DCI decoding

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to DCI decoding. The present specification describes a first apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to: receive, from a second apparatus, a first user equipment discontinuous reception (UE DRX) configuration and a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring rule; receive, from the second apparatus, a downlink control information, wherein the downlink control information is located in one or more control channel element (CCE) locations associated with a first aggregation level; determine a second UE DRX configuration based at least in part on the first aggregation level and the PDCCH monitoring rule; and monitor for one or more subsequent DCIs based at least in part on the second UE DRX configuration.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various exemplary embodiments of this disclosure generally relate to the telecommunications field, and particularly to methods, apparatus, devices, and computer-readable storage media for DCI monitoring. Background Technology

[0002] Terminal equipment (e.g., UE) monitors the Physical Control Channel (PDCCH) to obtain downlink control information (DCI) for UL scheduling or UL authorization. The DCI carries information about the index of a Control Channel Element (CCE) belonging to a Control Resource Set (CORESET). The PDCCH location is unknown until the UE can decode the DCI. The UE only knows the search space (SS) where the PDCCH resides, therefore the UE will have to attempt to decode several possible DCI formats or locations within the configured search space set to determine if a CORESET match exists. These decoding attempts constitute a blind decoding / detection process. This process contributes significantly to UE power consumption, partly due to the large number of blind decoding attempts. This area still requires improvement.

[0003] PDCCH monitoring is the largest contributor to UE power consumption (e.g., in CONNECTED mode). However, while UE energy can be saved by using UEDRX, a decline in UE call performance is observed at the cell edge under poor / cell edge conditions. Reconfiguring the UE at the cell edge to avoid using UE DRX incurs significant overhead, such as RRC reconfiguration.

[0004] Currently, NW solutions address the need for improved call quality (e.g., VoLTE and VoNR) for Connectivity Mode DRX (C-DRX) UEs experiencing RF condition degradation at the cell edge by explicitly reconfiguring the UE's DRX with RRC to always keep the UE awake (e.g., duration = cycle length, or DRX disabled). This results in these UEs remaining awake for longer periods, allowing them to acquire more consistent PDCCH monitoring opportunities, i.e., more activity time, and field observations indicate that this leads to better call KPIs.

[0005] The DRX configuration still needs improvement. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In a first aspect of this disclosure, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to at least: receive a first User Equipment Discontinuous Reception (UE DRX) configuration and Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring rules from a second apparatus; receive downlink control information from the second apparatus, wherein the downlink control information is located in one or more Control Channel Elements (CCE) locations associated with a first aggregation level; determine a second UE DRX configuration based at least in part on the first aggregation level and the PDCCH monitoring rules; and monitor one or more subsequent DCIs based at least in part on the second UE DRX configuration.

[0007] In some examples, one or more PDCCH monitoring rules are included in the PDCCH search space configuration.

[0008] In some examples, the UE DRX configuration includes one or more of the following: DRX cycle duration, DRX on duration, DRX inactivity duration, DRX retransmission timer, DRX round-trip time (RTT) timer, long DRX cycle length, short DRX cycle length, or short DRX cycle timer.

[0009] In some examples, when the first AL is equal to or less than the first AL value, the second UE DRX configuration is the same as the first UE DRX configuration.

[0010] In some examples, when the first AL is higher than the first AL value, the second UE DRX configuration, relative to the first UE DRX configuration, includes one or more of the following: a longer DRX on duration, a longer DRX inactivity duration, or a shorter DRX cycle duration.

[0011] In some examples, the second UE DRX configuration for determining the corresponding DCI is also based, at least in part, on multiple historical aggregation levels (ALs) corresponding to multiple historical received DCIs.

[0012] In some examples, the second UE DRX configuration is determined based on the highest historical AL among multiple historical ALs corresponding to multiple historical received DCIs.

[0013] In some examples, determining the second UE DRX configuration includes triggering adjustments to the first UE DRX configuration.

[0014] In some examples, one or more of the first UE DRX configuration and PDCCH monitoring rules include one or more aggregation level ranges corresponding to the triggering of regulation of the first UE DRX monitoring configuration.

[0015] In some examples, the adjustment of the first UE DRX configuration applies to one or more of the following: the current DRX cycle or one or more subsequent DRX cycles.

[0016] In some examples, the instruction also causes the first device to send a first response to the second device, wherein the first response indicates that the first device has received the corresponding DCI and / or the second UE DRX configuration has been determined.

[0017] In some examples, the first response includes one or more of the following: a PUSCH transport response (Tx) in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or an acknowledgment message in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

[0018] In some examples, the first device is a user equipment (UE) and the second device is a base station (gNB).

[0019] In a second aspect, this specification describes a method performed at a first device, the method comprising: receiving a first User Equipment Discontinuous Reception (UE DRX) configuration and Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring rules from a second device; receiving downlink control information from the second device, wherein the downlink control information is located in one or more Control Channel Elements (CCE) locations associated with a first aggregation level; determining a second UE DRX configuration based at least in part on the first aggregation level and the PDCCH monitoring rules; and monitoring one or more subsequent DCIs based at least in part on the second UE DRX configuration.

[0020] In some examples, one or more PDCCH monitoring rules are included in the PDCCH search space configuration.

[0021] In some examples, the UE DRX configuration includes one or more of the following: DRX cycle duration, DRX on duration, DRX inactivity duration, DRX retransmission timer, DRX round-trip time (RTT) timer, long DRX cycle length, short DRX cycle length, or short DRX cycle timer.

[0022] In some examples, when the first AL is equal to or less than the first AL value, the second UE DRX configuration is the same as the first UE DRX configuration.

[0023] In some examples, when the first AL is higher than the first AL value, the second UE DRX configuration, relative to the first UE DRX configuration, includes one or more of the following: a longer DRX on duration, a longer DRX inactivity duration, or a shorter DRX cycle duration.

[0024] In some examples, the second UE DRX configuration for determining the corresponding DCI is also based, at least in part, on multiple historical aggregation levels (ALs) corresponding to multiple historical received DCIs.

[0025] In some examples, the second UE DRX configuration is determined based on the highest historical AL among multiple historical ALs corresponding to multiple historical received DCIs.

[0026] In some examples, determining the second UE DRX configuration includes triggering adjustments to the first UE DRX configuration.

[0027] In some examples, one or more of the first UE DRX configuration and PDCCH monitoring rules include one or more aggregation level ranges corresponding to the triggering of regulation of the first UE DRX monitoring configuration.

[0028] In some examples, the adjustment of the first UE DRX configuration applies to one or more of the following: the current DRX cycle or one or more subsequent DRX cycles.

[0029] In some examples, the method also includes sending a first response to a second device, wherein the first response indicates that the first device has received the corresponding DCI, and / or the second UE DRX configuration has been determined.

[0030] In some examples, the first response includes one or more of the following: a PUSCH transport response (Tx) in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or an acknowledgment message in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

[0031] In some examples, the first device is a user equipment (UE) and the second device is a base station (gNB).

[0032] According to a third aspect, a computer program product including an instruction set is provided, which, when executed on a device, is configured to cause the device to perform any of the methods defined in the foregoing method.

[0033] According to a fourth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided including program instructions stored thereon for performing a method comprising: receiving a first user equipment discontinuous reception (UE DRX) configuration and physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring rules from a second means; receiving downlink control information from the second means, wherein the downlink control information is located in one or more control channel elements (CCE) locations associated with a first aggregation level; determining a second UE DRX configuration based at least in part on the first aggregation level and the PDCCH monitoring rules; and monitoring one or more subsequent DCIs based at least in part on the second UE DRX configuration.

[0034] The program instructions of the fourth aspect may also perform any operation defined by the aforementioned method according to the second aspect.

[0035] According to a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: components for receiving a first User Equipment Discontinuous Reception (UE DRX) configuration and Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring rules from a second apparatus; components for receiving downlink control information from the second apparatus, wherein the downlink control information is located in one or more Control Channel Elements (CCE) locations associated with a first aggregation level; components for determining a second UE DRX configuration based at least in part on the first aggregation level and the PDCCH monitoring rules; and components for monitoring one or more subsequent DCIs based at least in part on the second UE DRX configuration.

[0036] According to the sixth aspect, this specification describes an apparatus configured to perform any of the methods described with reference to the second aspect.

[0037] According to the seventh aspect, this specification describes an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatus to perform operations defined according to any of the foregoing methods of the second aspect.

[0038] According to aspect eight, this specification describes an apparatus comprising: a first module configured to receive a first User Equipment Discontinuous Reception (UE DRX) configuration and Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring rules from a second device; a second module configured to receive downlink control information from the second device, wherein the downlink control information is located in one or more Control Channel Elements (CCE) locations associated with a first aggregation level; a third module configured to determine a second UE DRX configuration based at least in part on the first aggregation level and the PDCCH monitoring rules; and a fourth module configured to monitor one or more subsequent DCIs based at least in part on the second UE DRX configuration.

[0039] In a ninth aspect, this specification describes a second apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus to: send a first User Equipment Discontinuous Reception (UE DRX) configuration to a first apparatus including a Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration; send a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring rule to the first apparatus for configuring the first apparatus to determine a second UE DRX configuration based at least in part on an aggregation level (AL) corresponding to a corresponding downlink control information (DCI); send downlink control information (DCI) to the first apparatus, wherein the downlink control information is located in one or more control channel elements (CCE) locations associated with a first aggregation level; and, at least in part based on the PDCCH monitoring rule and the corresponding AL, perform one or more of the following: send a PDCCH DCI to the first apparatus or schedule the transmission of a PDCCH DCI to the first apparatus.

[0040] In some examples, one or more PDCCH monitoring rules are included in the PDCCH search space configuration.

[0041] In some examples, the UE DRX configuration includes one or more of the following: DRX cycle duration, DRX on duration, DRX inactivity duration, DRX retransmission timer, DRX round-trip time (RTT) timer, long DRX cycle length, short DRX cycle length, or short DRX cycle timer (i.e., the number of short cycles before entering a long cycle).

[0042] In some examples, one or more of the first UE DRX configuration and PDCCH monitoring rules include one or more aggregation level ranges corresponding to the triggering of adjustments to the first UE DRX monitoring configuration. In some examples, adjustments to the first UE DRX configuration apply to one or more of the following: the current DRX cycle or one or more subsequent DRX cycles.

[0043] In some examples, the instruction also causes the second device to trigger the transmission of DCI based on the PDCCH monitoring rules and the corresponding AL in response to receiving a first response from the first device, wherein the first response indicates that the first device has received the first DCI and / or the second UE DRX configuration has been determined.

[0044] In some examples, the first response includes one or more of the following: a PUSCH transport response (Tx) in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or an acknowledgment message in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

[0045] In some examples, the first device is a user equipment (UE) and the second device is a base station (gNB).

[0046] In a tenth aspect, this specification describes a method performed at a second device, the method comprising: sending to a first device a first user equipment discontinuous reception (UE DRX) configuration including a radio resource control (RRC) configuration; sending to the first device a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring rule for configuring the first device to determine a second UE DRX configuration based at least in part on an aggregation level (AL) corresponding to a corresponding downlink control information (DCI); sending to the first device downlink control information (DCI), wherein the downlink control information is located in one or more control channel elements (CCE) locations associated with a first aggregation level; and performing one or more of the following, at least in part based on the PDCCH monitoring rule and the corresponding AL: sending the PDCCH DCI to the first device or scheduling the transmission of the PDCCH DCI to the first device.

[0047] In some examples, one or more PDCCH monitoring rules are included in the PDCCH search space configuration.

