Method and device for discontinuous transmission or discontinuous reception

Abstract

[0003] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method and device for discontinuous transmission or discontinuous reception. A terminal device receives a DTX or DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX or DRX mode of a network device. The terminal device monitors downlink transmission or performs uplink transmission based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX or DRX configuration of a cell. In this way, an improved solution for communication in DTX or DRX mode may be provided, which may meet certain services with low latency requirements.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Various example embodiments relate to the field of telecommunications, and in particular to methods, devices, apparatus, and computer-readable storage media for discontinuous transmission (DTX) or discontinuous reception (DRX), in particular for cell-specific DTX or DRX. [Background technology]

[0002] Communication technology is constantly evolving to provide efficient and reliable solutions for utilizing wireless communication networks. Currently, efforts are underway to develop fifth-generation (5G) or 5G-Advanced wireless systems. These new wireless systems are capable of supporting various types of service applications for terminal devices.

[0003] In a 5G system, a wireless communication network may communicate with a particular terminal device using a discontinuous transmission (DTX) mode and a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode for applications that do not require continuous reception, such as for augmented reality enhancement. The DTX / DRX mode may provide power savings in the network device and the terminal device. However, such a DTX / DRX mode may have some impact on current systems, especially cell-specific DTX / DRX. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Generally, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for low latency communications.

[0005] In a first aspect, a terminal device is provided, the terminal device may include one or more processors and one or more transceivers communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, the one or more processors configured to: receive a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration from a network device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; and monitor downlink transmissions from the network device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX configuration.

[0006] In a second aspect, a terminal device is provided, which may include one or more processors and one or more transceivers communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receive a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration from a network device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; and perform uplink transmission based on one or more conditions regardless of the DRX configuration.

[0007] In a third aspect, a network device is provided, the network device may include one or more processors and one or more transceivers communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, the one or more processors configured to: send a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration to a terminal device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; and perform downlink transmission to the terminal device based on one or more conditions regardless of the DTX configuration.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a network device is provided, the network device may include one or more processors and one or more transceivers communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, the one or more processors configured to: transmit a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration to a terminal device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; and monitor uplink transmissions from the terminal device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DRX configuration.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a method in a terminal device is provided, the method may include receiving a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration from a network device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device, and monitoring downlink transmissions from the network device based on one or more conditions regardless of the DTX configuration.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a method in a terminal device is provided, the method may include receiving a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration from a network device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device, and performing uplink transmission based on one or more conditions regardless of the DRX configuration.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a method in a network device is provided, the method may include transmitting a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration to a terminal device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device, and performing downlink transmission to the terminal device based on one or more conditions regardless of the DTX configuration.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, a method in a network device is provided, the method may include transmitting a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration to a terminal device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device, and monitoring uplink transmissions from the terminal device based on one or more conditions regardless of the DRX configuration.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, an apparatus for a terminal device is provided, the apparatus may comprise: means for receiving a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration from a network device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; and means for monitoring downlink transmissions from the network device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX configuration.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, an apparatus for a terminal device is provided, the apparatus may comprise: means for receiving a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration from a network device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; and means for performing uplink transmission based on one or more conditions regardless of the DRX configuration.

[0015] In an eleventh aspect, an apparatus for a network device is provided, the apparatus may comprise: means for transmitting a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration to a terminal device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; and means for performing downlink transmission to the terminal device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX configuration.

[0016] In a twelfth aspect, an apparatus for a network device is provided, the apparatus may comprise: means for transmitting a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration to a terminal device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; and means for monitoring uplink transmissions from the terminal device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DRX configuration.

[0017] In a fourteenth aspect, there is provided a terminal device, the terminal device may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to cause, using the at least one processor, the terminal device to: receive a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration from a network device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; and monitor downlink transmissions from the network device based on one or more conditions regardless of the DTX configuration.

[0018] In a fifteenth aspect, there is provided a terminal device, the terminal device may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured, using the at least one processor, to cause the terminal device to: receive a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration from a network device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; and perform uplink transmission based on one or more conditions regardless of the DRX configuration.

[0019] In a sixteenth aspect, there is provided a network device, the network device may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured, using the at least one processor, to cause the network device to: transmit a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration to a terminal device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; and perform downlink transmission to the terminal device based on one or more conditions regardless of the DTX configuration.

[0020] In a seventeenth aspect, there is provided a network device, the network device may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured, using the at least one processor, to cause the network device to: transmit a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration to a terminal device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; and monitor uplink transmissions from the terminal device based on one or more conditions regardless of the DRX configuration.

[0021] In an eighteenth aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform a method according to at least one of the fifth to eighth aspects above.

[0022] In a nineteenth aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: means for receiving a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration from a network device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; and means for monitoring downlink transmissions from the network device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX configuration.

[0023] In a twentieth aspect, an apparatus is provided that comprises: means for receiving a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration from a network device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; and means for performing uplink transmission based on one or more conditions regardless of the DRX configuration.

[0024] In a twenty-first aspect, an apparatus is provided, comprising: means for transmitting a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration to a terminal device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; and means for performing downlink transmission to the terminal device based on one or more conditions regardless of the DTX configuration.

[0025] In a twenty-second aspect, an apparatus is provided comprising: means for transmitting a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration to a terminal device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; and means for monitoring uplink transmissions from the terminal device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DRX configuration.

[0026] In a twenty-third aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least receive a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration from a network device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; and monitor downlink transmissions from the network device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX configuration.

[0027] In a twenty-fourth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least receive a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration from a network device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; and perform uplink transmission based on one or more conditions regardless of the DRX configuration.

