User equipment, method, base station, and integrated circuit involved in power saving procedures

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a user equipment (UE), comprising: a receiver for receiving a configure resource skip indication from a base station, the configure resource skip indication instructing the UE to perform one or more of the following operations: skip processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and skip processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and a processing circuit in the UE, the processing circuit skipping the one or more operations during a configure resource skip period in response to the received configure resource skip indication.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure is directed to methods, apparatus, and articles in communication systems, such as 3GPP® communication systems. [Background technology]

[0002] Currently, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is working on technical specifications for the next generation of cellular technology, also known as the fifth generation (5G).

[0003] One objective is to provide a single technical framework that addresses all usage scenarios, requirements, and deployment scenarios (e.g., see 3GPP TR 38.913, e.g., section 6 of version 16.0.0 or version 17.0.0), including at least enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine type communication (mMTC). For example, eMBB deployment scenarios may include indoor hotspots, dense urban, rural, urban macro, and high-speed, URLLC deployment scenarios may include industrial control systems, mobile healthcare (remote monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment), real-time control of vehicles, wide-area monitoring, and control systems for smart grids, and mMTC deployment scenarios may include scenarios with a large number of devices with non-time-critical data transfer, such as smart wearables and sensor networks. eMBB and URLLC services are similar in that they both require very high bandwidth, but differ in that URLLC services may preferably require ultra-low latency.

[0004] A second objective is to achieve forward compatibility: backward compatibility to Long Term Evolution (LTE, LTE-A) cellular systems is not required, thus facilitating the introduction of entirely new system designs and / or novel features. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] One non-limiting exemplary embodiment facilitates providing a procedure for a UE to implement an improved power saving procedure. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In one embodiment, the techniques disclosed herein feature a user equipment (UE) that includes: a receiver that receives a set resource skip indication from a base station, the set resource skip indication being configured by the UE to: skipping processing for one or more configured uplink resource grants; and skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and This instructs the device to perform one or more of the following operations.

[0007] The processing circuitry of the UE skips one or more operations during a configured resource skip period in response to the received configured resource skip indication.

[0008] It should be noted that the general or specific embodiments may be implemented as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, a storage medium, or any combination thereof. For example, an integrated circuit may control processing of a UE or a base station.

[0009] Further benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments and various implementations will become apparent from the specification and drawings. These benefits and / or advantages may be obtained individually by the various embodiments and features of the specification and drawings, and it is not necessary for all of the embodiments and features to be provided in order to obtain one or more of such benefits and / or advantages. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] The following embodiments are explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an example architecture diagram of a 3GPP NR system. [Diagram 2] Schematic diagram showing functional separation between NG-RAN and 5GC [Diagram 3] Sequence diagram of RRC connection setup / reconfiguration procedure [Figure 4] Schematic diagram showing the usage scenarios for enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) [Diagram 5] Block diagram illustrating an example 5G system architecture for a non-roaming scenario [Figure 6] A diagram showing the relationship between the bandwidth parts, the control resource set (CORESET), the search space, the search space set, and the PDCCH candidates. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 illustrates an example time domain structure for a communication system such as 5G NR, including radio frames, subframes, slots, and OFDM symbols with different subcarrier spacing. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary simplified structure of a UE and a gNB. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 illustrates the structure of a UE according to one exemplary implementation of an improved power saving procedure according to a first solution. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a UE's behavior according to one exemplary implementation of an improved power saving procedure according to a first solution. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 shows the structure of a base station according to one exemplary implementation of an improved power saving procedure according to the first solution. [Figure 12] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of the behavior of a base station according to one exemplary implementation of an improved power saving procedure according to a first solution. [Figure 13] A signaling diagram showing an exemplary exchange between a UE and a gNB for an exemplary implementation of an improved power saving procedure according to the first solution. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 illustrates the structure of a UE according to one exemplary implementation of an improved power saving procedure according to the second solution. [Figure 15] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a UE's behavior according to one exemplary implementation of an improved power saving procedure according to the second solution. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 shows the structure of a base station according to one exemplary implementation of an improved power saving procedure according to the second solution. [Figure 17] FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of the behavior of a base station according to one exemplary implementation of an improved power saving procedure according to the second solution. [Figure 18] FIG. 1 shows the structure of a UE according to one exemplary implementation of an improved power saving procedure according to the third solution. [Figure 19] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of the UE behavior according to one exemplary implementation of the improved power saving procedure according to the third solution. [Figure 20] FIG. 13 shows the structure of a UE according to one exemplary implementation of an improved power saving procedure according to the fourth solution. [Figure 21] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of a UE's behavior according to one exemplary implementation of an improved power saving procedure according to the fourth solution. [Figure 22] FIG. 13 illustrates the structure of a UE according to one exemplary implementation of an improved power saving procedure according to the fifth solution. [Diagram 23] FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of a UE's behavior according to one exemplary implementation of an improved power saving procedure according to the fifth solution. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] <5G NR system architecture and protocol stack> 3GPP continues to work on the next release of fifth-generation cellular technology (also known simply as "5G"), which includes the development of New Radio Access Technology (NR) that will operate in the frequency range up to 100 GHz. The first version of the 5G standard was completed in late 2017, allowing for the prototyping and commercial deployment of 5G NR-compliant smartphones.

[0012] In particular, the overall system architecture assumes a Next Generation-Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) with gNBs. The gNBs provide the UE-side termination of the NG radio access user plane (SDAP / PDCP / RLC / MAC / PHY) and control plane (RRC) protocols. The gNBs are interconnected with each other by an Xn interface. The gNBs are also connected to the Next Generation Core (NGC) by a Next Generation (NG) interface, more specifically to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF, e.g. a specific core entity running AMF) by an NG-C interface and to the User Plane Function (UPF, e.g. a specific core entity running UPF) by an NG-U interface. The NG-RAN architecture is shown in Figure 1 (see, e.g., 3GPP TS 38.300, e.g. v16.8.0, section 4).

[0013] The NR user plane protocol stack (see, for example, section 4.4.1 of 3GPP TS 38.300) includes a PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol, see section 6.4 of 3GPP TS 38.300) sublayer, a RLC (Radio Link Control, see section 6.3 of TS 38.300) sublayer, and a MAC (Medium Access Control, see section 6.2 of TS 38.300) sublayer, which are terminated on the network side at the gNB. In addition, a new Access Stratum (AS) sublayer (SDAP: Service Data Adaptation Protocol) is introduced above PDCP (see, for example, sub-clause 6.5 of TS 38.300). NR also defines a control plane protocol stack (see, for example, section 4.4.2 of TS 38.300). An overview of Layer 2 functions is given in sub-clause 6 of TS 38.300. The functions of the RRC layer are listed in sub-clause 7 of TS 38.300.

[0014] For example, the MAC layer is responsible for multiplexing logical channels and scheduling and scheduling-related functions, including handling various numerologies.

[0015] The physical layer (PHY) is responsible for, for example, coding, PHY HARQ processing, modulation, multi-antenna processing, and mapping of signals to appropriate physical time-frequency resources. It also maps transport channels to physical channels. The physical layer provides services to the MAC layer in the form of transport channels. A physical channel corresponds to a set of time-frequency resources used for transmission of a particular transport channel, and each transport channel is mapped to a corresponding physical channel. For example, the physical channels are PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel), PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), and PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) in the uplink, and PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), and PBCH (Physical Broadcast Channel) in the downlink.

[0016] NR use cases / deployment scenarios include eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broadband), URLLC (Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications), and mMTC (massive Machine Type Communication), which have diverse requirements for data rate, latency, and coverage. For example, eMBB is required to support peak data rates (20Gbps downlink, 10Gbps uplink) and effective (user-experienced) data rates that are about three times higher than those offered by IMT-Advanced. On the other hand, URLLC has more stringent requirements for ultra-low latency (user plane latency of 0.5ms for both UL and DL) and high reliability (1-10 Mbps latency within 1ms). -5Finally, mMTC preferably requires high connection density (1 million devices per square kilometer in urban environments), wide coverage in adverse environments, and ultra-long battery life (15 years) for low-cost equipment.

[0017] Therefore, OFDM numerology (e.g., subcarrier spacing, OFDM symbol length, cyclic prefix (CP) length, number of symbols per scheduling interval) suitable for one use case may not be valid for other use cases. For example, low latency services may preferably require a shorter symbol length (and therefore a larger subcarrier spacing) and / or fewer symbols per scheduling interval (in other words, TTI) than mMTC services. Furthermore, deployment scenarios with large channel delay spreads may preferably require a longer CP length than scenarios with small delay spreads. To maintain similar CP overhead, the subcarrier spacing needs to be optimized accordingly. NR may support multiple values ​​of subcarrier spacing. Correspondingly, subcarrier spacings of 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, ... are currently being considered. Symbol length T u and the subcarrier spacing Δf is expressed by the formula Δf=1 / T u Similar to LTE systems, the term "resource element" can be used to denote the smallest resource unit consisting of one subcarrier for the length of one OFDM / SC-FDMA symbol.

[0018] In the new radio system 5G-NR, for each numerology and carrier, a resource grid of subcarriers and OFDM symbols is defined for the uplink and downlink, respectively. Each element of the resource grid is called a resource element and is identified based on a frequency index in the frequency domain and a symbol position in the time domain (see 3GPP TS 38.211, e.g., v17.1.0, e.g., section 4). For example, downlink and uplink transmissions are organized into frames with a duration of 10 ms, each frame consisting of 10 subframes of 1 ms duration each. In a 5g NR implementation, the number of consecutive OFDM symbols per subframe depends on the subcarrier spacing setting. For example, for a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, a subframe has 14 OFDM symbols (similar to an LTE-compatible implementation assuming a normal cyclic prefix). On the other hand, for a subcarrier spacing of 30 kHz, a subframe has two slots, each slot containing 14 OFDM symbols.

[0019] <Functional separation between NG-RAN and 5GC in 5G NR> Figure 2 shows the functional separation between NG-RAN and 5GC. The logical node of NG-RAN is gNB or ng-eNB. 5GC has logical nodes AMF, UPF, and SMF.

[0020] In particular, the gNB and ng-eNB host the following main functions: - Radio Resource Management functions such as Radio Bearer Control, Radio Admission Control, Connection Mobility Control, dynamic allocation (scheduling) of resources to UEs in both uplink and downlink; - IP header compression, encryption, and integrity protection of data; - Selection of the AMF at UE attach time if routing to the AMF cannot be determined from information provided by the UE; - Routing of user plane data towards the UPF; - Routing of control plane information towards AMF; - Setting up and tearing down connections; - Scheduling and sending paging messages; - Scheduling and transmission of system broadcast information (sourced from AMF or Operation, Admission, Maintenance Function (OAM)); - Setting up measurements and reporting of measurements for mobility and scheduling; - Transport level packet marking in the uplink; - Session management; - Support for network slicing; - QoS flow management and mapping to data radio bearers; - Support for UEs in RRC_INACTIVE state; - Non-Access Stratum (NAS) message delivery function; - Sharing of radio access networks; - Dual connectivity; - Close cooperation between NR and E-UTRA.

[0021] The Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) hosts the following main functions: - Termination of Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signalling; - NAS signaling security; - Access Layer (AS) security controls; - 3GPP Core Network (CN) inter-node signalling for mobility between access networks; - Reachability to idle mode UEs (including control and execution of paging retransmissions); - Managing the registration area; - Support for intra-system and inter-system mobility; - Access authentication; - Access authorization including roaming privilege checks; - Mobility management control (subscription and policies); - Support for network slicing; - Selection of Session Management Function (SMF).

[0022] Additionally, the User Plane Function (UPF) hosts the following main functions: - Anchor points for intra-RAT / inter-RAT mobility (if applicable); - External PDU (Protocol Data Unit) Session Points for interconnection with data networks; - Packet routing and forwarding; - Packet inspection and policy rule enforcement for the user plane part; - Traffic usage reporting; - uplink classifier, which supports routing of traffic flows to the data network; - Branching Point to support multi-homed PDU sessions; - QoS processing for the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement); - Validation of uplink traffic (mapping of SDF to QoS flows); - Downlink packet buffering and triggering of downlink data notifications.

[0023] Finally, the Session Management Function (SMF) hosts the following main functions: - Session management; - IP address allocation and management for the UE; - Selection and control of the UPF; - Traffic steering setting function in the User Plane Function (UPF) for routing traffic to the appropriate destination; - Policy enforcement and QoS for the control plane; - Notification of downlink data.

[0024] <Procedures for RRC connection setup and reconfiguration> Figure 3 shows some of the interactions between the UE, gNB, and AMF (5GC entity) in the NAS part when the UE transitions from RRC_IDLE to RRC_CONNECTED (see TS 38.300).

[0025] RRC is a higher layer signaling (protocol) used for the configuration of the UE and the gNB. In particular, with this transition, the AMF prepares UE context data (which includes, for example, PDU session context, security keys, UE Radio Capability, UE Security Capabilities, etc.) and sends it to the gNB with an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST. The gNB then activates AS security together with the UE. This is done by the gNB sending a SecurityModeCommand message to the UE, and the UE responding with a SecurityModeComplete message to the gNB. The gNB then performs reconfiguration to set up signaling radio bearer 2 (SRB2) and data radio bearer (DRB) by sending an RRCReconfiguration message to the UE and receiving an RRCReconfigurationComplete from the UE. For signaling-only connections, the steps related to RRCReconfiguration are omitted since SRB2 and DRB are not set up. Finally, the gNB informs the AMF that the setup procedure is complete with an INITIAL CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE.

[0026] Therefore, the present disclosure provides an entity (e.g., AMF, SMF, etc.) of a 5th Generation Core (5GC), comprising: a control circuit that, in operation, establishes a Next Generation (NG) connection with a gNodeB; and a transmitter that, in operation, transmits an initial context setup message to a gNodeB via the NG connection so that a signaling radio bearer between the gNodeB and a User Equipment (UE) is set up. Specifically, the gNodeB transmits Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling including a resource allocation configuration information element (IE) to the UE via the signaling radio bearer. The UE then transmits in the uplink or receives in the downlink based on the resource allocation configuration.

[0027] <IMT usage scenarios after 2020> Figure 4 shows some of the use cases for 5G NR. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project NR (3GPP NR) is considering three use cases that are expected to support a wide variety of services and applications with IMT-2020. The first phase of specifications for enhanced Multimedia Broadcasting (eMBB) has been completed. In addition to further expanding support for eMBB, current and future research is also being conducted on the standardization of ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) and multiple simultaneous connections. Figure 4 shows examples of usage scenarios that are expected for IMT beyond 2020 (see, for example, Figure 2 in ITU-R M.20183).

[0028] URLLC use cases have stringent requirements for performance such as throughput, latency, and availability, and are envisioned as one of the enablers of future vertical applications such as wireless control of industrial production and manufacturing processes, remote medical surgery, power distribution automation for smart grids, and road safety. URLLC's ultra-high reliability is supported by identifying technologies that meet the requirements set by 3GPP TR 38.913v16.0.0. For NR URLLC in Release 15, the key requirement is to target user plane latency of 0.5 ms UL (uplink) and 0.5 ms DL (downlink). The general URLLC requirement for a single packet transmission is a block error rate (BLER) of 1E-5 for a packet size of 32 bytes with a user plane latency of 1 ms.

[0029] From a physical layer perspective, reliability can be improved in many possible ways. Current room for reliability improvement includes defining a separate CQI table for URLLC, more compact DCI formats, repeated transmission of PDCCH, etc. However, this room can be expanded to achieve ultra-high reliability as NR (with respect to the key requirements of NR URLLC) becomes more stable and more developed. Specific use cases for NR URLLC in Release 15 include augmented reality / virtual reality (AR / VR), e-health, e-safety, and mission-critical applications.

[0030] Also, technology extensions targeted by NR URLLC aim to improve latency and reliability. Technology extensions for improving latency include configurable numerology, non-slot-based scheduling with flexible mapping, grant-free (configurable grant) uplink, repeated transmissions at slot level in data channel, and pre-emption in downlink. Pre-emption means that a transmission with already allocated resources is stopped and the already allocated resources are used for other transmissions with lower latency / higher priority requirements requested later. Thus, a transmission that was already allowed is preempted by a later transmission. Pre-emption is applicable regardless of the specific service type. For example, a transmission of service type A (URLLC) can be preempted by a transmission of service type B (eMBB, etc.). Technology extensions for improving reliability include dedicated CQI / MCS tables for a target BLER of 1E-5.

[0031] The mMTC (Massive Machine Type Communication) use case is characterized by a very large number of connected devices that typically transmit relatively small amounts of data that are not sensitive to latency. The devices are required to be low-cost and have a very long battery life. From an NR perspective, using very narrow bandwidth parts is one solution that saves power from the UE's perspective and allows for a long battery life.

[0032] As mentioned above, it is expected that the scope of reliability improvement in NR will be broader. One of the key requirements for all cases, especially for URLLC and mMTC, is high or ultra-high reliability. Several mechanisms can be considered that can improve reliability from a radio perspective and a network perspective. In general, there are two to three key areas that can help improve reliability. These areas include compact control channel information, repeated transmission of data channel / control channel, and diversity with respect to frequency domain, time domain, and / or spatial domain. These areas are generally applicable to reliability improvement regardless of the specific communication scenario.

[0033] Further use cases with more stringent requirements are envisaged for NR URLLC, such as factory automation, transportation, and power distribution. The stringent requirements include high reliability (10 6 level of reliability), high availability, packet size up to 256 bytes, time synchronization up to a few μs (depending on the use case, the value can be 1 μs or a few μs depending on the frequency range and short latency on the order of 0.5 ms to 1 ms (in particular, a targeted latency of 0.5 ms on the user plane).

[0034] Furthermore, for NR URLLC, several technical extensions may be available from the perspective of the physical layer. These technical extensions include the extension of the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) related to compact DCI, the repeated transmission of PDCCH, and the increase in the monitoring of PDCCH. In addition, the extension of UCI (Uplink Control Information) is related to the extension of enhanced HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) and CSI feedback. There may also be an extension of PUSCH related to mini-slot level hopping, and an extension of retransmission / repeated transmission. The term "mini-slot" refers to a transmission time interval (TTI) that contains fewer symbols than a slot (a slot contains 14 symbols).

[0035] <QoS Control> The QoS (Quality of Service) model of 5G is based on QoS flows and supports both QoS flows that require a guaranteed flow bit rate (GBR (Granteed Bit Rate) QoS flows) and QoS flows that do not require a guaranteed flow bit rate (non-GBR QoS flows). Therefore, at the NAS level, a QoS flow is the finest-grained QoS classification in a PDU session. A QoS flow is identified within a PDU session by a QoS Flow ID (QFI: QoS Flow ID) that is carried in an encapsulation header via the NG-U interface.

[0036] For each UE, the 5GC establishes one or more PDU sessions. For each UE, the NG-RAN establishes at least one Data Radio Bearer (DRB) for the PDU session, e.g. as shown above with reference to Fig. 3. Additional DRBs for the QoS flows of the PDU session can be configured later (when it is up to the NG-RAN). The NG-RAN maps packets belonging to different PDU sessions to different DRBs. The NAS level packet filters in the UE and the 5GC associate UL and DL packets with QoS flows, whereas the AS level mapping rules in the UE and the NG-RAN associate UL and DL QoS flows with DRBs.

[0037] FIG. 5 illustrates a non-roaming reference architecture for 5G NR (see, for example, 3GPP TS 23.501, e.g., v16.9.0 or v17.4.0, section 4.2.3). An application function (AF), such as an external application server hosting a 5G service, illustrated in FIG. 4, interacts with the 3GPP core network to provide the service. For example, it may access a network exposure function (NEF) to support applications that affect traffic routing, and interact with a policy framework for policy control such as QoS control (see Policy Control Function (PCF)). Based on the operator's deployment, application functions that are deemed trusted by the operator may directly interact with the relevant network functions. Application functions that are not allowed by the operator to directly access the network functions interact with the relevant network functions using an external exposure framework via the NEF.

[0038] Figure 5 further illustrates further functional units of the 5G architecture, namely, Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), Network Repository Function (NRF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), and Data Network (DN, e.g., operator-provided services, Internet access, or third-party services). All or part of the core network functions and application services may be deployed and run in a cloud computing environment.

