Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium. The terminal device receives a setting regarding the wake-up of a first cell, and based on the setting, transmits a wake-up request to the first cell. The setting includes at least one of a first setting regarding the transmission of the wake-up request, or a second setting regarding the detection of a change in the operation mode of the first cell from a first mode to a second mode, where the power saving of the first mode is deeper than that of the second mode. In this way, the network may be activated from a deeper power-saving mode to a shallower power-saving mode.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly, to communication methods, apparatuses, and computer storage media for network energy conservation scenarios.

Background Art

[0002] Recently, network energy conservation has received significant attention. To save energy, it has been proposed to increase energy conservation opportunities in the time domain through the network. Additionally, it has been proposed to study mechanisms for utilizing potential energy conservation states or sleep modes and transitions between states by leveraging cell on / off opportunities. However, many aspects of such mechanisms remain incomplete and require further research.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] Generally, embodiments of the present disclosure provide communication methods, apparatuses, and computer storage media for network energy conservation scenarios.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes, at a terminal device, receiving a setting for waking up a first cell, and transmitting a wake-up request to the first cell based on the setting, where the setting includes at least one of a first setting for transmitting the wake-up request or a second setting for detecting a change in an operating mode of the first cell from a first mode to a second mode, and the energy conservation in the first mode is deeper than that in the second mode.

[0005] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes transmitting, in a network device, settings regarding wake-up of a first cell, where the settings include at least one of a first setting regarding transmission of a wake-up request or a second setting regarding detection of a change in an operating mode of the first cell from a first mode to a second mode, and where energy saving in the first mode is deeper than in the second mode.

[0006] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided. The device includes a processor configured to execute the method according to the first or second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a computer-readable medium storing instructions is provided. When the instructions are executed on at least one processor, the at least one processor is caused to execute the method described in the first or second aspect of the present disclosure.

[0008] Other features of the present disclosure should be readily understandable from the following description.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009] By further describing some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings in more detail, the above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent.

[0010] By further describing some embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings in more detail, the above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent.

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Figure 1

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Figure 4A

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Figure 7C

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Figure 7D

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[0029] In the figure, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0030] Here, the principles of the present disclosure will be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and are intended to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways different from the methods described below.

[0031] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein shall have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0032] References to "one embodiment", "an embodiment", "exemplary embodiment", etc. in the present disclosure indicate that the described embodiment can include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but each embodiment does not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Furthermore, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Moreover, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in relation to an embodiment, it is considered within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in relation to other embodiments, whether explicitly described or not.

[0033] It should be understood that terms such as "first" and "second" can be used herein to describe various elements, but these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments, a first element could be named a second element, and similarly, a second element could be named a first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the recited terms.

[0034] The terms used in this specification are for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used in this specification, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" also include the plural forms unless explicitly stated otherwise in the context. As used herein, the terms "comprise", "comprising", "have", "having", "include", "including", and / or "carry" specify the presence of the described features, elements, and / or components, etc., but it should be further understood that they do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0035] In some examples, a value, procedure, or device is referred to as "optimal", "lowest", "highest", "minimum", "maximum", etc. Such descriptions are intended to indicate that a selection is possible from among the multiple functional alternatives used, and it will be understood that such a selection need not be superior, smaller, higher, or more preferable than other selections.

[0036] As used herein, the term "communication network" means a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA®), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), and the like. Further, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network may be realized according to any suitable generation of communication protocol, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G), 5.5G, 5G-Advanced network or sixth generation (6G) communication protocol, and / or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure are applicable to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there will naturally be future types of communication technologies and systems in which the present disclosure can be implemented. This should not be regarded as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned systems.

[0037] As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any device having wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include user equipment (UE), personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communication (URLLC) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, in-vehicle devices for vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication where X means a pedestrian, a vehicle, or infrastructure / network, devices for Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB), satellite-mounted vehicles or aircraft-mounted vehicles within a Non-terrestrial network (NTN) including High Altitude Platforms (HAPs) including satellites and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs), extended reality (XR) devices including different types of reality such as Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), Virtual Reality (VR), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which are aircraft without human pilots and are commonly referred to as drones, devices on high speed trains (HSTs), or image acquisition devices such as digital cameras, sensors, game devices, music storage and playback devices, or Internet devices enabling wireless or wired Internet access and browsing, etc., including but not limited to these.The "terminal device" may further have a "multicast / broadcast" function to support public safety and mission critical, V2X applications, transparent IPv4 / IPv6 multicast delivery, IPTV, smart TV, wireless services, software delivery via wireless, group communication, and IoT applications. Also, it may incorporate one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), known as multi-SIM. The term "terminal device" may be used interchangeably with UE, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile terminal, user terminal, or wireless device.

[0038] The term "core network (CN) device" refers to any device or entity that provides access and mobility management functions, session management functions (SMF), user plane functions (UPF), etc. By way of non-limiting example, the CN device may be a mobility management entity (MME), AMF, SMF, UPF, etc. In other embodiments, the CN device may be any other suitable device or entity.

[0039] As used herein, the term "access network device" means a device that can provide or host a cell or coverage with which a terminal device can communicate. Examples of network devices include, but are not limited to, satellites, unmanned aerial systems (UAS) platforms, Node B (NodeB or NB), evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), next generation Node B (gNB), transmission reception point (TRP), remote radio unit (RRU), radio head (RH), remote radio head (RRH), IAB nodes, femto nodes, low-power nodes such as pico nodes, reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), etc.

[0040] The terminal device or the network device may have the ability of artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning. Generally, it includes a trained model from a large number of data collected for a specific function and can be used to predict some information.

[0041] The terminal device or the network device may operate on several frequency ranges such as, for example, FR1 (410 MHz to 7125 MHz), FR2 (24.25 GHz to 71 GHz), frequency bands greater than 100 GHz, and terahertz (THz). Furthermore, it can operate on licensed / unlicensed / shared spectrum. The terminal device may have two or more connections with the network device under a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) application scenario. The terminal device or the network device can operate in full-duplex, flexible-duplex, cross-split duplex modes.

[0042] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in test equipment such as, for example, signal generators, signal analyzers, spectrum analyzers, network analyzers, test terminal devices, test network devices, channel emulators, and the like.

[0043] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be executed according to any generation of communication protocol that is currently known or will be developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocol, 5.5G, 5G-Advanced network, or sixth generation (6G) network.

[0044] Currently, for network energy saving, several technologies and improvement measures have been proposed in terms of increasing energy-saving opportunities in the time domain, adapting frequency resource utilization, adapting the number of spatial elements, and adapting signal or channel transmission and reception processing. Regarding the technologies and improvement measures for increasing energy-saving opportunities in the time domain by the gNB, it is necessary to further study the mechanism that utilizes potential energy-saving states or sleep modes and the transitions between states by leveraging the on / off opportunities of cells.

[0045] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication solution for waking up a cell to solve potential problems that utilize potential energy-saving states or sleep modes and transitions between modes or states. In this solution, the terminal device receives a setting regarding the wake-up of a cell (for convenience, also referred to as the first cell or target cell in this specification). Based on the setting, the terminal device transmits a wake-up request to the cell. The setting includes at least one of a first setting regarding the transmission of the wake-up request or a second setting regarding the detection of a change in the operating mode of the cell from a first mode to a second mode, where the energy saving in the first mode is deeper than that in the second mode.

[0046] In this way, the terminal device may activate the network from a deeper power-saving mode to a shallower power-saving mode.

[0047] Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the principles and exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail. Example of communication network

[0048] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary communication network 100 capable of implementing some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication network 100 may include a terminal device 110, and network devices 120 and 130. To serve one or more terminal devices, the network device 120 provides a cell 121, and the network device 130 provides a cell 131. The terminal device 110 may be served by any one of the network devices 120 and 130.

