Method of communication

Abstract

The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method, an apparatus, and a computer storage medium for Low Power (LP) Wake-Up Signal (WUS) monitoring. A terminal device turns on a receiver of the terminal device and monitors a WUS without performing a Radio Resource Control (RRC) operation corresponding to an RRC idle / inactive process. The terminal device further starts a timer associated with the WUS. When the timer expires, the terminal device performs the RRC operation and turns off the receiver. Thus, the terminal device can determine when to perform the RRC operation and turn off the receiver based on the timer. Thus, the terminal device can recognize the status of a connection with a network.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly, to a method, apparatus, and computer storage medium for Low Power (LP) Wake-Up Signal (WUS) monitoring. [Background technology]

[0002] In a communication system, devices such as terminal devices are powered by batteries. To support various communication services provided by the communication system, such as telephone, video, data, messaging, broadcasting, etc., these devices need to consume a significant amount of battery power. For example, these devices consume tens of milliwatts in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle / inactive state and hundreds of milliwatts in an RRC connected state.

[0003] On the one hand, it is desirable to extend the battery life of these devices for improved energy efficiency and better user experience. On the other hand, the various communication services offered by these devices require low latency. Work is underway to introduce a LP WUS monitoring mechanism that can support low latency while extending battery life. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In general, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method, apparatus, and computer storage medium for LP WUS monitoring. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In a first aspect, a method of communication performed by a terminal device is provided, the method including turning on a receiver of the terminal device to monitor for a wake-up signal (WUS) without performing an RRC operation corresponding to a Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle / inactive process, the method further including starting a timer associated with the WUS, and the method further including, pursuant to determining that the timer has expired, performing the RRC operation without having the receiver monitor the WUS.

[0006] In a second aspect, a terminal device is provided, the terminal device comprising: a processor; and a memory, the memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the network device to perform a method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0007] In a third aspect, a computer readable medium is provided having instructions stored thereon that, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0008] It should be understood that this summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will be readily apparent from the following description. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the detailed description of several embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings.

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communications network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0011] [Figure 2A]FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a terminal device equipped with an LP receiver.

[0012] [Figure 2B] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary scheme for utilizing a terminal device with an LP receiver.

[0013] [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 illustrates a signaling flow for communication in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0014] [Figure 4A] 1 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for WUS monitoring, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] [Figure 4B] 4 is a flowchart of an example state transition process of a terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0016] [Figure 5A] 1 is a flowchart of another exemplary method for WUS monitoring, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0017] [Figure 5B] 11 is a flowchart of another example state transition process of a terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0018] [Figure 6A] 1 is a flowchart of another exemplary method for WUS monitoring, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] [Figure 6B] A diagram showing a switching process of an LP receiver and a communication device of a terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] [Figure 7A]11 is a flowchart of yet another exemplary method for WUS monitoring, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] [Figure 7B] 11 is a flowchart of yet another example state transition process of a terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] [Figure 8] 1 is a flowchart of an exemplary method according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0023] [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0024] In the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only, to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitations on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways different from those described below.

[0026] 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.

[0027] As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any device having wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include User Equipment (UE), personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, Machine Type Communication (MTC) devices, vehicle-mounted devices for V2X communications where X means pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure / network, devices for Integrated Access and Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB), satellite- or air-mounted vehicles in a Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) including High Altitude Platforms (HAPs) including satellites and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs), Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), Virtual Reality (VR), and other technologies. These include, but are not limited to, extended reality (XR) devices that include different types of reality, such as extended reality (XR: eXtended Reality) devices, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) that are aircraft without a human pilot and are commonly referred to as drones, devices on high speed trains (HST: High Speed ​​Trains), image acquisition devices such as digital cameras, sensor game devices, music storage and playback devices, or Internet appliances that enable wireless or wired Internet access and browsing, etc.The "Terminal Equipment" may further have "Multicast / Broadcast" capabilities to support public safety and mission critical V2X applications, transparent IPv4 / IPv6 multicast distribution, IPTV, Smart TV, wireless services, over-the-air software distribution, group communication and IoT applications. It may also incorporate one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), known as multi-SIMs. The term "Terminal Equipment" may be used interchangeably with UE, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile terminal, user terminal, or wireless device.

[0028] The term "network device" refers to a device that can provide or host a cell or coverage in which a terminal device can communicate. Examples of network devices include, but are not limited to, a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a next generation Node B (gNB), a Transmit and Receive Point (TRP), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a Radio Head (RH), a Remote Radio Head (RRH), an IAB node, a femto node, a pico node, a low power node such as a Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS), etc. A terminal device or a network device may have Artificial Intelligence (AI) or machine learning capabilities. In general, it includes a model trained from a large number of data collected for a specific function and can be used to predict some information.

[0029] The term "circuitry" as used herein may refer to hardware circuits and / or a combination of hardware circuits and software. For example, a circuit may be a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware. As yet another example, a circuit may be any portion of a hardware processor having software, including a digital signal processor, software, and one or more memories, that cooperate to cause a device, such as a terminal device or a network device, to perform various functions. In yet another example, a circuit may be a hardware circuit and / or a processor, such as a microprocessor or a portion thereof, that requires software / firmware for operation, but the software may not be present if not required for operation. As used herein, the term "circuitry" also includes an implementation of only a hardware circuit or one or more processors, or a portion of a hardware circuit or one or more processors and its (or their) associated software and / or firmware.

[0030] As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "said" include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "comprises" and variations thereof should be understood as open-ended terms meaning "including, but not limited to." The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on." The terms "one embodiment" and "embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment." The term "another embodiment" should be understood as "at least one other embodiment." Terms such as "first," "second," and the like may refer to different or the same object. The following may include other explicit and implicit definitions.

[0031] In some instances, values, procedures, or devices are referred to as "best," "lowest," "highest," "minimum," "maximum," etc. It should be understood that such descriptions are intended to illustrate that selections can be made from among many functional alternatives used, and that such selections are not necessarily better, smaller, higher, or otherwise more preferred than other selections.

[0032] The terminal device or network device may have the capability of artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning. Generally, it includes a model trained from a large amount of data collected for a specific function and can be used to predict some information.

[0033] The terminal device or network device may operate on several frequency ranges, such as FR1 (410 MHz-7125 MHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz-71 GHz), frequency bands greater than 100 GHz, and Tera Hertz (THz). It can also operate on licensed / unlicensed / shared spectrum. The terminal device may have two or more connections with the network device under Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) application scenarios. The terminal device or network device can operate in full duplex, flexible duplex, and cross division duplex modes.

[0034] In one embodiment, the terminal device may directly communicate with another terminal device in the communication network. Information about the configuration for the terminal device may be sent from a network device in the communication network or may be preconfigured. This information may be sent via any of Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Media Access Control (MAC) control elements (CE), Downlink Control Information (DCI) or preconfiguration.

[0035] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in test equipment, such as, for example, a signal generator, a signal analyzer, a spectrum analyzer, a network analyzer, a test terminal equipment, a test network equipment, a channel emulator, and the like.

[0036] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed in accordance with any generation of communication protocols now known or developed in the future, 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) communication protocols, 5.5G, 5G-Advanced networks, or sixth generation (6G) networks.

[0037] Hereinafter, the principles and embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. Example of communication environment

[0038] 1 illustrates an exemplary communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The network 100 includes a network device 110 and a terminal device 120 served by the network device 110. The serving area of ​​the network device 110 is referred to as a cell 102. It should be understood that the number of network devices and terminal devices is provided for illustrative purposes only and no limitation is implied. The network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it should be understood that one or more terminal devices may be within the cell 102 and served by the network device 110.