[0028] In a twenty-fifth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least: transmit a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration to a terminal device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; and perform downlink transmission to the terminal device based on one or more conditions regardless of the DTX configuration.

[0029] In a twenty-sixth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least: transmit a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration to a terminal device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; and monitor uplink transmissions from the terminal device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DRX configuration.

[0030] In a twenty-seventh aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device may include: a circuit configured to receive a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration from a network device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; and a monitoring circuit configured to monitor downlink transmissions from the network device based on one or more conditions regardless of the DTX configuration.

[0031] In a twenty-eighth aspect, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device may include: circuitry configured to receive a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration from a network device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; and monitoring circuitry configured to perform uplink transmissions based on one or more conditions regardless of the DRX configuration.

[0032] In a twenty-ninth aspect, a network device is provided. The network device may include: circuitry configured to transmit a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration to a terminal device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; and executing circuitry configured to perform downlink transmission to the terminal device based on one or more conditions regardless of the DTX configuration.

[0033] In a thirtieth aspect, a network device is provided, the network device may include: circuitry configured to transmit a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration to a terminal device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; and monitoring circuitry configured to monitor uplink transmissions from the terminal device based on one or more conditions regardless of the DRX configuration.

[0034] It should be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become more readily apparent through the following description.

[0035] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0036] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates an example of a communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. [Figure 2] 1 illustrates an example flowchart of a method implemented in a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] 1 illustrates an example flowchart of a method implemented in a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 10 illustrates an example flowchart of a method implemented in a network device according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 5] 10 illustrates an example flowchart of a method implemented in a network device according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6A] 1 illustrates an example communication process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6B] 1 illustrates an example communication process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 1 shows an example of a simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for practicing embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 1 illustrates an example block diagram of an example computer-readable medium according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0037] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements.

[0038] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to several exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only and are intended to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and practicing the present disclosure, but are not intended to imply any limitations on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0039] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0040] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "embodiment," "example embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment is required to include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is believed to be within the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0041] Although the terms "first," "second," etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, it should be understood that these elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element could be referred to as a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0042] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, it will be understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "has," "having," "includes," and / or "including," when used herein, identify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof. As used herein, the terms "at least one of: " and "at least one of " and similar phrases, when a list of two or more elements is joined by "and" or "or," mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0043] The term "circuitry" as used in this application may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) Hardware-only circuit implementations (e.g., implementations using only analog and / or digital circuits); (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, e.g. (where applicable) (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry(s) and software / firmware; (ii) hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s), software, and memory(s) that work together to cause a device, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions); and (c) Hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s) (e.g., microprocessor(s) or portion of microprocessor(s)) that require software (e.g., firmware) for operation, although the software may not be present when not needed for operation.

[0044] This definition of circuit applies to all uses of the term in this application, including any claims. As a further example, the term circuit, as used in this application, also encompasses a simple hardware circuit or processor (or processors), or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor, as well as its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware implementations. The term circuit also encompasses, for example, a baseband or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing device, or other network device, if applicable to certain claim elements.

[0045] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network conforming to any suitable communication standard, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), or Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT). Furthermore, communications between terminal devices and network devices within a communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation of communication protocols, including, but not limited to, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth-generation (5G), or further sixth-generation (6G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols now known or later developed. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, it is understood that future communication technologies and systems may also exist that may embody the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure should not be considered limited to only the aforementioned systems.

[0046] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network through which a terminal device accesses and receives services from the network. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, a network device may refer to a base station (BS) or access point (AP), such as a Node B (NodeB or NB), evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), NR NB (also called gNB), remote radio unit (RRU), radio header (RH), remote radio head (RRH), relay, low-power nodes such as femto and pico, etc.

[0047] The term "terminal device" refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal device may be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), subscriber station (SS), mobile subscriber station, mobile station (MS), or access terminal (AT). Terminal devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, imaging terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), Internet of Things (IoT) devices, watches or other wearables, head-mounted displays (HMDs), vehicles, drones, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain situations), consumer electronics devices, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. In the following description, the terms “terminal device,” “communications device,” “terminal,” “user equipment,” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

[0048] In 5G systems, further improvements in network device side network energy savings are proposed for both BS transmission and reception, such as network energy saving techniques in the time domain, frequency domain, spatial domain, or power domain. These techniques can focus on how to achieve more efficient operation dynamically and / or semi-statically and achieve finer granularity of adaptation of transmission and / or reception with potential support / feedback from the UE and potential UE assistance information.

[0049] Currently, it is also proposed to enable wireless devices to utilize discontinuous transmission (DTX) and / or discontinuous reception (DRX), particularly to conserve battery life but also to help reduce network congestion. A cell DTX / DRX configuration, which indicates configuration information regarding the network's DTX / DRX mode, may affect terminal devices that are in at least the RRC_CONNECTED, RRC_IDLE, or RRC_INACTIVE states. A cell DTX / DRX configuration may be specific to a cell serving a terminal device, specific to a beam of a cell, specific to a cell group consisting of multiple cells, or specific to the UE.

[0050] Periodic cell DTX / DRX may be configured by the network via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. For example, the sleep pattern may be notified to the UE using dedicated or common signaling. Thus, the network device may perform downlink transmission or uplink reception during active periods and enter a power-saving mode during inactive periods. The cell DTX mode / configuration may also be dynamically indicated to the terminal device, for example, via Layer 1 or Layer 2 (L1 / L2) signaling. Dynamic L1 / L2 signaling supports an indication dedicated to at least the terminal device. Dedicated signaling may be signaled to a specific UE, for example, via RRC signaling, medium access control (MAC), control element (CE), or L1 signaling (i.e., physical layer). Common signaling may be signaled to multiple UEs (e.g., UEs within the coverage area of ​​a specific cell), for example, via system information broadcast.