[0049] It should be understood that the number of devices or cells in FIG. 1 is given for illustrative purposes and does not imply any limitation to the present disclosure. The communication network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and / or terminal devices suitable for implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure. Further, each of the network devices 120 and 130 may provide more cells.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal device 110 may communicate with the network devices 120 or 130 via a channel such as a wireless communication channel. The communication in the communication network 100 may comply with any suitable standard including, but not limited to, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), New Radio (NR), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), Machine Type Communication (MTC), etc. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be executed in accordance with any generation of communication protocol known currently or developed in the future. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G) communication protocol, 5.5G, 5G-Advanced network, or sixth generation (6G) network.

[0051] In some embodiments, the network devices 120 and 130 may be different network devices. In some embodiments, the network devices 120 and 130 may be the same network device.

[0052] In some scenarios, the network device 120 may be in a low load state where there are few or no terminal devices (not shown) within the cell 121 that are connected to the network device 120. In this case, the network device 120 may switch to the power saving mode. When the adjacent load increases or the terminal device 110 enters the cell 121, the terminal device 110 needs to activate the cell 121 of the network device 120 from the current power saving mode to a shallower power saving mode (for example, the normal operation mode).

[0053] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for activating a cell from a deeper power saving mode to a shallower power saving mode. More details will be described below in connection with FIGS. 2 to 6F.

[0054] In the context of the present disclosure, the power saving mode of the network (NW) may include, but is not limited to, any of the following modes. ● Normal mode: The NW operates in a conventional manner, network power saving technology is not used, and the UE can normally camp on and access. ● Micro sleep mode: The NW turns off the transmitter / receiver (TRX) and power amplification (PA) for short inactive gaps. ● Light sleep mode: Some PAs, TRXs, and related analog processing units in the intelligent resilient framework (IRF) are turned off, thereby realizing the function of turning off some TRXs so that, for example, 64 TRXs are turned off to become 32 TRXs. ● Deep sleep mode: Most of the PAs, TRXs, and IRF units are turned off, and a minimum set of units operates. ● Ultra-deep sleep: The active antenna unit (AAU) turns off almost all hardware units. ● Power-off mode: The UE cannot even detect the NW and considers the NW as non-existent.

[0055] In the classification of power-saving modes from the normal mode to the power-off mode, it can be seen that more hardware, PA, and TRX IRF units are turned off, the non-active gap becomes longer, and the SSB period, DRX / eDRX period, etc. become longer. Alternatively, the classification of power-saving modes may be described as TX only / RX only, switch on / switch off, or cell activation / non-activation. Or, although there is no explicit mode classification, only some key performance indicators (KPIs) are used. Example of realizing cell activation

[0056] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a communication process 200 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For the sake of explanation, the process 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The process 200 may involve the terminal device 110, and the network devices 120 and 130 as shown in FIG. 1. Assume that the network devices 120 and 130 are in the normal mode, and the network device 120 provides a target cell (i.e., the first cell) to be woken up. 1. Wake-up setting

[0057] As shown in FIG. 2, the network device 130 may send a setting for waking up the first cell to the terminal device 110 (210).

[0058] In some embodiments, the setting may include a setting for sending a wake-up request (for convenience, also referred to herein as the first setting or the request sending setting). In some embodiments, the setting may include a setting for detecting a change in the operation mode of the first cell from the first mode to the second mode (for convenience, also referred to herein as the second setting or the detection setting), and the power saving of the first mode is deeper than that of the second mode. It should be understood that the setting may include any combination of the first setting, the second setting, and any other appropriate setting. 1) Request sending setting Transmission time window

[0059] In some embodiments, the first setting (i.e., the request sending setting) may include information about a time window for sending a wake-up request. In some embodiments, the information about the time window may include information for determining the start position of the time window and the time interval of the time window.

[0060] In some embodiments, the information for determining the start position of the time window may include the period of the time window, the offset of the system frame of the time window, and the start sub-frame of the time window. For example, the system frame of the time window may be determined based on the following formula (1). SFN mod period = offset (1) Here, SFN represents the system frame number of the time window, period represents the period of the time window, and offset represents the offset of the system frame of the time window. The time window occurs at an SFN that satisfies the condition described in formula (1), and the start position of the time window may be determined based on the start sub-frame of the time window.

[0061] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram 300 showing an exemplary setting of a time window according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this example, it is assumed that the subcarrier spacing (SCS) = 30 kHz and 1 subframe = 2 slots. Also, it is assumed that the period = 80 subframes, the offset = 0, the start subframe = 4, and the time interval = 5 subframes. From Equation (1), based on the period = 80 subframes and the offset = 0, it can be seen that the SFN = 0, 8. And the time windows 310, 311 can be determined based on the start subframe = 4 and the time interval = 5 subframes. It should be understood that Figure 3 is only an example and does not limit the present disclosure. Any other appropriate time unit is also possible.

[0062] In some alternative embodiments, the information for determining the start position of the time window may include an offset with respect to the SSB transmission. In some embodiments, the offset with respect to the SSB transmission may include a time offset with respect to the time domain position of the SSB. For example, the time offset with respect to the time domain position of the SSB may be the time offset with respect to the time domain position of the candidate SSB (i.e., the first symbol of the SSB index = 0). In some embodiments, the offset with respect to the SSB transmission may include a time offset with respect to the half frame having the SSB. In some embodiments, the offset with respect to the SSB transmission may include a time offset with respect to the subframe or slot in which the SSB starts.

[0063] In some alternative embodiments, the information for determining the start position of the time window may include an offset with respect to the SSB measurement timing configuration (SMTC) window. For example, the offset with respect to the SMTC window may include a time offset with respect to the first or last subframe of each SMTC opportunity.

[0064] In some alternative embodiments, the information for determining the start position of the time window may include an offset with respect to a predefined signal. For example, the offset with respect to the predefined signal may be a time offset with respect to the time domain position of the predefined signal. For example, the predefined signal may be a signal for discovery or measurement of a sleep state. Any other suitable signal is also possible.

[0065] In some alternative embodiments, the information for determining the start position of the time window may include an offset with respect to a paging occasion (PO) / paging transmission window (PTW). For example, the offset with respect to the PO / PTW may be a time offset with respect to the first or last subframe of each PO / PTW.

[0066] In some alternative embodiments, the start position of the time window may be determined by reusing physical random access channel (PRACH) resources. In some alternative embodiments, the terminal device 110 may send a wake-up request at any time, and the detection of the wake-up request may always be on.

[0067] It should be understood that the information for determining the start position of the time window may include any combination of the above information and / or any other suitable information. Opportunity in the time window

[0068] In some embodiments, the time window (e.g., time window 310 or 311) may include an opportunity associated with the SSB (for convenience, also referred to as a request occasion (RO) herein). In some embodiments, there may be a mapping between the SSB or other DL RS or discovery signal and the opportunity for wake-up request transmission.

[0069] In some embodiments, the mapping may be designed to first depend on the increasing index of the RO in frequency division multiplexing (FDM), and then depend on the increasing index of the RO in time division multiplexing (TDM). FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram 400A showing an exemplary mapping between the opportunities for wake-up request transmission and the SSB according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Assume that the SSB on beam 0 is mapped to RO0, the SSB on beam 1 is mapped to RO1, the SSB on beam 2 is mapped to RO2, and the SSB on beam 3 is mapped to RO3. In the example of FIG. 4A, the index of the RO increases first in the frequency domain and then in the time domain.

[0070] In some embodiments, the mapping may be designed to first depend on the increasing index of the RO in TDM, and then depend on the increasing index of the RO in FDM. FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram 400B showing another exemplary mapping between the opportunities for wake-up request transmission and the SSB according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Assume that the SSB on beam 0 is mapped to RO0, the SSB on beam 1 is mapped to RO1, the SSB on beam 2 is mapped to RO2, and the SSB on beam 3 is mapped to RO3. In the example of FIG. 4B, the index of the RO increases first in the time domain and then in the frequency domain.