[0039] In the communication network 100, the network device 110 can communicate / transmit data and control information to the terminal device 120, and the terminal device 120 can also communicate / transmit data and control information to the network device 110. The link from the network device 110 to the terminal device 120 is referred to as the downlink (DL), and the link from the terminal device 120 to the network device 110 is referred to as the uplink (UL).

[0040] Depending on the communication technology, the network 100 may be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) network, a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) network, an Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) network, a Single Carrier-Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) network, or any other network. The communication described in the network 100 may conform to any suitable standard, including, but not limited to, NR, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), CDMA2000, and Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), etc. Furthermore, the communication may be performed according to any generation of communication protocols now known or developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, and fifth generation (5G) communication protocols. The techniques described herein may be used for the wireless networks and radio technologies mentioned above, as well as other wireless networks and radio technologies. For clarity, some aspects of the techniques are described below in terms of LTE, and LTE terminology is used in much of the description below.

[0041] In the network 100, the terminal device 120 may execute in different modes, states, and processes. For example, the terminal device 120 in the RRC connected state may monitor the Physical Downlink Control CHannel (PDCCH) to obtain a Downlink (DL) transmission permission for it to receive DL data on the Physical Downlink Shared CHannel (PDSCH).

[0042] Alternatively, the terminal device 120 may run in an RRC_IDLE state (or idle mode) or an RRC_INACTIVE state (these two states may be referred to as RRC idle / inactive states or processes). In the RRC idle / inactive state, the terminal device 120 may camp on a cell, for example the cell 102 (which may be referred to as a camped cell). If the camped cell is suitable for the terminal device 120, the terminal device 120 may receive system information from a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). The network may send a "paging" message for the terminal device 120 on a control channel of the camped cell. The terminal device 120 may receive and respond to the paging message. Additionally, if the terminal device 120 wishes to establish an RRC connection or resume a suspended RRC connection, the terminal device 120 may access the network on the control channel of the camped cell.

[0043] In the RRC idle / inactive process, the terminal device 120 may perform various operations. Operations performed by the terminal device 120 in the RRC idle / inactive state or corresponding to the RRC idle / inactive process may be referred to as "RRC operations." Examples of RRC operations may include, but are not limited to, monitoring paging procedures, such as monitoring paging occasions (POs), performing neighbor cell measurements and cell (re)selection, performing measurements, performing Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) synchronization, performing paging reception, etc.

[0044] As briefly mentioned above, it is desirable to extend the battery life of these devices for improved energy efficiency and better user experience. Conventionally, it has been proposed to reduce power consumption using Discontinuous Reception (DRX) by the terminal device in RRC idle / inactive state. For example, the terminal device performs SSB synchronization and monitors one PO per DRX period for potential paging message reception. The DRX period value is set in radio frames (rf), e.g., rf32, rf64, rf128, rf256, etc. However, the reduced power consumption using DRX is still high and cannot meet the battery life requirement.

[0045] It has also been proposed to reduce power consumption by using enhanced DRX (eDRX) with a larger cycle value for terminal devices in RRC idle / inactive state. For example, a terminal device configured with eDRX performs SSB synchronization and monitors PO during a periodic Paging Time Window (PTW). Outside the PTW, the terminal device may be in a long sleep state in which the terminal device does not perform RRC operations, such as SSB synchronization or PO monitoring. The eDRX cycle value is configured in the hyperframe (hf, hf1=rf1024), e.g., hfhalf, hf1, hf2, hf4, ..., hf256. eDRX reduces power consumption but increases latency. Thus, such an approach cannot meet the latency requirements.

[0046] In order to meet both the battery life and delay requirements, it is proposed to reduce power consumption by using a terminal device with an LP receiver for monitoring the WUS. Figure 2A shows an exemplary terminal device 200 with a receiver 220. The receiver 220 is configured to monitor the WUS 230. The WUS 230 may include a simple signal, such as a binary Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) modulated On / Off Keying (OOK) signal. The receiver 220 may be referred to as an LP receiver, an ultra-low power receiver, or an LP WUS receiver, since the power consumption is quite low.

[0047] The terminal device 200 further includes a communication device 210. The communication device 210 is configured to perform a normal RRC state, such as an RRC connected state or an RRC idle / inactive state. The communication device 210 may be referred to as a "main radio." The communication device 210 may be referred to as a current NR / LTE communication device.

[0048] Terminal device 200 may be in LP WUS mode. In LP WUS mode, communication device 210 is turned off or in a deep sleep state, and terminal device 200 may not perform RRC operations, such as monitoring paging. In LP WUS mode, receiver 220 is turned on to monitor WUS 230. In some exemplary embodiments, if receiver 220 does not detect a WUS, terminal device 220 may maintain LP WUS mode. Additionally, if monitored WUS 230 is negative, e.g., OOK=0, terminal device 200 may maintain LP WUS mode. Otherwise, if monitored WUS 230 is positive, e.g., OOK=1, terminal device 200 may cause receiver 220 to send a trigger to turn on communication device 210. Terminal device 200 may also turn off receiver 220.

[0049] FIG. 2B illustrates an example scheme 250 utilizing a terminal device 200 with an LP receiver 220. In the scheme 250, the power consumption 260 of the receiver 220 is significantly lower than the power consumption 270 of the communication device 210. As shown in FIG. 2B, before a time T 280, the receiver 220 is always on and the communication device 210 is turned off. The time T 280 may be a slot, a symbol, a subframe, a frame, or other suitable unit. At T 280, the receiver 220 monitors the WUS(OOK=1) 290, so that from T 280, the receiver 220 is turned off and at T 280, the communication device 210 is turned on. After T 280, the communication device 210 performs RRC operations, such as PO monitoring and SSB synchronization. The power consumption 260 of the receiver 220 while the receiver 220 is on may be 1 / 100 of the power consumption 270 of the communication device 210 when the communication device 210 is turned on. By using receiver 220 to monitor WUS 230, both power consumption and delay can be reduced.

[0050] However, there are still some problems with monitoring the WUS using a receiver that need to be solved. For example, in one situation, if the terminal device only monitors the WUS using a receiver, it may not be aware of the situation where there are no measurements for cell selection or reselection, for example when the terminal device can no longer reach the network device due to mobility or radio environment. The terminal device still monitors the WUS, but finds that it has already disconnected from the network. In another situation, if the terminal device returns to a normal RRC state (e.g., RRC idle / inactive) but there is no paging notification, the terminal device will cause more power consumption if it continues to monitor normal paging. Also, in another situation, if the terminal device returns to a normal RRC state but realizes that the cell camped on based on measurements or cell selection or reselection criteria is unsuitable or unavailable, it is necessary to consider how the terminal device should perform in such a situation.

[0051] As described above, it is very difficult to monitor a WUS using a receiver. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a solution for WUS monitoring using a receiver is proposed to address any of the above problems. A terminal device turns on a receiver of the terminal device to monitor a WUS without performing an RRC operation corresponding to an RRC idle / inactive process. The terminal device starts a timer associated with the WUS. Then, when the timer expires, the terminal device performs the RRC operation and turns off the receiver. For example, the terminal device may perform an RRC operation using a communication device of the terminal device. By using a timer associated with the WUS, the terminal device can determine when to perform an RRC operation and when to turn off or on the receiver. Thus, the terminal device may fall back to a normal RRC state when necessary. In order to better understand the solution for WUS monitoring using a receiver, several embodiments will now be described with reference to Figures 3 to 9. Example WUS Surveillance Using LP Receivers

[0052] Figure 3 illustrates a signaling flow 300 for communication in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3, the signaling flow 300 involves the terminal device 120 and the network device 110 in Figure 1. It should be understood that the signaling flow 300 may involve more or fewer devices, and the number of devices illustrated in Figure 3 is used for illustration purposes only and does not imply any limitation.

