.g., Figure 10 The method 1000 described herein includes: a wireless device receiving (1002) configuration information from a network device relating to discontinuous reception (DRX) operation and / or discontinuous transmission (DTX) operation; and the wireless device making (1004) a decision regarding uplink or downlink transmission based on the received configuration information.

[0187] 20. A wireless communication method (e.g., Figure 11 The method 1100 described herein includes: a network device sending (1102) configuration information to a wireless device relating to discontinuous reception (DRX) and / or discontinuous transmission (DTX) operations, the configuration information allowing the wireless device to make a decision regarding uplink or downlink transmission. 21. The method according to any one of schemes 19 to 20, wherein the DTX operation and the DRX operation are related to the availability of the cell for transmission or reception.

[0188] 22. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 20, wherein the DTX operation and the DRX operation are related to the availability of the beam for transmission or reception.

[0189] 23. The method according to any of the above schemes, wherein the configuration information includes timing parameters of the DRX operation and / or timing parameters of the DTX operation.

[0190] 24. The method according to any of the above schemes, wherein the configuration information indicates its suitability for the DRX operation and / or the DTX operation.

[0191] 25. The method according to any of the above schemes, wherein the decision regarding the downlink transmission includes deciding to perform one or more of the following operations during the activation time of the DTX operation: listening to the downlink control channel; receiving a downlink allocation; restarting the random access response window; restarting the contention resolution timer; or restarting the DRX timer.

[0192] 26. The method according to any of the above schemes, wherein the decision regarding the uplink transmission includes deciding to perform one or more of the following operations during the activation time of the DRX operation: performing data transmission on the uplink shared channel, sending a scheduling request; or performing transmission on the uplink control channel.

[0193] Further examples and features of the above scheme are described throughout this document, including, for example, Examples 3 and 4.

[0194] 27. The method according to any of the above schemes, wherein the decision regarding the uplink transmission or the downlink transmission is performed in response to a dynamic indication to activate or deactivate the DRX operation and / or the DTX operation.

[0195] 28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the dynamic indication is in the radio resource control message.

[0196] 29. The method according to schemes 19-20, wherein the dynamic indication is in the Media Access Control Unit (MAC CE).

[0197] Further examples and features of the above solutions are described throughout this document, including, for example, Example 4. 30. A wireless communication method (e.g., Figure 12 The method 1200 described herein includes: a wireless device receiving (1202) an instruction from a network device instructing the wireless device to initiate a handover process; and selectively initiating (1204) a handover process based on the fact that the wireless device cannot support beam power sharing.

[0198] 31. A wireless communication method (e.g., Figure 13 The method 1300 described herein includes: a network device sending (1302) an instruction to a wireless device, wherein the instruction instructs the wireless device to switch to another cell because the wireless device cannot support beam power sharing.

[0199] 32. The method according to scheme 30 or 31, wherein the indication identifies a switching configuration to be used by the wireless device.

[0200] 33. The method according to claim 30 or 31, wherein the wireless device is configured to initiate the handover in response to the wireless device satisfying a location condition.

[0201] 34. The method according to any of the above schemes, wherein the wireless device is configured to initiate the handover in response to a time condition being met.

[0202] 35. The method according to any of the above schemes, wherein the indication is in a downlink control channel (DCI), media access control unit (MAC CE), or radio resource control (RRC) message.

[0203] Further examples and features of the above scheme are described throughout this document, including, for example, Example 6.

[0204] 36. A wireless communication device comprising at least one processor configured to implement the method according to any of the above schemes.

[0205] 37. A computer storage medium having code stored thereon, wherein the code, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to implement the method according to any of the above schemes.

[0206] Those skilled in the art will understand that this document provides various techniques for beam power sharing functionality in wireless networks. In one advantageous aspect, the user equipment (UE) can decide whether to perform downlink information reception and / or uplink transmission during operation. Due to the beam power sharing mechanism, some beams may be turned off, in which case both uplink and downlink transmissions are impossible. Alternatively, some beams may operate in a low-power level mode, in which case it is possible that only uplink transmission is possible, while downlink transmission is impossible because uplink reception on the NW side may consume less power. In some embodiments, the UE can be provided with a configuration to indicate when uplink / downlink transmissions are allowed or not allowed, as discussed in this document. This can be controlled by providing parameters indicating activation / deactivation times (e.g., on-off times). Since this configuration will include on-off times, the transmission / reception behavior is not continuous; therefore, the concept of discontinuous reception / transmission is used.

[0207] It will be understood that the UE can infer the availability of the beam based on the DRX / DTX configuration it receives.

[0208] Some of the embodiments described herein are described in the general context of methods or processes. In one embodiment, these methods or processes may be implemented by a computer program product embodied in a computer-readable medium, including computer-executable instructions, such as program code, that are executed by a computer in a networked environment. The computer-readable medium may include removable and non-removable storage devices, including but not limited to read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), etc. Therefore, the computer-readable medium may include non-transitory storage media. Typically, program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform a specific task or implement a specific abstract data type. Computer-executable instructions or processor-executable instructions, associated data structures, and program modules represent examples of program code for performing steps of the methods disclosed herein. Specific sequences of such executable instructions or associated data structures represent examples of corresponding actions for implementing the functionality described in such steps or processes.

[0209] Some of the disclosed embodiments can be implemented as devices or modules using hardware circuitry, software, or a combination thereof. For example, hardware circuitry implementations may include discrete analog and / or digital components integrated, for example, as part of a printed circuit board. Alternatively or additionally, the disclosed components or modules may be implemented as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and / or field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Some implementations may additionally or alternatively include digital signal processors (DSPs), which are special-purpose microprocessors with an architecture optimized for the operational requirements of digital signal processing associated with the functions disclosed herein. Similarly, various components or sub-components within each module can be implemented using software, hardware, or firmware. Connections between modules and / or between components within a module can be provided using any connection methods and media known in the art, including but not limited to communication via the Internet, wired, or wireless networks using appropriate protocols.