[0039] Therefore, the present disclosure provides an application server (e.g., an AF in a 5G architecture) comprising: a transmitter that, in operation, sends a request including QoS requirements for at least one of a URLLC service, an eMBB service, and an mMTC service to at least one of 5GC functions (e.g., NEF, AMF, SMF, PCF, UPF, etc.) to establish a PDU session including a radio bearer between a gNodeB and a UE according to the QoS requirements; and a control circuit that, in operation, performs a service using the established PDU session.

[0040] <Bandwidth part - BWP> The NR system supports a maximum channel bandwidth (e.g., 100 MHz) that is much wider than the 20 MHz bandwidth of LTE. LTE also supports wideband communication via carrier aggregation (CA) of component carriers up to 20 MHz. Defining a wider channel bandwidth in NR allows for dynamic allocation of frequency resources via scheduling, which can be more efficient and flexible than the carrier aggregation operation of LTE, whose activation / deactivation is based on MAC control elements. Having a single wideband carrier also benefits in terms of lower control overhead, since only one control signaling is required (carrier aggregation requires separate control signaling for each aggregated carrier).

[0041] Also, like LTE, NR may support aggregation of multiple carriers via carrier aggregation or dual connectivity.

[0042] Since UEs do not always require high data rates, the use of wide bandwidths can lead to high idle power consumption in terms of both RF and baseband signal processing. In this regard, the newly developed bandwidth part concept for NR offers an energy-efficient solution despite supporting wideband operation by providing a means to operate UEs with bandwidths narrower than the configured channel bandwidth. Low-end terminals that cannot access the full NR bandwidth can benefit from it.

[0043] A bandwidth part (BWP) is a subset of the total cell bandwidth of a cell, e.g., defined by the location and number of contiguous physical resource blocks (PRBs). It may be defined separately for uplink and downlink. Furthermore, each bandwidth part may be associated with a specific OFDM numerology, e.g., subcarrier spacing and cyclic prefix. For example, bandwidth adaptation is achieved by configuring a BWP(s) in a UE and informing the UE which of the configured BWPs is currently active.

[0044] Exemplarily, in 5G NR, a specific BWP is configured only for a UE in the RRC_Connected state. For example, other than an initial BWP (e.g., one for UL and one for DL), BWPs exist only for UEs in the connected state. To support initial data exchange between the UE and the network, such as in the process of transitioning the UE from the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state to the RRC_CONNECTED state, the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP are configured with minimum system information.

[0045] Although a UE can be configured with more than one BWP (e.g., up to four BWPs per serving cell as currently defined in NR), a UE can only have one active DL BWP at a time.

[0046] Further information regarding the operation of BWP can be found, for example, in 3GPP TS 38.321, e.g., section 5.15 of v16.6.0.

[0047] Switching between configured BWPs can be achieved in various ways. The operation of the bandwidth parts in the uplink and downlink is defined, for example, in 3GPP 38.321, e.g., in a 5G NR compliant implementation of v16.8.0, section 5.15. The BWP can be switched, for example, using the Downlink Control Information (DCI) (e.g., using the bandwidth part indicator in DCI format 0_1 ​​(UL grant) and DCI format 1_1 (DL schedule)), using the bwp-inactivity Timer, using RRC signaling, and by the MAC entity itself at the start of the random access procedure. For a primary cell (PCell), the initial BWP is the BWP used for initial access, and the default BWP is the initial BWP unless another initial BWP is explicitly configured. For a secondary cell (SCell), the initial BWP is always explicitly configured and a default BWP may also be configured. If a default BWP is configured for the serving cell, the active BWP is switched to the default BWP when the inactivity timer associated with that cell expires.

[0048] Some DCI formats do not include a BWP ID (e.g., formats 0_0 and 1_0), while in other DCI formats the number of bits for the BWP ID is configurable by the RRC and can be 0, 1 or 2 bits (e.g., for formats 0_1, 0_2, 1_1, and 1_2).

[0049] Figure 6 shows a scenario in which three different BWPs are configured: BWP1 with a frequency bandwidth of 40 MHz and a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, BWP2 with a width of 10 MHz and a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, and BWP3 with a width of 20 MHz and a subcarrier spacing of 60 kHz.

[0050] For example, different BWPs may be configured using appropriate information elements of the RRC protocol. Carrier Bandwidth Part is a contiguous set of physical resource blocks selected from a contiguous subset of common resource blocks for a given numerology (u) on a given carrier.

[0051] According to an exemplary 5G NR compatible implementation compliant with 3GPP 38.331, e.g., v16.8.0, different RRC reconfiguration information elements may be used.

[0052] <Control information - Search space set> PDCCH monitoring is performed by the UE to identify and receive information intended for the UE, such as control information and user traffic (eg, DCI on the PDCCH and user data on the PDSCH indicated by the PDCCH).

[0053] Downlink control information (e.g., may be referred to as downlink control information DCI) has essentially the same purpose in 5G NR as DCI in LTE, i.e., it is a set of special control information that schedules a downlink data channel (e.g., PDSCH) or an uplink data channel (e.g., PUSCH). In one exemplary 5G NR compliant implementation, there are several different predefined DCI formats (see TS 38.212, e.g., v17.1.0, section 7.3.1). An overview is shown in the table below. [Table 1]

[0054] In 5G NR, the PDCCH is transmitted in a radio resource region called the control resource set (CORESET). In LTE, the concept of a CORESET does not explicitly exist. Instead, the LTE PDCCH uses the entire carrier bandwidth in the first 1-3 OFDM symbols (4 in the narrowest case). In contrast, the 5G NR CORESET can be anywhere in the slot and anywhere in the frequency range of the carrier, except that a UE is not expected to handle a CORESET outside its active bandwidth part (BWP).

[0055] Thus, the UE performs a PDCCH monitoring operation, for example as defined in 3GPP TS 38.213, e.g., version 17.1.0, sections 10 and 11. As exemplarily defined therein, the UE monitors a set of PDCCH candidates defined in units of a PDCCH search space set. The search space set can be a common search space set (CSS) or a UE-specific search space set (USS).

[0056] As exemplarily defined in 3GPP TS 38.213, section 10.1, the UE monitors PDCCH candidates in one or more of the following CSS sets and USS sets: - the Type0-PDCCH CSS set by pdcch-ConfigSIB1 in MIB, or searchSpaceSIB1 in PDCCH-ConfigCommon, or searchSpaceZero in PDCCH-ConfigCommon for a DCI format with CRC scrambled by SI-RNTI on the primary cell of the MCG; - Type0A-PDCCH CSS set by searchSpaceOtherSystemInformation in PDCCH-ConfigCommon for DCI format with CRC scrambled by SI-RNTI on the primary cell of the MCG - the Type1-PDCCH CSS set by ra-SearchSpace in PDCCH-ConfigCommon for DCI formats with CRC scrambled by RA-RNTI, MsgB-RNTI, or TC-RNTI on the primary cell; - Type2-PDCCH CSS set by pagingSearchSpace in PDCCH-ConfigCommon for DCI formats with CRC scrambled by P-RNTI on the primary cell of the MCG - the Type3-PDCCH CSS set by the SearchSpace in PDCCH-Config with SearchSpaceType=common for INT-RNTI, SFI-RNTI, TPC-PUSCH-RNTI, TPC-PUCCH-RNTI, TPC-SRS-RNTI, or CI-RNTI, and for the primary cell only, for DCI formats with CRC scrambled by C-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI, CS-RNTI(s), or PS-RNTI; - A USS set configured by the SearchSpace in the PDCCH-Config with SearchSpaceType=ue-Specific for DCI formats with CRC scrambled by C-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI, SP-CSI-RNTI, CS-RNTI(s), SL-RNTI, SL-CS-RNTI, or SL Semi-Perisistent Scheduling V-RNTI.

[0057] The search space sets in one or more CORESETs on the active DL BWP in each activated serving cell configured for PDCCH monitoring using the corresponding search space set are monitored, where monitoring means decoding each PDCCH candidate according to the monitored DCI format.

[0058] Conceptually, Figure 6 provides an exemplary diagram of the relationship between bandwidth parts, CORESETs, search spaces, search space sets, and PDCCH candidates that a UE can monitor. As is evident from Figure 6, one CORESET is shown per BWP, but more than one is possible. Each CORESET can then have several search spaces of one or more PDCCH candidates of a particular aggregation level (e.g., AL2, 4, or 8), which can be grouped into search space sets, e.g., common SS sets and UE-specific SS sets.

[0059] <Search Space Set Group Switching> In 3GPP, the concept of configuring at least two groups of search space sets (abbreviated as SSS or SS set) for monitoring the PDCCH has been discussed. This concept may be particularly useful for operation in unlicensed radio spectrum, for example, where a gNB must first acquire a channel before it can transmit the PDCCH. For example, different SSS groups may differ depending on when and / or how long a UE needs to monitor the PDCCH during a slot.

[0060] Different groups may contain different search space sets, and one search space set may be part of one or more SSS groups.

[0061] According to one exemplary aspect of this concept, the UE can be configured to switch groups. One particular exemplary implementation of search space set switching is defined in the 3GPP specifications for 5G NR, in particular 3GPP TS 38.213, e.g., v17.1.0, section 10.4 "Search Space Set Group Switching and Skip PDCCH Monitoring."

[0062] Briefly, switching between different SSS groups is controlled by two mechanisms: an SSS group switch indication (called the search space set group switch flag field in the exemplary 3GPP 5G implementation) and a switch timer (called the searchSpaceSwitchTimer in the exemplary 3GPP 5G implementation). For a description of these two mechanisms, see TS 38.213, section 10.4, cited above.

[0063] <Time domain in 5G NR> In the time domain, 5G NR transmissions are organized into frames of length 10 ms, each of which is divided into 10 equally sized subframes of length 1 ms. In turn, the subframes are divided into one or more slots, each of which consists of 14 OFDM symbols. The duration of the slots in milliseconds varies depending on the numerology. Thus, for example, for a subcarrier spacing of 15 kHz, an NR slot has the same structure as an LTE subframe with a normal cyclic prefix. The 5G NR subframe serves as a numerology-independent time reference, which is particularly useful when multiple numerologies are mixed on the same carrier, whereas the slot is the typical unit of dynamic scheduling. This frame structure, which is the basis of 3GPP 5G NR communication, is exemplarily shown in Figure 7.

[0064] 5G NR offers multiple slot formats, where the slot format indicates how each symbol in a single slot is used. The slot format defines which symbols in a particular slot are used for the uplink and which symbols are used for the downlink. In LTE TDD, if a subframe (equivalent to a slot in NR) is configured for DL ​​or UL, all symbols in that subframe should be used as DL or UL. However, in NR, each symbol in a slot can be configured differently as DL or UL. There are also flexible symbols that can be configured as DL or UL. In an exemplary 5G NR compliant implementation, the gNB uses a slot format indicator (SFI) to inform the UE about the slot format to be used (see also section 11.1.1 of TS 38.213 v16.7.0). For example, the slot format indicator includes an index value that is mapped to a slot format (e.g., in a table format).

[0065] <SPS in downlink and configured grant in uplink> In the downlink, the gNB can dynamically allocate resources on the PDCCH(s) to the UE via the C-RNTI (e.g., see DCIs above). Similarly, in the uplink, the gNB can dynamically allocate resources on the PDCCH(s) to the UE via the C-RNTI (e.g., see DCIs above). In addition to dynamically allocating downlink and uplink resources, 5G NR provides scheduling extensions to perform semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) based resource allocation in the downlink and configured grant (CG) based resource allocation in the uplink.

[0066] In the downlink, the semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) function is adopted in 5G NR as a further development of the SPS used in the conventional communication system of LTE, and is applicable to both the uplink and the downlink. Furthermore, in LTE, an SPS configuration is usually dedicated to a single device. If the device does not require the assigned periodic resources (e.g., data is only transmitted for a specific event such as a collision warning), the SPS resources not used by the UE are wasted.

[0067] According to one 5G NR compliant implementation example, the RRC defines the relevant parameters for SPS. The RRC information element SPS-Config for configuring downlink semi-persistent transmission is defined in 3GPP 38.331, e.g., V16.7.0. For example, in the RRC, the periodicity of the configured downlink allocation, the number of HARQ processes, MCS, etc. are defined.

[0068] A UE may have several (e.g., up to eight) active configured downlink allocations for one BWP of a serving cell. If multiple are configured: - Determine which (including all) of these configured downlink allocations are active at a time.

[0069] Each configured downlink assignment is activated individually using a DCI command, and deactivation of a configured downlink assignment is performed using a DCI command, either for a single configured downlink assignment or multiple configured downlink assignments can be deactivated collectively.

[0070] The PDCCH addressed to the CS-RNTI can signal and activate the configured downlink allocation, while the PDCCH addressed to the CS-RNTI can signal and activate the downlink allocation according to a periodicity defined by the RRC. It may be indicated that a downlink allocation may be implicitly reused until the allocation is deactivated. If necessary, retransmissions may be explicitly scheduled, for example on the PDCCH.

[0071] SPS is particularly useful for periodic downlink data transmissions, such as Voice over IP (VoIP) services. A base station configures SPS radio resources, and a UE can use these periodic radio resources without the base station sending separate downlink resource grants for each instance.

[0072] Typically, uplink data transmission requires resources to be requested by the UE, followed by a packetized scheduling decision and resource allocation at the scheduling side (e.g., base station). The allocation cycle causes additional delay and signaling. Radio resource allocation delay between the UE and the base station can be avoided by allowing the UE to use the same radio resources without requesting them in advance from the base station. This can be achieved by the so-called configuration grant (CG).

[0073] Furthermore, the use of configuration grants allows multiple devices (UEs) to share periodic radio resources (which reduces waste of periodic radio resources compared to LTE SPS). On the other hand, the gNB may define periodic radio resources such that they are not shared or are not shared completely among multiple UEs. The gNB assigns configuration grant radio resources to one or more UEs, and the UEs randomly utilize these periodic radio resources when they need to transmit data (e.g., small data). With CG, the network eliminates packet transmission delays caused by a specific scheduling request procedure that needs to be performed before transmitting data. This can also increase the utilization rate of the assigned periodic radio resources.

[0074] There are two types of grant-free configuration schemes supported in 3GPP Release 16 and Release 17: Type 1 and Type 2 (see 3GPP 38.300, e.g., v16.8.0: “NR; NR and NG-RAN Overall Description; Stage 2 (Release 16)”, section 10.3). According to an exemplary implementation of this 3GPP TS 38.300, by using Type-1 CG, the RRC directly provides the UE with the configured uplink grant, including, e.g., its periodicity.

[0075] In type 2 configuration grants, the RRC defines the periodicity of the configured uplink grants, and a PDCCH message addressed to the UE's CS-RNTI can signal and activate or deactivate the configured uplink grant. The PDCCH addressed to the CS-RNTI indicates that the uplink grant can be implicitly reused until deactivated according to the periodicity defined by the RRC. In other words, an additional L1 signaling (e.g., PDCCH) is introduced, where the uplink is semi-persistently scheduled by an RRC-based uplink grant that is activated / deactivated by the (de)activation DCI. The RRC provides higher layer parameters for the CG configuration.

[0076] In both cases, eg according to an exemplary 3GPP implementation, the RRC provides the grant configuration to the UE via an upper layer parameter called ConfiguredGrantConfig (see 3GPP TS 38.331 V16.7.0, session 6.3.2 “Radio resource control information elements”).

[0077] For example, the resource configuration for CG may include a time domain and / or a frequency domain, and / or reference signal (RS) parameters. The set parameters may further include a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and / or the number of repetitions and / or the cycle period and / or the transport block size.

[0078] Retransmissions other than repetitions are explicitly assigned by the PDCCH or by setting a retransmission timer.

[0079] <UE Power Saving Enhancements for NR> User experience is important for the success of 5G / NR, not only in terms of the experienced data rate and latency, but also in terms of UE power consumption. Therefore, the enhancement of UE power saving is extremely important for the success of 5G / NR. In Rel-16, several useful power saving schemes are defined, including power saving signals / DCI as an extension to connected mode DRX (cDRX), additional adaptation for the maximum number of MIMO layers, SCell sleep behavior, and cross-slot scheduling as an extension to the BWP framework, RRM relaxation for power consumption in idle / non-active mode, and UE assistance information.

[0080] In Rel-17, additional enhancements are required to address the outstanding issues in Rel-16, including idle mode / non-active mode power consumption in NR SA deployments considering both eMBB UEs and Reduced Capability NR devices, connected mode power consumption in FR2 deployments, etc. One specific example is to consider and identify an extension to Rel-16 DCI-based power saving adaptation during the DRX active time for the active BWP, including reduction of PDCCH monitoring when C-DRX is set (RAN1).

[0081] Another power saving research item is related to XR specific power saving in RAN 1 and RAN 2. In particular, power saving techniques are being studied for XR (Augmented Reality) and include, for example, techniques to address XR service characteristics such as periodicity, multiple flows, jitter, latency, reliability, etc. One technique could be related to PDCCH monitoring enhancements. Further research items related to XR are related to XR specific capacity improvements in RAN 1 and RAN 2 and include the study of mechanisms that provide more efficient resource allocation and scheduling for XR service characteristics such as periodicity, multiple flows, jitter, latency, reliability, etc. Techniques could be related to SPS and CG enhancements as well as dynamic scheduling / grant enhancements.

[0082] Energy saving can be implemented in the UE including the following mechanisms: UE-specific BWP adaptation and use of dormant SCells (using DCI format 0_1 ​​(for UL) and DCI format 1_1 (for DL)), UE or UE group specific time domain adaptation by DRX using DCI format 2_6 TRS availability indication for IDLE / INACTIVE UEs with UE group specific CSI-RS / DCI format 2_7 and paging DCI-based PDCCH monitoring adaptation with PDCCH skipping and Search Space Set Group (SSSG) switching

[0083] <DCIベースのPDCCHスキップ> Briefly, PDCCH skipping realizes the concept that the UE skips monitoring the PDCCH (i.e., downlink control channel) for power saving on the UE side. For example, in an exemplary implementation discussed in 3GPP, PDCCH skipping is indicated to the UE by the gNB via DCI. Based on such DCI-based PDCCH skipping, the gNB can control this power saving mechanism and activate it, for example, when the UE has no data to transmit.

[0084] In one example, the DCI may indicate to the UE the amount of time during which it may skip PDCCH monitoring to save power, during which the UE does not expect to receive a PDCCH (e.g., DCI for uplink grants or downlink resource allocations).

[0085] In the following, one exemplary 5G NR compliant PDCCH skipping mechanism is described, however, it should be noted that the above-described PDCCH skipping mechanism is merely a specific example illustrating one possible implementation of the underlying concept of the PDCCH skipping mechanism, and the PDCCH skipping mechanism should not be considered limited to only this exemplary implementation.

[0086] In one exemplary 5G NR compliant implementation, DCI based PDCCH skipping is implemented in accordance with one or more of the definitions in 3GPP TS 38.213, e.g., section 10.4 of v17.1.0, "Search Space Set Group Switching and Skipping for PDCCH Monitoring", 3GPP TS 38.212, e.g., v17.1.0 and its sections 7.3.1.1.2, 7.3.1.1.3, 7.3.1.2.2, 7.3.1.2.3 (related to DCI formats 0_1, 0_2, 1_1, 1_2, respectively), and a future Rel. 17 version of 3GPP TS 38.331 (which defines the content of associated information elements such as PDCCH SkippingDurationList-r17).

[0087] In such an exemplary 5G NR compliant implementation, a set of Durations can be provided to the UE by the RRC information element PDCCHSkippingDurationList. According to this exemplary implementation (see 38.331), up to three values ​​can be defined per slot by the set of Durations, with different values ​​valid for different subcarrier spacings for each skip length, e.g. For 15kHz SCS, {1,2,3,…,20,30,40,50,60,80,100} are valid, For 30kHz SCS, {1,2,3,…,40,60,80,100,120,160,200} are valid, For 60kHz SCS, {1,2,3,…,80,120,160,200,240,320,400} are valid, For 120kHz SCS, {1,2,3,…,160,240,320,400,480,640,800} are valid, For 480kHz SCS, {4,8,12,…,640,960,1280,1600,1920,2560,3200} are valid, For 960kHz SCS, {8,16,24,…,1280,1920,2560,3200,3840,5120,6400} are valid.

[0088] The DCI indicates one length out of a set of lengths defined by PDCCHSkippingDurationList for which the UE may skip monitoring the PDCCH. The PDCCH Monitoring Adaptation field in one of DCI formats 0_1, 0_1, 1_1 and 1_2 (see 38.212) may contain, for example, 0, 1 or 2 bits depending on the number of lengths indicated by PDCCHSkippingDurationList, e.g., 1 bit if the UE is configured with only one length and 2 bits if the UE is configured with more than one length.