[0071] In some embodiments, the mapping may be designed to respond only to the increasing index of the RO of TDM. FIG. 4C is a schematic diagram 400C showing another exemplary mapping between the opportunity for wake-up request transmission and the SSB according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Assume that the SSB on beam 0 is mapped to RO0, the SSB on beam 1 is mapped to RO1, the SSB on beam 2 is mapped to RO2, and the SSB on beam 3 is mapped to RO3. In the example of FIG. 4C, the index of the RO increases only in the time domain. In some embodiments, the mapping may be designed to respond only to the increasing index of the RO of FDM.

[0072] In some embodiments, which of the above mapping embodiments is used may be set by the network. It should be understood that the mapping may also adopt any other suitable method. Transmission condition

[0073] In some embodiments, the first setting may include conditions for the transmission of wake-up requests.

[0074] In some embodiments, the conditions for the transmission of wake-up requests may include that an instruction to transmit a wake-up request is received from another cell (for convenience, also referred to as the third cell in this specification). In other words, when the terminal device 110 receives an instruction from another cell (for example, when the traffic load is high), the terminal device 110 may determine to transmit a wake-up request to the first cell.

[0075] In some embodiments, the conditions for sending a wake-up request may include that the quality of another cell (for convenience, also referred to as the fourth cell in this specification) is below a threshold quality. In some embodiments, the cell quality may be obtained from measurements of DL RS. In some embodiments, the cell quality may be represented by at least one of the parameters of reference signal receiving power (RSRP), reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) or signal to noise ratio (SNR).

[0076] In some embodiments, when the RRC_CONNECTED UE decides to wake up Network A, it may notify Network B. In some embodiments, depending on the implementation, the RRC_CONNECTED UE may send a wake-up request during an inactive period or an off-time interval. In some embodiments, handover and cell reselection may have a higher priority than the wake-up request.

[0077] In some embodiments, the conditions for sending a wake-up request may include that there is no cell to camp on. In some embodiments, since there is no appropriate cell to camp on, when the terminal device 110 is in any cell search state, the terminal device 110 may decide to send a wake-up request.

[0078] It should be understood that the conditions for sending a wake-up request may include any combination of the above conditions and / or other appropriate conditions. Other settings

[0079] In some embodiments, the first setting may include the maximum number of wake-up request attempts. In some embodiments, the maximum number of wake-up request attempts may include the maximum number of times of wake-up request attempts. For example, the terminal device 110 does not expect to send a wake-up request after Q failed attempts (where Q is a positive integer). In some embodiments, the maximum number of wake-up request attempts may include the maximum number of wake-up request attempts within a certain period (e.g., within the time window 310 or 311). For example, the terminal device 110 may attempt to wake up the first cell P times within the period T, where P is a positive integer and T is a time length such as 60 minutes or 24 hours. It should be understood that the maximum number of wake-up request attempts may include any combination of the above information and / or any other appropriate information.

[0080] In some embodiments, the first setting may include the maximum number of repetitions for wake-up request attempts. In some embodiments, the maximum number of repetitions may be determined according to the service quality.

[0081] In some embodiments, the first setting may include the earliest time for sending the wake-up request. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may be permitted to send a wake-up request after the earliest time. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may be permitted to send a wake-up request only during a certain period, for example, only within the time window after the earliest time.

[0082] In some embodiments, the first setting may include an indication of the synchronization between network A and network B. For example, when network A is shown to be synchronized with network B, DL synchronization by SSB or other RS signals before sending a wake-up request is not required.

[0083] In some embodiments, the first configuration may include an indication as to whether the system frame number (SFN) and frame boundary are aligned between the serving cell and the neighboring cell. For example, if the SFN and frame boundary are not aligned, it may be necessary to indicate to refer to the serving cell or the neighboring cell. Alternatively, the use of this function should guarantee that the SFN and frame boundary are aligned across the serving cell and the neighboring cell.

[0084] It should be understood that the first configuration may include any combination of the above configurations and / or any other suitable configurations. Thus, in order to activate the cell, time domain resources are defined for the terminal device. 2) Detection setting Earliest time

[0085] The network may need time to evaluate whether to wake up. The network may need startup time. In some embodiments, the second configuration (i.e., the detection configuration) may include the earliest time (represented as T1) for detecting a change in the operation mode of the first cell.

[0086] In some embodiments, after T1 has elapsed after the transmission of the wake-up request, the terminal device 110 may detect a change in the operation mode of the first cell. In other words, T1 may start at the time of transmission of the wake-up request.

[0087] In some embodiments, after T1 has elapsed from the end of the time window in which the wake-up request is transmitted, the terminal device 110 may start detecting a change in the operation mode of the first cell. In other words, T1 may start at the end of the time window in which the wake-up request is transmitted.

[0088] In some embodiments, T1 may be determined by the number of time windows. For example, the start of the Nth time window after the transmission of the wake-up request may be determined as T1. Latest time

[0089] The network may determine not to wake up because only a small number of wake-up requests have been received or the received power is lower than the threshold power. In some embodiments, the second setting may include the latest time (represented as T2) for detecting a change in the operation mode of the first cell. If the network has not woken up after T2, the terminal device 110 regards the transmitted wake-up request as having failed or been rejected.

[0090] In some embodiments, T2 may start at the time of transmission of the wake-up request. In some embodiments, T2 may start at the end of the time window in which the wake-up request is transmitted. In some embodiments, T2 may start at the expiration of T1. FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram 500A showing exemplary detection regarding the wake-up of a cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 5A, both T1 and T2 start at the end of the time window in which the wake-up request is transmitted.

[0091] In some embodiments where the network has not woken up, after T2, the terminal device 110 may continue to search for this network. This network can be woken up later by other terminal devices. In some embodiments, after T2, the terminal device 110 may start another wake-up request attempt.

[0092] In this case, a terminal device that transmits a wake-up request at different times or within different time windows may detect a change in the operation mode of the cell at different times or within different periods. FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram 500B showing an exemplary scenario of detection regarding the wake-up of a cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0093] As shown in FIG. 5B, UE1 and UE2 transmit a wake-up request within time window 510 and detect the wake-up of the network (NW) after a period of T1 has elapsed since the end of time window 510. UE3 and UE4 transmit a wake-up request within time window 520 and detect the wake-up of the NW after a period of T1 has elapsed since the end of time window 520. In this example, UE1 to UE4 may detect a change in the NW from the deep sleep mode to the normal mode. Switching period

[0094] In some embodiments, the overall time may be divided into periods (also referred to herein as switching periods) that are alternately used for wake-up request transmission and mode change detection. In this case, the mode change detection may be performed within the switching period following the switching period in which the wake-up request is transmitted.

[0095] In some embodiments, the second setting (i.e., the detection setting) may include information for determining the switching period. For example, the second setting may include the number of system frames for determining the switching period. In some embodiments, the length of the switching period is equal to a predefined number of system frames. It should be understood that any other suitable information for determining the switching period is also possible.

[0096] FIG. 5C is a schematic diagram 500C showing another exemplary detection regarding the wake-up of a cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5C, there may be a plurality of switching periods alternately used for wake-up request transmission and mode change detection. A boundary may be defined between two switching periods. After transmitting a wake-up request, the terminal device 110 may attempt to detect NW from the boundary. The detection time may start from the boundary and may continue for a period T. In some embodiments, T may be equal to a predetermined number of switching periods. The predetermined number may be any suitable positive integer. After T has elapsed, if NW has not been woken up, the terminal device 110 may continue to search for NW. NW can be woken up later by another terminal device. Alternatively, the terminal device 110 may start another wake-up request attempt after T has elapsed.

[0097] It should be understood that the second setting may include any combination of the above settings and / or any other suitable settings. Thus, the terminal device only needs to detect a change in the operation mode of the cell during a certain period after transmitting a wake-up request. For this reason, it is possible to avoid immediate detection or constant detection. 2. Sending wake-up request Mode change information

[0098] Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, the network device 120 (e.g., cell 121) may determine to change from a shallower power-saving mode to a deeper power-saving mode, e.g., from the normal mode to the deep sleep mode (220). Accordingly, the network device 120 may transmit information on the change from a shallower power-saving mode to a deeper power-saving mode (for convenience, also referred to as second information in this specification) to the terminal device 110 (230).