[0053] In operation, the network device 110 may transmit (305) a configuration to the terminal device 120. The configuration may indicate a timer associated with the WUS. For example, the network device 110 may transmit the configuration via dedicated RRC signaling, such as RRC Release or RRC Reconfiguration. As another example, the network device 110 may transmit the configuration via system information. In such a case, the timer may be included in a System Information Block (SIB), such as SIBx. In response to receiving (310) the configuration, the terminal device 120 may determine (315) a timer associated with the WUS. As used below, the "timer associated with the WUS" may also be referred to as a "maximum maintenance timer." The timer may be set or predefined to any suitable number of ms, s, min, or other duration.

[0054] Alternatively, in some exemplary embodiments, network device 110 may not need to transmit (305) the configuration to terminal device 120. The timer associated with the WUS may be predefined. For example, the timer may be predefined in a specification such as TS 38.331 or TS 38.304 or any other suitable specification. Terminal device 120 may determine (315) the timer based on the predefined timer.

[0055] Alternatively or additionally, multiple timers associated with the WUS may be included in the received (310) configuration or may be predefined. In such a case, the terminal device 120 may determine the timer from the multiple timers based on a paging probability (PP) (315). PP is a non-access stratum (NAS) auxiliary information. In some exemplary embodiments, multiple thresholds may be set or configured over the network or predefined to determine the PP type. For example, if the PP is less than a first threshold, the PP type is determined as a low PP type. If the PP is greater than the first threshold and less than a second threshold, the PP type is determined as a medium PP type. If the PP is greater than the second threshold and less than a third threshold, the PP type is determined as a high PP type.

[0056] It should be understood that the number of thresholds may be any suitable number greater than 0. The number of thresholds may be one less than the number of the plurality of timers. For example, if there is only one threshold, two PP types can be determined, and two timers can correspond to the two PP types. If there are more thresholds, more fine-grained PP types can be determined, and more timers can correspond to these PP types.

[0057] The timers may be broadcasted over a network, or may be set, or may be predefined to correspond to the PP types. For example, timer 1 may correspond to a low PP type, timer 2 may correspond to a medium PP type, and timer 3 may correspond to a high PP type. When the terminal device 120 obtains a PP from a registration procedure, the terminal device 120 may determine the PP type and determine a corresponding timer from the timers based on the PP (315).

[0058] In some exemplary embodiments, network device 110 may send (320) a capability request to terminal device 120. In response to receiving (325) the capability request from network device 110, terminal device 120 may send (330) a response to network device 110. Network device 110 may receive (335) the response. The response may include at least one of a first duration for turning on the terminal device's receiver (also referred to as T3), a second duration for turning off the terminal device's communication device (also referred to as T2), a third duration for turning on the communication device (also referred to as T1), or a fourth duration for turning off the receiver (also referred to as T4). T1, T2, T3, and T4 may be set or predefined to any suitable number of ms, s, min, or other durations. Some embodiments of these durations are described in more detail below in conjunction with FIGS. 6A-6B.

[0059] The terminal device 120 turns on (340) the receiver of the terminal device 120 (also referred to as an LP receiver or an LP WUS receiver) and monitors the WUS without performing RRC operations corresponding to the RRC idle / inactive process. For example, the terminal device 120 may turn on (340) the receiver and turn off the communication device of the terminal device 120 (also referred to as a main radio) to stop performing RRC operations. The WUS may include a binary Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) modulated On / Off Keying (OOK) signal. By monitoring such a simple WUS signal, the power consumption of the terminal device 120 can be significantly reduced.

[0060] The terminal device 120 starts (345) the timer determined (315). When the timer expires, the terminal device 120 performs (350) the RRC operations and turns off the receiver. For example, the terminal device 120 may turn on the communication device to perform RRC operations and turn off the receiver to stop monitoring the WUS.

[0061] It should be appreciated that signaling flow 300 may include other operations, such as terminal device 120 receiving an indication from network device 110 to enter LP WUS mode, although the scope of the present application is not limited in this respect.

[0062] By using timers, the terminal device may decide when to perform RRC operations and when to turn off or on the receiver. In this way, the terminal device may fall back to a normal RRC state regardless of whether the network is reachable or not. Additionally, the terminal device may be aware of the status of the connection with the network. Thus, using such an approach, battery life can be extended and low latency can be supported.

[0063] Some example embodiments of how to monitor a WUS and when to perform RRC operations are described below in conjunction with FIGS.

[0064] 4A is a flowchart of an example method 400 for WUS monitoring according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For purposes of explanation, the method 400 will be described from the perspective of the terminal device 120 in FIG.

[0065] In block 405, the terminal device 120 may initiate entry into the LP WUS mode. For example, the terminal device 120 may determine whether to enter the LP WUS mode based on an instruction from the network device 110. As another example, the terminal device 120 may decide to enter the LP WUS mode based on a higher layer or other decision criteria. In the LP WUS mode, the terminal device 120 may monitor the WUS without performing RRC operations.

[0066] In block 410, the terminal device 120 starts a timer associated with the WUS, turns off a communication device of the terminal device 120, and turns on a receiver of the terminal device 120. For example, the terminal device 120 may start a timer, turn off the communication device, and turn on the receiver in parallel.

[0067] In block 415, the terminal device 120 monitors the WUS using the receiver. In block 420, the terminal device 120 determines whether the WUS includes an OOK equal to 1. If the WUS includes an OOK equal to 1, the terminal device 120 stops the timer, turns on the communication device, and turns off the receiver in block 425. That is, OOK equal to 1 indicates the communication device is on. For example, the terminal device 120 may stop the timer, turn on the communication device, and turn off the receiver in parallel. In block 430, the terminal device 120 may enter an RRC idle / inactive state or process. For example, the terminal device 120 may perform paging procedures, SSB reception, and measurements corresponding to the RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE process. In other words, the terminal device may perform an action upon entering RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE or exiting the LP WUS mode.

[0068] If the WUS does not include an OOK equal to 1 (i.e., if no WUS is detected or if the detected WUS includes an OOK equal to 0), terminal device 120 may maintain the LP WUS mode in block 435. For example, terminal device 120 may maintain receiver monitoring for the WUS without performing RRC operations with the communication device. Method 400 may proceed to block 415 after block 435.

[0069] In block 440, the terminal device 120 determines whether the timer has expired. If the timer has expired, the terminal device 120 turns on the communication device and turns off the receiver in block 445. For example, the terminal device 120 may turn on the communication device and turn off the receiver in parallel in block 445. That is, the terminal device may perform RRC operations with the communication device and exit the LP WUS mode.

[0070] If the timer has not expired, terminal device 120 may remain in the LP WUS mode in block 435. Method 400 may then proceed to block 415 after block 435.

[0071] It should be understood that some blocks shown in Figure 4A may be divided into multiple sub-blocks. For example, block 410 or block 425 may be divided into three sub-blocks, respectively. Block 445 may be divided into two sub-blocks. Each sub-block of the corresponding block may be executed in parallel or sequentially.

[0072] 4B is a flow chart of an example state transition process 450 of terminal 120, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown, terminal 120 may be in RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE 460 or in LP WUS mode 470. In RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE 460, terminal 120 may monitor paging, perform SSB reception, perform measurements, etc. In LP WUS mode 470, terminal 120 may monitor the WUS with a receiver. In a first transition 480, terminal 120 may exit RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE 460 and enter LP WUS mode 470, at the same time a timer is started. If the timer expires or if the monitored WUS includes an OOK equal to 1, terminal 120 performs a second transition 490. In a second transition 490 , the terminal device 120 exits the LP WUS mode 470 and enters RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE 460 .