[0089] The UE may then read a 1-2 bit PDCCH monitoring adaptation field, which indicates no skip of PDCCH monitoring or skip of PDCCH monitoring depending on the indicated value. Details including one exemplary implementation are available from section 10.4 of TS 38.213, according to which PDCCH monitoring is performed in the following manner: For example, for a value of 0 or 00, do not skip PDCCH monitoring, or Skip PDCCH monitoring for the length provided by the first value in the set of lengths in PDCCHSkippingDurationList (e.g., value 1 or value 01), or Skip PDCCH monitoring for the duration provided by the second value in the set of lengths in PDCCHSkippingDurationList (e.g., value 10), or Skip PDCCH monitoring for the length provided by the third value (e.g., value 11) in the set of lengths in PDCCHSkippingDurationList; This shows that.

[0090] In this 5G NR compliant implementation, after the UE has been indicated that it can skip PDCCH monitoring, the UE can actually start skipping PDCCH monitoring at the beginning of the first slot after the last symbol of PDCCH reception that provides a DCI format with a PDCCH monitoring adaptation field.

[0091] <Further improvements> The above has provided a brief introduction to the considerations for UE power saving. The inventors have identified a need to support and improve UE power saving.

[0092] For this reason, the inventors have identified the possibility of providing improved power saving procedures for enabling power saving on the UE side. The present invention relates to different solutions and variants for such improved power saving procedures.

[0093] <Embodiment> In the following, UEs, base stations, and procedures for meeting these needs are described for new radio access technologies envisioned for 5G mobile communication systems, but may also be used in previous LTE mobile communication systems or future mobile communication systems. Various implementations and variations are described as well. The following disclosure is facilitated by, and may be based, for example, at least in part on, the discussion and insights set forth above.

[0094] In general, it should be noted that many assumptions have been made herein and will be made below in order to enable the principles underlying the present disclosure to be described in a clear, concise and understandable manner. However, these assumptions should be understood as merely examples made herein for the purpose of explanation, and they are not necessarily essential to the present invention, and therefore should not limit the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will realize that the principles of the following disclosure and the principles described in the claims can be applied in different scenarios and in ways not explicitly described herein.

[0095] Furthermore, some of the terms such as procedures, entities, layers, etc. used below are closely related to the terms used in the LTE / LTE-A system or the current 3GPP 5G standardization, but the specific terms used in the context of new radio access technologies for the next communication system have not yet been fully determined or may eventually be changed. Thus, the terms may be changed in the future without affecting the functionality of the embodiments. As a result, those skilled in the art recognize that the embodiments and their scope of protection should not be limited to the specific terms used illustratively in this specification lacking newer terms or terms to be finally agreed upon, but should be more broadly understood by the underlying functions and concepts of the solutions described in this disclosure of the present disclosure.

[0096] For example, a mobile station or mobile node or user terminal or user equipment (UE) is a physical entity (physical node) in a communication network. A node may have several functional entities. A functional entity refers to a software or hardware module that implements and / or provides a predefined set of functions to other functional entities of the same or another node or network. A node may have one or more interfaces that attach the node to a communication facility or medium that allows the node to communicate. Similarly, a network entity may have logical interfaces that attach a functional entity to a communication facility or medium that allows the node to communicate with other functional entities or corresponding nodes.

[0097] The term "base station" or "radio base station" in this specification refers to a physical entity in a communication network. Similar to a mobile station, a base station may have several functional entities. A functional entity refers to a software or hardware module that implements and / or provides a predefined set of functions to other functional entities of the same or another node or network. A physical entity performs several control tasks for a communication device, including one or more of scheduling and configuration. Note that the base station functionality and the communication device functionality may be integrated in a single device. For example, a mobile terminal may also implement the base station functionality for other terminals. The term used in LTE is eNB (or eNodeB), while the term currently used for 5G NR is gNB.

[0098] Communications between a UE and a base station are typically standardized and may be defined by different layers, such as PHY, MAC, RRC, etc. (see background discussion above).

[0099] Here, the expression "configured resources" is intended to cover periodic radio resources in either or both of the uplink and downlink. The term "periodic radio resources" as used herein is broadly understood to refer to radio resources (e.g. in the time and / or frequency domain) that occur periodically in time.

[0100] These "configured resources" (e.g., "periodic radio resources") can be pre-assigned to a UE (or multiple UEs) by a corresponding base station (a base station serving the UE), so that they are already configured and available to the UE and the base station, without the UE having to first request radio resources and the base station having to individually grant the resources. Accordingly, configured resources in the downlink can be used by the base station to transmit downlink data to the UE, and can also be referred to as semi-persistent (SPS) resources or SPS downlink resources. An exemplary implementation of such configured downlink resources has been described above with respect to SPS in 3GPP 5G. Also, configured resources in the uplink can be used by the UE to transmit uplink data to the base station, and can also be referred to as configured grants (CGs) or CG uplink grants. An exemplary implementation of such configured uplink resources has been described above with respect to CG in 3GPP 5G.

[0101] The term "skip" as used herein, for example in "skip a process", should be understood as not performing or continuing the process for a certain period (also called "length"). After the period has elapsed, the skipped process is automatically performed again without further instructions (for example, instructions from the base station). In other words, the process is resumed after being (only) temporarily stopped (after the skip period).

[0102] The term "continue" as used herein, for example in "continue processing" or "continue monitoring", should be understood as, for example, not stopping monitoring or not skipping. For example, the term "continue" can be understood as the opposite action of the term "skip" described above.

[0103] "Monitoring" or "monitoring" may be broadly understood as a process of attempting to decode possible candidates for receiving a DCI message, for example based on a particular format. Such decoding attempts are sometimes referred to as blind decoding.

[0104] The expression "search space set" can be broadly understood as a set of search spaces having multiple search spaces, each including one or more possible candidates for receiving a DCI message. For example, a "search space" is a grouping of various candidates having the same aggregation level but different formats of DCI messages. In turn, for example, a set of search spaces may include search spaces having different aggregation levels but associated with the same set of monitored time-frequency resources (e.g., the same CORESET). A specific exemplary implementation of a search space set is given by the 3GPP 5G NR standard, as described above.

[0105] The terms "monitoring opportunity", "downlink control channel monitoring opportunity", "PDCCH monitoring opportunity" and similar terms should be understood broadly as, for example, a time period (e.g., a set of one or more consecutive symbols) of a timeslot during which a UE is configured to monitor a corresponding downlink control channel (e.g., a PDCCH, e.g., according to a PDCCH candidate). For example, the UE determines a monitoring opportunity for each search space and search space set configured for the UE.

[0106] The term "counter" can be understood broadly, for example, as the act of counting the number of specific occurrences. Also, in the context of counting, the term "timer" can be used instead.

[0107] 8 shows a general and simplified exemplary block diagram of a user equipment (also referred to as a communication device) and a scheduling device (here assumed for the sake of illustration to be located in a base station such as an LTE eNB (aka ng-eNB) or a gNB in ​​5G NR). The UE and the eNB / gNB communicate with each other via (wireless) physical channels using their respective transceivers.

[0108] The communication device may include a transceiver and a processing circuit. The transceiver may include a receiver and a transmitter and / or may function as a receiver and a transmitter. The processing circuit may be one or more hardware, such as, for example, one or more processors or any LSI. There is an input / output point (or node) between the transceiver and the processing circuit, through which the processing circuit can control the transceiver during operation, i.e., control the receiver and / or the transmitter to exchange receive / transmit data. The transceiver may include an RF (radio frequency) front, including one or more antennas, amplifiers, and RF modulators / demodulators, as a transmitter and receiver. The processing circuit may perform control tasks, such as, for example, controlling the transceiver to transmit user data and control data provided by the processing circuit and / or to receive user data and control data that are further processed by the processing circuit. In addition, the processing circuit may be responsible for performing other processes, such as, for example, judgment, decision, calculation, measurement, etc. The transmitter may be responsible for performing the process of transmission and other processes related thereto. The receiver may be responsible for performing the process of reception and other processes related thereto, such as monitoring the channel.

[0109] Various solutions of the improved power saving procedure are described below. In this connection, an improved UE, an improved base station and an improved integrated circuit are presented, which participate separately or together in the improved power saving procedure. Corresponding methods of the UE behavior and the base station behavior are also provided. The integrated circuit corresponds to the UE and the base station and their respective behaviors.

[0110] In summary, according to a first solution, an improved power saving procedure is presented, in which the UE is instructed to skip SPS configuration and / or CG related processing.

[0111] According to a second solution, an improved power saving procedure is presented, which extends the control channel monitoring skip procedure to also allow the UE to be instructed to skip either or both of the SPS configuration and CG related processes.

[0112] According to a third solution, an improved power saving procedure is presented, which makes it possible to instruct the UE to activate or deactivate either or both of the SPS configuration and the CG.

[0113] According to a fourth solution, an improved power saving procedure is presented that makes it possible to instruct the UE to switch one or both of the currently used SPS configuration and CG.

[0114] According to a fifth solution, an improved power saving procedure is presented that extends the Search Space Set (SSS) group switching procedure to enable the UE to be instructed to switch either or both of the currently used SPS configuration and / or CG.

[0115] According to the sixth solution, an improved power saving procedure is presented that makes it possible to achieve a synergistic effect by combining two or more or all of the first to fifth solutions.

[0116] <First solution: SPS / CG skip> As briefly mentioned in the summary above, the present disclosure presents an improved power saving procedure in which the UE is instructed to skip either or both of the SPS configuration and CG related processing.

[0117] Fig. 9 shows a simplified exemplary UE structure according to one exemplary implementation of the improved power saving procedure of the first solution, which may be implemented based on the general UE structure described in relation to Fig. 8. The various structural elements of the UE shown in this Fig. 9 may be interconnected with each other, e.g., by corresponding input / output nodes (not shown), e.g., for exchanging control and user data and other signals. Although not shown for illustrative purposes, the UE may include further structural elements.

[0118] As is evident from Fig. 9, the UE may include a configured resource skip indication receiver and a configured resource skip circuit. According to this first solution, the skip circuit may participate in skipping one or more of the CG-related processing and the SPS-related processing. In this context, the CG-related processing is processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants, and the SPS-related processing is processing related to one or more SPS downlink resource configurations.

[0119] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the UE receiver may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following from the base station: receive a configuration resource skip indication; receive downlink data; receive downlink control information; receive association and configuration messages; etc.

[0120] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the processing circuitry of the UE may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of: skip processing within a period; determine when to initiate a skip operation; determine a configured resource skip period; determine an SPS downlink resource configuration to skip; determine a configured uplink resource grant to skip; etc.

[0121] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the transmitter of the UE may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following to the base station: transmit uplink data, transmit uplink control information related to reception feedback, etc.

[0122] One exemplary procedure, disclosed in further more detail below, is implemented by a UE including: a receiver receiving a set resource skip indication from a base station; skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and This instructs the device to perform one or more of the following operations.

[0123] The UE includes a processing circuit configured to skip one or more operations during a configured resource skip period in response to the received configured resource skip instruction.

[0124] A corresponding exemplary method includes steps performed by a UE, comprising: receiving a configuration resource skip instruction from the base station, the configuration resource skip instruction being skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and and instructing the device to perform one or more of the operations of skipping one or more processes during a configuration resource skip period in response to the received configuration resource skip instruction.

[0125] A sequence diagram corresponding to an exemplary UE behavior along the UE and UE method discussed above is shown in Fig. 10. As can be seen from Fig. 10, the UE receives a configured resource skip indication, and performs a process of skipping UE processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants and skipping UE processing related to one or more SPS downlink resource configurations during a corresponding skip period. Although Fig. 10 exemplarily assumes that the configured resource skip indication instructs skipping both CG-related UE processing and SPS-related UE processing, it is also possible that the configured resource skip indication instructs skipping only one of the CG-related UE processing and the SPS-related UE processing.

[0126] Although not shown in Figure 10, the UE may resume the skipped UE procedure after the skipped period. For example, after the skipped period ends, the UE may resume from the skipped UE procedure, the CG-related UE procedure, or the SPS-related UE procedure.

[0127] Thus, the improved power saving procedure described above achieves the above-mentioned objectives and overcomes at least some of the above-mentioned disadvantages, in particular by allowing the UE to save power by not performing certain UE processing.

[0128] Some example implementations of the improved power saving procedure also involve the base station to which the UE is currently connected (e.g., referred to as the serving base station because the base station serves the UE). Correspondingly, the improved power saving procedure also provides for improved base stations to participate therein.

[0129] Fig. 11 shows a simplified exemplary base station structure according to one exemplary implementation of the improved power saving procedure of the first solution, which can be implemented based on the general base station structure described in relation to Fig. 8. The various structural elements of the base station shown in this Fig. 11 can be interconnected with each other, for example by corresponding input / output nodes (not shown), for example for exchanging control and user data as well as other signals. Although not shown for illustrative purposes, the base station may include further structural elements.

[0130] As can be seen from Fig. 11, the base station includes a configuration resource skip indication transmitter and a configuration resource skip circuit. According to this first solution, the skip circuit can participate in skipping one or more of the CG-related processing and the SPS-related processing in the base station.

[0131] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the base station receiver may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following: receive uplink data from the UE, receive uplink control information related to reception feedback, etc.

[0132] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the processing circuitry of the base station may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following: skipping BS processing corresponding to UE processing skipped by the UE, determining a configured resource skip period, continuing BS processing, determining an SPS downlink resource configuration to be skipped, determining a configured uplink resource grant to be skipped, etc.

[0133] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the base station transmitter may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following to the UE: send a configuration resource skip indication, send downlink data, send downlink control information, send association and configuration messages, etc.

[0134] One exemplary procedure, disclosed in further more detail below, is implemented by a base station including: a transmitter sending a set resource skip indication to a user equipment (UE). The set resource skip indication is sent when the UE skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and This instructs the device to perform one or more of the following operations.

[0135] The base station includes a processing circuit that, in response to the transmitted configuration resource skip instruction, skips performing base station processing corresponding to one or more processes skipped by the UE during the configuration resource skip period.

[0136] A corresponding method includes steps performed by a base station, comprising: sending a configuration resource skip indication to a user equipment (UE), the configuration resource skip indication being skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and and instructing the device to perform one or more of the operations of In response to the transmitted configuration resource skip instruction, the base station processing circuitry includes a step of skipping performing base station processing corresponding to one or more processes skipped by the UE during the configuration resource skip period.

[0137] A sequence diagram corresponding to an exemplary base station operation in accordance with the base station and corresponding method discussed above is shown in Figure 12. This sequence diagram illustrates an exemplary simplified implementation of the base station method presented above.

[0138] Figure 13 shows a simplified example interaction between an improved UE and an improved base station (here, for example, a gNB) of the improved power saving procedure of the first solution discussed above. In this solution presented in Figure 13, the interaction first includes sending a configuration resource skip indication from the base station to the UE. Then, according to the configuration resource skip indication, the UE skips CG-related and SPS-related UE processes, and the base station (here, for example, shown in Figure 13 as a gNB) skips CG-related and SPS-related BS processes.

[0139] As with Figure 10, Figures 12 and 13 illustratively assume that a configuration resource skip instruction causes the UE and BS to skip both CG-related processing and SPS-related processing, but it is also possible for the configuration resource skip instruction to cause the UE and BS to skip only one of the CG-related processing and the SPS-related processing.

[0140] In the following, more specific implementations and variations of the operation of the first solution discussed above are described. The description is mainly presented from the UE side, but the corresponding description also applies to the base station side. In order to realize energy saving on the UE side, different solutions are presented.

[0141] Exemplarily, assume that the UE is configured with SPS resources in the downlink based on a corresponding SPS downlink resource configuration, such as the RRC IE SPS-Config used in the implementation compliant with the 5G NR standard mentioned above. The base station then configures periodic downlink resources (also called periodic downlink opportunities, since downlink data transmissions may occur) that can be used to transmit downlink data to the UE. The configuration of SPS resources in the downlink typically involves the UE and the BS performing certain processing related to the SPS configuration. Such SPS-related processing may, for example, involve the UE monitoring downlink resources according to the corresponding SPS configuration to be able to receive downlink data from the BS, and may also, for example, involve transmitting transmission feedback (such as HARQ ACK or NACK) for downlink data transmitted by the BS using the monitored downlink resources of the corresponding SPS configuration, and may also, for example, involve monitoring a downlink control channel (e.g., PDCCH) for downlink control information (e.g., DCI) related to deactivation of an already activated SPS configuration and activation of a currently deactivated SPS configuration.

[0142] The BS performs SPS-related BS processing related to the UE side, which includes: the BS using downlink resources according to a corresponding SPS configuration to transmit downlink data to the UE; the BS monitoring uplink resources so as to receive transmission feedback (such as HARQ ACK or NACK) for the downlink data transmitted by the BS using the monitored downlink resources of the corresponding SPS configuration; and the base station sending downlink control information on a downlink control channel for deactivation or activation of the SPS configuration.

[0143] Other SPS-related processing other than that listed here may also be performed in the UE and BS.

[0144] Additionally or alternatively, it is exemplarily assumed that the UE is configured with CG resources in the uplink based on a corresponding CG grant, such as the configuration grant used in an implementation compliant with the 5G NR standard described above. The first solution is applicable to Type 1 and Type 2 CGs of the 5G NR standard. Therein, periodic uplink resources (also called periodic uplink data opportunities, since they represent opportunities for the UE to transmit uplink data) that the UE can use to transmit uplink data to the base station are configured.

[0145] The configuration of CGs in the uplink involves the UE and the BS performing certain processing related to these CG grants, which may involve, for example, the UE transmitting uplink data using the uplink resources of these CGs, and may also involve, for example, the UE monitoring for reception of transmission feedback (such as HARQ ACK or NACK) from the BS for uplink data transmitted using the resources of these CGs, and may also involve, for example, monitoring a downlink control channel (e.g., PDCCH) for downlink control information (e.g., DCI) related to the deactivation of already activated CGs and the activation of currently deactivated CGs.

[0146] The BS performs CG-related BS processing corresponding to the UE side, including the base station monitoring the uplink resources of the CG to enable reception of uplink data, the base station sending transmission feedback (such as HARQ ACK or NACK) to the UE for uplink data transmitted by the UE using these CG resources, and the base station sending downlink control information regarding activation or deactivation of the CG to the downlink control channel.

[0147] CG-related processing other than that listed here may also be performed in the UE and BS.

[0148] According to a general implementation of the above first solution, the UE and the BS skip the corresponding SPS-related process and the CG-related process, respectively. According to an exemplary implementation of the first solution, the skipped SPS-related process includes: skipping monitoring downlink resources for receiving downlink data from a base station according to one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; skipping transmitting uplink control information to a base station regarding reception feedback for downlink data received in accordance with the one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; may include one or more of the following:

[0149] According to an exemplary implementation of the first solution, the skipped CG-related processing is: skipping monitoring a downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station regarding reception feedback for uplink data transmitted by the UE using the uplink resources in response to one or more configured uplink resource grants; skipping transmitting uplink data to a base station using uplink resources in response to one or more configured uplink resource grants; may include one or more of the following:

[0150] In response, the UE can save power by skipping these operations for certain periods of time.

[0151] According to another exemplary implementation, the processes skipped by the UE and the BS in response to the configuration resource skip instruction may additionally include one or more processes related to SPS configuration and CG activation / deactivation. For example, the UE skips monitoring a downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station related to an SPS configuration or deactivation of a CG, and · The UE skips monitoring the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station related to SPS configuration or CG activation.

[0152] In response, the BS also skips sending downlink control information to the UE via the downlink control channel for SPS configuration or CG activation or deactivation, since the BS knows that the UE does not monitor the downlink control channel.

[0153] The amount of power that can be saved by the improved power saving procedures can be controlled by the procedures that the UE and base station skip.

[0154] The above skip operations can all be performed by the UE, thus achieving significant power savings. However, in other implementations, not all skip operations need to be performed by the UE. Rather, one or some of the skip operations can be performed by the UE, while the inverse operations for each skip operation that was not performed are performed. These inverse operations are as follows: continuing to monitor downlink resources for receiving downlink data from the base station in accordance with the one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; continue transmitting uplink data to the base station using the uplink resources in accordance with the one or more configured uplink resource grants; continue to send uplink control information to the base station regarding reception feedback for the downlink data received in accordance with the one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; continue to monitor a downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station regarding reception feedback for uplink data transmitted by the UE using the uplink resources in response to the one or more configured uplink resource grants; Continue to monitor the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station related to the SPS configuration or deactivation of the CG; and ·Continue to monitor the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station related to SPS configuration or CG activation.