[0048] In some examples, the UE DRX configuration includes one or more of the following: DRX cycle duration, DRX on duration, DRX inactivity duration, DRX retransmission timer, DRX round-trip time (RTT) timer, long DRX cycle length, short DRX cycle length, or short DRX cycle timer (i.e., the number of short cycles before entering a long cycle).

[0049] In some examples, one or more of the first UE DRX configuration and PDCCH monitoring rules include one or more aggregation level ranges corresponding to the triggering of adjustments to the first UE DRX monitoring configuration. In some examples, adjustments to the first UE DRX configuration apply to one or more of the following: the current DRX cycle or one or more subsequent DRX cycles.

[0050] In some examples, the instruction also causes the second device to trigger the transmission of DCI based on the PDCCH monitoring rules and the corresponding AL in response to receiving a first response from the first device, wherein the first response indicates that the first device has received the first DCI and / or the second UE DRX configuration has been determined.

[0051] In some examples, the first response includes one or more of the following: a PUSCH transport response (Tx) in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or an acknowledgment message in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

[0052] In some examples, the first device is a user equipment (UE) and the second device is a base station (gNB).

[0053] According to the eleventh aspect, a computer program product including an instruction set is provided, which, when executed on a device, is configured to cause the device to perform a method defined according to any of the foregoing methods of the tenth aspect.

[0054] According to a twelfth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium including program instructions stored thereon is provided for performing a method comprising: sending to a first device a first user equipment discontinuous reception (UE DRX) configuration including a radio resource control (RRC) configuration; sending to the first device a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring rule for configuring the first device to determine a second UE DRX configuration based at least in part on an aggregation level (AL) corresponding to a corresponding downlink control information (DCI); sending to the first device downlink control information (DCI) wherein the downlink control information is located in one or more control channel elements (CCE) locations associated with a first aggregation level; and performing one or more of the following, at least in part based on the PDCCH monitoring rule and the corresponding AL: sending the PDCCH DCI to the first device or scheduling the transmission of the PDCCH DCI to the first device.

[0055] The program instructions in the twelfth aspect may also perform any of the operations defined by the foregoing method in the tenth aspect.

[0056] According to a thirteenth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: components for transmitting to a first apparatus a first user equipment discontinuous reception (UE DRX) configuration included in a radio resource control (RRC) configuration; components for transmitting to the first apparatus a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring rule for configuring the first apparatus to determine a second UE DRX configuration based at least in part on an aggregation level (AL) corresponding to a corresponding downlink control information (DCI); components for transmitting downlink control information (DCI) to the first apparatus, wherein the downlink control information is located in one or more control channel elements (CCE) locations associated with a first aggregation level; and components for performing one or more of the following based at least in part on the PDCCH monitoring rule and the corresponding AL: transmitting the PDCCH DCI to the first apparatus or scheduling the transmission of the PDCCH DCI to the first apparatus.

[0057] According to aspect fourteen, this specification describes an apparatus configured to perform any of the methods described with reference to aspect ten.

[0058] According to the fifteenth aspect, this specification describes an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatus to perform operations defined by any of the foregoing methods according to the tenth aspect.

[0059] According to a sixteenth aspect, this specification describes an apparatus comprising: a first module configured to send to the first apparatus a first user equipment discontinuous reception (UE DRX) configuration including a radio resource control (RRC) configuration; a second module configured to send to the first apparatus a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring rule, the PDCCH monitoring rule being used to configure the first apparatus to determine a second UE DRX configuration based at least in part on an aggregation level (AL) corresponding to a corresponding downlink control information (DCI); a third module configured to send to the first apparatus downlink control information (DCI), wherein the downlink control information is located in one or more control channel elements (CCE) locations associated with a first aggregation level; and a fourth module configured to perform one or more of the following, based at least in part on the PDCCH monitoring rule and the corresponding AL: sending a PDCCH DCI to the first apparatus or scheduling the transmission of a PDCCH DCI to the first apparatus.

[0060] According to the seventeenth aspect, this specification describes a first apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to: receive a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) configuration from a second apparatus, wherein the PDCCH configuration includes one or more PDCCH monitoring rules; receive first downlink control information (DCI) at a first control channel element (CCE) location; determine one or more of a PDCCH monitoring configuration and a User Equipment Discontinuous Receive (UE DRX) configuration based at least in part on attributes of the first CCE location of the first DCI and one or more PDCCH monitoring rules; and perform at least one of UE DRX monitoring and PDCCH search space decoding, respectively, based on one or more of the PDCCH monitoring configuration or the UE DRX configuration.

[0061] In some examples, the UE DRX configuration includes one or more of the following: DRX cycle duration, DRX on duration, DRX inactivity duration, DRX retransmission timer, DRX round-trip time (RTT) timer, long DRX cycle length, short DRX cycle length, or short DRX cycle timer.

[0062] In some examples, the PDCCH monitoring rule indicates that when the first CCE location corresponds to the first defined CCE location: the UEDRX configuration is determined based on the first UE DRX configuration; and / or the PDCCH monitoring configuration is determined based on the first PDCCH monitoring configuration.

[0063] In some examples, the PDCCH monitoring rule indicates that when the first CCE corresponds to a second defined CCE location: the UE DRX configuration is determined to be based on the second UE DRX configuration, wherein, relative to the first DRX configuration, the second DRX configuration includes one or more of the following: a shorter DRX cycle duration, a longer DRX on duration, or a shorter DRX inactivity duration; and / or the PDCCH monitoring configuration is determined to be based on the second PDCCH monitoring configuration.

[0064] In some examples, one or more PDCCH monitoring rules indicate a first or more CCE locations corresponding to the triggering of regulation of at least one of the following: a first PDCCH monitoring configuration; or a first UE DRX configuration.

[0065] In some examples, one or more CCE positions corresponding to the triggering of the regulation include at least the first CCE position and / or the earliest CCE position among a plurality of possible PDCCH positions.

[0066] In some examples, one or more CCE positions corresponding to the triggering of the regulation include a second or more CCE positions having an index value less than or equal to the first index value.

[0067] In some examples, the adjustment of the first UE DRX configuration applies to one or more of the following: the current DRX cycle or one or more subsequent DRX cycles.

[0068] In some examples, the instruction also causes the first device to send a first response to the second device, wherein the first response indicates that the first device has received the corresponding DCI, and / or the corresponding PDCCH monitoring configuration and / or UE DRX configuration has been determined.

[0069] In some examples, the first response includes one or more of the following: a PUSCH transport response (Tx) in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or an acknowledgment message in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

[0070] In some examples, the first device is a user equipment (UE) and the second device is a base station (gNB).

[0071] In an eighteenth aspect, this specification describes a method performed at a first device, the method comprising: receiving a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) configuration from a second device, wherein the PDCCH configuration includes one or more PDCCH monitoring rules; receiving first downlink control information (DCI) at a first control channel element (CCE) location; determining one or more of a PDCCH monitoring configuration and a User Equipment Discontinuous Receive (UE DRX) configuration based at least in part on attributes of the first CCE location of the first DCI and one or more PDCCH monitoring rules; and performing at least one of UE DRX monitoring and PDCCH search space decoding, respectively, based on one or more of the PDCCH monitoring configuration or the UE DRX configuration.

[0072] In some examples, the UE DRX configuration includes one or more of the following: DRX cycle duration, DRX on duration, DRX inactivity duration, DRX retransmission timer, DRX round-trip time (RTT) timer, long DRX cycle length, short DRX cycle length, or short DRX cycle timer.

[0073] In some examples, the PDCCH monitoring rule indicates that when the first CCE location corresponds to the first defined CCE location: the UEDRX configuration is determined based on the first UE DRX configuration; and / or the PDCCH monitoring configuration is determined based on the first PDCCH monitoring configuration.

[0074] In some examples, the PDCCH monitoring rule indicates that when the first CCE corresponds to a second defined CCE location: the UE DRX configuration is determined to be based on the second UE DRX configuration, wherein, relative to the first DRX configuration, the second DRX configuration includes one or more of the following: a shorter DRX cycle duration, a longer DRX on duration, or a shorter DRX inactivity duration; and / or the PDCCH monitoring configuration is determined to be based on the second PDCCH monitoring configuration.

[0075] In some examples, one or more PDCCH monitoring rules indicate a first or more CCE locations corresponding to the triggering of regulation of at least one of the following: a first PDCCH monitoring configuration; or a first UE DRX configuration.

[0076] In some examples, one or more CCE positions corresponding to the triggering of the regulation include at least the first CCE position and / or the earliest CCE position among a plurality of possible PDCCH positions.

[0077] In some examples, one or more CCE positions corresponding to the triggering of the regulation include a second or more CCE positions having an index value less than or equal to the first index value.

[0078] In some examples, the adjustment of the first UE DRX configuration applies to one or more of the following: the current DRX cycle or one or more subsequent DRX cycles.

[0079] In some examples, the method also includes sending a first response to a second device, wherein the first response indicates that the first device has received the corresponding DCI, and / or the corresponding PDCCH monitoring configuration and / or UE DRX configuration has been determined.

[0080] In some examples, the first response includes one or more of the following: a PUSCH transport response (Tx) in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or an acknowledgment message in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

[0081] In some examples, the first device is a user equipment (UE) and the second device is a base station (gNB).

[0082] According to the nineteenth aspect, a computer program product including an instruction set is provided, which, when executed on a device, is configured to cause the device to perform a method defined according to any of the foregoing methods of the eighteenth aspect.

[0083] According to a twentieth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided including program instructions stored thereon for performing a method comprising: receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) configuration from a second means, wherein the PDCCH configuration includes one or more PDCCH monitoring rules; receiving first downlink control information (DCI) at a first control channel element (CCE) location; determining one or more of a PDCCH monitoring configuration and a user equipment discontinuous reception (UE DRX) configuration based at least in part on attributes of the first CCE location of the first DCI and one or more PDCCH monitoring rules; and performing at least one of UE DRX monitoring and PDCCH search space decoding, respectively, based on one or more of the PDCCH monitoring configuration or the UE DRX configuration.

[0084] The program instructions in aspect 20 may also perform any of the operations defined in accordance with the foregoing method of aspect 18.

[0085] According to a twenty-first aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: components for receiving a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) configuration from a second means, wherein the PDCCH configuration includes one or more PDCCH monitoring rules; components for receiving first downlink control information (DCI) at a first control channel element (CCE) location; components for determining one or more of a PDCCH monitoring configuration and a user equipment discontinuous reception (UE DRX) configuration based at least in part on attributes of the first CCE location of the first DCI and one or more PDCCH monitoring rules; and components for performing at least one of UE DRX monitoring and PDCCH search space decoding based on one or more of the PDCCH monitoring configuration or the UE DRX configuration.

[0086] According to aspect twenty-two, this specification describes an apparatus configured to perform any of the methods described with reference to aspect eighteen.

[0087] According to aspect twenty-three, this specification describes an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatus to perform operations defined by any of the foregoing methods according to aspect eighteen.

[0088] According to aspect twenty-four, this specification describes an apparatus comprising: a first module configured to receive a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) configuration from a second device, wherein the PDCCH configuration includes one or more PDCCH monitoring rules; a second module configured to receive first Downlink Control Information (DCI) at a first Control Channel Element (CCE) location; a third module configured to determine one or more of a PDCCH monitoring configuration and a User Equipment Discontinuous Receive (UE DRX) configuration, based at least in part on attributes of the first CCE location of the first DCI and one or more PDCCH monitoring rules; and a fourth module configured to perform at least one of UE DRX monitoring and PDCCH search space decoding, respectively, based on one or more of the PDCCH monitoring configuration or the UE DRX configuration.