[0073] Table 1 below illustrates an example process performed by terminal device 120 upon initiation of entry into LP WUS mode, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The process illustrated in Table 1 may be implemented as method 400 in FIG. 4A and / or state transition process 450 in FIG. 4B. Table 1 TIFF2025509723000002.tif82162

[0074] Using method 400 and / or state transition process 450, or the process described in Table 1, it can be ensured that the terminal device is aware of the status of the connection with the network. When the timer expires, the terminal device may fall back to a normal RRC state to monitor the paging procedure (e.g., performing SSB synchronization, measurements, and paging reception).

[0075] 5A is a flowchart of another example method 500 for WUS monitoring, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For purposes of explanation, the method 500 will be described from the perspective of the terminal device 120 in FIG.

[0076] In block 505, the terminal device 120 may initiate entry into the LP WUS mode. For example, the terminal device 120 may determine whether to enter the LP WUS mode based on an instruction from the network device 110. As another example, the terminal device 120 may decide to enter the LP WUS mode based on a higher layer or other decision criteria. In the LP WUS mode, the terminal device 120 may monitor the WUS without performing RRC operations.

[0077] In block 510, the terminal device 120 starts a timer associated with the WUS, turns off a communication device of the terminal device 120, and turns on a receiver of the terminal device 120. For example, the terminal device 120 may start a timer, turn off a communication device, and turn on a receiver in parallel or sequentially.

[0078] In block 515, the terminal device 120 monitors the WUS using the receiver. In block 520, the terminal device 120 determines whether the WUS includes an OOK equal to 1. If the WUS includes an OOK equal to 1, the terminal device 120 stops the timer, turns on the communication device, and turns off the receiver in block 525. For example, the terminal device 120 may stop the timer, turn on the communication device, and turn off the receiver in parallel or sequentially. In block 530, the terminal device 120 may enter an RRC idle / inactive state or process. For example, the terminal device 120 may perform paging procedures, SSB reception, and measurements corresponding to the RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE process. In other words, the terminal device may perform an action upon entering RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE or exiting the LP WUS mode.

[0079] If the WUS does not include an OOK equal to 1 (i.e., if the WUS is not detected or if the detected WUS includes an OOK equal to 0), the terminal device 120 may determine whether the WUS includes an OOK equal to 0 in block 540. If the terminal device 120 determines that the WUS includes an OOK equal to 0, the terminal device 120 restarts the timer in block 545. In this way, the 1-bit information (i.e., the OOK signal) equal to 0 (reserved) can be used for a network available indication. By restarting the timer based on a network available indication, the terminal device can recognize the status of the connection with the network.

[0080] After restarting the timer in block 545, terminal device 120 may maintain the LP WUS mode in block 535. Additionally, if no WUS is detected by terminal device 120, terminal device 120 may maintain the LP WUS mode in block 535. For example, terminal device 120 may maintain monitoring for a WUS by the receiver without performing RRC operations with the communication device. Method 500 may proceed to block 515 after block 535.

[0081] In block 550, the terminal device 120 determines whether the timer has expired. If the timer has expired, the terminal device 120 turns on the communication device and turns off the receiver in block 555. For example, the terminal device 120 may turn on the communication device and turn off the receiver in block 555. That is, the terminal device may perform RRC operations with the communication device and exit the LP WUS mode.

[0082] If the timer has not expired, terminal device 120 may remain in the LP WUS mode in block 535. Method 500 may then proceed to block 515 after block 535.

[0083] It should be understood that some blocks shown in Figure 5A may be divided into multiple sub-blocks. For example, block 510 or block 525 may be divided into three sub-blocks, respectively. Block 555 may be divided into two sub-blocks. Each sub-block of the corresponding block may be executed in parallel or sequentially.

[0084] 5B is a flow chart of another example state transition process 560 of a terminal device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown, terminal device 120 may be in RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE 570 or in LP WUS mode 580. In RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE 570, terminal device 120 may monitor paging, perform SSB reception, perform measurements, etc. In LP WUS mode 580, terminal device 120 may monitor the WUS with a receiver. In a first transition 575, terminal device 120 may exit RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE 570 and enter LP WUS mode 580, at the same time a timer is started. If the timer expires or if the monitored WUS includes an OOK equal to 1, terminal device 120 performs a second transition 585. In a second transition 585, terminal device 120 exits LP WUS mode 580 and enters RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE 570. Figure 5B further illustrates operation 590. If the monitored WUS includes OOK equal to 0, terminal device 120 performs operation 590 to restart the timer.

[0085] Table 2 below illustrates an example process performed by terminal device 120 upon initiation of entry into LP WUS mode, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The process illustrated in Table 2 may be implemented as method 500 in FIG. 5A and / or state transition process 560 in FIG. 5B. Table 2 TIFF2025509723000003.tif103161

[0086] Using method 500 and / or state transition process 560 and / or the process described in Table 2, it can be ensured that the terminal device is aware of the status of the connection with the network. When the timer expires, the terminal device may fall back to a normal RRC state and monitor the paging procedure (e.g., performing SSB synchronization, measurements, and paging reception). In such an embodiment, receipt of WUS equal to 0 (or OOK equal to 0) indicates that the terminal device does not need to return to a normal RRC state and that the network device becomes available by restarting the timer.

[0087] 6A is a flowchart of another example method 600 for WUS monitoring, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For purposes of explanation, the method 600 will be described from the perspective of the terminal device 120 in FIG.

[0088] In block 605, the terminal device 120 may initiate entry into the LP WUS mode. For example, the terminal device 120 may determine whether to enter the LP WUS mode based on an instruction from the network device 110. As another example, the terminal device 120 may decide to enter the LP WUS mode based on a higher layer or other decision criteria. In the LP WUS mode, the terminal device 120 may monitor the WUS without performing RRC operations.

[0089] In block 610, the terminal device 120 turns on the terminal device's receiver. For example, the terminal device 120 turns on the receiver in the first time slot. In block 615, the terminal device 120 turns off the communication device of the terminal device 120 after the first duration from block 610. For example, the terminal device 120 may turn off the communication device in the second time slot, which is the first duration after the first time slot. The first duration (also referred to as T3) represents the duration for the receiver to turn on. The time unit of the duration or time offset may be a slot, a symbol, a subframe, a frame, or other suitable unit.

[0090] In block 620, the terminal device 120 starts a timer associated with the WUS. For example, the terminal device 120 may start the timer after the first duration from block 610. Alternatively, the terminal device 120 may start the timer after the second duration from block 610. The second duration includes the first duration and another duration T2 representing a duration for the communication device to turn off.

[0091] In block 625, the terminal device 120 monitors the WUS using the receiver. In block 630, the terminal device 120 determines whether the WUS includes an OOK equal to 1. If the WUS includes an OOK equal to 1, the terminal device 120 stops the timer, turns on the communication device, and turns off the receiver in block 635. For example, the terminal device 120 may stop the timer, turn on the communication device, and turn off the receiver, for example, in parallel. In block 640, the terminal device 120 may enter an RRC idle / inactive state or process. For example, the terminal device 120 may perform paging procedures, SSB reception, and measurements corresponding to the RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE process. In other words, the terminal device may perform an action upon entering RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE or exiting the LP WUS mode.