[0210] Although this document contains numerous specific details, these details should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed invention or any potentially claimed content, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments. Some features described in the context of individual embodiments in this document may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple embodiments. Furthermore, although features may be described above as operating in certain combinations, and even initially claimed in this way, in some cases one or more features may be removed from the claimed combination, and the claimed combination may refer to a sub-combination or a variation of a sub-combination. Similarly, although operations are depicted in a specific order in the drawings, this should not be construed as requiring such operations to be performed in the specific order or sequential order shown, or requiring all illustrated operations to be performed to achieve the desired result.

[0211] Only a few implementations and examples are described, and other implementations, enhancements and variations can be made based on what is described and shown in this document.

Claims

1. A wireless communication method, comprising: The wireless device receives configuration information from the network device related to beam power sharing in the serving cell; as well as Based on the configuration information, the wireless device makes a decision regarding its transmission or reception operations.

2. A wireless communication method, comprising: The network device sends configuration information related to beam power sharing to the wireless device, wherein the configuration information allows the wireless device to make decisions regarding the wireless device's transmission or reception operations.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the configuration information indicates that the serving cell is not blocked from access by wireless devices that support the beam power sharing.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the configuration information indicates that the serving cell is prohibited from accessing wireless devices that do not support beam power sharing.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the configuration information indicates whether the current cell is using the beam power sharing.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the configuration information indicates information regarding the settings for beam power sharing.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the decision includes determining whether the wireless device is prohibited from operating in the current cell.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the configuration information is used for downlink transmission.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the configuration information is used for uplink transmission.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the decision regarding the transmission operation or the reception operation includes determining an activation period during which the wireless device is permitted to perform uplink transmission or is expected to receive downlink transmission.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the decision regarding the transmission operation or the reception operation includes determining a deactivation period during which the wireless device is not allowed to perform uplink transmissions or is not expected to receive downlink transmissions.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the configuration information includes timing parameters indicating an activation time on the beam during which the wireless device will perform a listening operation, a receiving operation, or a transmitting operation on the serving cell.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the timing parameter includes a start time, a duration, or a timer value.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is configured to send information relating to the beam power sharing to the network device.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the network device is configured to receive information relating to the beam power sharing from the wireless device, and to generate the configuration information based on the received information.

16. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 15, wherein the information indicates one or more preferred discontinuous reception configurations for the wireless device.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the information indicates one or more preferred discontinuous transmission configurations for the wireless device.

18. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 17, wherein the information indicates an estimate of uplink data to be transmitted by the wireless device or quality of service information of pending uplink data.

19. A wireless communication method, comprising: The wireless device receives configuration information from the network device related to discontinuous reception (DRX) operation and / or discontinuous transmission (DTX) operation; as well as The wireless device makes a decision about uplink or downlink transmission based on the received configuration information.

20. A wireless communication method, comprising: The network device sends configuration information to the wireless device related to discontinuous reception (DRX) and / or discontinuous transmission (DTX) operations, the configuration information allowing the wireless device to make decisions about uplink or downlink transmissions.

21. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 20, wherein the DTX operation and the DRX operation are related to the availability of the cell for transmission or reception.

22. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 20, wherein the DTX operation and the DRX operation are related to the availability of the beam for transmission or reception.

23. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 22, wherein the configuration information includes timing parameters for the DRX operation and / or timing parameters for the DTX operation.

24. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 23, wherein the configuration information indicates its suitability for the DRX operation and / or the DTX operation.

25. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 24, wherein the decision regarding the downlink transmission includes deciding to perform one or more of the following operations during the activation time of the DTX operation: Monitor the downlink control channel; Receive downlink allocation; Restart the random access response window; Restart the race-resolver timer; or Restart the DRX timer.

26. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 25, wherein the decision regarding the uplink transmission includes deciding to perform one or more of the following operations during the activation time of the DRX operation: Data transmission is performed on the uplink shared channel. Send a scheduling request; or Transmissions are performed on the uplink control channel.

27. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 26, wherein the decision regarding the uplink transmission or the downlink transmission is performed in response to a dynamic indication to activate or deactivate the DRX operation and / or the DTX operation.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the dynamic indication is in a radio resource control message.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the dynamic indication is in the Media Access Control and Controller Unit (MACCE).

30. A wireless communication method, comprising: The wireless device receives an instruction from the network device instructing the wireless device to initiate a handover process; as well as A handover process may be initiated selectively based on the fact that the wireless device does not support beam power sharing.

31. A wireless communication method, comprising: The network device sends an instruction to the wireless device, wherein the instruction instructs the wireless device to switch to another cell because the wireless device cannot support beam power sharing.

32. The method of claim 30 or 31, wherein the indication identifies a switching configuration to be used by the wireless device.

33. The method of claim 30 or 31, wherein the wireless device is configured to initiate the handover in response to the wireless device satisfying a location condition.

34. The method according to any one of claims 30 to 33, wherein the wireless device is configured to initiate the handover in response to a time condition being met.

35. The method according to any one of claims 30 to 34, wherein the indication is in a downlink control channel (DCI), media access control unit (MAC CE), or radio resource control (RRC) message.

36. A wireless communication device comprising at least one processor configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 35.

37. A computer storage medium having code stored thereon, wherein the code, when executed by at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 35.

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