[0089] According to aspect twenty-five, this specification describes a second apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus to: transmit a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) configuration to a first apparatus, wherein the PDCCH configuration includes one or more PDCCH monitoring rules configured to configure the first apparatus to perform at least one of UE DRX monitoring and PDCCH search space decoding based at least in part on attributes of a first CCE location of a first DCI and the one or more PDCCH monitoring rules; transmit Downlink Control Information (DCI) to the first apparatus at a first Control Channel Element (CCE) location; and, at least in part on the PDCCH monitoring rules and the corresponding CCE location, perform one or more of the following: transmit a PDCCH DCI to the first apparatus or schedule the transmission of a PDCCH DCI to the first apparatus.

[0090] In some examples, the UE DRX configuration includes one or more of the following: DRX cycle duration, DRX on duration, DRX inactivity duration, DRX retransmission timer, DRX round-trip time (RTT) timer, long DRX cycle length, short DRX cycle length, or short DRX cycle timer.

[0091] In some examples, one or more PDCCH monitoring rules indicate a first or more CCE locations corresponding to the triggering of regulation of at least one of the following: a first PDCCH monitoring configuration; or a first UE DRX configuration.

[0092] In some examples, one or more CCE positions corresponding to the triggering of the regulation include at least the first CCE position and / or the earliest CCE position among a plurality of possible PDCCH positions.

[0093] In some examples, one or more CCE positions corresponding to the triggering of the regulation include a second or more CCE positions having an index value less than or equal to the first index value.

[0094] In some examples, the adjustment of the first UE DRX configuration applies to one or more of the following: the current DRX cycle or one or more subsequent DRX cycles.

[0095] In some examples, the instruction also causes the second device to trigger the transmission of PDCCH DCI based on the PDCCH monitoring rules and the corresponding CCE location in response to receiving a first response from the first device, wherein the first response indicates that the first device has received the corresponding DCI, and / or the corresponding PDCCH monitoring configuration and / or UE DRX configuration has been determined.

[0096] In some examples, the first response includes one or more of the following: a PUSCH transport response (Tx) in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or an acknowledgment message in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

[0097] In some examples, the first device is a user equipment (UE) and the second device is a base station (gNB).

[0098] According to the twenty-sixth aspect, this specification describes a method performed at a second device, the method comprising: sending a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) configuration to a first device, wherein the PDCCH configuration includes one or more PDCCH monitoring rules, the one or more PDCCH monitoring rules being configured for the first device to perform at least one of UE DRX monitoring and PDCCH search space decoding based at least in part on attributes of a first CCE location of a first DCI and the one or more PDCCH monitoring rules; sending Downlink Control Information (DCI) to the first device at a first Control Channel Element (CCE) location; and performing one or more of the following based at least in part on the PDCCH monitoring rules and the corresponding CCE location: sending a PDCCH DCI to the first device or scheduling the transmission of a PDCCH DCI to the first device.

[0099] In some examples, the UE DRX configuration includes one or more of the following: DRX cycle duration, DRX on duration, DRX inactivity duration, DRX retransmission timer, DRX round-trip time (RTT) timer, long DRX cycle length, short DRX cycle length, or short DRX cycle timer.

[0100] In some examples, one or more PDCCH monitoring rules indicate a first or more CCE locations corresponding to the triggering of regulation of at least one of the following: a first PDCCH monitoring configuration; or a first UE DRX configuration.

[0101] In some examples, one or more CCE positions corresponding to the triggering of the regulation include at least the first CCE position and / or the earliest CCE position among a plurality of possible PDCCH positions.

[0102] In some examples, one or more CCE positions corresponding to the triggering of the regulation include a second or more CCE positions having an index value less than or equal to the first index value.

[0103] In some examples, the adjustment of the first UE DRX configuration applies to one or more of the following: the current DRX cycle or one or more subsequent DRX cycles.

[0104] In some examples, the method further includes: in response to receiving a first response from the first device, triggering the transmission of a PDCCH DCI based on the PDCCH monitoring rules and the corresponding CCE location, wherein the first response indicates that the first device has received the corresponding DCI, and / or the corresponding PDCCH monitoring configuration and / or UE DRX configuration has been determined.

[0105] In some examples, the first response includes one or more of the following: a PUSCH transport response (Tx) in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or an acknowledgment message in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

[0106] In some examples, the first device is a user equipment (UE) and the second device is a base station (gNB).

[0107] According to the twenty-seventh aspect, a computer program product including an instruction set is provided, which, when executed on a device, is configured to cause the device to perform a method defined according to any of the foregoing methods of the twenty-sixth aspect.

[0108] According to a twenty-eighth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium including program instructions stored thereon is provided for performing a method comprising: sending a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) configuration to a first device, wherein the PDCCH configuration includes one or more PDCCH monitoring rules for configuring the first device to perform at least one of UE DRX monitoring and PDCCH search space decoding based at least in part on attributes of a first CCE location of a first DCI and the one or more PDCCH monitoring rules; sending downlink control information (DCI) to the first device at a first control channel element (CCE) location; and performing one or more of the following based at least in part on the PDCCH monitoring rules and the corresponding CCE location: sending a PDCCH DCI to the first device or scheduling the transmission of a PDCCH DCI to the first device.

[0109] The program instructions in aspect 28 may also perform any operations defined according to the previously defined method in aspect 26.

[0110] According to a twenty-ninth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: components for transmitting a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) configuration to a first device, wherein the PDCCH configuration includes one or more PDCCH monitoring rules for configuring the first device to perform at least one of UE DRX monitoring and PDCCH search space decoding based at least in part on attributes of a first CCE location of a first DCI and the one or more PDCCH monitoring rules; components for transmitting downlink control information (DCI) to the first device at a first control channel element (CCE) location; and components for performing one or more of the following based at least in part on the PDCCH monitoring rules and the corresponding CCE location: transmitting the PDCCH DCI to the first device or scheduling the transmission of the PDCCH DCI to the first device.

[0111] According to aspect 30, this specification describes an apparatus configured to perform any of the methods described with reference to aspect 26.

[0112] According to aspect thirty-one, this specification describes an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatus to perform operations defined by any of the foregoing methods according to aspect twenty-six.

[0113] According to aspect thirty-two, this specification describes an apparatus comprising: a first module configured to transmit a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) configuration to the first device, wherein the PDCCH configuration includes one or more PDCCH monitoring rules for configuring the first device to perform at least one of UE DRX monitoring and PDCCH search space decoding based at least in part on attributes of a first CCE location of a first DCI and the one or more PDCCH monitoring rules; a second module configured to transmit Downlink Control Information (DCI) to the first device at a first Control Channel Element (CCE) location; and a third module configured to perform one or more of the following based at least in part on the PDCCH monitoring rules and the corresponding CCE location: transmitting a PDCCH DCI to the first device or scheduling the transmission of a PDCCH DCI to the first device.

[0114] It should be understood that the summary portion is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. Other features of this disclosure will become readily apparent from the following description. Attached Figure Description

[0115] Some exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0116] Figure 1 The illustration shows an example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0117] Figures 2 to 9 The system according to an example embodiment is illustrated;

[0118] Figures 10 to 14 The diagram illustrates a flowchart of an algorithm according to an example embodiment;

[0119] Figure 15 and Figure 16 The diagram illustrates a message flow according to an example embodiment;

[0120] Figure 17 and Figure 18 The diagram illustrates a flowchart of an algorithm according to an example embodiment;

[0121] Figure 19 A simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated; and

[0122] Figure 20 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0123] Throughout the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements. Detailed Implementation

[0124] The principles of this disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing this disclosure, and do not constitute any limitation on the scope of this disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various other ways besides those described below.

[0125] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0126] In this disclosure, references to "an embodiment," "embodiment," and "example embodiment," etc., indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment must include that particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Moreover, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, those skilled in the art will understand that, whether explicitly described or not, combining it with other embodiments to affect such a feature, structure, or characteristic is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[0127] It should be understood that although the terms “first,” “second,” etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0128] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of the following: ” and similar wording (where the list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”) means at least any one of these elements, or at least any two or more of these elements, or at least all of these elements.

[0129] As used herein, unless explicitly stated otherwise, “responding to A” does not mean that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs, but may include one or more intermediate steps.

[0130] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. The singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” used herein also include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Further understanding, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “has,” “having,” “includes,” and / or “including” as used herein specify the presence of the stated features, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0131] As used in this application, the term "circuit system" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) Pure hardware circuit implementation (such as implementation using only analog and / or digital circuit systems), and (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (if applicable): (i) A combination of (multiple) analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and (ii) Any part of a hardware processor (including multiple digital signal processors), software, and memory (multiple processors) having software, which work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions, and (c) (Multiple) hardware circuits and / or (multiple) processors, such as (multiple) microprocessors or a portion thereof, which require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but may not exist when operation is not required.

[0132] The definition of "circuit system" applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claim. As another example, as used in this application, the term "circuit system" also covers implementations of only hardware circuitry or processors (or processors in general) or portions thereof and their accompanying software and / or firmware. For instance, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term "circuit system" also covers baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices, or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or networking devices.

[0133] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that conforms to any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-A Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiplexing (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. Furthermore, communication between terminal devices and network devices in a communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocol, including but not limited to first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth-generation (5G), sixth-generation (6G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. Given the rapid development of communications, there will naturally be communication technologies and systems that can be used to embody future types of communication technologies and systems. This should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure to the systems described above.

[0134] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network through which terminal devices access the network and receive services. A network device can refer to a base station (BS) or access point (AP), such as a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also known as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Header (RH), a Remote Radio Header (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node (such as a femtosecond or picosecond), a non-terrestrial network (NTN), or non-terrestrial network equipment such as satellite network equipment, low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites, aircraft network equipment, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. In some example embodiments, the Radio Access Network (RAN) split architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at the IAB donor node. An IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion that behaves like a UE to its parent node, and the DU portion of the IAB node behaves like a base station to the next-hop IAB node.

[0135] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not a limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), portable subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). Terminal devices can include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, Voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal devices (such as digital cameras), gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEE), laptop mounted devices (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearable devices, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain environments), consumer electronics devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) portion of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal device," "communication device," "terminal," "user equipment," and "UE" are used interchangeably.

[0136] As used herein, the terms “resource,” “transmission resource,” “resource block,” “physical resource block” (PRB), “uplink resource,” or “downlink resource” may refer to any resource used to perform communication (e.g., communication between a terminal device and a network device), such as time-domain resources, frequency-domain resources, spatial-domain resources, code-domain resources, or any other resource capable of communication. Figure 1 This is a block diagram of wireless network 10. Figure 1In the wireless network 10, user equipment 11, 12, 13, and 15 (also referred to as mobile stations (MS) or user equipment (UE)) can connect to (and communicate with) a base station (BS) 14, which can also be referred to as an access point (AP), an enhanced node B (eNB), a gNB, or a network node. The terms user equipment and user equipment (UE) are used interchangeably. The BS may also include or be referred to as a RAN (Radio Access Network) node, and may include a portion of the BS or a portion of the RAN node, such as (e.g., a centralized unit (CU) and / or a distributed unit (DU) in the case of splitting the BS or gNB). At least a portion of the functionality of the BS (e.g., the access point (AP), base station (BS), or (e) node B (eNB), gNB, RAN node) may also be performed by any node, server, or host that can be operatively coupled to a transceiver (such as a remote radio headend). The BS (or AP) 14 provides radio coverage within the cell 16, including to user equipment (or UE) 11, 12, 13, and 15. Although only four user equipments (or UEs) are shown connected to or attached to BS 14, any number of user equipments can be provided. BS 14 is also connected to core network 17 via S1 interface 18. This is just a simple example of a wireless network, and other wireless networks can be used.