[0155] In the implementation of the first solution, it is described that the UE and the base station skip performing certain processing during the skip period. According to a further exemplary implementation, the UE and the base station can determine when to start the above skip operation. There are several possibilities.

[0156] According to one possibility, the skip operation starts from the beginning of a timeslot after the timeslot where the configuration resource skip indication was received. For example, assume that the configuration resource skip indication is received in a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message via a downlink control channel (e.g., PDCCH) in a symbol of slot 0 of subframe 1. The UE and BS may start the skip operation from the immediately following slot, e.g., slot 1 of the same subframe 1 (or slot 0 of the immediately following subframe if subframe 1 only has slot 0).

[0157] According to another possibility, the skip operation is delayed, after which the UE and the BS initiate the skip operation. In one variant for SPS-related processing, the skip delay may correspond to the number of N SPS downlink resource opportunities provided by the respective SPS downlink resource configuration. Thus, the downlink resource opportunities are periodic in time, and thus the skip delay allows the base station in these N SPS opportunities to transmit data to the UE before skipping the subsequent downlink resource opportunity during the skip period.

[0158] According to another variation on the CG related processing, the skip delay may correspond to the N configured uplink resources provided by each configured uplink resource grant, such that the uplink resource opportunities are periodic in time and thus the skip delay allows the UE to use these N uplink resource opportunities before skipping a subsequent uplink resource opportunity during the skip period.

[0159] As before, after the skip delay, the skip operation is performed for the skip length.

[0160] The skip delay can be determined in different ways. For example, the skip delay can be fixed between the UE and the base station, e.g. defined by the operating system of the UE or the base station (e.g. according to 3GPP standards) and fixed by the network operator. According to another option, the skip delay can be configured by the base station in the UE, e.g. via RRC. As yet another option, the skip delay can be dynamically indicated in the configuration resource skip indication, e.g. by including a corresponding value or index for the skip delay.

[0161] According to yet another exemplary implementation, the UE and the base station can decide when to end the skip operation. In one exemplary implementation, the configured resource skip duration is expressed in time slots of a subframe. Thus, in one implementation, the end of the skip operation depends on the start of the skip operation and may be different from the end of the slot, for example. Another option is to stop the skip operation at the end of the slot, where the skip length ends, in particular if the start of the skip operation is in the middle of a slot (see, for example, the above solution using skip delay).

[0162] Thus, the set resource skip operation is performed for a certain period of time. This skip length can be implemented in different ways. For example, the skip length can be fixed between the UE and the base station, for example as defined by the operating system of the UE or the base station (for example according to the 3GPP standard), or it can be fixed by the network operator. According to another option, the set resource skip length can be configurable by the base station in the UE, for example via RRC. As yet another option, the set resource skip length can be dynamically indicated in the set resource skip indication, for example by including a corresponding value or index for the skip length.

[0163] According to a further variant, the configured resource skip length can be the same for all SPS downlink resource configurations respectively configured uplink resource grants. According to another variant, the configured resource skip length can be different for different SPS downlink resource configurations and can be different for different configured uplink resource grants. In other words, the configured resource skip length is SPS configuration-specific and CG-specific, so that the UE and the base station respectively take into account the specific SPS downlink resource configuration to skip and take into account the specific CG to skip when determining the configured resource skip length.

[0164] According to these variations, the skip length can be specific to a particular SPS / CG configuration, allowing for more flexible control of the amount of power that can be saved. In one variation, the skip length can depend on the periodicity of the periodic resources. As an example, for an SPS configuration having periodic downlink resources with a longer periodicity, a longer SPS skip length can be defined to achieve higher power savings. Conversely, for an SPS configuration having downlink resources with a shorter periodicity, a shorter SPS skip length can be defined to achieve sufficient power savings.

[0165] This facilitates the base station to achieve an appropriate trade-off between power saving gains and service latency depending on, for example, traffic inter-arrival times, service requirements, and other traffic characteristics.

[0166] According to another variant, instead of being specified as a configuration-specific set resource skip length for the corresponding SPS / CG configuration, it can also be specified as a configuration-specific set resource skip length for a reception success feedback process that handles reception success feedback for downlink data (SPS configuration) individually and for uplink data (CG). In particular, a retransmission protocol is usually implemented between the UE and the base station to improve the reliability of data transmission by causing retransmission of uplink / downlink data when the previous data transmission was not successful. One example of such a retransmission protocol is Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ). The retransmission protocol is usually built by separate processes with process IDs (in the case of HARQ, they are called HARQ processes with separate HARQ process IDs) that handle feedback and retransmission for separate data transmissions. Accordingly, the retransmission protocol process also handles uplink data transmitted based on periodic CG uplink resources and downlink data transmitted based on periodic SPS downlink resources. This allows the UE and the base station to also take into account the retransmission protocol process that is known on both the UE side and the base station side when determining the configuration resource skip length.

[0167] As an example, the gNB may configure different skip lengths for different HARQ process IDs of SPS or CG. For some HARQ process IDs, the skip length may be longer than others. In this way, the gNB can selectively control the skip length depending on the traffic transmitted in different HARQ processes. For higher priority traffic with lower latency requirements, the gNB can transmit in the SPS PDSCH with a HARQ process with a shorter skip. Similarly, on the UE side, the UE can transmit higher priority traffic in the CG PUSCH with a HARQ process with a shorter skip length.

[0168] In the implementation of the first solution above, the configuration resource skip procedure is described as skipping one or more SPS configurations individually and one or more CGs. The following exemplary variant shows details of which specific SPS configurations and which specific CGs can be skipped.

[0169] The UE and base station may communicate based on one or more active SPS configurations and one or more active CGs, and in one exemplary implementation, the UE and base station skip all active SPS configurations and active CGs, thereby achieving significant power savings.

[0170] In another exemplary implementation, the UE and the base station skip some, but not all, of the active SPS configuration individuals and active CGs, and accordingly, the UE and the base station need to determine whether to skip one or more SPS configuration individuals and CGs among all possible SPS configuration individuals and CGs.

[0171] Therefore, by skipping only some SPS configurations / CGs, a trade-off between power saving and maintaining low service latency can be achieved.

[0172] The control of which one or more individual SPS configurations and whether the CG is skipped may be performed, for example, by the base station. In response, the base station may provide appropriate information in a configuration resource skip indication to the UE. The notification to the UE may be implemented in different ways.

[0173] For example, the information included in the configuration resource skip indication can be a bitmap. The SPS-related bitmap has enough bits to map one bit each to one SPS configuration to be skipped. Each bit indicates whether to skip the associated SPS configuration. For example, a bit value of 0 indicates not to skip the associated SPS configuration, while a bit value of 1 indicates to skip the associated SPS configuration.

[0174] Following similar principles as presented for the SPS-related bitmap above, a separate CG-related bitmap can be provided to identify which configured uplink resource grants should be skipped.

[0175] Such a bitmap allows for great flexibility in indicating which SPS / CGs to skip, but may require a large number of bits to properly distinguish between all possible SPS configurations / CGs.

[0176] According to a further example, the information included in the configuration resource skip indication can be a group index. The SPS-related group index identifies one or more of the possible SPS configurations to be skipped. In this regard, the UE and the base station have an association that enables identifying one or more associated SPS configurations from the received SPS-related group index. As an example, the SPS-related group index association can be configured by the base station in the UE, for example, using a message of the RRC protocol. The configuration resource skip indication can include one or more SPS-related group indexes.

[0177] Following similar principles as presented for SPS-related group indexes above, one or more CG-related group indexes can be provided to identify which configured uplink resource grants should be skipped. Again, the configured resource skip indication can include one or more CG-related group indexes. Also, the mapping of CG-related group indexes can be used in the UE and the base station, and can be configured in the UE by the base station, for example, using a message of the RRC protocol.

[0178] The use of such group indices may reduce the flexibility as to which SPS configurations or groups of SPS configurations can be indicated to be skipped, and similarly may reduce the flexibility as to which CGs or groups of CGs can be indicated to be skipped, however the use of group indices and corresponding mappings may reduce the number of bits that need to be transmitted between the base station and the UE in an improved power saving procedure.

[0179] In addition to the bitmap-based and group index-based variations described above, the following presents a further variation on how the base station can instruct the UE as to which SPS configuration individual and CG can be skipped. This additional variation is based on the use of a priority threshold. In this regard, it is exemplarily assumed that each SPS configuration individual and CG has a priority, which can be compared to the priority threshold described above in determining which SPS configuration individual and CG are skipped.

[0180] According to one example, the priorities of all SPS configurations can be compared to a priority threshold, and SPS configurations whose priorities are equal to or less than the priority threshold are identified as SPS configurations to be skipped, whereas SPS configurations whose priorities are greater than the priority threshold are not skipped by the UE and base station.

[0181] In one exemplary variation, the priority threshold is determined by the base station, thereby controlling the amount of power savings the base station achieves. For example, by setting a high priority threshold, more SPS configurations are skipped, thereby increasing power savings. By setting a lower priority threshold, fewer SPS configurations are skipped, thereby achieving less power savings.

[0182] According to one example, the priorities of all CGs can be compared to a priority threshold and CGs whose priorities are equal to or less than the priority threshold are identified as CGs to be skipped, whereas CGs whose priorities are greater than the priority threshold are not skipped by the UE and base station.

[0183] In one exemplary variation, the priority threshold is determined by the base station, thereby controlling the amount of power savings that the base station achieves. For example, by setting a high priority threshold, more CGs are skipped, thereby increasing power savings. By setting a lower priority threshold, fewer CGs are skipped, thereby achieving less power savings.

[0184] It is possible to use the same priority threshold for the SPS and the CG, or to use different priority thresholds.

[0185] Accordingly, the determined priority threshold may be indicated by the base station in a configure resource skip indication, for example by setting the value of the priority threshold in an appropriate field of the configure resource skip indication.

[0186] According to another exemplary variant, instead of explicitly indicating the priority threshold in the configuration resource skip indication, the priority threshold can also be implicitly determined and signaled to the UE. For example, when the SPS / CG skip procedure and the control channel monitoring skip procedure are used in combination, the priority threshold can be determined using a monitoring skip period during which the UE can skip downlink control channel monitoring. For example, a relationship or formula can be used to calculate the priority threshold from the monitoring skip time period. As an example, the relationship is such that the longer the indicated monitoring skip period, the lower the priority threshold.

[0187] Note that one difference between the first solution and the second solution described later is that in the first solution, the configuration resource skip indication is separate from a monitoring skip indication that may indicate that the UE can skip monitoring the downlink control channel. For example, in the first solution, the configuration resource skip indication can be transmitted by the base station in the same downlink control signal (DCI) as the monitoring skip indication, but is transmitted separately (e.g., in a field of another DCI). Alternatively, the configuration resource skip indication can be transmitted separately, e.g., in another downlink control signal (DCI), such that the monitoring skip indication is received via one DCI and the configuration resource skip indication is received via another DCI.

[0188] Correspondingly, an improved power saving procedure, which allows the UE and the base station to skip SPS-related and / or CG-related processing, can be applied separately from other power saving procedures based on the monitoring skip procedure (e.g., the above-mentioned PDCCH skip in the 5G NR standard). For this purpose, additional signaling related to the SPS / CG skip procedure of the first solution needs to be defined and transmitted.

[0189] On the other hand, as will be described in the second solution below, a configuration resource skip instruction is implemented to become a monitoring skip instruction, and a monitoring skip instruction is implemented to become a configuration resource skip instruction.

[0190] <Second solution - Extended PDCCH monitoring skip procedure> As briefly mentioned in the overview above, this disclosure presents an improved power saving procedure that extends the control channel monitoring skip procedure to instruct the UE to skip either or both of the SPS configuration and CG related processing. This second solution can be implemented separately and independently from the other solutions such as the first, third, fourth and fifth solutions.

[0191] On the other hand, this second solution also implements an SPS / CG skip procedure as already explained with respect to the first solution above, but rather than a standalone SPS / CG skip procedure as in the first solution, this second solution combines the SPS / CG skip procedure (of the first solution) with a control channel monitoring skip procedure (such as PDCCH skipping as standardized for 3GPP 5G NR).

[0192] As a result, many aspects of the second solution are the same as those presented in the first solution, and to avoid repetition, those same aspects will not be described in detail. Rather, reference is made to the above description for the first solution.

[0193] Furthermore, the following description focuses on an important aspect of this second solution, which is that it can combine the above-mentioned SPS / CG skip procedure (of the first solution) with the control channel monitoring skip procedure.

[0194] In the following, a simplified exemplary implementation of the control channel monitoring skip procedure as currently used in the prior art is presented. Briefly, the base station may control when and how long the UE can skip monitoring the downlink control channel for receiving downlink control information from the base station. To this end, the base station may send a monitoring skip indication to the UE, indicating that the UE can skip monitoring the downlink control channel during the monitoring skip period. In one example, the monitoring skip period may be indicated within the monitoring skip indication. The base station may determine the length of the monitoring skip period and include appropriate information regarding the length in the monitoring skip indication.

[0195] A more detailed example implementation of such a control channel monitoring skip procedure may be the same as or similar to a PDCCH skip procedure as defined in the 3GPP standards for 5G NR. A brief description of such a 3GPP 5G NR PDCCH skip procedure is provided above. Accordingly, PDCCH monitoring opportunities are skipped by the UE.

[0196] Figure 14 shows a simplified exemplary UE structure according to one exemplary implementation of the improved power saving procedure of the second solution, which may be implemented based on the general UE structure described in relation to Figure 8. The various structural elements of the UE shown in this Figure 14 may be interconnected with each other, e.g., by corresponding input / output nodes (not shown), e.g., for exchanging control and user data and other signals. Although not shown for illustrative purposes, the UE may include further structural elements.

[0197] As is clear from Fig. 14, the UE may include a monitoring skip indication receiver, a configuration resource skip circuit, and a control channel monitoring skip circuit. According to this second solution, the configuration resource skip circuit can participate in skipping one or more of the CG-related processing and the SPS-related processing. Furthermore, the control channel monitoring skip circuit can participate in skipping monitoring the downlink control channel.

[0198] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the UE receiver may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following: receive monitoring skip indications, receive downlink data, receive downlink control information, receive association and configuration messages from the base station, etc.

[0199] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the processing circuitry of the UE may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following: skip processing during an interval; determine when to initiate a skip operation; determine a configured resource skip period; determine an SPS downlink resource configuration to be skipped; determine configured uplink resource grants to skip; skip monitoring the downlink control channel; and appropriately interpret a received monitoring skip indication.

[0200] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the transmitter of the UE may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following: transmit uplink data to the base station, transmit uplink control information related to reception feedback, etc.

[0201] One exemplary procedure, disclosed in further more detail below, is implemented by a UE including: a receiver receiving a monitoring skip indication in a downlink control signal from a base station, and a processing circuit in the UE interpreting the received monitoring skip indication as a configured resource skip indication and a monitoring skip indication.

[0202] The monitoring skip indication indicates that the UE can skip monitoring the downlink control channel during the monitoring skip period, and the processing circuitry, in response to the monitoring skip indication, skips monitoring the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station during the monitoring skip period.

[0203] A monitoring skip indication that is interpreted as a configuration resource skip indication is skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and This instructs the device to perform one or more of the following operations.

[0204] The processing circuitry, in response to the interpreted configured resource skip indication, skips one or more operations during a configured resource skip period.

[0205] The second solution also provides a corresponding method performed by the UE. A sequence diagram of an exemplary UE behavior along with the UE and UE method discussed above is shown in FIG. 15. As is clear from FIG. 15, the UE receives only one indication, exemplarily named monitoring skip indication in this disclosure, but the UE interprets this indication as both a monitoring skip indication and a configuration resource skip indication. In response to the received indications, the UE behaves according to the two interpretations. More specifically, in response to the interpreted monitoring skip indication, the UE skips monitoring the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station during the monitoring skip period. Furthermore, in response to the interpreted configuration resource skip indication, the UE skips CG-related processing and SPS-related processing during the respective skip periods.

[0206] In FIG. 15, it is illustratively assumed that both the CG-related UE processing and the SPS-related UE processing are skipped, but it is also possible that only one of the CG-related UE processing and the SPS-related UE processing is skipped.

[0207] Although not shown in FIG. 15, the UE may resume the skipped UE processing after a skip period and may resume monitoring the downlink control channel after a monitoring skip period.

[0208] Thus, the improved power saving procedure achieves the above-mentioned objectives and overcomes at least some of the above-mentioned drawbacks. In particular, the UE can achieve power savings since it does not perform constant UE processing. Furthermore, by combining the two power saving procedures, more power savings can be achieved at the UE. Also, signaling overhead can be reduced since only one indication is sent from the base station to the UE to trigger both power saving procedures.

[0209] Some example implementations of the improved power saving procedure of this second solution also involve the base station to which the UE is currently connected (e.g., the base station is serving the UE and therefore is referred to as the serving base station). Correspondingly, the improved power saving procedure also provides for improved base stations to participate therein.

[0210] Fig. 16 shows a simplified exemplary base station structure according to one exemplary implementation of the improved power saving procedure, which may be implemented based on the general base station structure described in relation to Fig. 8. The various structural elements of the base station shown in this Fig. 16 may be interconnected with each other, e.g., by corresponding input / output nodes (not shown), e.g., for exchanging control and user data and other signals. Although not shown for illustrative purposes, the base station may include further structural elements.

[0211] As can be seen from Fig. 16, the base station comprises a monitoring skip indication transmitter, a configuration resource skip circuit, and a control channel transmission skip circuit. According to this second solution, the configuration resource skip circuit can participate in skipping one or more CG-related processes and SPS-related processes in the base station. Furthermore, the control channel transmission skip circuit can participate in skipping transmissions in the downlink control channel.

[0212] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the base station receiver may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following: receive uplink data and uplink control information related to reception feedback, etc. from the UE.

[0213] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the processing circuitry of the base station may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following: skipping BS processing corresponding to UE processing skipped by the UE, continuing BS processing, determining an SPS downlink resource configuration to be skipped, determining a configured uplink resource grant to be skipped, determining a monitoring skip period, etc.

[0214] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the base station transmitter may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following: send monitoring skip indications, send downlink data, send downlink control information, send association and configuration messages to the UE, etc.

[0215] One exemplary procedure, disclosed in further more detail below, is implemented by a base station including: a transmitter sends a monitoring skip indication to a user equipment (UE) in a downlink control signal to the UE, and a processing circuit interprets the monitoring skip indication as a configuration resource skip indication and a monitoring skip indication.

[0216] The monitoring skip indication indicates that the UE can skip monitoring the downlink control channel during the monitoring skip time, and the processing circuitry, in response to the monitoring skip indication, skips transmitting downlink control information to the UE via the downlink control channel during the monitoring skip time.

[0217] A monitoring skip indication that is interpreted as a configuration resource skip indication is skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and This instructs the device to perform one or more of the following operations.

[0218] In response to the interpreted configuration resource skip instruction, the processing circuitry skips base station operations corresponding to one or more operations skipped on the UE side during a configuration resource skip period.

[0219] The second solution also provides a corresponding method performed by the base station. A sequence diagram corresponding to an exemplary base station operation along the base station and corresponding method discussed above is shown in Figure 17. This sequence diagram shows an exemplary simplified implementation of the base station method presented above.

[0220] In Fig. 17, it is assumed that the BS skips both the CG-related BS process and the SPS-related BS process by the setting resource skip instruction, as in Fig. 15. However, it is also possible to cause the BS to skip only one of the CG-related BS process and the SPS-related BS process by the setting resource skip instruction.

[0221] In the following, more specific implementations and variants of the operation of the second solution discussed above are described. The description is mainly presented from the UE side, but the corresponding description can be applied to the base station side. In order to realize energy saving on the UE side, different solutions are presented.

[0222] The second solution, like the first solution, can make assumptions including the configuration of SPS resources based on one or more SPS downlink resource configurations such as RRCIESPS-Config. Thus, the base station can transmit downlink data to the UE using the active SPS configuration. This again involves the UE performing SPS-related UE processing and the BS performing SPS-related BS processing. Details have already been described for the first solution.