[0099] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit the second information via system information. For example, the change of the power saving mode is indicated using a system information update procedure. In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit the second information via a handover (HO) command from the cell 121. In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit the second information via an RRC release message. In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit the second information via a cell-defined synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block (CD-SSB) that does not schedule a system information block 1 (SIB1). In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit the second information together with the setting for waking up the cell 121.

[0100] In this way, the network may notify the terminal device of the energy mode change. Then, the network device 120 may switch to a deeper power saving mode (240).

[0101] Note that the order of operation 210 and operations 220 to 240 is not limited to the order shown in FIG. 2. Operation 210 may be executed before any one of operations 220 to 240, or after any one of operations 220 to 240, or simultaneously with any one of operations 220 to 240. The present disclosure does not limit this aspect. Wake-up decision

[0102] Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, the terminal device 110 may determine whether to send a wake-up request to the network device 120 for waking up the first cell (e.g., cell 121) (250). In some embodiments, the network device 130 and the network device 120 may be the same device. In some embodiments, the network device 130 and the network device 120 may be different devices. For example, the network device 130 may be the serving cell of the terminal device 110, and the network device 120 may be an adjacent cell of the terminal device 110. As another example, the network device 130 may be a macro cell, and the network device 120 may be a micro cell.

[0103] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine whether to send a wake-up request based on the conditions for sending the wake-up request included in the first setting.

[0104] In some embodiments where the network device 130 and the network device 120 may be different devices, if the terminal device 110 receives an instruction to send a wake-up request from the cell (e.g., cell 131) provided by the network device 130, the terminal device 110 may determine to send the wake-up request to the network device 120.

[0105] In some embodiments where the network device 130 and the network device 120 may be different devices, if the terminal device 110 determines that the quality of cell 131 is below the threshold quality (e.g., less than or equal to), the terminal device 110 may determine to send the wake-up request to the network device 120.

[0106] In some embodiments, if there is no suitable cell to camp on, the terminal device 110 may determine to send a wake-up request to the network device 120. Wake-up request

[0107] Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, the terminal device 110 may transmit a wake-up request to the network device 120 based on the setting for waking up the first cell (for example, cell 121) provided by the network device 120 (260). It should be understood that the terminal device 110 may transmit a wake-up request at any time without any condition limitation. That is, the above determination 250 may be optional.

[0108] In some embodiments where opportunities within a time window are associated with SSBs, the terminal device 110 may select at least one SSB from these SSBs. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may select at least one SSB among the SSBs having a reference signal receiving power (RSRP) equal to or higher than a threshold power. In some embodiments, if there is no SSB having an RSRP equal to or higher than the threshold power, the terminal device 110 may select any one of these SSBs. In some embodiments, if there is no SSB having an RSRP equal to or higher than the threshold power, the terminal device 110 may terminate the transmission of the wake-up request.

[0109] When the at least one SSB is selected, the terminal device 110 may determine an opportunity from at least one opportunity within the time window corresponding to the at least one SSB. Then, the terminal device 110 may transmit a wake-up request at the determined opportunity. For example, as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, if the terminal device 110 determines that the SSB received via beam 2 has the highest RSRP, the terminal device 110 may transmit a wake-up request at opportunity RO2.

[0110] For example, an exemplary procedure may be described as follows. When at least one SSB having an SS-RSRP exceeding rsrp-ThresholdSSB is available: Select an SSB having an SS-RSRP that exceeds rsrp-ThresholdSSB. Otherwise, Select any SSB (or end the request). If at least one of these SSBs is selected, determine the next available request opportunity from the candidate request opportunities within the next available time window corresponding to the selected SSB. At the determined request opportunity, send a wake-up request.

[0111] As another example, an exemplary procedure may be described as follows. If at least one SSB having an SS-RSRP that exceeds rsrp-ThresholdSSB is available: Select N SSBs having an SS-RSRP that exceeds rsrp-ThresholdSSB (N can be based on the number of repetitions). Otherwise, Select any SSB (or end the request). If at least one of these SSBs is selected, determine all available request opportunities from the candidate request opportunities within the next available request window corresponding to the selected SSB. At the determined request opportunity, send a wake-up request.

[0112] In this way, the terminal device can select the best beam and send a wake-up request on the best beam. Depending on the position of the time or frequency domain resource where the wake-up request is received, the NW can know the best DL beam for the terminal device. The NW may determine to wake up only a part of the beam. Handling of exceptions

[0113] In some embodiments where the switching period is alternately used for wake-up request transmission and mode change detection, a terminal device that transmits a wake-up request within the same switching period will detect a mode change of the NW from the same time boundary or during the same period. The mode change of the NW may be completed at any time during the next switching period. FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram 600A showing an exemplary scenario of cell mode change according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this example, two switching periods 610 and 620 are shown. UE1 and UE2 transmit wake-up requests within the time window 611 within the switching period 610, and UE3 and UE4 transmit wake-up requests within the time window 612 within the switching period 610. UE1, UE2, UE3, and UE4 may start detecting the mode change of the NW at the boundary 630. Since it is possible for the NW mode change to occur after the boundary 630, UE1, UE2, UE3, and UE4 can detect the NW mode change.

[0114] In some scenarios, it may be assumed that the NW completes the mode change at the boundary during the switching period. FIG. 6B is a schematic diagram 600B showing another exemplary scenario of cell mode change according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this example, two switching periods 640 and 650 are shown. UE1 and UE2 transmit wake-up requests within the time window 641 within the switching period 640, and UE3 and UE4 transmit wake-up requests within the time window 642 within the switching period 640. UE1, UE2, UE3, and UE4 may start detecting the mode change of the NW at the boundary 660. The mode change of the NW can be completed at least at the boundary 660.

[0115] In this case, if the terminal device transmits a wake-up request in a time window close to the boundary 660, the wake-up request may be received by the NW, but it may be too late to be considered, or the NW may start just before the boundary 660 and not have enough time to complete the mode change.

[0116] In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure provide solutions to solve the above problems. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit the wake-up request during a time window within the switching period in which the index is lower than a predetermined index. For example, the terminal device 110 may transmit the wake-up request only during a first period T within the switching period. As another example, the terminal device 110 may transmit the wake-up request only during the first N time windows within the switching period. In other words, when the time window is very close to the boundary, the time window may be considered invalid.

[0117] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit the wake-up request in response to the remaining time before the boundary of the switching period being equal to or greater than a threshold time. In other words, when the remaining time before the approaching boundary is less than the threshold time, the terminal device 110 may terminate the transmission of the wake-up request. In this case, the transmission of the wake-up request may be postponed to the next switching period. Since NW can be woken up by the requests of other terminal devices at the approaching boundary, the terminal device 110 may first detect whether the mode change has already been performed. 3. Detection of cell mode change Detection time

[0118] Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, after transmitting the wake-up request, the terminal device 110 may detect a change in the operating mode of the cell 121 (270).

[0119] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the switching period based on a second setting (i.e., a detection setting). The terminal device 110 may determine, from these switching periods, the switching period during which the wake-up request is transmitted (for convenience, also referred to as the first switching period in this specification). Then, the terminal device 110 may detect a change in the operating mode of the cell 121 within the switching period following the first switching period (for convenience, also referred to as the second switching period in this specification).

[0120] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the switching period by determining the boundary during the switching period. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the boundary based on the set number of system frames and the system frame number (SFN). For example, the terminal device 110 may determine the SFN value associated with the boundary based on the following formula (2). SFN mod m = 0 (2) Here, m is the set number of system frames. In this case, the boundary is determined to be located at the start of the SFN that satisfies the condition described in formula (2).