[0137] A base station (e.g., such as BS 14) is an example of a radio access network (RAN) node within a wireless network. A BS (or RAN node) can be or may include (or may alternatively be referred to as) such as an access point (AP), gNB, eNB or portions thereof (such as a centralized unit (CU) and / or distributed unit (DU) in the case of a split BS or a split gNB), or other network nodes.

[0138] Some functions of a communication network can be performed, at least partially, in a central / centralized unit (CU) (e.g., a server, host, or node), which is operatively coupled to distributed units (DUs) (e.g., radio headends / nodes). Therefore, 5G network architectures can be based on a so-called CU-DU split. A gNB-CU (central node) can control multiple spatially separated gNB-DUs to at least act as transmit / receive (Tx / Rx) nodes. However, in some embodiments, a gNB-DU (also referred to as a DU) may include, for example, a Radio Link Control (RLC), Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and a Physical (PHY) layer, while a gNB-CU (also referred to as a CU) may include layers above the RLC layer, such as the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Resource Control (RRC), and Internet Protocol (IP) layer. Other functional splits are also possible.

[0139] According to illustrative examples, a BS node (e.g., BS, eNB, gNB, CU / DU, etc.) or radio access network (RAN) can be part of a mobile telecommunications system. The RAN (Radio Access Network) can include one or more BS or RAN nodes that implement radio access technologies, such as allowing one or more UEs to access the network or core network (CN). Therefore, for example, the RAN (RAN node, such as BS or gNB) can reside between one or more user equipment or UEs and the core network. According to example embodiments, each RAN node (e.g., BS, eNB, gNB, CU / DU, etc.) or BS can provide one or more wireless communication services for one or more UEs or user equipments, such as allowing UEs to wirelessly access the network via the RAN node. Each RAN node or BS can perform or provide wireless communication services, such as allowing UEs or user equipments to establish wireless connections to the RAN node, and transmitting and / or receiving data from one or more UEs. For example, after establishing a connection to the UE, the RAN node or network node (e.g., BS, eNB, gNB, CU / DU, etc.) can forward data received from the network or core network to the UE, and / or forward data received from the UE to the network or core network. The RAN node or network node (e.g., BS, eNB, gNB, CU / DU, etc.) can perform a variety of other radio functions or services, such as broadcasting control information to the UE (e.g., system information or on-demand system information), paging the UE when data is to be delivered, assisting the UE in handover between cells, scheduling resources for uplink data transmission from (multiple) UEs and downlink data transmission to (multiple) UEs, issuing control information for configuring one or more UEs, etc. These are some examples of one or more functions that a RAN node or BS can perform.

[0140] User equipment or user node (user terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile terminal, handheld wireless device, etc.) may refer to portable computing devices, including wireless mobile communication devices that operate with or without a subscriber identification module (SIM), such as, but not limited to, the following types of devices: mobile station (MS), mobile phone, cell phone, smartphone, personal digital assistant (PDA), handset, device using a wireless modem (alarm or measuring device, etc.), laptop and / or touch screen computer, tablet computer, tablet phone, game console, laptop computer, vehicle, sensor, multimedia device, or any other wireless device.

[0141] It should be understood that user equipment can also be (or may include) a nearly exclusive uplink-only device, an example of which is a camera or camcorder that loads image or video clips onto the network. Furthermore, user nodes can include user equipment (UE), user terminals, mobile terminals, mobile stations, mobile nodes, subscriber equipment, subscriber nodes, subscriber terminals, or other user nodes. For example, a user node can be used to wirelessly communicate with one or more network nodes (e.g., gNB, eNB, BS, AP, CU, DU, CU / DU) and / or with one or more other user nodes, regardless of the technology or radio access technology (RAT). In LTE (as an illustrative example), core network 17 can be referred to as the evolved packet core (EPC), which can include a mobility management entity (MME), one or more gateways, and other control functions or blocks. The MME can handle or assist user equipment mobility / handover between BSs, and the gateways can forward data and control signals between the BS and a packet data network or the Internet. Other types of wireless networks (such as 5G, which can be referred to as New Radio (NR)) can also include a core network.

[0142] Furthermore, the technologies described in this paper can be applied to various types of user equipment or data service types, or to user equipment that can run multiple applications of different data service types. New 5G development can support many different applications or data service types, such as: Machine-Type Communication (MTC), Enhanced Machine-Type Communication (eMTC), Internet of Things (IoT) and / or Narrowband IoT user equipment, Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), and Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC). Many of these new 5G (NR) related applications may require higher performance than previous wireless networks.

[0143] User equipment (UE) can measure various signals and send one or more measurement reports to the network. For example, a UE can measure reference signals received from one or more network nodes (e.g., gNB or DU), including Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) and / or Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) reference signal, demodulation reference signal, and / or other reference signals. Based on the received reference signals, the UE can measure various signal parameters, such as Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR), Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), or other signal parameters.

[0144] Based on channel history and available resources, network nodes (e.g., gNBs) can adaptively select the appropriate aggregation level (AL) of the DCI to adjust the code rate. Specifically, AL is the number of CCEs allocated to the DCI signal. Doubling the AL represents doubling the allocated frequency or time resources. Therefore, a lower AL (e.g., AL1) can be used for the PDCCH when channel quality is good, while a higher AL (e.g., AL8) can be used when the UE is located at the cell edge.

[0145] The UE can be configured with multiple search spaces corresponding to multiple ALs (e.g., one or more of AL1, AL2, AL4, AL8 and AL16), which are collectively referred to as the search space set.

[0146] The search space is indicated by consecutive CCEs, which the UE should monitor to obtain scheduling authorization. Each search space includes a set of consecutive CCEs, which can be assigned to a PDCCH called a PDCCH candidate.

[0147] There are two types of search spaces: the common search space (CSS) and the UE-specific search space (USS). The common search space is shared among all UEs, while the UE-specific search space applies to each UE. The UE will decode PDCCH candidates in both search spaces to detect its DCI. Table 1 lists the number of ALs and corresponding CCEs specified in 3GPP TS 38.211. Table 1. Number of ALs and CCEs specified in 3GPP TS 38.211

[0148] According to Section 10 of 3GPP TS 38.213,

[0149] Used to add configuration in pdcch-Config for a search space set with a finite set of ALs. The UE must monitor these finite ALs at certain time intervals (if the change level of its radio channel conditions is below the configuration threshold after the DCI).

[0150] The gain from AL1 to AL16 can be estimated as follows: When the number of CCEs and / or the channel bandwidth is large, there is also better frequency diversity, which leads to a greater improvement in the performance of high-performance ALs.

[0151] Network nodes can employ an outer-loop link adaptive mechanism to adjust the AL (Alternating Range) for a target PDCCH DCI error rate (e.g., based on the UE Discontinuous Transmission (DTX) rate). Therefore, the AL is not solely selected based on L1 or Channel Quality Indicator (CQI). Consequently, the AL used at a given CQI can be increased or decreased through this outer-loop link adaptive mechanism.

[0152] The UE performs blind decoding attempts using all possible ALs configured in its search space until the maximum possible number of blind decodes is reached, for example, the maximum number of blind decodes required is finite. That is, the network device can configure which ALs and blind decodes the UE should check. The set of ALs and blind decodes to be checked is semi-statically configured. This means that, for example, under cell-edge conditions, such as when the UE is at the cell edge, the UE still performs blind decoding using the lower configured AL (e.g., AL1).

[0153] For DL ​​reception of PDCCH at the UE, additional blind decoding attempt load may be required during certain subsets of the time slot, because the UE needs to perform additional decoding during that time slot.

[0154] On the other hand, network nodes can dynamically adapt the AL used based on changing UE conditions or history, such as during each DCI sent to the UE in RRC_CONNECTED mode. However, network nodes can also, or instead, dynamically compensate with transmission power, for example, instead of simply using different ALs as implied by CQI or UE history, as network nodes can use relatively high (or low) transmission power and low (or high) ALs. For example, for a UE in RRC_CONNECTED mode and good radio frequency (RF) conditions, the network node can use low transmission power and high ALs. In another example, for a UE in RRC_CONNECTED mode and poor RF conditions, the network node can use high transmission power and low ALs.

[0155] The above network strategy relies on the UE actually performing blind decoding of all configurations. In other words, the UE cannot decide on its own to perform blind decoding only for the AL that best “matches” its DCI AL history, because this would fail if the network node used compensation based on network transmission power as described above.

[0156] However, for a UE at a given CQI level, if the network node does not adapt the DCI transmission power, the AL used for the next DCI is more likely to be similar to the AL used for another recent DCI of that UE. As mentioned earlier, PDCCH monitoring is almost the largest contributor to UE power consumption, for example in RRC_CONNECTED mode. Across various data activities, from high to low data activity, from instant messaging to VoIP, a significant portion of the UE's power is used for PDCCH monitoring. However, the UE cannot know whether the network node will use network transmission power-based compensation to offset the use of higher or lower AL.

[0157] Figure 2 This is a diagram of the DRX cycle timeline according to an example embodiment, generally indicated by reference numeral 20.

[0158] DRX cycle timeline 20 shows the first DRX cycle 22, which includes DRX on duration 21a and DRX opportunity 23. For example, the UE periodically checks whether a transmission is scheduled and alternates between active time and DRX opportunity.

[0159] In connected mode, the UE needs to monitor the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) space for potential indications of incoming traffic. If DRX is not configured, the UE will need to monitor the PDCCH search space on every subframe, i.e., keep its receiver always on, resulting in high power consumption. The UE can periodically check whether a transmission is scheduled and alternate timers between active periods and DRX opportunities. Short DRX periods can be optionally configured and used after the inactivity timer (drx-InactivityTimer) has expired. Finally, after the short DRX timer expires (if short DRX is configured), a long DRX period begins. The drx-InactivityTimer can specify the period of time the UE should be active after successfully decoding a PDCCH indicating a new transmission (UL or DL).

[0160] In connected mode, the UE reads the control channel during the “on-duration” period (21a, 21b). If no UL or DL ​​transmission is scheduled, the UE then has a DRX opportunity (23). If a scheduling message is present, the UE starts a DRX inactivity timer and listens continuously until the timer expires. After that, the UE enters a short DRX cycle (if configured) and eventually enters a long DRX cycle.

[0161] Figure 3 The illustration shows an example uplink DRX timer, generally indicated by reference numeral 30. The DRX timer has a DRX long period of 37 ( drxProfile1:drxLongCycleThe DRX activity level and DRX sleep level are displayed during this period. During the DRX activity phase, the corresponding Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process... drxProfile1:drxRetransTimerUL It can be stopped (31), and drxProfile1LdrxinactivityTimer[ms] (32) It can be running. It can monitor PDCCH uplink grant 33 and can send PUSCH data 38 during DRX activity time. For example, during DRX sleep time, the UE can start (34) the corresponding UL HARQ procedure immediately after the first repetition of the corresponding PUSCH transmission. drx-HARQ-RTT- TimerUL (3GPP). drxProfile1:drxRetransTimerUL [Time slot] (35) can begin, and if it is in the next DRX activity period, drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerUL Upon expiration, the UE can run (36) the corresponding UL HARQ procedure. drxProfile1:drxRetransTimerUL .

[0162] Figure 4 The illustration shows an example downlink DRX timer, generally indicated by reference numeral 40. The DRX timer has a DRX long period of 47 ( drxProfile1:drxLongCycle The DRX activity level and DRX sleep level are displayed during this period. During the DRX activity phase, the corresponding Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process... drxProfile1:drxRetransTimerDL It can be stopped (41), and drxProfile1LdrxinactivityTimer[ms] (42) It can be running. It can monitor the PDCCH downlink grant 43 and can send the corresponding PUCCH 48 during DRX activity time. For example, during DRX sleep time, the UE can start (44) the corresponding DL HARQ procedure immediately after the corresponding PUCCH transmission. drx-HARQ-RTT-TimerDL (3GPP). For example, in 5G (C000772 / C002060), the timer can always be set to 0; according to 3GPP, the timer can run during sleep time. drxProfile1:drxRetransTimerDL [Time Slot] (45) can begin, and if the data corresponding to the DL HARQ procedure is not successfully decoded in the next DRX activity period, the UE can run drx-HARQ-RTT- TimerUL Upon expiration, the UE can then run (46). drxProfile1:drxRetransTimerDL (This parameter defines the DRX activity time used by the UE to receive potential DL retransmission data.)