[0051] The inventors note that when a network device is in energy saving mode and transmission and reception are infrequent, the terminal device may still have requirements for uplink and downlink transmission, especially requirements involving low latency. In such cases, the DTX / DRX mode of the network device may cause unacceptable latency. Downlink transmission may also be affected.

[0052] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a solution for low-latency flexible communication is provided, in which a terminal device receives a DTX / DRX configuration from a network device, indicating configuration information regarding a DTX / DRX mode of the network device. Then, the terminal device monitors downlink transmission or performs uplink transmission based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX / DRX configuration.

[0053] Such conditions may take precedence over the DTX / DRX configuration or may cause transmission / reception to be performed regardless of the DTX / DRX configuration. When these conditions are met or triggered, the terminal device may ignore the DTX / DRX configuration and perform downlink reception or uplink transmission. This provides a flexible solution for transmission and reception in DTX / DRX mode of a network device, which can provide higher system performance, for example, by providing specific services with low latency requirements even in DTX / DRX mode.

[0054] The principles and embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be noted that these embodiments are described by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application.

[0055] Referring to Figure 1, an example of a communication system 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented is shown. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 100 may include a terminal device 110 and a network device 120. In some embodiments, the network device 120 may provide a serving cell (also referred to herein as a cell), as indicated schematically by the dashed oval, and the terminal device 110 may be located within the cell and be served by the network device 120.

[0056] It should be understood that the number of devices or cells in Figure 1 is provided for illustrative purposes and does not imply any limitations on the present disclosure. Communications system 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and / or terminal devices and / or cells consistent with implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown in the figure, it will be understood that one or more terminal devices may be located within environment 100.

[0057] 1, terminal device 110 may communicate with network device 120 via a channel, such as a wireless communication channel. Communications within communication system 100 may conform to any suitable standard, including, but not limited to, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), New Radio (NR), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), etc. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed in accordance with any currently known or later-developed generation of communication protocols. Examples of communication protocols include, but are not limited to, third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth-generation (5G) communication protocols, 5.5G, 5G-Advanced networks, or sixth-generation (6G) networks.

[0058] Communication in the direction from the terminal device 110 to the network device 120 is referred to as UL communication, and communication in the reverse direction from the network device 120 to the terminal device 110 is referred to as DL communication. Wireless communication channels may include a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), and a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH).

[0059] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit UL data to the network device 120 via an UL data channel transmission. For example, the UL data channel transmission may be a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) transmission. Of course, any other suitable form is also possible.

[0060] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive DL data from the network device 120 via a DL data channel transmission. For example, the DL data channel transmission may be a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmission. Of course, any other suitable form is also possible.

[0061] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive downlink control information (DCI) from the network device 120 via a DL control channel transmission. For example, the DL control channel transmission may be a PDCCH transmission. Of course, any other suitable form is also possible.

[0062] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit uplink control information (UCI), such as HARQ feedback information, to the network device 120 via an UL control channel transmission. For example, the UL control channel transmission may be a PUCCH transmission. Of course, any other suitable form is also possible.

[0063] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 receives a DTX / DRX configuration from the network device that indicates configuration information regarding the DTX / DRX mode of the network device. The terminal device then monitors downlink transmissions or performs uplink transmissions based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX / DRX configuration.

[0064] 2 illustrates an example flowchart of a method 200 implemented in a terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 200 is a method of DL reception in a DTX mode of a network device implemented in a terminal device. For purposes of explanation, method 200 will be described from the perspective of terminal device 110 with reference to FIG. 1. It should be understood that method 200 may further include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some illustrated blocks, and that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0065] At block 210, the terminal device 110 receives a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration from the network device 120, where the DTX configuration indicates configuration information regarding the DTX mode of the network device.

[0066] In some embodiments, the DTX configuration may indicate a sleep mode of the network device. For example, the DTX configuration may include DTX parameters such as the length of the DTX period, the duty cycle, and the start of the DTX period. In another example, the DTX configuration may further include PDCCH opportunities that the terminal device does not need to monitor. Such information allows the terminal device to know when the network device performs downlink (DL) transmission and when the network device is asleep. In some embodiments, the DTX mode configuration may include a DTX mode configuration for either a cell, a beam, a cell group, or a terminal device.

[0067] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 may have periodic CSI-RS / PDCCH opportunities configured from network device 120 and may perform DL reception by following a common DTX mode. In other words, these CSI-RS / PDCCH opportunities are transmitted when the network device is active, and thus terminal device 110 may monitor / measure these opportunities only when network device 120 is active for terminal device 110 with a DTX mode configuration. In some examples, the RS opportunities may be any other RS ​​other than CSI-RS opportunities.

[0068] At block 220, the terminal device 110 monitors downlink transmissions from the network device 120 based on one or more conditions regardless of the DTX configuration. In other words, the terminal device 110 monitors downlink transmissions based on one or more conditions regardless of the DTX configuration. For example, even if the DTX configuration indicates that the network device 120 is in a DTX period, the terminal device 110 still monitors downlink transmissions if any of the conditions are met or triggered.

[0069] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method is proposed for setting one or more conditions for downlink reception, and these conditions take precedence over the DTX configuration. In other words, if any of these conditions is met, the terminal device ignores the DTX configuration and transmits messages as usual. In some embodiments, the one or more conditions may include a set of predetermined conditions for downlink reception.