[0121] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the boundary during the switching period based on the set number of system frames, the hyper system frame number (H-SFN), and the SFN. For example, the terminal device 110 may determine the SFN value associated with the boundary based on the following formula (3). In this case, m may be greater than 1024 system frames. (H-SFN * 1024 + SFN) mod m = 0 (3) Here, m is the set number of system frames. In this case, the boundary is determined to be located at the start of the SFN that satisfies the condition described in formula (3).

[0122] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the boundary during the switching period based on the set number of system frames and the H-SFN. For example, the terminal device 110 may determine the H-SFN value associated with the boundary based on the following formula (4). H-SFN mod m = 0 (4) Here, m is the set number of hyper system frames. In this case, the boundary is determined to be located at the start of the H-SFN that satisfies the condition described in formula (4).

[0123] FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram 700A showing an exemplary determination of the boundary of a switching period according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7A, based on Equation (2), the start of SFN 0, M1 (M1 mod m = 0) may be determined as the boundary of switching periods 710 and 720. In this case, the length of one switching period is m system frames. Since the wake-up request is transmitted within the time window 711 within the switching period 710, mode change detection is performed within the switching period 720.

[0124] FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram 700B showing another exemplary determination of the boundary of a switching period according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7B, based on Equation (4), the start of H-SFN 0, M2 (M2 mod m = 0) may be determined as the boundary of switching periods 730 and 740. In this case, the length of one switching period is m hyper system frames. Since the wake-up request is transmitted within the time window 731 within the switching period 730, mode change detection is performed within the switching period 740.

[0125] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the boundary during the switching period based on the start of a predetermined time window. The predetermined time window may be set or predefined. For example, the predetermined time window may be the Nth time window within the switching period. FIG. 7C is a schematic diagram 700C showing another exemplary determination of the boundary of a switching period according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Assume that after transmitting the wake-up request, the start of the next time window is set as the boundary for mode change detection, so that switching periods 750 and switching period 751 are determined. In this case, the length of one switching period is the period of the time window. As shown in FIG. 7C, when the wake-up request is transmitted within the time window 751 of the switching period 750, mode change detection starts from the time window 761 of the switching period 760.

[0126] In some embodiments, after sending a wake-up request, the terminal device 110 may attempt to detect a mode change starting from the beginning of the next time window whose index is an integer multiple of N. FIG. 7D is a schematic diagram 700D showing another exemplary determination of the boundary of the switching period according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Assume that the start of the next time window whose index is an integer multiple of 3 is set as the boundary for mode change detection. As shown in FIG. 7D, if the wake-up request is sent within the time window 771 (corresponding to the first time window in this example, and the index of the time window 771 is 0), the mode change detection starts from the fourth time window 781 (the index of the time window 781 is 3, that is, an integer multiple of 3).

[0127] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine the boundary based on a timer. For example, the timer may start when the wake-up request is sent, and the mode change detection may be performed when the timer expires.

[0128] It should be understood that any other suitable method is also possible for determining the switching period or the boundary between switching periods. Detection of successful wake-up

[0129] In some embodiments, when the terminal device 110 receives an SSB from the cell 121, the terminal device 110 may determine that the wake-up of the cell 121 is successful. In some embodiments, when the terminal device 110 detects a normal SSB transmission, the terminal device 110 may determine that the wake-up of the cell 121 is successful.

[0130] In some embodiments, when the cell 121 is available for access, the terminal device 110 may determine that the wake-up of the cell 121 is successful. For example, the cell 121 is not regarded as prohibited for the terminal device 110.

[0131] In some embodiments, when the system information from cell 121 indicates a change in the operating mode of cell 121 from a first mode (i.e., a deeper power-saving mode) to a second mode (i.e., a shallower power-saving mode), the terminal device 110 may determine that the wake-up of cell 121 has been successful. For example, if there is no SIB1 scheduled as a sleep mode on CD-SSB, the terminal device 110 may determine that the wake-up of cell 121 has been successful. As another example, if SIB1 is scheduled as a wake-up mode on CD-SSB, the terminal device 110 may determine that the wake-up of cell 121 has been successful.

[0132] It should be understood that any combination of the above conditions and any other suitable conditions is also possible to determine a successful wake-up request. Detection of failed wake-up

[0133] In some embodiments, if the terminal device 110 does not receive any SSB from cell 121, the terminal device 110 may determine that the wake-up of cell 121 has failed.

[0134] In some embodiments, if cell 121 is still unavailable for access, the terminal device 110 may determine that the wake-up of cell 121 has failed. For example, cell 121 is considered prohibited for the terminal device 110.

[0135] In some embodiments, when the system information from cell 121 indicates the operation of cell 121 in a first mode (i.e., a deeper power-saving mode), the terminal device 110 may determine that the wake-up of cell 121 has failed.

[0136] It should be understood that any combination of the above conditions and any other suitable conditions is also possible to determine a failed wake-up request. Resumption of wake-up request

[0137] In some embodiments, if the wake-up of cell 121 fails, the terminal device 110 may resume the wake-up request after at least a predetermined period of time.

[0138] In some embodiments, the predetermined period of time may be a set or predefined length of time. In some embodiments, the predetermined period of time may be a predetermined number of time windows. In some embodiments, the predetermined period of time may be a predetermined number of switching periods. It should be understood that the predetermined period of time may be determined in any other suitable manner. 4. Storage of wake-up request information

[0139] Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, the terminal device 110 may store information on the wake-up request that has failed or succeeded (280).

[0140] In some embodiments, the information on the wake-up request that has failed or succeeded may include the time stamp of the transmission of the wake-up request.

[0141] In some embodiments, the information on the wake-up request that has failed or succeeded may include the number of trial attempts of the wake-up request.

[0142] In some embodiments, the information on the wake-up request that has failed or succeeded may include the cause of the wake-up request. For example, the cause may include at least one of deterioration of the last serving cell, indication of the last serving cell, load balancing, absence of a suitable cell or no cell selection.

[0143] In some embodiments, the information on the wake-up request that has failed or succeeded may include the delay time of the wake-up. For example, the time from the first wake-up attempt to normal access, or the time from the first wake-up attempt to becoming available for access.

[0144] It should be understood that information on failed or successful wake-up requests may include any combination of the above information and any other appropriate information. 5. Reporting of wake-up request information

[0145] Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, the terminal device 110 may transmit the availability of information on failed or successful wake-up requests (290).

[0146] The network device 130 may transmit a request to the terminal device 110 to obtain the information on failed or successful wake-up requests (291).

[0147] The terminal device 110 may transmit the information on failed or successful wake-up requests to the network device 120 (292).

[0148] In this way, the wake-up information may be recorded and reported for use in self-organizing network (SON) / minimization of drive tests (MDT) optimization. Example of realizing the method

[0149] Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure provide communication methods implemented in a terminal device and an access network device. Referring to FIGS. 8-9, these methods will be described below.

[0150] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an exemplary communication method 800 implemented in a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the method 800 may be executed in the terminal device 110 as shown in FIG. 1. Hereinafter, for the sake of explanation, the method 800 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The method 800 may include additional blocks not shown and / or may omit some of the blocks shown, and it should be understood that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0151] In block 810, the terminal device 110 receives settings regarding the wake-up of the first cell (e.g., cell 121). In some embodiments, the settings may include at least one of a first setting regarding the transmission of a wake-up request, or a second setting regarding the detection of a change in the operating mode of the first cell from a first mode to a second mode, where the power saving of the first mode is deeper than that of the second mode.

[0152] In some embodiments, the first setting may include at least one of information about the time window for transmitting the wake-up request, the conditions for transmitting the wake-up request, the maximum number of wake-up request attempts, the maximum number of repetitions for wake-up request attempts, the earliest time for transmitting the wake-up request, an indication of synchronization between network devices, or an indication of whether the system frame number and frame boundary are aligned between the serving cell and adjacent cells.