[0092] If the WUS does not include an OOK equal to 1, terminal device 120 may maintain the LP WUS mode in block 645. For example, terminal device 120 may maintain monitoring of the WUS by the receiver without performing RRC operations with the communication device. Method 600 may proceed to block 625 after block 645.

[0093] In block 650, the terminal device 120 determines whether the timer has expired. If the timer has expired, the terminal device 120 turns on the communication device in block 655. In block 660, the terminal device 120 turns off the receiver. For example, the terminal device 120 may turn off the receiver after a third duration from block 655. The third duration (also referred to as T1) represents a duration for turning on the communication device. In accordance with blocks 655 and 660, the terminal device may perform an RRC operation with the communication device and exit the LP WUS mode.

[0094] If the timer has not expired, terminal device 120 may remain in the LP WUS mode in block 645. Method 600 may then proceed to block 625 after block 645.

[0095] It should be understood that some blocks shown in Figure 6A may be divided into multiple sub-blocks. For example, block 635 may be divided into three sub-blocks. Each sub-block of the corresponding block may be executed in parallel or sequentially.

[0096] 6B illustrates a communication device switching process 670 and an LP receiver switching process 680 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the switching process 670, the communication device turns on using T1 672 and turns off using T2 674. Similarly, in the switching process 680, the receiver turns on using T3 682 and turns off using T4 684. The durations of T1, T2, T3, and T4 may be different or the same.

[0097] 3, the terminal device 120 may transmit (330) a response to the capability information to the network device 110. The response may include capability information including at least one of T1 672, T2 674, T3 682, and T4 684 described above.

[0098] The following Table 3 illustrates an example process performed by the terminal device 120 upon initiation of entry into the LP WUS mode, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The process illustrated in Table 3 may be implemented as the method 600 in FIG. 6A. Table 3 TIFF2025509723000004.tif102160

[0099] By using the method 600 and / or the process described in Table 3, it is possible to take into account the time required for the communication device and / or the receiver to start and / or stop. Thus, the timer operation can be linked to the start / stop of the communication device and the receiver. Therefore, the timer design can be more accurate, which can improve the performance and experience of the terminal device.

[0100] 7A is a flowchart of yet another exemplary method 700 for WUS monitoring, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For purposes of explanation, the method 700 is described from the perspective of the terminal device 120 in FIG.

[0101] In block 705, the terminal device 120 may initiate entry into the LP WUS mode. For example, the terminal device 120 may determine whether to enter the LP WUS mode based on an instruction from the network device 110. As another example, the terminal device 120 may decide to enter the LP WUS mode based on a higher layer or other decision criteria. In the LP WUS mode, the terminal device 120 may monitor the WUS without performing RRC operations.

[0102] In block 710, terminal device 120 starts a timer associated with the WUS, turns off a communication device of terminal device 120, and turns on a receiver of terminal device 120. For example, terminal device 120 may start a timer, turn off a communication device, and turn on a receiver in parallel or sequentially.

[0103] In block 715, the terminal device 120 monitors the WUS using the receiver. In block 720, the terminal device 120 determines whether the WUS includes an OOK equal to 1. If the WUS includes an OOK equal to 1, the terminal device 120 increments a wake-up count (also referred to as a first number or wake-up-count) by 1. Additionally, the terminal device 120 starts or restarts a wake-up count timer (also referred to as a wake-up-count-timer). The wake-up count may be a variable of the terminal device 120. The wake-up count may be an integer. The wake-up count timer may be referred to as a second timer. In some exemplary embodiments, the wake-up count timer may be configured by the network via dedicated RRC signaling (RRC Release or RRC configuration) or system information. Alternatively, the wake-up count timer may be predefined. The wake-up count timer may be set or predefined to any suitable number of ms, s, min, or other duration.

[0104] In block 730, the terminal device 120 determines whether the wake-up count exceeds a threshold. That is, the terminal device 120 counts a first number of monitored WUSs that indicate to perform an RRC operation (i.e., wake-up count) and determines whether the first number exceeds a threshold (also referred to as a threshold number or maxofwake-up-count). The threshold may be predefined to be any suitable integer. Alternatively, the threshold may be set by the network via dedicated RRC signaling (RRC Release or RRC configuration) or system information. If the terminal device 120 determines that the wake-up count exceeds the threshold, the terminal device 120 stops the timer, turns on the communication device, and turns off the receiver in block 730. For example, the terminal device 120 may stop the timer, turn on the communication device, and turn off the receiver in parallel or sequentially.

[0105] In block 740, terminal device 120 may enter an RRC idle / inactive state or process. For example, terminal device 120 may perform paging procedures, SSB reception, and measurements corresponding to the RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE process. In other words, the terminal device may perform operations upon entering RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE or exiting the LP WUS mode.

[0106] If the terminal device 120 determines that the wake-up count has not exceeded the threshold, the terminal device 120 may return to monitoring the WUS in block 715 .

[0107] In block 750, the terminal device 120 may determine whether the wake-up count timer has expired. If the wake-up count timer has expired, the terminal device 120 resets the wake-up count to zero. That is, if the wake-up count falls below a threshold and the wake-up count timer has expired, the terminal device 120 sets the wake-up count to zero. Then, the terminal device 120 may return to monitoring the WUS in block 715. If the wake-up count timer has not expired, the terminal device 120 may return to monitoring the WUS in block 715.

[0108] In block 760, the terminal device 120 determines whether a timer associated with the WUS has expired. If the timer has expired, the terminal device 120 turns on the communication device and turns off the receiver in block 765. For example, the terminal device 120 may turn on the communication device and turn off the receiver in parallel or sequentially in block 555. That is, the terminal device may perform RRC operations with the communication device and exit the LP WUS mode.

[0109] If the timer has not expired, terminal device 120 may remain in the LP WUS mode in block 745. Method 700 may then return after block 745 and proceed to block 715.

[0110] It should be understood that some blocks shown in Figure 7A may be divided into multiple sub-blocks. For example, block 710 or block 735 may be divided into three sub-blocks, respectively. Block 765 may be divided into two sub-blocks. Each sub-block of the corresponding block may be executed in parallel or sequentially.

[0111] 7B is a flow chart of yet another example state transition process 770 of terminal 120, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown, terminal 120 may be in RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE 775 or in LP WUS mode 790. In RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE 775, terminal 120 may monitor paging, perform SSB reception, perform measurements, etc. In LP WUS mode 790, terminal 120 may monitor the WUS with a receiver. In a first transition 780, terminal 120 may exit RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE 775 and enter LP WUS mode 790, at the same time a timer is started. If the timer expires or if the wake-up count is equal to a threshold (which is the maximum value of the wake-up count), terminal 120 performs a second transition 785. In a second transition 785, the terminal device 120 exits the LP WUS mode 790 and enters RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE 775. Figure 7B further illustrates operation 793 and operation 796. If the monitored WUS includes an OOK equal to 1, the terminal device 120 may perform operation 793 to increment the wake-up count by 1. If the wake-up count timer expires, the terminal device 120 may perform operation 796 to reset the wake-up count timer to zero.

[0112] Table 4 below illustrates an example process performed by terminal device 120 upon initiation of entry into LP WUS mode, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The process illustrated in Table 4 may be implemented as method 600 in FIG. 7A and / or state transition process 770 in FIG. 7B. Table 4 TIFF2025509723000005.tif113162

[0113] By using the method 700 and the state transition process 770, errors caused by a simple OOK signal can be avoided. The terminal device may be configured with a wake-up count that determines how many WUSs with OOK equal to 1 are received before the terminal device turns on the communication device. In this way, the risk of the terminal device detecting the OOK signal incorrectly can be effectively reduced.