[0070] In some embodiments, the one or more conditions may include one or more of the following: a random access response (RAR) receive window is running, a timer for contention resolution is running, a message B (MSGB) response window of a two-step random access procedure is running, a buffer status report (BSR) has been transmitted, a scheduling request (SR) has been transmitted, or a system information window is running for the terminal device to receive one or more types of system information.

[0071] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 may further obtain a condition configuration indicating one or more conditions for downlink reception. In some embodiments, the downlink condition configuration may be received from network device 120. Additionally or alternatively, the downlink condition configuration may be predefined by a communication protocol.

[0072] In some embodiments, the terminal device may monitor a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for the RAR during the reception window of the RAR. Additionally or alternatively, the terminal device may monitor the PDCCH for the MSGB or fallback RAR during the reception window of the MSGB. Additionally or alternatively, the terminal device may monitor the PDCCH while the timer for contention resolution is running.

[0073] Some details are described below with reference to Figure 6A. As shown in Figure 6, the network device 120 transmits 602 a DTX configuration 604. Accordingly, the terminal device 110 receives 606 the DTX configuration 604. The terminal device 110 may then transmit 608 an MSGA, SR, or BSR that may comply with the DRX configuration of the network device. Alternatively or additionally, one or more of the uplink transmissions may be transmitted based on a set of uplink transmission conditions that ignore the DRX configuration of the network device.

[0074] Thus, after receiving 612 an MSGA, SR, or BSR, the network device 120 may transmit 614 an MSGB / fallback RAR, RAR, uplink grant, downlink assignment, or SI for DL ​​transmission without following the DTX mode. 618 Therefore, due to exceptional conditions, the terminal device 110 also monitors 618 DL transmissions according to the DTX configuration, even during network sleep times.

[0075] As an example, in a contention-based random access process, the terminal device 110 may randomly select a preamble sequence from a preamble sequence resource pool and may transmit the preamble sequence to the network device 120 608. The preamble transmission may be according to the DRX mode or uplink transmission conditions for which the network device 120 is actually monitoring UL transmissions from the terminal device. In other words, the terminal device 110 may consider only random access opportunities that do not conflict with the DRX mode as valid for transmitting a preamble.

[0076] However, the network device 120 is expected to respond as quickly as possible. After receiving 612 the random access request 610, the network device 120 may transmit 614 a random access response (RAR) 616 in response to the random access request to the terminal device 110 without complying with the DTX mode. Thus, the terminal device 110 may monitor the PDCCH during the RAR response window regardless of the DTX mode.

[0077] After transmitting the preamble sequence, the terminal device 110 may transmit a third message (Msg3) of the random access procedure, which may include, for example, a connection establishment / resumption request message, a terminal device identification, a buffer status report, etc. to the network device 120. The network device 120 may then transmit a contention resolution message, i.e., a fourth message (Msg4), to the terminal device 110 to complete the contention resolution. Additionally or alternatively, the contention resolution message may also be transmitted by the network device without considering the DTX configuration. Thus, the terminal device 110 may monitor the PDCCH regardless of the DTX mode during the period in which the contention resolution timer is running.

[0078] In another example, a contention-free random access process is initiated, and the network device 120 may similarly transmit 614 an RAR 616 in response to the random access request to the terminal device 110 without complying with the DTX mode. Thus, the terminal device 110 may monitor the PDCCH during the RAR response window regardless of the DTX mode.

[0079] As a further example, in a two-step random access process, the terminal device 110 sends a message A (MSGA) to the network device 120. The network device 120 is also expected to respond as quickly as possible. Upon detecting the MSGA, the network device 120 may transmit an MSGB or a fallback RAR without following the DTX mode. The terminal device 110 may monitor for an MSGB or a fallback RAR within the MSGB response window without following the DTX mode.

[0080] In some embodiments, the terminal device may monitor the PDCCH only over the search space(s) / control resource set(s) (CORESET(s)) used to receive RAR / MSGB / contention resolution messages in DTX mode. For example, such search space(s) may include a random access search space, such as ra-SearchSpace. In another example, such control resource set may include CORESET zero, such as CORESET#0.

[0081] In some embodiments, the terminal device may monitor the PDCCH within a predetermined period after the BSR is transmitted. For example, the BSR is transmitted when a MAC Protocol Data Unit (PDU) is constructed including a BSR MAC CE, and the MAC PDU is transmitted via an uplink grant, e.g., via a PUSCH. In some embodiments, the BSR may indicate data buffered in a particular type of logical channel (LCH) or a logical channel group (LCG) having a particular type of LCH. Further details are described below with reference to FIG. 6A.

[0082] In one example, the terminal device 110 may transmit 608 a BSR 610 to the network device 120. The network device 120 may also be expected to respond to the BSR as soon as possible. Whether to follow the cell DTX mode after transmitting the BSR may depend on the indicated buffered data. For example, if the indicated data is associated with a high-priority LCH or an LCG that includes a high-priority LCH, the network device may transmit 614 a UL grant without following the DRX mode.

[0083] Terminal device 110 may then monitor the PDCCH regardless of the cell DTX mode if the BSR indicates buffered data for a high-priority LCH or for an LCG with a high-priority LCH (which may or may not have buffered data). 618. If the BSR indicates only buffered data for a low-priority LCH or for an LCG with a low-priority LCH (which may or may not have buffered data), terminal device 110 may still follow the cell DTX mode.

[0084] In some embodiments, a high-priority LCH may be determined based on the type of LCH. For example, an LCH of a particular type may be determined as a high-priority LCH. In some embodiments, a high-priority LCH may be determined based on a (predefined or network-configured) priority threshold of the LCH. An LCH having a priority level equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold may be determined as a high-priority LCH, and an LCH having a priority level equal to or less than the threshold may be determined as a low-priority LCH.