[0153] In some embodiments, the information about the time window may include information for determining the start position of the time window and the time interval of the time window. In some embodiments, the information for determining the start position may include at least one of the period of the time window, the system frame offset of the time window, the start subframe of the time window, the offset with respect to SSB transmission, the offset with respect to the SMTC window, or the offset with respect to a predefined signal. In some embodiments, the offset with respect to SSB transmission may include a time offset with respect to the time domain position of the SSB, a time offset with respect to the half frame having the SSB, or a time offset with respect to the subframe or slot where the SSB starts. In some embodiments, the time window may include an opportunity associated with the SSB.

[0154] In some embodiments, the maximum number of wake-up request trials may include at least one of the maximum number of wake-up request trials or the maximum number of wake-up request trials within a certain period.

[0155] In some embodiments, the conditions for transmitting a wake-up request may include at least one of the following: an instruction to transmit the wake-up request is received from a third cell, the quality of a fourth cell is below a threshold quality, or there is no cell to camp on.

[0156] In some embodiments, the second setting may include at least one of the earliest time to detect a change in the operating mode of the first cell, the latest time to detect a change in the operating mode of the first cell, or the number of system frames to determine a switching period.

[0157] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive settings regarding wake-up of the first cell from the first cell. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive settings regarding wake-up of the first cell from the second cell.

[0158] In block 820, the terminal device 110 transmits a wake-up request to the first cell based on the setting.

[0159] In some embodiments where the time window includes opportunities associated with SSBs, the terminal device 110 may select at least one SSB from these SSBs, determine an opportunity from at least one opportunity within the time window corresponding to the at least one SSB, and send a wake-up request on the determined opportunity. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may select at least one SSB having an RSRP equal to or higher than a threshold power. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may select any one of these SSBs. In some embodiments, if there is no SSB having an RSRP equal to or higher than the threshold power, the terminal device 110 may end the transmission of the wake-up request.

[0160] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may send the wake-up request during a time window within a switching period whose index is lower than a predetermined index. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may send the wake-up request in response to the remaining time before the boundary of the switching period being equal to or longer than a threshold time.

[0161] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may further receive information about the change in the operating mode of the first cell from the second mode to the first mode via at least one of system information, a handover command from the first cell, an RRC release message, or a CD-SSB that does not schedule SIB1.

[0162] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may further detect a change in the operating mode of the first cell from the first mode to the second mode based on a second setting. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 determines a switching period based on the second setting, determines a first switching period during which the wake-up request is sent from these switching periods, and may detect a change in the operating mode of the first cell within a second switching period following the first switching period.

[0163] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine a switching period by determining a boundary during the switching period based on at least one of the system frame number and the system frame number or hyper-system frame number, or at least one of the start of a predetermined time window.

[0164] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 determines that the wake-up of the first cell has failed by determining that at least one of the following conditions is met: the terminal device 110 has not received an SSB from the first cell, the first cell is unavailable for access, or the system information from the first cell indicates the operation of the first cell in the first mode. Alternatively, the terminal device 110 determines that the wake-up of the first cell has succeeded by determining that at least one of the following conditions is met: an SSB from the first cell has been detected, the first cell is available for access, or the system information from the first cell indicates a change in the operation mode of the first cell. In this way, the terminal device 110 may detect a change in the operation mode of the first cell.

[0165] In some embodiments, if the wake-up of the first cell fails, the terminal device 110 may further resume the wake-up request after at least a predetermined period. In some embodiments, the predetermined period may include a predetermined number of time windows or a predetermined number of switching periods.

[0166] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may further store information about the wake-up request that has failed or succeeded. The information about the wake-up request that has failed or succeeded includes at least one of the following: the timestamp of the transmission of the wake-up request, the number of trial transmissions of the wake-up request, the cause of the wake-up request, or the delay time of the wake-up.

[0167] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may further transmit the availability of the information on the failed or successful wake-up request, receive a request for obtaining the information on the failed or successful wake-up request, and transmit the information on the failed or successful wake-up request.

[0168] By method 800, the terminal device can activate the network from a deeper power-saving mode to a shallower power-saving mode.

[0169] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an exemplary communication method 900 implemented in a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, method 900 may be executed in network device 120 or 130 as shown in FIG. 1. Hereinafter, for the sake of explanation, method 900 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. Method 900 may include additional blocks not shown and / or may omit some of the blocks shown, and it should be understood that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0170] In block 910, the network device 130 transmits a setting regarding the wake-up of the first cell (e.g., cell 121 of the network device 120), and the setting includes at least one of a first setting regarding the transmission of a wake-up request or a second setting regarding the detection of a change in the operation mode of the first cell from a first mode to a second mode, where the power saving in the first mode is deeper than that in the second mode.

[0171] In some embodiments, the first cell may be provided by the network device 130 or a further network device.

[0172] In some embodiments, the first setting may include at least one of information on a time window for sending the wake-up request, a condition for sending the wake-up request, a maximum number of wake-up request attempts, a maximum number of repetitions for wake-up request attempts, the earliest time for sending the wake-up request, an instruction for synchronization between network devices, or an instruction indicating whether the system frame number and frame boundary are aligned between a serving cell and an adjacent cell.

[0173] In some embodiments, the information on the time window may include information for determining a start position of the time window and a time interval of the time window. In some embodiments, the information for determining the start position may include at least one of a period of the time window, an offset of a system frame of the time window, a start subframe of the time window, an offset with respect to SSB transmission, an offset with respect to an SMTC window, or an offset with respect to a predefined signal. In some embodiments, the offset with respect to SSB transmission may include a time offset with respect to a time domain position of the SSB, a time offset with respect to a half frame having the SSB, or a time offset with respect to a subframe or slot in which the SSB starts. In some embodiments, the time window may include an opportunity associated with the SSB.

[0174] In some embodiments, the maximum number of wake-up request attempts may include at least one of a maximum number of wake-up request attempts, or a maximum number of wake-up request attempts within a certain period.

[0175] In some embodiments, the condition for sending the wake-up request may include at least one of that an instruction to send the wake-up request is received from a third cell, that the quality of a fourth cell is below a threshold quality, or that there is no cell to camp on.

[0176] In some embodiments, the second setting may include at least one of the earliest time to detect a change in the operating mode of the first cell, the latest time to detect a change in the operating mode of the first cell, or the number of system frames to determine the switching period.

[0177] In some embodiments, the network device 130 may further transmit information about the change in the operating mode of the first cell from the second mode to the first mode via at least one of system information, a handover command from the first cell, a radio resource control release message, or a CD-SSB that does not schedule system information block 1.

[0178] In some embodiments, the network device 130 may further receive the wake-up request.

[0179] In some embodiments, the network device 130 may further receive the availability of information about the failed or successful wake-up request, send a request to obtain the information about the failed or successful wake-up request, and receive the information about the failed or successful wake-up request.

[0180] In some embodiments, the information about the failed or successful wake-up request may include at least one of the timestamp of the transmission of the wake-up request, the number of trial transmissions of the wake-up request, the cause of the wake-up request, or the wake-up delay time.

[0181] By method 900, the network may be activated from a deeper power-saving mode to a shallower power-saving mode. Example of realizing the device and equipment

[0182] FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1000 suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present disclosure. The apparatus 1000 may be considered as another exemplary embodiment of the terminal device 110, or the network devices 120 or 130 as shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, the apparatus 1000 may be implemented in the terminal device 110, or the network devices 120 or 130, or as at least a part thereof.

[0183] As shown, the apparatus 1000 includes a processor 1010, a memory 1020 coupled to the processor 1010, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 1040 coupled to the processor 1010, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 1040. The memory 1010 stores at least a part of the program 1030. The TX / RX 1040 is used for bidirectional communication. The TX / RX 1040 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, although the access nodes referred to herein may actually have multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements, such as the X2 / Xn interface for bidirectional communication between eNB / gNB, the S1 / NG interface for communication between the Mobility Management Entity (MME) / Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) / SGW / UPF and eNB / gNB, the Un interface for communication between eNB / gNB and the relay node (RN), or the Uu interface for communication between eNB / gNB and the terminal device.