[0114] It should be understood that the methods 400-700 described above may be implemented separately or in combination, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0115] The above example described that the terminal device 120 may terminate the LP WUS mode based on the expiration of a timer. Additionally or alternatively, in some exemplary embodiments, the terminal device 120 may determine to terminate the LP WUS mode based on an instruction from a higher layer. For example, the terminal device 120 may receive a first instruction from the higher layer. The first instruction indicates to perform an RRC operation and turn off the receiver. Alternatively, the first instruction may indicate to turn on the communication device and turn off the receiver. That is, the higher layer requests the termination of the LP WUS mode. The higher layer is compared to the RRC layer. The higher layer refers to the NAS layer of the terminal device 120. The terminal device 120 may turn on the communication device and turn off the receiver. The terminal device 120 may perform an RRC operation, for example, SSB reception corresponding to an RRC_IDLE / INACTIVE process, a paging process, and measurements.

[0116] Additionally, the terminal device 120 may send a second instruction to the upper layer. The second instruction (termination reason) indicates that the first instruction triggers the execution of the RRC operation and the turning off of the receiver. The termination reason may be a NAS information element (IE). For example, the terminal device 120 may set the termination reason to "requested by upper layer" or "other" to indicate the termination of the LP WUS mode to the upper layer.

[0117] In some exemplary embodiments, when terminal device 120 receives a first indication from a higher layer indicating to exit LP WUS mode, terminal device 120 may turn on the receiver and turn off the communication device, for example, in parallel. Table 5 below illustrates an example of exiting LP WUS mode indicated by a higher layer in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Table 5 TIFF2025509723000006.tif52160

[0118] Alternatively, or in addition, in some embodiments, terminal device 120 may turn off the receiver after a duration from communication device on, such as T1 672 in FIG. 6B.

[0119] Table 6 below shows another example of the exit of the LP WUS mode indicated by the higher layer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example of Table 6, the time required for the communication device to start is taken into account. In this way, the timer operation can be linked to the start of the communication device. Therefore, the timer design can be more accurate, thereby improving the performance and experience of the terminal device. Table 6 TIFF2025509723000007.tif56163

[0120] By instructing the terminal device to exit the LP WUS mode through the upper layer, the terminal device can exit the LP WUS mode by itself, thus ensuring that the terminal device can flexibly control the LP WUS mode.

[0121] The implementation manner of when to exit the LP WUS mode has already been described. In some exemplary embodiments, after the terminal device exits the LP WUS mode and performs an RRC operation, the terminal device may return to the LP WUS mode under some conditions. These conditions for the terminal device to return to the LP WUS mode are described in detail below.

[0122] In some example embodiments, terminal device 120 falls back to normal RRC state due to timer expiration or termination request requested by higher layers, and terminal device 120 may determine whether the cell camped by terminal device 120 is not suitable for terminal device 120 by performing cell selection or reselection criteria or by performing measurements. If the camped cell is not suitable for terminal device 120 due to cell (re)selection criteria or based on measurements, terminal device 120 may perform cell selection or reselection process and disable receiver to not monitor WUS. In other words, terminal device 120 may disable LP WUS functionality.

[0123] Thus, if the terminal device returns to a normal RRC state but recognizes that the cell is unsuitable or unavailable, the terminal device may initiate a cell selection or reselection procedure and may disable the LP WUS functionality.

[0124] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 may disable the LP WUS function until the next network instruction or for a period of time depending on the implementation. For example, terminal device 120 may receive an instruction from network device 110 indicating to monitor WUS. In response to receiving the instruction, terminal device 120 may enter LP WUS mode, for example, by turning on the receiver to monitor WUS and turning off the communication device to stop performing RRC operations. For example, if terminal device 120 determines that the receiver has already been disabled for a duration that exceeds a time threshold, terminal device 120 may decide to enter LP WUS mode, for example, by turning on the receiver to monitor WUS and turning off the communication device to stop performing RRC operations. The time threshold may be (pre)configured or predefined.

[0125] The robustness of this LP WUS monitoring mechanism can be ensured by disabling the LP WUS function under certain conditions (e.g., an inappropriate camped cell) and re-entering the LP WUS mode upon network indication or upon exceeding a time threshold.

[0126] Table 7 below illustrates an example process performed by terminal device 120 when terminal device 120 falls back to a normal RRC state due to a timer or higher layer termination request, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In Table 7, terminal device 120 may be referred to as a UE. Table 7 TIFF2025509723000008.tif46160

[0127] In some embodiments, the terminal device 120 may determine a number of paging occasions (POs), represented as NumPO. NumPO may be configured by the network via dedicated RRC signaling or system information. Alternatively, NumPO may be predefined. NumPO may be configured or predefined to be any suitable integer. When the terminal device 120 performs an RRC operation, if no paging notification (responding to the terminal device 120) is received from the network during the PO duration, the terminal device 120 may fall back to the LP WUS mode. For example, the terminal device 120 may turn on the receiver to monitor the WUS and turn off the communication device. The PO duration represents the duration for which the terminal device 120 monitors NumPO paging cycles.

[0128] Table 8 below illustrates another example process performed by terminal device 120 when terminal device 120 falls back to a normal RRC state in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In Table 8, terminal device 120 may be referred to as a UE. Table 8 TIFF2025509723000009.tif29160

[0129] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 may start a third timer (also referred to as an inactivity timer). The third timer may be configured by the network via dedicated RRC signaling or system information. Alternatively, the third timer may be predefined. The third timer may be configured or predefined to any suitable number of ms, s, min, or other duration. The third timer may indicate that terminal device 120 may return to LP WUS mode if no paging is received during the third timer.

[0130] For example, the terminal device 120 may start the third timer after the terminal device 120 performs an RRC operation and turns off the WUS. If no paging notification is received from the network during the third timer, the terminal device 120 may fall back to the LP WUS mode. For example, the terminal device 120 may turn on the receiver to monitor the WUS and turn off the communication device. In some exemplary embodiments, the third timer may be set to a multiple of the paging cycle.

[0131] Table 9 below illustrates another example process performed by terminal device 120 when terminal device 120 falls back to a normal RRC state in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In Table 9, terminal device 120 may be referred to as a UE. Table 9 TIFF2025509723000010.tif41160

[0132] In this way, when the terminal device returns to the normal RRC state but there is no paging notification, the terminal device can return to the LP WUS mode based on the above conditions. By returning to the LP WUS mode based on the above conditions, the power consumption of the terminal device can be further reduced. In this way, the battery life of the terminal device can be extended. Exemplary Methods and Apparatus

[0133] 8 is a flow chart of an example method 800 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 800 may be implemented in terminal device 120 as shown in FIG. It should be understood that method 800 may include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some blocks shown, and the scope of the disclosure is not limited in this respect. For purposes of explanation, method 800 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 from the perspective of terminal device 120.

[0134] In block 810, terminal device 120 turns on its receiver to monitor the WUS without performing RRC operations corresponding to an RRC idle / inactive process. In some exemplary embodiments, upon turning on its receiver to monitor the WUS without performing RRC operations, terminal device 120 may turn off its communication device to stop performing RRC operations.

[0135] In some exemplary embodiments, when turning on the receiver to monitor the WUS without performing RRC operations, terminal device 120 may turn on the receiver to monitor the WUS and after a first duration turn off the terminal device's communication device and stop performing RRC operations. The first duration represents a duration for the receiver to turn on. In some exemplary embodiments, when starting a timer, terminal device 120 may start the timer after the first duration or a second duration. The second duration includes the first duration and another duration for the communication device to turn off.