[0085] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may monitor the PDCCH within a predetermined period after an SR is transmitted, where the SR is triggered in association with a BSR triggered by either a particular type of LCH or a beam failure recovery (BFR) report. Further details are described below with reference to FIG. 6A.

[0086] In one example, the terminal device 110 may send a scheduling request (SR) to the network device 120 with the intent of receiving an uplink grant 608. The network device 120 may also be expected to respond as soon as possible. Whether to follow the cell DTX mode to respond to the SR depends on the SR trigger or the buffer status reporting (BSR) trigger that triggers the SR. For example, if the SR trigger is associated with a high-priority LCH or BFR trigger (e.g., SCell BFR, or BFD-RS set failure on the SCell / SpCell), the network device may send an UL grant without following the DRX mode 614.

[0087] Then, the terminal device 110 may monitor the PDCCH regardless of the DTX mode after such an SR is transmitted. If the SR trigger is associated with, for example, a BSR triggered by a low-priority LCH, a BFD-RS set failure on the SCell, or consistent LBT failure recovery of the SCell, the terminal device 110 may still follow the DTX mode for PDCCH monitoring after the SR is transmitted. The high-priority LCH may be an LCH of a specific type or an LCH with a priority equal to or greater than a specific threshold, and the low-priority LCH may be an LCH of another type or an LCH with a priority equal to or less than a specific threshold.

[0088] In some embodiments, the DTX configuration is cell-specific, and the terminal device 110 may further receive dedicated signaling of the DTX configuration from the network device 120, where the dedicated signaling indicates a new DTX configuration dedicated to the terminal device that overrides the DTX configuration. Because the monitoring operations of other terminal devices may not be affected, there is no need to update a common DTX mode for all terminal devices.

[0089] In some embodiments, terminal device 110 may monitor system information from network devices within a system information window for one or more types of system information. In some embodiments, the one or more types of system information may include system information of a predetermined type. In some embodiments, the predetermined type of system information may include a system information block for a Public Warning System (PWS) message or an Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System (ETWS) message.

[0090] The embodiments proposed herein may enable a terminal device to perform DL monitoring or reception without following the DTX mode of the network device, thereby reducing or mitigating the adverse impact on low latency services when the network device executes DTX / DRX mode for energy saving, thereby improving system performance and efficiency by reducing potential delays.

[0091] 3 illustrates an example flowchart of a method 300 implemented in a terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 300 is a solution implemented in a terminal device for UL transmission in DRX mode of a network device. For purposes of explanation, method 300 will be described from the perspective of terminal device 110 with reference to FIG. 1. It should be understood that method 300 may further include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some illustrated blocks, and that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0092] At block 310, the terminal device 110 receives a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration from the network device 120, where the DRX configuration indicates configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device 120.

[0093] Similar to the DTX mode, the DRX configuration may indicate a sleep mode of the network device in uplink reception. For example, the DRX configuration may include DRX parameters such as the length of the DRX period, the duty cycle, and the start of the DRX period. In another example, the DRX configuration may further include uplink opportunities during which the terminal device should not perform UL transmission. The DRX configuration allows the terminal device to know when the network device monitors UL reception and when the network device is asleep. For example, the DRX mode configuration may include a DRX mode configuration for either a cell, a beam, a cell group, or a terminal device.

[0094] For example, for UL transmission, the terminal device 110 may have dedicated RRC configuration for periodic channel state information (CSI) reporting, configured grants (CGs), and may perform UL transmissions according to a common cell DRX mode, i.e., when the network device 120 is monitoring UL transmissions, perform UL transmissions only at configured opportunities. The configured grants may include, for example, semi-persistent transmissions or pre-configured uplink transmission resources.

[0095] As another example, for low priority UL transmissions, eg, associated with a low priority LCH or an LCG with a low priority LCH, the UL transmissions may follow the DRX mode of the network device.

[0096] At block 320, the terminal device 110 performs uplink transmission based on one or more conditions regardless of the cell DRX configuration. In other words, the terminal device 110 may perform UL transmission regardless of the DTX configuration when any of the one or more conditions is met.

[0097] In some embodiments, the one or more conditions may include one or more of a channel state information (CSI) report, a configured grant (CG), a buffer failure recovery (BFR) report, and a random channel (RACH) preamble transmission.

[0098] In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may further obtain an uplink condition configuration indicating a set of predetermined uplink conditions. As an example, the uplink condition configuration may be received from a network device. As another example, the uplink condition configuration may be predefined by a communication protocol.

[0099] In an example, the terminal device 110 may decide to follow or not follow the cell DRX mode for different channels / signals, or it may depend on the mode of the cell DRX, for example, the CG / PUSCH does not follow the cell DRX mode because it affects the UL delay, but the CSI-RS report / SRS follows the DRX mode.

[0100] As an example, the network device 120 may transmit dedicated signaling that takes precedence over the common DRX mode, e.g., if more frequent UL transmissions are desired for the network device 120 without updating the common DTX mode. The terminal device 110 then performs uplink transmissions according to the dedicated signaling rather than according to the configured cell DRX mode. Further details are described below with reference to FIG. 6B.

[0101] 6B , the network device 120 may transmit 620 the cell DRX configuration 622. Accordingly, the terminal device 110 receives 624 the cell DRX configuration 622. For example, the terminal device 110 transmits 626 a CSI-RS report, a BFR report, a CG, or a RACH preamble for UL transmission without following the DRX mode. Accordingly, the network device 120 monitors 630 the UL transmission without following the DRX mode. Note that if the network device 120 supports both DRX and DTX, the DRX and DTX configurations can be transmitted to the terminal device 110 in the same message. The message may be, for example, dedicated signaling or broadcast signaling, which may be, for example, system information.