[0184] Program 1030 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by an associated processor 1010 as described herein with reference to FIGS. 1-9, enable apparatus 1000 to operate in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by a processor 1010 of apparatus 1000, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. Processor 1010 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Further, a combination of processor 1010 and memory 1020 may form processing means 1050 suitable for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0185] Memory 1020 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, by way of non-limiting example, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, a semiconductor-based memory device, a magnetic memory device and system, an optical memory device and system, a fixed memory and a removable memory, etc. Only one memory 1020 is shown within apparatus 1000, but there may be several physically different memory modules within apparatus 1000. Processor 1010 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Apparatus 1000 may have a specific-purpose integrated circuit chip that is temporally dependent on a clock that synchronizes a plurality of processors, e.g., a main processor.

[0186] In some embodiments, the terminal device includes a circuit, the circuit is configured to receive a setting for waking up a first cell, and based on the setting, is configured to send a wake-up request to the first cell, the setting including at least one of a first setting for sending the wake-up request, or a second setting for detecting a change in the operation mode of the first cell from a first mode to a second mode, the power saving in the first mode being deeper than that in the second mode.

[0187] In some embodiments, the network device includes a circuit, the circuit is configured to send a setting for waking up a first cell, the setting including at least one of a first setting for sending a wake-up request, or a second setting for detecting a change in the operation mode of the first cell from a first mode to a second mode, the power saving in the first mode being deeper than that in the second mode.

[0188] As used herein, the term "circuit" may mean a hardware circuit and / or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. For example, the circuit may be a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware. As yet another example, the circuit may be any part of a hardware processor with software, including a digital signal processor, software, and one or more memories, which cooperate to cause a device such as a terminal device or a network device to perform various functions. In yet another example, the circuit may be a hardware circuit and / or a processor such as a microprocessor or a part thereof that requires software / firmware for operation, but the software may not be present if not required for operation. As used herein, the term "circuit" also includes the implementation of only a hardware circuit or one or more processors, or a part of a hardware circuit or one or more processors and their (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware.

[0189] In short, the embodiments of the present disclosure can provide the following solutions.

[0190] In one solution, the communication method includes, at a terminal device, receiving a setting for waking up a first cell, and transmitting a wake-up request to the first cell based on the setting, where the setting includes at least one of a first setting for transmitting the wake-up request or a second setting for detecting a change in the operating mode of the first cell from a first mode to a second mode, and the power saving in the first mode is deeper than that in the second mode.

[0191] In some embodiments, the above method further includes receiving information about a change in the operating mode of the first cell from the second mode to the first mode via at least one of system information, a handover command from the first cell, a radio resource control release message, or a cell-defined synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (CD-SSB) that does not schedule system information block 1.

[0192] In some embodiments, receiving a setting for waking up a first cell includes receiving the setting for waking up the first cell from the first cell or receiving the setting for waking up the first cell from a second cell.

[0193] In some embodiments, the first setting includes at least one of information on a time window for transmitting the wake-up request, conditions for transmitting the wake-up request, a maximum number of wake-up request attempts, a maximum number of repetitions for wake-up request attempts, the earliest time for transmitting the wake-up request, an instruction for synchronization between network devices, or an instruction indicating whether system frame numbers and frame boundaries are aligned between a serving cell and an adjacent cell.

[0194] In some embodiments, the information on the time window includes information for determining a start position of the time window and a time interval of the time window, and the information for determining the start position includes at least one of a period of the time window, an offset of a system frame of the time window, a start subframe of the time window, an offset with respect to transmission of a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block (SSB), an offset with respect to an SSB measurement timing configuration (SMTC) window, or an offset with respect to a predefined signal.

[0195] In some embodiments, the offset with respect to SSB transmission includes a time offset with respect to a time domain position of the SSB, a time offset with respect to a half frame having the SSB, or a time offset with respect to a subframe or slot where the SSB starts.

[0196] In some embodiments, the maximum number of wake-up request attempts includes at least one of a maximum number of wake-up request attempts, or a maximum number of wake-up request attempts within a certain period.

[0197] In some embodiments, the conditions for transmitting a wake-up request include at least one of: an instruction to transmit the wake-up request is received from a third cell; the quality of a fourth cell is below a threshold quality; or there is no cell to camp on.

[0198] In some embodiments, the time window includes opportunities associated with synchronization signals and physical broadcast channel blocks (SSBs), and transmitting the wake-up request includes selecting at least one SSB from these SSBs, determining an opportunity from at least one opportunity within the time window corresponding to the at least one SSB, and transmitting the wake-up request on the determined opportunity.

[0199] In some embodiments, selecting the at least one SSB includes selecting the at least one SSB among these SSBs that has a reference signal receiving power (RSRP) equal to or higher than a threshold power, or, if there is no SSB having an RSRP equal to or higher than the threshold power, selecting any of these SSBs or ending the transmission of the wake-up request.

[0200] In some embodiments, the second setting includes at least one of: the earliest time for detecting a change in the operating mode of the first cell, the latest time for detecting a change in the operating mode of the first cell, or the number of system frames for determining a switching period.

[0201] In some embodiments, the method described above further includes detecting, based on the second setting, a change in the operating mode of the first cell from the first mode to the second mode.

[0202] In some embodiments, detecting a change in the operation mode of the first cell includes determining a switching period based on a second setting, determining a first switching period from these switching periods during which a wake-up request is transmitted, and detecting a change in the operation mode of the first cell within a second switching period following the first switching period.

[0203] In some embodiments, determining the switching period includes determining the boundary during the switching period based on at least one of a system frame number and a system frame number or a hyper-system frame number, or at least one of the start of a predetermined time window.

[0204] In some embodiments, detecting a change in the operation mode of the first cell includes determining that the wake-up of the first cell has failed in response to at least one of not receiving an SSB from the first cell, the first cell being unavailable for access, or the system information from the first cell indicating the operation of the first cell in the first mode, or determining that the wake-up of the first cell has succeeded in response to at least one of detecting an SSB from the first cell, the first cell being available for access, or the system information from the first cell indicating a change in the operation mode of the first cell.

[0205] In some embodiments, the method described above further includes restarting the wake-up request after at least a predetermined period in accordance with the determination that the wake-up of the first cell has failed.

[0206] In some embodiments, the predetermined period includes a predetermined number of time windows or a predetermined number of switching periods.

[0207] In some embodiments, transmitting the wake-up request includes transmitting the wake-up request during a time window within a switching period where the index is lower than a predetermined index, or transmitting the wake-up request in response to the remaining time before the boundary of the switching period being greater than or equal to a threshold time.

[0208] In some embodiments, the method described above further includes storing information about failed or successful wake-up requests, and the information about the failed or successful wake-up requests includes at least one of a time stamp of the transmission of the wake-up request, the number of trial transmissions of the wake-up request, the cause of the wake-up request, or the wake-up delay time.

[0209] In some embodiments, the method described above further includes transmitting the availability of the information about the failed or successful wake-up requests, receiving a request to obtain the information about the failed or successful wake-up requests, and transmitting the information about the failed or successful wake-up requests.

[0210] In another solution, the communication method includes transmitting, in a network device, settings for waking up a first cell, the settings including at least one of a first setting for transmitting a wake-up request or a second setting for detecting a change in the operating mode of the first cell from a first mode to a second mode, where the power saving in the first mode is deeper than in the second mode.

[0211] In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting information on the change of the operation mode of the first cell from the second mode to the first mode via at least one of system information, a handover command from the first cell, a radio resource control release message, or a cell-defined synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (CD-SSB) that does not schedule system information block 1.

[0212] In some embodiments, the first cell is provided by a network device or another network device.