[0163] Figure 5An example DRX timer is shown, generally indicated by reference numeral 50. The DRX timer 50 includes an on duration 54, an inactivity timer duration 55, and a DRX inactivity period 56 (until the next DRX on duration). During the DRX on duration 54, one or more PDCCH monitoring opportunities (PMO) 51 may exist. During the DRX inactivity timer duration 55, the UE monitors the PDCCH to determine if it needs to process DL or UL transmissions (e.g., DL PDSCH data 52 or UL PUSCH / PUCCH data 53).

[0164] C-DRX mainly consists of the DRX period, DRX on-duration, and DRX inactivity timer. When a UE is configured with DRX, it periodically turns on the receiver and begins the DRX on-duration according to the configuration. In addition, it performs the following operations: • The UE monitors the PDCCH for the duration of the on-duration in each DRX cycle. The on-duration can maintain one or more PDCCH monitoring opportunities (PMO). • If the UE is scheduled using DCI, the DRX inactivity timer is started. • The UE will continue to monitor the PDCCH during the inactivity timer period. If the UE is scheduled during the inactivity timer period, the inactivity timer will be restarted.

[0165] Figure 6 This is a diagram illustrating one aspect of an example embodiment. As shown, when the probability of DCI reception is high, the UE can determine to perform more BD attempts on all CCEs. BD can be based on different ALs determined by the UE; for example, if the UE is located at the cell edge, the UE can perform BD based on a higher AL. As shown, in this example, the probability of DCI reception is high. Therefore, in Figure 4 During the PMO or monitoring interval shown, the UE can perform a number of BD attempts (as shown by the shaded BD in the figure).

[0166] Figure 7 This is a diagram illustrating one aspect of an example embodiment. As shown, when the probability of DCI reception is low, the UE can determine to perform fewer BD attempts. BD attempts can be based on different ALs determined by the UE; for example, if the UE is located at the cell edge, the UE can perform BD attempts based on a higher AL. As shown, in this example, the probability of DCI reception is low. Therefore, in Figure 5 During the PMO or monitoring interval, the UE can perform fewer BD attempts (e.g., one BD attempt) (as shown by the shaded BD in the figure).

[0167] Hash function

[0168] When sending DCI to the UE, the network uses the UE-specific aggregation level (AL), where the selected AL takes into account factors such as coverage and radio link quality.

[0169] In the search space set associated with CORESET in the scheduling slot, hashing is equivalent to determining the CCE index for PDCCH candidates used to map the UE.

[0170] According to Section 10 of 3GPP TS 38.213, the CCE index of the PDCCH is determined via a hash function (for the New Radio PDCCH (NR-PDCCH), it is determined as follows:

[0171] Figure 8 This is an example illustration of a PDCCH conflict scenario, generally indicated by reference numeral 80. UE2 is simultaneously scheduled to AL2 in the CORESET.

[0172] The network can schedule different UEs using different PDCCH candidates for a given CORESET. However, if there are no idle PDCCH candidates available for scheduling a UE (also known as BD (blind decoding)), the UE will experience temporary PDCCH BD blocking. For example, UE1, UE3, UE4, and UE5 can be assigned aggregation level AL4, allowing them to monitor DCIs in CCEs corresponding to aggregation level AL4 (e.g., at least four CCE locations). UE2 can be assigned aggregation level AL4 (e.g., at least two CCE locations). For example, UE3 may be monitoring CCE locations CCE3 and CCE4, and scheduling UE2 to CCE3 and CCE4 could result in PDCCH conflicts. The probability of a UE being blocked from PDCCH reception by BD can be influenced by several important scheduling configurations, such as AL, the PDCCH / BD candidates per AL for each UE, the size of the CORESET, and the number of UEs scheduled.

[0173] When a UE is monitoring multiple blind decoding locations, such as the eight locations at AL1, the network can decide to schedule the UE to any of these eight different CCE locations (assuming the CCE location is not blocked by the DCI of other UEs), for example, as shown below:

[0174] Figure 9 The illustration (generally indicated by reference numeral 90) is a timeline diagram based on an example embodiment, showing a DRX configuration at the aggregation level based on DCI.

[0175] As described herein, example embodiments illustrate how to select a DRX configuration based at least in part on the aggregation level and / or CCE location. For example, if a DCI is received at AL1 (e.g., low aggregation level), the UE can decode subsequent DCIs based on a first (e.g., conventional and / or default) DRX configuration (e.g., default DRX parameters, such as DRX inactivity timers, etc.); while if a DCI is received at AL8 (e.g., high aggregation level 8), the UE can decode subsequent DCIs based on an alternative DRX configuration (e.g., longer DRX activity period, shorter DRX inactivity period), wherein the alternative DRX configuration may apply alternative DRX parameters.

[0176] For example, the described example embodiments can be particularly beneficial for pre-configuring DRX parameters where the RF conditions of the UE can change. For instance, as the UE moves to worse RF conditions (e.g., cell edge), the UE may begin receiving DCI via increasingly higher AL. In this case, since the DRX parameters to be used in response to receiving DCI(multiple) via higher AL are pre-aligned with the NW, alternative DRX configurations pre-configured to better match higher AL can be used, thus dynamically reconfiguring the DRX parameters without the overhead of RRC signaling.

[0177] Similarly, when the UE moves to a better RF condition and starts decoding under a lower AL, the UE can fall back to using the default DRX configuration without incurring RRC signaling (RRC reconfiguration) overhead to change the DRX parameters back to the default parameters.

[0178] In some examples, the gNB can use a higher AL for UEs that are expected to move toward worse RF conditions in the near future, allowing the UE to apply alternative DRX parameters, for example, to remain awake for longer than the default activity period, at least during the time period when the UE is near the cell edge or toward worse RF conditions.

[0179] The techniques used to apply alternative DRX configurations will be described in more detail below.

[0180] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of an algorithm according to an example embodiment, generally indicated by reference numeral 100. The operation of algorithm 100 can be performed at a first device such as a UE.

[0181] At operation 101, the first device can receive a first user equipment discontinuous reception (UE DRX) configuration and PDCCH monitoring rules from a second device (e.g., a network node, base station (gNB), sometimes referred to here as gNB or network (NW)). The first UE DRX configuration can be the default UE DRX configuration and can be included in an RRC configuration / reconfiguration message. The PDCCH monitoring rules can provide rules about how the UE determines and / or selects the DRX configuration based on, for example, the aggregation level of one or more DCIs.

[0182] At operation 102, the first device can receive downlink control information (DCI) from the second device. The DCI can be located in one or more control channel element (CCE) locations associated with the first aggregation level. For example, if aggregation level 8 (AL8) is assigned to the UE, the DCI can be located in any one or more of the eight possible CCE locations. Therefore, the UE can monitor the DCI by searching among the eight possible CCE locations (e.g., based on the PDCCH search space configuration).

[0183] At operation 103, the first device may determine the second UE DRX configuration based at least in part on the first aggregation level and the PDCCH monitoring rules. For example, the PDCCH monitoring rules may indicate that if the first aggregation level is eight (AL8), the second UE DRX configuration should be applied by the UE, wherein the second UE DRX configuration may be associated with DRX parameters, such as long DRX activity periods and / or short DRX periods.

[0184] At operation 104, the first device can then monitor one or more subsequent DCIs, at least in part, based on the second UE DRX configuration.

[0185] In some examples, one or more PDCCH monitoring rules are included in the PDCCH search space configuration. For example, the PDCCH search space configuration may include a list of aggregation levels and / or CCE groups (e.g., one CCE for AL1, two CCEs for AL2, etc.) that the UE may need to search for DCI messages so that the UE can find the PDCCH containing the DCI message. The aggregation level (AL) can define the number of CCEs used for DCI transmission. For example, AL 1 indicates the use of 1 CCE, AL 4 indicates the use of 4 CCEs, and so on. The "pdcch-Config" can configure the UE "searchSpace," which in turn configures which ALs (CCE groups) the UE should monitor to obtain DCI. For RRC connection mode, this "pdcch-Config" is (typically) delivered in RRC messaging.

[0186] In some examples, the first UE DRX configuration includes one or more of the following: DRX cycle duration, DRX on duration, DRX inactivity duration, DRX retransmission timer, DRX round-trip time (RTT) timer, long DRX cycle length, short DRX cycle length and / or short DRX cycle timer (e.g., the number of short DRX cycles before entering a long DRX cycle).

[0187] In some examples, when the first AL is equal to or less than the first AL value (e.g., the default AL1), the second UE DRX configuration is the same as the first UE DRX configuration. Alternatively or additionally, when the first AL is higher than the first AL value, the second UE DRX configuration, relative to the first UE DRX configuration, includes one or more of the following: a longer DRX on duration, a longer DRX inactivity duration, or a relatively shorter DRX cycle duration.

[0188] In some examples, the second UE DRX configuration for determining the corresponding DCI is also at least partially based on multiple historical aggregation levels (ALs) corresponding to multiple historical received DCIs. For example, the second UE DRX configuration is determined based on the highest AL among the multiple historical ALs corresponding to multiple historical received DCIs. In some examples, the UE can be configured (by the gNB) to switch to alternative DRX parameters based on the history of multiple DCIs / ALs received by the UE. The history of multiple DCIs / ALs corresponding to multiple DCIs can indicate the highest AL of a first number (N) of previous DCIs received by the UE, and the second DRX configuration for subsequent DCIs can be determined based on the highest AL, allowing DCI monitoring to be performed based on the determined second DRX configuration.

[0189] In some examples, determining the second UE DRX configuration includes triggering adjustments to the first UE DRX configuration (e.g., the default UEDRX configuration and / or the previous UE DRX configuration). For example, one or more of the first UE DRX configuration and PDCCH monitoring rules include an aggregated level range corresponding to the triggering of adjustments to the first UE DRX monitoring configuration.

[0190] In some examples, the second DRX configuration and / or adjustment of the first UE DRX configuration applies to one or more of the following: the current DRX cycle or one or more subsequent DRX cycles. For example, when a new DCI is received, the UE may only change the DRX parameters of the new DRX timer used to start and continue at that point (e.g., for subsequent DRX cycles). Alternatively or additionally, the UE may also change the DRX parameters of the currently running DRX cycle (e.g., for the current DRX cycle), where the adjustment may include adjusting the DRX inactivity timer on the PUCSH after the UE receives a DCI with a PDSCH having a different AL.

[0191] In some examples, the first device may (after applying the second DRX configuration) send a first response to the second device, wherein the first response indicates that the first device has received the corresponding DCI, and / or the second UE DRX configuration has been determined. For example, the first response may include one or more of the following: a PUSCH transport response (Tx) in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or an acknowledgment message in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH). Therefore, based on the first response, the gNB can be made aware of the second DRX configuration, so that from the perspective of the UE and the gNB, there may be no misalignment or discrepancy in the UE DRX.

[0192] Figure 11 This is a flowchart of an algorithm according to an example embodiment, generally indicated by reference numeral 110. The operation of algorithm 110 can be performed at a first device such as a UE. Algorithm 110 may be an example implementation of algorithm 100.