[0102] In some embodiments, the DRX configuration is cell-specific, and the terminal device 110 may further receive dedicated signaling of the DRX configuration from the network device 120, where the dedicated signaling indicates a new DRX configuration dedicated to the terminal device that overrides the DRX configuration. The terminal device 110 performs uplink transmissions according to the new DRX configuration instead of the DRX configuration. There is no need to update a common DRX mode for all terminal devices because operation of other terminal devices may not be affected.

[0103] In some embodiments, in the case of an UL transmission implementation, the terminal device 110 may further receive at least one uplink resource configuration. The uplink resource configuration may indicate uplink transmission resources configured periodically or semi-persistently. The uplink transmission resources may include CSI reporting resources, CG resources, or both.

[0104] 4 illustrates an example flowchart of a method 400 implemented in a network device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 400 is a solution performed in a network device for DL ​​transmission in DRX mode of the network device. For purposes of explanation, method 400 will be described from the perspective of network device 120 with reference to FIG. 1. It should be understood that method 400 may further include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some of the blocks shown, and that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0105] At block 410, the network device 120 transmits a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration to the terminal device 110, where the DTX configuration indicates configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device 120. As described with reference to FIG. 2, the DTX configuration may indicate a sleep mode of the network device.

[0106] For example, the DTX configuration may include DTX parameters such as the length of the DTX period, the duty cycle, and the start of the DTX period. With such information, the terminal device may be informed of information regarding when the network device performs downlink (DL) transmission and when the network device is sleeping. The DTX mode configuration may include a DTX mode configuration for either a cell, a beam, or a cell group.

[0107] At block 420, the network device 120 performs a downlink transmission to the terminal device 110 based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX configuration.

[0108] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, it is proposed to set one or more conditions for downlink reception, and these conditions take precedence over the DTX configuration of the terminal device. In other words, if any of these conditions is met, the terminal device ignores the DTX configuration and transmits messages as usual. In some embodiments, the one or more conditions may include a set of predetermined conditions for downlink reception.

[0109] For network devices, in scenarios related to these conditions, DL transmissions are performed without following the DTX mode to enable rapid DL transmissions.

[0110] In some embodiments, the DTX configuration is cell-specific, and the network device may further send dedicated signaling of the DTX configuration to the terminal device 110, where the dedicated signaling indicates a new DTX configuration dedicated to the terminal device that overrides the DTX configuration.

[0111] In some embodiments, network device 120 may further transmit a downlink condition configuration indicating one or more conditions, which may include one or more of the following conditions: a random access response (RAR) receive window is running, a timer for contention resolution is running, a message B (MSGB) response window of a two-step random access procedure is running, a buffer status report (BSR) has been transmitted, a scheduling request (SR) has been transmitted, or a system information window is running for terminal devices to receive one or more types of system information.

[0112] In some embodiments, performing a downlink transmission may include any of transmitting an RAR after receiving a RACH preamble, transmitting an MSGB or a fallback RAR after receiving a message A (MSGA) in a two-step random access procedure, or transmitting a contention resolution message after receiving a contention resolution request.

[0113] In some embodiments, performing the downlink transmission may include transmitting an uplink grant on the PDCCH in response to a BSR from the terminal device 110, where the BSR indicates data buffered for a particular type of logical channel (LCH) or a logical channel group (LCG) having a particular type of LCH.

[0114] In some embodiments, performing the downlink transmission may include transmitting an uplink grant on the PDCCH in response to an SR from the terminal device 110, the SR being triggered in association with a BSR triggered by either an LCH of a particular type, an LCG having an LCH of a particular type, or associated with a beam failure recovery (BFR) trigger.

[0115] In some embodiments, performing the downlink transmission may further include transmitting system information to the terminal device within a system information window of one or more types of system information, where the one or more types of system information may include a predetermined type of system information, and the predetermined type of system information may include a system information block of a Public Warning System (PWS) message or an Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System (ETWS) message.

[0116] 5 illustrates an example flowchart of a method 500 implemented in a network device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Method 400 is a solution executed in a network device for UL reception in DRX mode of the network device. For purposes of explanation, method 500 will be described from the perspective of network device 120 with reference to FIG. 1. It should be understood that method 500 may further include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some of the blocks shown, and that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0117] At block 510, the network device 120 sends a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration to the terminal device 110, where the DRX configuration indicates configuration information regarding the DRX mode of the network device.

[0118] As described with reference to FIG. 3, the DRX configuration may indicate a sleep mode of the network device for uplink reception. For example, the DRX configuration may include DRX parameters such as the length of the DRX period, the duty cycle, and the start of the DRX period. The DRX configuration may inform the terminal device when the network device monitors UL reception and when the network device is asleep. For example, the DRX mode configuration may include a DRX mode configuration for either a cell, a beam, or a cell group.

[0119] At block 520, the network device 120 monitors uplink transmissions from the terminal device 110 based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DRX configuration.

[0120] In some embodiments, the DRX configuration may be cell-specific, and the network device may further send dedicated signaling of the DRX configuration to the terminal device 110, where the dedicated signaling indicates a new DRX configuration dedicated to the terminal device that overrides the DRX configuration.

[0121] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may further transmit a condition configuration indicating one or more conditions, which may include one or more of conditions for CSI reporting, CG, BFR reporting, and RACH preamble transmission.

[0122] In some embodiments, the network device 120 may further transmit at least one uplink resource configuration, where the uplink resource configuration indicates uplink transmission resources configured periodically or semi-persistently. For example, the uplink transmission resources may include one or both of CSI reporting resources and CG resources.