[0213] In some embodiments, the first setting includes at least one of information on a time window for transmitting the wake-up request, a condition for transmitting the wake-up request, a maximum number of wake-up request attempts, a maximum number of repetitions for wake-up request attempts, the earliest time for transmitting the wake-up request, an indication of synchronization between network devices, or an indication of whether the system frame number and frame boundary are aligned between the serving cell and an adjacent cell.

[0214] In some embodiments, the information of the time window includes information for determining the start position of the time window and the time interval of the time window, and the information for determining the start position includes at least one of the period of the time window, the offset of the system frame of the time window, the start subframe of the time window, the offset for synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) transmission, the offset for SSB measurement timing configuration (SMTC) window, or the offset for a predefined signal.

[0215] In some embodiments, the offset for SSB transmission includes a time offset with respect to the time domain position of the SSB, a time offset with respect to the half frame having the SSB, or a time offset with respect to the subframe or slot where the SSB starts.

[0216] In some embodiments, the maximum number of wake-up request attempts includes at least one of the maximum number of wake-up request attempts or the maximum number of wake-up request attempts within a certain period.

[0217] In some embodiments, the conditions for transmitting a wake-up request include at least one of: an instruction to transmit the wake-up request is received from a third cell; the quality of a fourth cell is below a threshold quality; or there is no cell to camp on.

[0218] In some embodiments, the time window includes an opportunity associated with a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block (SSB).

[0219] In some embodiments, the second setting includes at least one of the earliest time to detect a change in the operation mode of the first cell, the latest time to detect a change in the operation mode of the first cell, or the number of system frames to determine a switching period.

[0220] In some embodiments, the method described above further includes receiving the wake-up request.

[0221] In some embodiments, the method described above further includes receiving information availability of a failed or successful wake-up request, sending a request to obtain the information of the failed or successful wake-up request, and receiving the information of the failed or successful wake-up request.

[0222] In some embodiments, the information of the failed or successful wake-up request includes at least one of the transmission timestamp of the wake-up request, the number of trial transmissions of the wake-up request, the cause of the wake-up request, or the wake-up delay time.

[0223] In another solution, the communication device includes a processor configured to execute the method described in any one of the methods above.

[0224] As a whole, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software executable by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described using block diagrams, flowcharts, or other pictorial representations, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein are, by way of non-limiting example, hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or any combination thereof.

[0225] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions included in program modules, that are executed within a device on a target actual processor or virtual processor to perform the processes or methods described above with reference to FIGS. 1-9. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functions of the program modules may be combined or divided among the program modules as needed. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0226] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure may be described in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes are provided to a processor or a controller of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, or other programmable data processing devices, and when executed by the processor or the controller, the program codes implement the functions / operations specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram. The program code may be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0227] The above program code may be implemented on a machine-readable medium, and the machine-readable medium may be any tangible medium that can be used by or associated with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and that can contain or store a program relevant to them. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing media. More specific examples of the machine-readable storage medium may include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0228] Although the operations have been described in a particular order, it should be understood that such operations are not necessarily required to be performed in the particular order shown or sequentially, or that all of the operations described be performed, to obtain a desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although some specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Some features described in the context of individual embodiments may be combined and implemented in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may be implemented separately in multiple embodiments or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0229] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological operations, it should be understood that the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or operations described above. Rather, the specific features and operations described above are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising: at a terminal device, receiving a setting regarding wake-up of a first cell; and transmitting a wake-up request to the first cell based on the setting, wherein the setting includes a first setting regarding transmission of the wake-up request, or at least one of a second setting regarding detection of a change in an operation mode of the first cell from a first mode to a second mode, wherein the power saving in the first mode is deeper than that in the second mode; A method of communication.

2. Receiving information on a change in an operation mode of the first cell from the second mode to the first mode via system information, a handover command from the first cell, a radio resource control release message, or at least one of a cell-defined synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block (CD-SSB) that does not schedule system information block 1; further comprising The method according to claim 1.

3. Receiving the setting regarding wake-up of the first cell includes receiving the setting regarding wake-up of the first cell from the first cell, or receiving the setting regarding wake-up of the first cell from a second cell; The method according to claim 1.

4. The first setting includes information on a time window for transmitting the wake-up request, conditions for transmitting the wake-up request, the maximum number of wake-up request attempts, the maximum number of repetitions for wake-up request attempts, the earliest time for transmitting the wake-up request, an indication of synchronization between network devices, or an indication indicating whether a system frame number and a frame boundary are aligned between a serving cell and an adjacent cell; The method according to claim 1.

5. The information on the time window includes information for determining a start position of the time window and a time interval of the time window, and the information for determining the start position includes the period of the time window, an offset of a system frame of the time window, The start subframe of the time window, An offset for the transmission of a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block (SSB: synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block), An offset for an SSB measurement timing configuration (SMTC: SSB measurement timing configuration) window, or Includes at least one of the offsets for predefined signals The method according to claim 4.

6. The offset for SSB transmission is A time offset with respect to the time domain position of the SSB, A time offset with respect to a half-frame having the SSB, or Includes a time offset with respect to the subframe or slot where the SSB starts The method according to claim 5.

7. The maximum number of wake-up request attempts is The maximum number of wake-up request attempts, or Includes at least one of the maximum number of wake-up request attempts within a certain period The method according to claim 4.

8. The conditions for the transmission of the wake-up request are That an instruction to transmit the wake-up request is received from a third cell, That the quality of the fourth cell is below a threshold quality, or That there is no cell to camp on, includes at least one of these The method according to claim 4.

9. The time window includes opportunities associated with a synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel block (SSB: synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block), and transmitting the wake-up request includes Selecting at least one SSB from the SSBs, Determining an opportunity from at least one opportunity within the time window corresponding to the at least one SSB, and Transmitting the wake-up request on the determined opportunity The method according to claim 4.

10. Selecting the at least one SSB includes Selecting the at least one SSB among the SSBs having a reference signal receiving power (RSRP: reference signal receiving power) equal to or higher than a threshold power, or When there is no SSB having an RSRP equal to or higher than the threshold power, selecting any one of the SSBs or ending the transmission of the wake-up request The method according to claim 9

11. The second setting is The earliest time for detecting the change in the operation mode of the first cell The latest time for detecting the change in the operation mode of the first cell, or Including at least one of the number of system frames for determining the switching period The method according to claim 1

12. Based on the second setting, detecting the change in the operation mode of the first cell from the first mode to the second mode The method according to claim 1, further comprising

13. Detecting the change in the operation mode of the first cell is Based on the second setting, determining a switching period Determining a first switching period during which the wake-up request is transmitted from the switching period Detecting the change in the operation mode of the first cell within a second switching period following the first switching period The method according to claim 12

14. Determining the switching period is The boundary during the switching period Based on at least one of the number of system frames and the system frame number or hyper system frame number Including determining based on at least one of the start of a predetermined time window The method according to claim 13

15. Detecting the change in the operation mode of the first cell is Not receiving an SSB from the first cell The first cell is unavailable for access, or The system information from the first cell indicates the operation of the first cell in the first mode, determining that the wake-up of the first cell has failed Detecting an SSB from the first cell The first cell is available for access, or The system information from the first cell indicates the change in the operation mode of the first cell, determining that the wake-up of the first cell has been successful The method according to claim 12

16. resuming the wake-up request after at least a predetermined period according to a determination that wake-up of the first cell has failed The method according to claim 12, further comprising.

17. The predetermined period is a predetermined number of time windows, or a predetermined number of switching periods. The method according to claim 16.

18. Sending the wake-up request includes sending the wake-up request during a time window within a switching period in which an index is lower than a predetermined index, or sending the wake-up request in response to a remaining time before a boundary of the switching period being equal to or greater than a threshold time. The method according to claim 1.

19. further comprising storing information on a failed or successful wake-up request, the information on the failed or successful wake-up request including a time stamp of transmission of the wake-up request, a number of trial transmissions of the wake-up request, a cause of the wake-up request, or a delay time of the wake-up, The method according to claim 1.

20. A communication device comprising a processor configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 A communication device.

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