[0193] At operation 111, the UE can receive RRC reconfiguration from the gNB, where the RRC reconfiguration message may include C-DRX parameters that can provide alternative DRX parameters (e.g., different from the default DRX parameters) related to or corresponding to different PDCCH AL levels (e.g., for monitoring DCI or searching CCE locations based on search space configuration), such as DRX parameters for PDCCH monitoring at higher aggregation levels (e.g., poorer RF conditions).

[0194] At operation 112, the UE can receive the PDCCH and attempt to decode the DCI on the corresponding PDCCH aggregation level configuration (e.g., PDCCH search space configuration). For example, the UE can attempt to search for the DCI based on the aggregation level assigned to the UE based on the PDCCH AL configuration.

[0195] At operation 113, the UE can determine whether the most recent (latest) DCI was received at a (relatively) lower aggregation level. If the DCI was received at a relatively lower aggregation level, the default DRX configuration parameters (first DRX configuration, such as an inactivity timer) can be applied to the corresponding PMO at operation 115. If the DCI was not received at a relatively lower aggregation level, a new DRX configuration (e.g., an alternative DRX configuration, a second DRX configuration) can be applied to subsequent DCIs with a relatively higher aggregation level at operation 114. For example, when the first AL corresponding to the reception of the latest DCI is higher than the first AL value, the alternative (second) UE DRX configuration, relative to the default (first) UE DRX configuration, includes one or more of the following: a longer DRX on duration, a longer DRX inactivity duration, or a shorter DRX cycle duration.

[0196] Figure 12 This is a flowchart of an algorithm according to an example embodiment, generally indicated by reference numeral 120. The operation of algorithm 120 can be performed at a first device such as a UE. Algorithm 120 may be an example implementation of algorithm 100.

[0197] At operation 121 (similar to operation 111), the UE can receive RRC reconfiguration from the gNB, where the RRC reconfiguration message may include C-DRX parameters that can provide alternative DRX parameters (e.g., different from the default DRX parameters) related to or corresponding to different PDCCH AL levels (e.g., based on search space configuration for monitoring DCI or searching CCE locations), such as DRX parameters for PDCCH monitoring at higher aggregation levels (e.g., poorer RF conditions).

[0198] At operation 122 (similar to operation 112), the UE can receive the PDCCH and attempt to decode the DCI using the corresponding PDCCH aggregation level configuration (e.g., PDCCH search space configuration). For example, the UE can attempt to search for the DCI based on the aggregation level assigned to the UE based on the PDCCH AL configuration.

[0199] At operation 123, the UE can determine which aggregation level the decoded DCI (e.g., the most recently received DCI) corresponds to. For example, the UE can determine whether the aggregation level is AL16 (highest), AL8, AL4, AL2, or AL1 (lowest). For example, if the aggregation level is AL16, then at operation 124, multiple new DRX configuration parameters for AL16 (e.g., inactivity timer) can be applied (e.g., more DRX active time); if the aggregation level is AL8, then at operation 125, multiple new DRX configuration parameters for AL8 (e.g., inactivity timer) can be applied (e.g., more DRX active time than the default, but less than AL16 time); if the aggregation level is AL4, then at operation 126, multiple new DRX configuration parameters for AL4 (e.g., inactivity timer) can be applied. If the aggregation level is AL2, then at operation 127, you can apply (e.g., an inactive timer) for AL2 (e.g., an inactive timer) for AL2 (e.g., an inactive timer) for AL4 (e.g., an inactive timer) for AL2 (e.g., an inactive timer) for AL4 (e.g., an inactive timer) for AL2 (e.g., an inactive timer) for AL1 (e.g., an inactive timer) for AL1 (e.g., an inactive timer) for AL1 (e.g., an inactive timer) for AL1 (e.g., an inactive timer) for AL1 (e.g., an inactive timer) for AL1 (e.g., an inactive timer) for AL2 ...

[0200] Figure 13 This is a flowchart of an algorithm according to an example embodiment, generally indicated by reference numeral 130. The operation of algorithm 130 can be performed at a second device such as a gNB.

[0201] At operation 131, the second device may send a first UE Discontinuous Reception (UE DRX) configuration, including a Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration, to the first device. In some examples, the first UE DRX configuration may be the default UE DRX configuration. In some examples, the UE DRX configuration includes one or more of the following: DRX cycle duration, DRX on duration, DRX inactivity duration, DRX retransmission timer, DRX round-trip time (RTT) timer, long DRX cycle length, short DRX cycle length, or short DRX cycle timer (i.e., the number of short cycles after the DRX inactivity timer expires).

[0202] Next, at operation 132, the second device may send a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring rule to the first device. This PDCCH monitoring rule is used to configure the first device to determine the second UE DRX configuration based at least in part on the aggregation level (AL) corresponding to the respective downlink control information (DCI). For example, the PDCCH monitoring rule can provide rules about how the UE determines and / or selects the DRX configuration based on, for example, the aggregation level of one or more DCIs. In some examples, one or more PDCCH monitoring rules are included in the PDCCH search space configuration.

[0203] At operation 133, the second device can send downlink control information (DCI) to the first device, wherein the downlink control information is located in one or more control channel elements (CCE) positions associated with the first aggregation level. (See previous reference...) Figure 10 The first device may determine a second DRX configuration and / or adjust the first DRX configuration based at least in part on the aggregation level associated with the received DCI. The UE may then apply the second DRX configuration to decode subsequent DCIs (e.g., at least for subsequent DRX cycles, and optionally for the current DRX cycle). Therefore, the second device may determine to send subsequent DCIs based on the understanding that the UE may have already applied a second DRX configuration determined based on PDCCH monitoring rules and corresponding ALs.

[0204] Therefore, at operation 134, the second device may, at least in part, perform one or more of the following based on the PDCCH monitoring rules and the corresponding AL (e.g., based on the second DRX configuration): send a PDCCH DCI to the first device or schedule the transmission of a PDCCH DCI to the first device. Consequently, subsequent DCI transmissions may be performed based on DRX parameters (DRX inactivity timer, DRX on duration) based on the second DRX configuration.

[0205] In some examples, one or more of the first UE DRX configuration and PDCCH monitoring rules include an aggregated level range corresponding to the triggering of adjustments to the first UE DRX configuration. For example, adjustments to the first UE DRX configuration may apply to the current DRX cycle or one or more subsequent DRX cycles.

[0206] In some examples, the second device may receive a first response from the first device, wherein the first response indicates that the first device has received the first DCI and / or the second UE DRX configuration has been determined. The second device may then, in response to receiving the first response from the first device, trigger the transmission of the DCI based on the PDCCH monitoring rules and the corresponding AL, wherein the first response may include one or more of the following: a PUSCH transmission response (Tx) in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or an acknowledgment message in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

[0207] Therefore, for example, according to the example embodiment described above, the gNB can pre-configure the UE to adjust DRX parameters based on the aggregation level of (multiple) DCIs. In one example, the adjustment (multiple) can only be performed after the gNB has acknowledged (e.g., using an ACK from the UE) that the UE has received the relevant DCI, the aggregation level of which is considered for adjusting the (multiple) DRX parameters. In one example, acknowledgment can be based on the gNB receiving a first response to the relevant DCI, which can indicate that the UE has successfully received the relevant DCI.

[0208] This can be particularly helpful when the UE is at or near the cell edge (e.g., at a corner), where the UE DRX from the gNB's perspective may be at least partially inconsistent with the UE DRX from the UE's perspective, for example, when a PDCCHDCI is sent by the gNB but not successfully received by the UE. In this case, it is beneficial for the gNB to confirm that the UE has received the relevant DCI and then schedule the transmission based on the corresponding second DRX configuration.

[0209] In some examples, the gNB can assign multiple DRX configuration parameters to a UE. For example, the gNB can assign multiple first DRX configuration parameters (e.g., default DRX configuration parameters) to UEs at relatively lower aggregation levels (e.g., AL1, AL2) and multiple second DRX configuration parameters to UEs at relatively higher aggregation levels (e.g., AL4, AL8, AL16).

[0210] Figure 14 This is a flowchart of an algorithm according to an example embodiment, generally indicated by reference numeral 140. The operation of algorithm 140 can be performed at a second device such as a gNB. Algorithm 140 can be an example implementation of algorithm 130.

[0211] At operation 141, the second device (referred to as the 'Network' (NW)) can assign DRX configuration parameters to the first device (referred to as the UE) to create more PDCCH monitoring opportunities (PMO).

[0212] Next, at operation 142, the NW can send an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE. For example, at operation 143, the network can allocate an aggregation level to the UE (e.g., via an RRC reconfiguration message) based on the relevant UE scheduling policy during the RRC reconfiguration. Next, at operation 144, the NW can send a PDCCH to the UE at the allocated aggregation level and PMO, and this transmission can be based on the DRX enable duration.

[0213] At operation 145, the NW can schedule subsequent PDCCH DCIs based on the UE DRX. The UE-DRX corresponds to the aggregation level of at least the latest DCI sent by the NW to the UE and is acknowledged to be received by the UE.

[0214] In some examples, the NW implementation may also use a higher AL earlier for UEs that the NW expects to move to worse RF conditions soon, where a higher AL is used so that the UE has already been woken up more frequently (e.g., fewer inactive timers) when it reaches these cell edge conditions.

[0215] Figure 15 The message flow 1500, according to an example embodiment, is generally indicated by reference numeral 1500. Message flow 1500 illustrates communication between UE 1501 and gNB 1502 during RRC connection mode 1503. At operation 1504, gNB 1502 may send an RRC reconfiguration message to UE 1501, wherein the RRC reconfiguration may include a C-DRX configuration, a default DRX configuration parameter set, and / or multiple DRX configuration parameter sets depending on the AL range used. Operation 1504 may be an initial operation performed when the UE first communicates with the gNB, such that operation 1504 does not need to be repeated for each PDCCH monitoring.

[0216] Procedure 1505 can be performed within the first DRX activation duration (activation duration '#1'). The C-DRX activity period can begin at operation 1506, and gNB 1502 can allocate a PDCCH associated with a relatively low AL (e.g., associated with an aggregation level such as AL1, AL2, etc.) to UE 1501 at operation 1507. Therefore, the operation of procedure 1505 can be performed when a relatively low AL is allocated for an incoming DCI. At operation 1508, the UE can successfully decode the received DCI and can also start a default DRX inactivity timer (e.g., drx-InactivityTimer specifies the period of time after which the UE should be active after successfully decoding the PDCCH indicating a new transmission (UL or DL)). Then, at operation 1509, gNB 1502 can perform data transmission (e.g., via PDSCH). Operations such as 1507 and 1508 can be repeated (e.g., in operations 1510 and 1511, where another PDCCH with a relatively low AL can be assigned to UE 1501, and UE 1501 can successfully decode the received DCI(multiple)DCI(s) and restart the default DRX inactivity timer). These operations can be repeated, for example, until the default DRX inactivity timer expires at operation 1513. At operation 1514, the UE can enter a sleep state, and the C-DRX activity period can end at operation 1515.

[0217] Figure 16 The message flow is based on an example embodiment and is generally indicated by reference numeral 1600. Message flow 1600 illustrates communication between UE 1501 and gNB 1502 during RRC connection mode (1503). Message flow 1600 may be a continuation of message flow 1500, executing procedure 1603 within the Mth DRX on-duration (on-duration '#M'). Procedure 1603 can be used in scenarios where gNB 1502 can schedule UE 1501 at a higher aggregation level (e.g., AL 8, AL16). At operation 1604, due to the determination of poor network conditions (e.g., signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) conditions below a threshold), gNB 1502 can schedule UE 1501 at a higher AL. Therefore, at operation 1605, gNB 1502 can assign PDCCH to UE at a higher aggregation level (e.g., AL8, AL16), and UE 1601 can decode DCI associated with PDCCH based on the higher aggregation level at operation 1606.