[0223] Or alternatively, as assumed for the first solution, it is exemplarily assumed that the UE is configured with CG uplink resources based on the corresponding CG. Thus, the UE can transmit uplink data to the base station using periodic uplink resources provided by one or more active CGs. This again involves the UE performing CG-related UE processing and the BS performing CG-related BS processing. Details have already been described for the first solution.

[0224] As already hinted at, the second solution is based on the idea of ​​combining a configuration resource skip indication as described in the first solution above with a monitoring skip indication (one simple broad example is described above, another detailed example is defined by the 3GPP standard). Such a combined indication is exemplarily referred to below as a "combined skip indication".

[0225] By reusing the monitoring skip indication already available from the prior art, the need for new definitions and procedure agreements within 3GPP in this respect can be mitigated since existing procedures can be reused. For example, DCI formats 0_1, 0_2, 1_1 and 1_2 are already defined to carry the PDCCH monitoring adaptation field as a monitoring skip indication to indicate one of the different skip length values ​​defined by RRC, in particular by the RRC information element PDCCHSkippingDurationList.

[0226] According to the second solution, a monitor skip indication field is used to indicate whether to skip the SPS and / or CG as well as whether to skip the downlink control channel.

[0227] According to a particular exemplary implementation of this second solution, the UE may take one or more additional actions in response to the skip combining indication, as follows:

[0228] The UE may skip monitoring the downlink control channel as it normally would, for example by skipping monitoring monitoring opportunities for the downlink control channel, but with one or more of the following exceptions: continue to monitor the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station associated with the one or more configured uplink resource grants during the monitoring skip period; and During the monitoring skip period, continue to monitor the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station regarding one or more SPS downlink resource configurations.

[0229] In a more detailed and exemplary implementation, the exceptional action is: continuing to monitor a downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station related to received feedback for uplink data transmitted by the UE using the uplink resources in response to the one or more configured uplink resource grants during a monitoring skip period; continuing to monitor the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station related to deactivation of one or more uplink resource grants or one or more SPS downlink resource configurations during a monitoring skip period; continuing to monitor the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station related to activation of one or more configured uplink resource grants or one or more SPS downlink resource configurations during the monitoring skip period; and one or more of the following actions:

[0230] Alternatively, the UE may skip rather than exceptionally continuing to monitor the downlink control channel for downlink control information regarding reception feedback for uplink data transmitted using CG uplink resources, since the reception feedback is deemed unnecessary considering that the UE also skips transmission of uplink data using CG uplink resources in response to the combining skip indication (see below).

[0231] According to another exemplary and specific implementation, the above-mentioned continuing operation may be implemented to continue monitoring the corresponding downlink control channel monitoring opportunity (PDCCH monitoring opportunity) using the CS-RNTI for retransmission / implicit NACK of the active CG in the Type 3 PDCCH CSS and USS or other search space.

[0232] According to another exemplary and specific implementation, the above-mentioned continuing operation may be implemented to continue monitoring a monitoring opportunity (PDCCH monitoring opportunity) using a CS-RNTI for potential deactivation of a currently active SPS configuration or CG in a Type 3 PDCCH CSS and USS or other search space.

[0233] According to another exemplary and specific implementation, in the Type 3 PDCCH CSS and USS or other search space, the monitoring opportunity (PDCCH monitoring opportunity) may be continuously monitored using the CS-RNTI for the potential activation of the currently active SPS configuration or CG.

[0234] This allows SPS / CG related operations to be unaffected by PDCCH skipping, facilitating service continuity at the expense of a small amount of power savings.

[0235] In addition to the exceptional actions described above in response to a composite skip indication, the UE shall skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and Perform one or more of the following actions:

[0236] In a more detailed exemplary implementation, these skip operations are: skipping monitoring downlink resources for receiving downlink data from a base station according to one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; skipping monitoring a downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station regarding reception feedback for uplink data transmitted by the UE using the uplink resources in response to one or more configured uplink resource grants (see alternative above); skipping transmitting uplink data to a base station using uplink resources in response to one or more configured uplink resource grants; skipping sending uplink control information to a base station regarding reception feedback for downlink data received according to one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; and It can be one or more of:

[0237] Any of the above skip and continue actions may be performed by the UE. However, in other implementations, not all of these actions need to be performed by the UE. Rather, the UE may perform one or some of these actions, while for those actions that it does not perform, it may perform the inverse actions. These inverse actions are as follows: Continue to monitor downlink resources for receiving downlink data from the base station in accordance with one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; continue transmitting uplink data to the base station using the uplink resources in accordance with the one or more configured uplink resource grants; continue to send uplink control information to the base station regarding reception feedback for the downlink data received in accordance with the one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; continue to monitor a downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station regarding reception feedback for uplink data transmitted by the UE using the uplink resources in response to the one or more configured uplink resource grants; skipping monitoring the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station related to the SPS configuration or deactivation of the CG; and ·Skip monitoring the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station related to SPS configuration or CG activation.

[0238] Thus, the second solution is based on using a monitoring skip indication, which also indicates a configuration resource skip operation. For example, if the monitoring skip indication indicates to skip monitoring the downlink control channel, this is also interpreted as an indication to skip SPS or CG related processing.

[0239] According to one exemplary implementation of the second solution, the skip behavior (e.g., which one or more SPS-related processes to skip, and / or which one or more CG-related processes to skip, and / or which downlink control channel monitoring processes to skip) can be pre-configured between the UE and the base station. Therefore, when the UE receives the composite skip instruction, the UE knows which processes to skip and which processes to continue.

[0240] This preset can be defined as a default.

[0241] Or alternatively, this pre-configuration may be determined by the base station and then the UE may configure accordingly, for example based on configuration using the RRC protocol.

[0242] In the implementation of the second solution, it is described that the UE and the base station skip performing certain processing. According to a further exemplary implementation, the UE and the base station can decide when to start the skip operation. There are several possibilities for this, as already described in detail in the first solution.

[0243] In summary, according to one possibility, the skip operation is started from the beginning of a timeslot after the timeslot where the composite skip indication was received, as detailed for the first solution. According to another possibility, the skip operation is delayed and the UE and the BS start the skip operation after the delay, as detailed above for the first solution.

[0244] In this way, the configuration resource skip operation and the downlink control channel monitoring skip operation are performed for a specific period of time, which can be implemented in different ways.

[0245] In one exemplary implementation, the length indicated by the monitor skip instruction (e.g., one of PDCCHSkippingDurationList) is used as the monitor skip length and the configured resource skip length, which are the same length. This synchronizes the two power saving mechanisms and reuses existing fields and definitions from the monitor skip procedure.

[0246] In another exemplary implementation, the monitoring skip length and the configured resource skip length can be different from each other. For example, the monitoring skip length is explicitly indicated by the monitoring skip indication, but the configured resource skip length is determined differently by the UE. For the first solution, some variants for defining the configured resource skip length have already been presented, and these variants are also applicable to the second solution. In brief, the configured resource skip length can be fixed between the UE and the base station, or can be pre-configured in the UE by the base station, or can be directly indicated by other fields of the composite skip indication.

[0247] Additionally, and in a corresponding manner as already described for the first solution, the configured resource skip length can be the same for all SPS configurations and the same for all CGs, or the configured resource skip length for the SPS configurations can also be different for different SPS configurations and the configured resource skip length for the CGs can also be different for different CGs.

[0248] In yet another variant, the configured resource skip length is not specific to each SPS / CG configuration, but is specific to the retransmission protocol process, as detailed in the first solution above.

[0249] According to a further implementation, the UE and the base station can decide when to end said skipping operation, similarly as already described in the first solution above.

[0250] Further exemplary implementations of the second solution relate to the details of which specific SPS configurations and which specific CGs can be skipped. The corresponding embodiments have been described in detail according to the first solution and are equally applicable to this second solution. In brief, the UE and base station can skip all active SPS configurations and active CGs to achieve a large power gain.

[0251] Alternatively, the UE and base station may skip some, but not all, of the active SPS configurations and active CGs. This involves pre-determining in the UE and base station which SPS configurations and CGs are to be skipped. This pre-determination can be made, for example, by the base station, which is then also responsible for informing the UE.

[0252] The notification by the base station to the UE can be achieved according to several different implementations. As already detailed for the first solution, the UE may be notified based on a bitmap, based on one or more group indices, or based on the use of a priority threshold. The details on the bitmap, group indices and priority thresholds presented for the first solution are equally applicable for the second solution and will not be repeated here.

[0253] <Third solution - SPS / CG activation and deactivation procedures> As briefly mentioned in the above overview, the present disclosure discloses an improved power saving procedure that allows the UE to be instructed to activate or deactivate some SPS configurations and / or some CGs. For this third solution, similar assumptions can be made as for the first and second solutions, including in particular the configuration of SPS resources based on one or more SPS downlink resource configurations such as the RRC IESPS-Config. Thus, the base station can transmit downlink data to the UE using the active SPS configuration. Details have already been given for the first solution.

[0254] Or, alternatively, as assumed for the first solution, it is exemplarily assumed that the UE is configured with CG uplink resources based on the corresponding one or more CGs. Thus, the UE can transmit uplink data to the base station using periodic uplink resources provided by the one or more active CGs. Details have already been described for the first solution.

[0255] Figure 18 illustrates a simplified exemplary UE structure according to one exemplary implementation of the improved power saving procedure of the third solution, which may be implemented based on the general UE structure described in relation to Figure 8. The various structural elements of the UE illustrated in this Figure 18 may be interconnected with each other, e.g., by corresponding input / output nodes (not shown), e.g., for exchanging control and user data and other signals. Although not illustrated for purposes of illustration, the UE may include further structural elements.

[0256] As can be seen from FIG. 18, the UE may include an SPS activation / deactivation receiver, an SPS activation / deactivation circuit, a CG activation / deactivation receiver, and a CG activation / deactivation circuit.

[0257] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the UE receiver may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following from the base station: receiving an SPS activation instruction, receiving an SPS deactivation instruction, receiving a CG activation instruction, receiving a CG deactivation instruction, etc.

[0258] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the processing circuitry of the UE may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of: activating an SPS configuration, deactivating an SPS configuration, activating a CG, deactivating a CG, etc.

[0259] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the transmitter of the UE may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following: transmit uplink data to the base station, transmit uplink control information related to reception feedback, etc.

[0260] One exemplary procedure, disclosed in further more detail below, is implemented by a UE including: a receiver receives an SPS activation / deactivation indication from a base station, and a processing circuit in the UE determines two or more SPS downlink resource configurations of a plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations to be activated / deactivated based on information included in the received SPS activation / deactivation indication, and the processing circuit activates / deactivates the two or more SPS downlink resource configurations based on the received SPS activation / deactivation indication.

[0261] Or, alternatively, the receiver receives a CG activation / deactivation instruction from the base station, and the processing circuit determines two or more configured uplink resource grants of the multiple configured uplink resource grants to be activated / deactivated based on information included in the received CG activation / deactivation instruction. The processing circuit activates / deactivates the two or more configured uplink resource grants based on the received CG activation / deactivation instruction.

[0262] The third solution also provides a corresponding method performed by the UE. A sequence diagram for an exemplary UE behavior along with the UE and UE method discussed above is shown in Figure 19. In both Figures 18 and 19, the behavior of a UE that can handle both SPS-related activation / deactivation and CG-related activation / deactivation is exemplarily shown. However, according to the third solution, it is also possible for the UE to operate to handle only one of SPS-related activation / deactivation and CG-related activation / deactivation.

[0263] In the power saving procedure of the improvement of the third solution, some SPS configurations can be activated or deactivated and / or some CGs can be activated or deactivated. Thus, by providing a procedure for activating / deactivating some set resource configurations (SPS, CG, or both), power saving gains can be achieved by adapting to traffic with less control overhead.

[0264] Some example implementations of the improved power saving procedures also involve the base station to which the UE is currently connected (e.g., referred to as the serving base station because the base station serves the UE). Correspondingly, the improved power saving procedures also provide for an improved base station to participate therein with behavior corresponding to the UE behavior described above, for example.

[0265] In the following, more specific implementations and variations of the operation of the third solution discussed above are described. The description is mainly presented from the UE side, but the corresponding description can be applied to the base station side. In order to realize energy saving on the UE side, different solutions are presented.

[0266] In some example implementations of the third solution, the SPS activation / deactivation indication can be transmitted from the base station by a suitable downlink control signal such as a DCI, for example, a DCI with a CRC scrambled on the Configured Scheduling RNTI (CS-RNTI) can be used, or alternatively, a DCI for dynamic UL or DL ​​scheduling can be used.

[0267] According to one possible variant, the SPS activation / deactivation instruction can be transmitted together with the configuration resource skip instruction of the first solution or together with the composite skip instruction of the second solution.

[0268] Similarly, in some example implementations of the third solution, the CG activation / deactivation indication can be transmitted from the base station by a suitable downlink control signal such as a DCI, for example, a DCI with a CRC scrambled on the CS-RNTI (Configured Scheduling RNTI) can be used, or alternatively, a DCI for dynamic UL or DL ​​scheduling can be used.

[0269] According to one possible variant, the CG activation / deactivation instruction can be sent together with the configuration resource skip instruction of the first solution or together with the synthesis skip instruction of the second solution.

[0270] The following example variants provide details on how an SPS or CG activation / deactivation instruction indicates which two or more individual SPS components and two or more CGs should be activated / deactivated.

[0271] According to one exemplary variant, the relevant information is included in the activation / deactivation indication and can be a bitmap.

[0272] With regard to SPS activation / deactivation, each bit of the SPS-related bitmap is associated with one of a plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations and indicates whether the associated SPS downlink resource configuration is activated / deactivated. The SPS-related bitmap may have enough bits to associate each bit with one possible SPS configuration to be activated / deactivated. For example, a bit value of zero indicates that the associated SPS configuration should be deactivated, and a bit value of one indicates that the associated SPS configuration should be activated.

[0273] With regard to CG activation / deactivation, each bit of the CG-associated bitmap is associated with one of a number of configured uplink resource grants and indicates whether the associated configured uplink resource grant is activated / deactivated. The CG-associated bitmap may have enough bits to associate each bit with one possible CG to be activated / deactivated. For example, a bit value of zero indicates that the associated CG should be deactivated, and a bit value of one indicates that the associated CG should be activated.

[0274] Such a bitmap allows for great flexibility in indicating which SPS / CGs should be activated / deactivated, but may require a large number of bits to properly distinguish between all possible SPS configurations / CGs.

[0275] According to another exemplary variant, the relevant information in the activation / deactivation indication is provided as one or more group indices.

[0276] For SPS activation / deactivation, each SPS group index can indicate one or more SPS configurations. The UE and the base station have a mapping that allows one or more associated SPS configurations to be identified from the received SPS group index. The UE then determines two or more SPS configurations based on the mapping and the received one or more SPS group indexes. As an example, the SPS group index mapping can be configured in the UE by the base station, for example, using a message of the RRC protocol.

[0277] With respect to CG activation / deactivation, each CG group index can indicate one or more CGs. The UE then determines the two or more CGs based on a mapping between each CG group index and the configured uplink resource grant. The UE and the base station have a mapping that allows one or more mapped CGs to be identified from a received CG group index. The UE then determines the two or more CGs based on the mapping and the received one or more CG group indexes. As an example, the group index mapping can be configured in the UE by the base station, for example, using a message of the RRC protocol.

[0278] The use of such group indices may reduce the flexibility of which SPS configurations or groups of SPS configurations can be indicated as being activated / deactivated, and similarly may reduce the flexibility of which CGs or groups of CGs can be indicated as being activated / deactivated. However, the use of group indices and corresponding mappings may reduce the number of bits that need to be transmitted between the base station and the UE for the improved power saving procedure of the third solution.

[0279] In addition to the bitmap-based and group index-based variations described above, the following presents a further variation on how the base station can instruct the UE as to which SPS configuration individual and CG can be activated / deactivated. This additional variation is based on the use of a priority threshold. In this regard, it is exemplarily assumed that each SPS configuration individual and CG has a priority, which can be compared to the above-mentioned priority threshold in determining which SPS configuration individual and CG is activated / deactivated.

[0280] According to one example, the priority of the SPS configurations can be compared to a priority threshold, and SPS configurations whose priority is equal to or less than the priority threshold are identified as SPS configurations to be deactivated, whereas SPS configurations whose priority is greater than the priority threshold are activated.

[0281] Thus, only the low priority SPS configuration is deactivated while the high priority SPS configuration is activated, which may have the advantage of allowing power savings while facilitating the base station and the UE to still exchange high priority data in the downlink based on the high priority SPS configuration.

[0282] In one variation, the priority threshold is determined by the base station, thereby controlling the amount of power savings that the base station achieves. For example, by setting a high priority threshold, more SPS configurations are deactivated and fewer SPS configurations are activated, thereby increasing power savings. By setting a lower priority threshold, fewer SPS configurations are deactivated and more SPS configurations are activated, thereby achieving less power savings.

[0283] According to one example, the priority of the CGs can be compared to a priority threshold and CGs whose priority is equal to or less than the priority threshold are identified as CGs to be deactivated, whereas CGs whose priority is greater than the priority threshold are activated.

[0284] Thus, only the lower priority CG is deactivated, while the higher priority CG is activated, which may have the advantage of allowing power savings while facilitating the base station and the UE to still exchange high priority data in the uplink based on the higher priority CG.

[0285] In one variation, the priority threshold is determined by the base station, thereby controlling the amount of power savings that the base station achieves. For example, by setting a high priority threshold, more CGs are deactivated and fewer CGs are activated, thereby increasing power savings. By setting a lower priority threshold, fewer CGs are deactivated and more CGs are activated, thereby achieving less power savings.

[0286] Separate priority thresholds can be used for SPS and CG.

[0287] Accordingly, for example, by setting the priority threshold value in an appropriate field, the determined priority threshold can be indicated by the base station in the SPS activation / deactivation instruction individually and in the CG activation / deactivation instruction.

[0288] <4th solution - SPS / CG switching procedure> As briefly mentioned in the summary above, the present disclosure presents an improved power saving procedure that allows a UE to be instructed to switch between one or both of the currently used SPS configuration and CG.

[0289] For this fourth solution, similar assumptions can be made as for the first, second and third solutions, in particular including the configuration of SPS resources based on one or more SPS downlink resource configurations, such as the RRC IE SPS-Config, such that the base station can transmit downlink data to the UE using the active SPS configuration.

[0290] Or, alternatively, as assumed for the first solution, it is exemplarily assumed that the UE is configured with CG uplink resources based on the corresponding one or more CGs, so that the UE can transmit uplink data to the base station using periodic uplink resources provided by the one or more active CGs.

[0291] Figure 20 shows a simplified exemplary UE structure according to one exemplary implementation of the improved power saving procedure of the fourth solution, which may be implemented based on the general UE structure described in relation to Figure 8. The various structural elements of the UE shown in this Figure 20 may be interconnected with each other, e.g., by corresponding input / output nodes (not shown), e.g., for exchanging control and user data and other signals. Although not shown for illustrative purposes, the UE may include further structural elements.

[0292] As can be seen from FIG. 20, the UE may include an SPS switching instruction receiver, a target group SPS determination circuit, an SPS switching circuit, a CG switching instruction receiver, a target group CG determination circuit, and a CG switching circuit.

[0293] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the UE receiver may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following: receive SPS switching instructions and CG switching instructions from the base station, receive downlink data, etc.

[0294] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the processing circuitry of the UE may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of determining a target group for an SPS configuration and a target group for a CG, switching between SPS configurations, switching between CGs, etc.

[0295] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the transmitter of the UE may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following: transmit uplink data to the base station, transmit uplink control information related to reception feedback, etc.

[0296] One exemplary procedure, disclosed in further more detail below, is implemented by a UE including: The UE is configured with a plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations. The receiver receives an SPS switching indication from a base station, the SPS group index included. The processing circuitry of the UE determines a target group of SPS downlink resource configurations based on the SPS group index in the received SPS switching indication. The processing circuitry switches from a currently used group of SPS downlink resource configurations to the determined target group of SPS downlink resource configurations. In one exemplary option, the determination of the target group of SPS downlink resource configurations may be further based on a correspondence between each SPS group index and one or more SPS downlink resource configurations.

[0297] Or alternatively, the UE is configured with multiple CGs. A receiver of the UE receives a CG switching indication from the base station, the CG group index included. The processing circuit determines a target group for the configured uplink resource allocation based on the CG group index in the received CG switching indication. The processing circuit switches from a currently used group of configured uplink resource grants to the determined target group of configured uplink resource grants. In one exemplary option, the determination of the target group of the configured uplink resource grants is further based on a correspondence between each of the CG group indexes and one or more configured uplink grants.