[0123] It should be understood that the operations in the network device are briefly described above for the sake of brevity. These operations on the network side may correspond to operations in the terminal device. Therefore, detailed operations regarding some of the operations or features in Figures 4 and 5 may refer to the contents described above for the terminal device with reference to Figures 2 and 3.

[0124] In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 200 (e.g., terminal device 110) may comprise means for performing each step of method 200. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0125] In some embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for performing steps in some embodiments of method 200. In some embodiments, the means may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to cause execution of the apparatus using the at least one processor.

[0126] In some embodiments, an apparatus for performing method 200 comprises means for receiving a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration from a network device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device, and means for monitoring downlink transmissions from the network device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX configuration.

[0127] In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 300 (e.g., terminal device 110) may comprise means for performing each step of method 300. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0128] In some embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for performing steps in some embodiments of method 300. In some embodiments, the means may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to cause execution of the apparatus using the at least one processor.

[0129] In some embodiments, an apparatus for performing method 300 comprises means for receiving a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration from a network device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device, and means for performing an uplink transmission based on one or more conditions regardless of the DRX configuration.

[0130] In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 400 (e.g., network device 120) may comprise means for performing each step of method 400. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0131] In some embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for performing steps in some embodiments of method 400. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to cause execution of the apparatus using the at least one processor.

[0132] In some embodiments, an apparatus for performing method 400 comprises means for transmitting a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration to a terminal device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device, and means for performing downlink transmission to the terminal device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX configuration.

[0133] In some embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 500 (e.g., network device 120) may comprise means for performing each step of method 500. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0134] In some embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for performing steps in some embodiments of method 500. In some embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to cause execution of the apparatus using the at least one processor.

[0135] In some embodiments, an apparatus for performing method 500 comprises means for transmitting a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration to a terminal device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device, and means for monitoring uplink transmissions from the terminal device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DRX configuration.

[0136] 7 is a simplified block diagram of a device 700 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Device 700 may be provided to implement a communications device such as terminal device 110 and network device 120 shown in FIG. 1. As shown, device 700 includes one or more processors 710, one or more memories 720 coupled to processor 710, and one or more communications modules 740 coupled to processor 710.

[0137] The communication module 740 is for two-way communication. The communication module 740 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements.

[0138] The communications module 740 may include, for example, one or more transceivers. The one or more transceivers may be coupled with one or more antennas to wirelessly transmit and receive communication signals. The one or more transceivers enable the communications device to communicate with other devices, which may be wired and / or wireless. The transceivers may support one or more wireless technologies. For example, the one or more transceivers may include a cellular subsystem, a WLAN subsystem, and / or a Bluetooth™ subsystem. In some examples, the one or more transceivers may comprise processors, controllers, radios, sockets, plugs, buffers, and similar circuits / devices used to connect to and communicate over a network.

[0139] The processor 710 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 700 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips time-slaved to a clock that synchronizes the main processor.

[0140] The memory 720 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memory include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 724, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disks, compact disks (CDs), digital video disks (DVDs), and other magnetic and / or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memory include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 722 and other volatile memories that do not persist while power is off.

[0141] The computer program 730 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 710. The program 730 may be stored in the ROM 724. The processor 710 may load the program 730 into the RAM 722 to perform any suitable actions and processes.

[0142] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 730 such that the device 700 can execute any of the processes of the present disclosure described with reference to Figures 2 to 6. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0143] In some embodiments, the program 730 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 700 (such as memory 720) or in other storage accessible by the device 700. The device 700 may load the program 730 from the computer-readable medium into RAM 722 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile storage device, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. Figure 12 shows an example of a computer-readable medium 800 in the form of a CD or DVD. The computer-readable medium has the program 730 stored on it.

[0144] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. While various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in, by way of non-limiting example, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose or logic circuits, general purpose hardware or controller, or other computing device, or some combination thereof.

[0145] 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 those included in program modules, that execute on a target real or virtual processor device to perform any of the methods 200-500 described above with reference to FIGS. 2-5. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or divided among program modules as desired in various embodiments. The machine-executable instructions for the program modules may be executed in local or distributed devices. In a distributed device, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0146] Program code for performing the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, and when executed by the processor or controller, the functions / acts specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams are performed. The program code may run entirely on the machine, partly on the machine as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0147] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program code or associated data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus, or processor to perform the various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, etc.

[0148] The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-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. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media may include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, 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. As used herein, the term "non-transitory" refers not to a limitation regarding the permanence of data storage (e.g., RAM vs. ROM), but to a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible rather than a signal).

[0149] Furthermore, although operations are shown in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order or sequentially shown, or to perform all of the illustrated operations, to achieve desirable results. In certain situations, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, while details of several specific implementations are included in the foregoing description, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be unique to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0150] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure, as defined in the appended claims, is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, one or more processors; one or more transceivers communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receiving a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration from a network device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; monitoring downlink transmissions from the network device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX configuration; The terminal device is configured to cause the

2. The DTX configuration is cell-specific, and the terminal device further comprises: receiving dedicated signaling of a DTX configuration from the network device, the dedicated signaling indicating a new DTX configuration dedicated to the terminal device that overrides the DTX configuration; The terminal device according to claim 1 .