[0136] In block 820, terminal device 120 starts a timer associated with the WUS. For example, the timer may be predefined. Alternatively, in some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 may receive a configuration from network device 110, the configuration indicating the timer. Terminal device 120 may determine the timer based on the configuration.

[0137] Alternatively, or in addition, terminal device 120 may receive multiple timers configured by network device 110. Terminal device 120 may determine the timer from the multiple timers based on a paging probability (PP).

[0138] In block 830, the terminal device 120 performs an RRC operation and turns off the receiver in accordance with determining that the timer has expired. In some embodiments, in performing the RRC operation and turning off the receiver, the terminal device 120 may turn on a communication device of the terminal device 120 to perform the RRC operation and turn off the receiver to stop the receiver from monitoring a WUS. For example, in turning off the receiver, the terminal device 120 may turn off the receiver after a third duration after turning on the communication device. The third duration represents a duration for turning on the communication device.

[0139] In some example embodiments, terminal device 120 may receive a first indication from higher layers, the first indication indicating to perform an RRC operation and turn off the receiver. Terminal device 120 may further send a second indication to higher layers, the second indication indicating that performing an RRC operation and turning off the receiver is caused by the first indication.

[0140] In some demonstrative embodiments, terminal device 120 may receive a capability request from network device 110. In response to receiving the capability request from network device 110, terminal device 120 may send a response to the network device. The response includes at least one of a first duration for turning on the receiver, a second duration for turning off a communication device of terminal device 120, a third duration for turning on the communication device, or a fourth duration for turning off the receiver.

[0141] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal 120 restarts the timer if the WUS monitored by the receiver indicates to maintain the WUS.

[0142] In some exemplary embodiments, if the monitored WUS indicates to perform an RRC operation and turn off the receiver, the terminal device 120 turns on the communication device of the terminal device 120 to perform the RRC operation, turns off the receiver, and stops the timer.

[0143] In some exemplary embodiments, terminal device 120 may count a first number of monitored WUSs indicating to perform an RRC operation while a second timer is running. The second timer is set by a network device. If the first number exceeds a threshold, terminal device 120 turns on its communication device to perform an RRC operation, turns off its receiver, and stops the timer. Additionally, terminal device 120 starts or restarts the second timer when a monitored WUS indicates to perform an RRC operation. Alternatively or additionally, terminal device 120 may set the first number to zero if the first number falls below a threshold number and the second timer expires.

[0144] In some exemplary embodiments, when the terminal device performs the RRC operations, the circuitry may be further configured to perform cell selection or reselection criteria or to perform measurements, and if the cell selection or reselection criteria or the measurements indicate that a cell camped by the terminal device is not suitable for the terminal device, the circuitry may be configured to perform the cell selection or reselection process and disable the receiver from monitoring the WUS.

[0145] In some exemplary embodiments, in response to receiving an instruction from a network device indicating to monitor the WUS, the circuitry may be configured to turn on the receiver and monitor the WUS without performing the RRC operations.

[0146] Alternatively, or in addition, if the receiver has already been disabled for a duration that exceeds a time threshold, the circuitry may be configured to turn on the receiver and monitor the WUS without performing the RRC operations.

[0147] In some embodiments, the circuitry may be configured to start a third timer after the terminal device performs the RRC operation and turns off the WUS, and if no paging notification is received from a network device during the third timer, the circuitry may be configured to turn on the receiver and monitor the WUS.

[0148] In some embodiments, when the terminal device performs the RRC operation, if no paging notification is received from the network device during a Paging Occasion (PO) duration, the circuitry may be configured to turn on the receiver and monitor the WUS, where the PO duration represents a duration for which the terminal device monitors a second number of paging cycles.

[0149] In some exemplary embodiments, the WUS includes a binary Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) modulated On / Off Keying (OOK) signal.

[0150] Details of WUS monitoring according to the present disclosure have been described with reference to FIGS. 1-8. An exemplary implementation of terminal device 120 will now be described below. In some embodiments, a terminal device (e.g., in terminal device 120) comprises circuitry configured to turn on a receiver of the terminal device and monitor a WUS without performing an RRC operation corresponding to an RRC idle / inactive process. In some exemplary embodiments, upon turning on the receiver and monitoring the WUS without performing the RRC operation, the circuitry may be configured to turn off a communication device of the terminal device and stop performing the RRC operation.

[0151] In some exemplary embodiments, when turning on the receiver to monitor the WUS without performing the RRC operation, the circuitry may be configured to turn on the receiver to monitor the WUS and to turn off the communication device of the terminal device to stop performing the RRC operation after a first duration, the first duration representing a duration for the receiver to turn on. In some exemplary embodiments, when starting the timer, the circuitry may be configured to start the timer after the first duration or a second duration, the second duration including the first duration and another duration for the communication device to turn off.

[0152] The circuitry may further be configured to start a timer associated with the WUS. For example, the timer may be predefined. Alternatively, in some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry may be configured to receive a configuration from network device 110, the configuration indicating the timer. The circuitry may be configured to determine the timer based on the configuration.

[0153] Alternatively or additionally, the circuitry may be configured to receive a plurality of timers configured by a network device, and the circuitry may be configured to determine the timer from the plurality of timers based on a Paging Probability (PP).

[0154] The circuitry is further configured to perform the RRC operation and turn off the receiver in accordance with determining that the timer has expired. In some exemplary embodiments, when performing the RRC operation and turning off the receiver, the circuitry may be configured to turn on a communication device of the terminal device to perform the RRC operation and turn off the receiver to stop the receiver from monitoring the WUS. For example, when turning off the receiver, the circuitry may be configured to turn off the receiver after a third duration from turning on the communication device, the third duration representing a duration for turning on the communication device.

[0155] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry may be configured to receive a first instruction from a higher layer, the first instruction indicating to perform an RRC operation and turn off a receiver, and the circuitry may be further configured to send a second instruction to the higher layer, the second instruction indicating that performing an RRC operation and turning off a receiver has been caused by the first instruction.

[0156] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry may be configured to receive a capability request from a network device. In response to receiving the capability request from the network device, the terminal device may be configured to send a response to the network device, the response including at least one of a first duration for turning on the receiver, a second duration for turning off a communication device of the terminal device, a third duration for turning on the communication device, or a fourth duration for turning off the receiver.

[0157] In some exemplary embodiments, if a WUS monitored by the receiver indicates to maintain a WUS, the circuitry may be configured to restart the timer.

[0158] In some exemplary embodiments, when a monitored WUS indicates to perform the RRC operation and turn off the receiver, the circuitry may be configured to turn on a communication device of the terminal device to perform the RRC operation, turn off the receiver, and stop the timer.

[0159] In some exemplary embodiments, the circuitry may be configured to count a first number of monitored WUSs indicating to perform the RRC operation while a second timer is running. The second timer is configured by a network device. If the first number exceeds a threshold, the circuitry may be configured to turn on a communication device of the terminal device to perform the RRC operation, turn off the receiver, and stop the timer. Additionally, if a monitored WUS indicates to perform the RRC operation, the circuitry may be configured to start or restart the second timer. Alternatively or additionally, if the first number falls below the threshold number and the second timer expires, the circuitry may be configured to set the first number to zero.

[0160] In some example embodiments, when terminal device 120 performs RRC operations, terminal device 120 may further perform cell selection or reselection criteria or perform measurements. If the cell selection or reselection criteria or measurements indicate that the cell camped by terminal device 120 is not suitable for terminal device 120, terminal device 120 may perform a cell selection or reselection process and disable the receiver to not monitor the WUS.

[0161] In some exemplary embodiments, in response to receiving an instruction from network device 110 to monitor the WUS, terminal device 120 may turn on its receiver and monitor the WUS without performing RRC operations.