[0298] The fourth solution also provides a corresponding method performed by the UE. A sequence diagram of an exemplary UE behavior along with the UE and UE method discussed above is shown in Figure 21. Both Figures 20 and 21 exemplarily show the behavior of a UE that can handle both group SPS switching and group CG switching. However, according to the fourth solution, the UE can also operate to handle only one of group SPS switching and group CG switching.

[0299] The power saving procedure of the fourth solution allows easy switching to individual SPS configurations and target groups of CGs. By providing a procedure for switching to individual SPS configurations and target groups of CGs, power saving gains can be achieved by adapting to traffic with less control overhead.

[0300] Some exemplary implementations of the improved power saving procedure also involve the base station to which the UE is currently connected (e.g., referred to as the serving base station because the base station serves the UE). Correspondingly, the improved power saving procedure according to the fourth solution also provides for an improved base station to participate therein with a behavior corresponding to the UE behavior described above, for example.

[0301] In the following, the operation of the fourth solution discussed above will be described in more specific implementation and variants. The description is mainly presented from the UE side, but the corresponding description can be applied to the base station side. In order to realize energy saving on the UE side, different solutions are presented.

[0302] In some example implementations of the fourth solution, the SPS switching indication can be transmitted by the base station in an appropriate downlink control signal, such as a DCI, for example, a DCI with a CRC scrambled on the Configured Scheduling RNTI (CS-RNTI) can be used, or alternatively, a DCI for dynamic UL or DL ​​scheduling can be used.

[0303] According to one possible variant, the SPS switching indication can be sent together with the configuration resource skip indication of the first solution, or can be sent together with the composite skip indication of the second solution, and the SPS switching indication can be sent together with the SPS or CG activation / deactivation indication of the third solution.

[0304] Similarly, a CG switching indication can be sent together with a configuration resource skip indication of the first solution, or can be sent together with a synthesis skip indication of the second solution, and a CG switching indication can be sent together with an SPS or CG activation / deactivation indication of the third solution.

[0305] The following exemplary variations provide details on how an SPS or CG switching indication can indicate an individual SPS configuration and a target group of a CG. According to one exemplary variation, the SPS / CG switching indication includes one or more group indices.

[0306] For SPS switching, each SPS group index can indicate one or more SPS configurations. The UE and the base station have a mapping that allows one or more associated SPS configurations to be identified from the received SPS group index. The UE then determines a target group of the SPS configuration based on the mapping and the received one or more SPS group indexes. In one example, the SPS group index mapping can be configured in the UE by the base station, for example, using a message of the RRC protocol.

[0307] For CG switching, each CG group index can indicate one or more CGs. The UE and the base station have a mapping that allows one or more associated CGs to be identified from the received CG group index. The UE determines a target group of CGs based on the mapping and the received one or more CG group indexes. In one example, the CG group index mapping can be configured in the UE by the base station, for example, using a message of the RRC protocol.

[0308] The following timer-based SPS / CG switching mechanism is provided in addition to or as an alternative to the group index-based mechanism described above, to switch between groups of different SPS configurations based on sending a group index to the UE.

[0309] More specifically, the UE operates an SPS switching counter (which may also be referred to as an SPS switching timer) for SPS switching. The SPS switching counter is initiated when a group of SPS downlink resource configurations is activated. The UE switches from a currently activated group of SPS downlink resource configurations to another target group of SPS downlink resource configurations when the SPS switching counter reaches an SPS switching counter threshold. For example, the target group of SPS configurations may be predefined in the UE, e.g., a default SPS configuration group or configured by the base station in the UE.

[0310] The target SPS configuration group may, for example, be an SPS configuration group with group index 0. In one exemplary option, the target SPS configuration group has only a small number of SPS resources so that the UE can save power.

[0311] There are several possibilities for how the SPS toggle counter works.

[0312] In one possibility, the SPS switching counter counts the number of consecutive time slots in which the currently activated SPS configuration group has already been activated but the UE has not received downlink data from the base station according to the activated SPS configuration group. In one variation, the SPS switching counter can count down from an initial value of the SPS switching counter and trigger a group SPS switching when the SPS switching counter reaches a threshold value=0. In another variation, the SPS switching counter can count up, for example, from 0 and trigger a group SPS switching when the SPS switching counter reaches a threshold value. The SPS switching counter is reset when the UE receives downlink data from the base station in one time slot according to the activated SPS configuration group.

[0313] In another possibility, the SPS switching counter counts the number of consecutive SPS downlink resource opportunities instead of the number of consecutive time slots. In particular, the SPS switching counter counts the number of consecutive SPS downlink resource opportunities provided by the group of activated SPS downlink resource configurations during which the UE did not receive downlink data from the base station according to the activated SPS configuration group. As described in the variant of the previous possibility, the SPS switching counter can count down or count up. The SPS switching counter is reset when the UE receives downlink data from the base station in one SPS downlink resource opportunity provided by the activated SPS configuration group.

[0314] For example, the base station may have no downlink data to transmit and no SPS resources are required. Switching to another target SPS configuration group with fewer SPS resources can save power in the UE and the base station. Furthermore, this SPS switching mechanism operates in the UE without requiring explicit instructions from the base station, thus avoiding control signaling overhead.

[0315] Correspondingly, the further solution also provides for the operation of a CG switching counter for CG switching. Thereby, the UE operates a CG switching counter (which can also be called a CG switching timer). The CG switching counter is started when a CG group is activated. When the CG switching counter reaches a CG switching counter threshold, the UE switches from the currently activated CG group to a target group of another CG. For example, the target CG group can be predefined in the UE, such as a default CG group or configured in the UE by the base station.

[0316] The target CG group may, for example, be the CG group with group index 0. In one exemplary option, the target CG group has only a small number of CG uplink resources to enable UE power saving.

[0317] There are several possibilities as to how the CG toggle counter can be operated.

[0318] In one possibility, the CG switching counter counts the number of consecutive timeslots in which the currently activated CG group has already been activated but the UE has not transmitted uplink data to the base station according to said activated CG group. In one variant, the CG switching counter can count down from an initial value of the CG switching counter and triggers a group CG switching when the CG switching counter reaches a threshold value=0. In another variant, the CG switching counter counts up, for example from 0, and triggers a group CG switching when the threshold value is reached. The CG switching counter is reset when the UE transmits uplink data to the base station in one timeslot according to said activated CG group.

[0319] In another possibility, the CG switching counter counts the number of consecutive CG uplink resource opportunities instead of the number of consecutive time slots. In particular, the CG switching counter counts the number of consecutive CG uplink resource opportunities provided by an activated CG group, during which the UE did not transmit uplink data to the base station according to the activated CG group. As explained in the variant of the previous possibility, the CG switching counter can count down or count up. The CG switching counter is reset if the UE transmits uplink data to the base station in one CG uplink resource opportunity provided by said activated CG group.

[0320] For example, CG uplink resources may be unnecessary when there is no uplink data to send to the base station. Switching to another target CG group with fewer CG resources allows power savings for both the UE and the base station. Furthermore, this CG switching mechanism operates in the UE without requiring explicit instructions from the base station, thus avoiding control signaling overhead.

[0321] <Fifth solution - Extended SSS group switching procedure> As briefly mentioned in the overview above, the present disclosure presents an improved power saving procedure that extends the Search Space Set (SSS) group switching procedure to also enable the UE to be instructed to switch the currently used SPS configuration and / or CG.

[0322] For this fifth solution, similar assumptions can be made as for the first to fourth solutions, in particular including the configuration of SPS resources based on one or more SPS downlink resource configurations, such as via RRC IE SPS-Config, such that the base station can transmit downlink data to the UE using the active SPS configuration.

[0323] Or, alternatively, as assumed for the first solution, it is exemplarily assumed that the UE is configured with CG uplink resources based on the corresponding one or more CGs, so that the UE can transmit uplink data to the base station using periodic uplink resources provided by the one or more active CGs.

[0324] It is also assumed that the UE and base station can perform procedures for switching between different search space set (SSS) groups for monitoring the PDCCH. The different SSS groups can differ, for example, in when and / or how long the UE is required to monitor the PDCCH in a slot. Different SSS groups comprise different search space sets. One search space set can be part of more than one SSS group.

[0325] According to one exemplary implementation, switching between different SSS groups is primarily controlled by two mechanisms: an SSS group switch indication provided from the base station to the UE, and a switch timer. An example of such a procedure was described above with respect to 3GPP 5G NR, and in particular 3GPP TS 38.213 Section 10.4.

[0326] This SSS group switching procedure is extended according to the fifth solution to also trigger switching of SPS configurations and / or CGs, in particular a target SSS group is associated with one or more of the CGs or SPS configurations such that when the UE switches to the target SSS group, it also triggers the UE to switch to the associated CG or SPS configuration.

[0327] Figure 22 shows a simplified exemplary UE structure according to one exemplary implementation of the improved power saving procedure of the fifth solution, which may be implemented based on the general UE structure described in relation to Figure 8. The various structural elements of the UE shown in this Figure 22 may be interconnected with each other, e.g., by corresponding input / output nodes (not shown), e.g., for exchanging control and user data and other signals. Although not shown for illustrative purposes, the UE may include further structural elements.

[0328] As can be seen from FIG. 22, the UE may include a search space set group switching indication receiver, a search space set group switching timer operation circuit, a search space set group switching circuit, an SPS switching circuit, and a CG switching circuit.

[0329] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the UE receiver may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following: receive search space configuration group switching indications, receive downlink data, etc.

[0330] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the processing circuitry of the UE may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following: determining a target SSS group, operating an SSS group switching timer, switching between different SSS groups, determining a target SPS configuration and a target CG from the target SSS group, switching between SPS configurations, switching between CGs, etc.

[0331] Thus, in this case, as will become apparent from the disclosure below, the transmitter of the UE may be exemplarily configured to at least partially perform one or more of the following: transmit uplink data to the base station, transmit uplink control information related to reception feedback, etc.

[0332] One example procedure, disclosed in further greater detail below, is implemented by a UE including: a receiver receives a search space set (SSS) group switch indication from a base station instructing the UE to switch to a target SSS group; and processing circuitry in the UE switches from a currently used SSS group to a target SSS group indicated by the SSS group switch indication; the processing circuitry operates an SSS group switch timer for the currently used SSS group, and upon expiration of the SSS group switch timer, the processing circuitry switches from the currently used SSS group to the target SSS group.

[0333] It is also assumed that the UE is configured with multiple SPS downlink resource configurations. When switching to a target SSS group (e.g., based on either an SSS group switch indication or an SSS group switch timer), the processing circuit switches from an activated SPS downlink resource configuration to another SPS downlink resource configuration based on an association between the target SSS group and the other SPS downlink resource configuration.

[0334] In addition to or alternatively to multiple SPS downlink configurations, the UE may be configured with multiple CGs. When switching to a target SSS group (e.g., based on either an SSS group switch indication or an SSS group switch timer), the processing circuitry switches from an activated configured uplink resource grant to another configured uplink resource grant based on an association between the target SSS group and the other configured uplink resource grant.

[0335] The fifth solution also provides a corresponding method performed by the UE. A sequence diagram of an exemplary UE behavior along with the UE and UE method discussed above is shown in Figure 23. In both Figures 22 and 23, the behavior of a UE that can handle both group SPS switching and group CG switching is exemplarily shown. However, according to the fifth solution, the UE can also operate to handle only one of group SPS switching and group CG switching as a result of SSS group switching.

[0336] The power saving procedure of the fifth solution allows easy switching to a target SPS configuration individually and to a target CG. Since the SPS / CG switching is triggered by the SSS group switching, it is achieved without additional signaling overhead. This achieves power saving. Furthermore, since the SPS / CG switching behavior is implemented by reusing the existing SSS group switching mechanism (such as the mechanism in 3GPP), it is not affected by the definition of the 3PGP standard.

[0337] Some example implementations of the improved power saving procedures also involve the base station to which the UE is currently connected (e.g., referred to as the serving base station because the base station serves the UE). Correspondingly, the improved power saving procedures also provide for an improved base station to participate therein with behavior corresponding to the UE behavior described above, for example.

[0338] In the following, the operation of the fourth solution discussed above will be described in more specific implementation and variants. Although the description is mainly presented from the UE side, the description can be applied to the base station side in a corresponding manner.

[0339] In some example implementations of the fifth solution, the SSS group switch indication can be transmitted from the base station in an appropriate downlink control signal, such as DCI.

[0340] According to one possible variant, the SSS group switching indication can be sent together with the configuration resource skip indication of the first solution, or together with the composite skip indication of the second solution, and the SPS switching indication can be sent together with the SPS or CG activation / deactivation indication of the third solution.

[0341] Similarly, a CG switching indication can be sent together with a configuration resource skip indication of the first solution, or can be sent together with a synthesis skip indication of the second solution, and a CG switching indication can be sent together with an SPS or CG activation / deactivation indication of the third solution.

[0342] The SSS group switching instruction may include a corresponding ID or index for identifying the target SSS group.

[0343] According to one example, the SSS group switching timer counts the number of consecutive time slots that the UE monitors the PDCCH based on the currently active SSS group. In one variation, the SSS group switching timer can count up or down, and when the corresponding threshold is reached, the UE switches from the currently active SSS group to the target SSS group. In other words, the UE starts monitoring the PDCCH according to the target SSS group and stops monitoring the PDCCH according to the currently used SSS group.

[0344] According to one example implementation, the target SSS group can be the SSS group with index 0, e.g., corresponding to a default SSS group fixed for the base station and the UE, as the target SSS group to which the UE will switch after the timer expires. Alternatively, the target SSS group to use after the time threshold is reached can be configured in the UE by the base station, e.g., based on an RRC protocol.

[0345] As mentioned above, switching of SPS configurations and / or CGs depends on the SSS group to which the UE switches. In particular, a mapping of different SSS groups to SPS configurations and CGs can be defined. For example, between the UE and the base station, the mapping of SSS groups to SPS and the mapping of SSS groups to CGs can be fixed between the UE and the base station as defined by the operating system of the UE or the base station (e.g., according to 3GPP standards) or fixed by the network operator. Alternatively, the mapping can be determined by the base station and configured in the UE, e.g., via RRC.

[0346] There are several options for which SPS configuration individuals and CGs are associated with which SSS groups. In one exemplary option, the SPS configuration individuals and CGs are associated such that the SPS configuration individuals and CGs and SSS groups are aligned by one or more of traffic periodicity and traffic characteristics.

[0347] In summary, based on the above mapping, the UE and the base station can switch between SPS configurations individually and between CGs depending on which SSS group the UE is currently using. This solution reduces the impact on the 3GPP standard specifications because it is based on and reuses existing mechanisms already agreed upon in 3GPP. Furthermore, this solution does not increase the control overhead because SPS and CG switching occurs as a result of SSS group change, although there is no explicit indication.

[0348] <6th solution - Combination of steps> As briefly mentioned in the overview above, the present disclosure presents an improved power saving procedure that allows combining two or more, or all, of the first to fifth solutions above.

[0349] Above, five solutions (and their variants and implementations) have been described mainly separately and independently of each other. Thus, the UE and the base station may support only one of the above five solutions. On the other hand, the UE and the base station may achieve synergy by simultaneously supporting operation according to two or more or all of the first to fifth solutions. By applying more than one energy saving mechanism, energy saving and flexibility can be increased.

[0350] In further exemplary implementations, signaling reuse can be achieved by combining two, more than two, or all of the above five solutions. For example, the first to fifth solutions provide the following different control signals: SPS-specific and CG skip indication (first solution), composite skip indication (e.g., PDCCH+SPS, PDCCH+CG, or PDCCH+SPS+CG; second solution), SPS-specific and CG activation or deactivation indication (third solution), SPS-specific and CG group switching indication (fourth solution), and SSS group switching indication (fifth solution).

[0351] These control signals are transmitted from the base station to the UE to achieve power saving at the UE. Instead of transmitting the five control signals separately, in one exemplary implementation, some or all of the control signals can be transmitted together in one signal, e.g., one DCI.

[0352] Further aspects According to a first aspect, there is provided a user equipment, including: a receiver of the UE receives, from a base station, a configuration resource skip indication; skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and This instructs the device to perform one or more of the following operations.

[0353] The processing circuitry of the UE skips one or more operations during a configured resource skip period in response to the received configured resource skip indication.

[0354] According to a second aspect provided in addition to the first aspect, the operation of skipping the executed process includes: skipping monitoring downlink resources for receiving downlink data from a base station according to one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; skipping monitoring a downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station regarding reception feedback for uplink data transmitted by the UE using the uplink resources in response to one or more configured uplink resource grants; skipping transmitting uplink data to a base station using uplink resources in response to one or more configured uplink resource grants; skipping sending uplink control information to a base station regarding reception feedback for downlink data received according to one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; and Contains one or more of the following:

[0355] In one optional implementation of the second aspect, the processing circuit, in response to the received configuration resource skip indication, skipping monitoring a downlink control channel for downlink control information from a base station related to deactivation of one or more configured uplink resource grants or one or more SPS downlink resource configurations during a monitoring skip period; skipping monitoring a downlink control channel for downlink control information from a base station related to activation of one or more configured uplink resource grants or one or more SPS downlink resource configurations during a monitoring skip period; Execute one or more of the following actions:

[0356] According to a third aspect provided in addition to the first or second aspect, the processing circuit determines when to start an operation of skipping processing by: At the beginning of a timeslot after the timeslot in which the configured resource skip indication is received by the UE, For SPS-related processing, as the offset time of N SPS downlink resource opportunities provided by each SPS downlink resource configuration, For CG-related processing, as a point in time after the offset of N configured uplink resource opportunities provided by each configured uplink resource grant, Make a decision.

[0357] In one optional implementation of the third aspect, the processing circuitry determines the offset as: information stored in the UE, optionally where the stored information is configured by the base station, or The value specified by the set resource skip instruction, The decision will be based on:

[0358] In a further optional implementation of the third aspect, the configured resource skip period is defined with respect to a time slot of a subframe.

[0359] According to a fourth aspect provided in addition to any one of the first to third aspects, a receiver receives a set resource skip indication in a downlink control signal transmitted from a base station to carry the set resource skip indication; or The receiver receives a configuration resource skip indication in addition to a monitoring skip indication in a downlink control signal from the base station.

[0360] In one optional implementation of the fourth aspect, the processing circuitry may further comprise: information stored in the UE, optionally where the stored information is configured by the base station, or The value specified by the set resource skip instruction, Determined from.

[0361] In a further optional implementation of the fourth aspect, the processing circuitry may further configure the configured resource skip period as: an SPS downlink resource configuration in which processing is skipped and based on the correspondence between different configured resource skip periods and different SPS downlink resource configurations; The process is skipped and the configured uplink resource grant is based on a correspondence between different configured resource skip periods and different configured uplink resource grants; or a reception success feedback process associated with an SPS downlink resource configuration or a configured uplink resource grant, where the process is skipped and is based on a mapping between different configured resource skip periods and different reception success feedback processes, optionally the reception success feedback process being a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process; The decision will be based on:

[0362] According to a fifth aspect provided in addition to any of the first to fourth aspects, a UE is configured with a plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations. A processing circuit determines one or more SPS downlink resource configurations of the plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations. An operation of skipping processing is performed for the determined one or more SPS downlink resource configurations.

[0363] In one optional implementation of the fifth aspect, a determination of one or more SPS downlink resource configurations is made based on information included in the received configuration resource skip indication.

[0364] In a further optional implementation of the fifth aspect, the received information comprises: a bitmap, each bit of the bitmap corresponding to one of a plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations, and indicating whether an operation to skip processing for the corresponding SPS downlink resource configuration is to be performed; or one or more group indexes, where the determination is further based on a mapping between each group index and one or more of a plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations, optionally the receiver receiving the mapping from the base station in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol message; It is.

[0365] According to a sixth aspect provided in addition to the fifth aspect, the determination of one or more SPS downlink resource configurations is performed based on a priority threshold by comparing a priority of each of the plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations with a priority threshold.

[0366] In one optional implementation of the sixth aspect, the processing circuit determines one or more SPS downlink resource configurations for which the operation of skipping processing is performed as having a priority less than or equal to a priority threshold.