[0218] At operation 1607, the UE can initiate a DRX inactivity timer for higher AL PDCCH reception. Therefore, the DRX inactivity timer can be determined based on higher AL, making it different from the default DRX inactivity timer (e.g., the higher the AL, the longer the DRX inactivity timer can be, allowing the UE to be woken up for a longer period after successfully decoding the DCI). Operation 1607 is an example implementation of how the UE performs DRX configuration adjustment based on the AL of the received (multiple) DCIs. During DRX period #M (on-duration #M), the UE is scheduled by the NW using the PDCCH DCI on higher ALs (e.g., AL8, AL16, etc.).

[0219] Operations 1605, 1606, and 1607 can be repeated (e.g., 1608 and 1609; 1611 and 1612), and gNB 1502 can perform PDSCH data transmission at operation 1610, then allocate PDCCH at operation 1611, and reallocate PDCCH again at operation 1613. At operation 1609, after decoding the DCI at the higher AL, the UE applies the DRX configuration provided by the NW for the higher AL. The UE can initiate the on-duration and inactivity timer for the higher AL. As shown in operation 1612, the corresponding inactivity timer can be restarted each time the DCI is decoded during the drx-Onduration with the higher AL. This extends the PDCCH monitoring time by the amount used for receiving the higher AL PDCCH. These operations can be repeated until the drx inactivity timer for receiving the higher AL PDCCH expires at operation 1614. For example, when the NW has no more data to schedule to the UE, and when the drx inactivity timer for a higher AL expires, the UE may not restart the drx inactivity timer. After the drx inactivity timer expires, the UE 1501 can enter a sleep state at operation 1615, and the C-DRX PCell activity period can end at operation 1616.

[0220] In some examples, the DRX configuration can have a new signaling structure, as shown below:

[0221] Drx-config The structure can be MAC-CellGroupConfig Part of it. Example embodiments can utilize Drx configurations. Drx-config The structure, which can be expanded to include additional (multiple) new information elements (IEs) Drx- ConfigHigherALIE (to implement the example embodiments described above).

[0222] The new IE can contain at least two parameters. drx-onDurationTimer and drx-InactivityTimer These can be applied to higher ALs. In some examples, the DRX (active) time parameters are not limited to only including the drx-onduration timer and the drx inactive timer. For example, the time until the start of the next active time (e.g., drx-ShortCycle and / or drx-LongCycle) can be reduced to increase the total active time. In another example, the DRX retransmission timer (e.g., drx-RetransmissionTimer) can be increased to increase the total active time. In yet another example, the drx-ShortCycleTimer (a short DRX cycle timer, e.g., the number of short DRX cycles before entering a long DRX cycle) can be increased to increase the total active time. In yet another example, the DRX round-trip time (RTT) timer (e.g., drx-HARQ-RTT-Timer) can be increased to allow more time for more NW response time before the active time for scheduling the retransmission begins.

[0223] For example, a new signaling structure (e.g., for PDCCH monitoring timing) could be as follows:

[0224] The PDCCH-Config structure will have a link to the new DRX configuration structure in theSearchSpace IE, as shown in the following diagram:

[0225] Figure 17 This is a flowchart of an algorithm according to an example embodiment, generally indicated by reference numeral 170. The operation of algorithm 170 can be performed at a first device such as a UE.

[0226] At operation 171, the first device may receive the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) configuration from the second device (NW or gNB), wherein the PDCCH configuration includes one or more PDCCH monitoring rules. The PDCCH monitoring rules can provide rules on how the UE determines and / or selects the DRX configuration based on, for example, one or more CCE locations of one or more DCIs.

[0227] At operation 172, the first device may receive first downlink control information (DCI) at the location of the first control channel element (CCE).

[0228] Next, at operation 173, the first device may determine one or more of the PDCCH monitoring configuration and the UE discontinuous reception (UE DRX) configuration, at least in part, based on the attributes of the first CCE location of the first DCI and one or more PDCCH monitoring rules. Therefore, compared to algorithm 100, the UE may determine the UE DRX configuration based on the attributes of the first CCE location of the first DCI (rather than based on the aggregation level associated with the PDCCH transmitting the DCI).

[0229] At operation 174, the first device may perform at least one of UE DRX monitoring and PDCCH search space decoding based on one or more of the PDCCH monitoring configuration or UE DRX configuration.

[0230] In some examples, the UE DRX configuration includes one or more of the following: DRX cycle duration, DRX on duration, DRX inactivity duration, DRX retransmission timer, DRX round-trip time (RTT) timer, long DRX cycle length, short DRX cycle length, or short DRX cycle timer.

[0231] In some examples, the PDCCH monitoring rules indicate that the UE DRX configuration is determined based on the first UE DRX configuration when the first CCE location corresponds to the first defined CCE location (e.g., a CCE location associated with a lower AL or the default AL). Alternatively or additionally, the PDCCH monitoring configuration is determined based on the first PDCCH monitoring configuration when the first CCE location corresponds to the first defined CCE location.

[0232] In some examples, the PDCCH monitoring rules indicate that when the first CCE corresponds to a second defined CCE location (e.g., a CCE location associated with a higher AL (e.g., an AL higher than the default AL), such as AL8 or AL16), the UE DRX configuration is determined to be based on a second UE DRX configuration, wherein, relative to the first DRX configuration, the second DRX configuration includes one or more of the following: a shorter DRX cycle duration, a longer DRX on duration, or a shorter DRX inactivity duration. Alternatively or additionally, when the first CCE corresponds to a second defined CCE location, the PDCCH monitoring configuration is determined to be based on the second PDCCH monitoring configuration. The second PDCCH configuration may have a different number of blind decoding (BD) PDCCH candidate sets at its corresponding AL levels(multiple).

[0233] In some examples, one or more PDCCH monitoring rules indicate a first or more CCE locations corresponding to a trigger for adjustment of at least one of the following: a first PDCCH monitoring configuration; or a first UE DRX configuration. In one example, the one or more CCE locations corresponding to the trigger for adjustment include at least a first CCE location and / or the earliest CCE location among a plurality of possible PDCCH locations (e.g., based on AL). Alternatively, the one or more CCE locations corresponding to the trigger for adjustment include a second or more CCE locations having an index value less than or equal to a first index value. In one example, the UE may receive at least two (PDCCH monitoring-related) configurations (e.g., DRX timer, PDCCH blind decoding configuration, etc.) (e.g., a first NW configuration and a second NW configuration) and corresponding monitoring rules from the NW, which are used to dynamically adjust the NW / DRX configuration based on the attributes of the CCE location where the DCI is detected (applied to the PDCCH, e.g., in / applied to the PDCCH among the possible DCI locations in the AL). For example, if the DCI is received in the earliest CCE location among the possible (UE-monitored) PDCCH locations in the AL, the UE may use the first NW configuration. Alternatively or additionally, if the DCI is received in a CCE location with an index less than 5, the UE can use the first network configuration.

[0234] In some examples, the adjustment of the first UE DRX configuration applies to one or more of the following: the current DRX cycle or one or more subsequent DRX cycles.

[0235] In some examples, these adjustments may relate to blind decoding reconfiguration, such that the digital location of the CCE position associated with the DCI can be used to determine blind decoding redeployment.

[0236] In some examples, the first device may send a first response to the second device, wherein the first response indicates that the first device has received the corresponding DCI, and / or the corresponding PDCCH monitoring configuration and / or UE DRX configuration has been determined. In one example, the first response includes one or more of the following: a PUSCH transport response (Tx) in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or an acknowledgment message in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

[0237] Example embodiments associated with algorithm 170 can provide a technique in which the UE can automatically and implicitly select connection UE DRX parameters based on the CCE location of the DCI received by the UE (e.g., by selecting the relevant PDCCH monitoring configuration for the UE DRX parameters). The UE can also automatically and implicitly select the connection PDCCH monitoring configuration for blind decoding to be monitored based on the CCE location of the DCI received by the UE.

[0238] In one example, the UE may receive at least two (PDCCH monitoring related) configurations from the NW. For example, the at least two configurations received from the NW are a first UE DRX configuration and a second UE DRX configuration (e.g., DRX inactivity timer). Alternatively or additionally, the at least two configurations received from the NW are UE PDCCH monitoring configurations (e.g., which blind decoding / ALs the UE will monitor).

[0239] In the following examples in Table 1, the UE can receive DCI at eight possible CCE locations. Each of the CCE locations (e.g., CCE location 1, CCE location 2, CCE location 3, CCE location 4, CCE location 5, CCE location 6, CCE location 7, and CCE location 8) can be associated with aggregation level 1. A group of four CCE locations (such as CCE locations 1 to 4) can be associated with the UE, where the aggregation level assigned to the UE can be aggregation level AL4 (the sum of individual ALs). Table 1

[0240] In one example, if the UE receives DCI at CCE positions (blind decoding positions) including CCE position 1 and / or multiple CCE positions starting with CCE position 1, the UE can determine to use an alternative (second) PDCCH monitoring configuration and / or an alternative (third) UE DRX configuration. For example, if DCI is received along with AL4 in CCE positions 1 through 4, an alternative PDCCH monitoring configuration and / or an alternative (second) UE DRX configuration can be used during UE DRX monitoring to perform PDCCH blind decoding for subsequent DRX cycles or DCI.

[0241] In some examples, determining the PDCCH monitoring configuration and / or UE DRX configuration based on CCE location attributes may only apply to cases where the UE is monitoring multiple blind decodes at the same aggregation level. For example, if the UE is monitoring a first DCI (AL4) with a first blind decode at CCE locations 1 to 4, and a second DCI (AL4) with a second blind decode at CCE locations 5 to 8, the UE may only change the PDCCH monitoring configuration and / or UE DRX configuration from the corresponding default configuration. Alternatively, if the UE only monitors a first DCI with a first blind decode at CCE locations 1 to 4, the PDCCH monitoring configuration and / or UE DRX configuration may not need to be changed from the corresponding default configuration.

[0242] In some example embodiments, the UE may determine whether to use an alternative (second) PDCCH monitoring configuration and / or an alternative (third) UE DRX configuration based on a combination of CCE location attributes and aggregation levels. For example, an alternative NW PDCCH monitoring configuration corresponding to AL4 may be used only if the UE receives AL4 DCI at a blind decoding location including or starting with CCE location 1 (e.g., other AL DCIs received at the corresponding CCE location 1 may not be considered for the alternative NW PDCCH monitoring configuration). Alternatively or additionally, an alternative NW PDCCH monitoring configuration corresponding to AL1 may be used only if the UE receives AL1 DCI at a blind decoding location including or starting with CCE location 1 (other AL DCIs received at the corresponding CCE location 1 may not be considered for the alternative NW PDCCH monitoring configuration).

[0243] Figure 18 This is a flowchart of an algorithm according to an example embodiment, generally indicated by reference numeral 180. The operation of algorithm 180 can be performed at a second device such as a gNB.

[0244] At operation 181, the second device may send a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) configuration to the first device (UE). The PDCCH configuration may include one or more PDCCH monitoring rules. As discussed in the example embodiments above, the PDCCH monitoring rules may be used to configure the first device to perform UE DRX monitoring and / or PDCCH search space decoding, at least in part based on attributes of a first CCE location of a first DCI and one or more PDCCH monitoring rules. For example, the PDCCH monitoring rules indicate that the UE DRX configuration is determined to be based on the first UE DRX configuration when the first CCE location corresponds to a first defined CCE location (e.g., a CCE location associated with a lower AL or default AL). Alternatively or additionally, the PDCCH monitoring configuration is determined to be based on the first PDCCH monitoring configuration when the first CCE location corresponds to the first defined CCE location.