[0162] Alternatively, or in addition, if the receiver has already been disabled for a duration exceeding a time threshold, terminal device 120 may turn on the receiver and monitor the WUS without performing RRC operations.

[0163] In some embodiments, terminal device 120 may start a third timer after terminal device 120 performs an RRC operation and turns off the WUS. If no paging notification is received from network device 110 during the third timer, terminal device 120 may turn on a receiver and monitor the WUS.

[0164] In some embodiments, when terminal device 120 performs an RRC operation, if no paging notification is received from network device 110 during a Paging Occasion (PO) duration, terminal device 120 may further turn on its receiver to monitor the WUS. The PO duration represents the duration for which the terminal device monitors a second number of paging cycles.

[0165] In some exemplary embodiments, the WUS includes a binary Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) modulated On / Off Keying (OOK) signal.

[0166] 9 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 900 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus 900 may be considered as another exemplary implementation of the network apparatus 110 or the terminal apparatus 120 shown in FIG. 1. Thus, the apparatus 900 may be implemented in or as at least a part of the network apparatus 110 or the terminal apparatus 120.

[0167] As shown, the apparatus 900 comprises a processor 910, a memory 920 coupled to the processor 910, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 940 coupled to the processor 910, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 940. The memory 910 stores at least a portion of a program 930. The TX / RX 940 is used for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 940 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, although the access nodes referred to herein may in practice have multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements, such as an X2 interface for bidirectional communication between eNBs, an S1 interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) / Serving Gateway (S-GW) and an eNB, an Un interface for communication between an eNB and a Relay Node (RN), or an Uu interface for communication between an eNB and a terminal device.

[0168] The program 930 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by an associated processor 910, enable the device 900 to operate according to embodiments of the present disclosure, as described herein with reference to Figures 1 and 3-8. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 910 of the device 900, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 910 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the combination of the processor 910 and the memory 920 may form a processing means 950 suitable for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0169] The memory 920 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as, by way of non-limiting example, non-transitory computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed and removable memories. Although only one memory 920 is shown in the device 900, there may be several physically different memory modules in the device 900. The processor 910 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP) and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 900 may have multiple processors, for example application specific integrated circuit chips time-slaved to a clock that synchronizes the main processor.

[0170] Overall, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described using block diagrams, flow charts, or some other pictorial representations, it should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented, by way of non-limiting examples, in hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing device, or any combination thereof.

[0171] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module, that execute in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the process or method described above with reference to FIG. 3, FIG. 4A, FIG. 5A, FIG. 6A, FIG. 7A, and / or FIG. 8. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as appropriate. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules may be executed in local or distributed devices. In a distributed device, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0172] Program codes for carrying out the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, and when executed by the processor or controller, the program code causes the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may run entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a separate software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0173] The above program code may be implemented on a machine-readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program used by or associated with an instruction execution system, device, or apparatus. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device, or apparatus, or any suitable combination of the aforementioned media. More specific examples of the machine-readable storage medium may include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the aforementioned.

[0174] It should be noted that although operations have been described in a particular order, it should not be understood that such operations need to be performed in the particular order shown, or in any sequential order, or that all of the operations described must be performed in order to achieve desired results. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although some specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to certain embodiments. Some features described in the context of individual embodiments may be realized in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0175] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the present disclosure, as defined in the appended claims, is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. 1. A method of communication performed by a terminal device, comprising: Turning on a receiver of the terminal device and monitoring a Wake-Up Signal (WUS) without performing a Radio Resource Control (RRC) operation corresponding to an RRC idle / inactive process; starting a timer associated with the WUS; performing the RRC operations and turning off the receiver in response to determining that the timer has expired; The method includes:

2. receiving a setting from a network device indicative of the timer; determining the timer based on the setting; The method of claim 1 further comprising:

3. The timer is predefined. The method of claim 1.

4. receiving a number of timers set by a network device; determining the timer from the plurality of timers based on a paging probability (PP); The method of claim 1 further comprising:

5. Turning on the receiver and monitoring the WUS without performing the RRC operations comprises: turning off a communication device of the terminal device to stop performing the RRC operation; The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising:

6. Turning on the receiver and monitoring the WUS without performing the RRC operations comprises: turning on said receiver to monitor said WUS; and stopping execution of the RRC operations by turning off a communication device of the terminal device after a first duration, the first duration representing a duration for the receiver to turn on; Starting the timer starting the timer after the first duration or a second duration, the second duration including the first duration and another duration for the communication device to turn off. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

7. Performing the RRC operation and turning off the receiver includes: turning on a communication device of the terminal device to perform the RRC operation; turning off the receiver to stop the receiver from monitoring the WUS; The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising:

8. Turning off the receiver comprises: and turning off the receiver after a third duration after turning on the communication device, the third duration representing a duration for turning on the communication device. The method of claim 7.

9. receiving a first indication from a higher layer, the first indication indicating to perform the RRC operation and to turn off the receiver; sending a second indication to the higher layer, the second indication indicating that performing the RRC operation and turning off the receiver was caused by the first indication; The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising:

10. and transmitting a response to the network device in response to receiving the capability request from the network device, the response comprising: a first duration for turning on the receiver; a second duration for turning off the communication device of the terminal device; a third duration for turning on the communication device; or a fourth duration for turning off the receiver; The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, comprising at least one of the following steps:

11. restarting the timer pursuant to a determination that a monitored WUS indicates that the receiver should maintain monitoring of the WUS; The method of any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising:

12. pursuant to a determination that the monitored WUS performs the RRC action to indicate turning off the receiver; turning on a communication device of the terminal device to perform the RRC operation; turning off the receiver; Stopping the timer; and The method of any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising:

13. Counting a first number of monitored WUSs indicating to perform the RRC operation while a second timer configured by the network device is running; upon determining that the first number exceeds a threshold number, turning on a communication device of the terminal device to perform the RRC operation; turning off the receiver; Stopping the timer; and The method of any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising:

14. starting or restarting the second timer in accordance with a determination that a monitored WUS indicates to perform the RRC operation; The method of claim 13 further comprising:

15. setting the first number to zero pursuant to determining that the first number falls below the threshold number and the second timer has expired; The method of claim 13 further comprising:

16. When the terminal device performs the RRC operation, the method includes: performing cell selection or reselection criteria or performing measurements; upon a determination that the cell selection or reselection criteria or the measurements indicate that a cell camped by the terminal device is not suitable for the terminal device, performing a cell selection or reselection process; Disabling the receiver from monitoring the WUS; The method of any one of claims 1 to 15, further comprising:

17. In response to receiving an instruction from a network device to monitor the WUS, turning on the receiver to monitor the WUS without performing the RRC operation; or pursuant to a determination that the receiver has been disabled for a duration that exceeds a time threshold, turning on the receiver to monitor the WUS without performing the RRC operations; 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

18. The terminal device performs the RRC operation, turns off the WUS, and then starts a third timer; turning on the receiver to monitor the WUS in accordance with a determination that no paging notification is received from a network device during the third timer; The method of any one of claims 1 to 17, further comprising:

19. When the terminal device performs the RC operation, the method further comprises: and turning on the receiver to monitor the WUS in accordance with a determination that no paging notification is received from a network device during a Paging Occasion (PO) duration, the PO duration representing a duration for which the terminal device monitors a second number of paging cycles.

19. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

20. The WUS includes a binary Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) modulated On / Off Keying (OOK) signal.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

21. Comprising a circuit configured to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20. Terminal device.

22. storing instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause said at least one processor to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 20; Computer-readable medium.

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