[0367] In a further optional implementation of the sixth aspect, the processing circuit determines the priority threshold based on information included in the configuration resource skip indication, the information comprising: Information about priority thresholds, or a monitoring skip interval during which the UE may skip monitoring the downlink control channel, and optionally, the processing circuitry determines a priority threshold from the indicated monitoring skip interval based on a relationship that the longer the indicated monitoring skip interval is, the lower the priority threshold is, and the shorter the indicated monitoring skip interval is, the higher the priority threshold is; It is.

[0368] According to a seventh aspect provided in addition to any one of the first to sixth aspects, a UE is configured with a plurality of configured uplink resource grants. A processing circuit determines one or more configured uplink resource grants of the plurality of configured uplink resource grants. An operation of skipping processing is performed for the determined one or more configured uplink resource grants.

[0369] In one optional implementation of the seventh aspect, a determination of one or more configured uplink resource grants is made based on information included in the received configured resource skip indication.

[0370] In a further optional implementation of the seventh aspect, the received information comprises: a bitmap, each bit of the bitmap being associated with one of a plurality of configured uplink resource grants and indicating whether an action to skip processing is to be performed for the associated configured uplink resource grant; or one or more group indexes, where the determination is further based on an association between each group index and one or more of a plurality of configured uplink resource grants, optionally the receiver receiving the association from the base station in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol message; It is.

[0371] According to an eighth aspect provided in addition to the seventh aspect, the determination of the configured uplink resource grant is made based on a priority threshold by comparing a priority of each of the plurality of configured uplink resource grants with the priority threshold.

[0372] In one optional implementation of the eighth aspect, the processing circuit determines one or more configured uplink resource grants for which a skip processing operation is performed as having a priority less than or equal to a priority threshold.

[0373] In a further optional implementation of the eighth aspect, the processing circuit determines the priority threshold based on information included in the configuration resource skip indication, the information including: Information about priority thresholds, or a monitoring skip interval during which the UE may skip monitoring the downlink control channel, and optionally, the processing circuitry determines a priority threshold from the indicated monitoring skip interval based on a relationship that the longer the indicated monitoring skip interval is, the lower the priority threshold is, and the shorter the indicated monitoring skip interval is, the higher the priority threshold is; It is.

[0374] According to a ninth aspect provided in addition to any one of the first to third aspects, a receiver receives a monitoring skip indication in a downlink control signal from a base station, and a processing circuit interprets the received monitoring skip indication as a configuration resource skip indication and as a monitoring skip indication.

[0375] In one optional implementation, the monitoring skip indication indicates that the UE can skip monitoring the downlink control channel during a monitoring skip period. In response to the monitoring skip indication, the processing circuitry skips monitoring the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station during the monitoring skip period, optionally defined with respect to a time slot of a subframe.

[0376] According to a tenth aspect provided in addition to the ninth aspect, the processing circuitry, in response to a received monitoring skip indication indicating that the UE may skip monitoring the downlink control channel during a monitoring skip period, comprises: continuing to monitor the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station associated with the one or more configured uplink resource grants during a monitoring skip period; continuing to monitor the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station associated with one or more SPS downlink resource configurations during a monitoring skip period; Execute one or more of the following actions:

[0377] In one optional implementation of the tenth aspect, the continuing operations performed include: continuing to monitor a downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station related to reception feedback for uplink data transmitted by the UE using the uplink resources in response to one or more configured uplink resource grants during a monitoring skip period; continuing to monitor the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station related to deactivation of one or more configured uplink resource grants or one or more SPS downlink resource configurations during a monitoring skip period; continuing to monitor the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station related to activation of one or more configured uplink resource grants or one or more SPS downlink resource configurations during a monitoring skip period; Contains one or more of the following:

[0378] According to an eleventh aspect provided in addition to any one of the first to tenth aspects, the SPS downlink resource configuration configures a set of periodic downlink radio resources usable by the base station to transmit downlink data to the UE without receiving separate downlink scheduling information via downlink control information from the base station, and further, the configured uplink resource grant configures a set of periodic uplink radio resources usable by the UE to transmit uplink data to the base station without a prior scheduling request from the UE to the base station.

[0379] According to a twelfth aspect provided in addition to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, a UE is configured with a plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations. A receiver receives an SPS activation / deactivation instruction from a base station. A processing circuit determines two or more SPS downlink resource configurations of the plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations to be activated / deactivated based on information included in the received SPS activation / deactivation instruction. The processing circuit activates / deactivates the two or more SPS downlink resource configurations based on the received SPS activation / deactivation instruction.

[0380] In one optional implementation of the twelfth aspect, the received information comprises: A bitmap, each bit of which is associated with one of a plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations and indicates whether the associated SPS downlink resource configuration is activated / deactivated; or one or more group indexes, where the determination is further based on a mapping between each group index and two or more SPS downlink resource configurations, optionally the receiver receiving the mapping from the base station in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol message; It is.

[0381] According to a thirteenth aspect provided in addition to the twelfth aspect, the determination of two or more SPS downlink resource configurations to be activated / deactivated is made based on a priority threshold by comparing the priority of each of the multiple SPS downlink resource configurations with a priority threshold.

[0382] In one optional implementation of the thirteenth aspect, the processing circuit determines one or more SPS downlink resource configurations to be activated / deactivated as having a priority less than or equal to a priority threshold.

[0383] In a further optional implementation of the thirteenth aspect, the processing circuit determines the priority threshold based on information in the SPS activation / deactivation instruction, the information being information regarding the priority threshold.

[0384] According to a fourteenth aspect provided in addition to any one of the first to thirteenth aspects, a UE is configured with a plurality of configured uplink resource grants. A receiver receives a CG activation / deactivation instruction from a base station. A processing circuit determines two or more configured uplink resource grants of the plurality of configured uplink resource grants to be activated / deactivated based on information included in the received CG activation / deactivation instruction. The processing circuit activates / deactivates the two or more configured uplink resource grants based on the received CG activation / deactivation instruction.

[0385] In one optional implementation, the received information comprises: a bitmap, each bit of which is associated with one of a plurality of configured uplink resource grants and indicates whether the associated configured uplink resource grant is activated / deactivated; or one or more group indexes, where the determination is further based on a correspondence between each group index and two or more configured uplink resource grants, optionally the receiver receiving the correspondence from the base station in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol message; It is.

[0386] According to a fifteenth aspect, provided in addition to the fourteenth aspect, the decision of one or more configured uplink resource grants to be activated / deactivated is made based on a priority threshold by comparing a priority of each of the plurality of configured uplink resource grants with the priority threshold.

[0387] In one optional implementation of the fifteenth aspect, the processing circuit determines one or more configured uplink resource grants to be activated / deactivated as having a priority less than or equal to a priority threshold.

[0388] In a further optional implementation of the fifteenth aspect, the processing circuit determines the priority threshold based on information regarding the priority threshold in the CG activation / deactivation instruction.

[0389] According to a sixteenth aspect provided in addition to any one of the first to fifteenth aspects, a UE is configured with a plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations. A receiver receives an SPS switching indication from a base station, the SPS switching indication including a group index. A processing circuit determines a target group of the SPS downlink resource configuration based on the group index in the received SPS switching indication. The processing circuit switches from a currently used group of SPS downlink resource configurations to the target group of the determined SPS downlink resource configuration.

[0390] In one optional implementation of the sixteenth aspect, the determination of the target group of SPS downlink resource configurations is further based on a correspondence between each group index and one or more SPS downlink resource configurations.

[0391] According to a seventeenth aspect provided in addition to any one of the first to sixteenth aspects, a UE is configured with a plurality of configured uplink resource grants. A receiver receives a CG switching indication from a base station, the CG switching indication including a group index. A processing circuit determines a target group of the configured uplink resource grant based on the group index in the received CG switching indication. The processing circuit switches from a currently used group of the configured uplink resource grant to the determined target group of the configured uplink resource grant.

[0392] In one optional implementation of the seventeenth aspect, the determination of the target group for the configured uplink resource grant is further based on a correspondence between each group index and one or more configured uplink resource grants.

[0393] According to an 18th aspect provided in addition to any one of the first to seventeenth aspects, a UE is configured with a plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations. A processing circuit operates an SPS switching counter. The SPS switching counter is started when a group of SPS downlink resource configurations is activated. The processing circuit switches from the activated group of SPS downlink resource configurations to another target group of SPS downlink resource configurations when the SPS switching counter reaches an SPS switching counter threshold. Optionally, the other target group of SPS downlink resource configurations is defined per default or in a configuration in the UE.

[0394] The SPS switching counter is Count the number of consecutive time slots during which the UE does not receive downlink data from the base station according to the activated group of the SPS downlink resource configuration, but the activated group of the SPS downlink resource configuration is activated. Optionally, the SPS switch counter is reset when the UE receives downlink data in one time slot from the base station according to the activated group of the SPS downlink resource configuration, or Counting the number of consecutive SPS downlink resource opportunities during which the UE does not receive downlink data from the base station according to the activated group of the SPS downlink resource configuration but is provided by the activated group of the SPS downlink resource configuration. Optionally, the SPS switching counter is reset when the UE receives downlink data in one SPS downlink resource opportunity from the base station according to the activated group of the SPS downlink resource configuration.

[0395] According to a 19th aspect provided in addition to any one of the first to eighteenth aspects, a UE is configured with a plurality of configured uplink resource grants. A processing circuit operates a CG switching counter. The CG switching counter is started when a group of the configured uplink resource grants is activated. The processing circuit switches from the activated group of the configured uplink resource grants to another target group of the configured uplink resource grants when the CG switching counter reaches a CG switching counter threshold. Optionally, the other target group of the configured uplink resource grants is defined per default or in a configuration in the UE.

[0396] CG switching counter, Counting the number of consecutive time slots in which the UE does not transmit uplink data to the base station using uplink resources according to the activated group of the configured uplink resource grant, but is activated by the activated group of the configured uplink resource grant. Optionally, the CG switch counter is reset when the UE transmits uplink data in one time slot to the base station according to the activated group of the configured uplink resource grant; or Counting the number of consecutive configured uplink resource opportunities provided by the activated group of the configured uplink resource grant, during which the UE does not transmit uplink data to the base station using uplink resources according to the activated group of the configured uplink resource grant. Optionally, the CG switching counter is reset when the UE transmits uplink data to the base station in one configured uplink resource opportunity according to the activated group of the configured uplink resource grant.

[0397] According to a twentieth aspect provided in addition to any one of the first to nineteenth aspects, a receiver receives a search space set (SSS) group switch indication from a base station. The SSS group switch indication instructs a UE to switch to a target SSS group. The processing circuit switches from a currently used SSS group to a target SSS group indicated by the SSS group switch indication. The processing circuit operates an SSS group switch timer for the currently used SSS group. Upon expiration of the SSS group switch timer, the processing circuit switches from the currently used SSS group to the target SSS group. When switching to the target SSS group based on either the SSS group switch indication or the SSS group switch timer, the processing circuit: Switching from the activated SPS downlink resource configuration to another SPS downlink resource configuration based on the correspondence between the target SSS group and the other SPS downlink resource configuration; Switching from the activated configured uplink resource grant to the other configured uplink resource grant based on a correspondence between the target SSS group and the other configured uplink resource grant; Execute one or more of the following:

[0398] According to a twenty-first aspect, there is provided a method comprising steps performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving a configuration resource skip instruction from the base station, the configuration resource skip instruction being skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and instructing the device to perform one or more of the operations of skipping one or more operations during a configured resource skip period in response to the received configured resource skip instruction; Includes.

[0399] According to a twenty-second aspect, a base station includes: a transmitter that transmits a configuration resource skip indication to a user equipment (UE). The configuration resource skip indication is configured to be transmitted to a user equipment (UE) when the UE is skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; This instructs the device to perform one or more of the following operations.

[0400] The processing circuitry of the base station, in response to the transmitted configured resource skip indication, skips performing base station processing corresponding to one or more processing skipped by the UE during the configured resource skip period.

[0401] According to a twenty-third aspect provided in addition to the twenty-second aspect, the one or more base station processes include: skipping transmitting downlink data to the UE in response to one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; skipping transmitting to the UE via a downlink control channel downlink control information regarding reception feedback for uplink data transmitted by the UE using the uplink resources in response to the one or more configured uplink resource grants; skipping monitoring uplink resources for receiving uplink data from the UE using the uplink resources in response to one or more configured uplink resource grants; skipping monitoring uplink resources for receiving uplink control information from the UE regarding reception feedback for the transmitted downlink data in response to one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; Contains one or more of the following:

[0402] In one optional implementation of the twenty-third aspect, the processing circuit, in response to the transmitted configuration resource skip indication, skipping, during a monitoring skip period, transmitting downlink control information to the UE regarding a downlink control channel associated with deactivation of one or more configured uplink resource grants or one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; skipping, during a monitoring skip period, transmitting downlink control information to the UE regarding a downlink control channel related to activation of one or more configured uplink resource grants or one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; Execute one or more of the following actions:

[0403] According to a twenty-fourth aspect provided in addition to the twenty-second or twenty-third aspect, the transmitter transmits a configuration resource skip indication to the UE in a downlink control signal. Alternatively, the transmitter transmits a configuration resource skip indication to the UE in a downlink control signal in addition to the monitoring skip indication. The processing circuit determines a configuration resource skip period.

[0404] In one optional implementation of the twenty-fourth aspect, the transmitter transmits a configuration message including the determined configuration resource skip period to the UE. In a further optional implementation of the twenty-fourth aspect, the transmitter transmits a configuration resource skip indication in a downlink control signal together with the determined configuration resource skip period.

[0405] According to a 25th aspect provided in addition to any one of the 22nd to 24th aspects, a transmitter sends a monitoring skip indication to a UE in a downlink control signal, and the monitoring skip indication is also a configuration resource skip indication.

[0406] In one optional implementation of the twenty-fifth aspect, the monitoring skip indication indicates that the UE may skip monitoring the downlink control channel during a monitoring skip period. In response to transmitting the monitoring skip indication, the processing circuitry causes the UE to skip transmitting downlink control information over the downlink control channel during the monitoring skip period. Optionally, the monitoring skip period is defined with respect to a time slot of a subframe.

[0407] According to a twenty-sixth aspect provided in addition to the twenty-fifth aspect, the processing circuitry, in response to transmitting the monitoring skip instruction, continuing to transmit downlink control information to the UE via a downlink control channel associated with the one or more configured uplink resource grants during the monitoring skip period; continuing to transmit downlink control information to the UE via a downlink control channel during the monitoring skip period, the downlink control information being associated with one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; Execute one or more of the following actions:

[0408] In one optional implementation of the twenty-sixth aspect, the continuing operations performed include: during the monitoring skip period, continuing to transmit downlink control information to the UE via a downlink control channel related to reception feedback for uplink data transmitted by the UE using the uplink resources in response to the one or more configured uplink resource grants; continuing to transmit downlink control information to the UE via a downlink control channel associated with deactivation of one or more configured uplink resource grants or one or more SPS downlink resource configurations during the monitoring skip period; during the monitoring skip period, continuing to transmit downlink control information to the UE via a downlink control channel associated with activation of one or more configured uplink resource grants or one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; Contains one or more of the following:

[0409] According to a 27th aspect provided in addition to any one of the 22nd to 26th aspects, a UE is configured with a plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations. A processing circuit determines two or more SPS downlink resource configurations among the plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations to be activated / deactivated. A transmitter transmits an SPS activation / deactivation indication to the UE, the SPS activation / deactivation indication including information regarding the determined two or more SPS downlink resource configurations to be activated / deactivated. The processing circuit activates / deactivates the determined two or more SPS downlink resource configurations.

[0410] In one optional implementation of the twenty-seventh aspect, the information regarding the determined two or more SPS downlink resource configurations includes: A bitmap, each bit of which is associated with one of a plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations and indicates whether the associated SPS downlink resource configuration is activated / deactivated; or one or more group indexes, each of which is determined based on a mapping between the group index and two or more SPS downlink resource configurations, and optionally, the transmitter transmits the mapping to the UE in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol message; It is.

[0411] According to a twenty-eighth aspect provided in addition to the twenty-seventh aspect, the information regarding the determined two or more SPS downlink resource configurations is a priority threshold, and the processing circuit determines the priority threshold such that the two or more SPS downlink resource configurations to be activated / deactivated have a priority equal to or less than the priority threshold.

[0412] According to a 29th aspect provided in addition to any one of the 22nd to 28th aspects, a UE is configured with a plurality of configured uplink resource grants. A processing circuit determines two or more configured uplink resource grants among the plurality of configured uplink resource grants to be activated / deactivated. A transmitter transmits a CG activation / deactivation indication to the UE, the CG activation / deactivation indication including information regarding the determined two or more configured uplink resource grants to be activated / deactivated. The processing circuit activates / deactivates the determined two or more configured uplink resource grants.

[0413] In one optional implementation, the determined information regarding the two or more configured uplink resource grants includes: a bitmap, each bit of which is associated with one of a plurality of configured uplink resource grants and indicates whether the associated configured uplink resource grant is activated / deactivated; one or more group indexes, each of which is determined based on a correspondence between the group index and two or more configured uplink resource grants, and optionally, the transmitter sends the correspondence to the UE in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol message; or a priority threshold, the processing circuit determining a priority threshold such that two or more SPS downlink resource configurations to be activated / deactivated have a priority equal to or less than the priority threshold; It is.

[0414] According to a 30th aspect provided in addition to any one of the 22nd to 29th aspects, a UE is configured with a plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations. A processing circuit determines a target group of the SPS downlink resource configurations. A transmitter transmits an SPS switching indication to the UE, the SPS switching indication including a group index associated with the target group of the determined SPS downlink resource configurations.

[0415] According to a 31st aspect provided in addition to any one of the 22nd to 30th aspects, a UE is configured with a plurality of configured uplink resource grants. A processing circuit determines a target group of the configured uplink resource grants. A transmitter transmits a CG switching indication to the UE, the CG switching indication including a group index corresponding to the determined target group of the configured uplink resource grants.

[0416] According to a 32nd aspect provided in addition to any one of the 22nd to 31st aspects, a processing circuit determines a target search space set (SSS) group for a UE. A transmitter transmits an SSS group switch indication to the UE instructing the UE to switch to the determined target SSS group. The processing circuit switches from a currently used SSS group to the target SSS group in response to the transmission of the SSS group switch indication. The processing circuit operates an SSS group switch timer for the currently used SSS group, and upon expiration of the SSS group switch timer, the processing circuit switches from the currently used SSS group to the target SSS group. When switching to the target SSS group based on either the SSS group switch indication or the SSS group switch timer, the processing circuit: Switching from the activated SPS downlink resource configuration to another SPS downlink resource configuration based on the correspondence between the target SSS group and the other SPS downlink resource configuration; Switching from the activated configured uplink resource grant to the other configured uplink resource grant based on a correspondence between the target SSS group and the other configured uplink resource grant; Execute one or more of the following:

[0417] According to a thirty-third aspect, there is provided a method comprising steps performed by a base station, comprising: A step of sending a configuration resource skip instruction to a user equipment (UE), the configuration resource skip instruction being skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and and instructing the device to perform one or more of the operations of skipping, in response to the transmitted configuration resource skip indication, performing base station operations corresponding to one or more operations skipped by the UE during a configuration resource skip period; Includes.

[0418] According to a thirty-fourth aspect, there is provided an integrated circuit for controlling processing of a user equipment, the processing being performed by the user equipment, receiving a configuration resource skip instruction from a base station, the configuration resource skip instruction being skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and instructing the device to perform one or more of the operations of skipping one or more operations during a configured resource skip period in response to the received configured resource skip instruction; Includes.

[0419] According to a thirty-fifth aspect, there is provided an integrated circuit for controlling processing of a base station, the processing being performed by the base station, A step of sending a configuration resource skip instruction to a user equipment (UE), the configuration resource skip instruction being skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and instructing the execution of one or more of the operations of skipping, in response to the transmitted configuration resource skip indication, performing base station operations corresponding to one or more operations skipped by the UE during a configuration resource skip period; Includes.