[0245] At operation 182, the second device may send downlink control information (DCI) to the first device at the location of the first control channel element (CCE).

[0246] At operation 183, the second device may, at least in part, perform one or more of the following actions based on the PDCCH monitoring rules and the corresponding CCE location: send a PDCCH DCI to the first device or schedule the transmission of a PDCCH DCI to the first device. Therefore, subsequent DCI transmissions may be performed based on the UE DRX configuration and / or PDCCH monitoring configuration, which the UE may determine based on the CCE location of the DCI.

[0247] In some examples, the UE DRX configuration includes one or more of the following: DRX cycle duration, DRX on duration, DRX inactivity duration, DRX retransmission timer, DRX round-trip time (RTT) timer, long DRX cycle length, short DRX cycle length, or short DRX cycle timer.

[0248] In some examples, one or more PDCCH monitoring rules indicate a first or more CCE locations corresponding to a triggering of regulation for at least one of the following: a first PDCCH monitoring configuration; or a first UE DRX configuration. Alternatively or additionally, the one or more CCE locations corresponding to the triggering of regulation include a second or more CCE locations having an index value less than or equal to a first index value.

[0249] For example, one or more CCE locations corresponding to the triggering of adjustment include at least the first CCE location and / or the earliest CCE location among multiple possible PDCCH locations (e.g., based on aggregation level). In one example, the NW can send at least two (PDCCH monitoring-related) configurations (e.g., DRX timer, PDCCH blind decoding configuration, etc.) (e.g., first NW configuration and second NW configuration) and corresponding monitoring rules to the UE, which are used to dynamically adjust the NW DRX configuration based on the attributes of the CCE location where the DCI is detected (applied to the PDCCH, e.g., in / applied to the PDCCH of the possible DCI locations in that AL). For example, if the DCI is received in the earliest CCE location among the possible (UE-monitored) PDCCH locations in that AL, the UE can use the first NW configuration. Alternatively or additionally, if the DCI is received in a CCE location with an index less than 5, the UE can use the first network configuration.

[0250] In some examples, adjustments to the first UE DRX configuration apply to one or more of the following: the current DRX cycle or one or more subsequent DRX cycles. For example, when a new DCI is received, the UE may only change the DRX parameters of the new DRX timer used to start and continue at that point (e.g., for subsequent DRX cycles). Alternatively or additionally, the UE may also change the DRX parameters of the currently running DRX cycle (e.g., for the current DRX cycle), where adjustments may include adjusting the DRX inactivity timer on the PUCSH after the UE receives a DCI with a PDSCH having a different CCE position.

[0251] In some examples, in response to receiving a first response from a first device, a second device may trigger the transmission of a PDCCH DCI based on PDCCH monitoring rules and the corresponding CCE location. For example, the first response indicates that the first device has received the corresponding DCI, and / or the corresponding PDCCH monitoring configuration and / or UE DRX configuration has been determined. The first response may include one or more of the following: a PUSCH transmission response (Tx) in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) or an acknowledgment message in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH). Therefore, for example, according to the example embodiments described above, the gNB may pre-configure the UE to adjust the UE DRX configuration and / or PDCCH monitoring configuration based on the CCE locations of (multiple) DCIs. In one example, (multiple) adjustments can only be performed after the gNB has acknowledged (e.g., using an ACK from the UE or a PUSCH transmission from the UE) that the UE has received the relevant DCI, the CCE location of which is considered for adjusting the UE DRX configuration and / or PDCCH monitoring configuration. In one example, it is confirmed that a first response to the relevant DCI can be received based on the gNB, which can indicate that the UE has successfully received the relevant DCI.

[0252] The example embodiments described above can provide benefits such as higher call quality and UE energy saving, but also incur (RRC) overhead / latency when changing the DRX configuration. This may be due to reduced UE scheduling latency, especially at cell edges where QoS is most critical, and / or the negative impact of UE DRX inactivity time may be more significant. More UE energy saving opportunities can be achieved by temporarily allowing UEs to have activity time when most needed (e.g., at cell edges, high AL / CCE locations), and without permanently extending UE activity time beyond the optimal activity period (e.g., when extended activity time is not required, such as far from cell edges, low AL). Example device

[0253] Figure 19An apparatus according to some example embodiments is shown, which may include a user terminal 190. The user device may be, for example, a smartphone or other terminal device. The apparatus may be configured to perform operations described herein, such as those described with reference to any disclosed process. The apparatus includes at least one processor 192 and at least one memory 194 directly or closely connected to the processor. The memory 194 includes at least one random access memory (RAM) and at least one read-only memory (ROM). Computer program code (software) 195 is stored in the ROM. The apparatus may be connected to a transmitter (TX) and a receiver (RX). The apparatus may optionally be connected to a user interface (UI) for indicating the apparatus and / or for outputting data. At least one processor 192, together with at least one memory 194 and computer program code 195, is arranged such that the apparatus at least performs a method according to any prior process, for example, as described in [the previous section]. Figures 10 to 14 Flowcharts and Figure 15 and Figure 16 The message flow and its related characteristics are disclosed.

[0254] Figure 20 A non-transitory medium 200 according to some embodiments is shown. The non-transitory medium 200 is a computer-readable storage medium. It may be, for example, a CD, DVD, USB flash drive, Blu-ray disc, etc. The non-transitory medium 200 stores computer program code to cause a device to perform any prior process, for example, as disclosed with respect to the flowcharts and their related features.

[0255] The names of network elements, protocols, and methods are based on current standards. In other versions or other technologies, the names of these network elements and / or protocols and / or methods may differ, as long as they provide the corresponding functionality. For example, embodiments can be deployed in 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G networks and next-generation 3GPP networks, as well as in non-3GPP wireless networks such as WiFi.

[0256] The memory can be volatile or non-volatile. It can be, for example, RAM, SRAM, flash memory, FPGA block RAM, DCD, CD, USB memory stick, and Blu-ray disc.

[0257] Unless otherwise stated or explicitly stated from the context, different claims by two entities indicate that they perform different functions. This does not necessarily mean that they are based on different hardware. That is, each entity described in this specification may be based on different hardware, or some or all entities may be based on the same hardware. This does not necessarily mean that they are based on different software. That is, each entity described in this specification may be based on different software, or some or all entities may be based on the same software. Each entity described in this specification can be implemented in the cloud.

[0258] As a non-limiting example, implementations of any of the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described above include hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof. Some embodiments may be implemented in the cloud.

[0259] It should be understood that the above description represents what is currently considered a preferred embodiment. However, it should be noted that the description of the preferred embodiment is given by way of example only, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A first device for communication, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device to: The second device receives the first user equipment discontinuously received UE DRX configuration and physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring rules; Receive downlink control information from the second device, wherein the downlink control information is located in one or more control channel element (CCE) locations associated with the first aggregation level; The second UE DRX configuration is determined at least in part based on the first aggregation level and the PDCCH monitoring rules; and One or more subsequent DCIs are monitored, at least in part based on the second UE DRX configuration.

2. The first apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more PDCCH monitoring rules are included in the PDCCH search space configuration; The UE DRX configuration includes one or more of the following: DRX cycle duration, DRX on duration, DRX inactivity duration, DRX retransmission timer, DRX round-trip time (RTT) timer, long DRX cycle length, short DRX cycle length, or short DRX cycle timer. Wherein, when the first AL is equal to or less than the first AL value, the second UE DRX configuration is the same as the first UE DRX configuration; and When the first AL is higher than the first AL value, the second UE DRX configuration, relative to the first UE DRX configuration, includes one or more of the following: a longer DRX on duration, a longer DRX inactivity duration, or a shorter DRX cycle duration.

3. The first apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the second UE DRX configuration for determining the corresponding DCI is further based at least in part on a plurality of historical aggregation levels AL corresponding to a plurality of historical received DCIs; The second UE DRX configuration is determined based on the highest historical AL among the plurality of historical ALs corresponding to the plurality of historical received DCIs; Determining the second UE DRX configuration includes: triggering an adjustment to the first UE DRX configuration; One or more of the first UE DRX configuration and PDCCH monitoring rules include: one or more aggregation level ranges corresponding to the triggering of adjustments to the first UE DRX monitoring configuration; and The adjustment of the first UE DRX configuration applies to one or more of the following: the current DRX cycle or one or more subsequent DRX cycles.

4. The first apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the instruction further causes the first apparatus to: send a first response to the second apparatus, wherein the first response indicates that: the first apparatus has received the corresponding DCI, and / or the second UE DRX configuration has been determined; and The first response includes one or more of the following: a PUSCH transmission response Tx in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), or an acknowledgment message in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH).

5. A second means for communication, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device to: Send the first user equipment discontinuous reception UE DRX configuration, which is included in the radio resource control (RRC) configuration, to the first device; Send a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring rule to the first device, the PDCCH monitoring rule being used to configure the first device to determine the second UE DRX configuration based at least in part on the Aggregation Level (AL) corresponding to the corresponding Downlink Control Information (DCI); Sending downlink control information (DCI) to the first device, wherein the downlink control information is located in one or more control channel element (CCE) locations associated with the first aggregation level; and At least in part based on the PDCCH monitoring rules and the corresponding AL, one or more of the following are performed: sending PDCCH DCI to the first device or scheduling the transmission of PDCCH DCI to the first device.

6. The second apparatus of claim 5, wherein the one or more PDCCH monitoring rules are included in the PDCCH search space configuration; and The UE DRX configuration includes one or more of the following: DRX cycle duration, DRX on duration, DRX inactivity duration, DRX retransmission timer, DRX round-trip time (RTT) timer, long DRX cycle length, short DRX cycle length, or short DRX cycle timer, wherein the short DRX cycle timer indicates the number of short cycles before entering the long cycle.

7. The second apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 6, wherein one or more of the first UE DRX configuration and PDCCH monitoring rules include: One or more aggregation level ranges corresponding to the triggering of adjustments to the first UE DRX monitoring configuration; as well as The adjustment of the first UE DRX configuration applies to one or more of the following: the current DRX cycle or one or more subsequent DRX cycles.

8. The second apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 6, wherein the instructions further cause the second apparatus to: trigger the transmission of DCI based on the PDCCH monitoring rules and the corresponding AL in response to receiving a first response from the first apparatus, wherein the first response indicates that: the first apparatus has received the first DCI, and / or the second UE DRX configuration has been determined; The first response includes one or more of the following: a PUSCH transmission response Tx in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), or an acknowledgment message in response to the DCI allocation of the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH); and The first device is a user equipment (UE), and the second device is a base station (gNB).

9. A method performed at a first means for communication, the method comprising: The second device receives the first user equipment discontinuously received UE DRX configuration and physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring rules; Receive downlink control information from the second device, wherein the downlink control information is located in one or more control channel element (CCE) locations associated with the first aggregation level; The second UE DRX configuration is determined at least in part based on the first aggregation level and the PDCCH monitoring rules; and One or more subsequent DCIs are monitored, at least in part based on the second UE DRX configuration.

10. A method performed at a second means for communication, the method comprising: Send the first user equipment discontinuous reception UE DRX configuration, which is included in the radio resource control (RRC) configuration, to the first device; Send a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) monitoring rule to the first device, the PDCCH monitoring rule being used to configure the first device to determine the second UE DRX configuration based at least in part on the Aggregation Level (AL) corresponding to the corresponding Downlink Control Information (DCI); Sending downlink control information (DCI) to the first device, wherein the downlink control information is located in one or more control channel element (CCE) locations associated with the first aggregation level; and At least in part based on the PDCCH monitoring rules and the corresponding AL, one or more of the following are performed: sending PDCCH DCI to the first device or scheduling the transmission of PDCCH DCI to the first device.

Images