[0420] Further variations including hardware and software implementations of the present disclosure The present disclosure can be realized by software, hardware, or software interlocked with hardware. Each functional block used in the description of each embodiment above can be partially or entirely realized by an LSI such as an integrated circuit, and each process described in each embodiment can be partially or entirely controlled by the same LSI or a combination of LSIs. The LSI may be formed as an individual chip, or a single chip may be formed to include some or all of the functional blocks. The LSI may include data input / output coupled thereto. Here, the LSI may be called an IC (integrated circuit), a system LSI, a super LSI, or an ultra LSI depending on the degree of integration. However, the technology for realizing the integrated circuit is not limited to the LSI, and may be realized using a dedicated circuit, a general-purpose processor, or a processor for a specific application. Furthermore, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can be programmed after the manufacture of an LSI or a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure the connection and settings of the circuit cells arranged inside the LSI may be used. The present disclosure can be realized as digital processing or analog processing. If future integrated circuit technologies replace LSI as a result of advances in semiconductor technology and other derived technologies, the functional blocks can be integrated using the future integrated circuit technologies. Biotechnology can also be applied.

[0421] The present disclosure may be implemented by any type of apparatus, device or system having communication capabilities, referred to as a communications apparatus.

[0422] A communication device may include a transceiver and processing / control circuitry. The transceiver may include and / or function as a receiver and a transmitter. The transceiver as a transmitter and receiver may include a Radio Frequency (RF) module including amplifiers, RF modulators / demodulators, etc., and one or more antennas.

[0423] Some non-limiting examples of such communications devices include telephones (e.g., mobile (cell) phones, smartphones), tablets, personal computers (PCs) (e.g., laptops, desktops, netbooks), cameras (e.g., digital still / video cameras), digital players (digital audio / video players), wearable devices (e.g., wearable cameras, smart watches, tracking devices), game consoles, digital book readers, telehealth / telemedicine (remote health and remote medical) devices, and vehicles (e.g., automobiles, airplanes, ships) that provide communications capabilities, and various combinations thereof.

[0424] The communications apparatus is not limited to being portable or mobile, but may include any type of apparatus, device or system that is non-portable or fixed, such as smart home devices (e.g., appliances, lighting, smart meters, control panels), vending machines, and any other "thing" in an "Internet of Things (IoT)" network.

[0425] Communications may include, for example, exchanging data via cellular systems, wireless LAN systems, satellite systems, and the like, as well as various combinations thereof.

[0426] A communications apparatus may include devices such as a controller or a sensor coupled to the communications device to perform the communications functions described in this disclosure. For example, a communications apparatus may include a controller or a sensor that generates control or data signals used by the communications device to perform the communications functions of the communications apparatus.

[0427] Additionally, the communications equipment may include infrastructure facilities such as, for example, base stations, access points, and any other equipment, devices, or systems that communicate with or control equipment such as those in the non-limiting examples above.

[0428] (Control signal) In this disclosure, the downlink control signal (information) related to this disclosure may be a signal (information) transmitted via a PDCCH of a physical layer, or may be a signal (information) transmitted via a MAC control element (CE) or RRC of a higher layer. The downlink control signal may be a predefined signal (information).

[0429] The uplink control signal (information) related to the present disclosure may be a signal (information) transmitted via a PUCCH of a physical layer, or may be a signal (information) transmitted via a MAC CE or RRC of a higher layer. Also, the uplink control signal may be a predefined signal (information). The uplink control signal may be replaced by uplink control information (UCI), first stage sidelink control information (SCI), or second stage SCI.

[0430] (base station) In the present disclosure, the base station may be, for example, a Transmission Reception Point (TRP), a cluster head, an access point, a Remote Radio Head (RRH), an eNodeB (eNB), a gNodeB (gNB), a Base Station (BS), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a base unit, or a gateway. Also, in sidelink communication, a terminal may be employed instead of the base station. The base station may be a relay device that relays communication between an upper node and a terminal. The base station may be a roadside unit.

[0431] (uplink / downlink / sidelink) The present disclosure may be applied to any of the uplink, downlink, and sidelink.

[0432] The present disclosure may apply, for example, to uplink channels such as PUSCH, PUCCH, and PRACH, downlink channels such as PDSCH, PDCCH, and PBCH, and sidelink channels such as the Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), the Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), and the Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

[0433] The PDCCH, PDSCH, PUSCH, and PUCCH are examples of a downlink control channel, a downlink data channel, an uplink data channel, and an uplink control channel, respectively. The PSCCH and PSSCH are examples of a sidelink control channel and a sidelink data channel, respectively. The PBCH and PSBCH are examples of a broadcast channel, and the PRACH is an example of a random access channel. (Data Channel / Control Channel) The present disclosure may be applied to both data channels and control channels. The channels in the present disclosure may be replaced with data channels including PDSCH, PUSCH, and PSSCH, and / or control channels including PDCCH, PUCCH, PBCH, PSCCH, and PSBCH.

[0434] (reference signal) In this disclosure, a reference signal is a signal known to both a base station and a mobile station, and each reference signal may be referred to as a reference signal (RS) or, in some cases, a pilot signal. A reference signal may be any of a DMRS, a Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS), a Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), a Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PTRS), a Cell-specific Reference Signal (CRS), and a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS).

[0435] (Time Interval) In the present disclosure, the time resource unit is not limited to one or a combination of a slot and a symbol, and may be a time resource unit such as a frame, a superframe, a subframe, a slot, a time slot subslot, a minislot, or a time resource unit such as a symbol, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, a Single Carrier-Frequency Division Multiplexing Access (SC-FDMA) symbol, or other time resource unit. The number of symbols included in one slot is not limited to any number of symbols exemplified in the above embodiment(s), and may be other numbers of symbols.

[0436] (Frequency Band) The present disclosure may be applied to both licensed and unlicensed bands.

[0437] (communication) The present disclosure may be applied to any of communication between a base station and a terminal (Uu link communication), communication between terminals (sidelink communication), and vehicle to everything (V2X) communication. The channels in the present disclosure may be replaced with PSCCH, PSSCH, physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH), PSBCH, PDCCH, PUCCH, PDSCH, PUSCH, and PBCH.

[0438] The present disclosure may also be applied to any of terrestrial networks and non-terrestrial networks (NTN: Non-Terrestrial Networks) using satellites or High Altitude Pseudo Satellites (HAPS). The present disclosure may also be applied to networks with large cell sizes and terrestrial networks with large delays compared to the symbol length or slot length, such as ultra-wideband transmission networks.

[0439] (Antenna port) An antenna port refers to a logical antenna (antenna group) formed by one or more physical antennas (multiple possible). That is, an antenna port does not necessarily refer to one physical antenna, but may refer to an array antenna formed by multiple antennas. For example, the number of physical antennas forming an antenna port is not defined, and instead, an antenna port is defined as the smallest unit by which a terminal can transmit a reference signal. Also, an antenna port may be defined as the smallest unit for multiplying the weighting of a precoding vector.

[0440] Furthermore, the various embodiments may be implemented by means of software modules which are executed by a processor or directly in hardware. A combination of software modules and hardware implementations may also be possible. The software modules may be stored in any kind of computer-readable storage medium, for example RAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, registers, hard disks, CD-ROM, DVD, etc. Furthermore, it should be noted that individual features of the different embodiments may be the subject of another embodiment, either individually or in any combination.

[0441] Those skilled in the art will recognize that numerous changes and / or modifications may be made to the present disclosure as shown in the specific embodiments, and the present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims

1. 1. A communication device, comprising: In operation, the receiver receives a configuration resource skip instruction from a base station, the configuration resource skip instruction being Skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and Skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and a receiver for instructing the device to perform one or more of the operations of a processing circuit configured to, in operation, skip the one or more operations during a configured resource skip period in response to the received configured resource skip instruction; A communication device comprising:

2. The action of skipping the executed process is skipping monitoring downlink resources for receiving downlink data from the base station in response to the one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; skipping monitoring a downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station regarding reception feedback for uplink data transmitted by the communications device using uplink resources in response to the one or more configured uplink resource grants; skipping transmitting uplink data to the base station using uplink resources in response to the one or more configured uplink resource grants; skipping transmitting uplink control information to the base station regarding reception feedback for downlink data received in response to the one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; and and Optionally, the processing circuitry is operative to, in response to the received configuration resource skip indication: skipping monitoring the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station related to deactivation of the one or more configured uplink resource grants or the one or more SPS downlink resource configurations during a monitoring skip period; skipping monitoring the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station related to activation of the one or more configured uplink resource grants or the one or more SPS downlink resource configurations during the monitoring skip period; The communication device of claim 1 , further comprising:

3. The processing circuitry, in operation, determines when to initiate the operation of skipping the processing by: At the beginning of a time slot after the time slot in which the configuration resource skip instruction is received by the communication device, For SPS-related processing, as the offset time points of the N SPS downlink resource opportunities provided by each of the SPS downlink resource configurations, For CG-related processing, as a point in time after the offset of the N configured uplink resource opportunities provided by each of the configured uplink resource grants, Decide, Optionally, the processing circuitry determines the offset as: - information stored in the communication device, optionally the stored information being configured by the base station, or A value indicated by the setting resource skip instruction, Based on the decision, 3. The communications device of claim 1 or 2, optionally wherein the configured resource skip period is defined in terms of a time slot of a subframe.

4. In operation, the receiver receives the set resource skip indication in a downlink control signal transmitted from the base station to convey the set resource skip indication; or In operation, the receiver receives the configuration resource skip indication in addition to a monitoring skip indication in a downlink control signal from the base station; Optionally, the processing circuitry is operable to configure the configured resource skip period as: - information stored in the communication device, optionally the stored information being configured by the base station, or A value indicated by the setting resource skip instruction, Determined from Optionally, the processing circuitry is operable to configure the configured resource skip period as: The SPS downlink resource configuration, in which processing is skipped and based on the correspondence between different configured resource skip periods and different SPS downlink resource configurations; a configured uplink resource grant in which processing is skipped and based on a mapping between different configured resource skip periods and different configured uplink resource grants, or a reception success feedback process associated with the SPS downlink resource configuration or the configured uplink resource grant, where the process is skipped and based on a mapping between different configured resource skip periods and different reception success feedback processes, optionally the reception success feedback process being a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process; The communication device of claim 1 , wherein the determination is based on:

5. The communications device is configured with a plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations; The processing circuitry, in operation, determines one or more SPS downlink resource configurations among the plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations, and the operation of skipping the processing is performed for the determined one or more SPS downlink resource configurations; Optionally, said determining of said one or more SPS downlink resource configurations is performed based on information included in said received configuration resource skip indication; Optionally, the received information comprises: a bitmap, each bit of which is associated with one of the plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations and which indicates whether the operation of skipping the processing for the associated SPS downlink resource configuration is performed; or one or more group indexes, the determination being further based on an association between each group index and one or more of the plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations, optionally the receiver receiving, in operation, the association from the base station in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol message; The communication device according to claim 1 .

6. The determination of the one or more SPS downlink resource configurations is based on a priority threshold by comparing a priority of each of the plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations to a priority threshold; Optionally, the processing circuitry determines the one or more SPS downlink resource configurations for which the operation of skipping the processing is performed as having a priority less than or equal to the priority threshold; Optionally, the processing circuitry is operable in operation to determine the priority threshold based on information included in the configured resource skip indication, the information comprising: information regarding said priority thresholds, or a monitoring skip interval during which the communications device may skip monitoring a downlink control channel, and optionally the processing circuitry in operation determines the priority threshold from the indicated monitoring skip interval based on a relationship in which the longer the indicated monitoring skip interval is, the lower the priority threshold, and the shorter the indicated monitoring skip interval is, the higher the priority threshold; The communication device according to claim 5 .

7. the communications device is configured with a plurality of configured uplink resource grants; the processing circuitry, in operation, determines the one or more configured uplink resource grants of the plurality of configured uplink resource grants, and the operation of skipping the processing is performed for the determined one or more configured uplink resource grants; Optionally, said determining of said one or more configured uplink resource grants is made based on information contained in said received configured resource skip indication; Optionally, the received information comprises: a bitmap, each bit of which is associated with one of the plurality of configured uplink resource grants and which indicates whether the action of skipping the processing for the associated configured uplink resource grant is performed or not; or one or more group indexes, the determination being further based on an association between each group index and one or more of the plurality of configured uplink resource grants, optionally the receiver receiving, in operation, the association from the base station in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol message; The communication device according to claim 1 .

8. The receiver, in operation, receives a monitoring skip indication in a downlink control signal from the base station, and the processing circuit, in operation, interprets the received monitoring skip indication as the configuration resource skip indication and as the monitoring skip indication; 2. The communications device of claim 1 , wherein optionally the monitoring skip indication indicates that the communications device can skip monitoring a downlink control channel during a monitoring skip period, and wherein the processing circuitry, in operation, in response to the monitoring skip indication, skips monitoring the downlink control channel for downlink control information from the base station during the monitoring skip period, and optionally the monitoring skip period is defined in terms of a time slot of a subframe.

9. The SPS downlink resource configuration configures a set of periodic downlink radio resources that the base station can use to transmit downlink data to the communication device without receiving separate downlink scheduling information via downlink control information from the base station; 2. The communications device of claim 1, wherein the configured uplink resource grant constitutes a set of periodic uplink radio resources that the communications device can use to transmit uplink data to a base station without a prior scheduling request from the communications device to the base station.

10. The communications device is configured with a plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations; In operation, the receiver receives an SPS activation / deactivation instruction from the base station; In operation, the processing circuitry determines two or more SPS downlink resource configurations of the plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations to be activated / deactivated based on information included in the received SPS activation / deactivation indication; The processing circuitry, in operation, activates / deactivates the two or more SPS downlink resource configurations based on the received SPS activation / deactivation indication; Optionally, the received information comprises: a bitmap, each bit of which is associated with one of the plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations and indicates whether the associated SPS downlink resource configuration is activated / deactivated; or one or more group indices, the determination being further based on a mapping between each group index and two or more SPS downlink resource configurations, optionally the receiver receiving, in operation, the mapping from the base station in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol message; The communication device according to claim 1 .

11. the communications device is configured with a plurality of configured uplink resource grants; In operation, the receiver receives a CG activation / deactivation instruction from the base station; In operation, the processing circuitry determines two or more configured uplink resource grants of the plurality of configured uplink resource grants to be activated / deactivated based on information included in the received CG activation / deactivation indication; The processing circuitry, in operation, activates / deactivates the two or more configured uplink resource grants based on the received CG activation / deactivation indication; Optionally, the received information comprises: a bitmap, each bit of which is associated with one of the plurality of configured uplink resource grants and which indicates whether the associated configured uplink resource grant is activated / deactivated, or one or more group indices, the determination being further based on an association between each group index and two or more configured uplink resource grants, optionally the receiver receiving, in operation, the association from the base station in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol message; The communication device according to claim 1 .

12. The communications device is configured with a plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations; In operation, the receiver receives an SPS switching indication from the base station, the SPS switching indication including a group index; In operation, the processing circuit determines a target group of an SPS downlink resource configuration based on the group index in the received SPS switching indication; The processing circuitry, in operation, switches from a currently used group of SPS downlink resource configurations to the determined target group of SPS downlink resource configurations; Optionally, the determination of the target group of SPS downlink resource configurations is further based on a correspondence between each group index and one or more SPS downlink resource configurations.

13. the communications device is configured with a plurality of configured uplink resource grants; In operation, the receiver receives a CG switching instruction from the base station, the CG switching instruction including a group index; In operation, the processing circuit determines a target group for a configured uplink resource grant based on the group index in the received CG switching instruction; The processing circuitry, in operation, switches from a currently used group of configured uplink resource grants to the determined target group of configured uplink resource grants; Optionally, the determination of a target group for the configured uplink resource grant is further based on a correspondence between each group index and one or more configured uplink resource grants.

14. The communications device is configured with a plurality of SPS downlink resource configurations; In operation, the processing circuitry operates an SPS switching counter, the SPS switching counter being started when a group of SPS downlink resource configurations is activated, and the processing circuitry switches from the activated group of SPS downlink resource configurations to another target group of SPS downlink resource configurations when the SPS switching counter reaches an SPS switching counter threshold, and optionally the other target group of SPS downlink resource configurations is defined per default or in a configuration in the communication device; The SPS switching counter is counting the number of consecutive time slots during which the communication device does not receive downlink data from the base station according to an activated group of the SPS downlink resource configuration but the activated group of the SPS downlink resource configuration is activated, optionally resetting the SPS switching counter when the communication device receives downlink data in one time slot from the base station according to an activated group of the SPS downlink resource configuration, or The communication device of claim 1, wherein the communication device does not receive downlink data from the base station according to the activated group of the SPS downlink resource configuration but counts the number of consecutive SPS downlink resource opportunities provided by the activated group of the SPS downlink resource configuration, and optionally, the SPS switching counter is reset when the communication device receives downlink data in one SPS downlink resource opportunity from the base station according to the activated group of the SPS downlink resource configuration.

15. the communications device is configured with a plurality of configured uplink resource grants; In operation, the processing circuitry operates a CG switch counter, the CG switch counter being started when a configured group of uplink resource grants is activated, the processing circuitry being configured to switch from the activated configured group of uplink resource grants to another target group of configured uplink resource grants when the CG switch counter reaches a CG switch counter threshold, optionally the other target group of configured uplink resource grants is defined per default or by configuration in the communications device; The CG switching counter is counting the number of consecutive time slots during which the communication device does not transmit uplink data to the base station using uplink resources according to an activated group of the configured uplink resource grant, but is activated by the activated group of the configured uplink resource grant, optionally the CG switch counter being reset when the communication device transmits uplink data in one time slot to the base station according to an activated group of the configured uplink resource grant, or - Counting the number of consecutive configured uplink resource opportunities provided by the activated group of the configured uplink resource grant during which the communications device does not transmit uplink data to the base station using uplink resources according to the activated group of the configured uplink resource grant, and optionally, the CG switching counter is reset when the communications device transmits uplink data to the base station in one configured uplink resource opportunity according to the activated group of the configured uplink resource grant.

16. In operation, the receiver receives a search space set group switch indication from the base station instructing the communication device to switch to a target search space set (SSS) group; The processing circuitry, in operation, switches from a currently used SSS group to the target SSS group indicated by the SSS group switching instruction; In operation, the processing circuitry operates an SSS group switch timer for the currently used SSS group, and upon expiration of the SSS group switch timer, the processing circuitry switches from the currently used SSS group to a target SSS group; The processing circuit, in operation, when switching to the target SSS group based on either the SSS group switching instruction or the SSS group switching timer, Switching from an activated SPS downlink resource configuration to another SPS downlink resource configuration based on a mapping between the target SSS group and the other SPS downlink resource configuration; - switching from the activated configured uplink resource grant to the other configured uplink resource grant based on a mapping between the target SSS group and the other configured uplink resource grant; The communication device of claim 1 , further comprising:

17. 1. A method comprising steps performed by a communication device, comprising: receiving a resource setting skip instruction from a base station, the resource setting skip instruction being Skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and Skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and instructing the device to perform one or more of the operations of skipping the one or more operations during a configured resource skip period in response to the received configured resource skip instruction; A method comprising:

18. A base station, A transmitter for transmitting a configuration resource skip instruction to a communication device, the configuration resource skip instruction being Skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and Skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; a transmitter for instructing the device to perform one or more of the operations of a processing circuit configured to, in operation, in response to the transmitted configured resource skip instruction, skip performing base station processing corresponding to one or more processes skipped by the communication device during a configured resource skip period; A base station comprising:

19. 1. A method comprising steps performed by a base station, comprising: A step of transmitting a configuration resource skip instruction to a communication device, the configuration resource skip instruction being Skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and Skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and and instructing the device to perform one or more of the operations of skipping, in response to the transmitted configuration resource skip instruction, performing a base station process corresponding to the one or more processes skipped by the communication device during a configuration resource skip period; A method comprising:

20. an integrated circuit which, in operation, controls processing of a communication device, said processing being performed by said communication device; receiving a resource setting skip instruction from a base station, the resource setting skip instruction being Skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and Skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and instructing the device to perform one or more of the operations of skipping the one or more operations during a configured resource skip period in response to the received configured resource skip instruction; 4. An integrated circuit comprising:

21. an integrated circuit that, in operation, controls processing of a base station, said processing being performed by said base station; A step of transmitting a configuration resource skip instruction to a communication device, the configuration resource skip instruction being Skipping processing related to one or more configured uplink resource grants; and Skipping processing related to one or more semi-persistent (SPS) downlink resource configurations; and instructing the execution of one or more of the operations of skipping, in response to the transmitted configuration resource skip instruction, performing a base station process corresponding to the one or more processes skipped by the communication device during a configuration resource skip period; 4. An integrated circuit comprising:

Images