3. The terminal device further comprises: obtaining a condition configuration indicating the one or more conditions; the condition configuration is received from the network device or is predefined by a communication protocol; A terminal device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The one or more conditions are: The Random Access Response (RAR) receive window is running; A timer for conflict resolution is running, that the Message B (MSGB) response window is running in a two-step random access procedure; that a Buffer Status Report (BSR) has been sent; A scheduling request (SR) has been sent, or The system information window must be running for the device to receive one or more types of system information. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the terminal device includes one or more of the following conditions:

5. monitoring the downlink transmissions; monitoring a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for RARs during said reception window for RARs; monitoring a PDCCH for an MSGB or a fallback RAR during the reception window of the MSGB; monitoring a PDCCH while the timer for contention resolution is running; 5. The terminal device of claim 4, comprising:

6. monitoring the downlink transmissions; monitoring a PDCCH within a predetermined period after a BSR is transmitted, the BSR indicating buffered data for a particular type of logical channel (LCH) or a logical channel group (LCG) having a particular type of LCH; A terminal device according to claim 4 or 5.

7. monitoring the downlink transmissions; monitoring a PDCCH within a predetermined period after an SR is transmitted, the SR being triggered in association with a BSR triggered by either a specific type of LCH, an LCG having a specific type of LCH, or a beam failure recovery (BFR) trigger; A terminal device according to any one of claims 4 to 6.

8. monitoring the downlink transmissions; monitoring system information from the network device within a system information window for one or more types of system information; The terminal device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, further comprising:

9. 9. The terminal device of claim 8, wherein the one or more types of system information include a predetermined type of system information, and the predetermined type of system information includes a system information block of a Public Warning System (PWS) message or an Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System (ETWS) message.

10. A terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the DTX mode configuration comprises a DTX mode configuration for either a cell, a beam or a cell group.

11. A terminal device, one or more processors; one or more transceivers communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors are configured to: receiving a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration from a network device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; performing uplink transmissions based on one or more conditions regardless of the DRX configuration; The terminal device is configured to cause the

12. The DRX configuration is cell-specific, and the terminal device further comprises: receiving dedicated signaling of a DRX configuration from the network device, the dedicated signaling indicating a new DRX configuration dedicated to the terminal device that overrides the DRX configuration; The terminal device according to claim 11.

13. causing the terminal device to further obtain a condition configuration indicative of the one or more conditions; the condition configuration is received from the network device or is predefined by a communication protocol; A terminal device according to claim 11 or 12.

14. The one or more conditions are: Channel State Information (CSI) reporting; configured permissions (CG), Buffer Failure Recovery (BFR) reporting; and Random Channel (RACH) Preamble Transmission including one or more of the following conditions: A terminal device according to any one of claims 11 to 13.

15. The terminal device further comprises: receiving at least one uplink resource configuration, the uplink resource configuration indicating uplink transmission resources configured periodically or semi-persistently, the uplink transmission resources including one or both of CSI reporting resources and CG resources; A terminal device according to any one of claims 11 to 14.

16. A terminal device according to any one of claims 11 to 15, wherein the DRX mode configuration comprises a DRX mode configuration for either a cell, a beam or a cell group.

17. 1. A network device, comprising: one or more processors; one or more transceivers communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors communicate with the network device: transmitting a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration to a terminal device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; performing a downlink transmission to the terminal device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX configuration; The network device is configured to:

18. The DTX configuration is cell specific, and the network device further comprises: causing the terminal device to transmit dedicated signaling of a DTX configuration, the dedicated signaling indicating a new DTX configuration dedicated to the terminal device that overrides the DTX configuration; 18. The network device of claim 17.

19. The network device further comprises:

19. The network device of claim 17 or 18, configured to transmit a condition configuration indicating the one or more conditions.

20. The one or more conditions are: The Random Access Response (RAR) receive window is running; A timer for conflict resolution is running, that the Message B (MSGB) response window in the two-step random access procedure is running; that a Buffer Status Report (BSR) has been sent; A scheduling request (SR) has been sent, or The system information window must be running for the device to receive one or more types of system information. The network device according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein the network device includes one or more of the following conditions:

21. performing the downlink transmission, transmitting the RAR after receiving a random access (RACH) preamble; sending the MSGB or fallback RAR after receiving message A (MSGA) in a two-step random access procedure; Sending a conflict resolution message after receiving a conflict resolution request 21. The network device of claim 20, comprising:

22. performing the downlink transmission, transmitting an uplink grant on a PDCCH in response to a BSR from the terminal device, the BSR indicating buffered data for a specific type of logical channel (LCH) or a logical channel group (LCG) having a specific type of LCH; 22. A network device according to claim 20 or 21.

23. performing the downlink transmission, transmitting an uplink grant on a PDCCH in response to an SR from the terminal device, the SR being triggered in association with a BSR triggered by any of a specific type of LCH, an LCG having a specific type of LCH, or a beam failure recovery (BFR) report; The network device according to any one of claims 20 to 22.

24. performing the downlink transmission, Transmitting system information to the terminal device within a system information window of one or more types of system information. The network device according to any one of claims 20 to 21, further comprising:

25. 25. The network device of claim 24, wherein the one or more types of system information include a predetermined type of system information, the predetermined type of system information including a system information block of a Public Warning System (PWS) message or an Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System (ETWS) message.

26. A terminal device according to any one of claims 17 to 25, wherein the DTX mode configuration comprises a DTX mode configuration for either a cell, a beam, or a cell group.

27. 1. A network device, comprising: one or more processors; one or more transceivers communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors communicate with the network device: transmitting a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration to a terminal device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; monitoring uplink transmissions from the terminal device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DRX configuration; The network device is configured to:

28. The DRX configuration is cell specific, and the network device further comprises: causing the terminal device to transmit dedicated signaling of a DRX configuration, the dedicated signaling indicating a new DRX configuration dedicated to the terminal device that overrides the DRX configuration; 28. The network device of claim 27.

29. The network device further comprises:

29. A network device according to claim 27 or 28, adapted to transmit a condition configuration indicative of said one or more conditions.

30. The one or more conditions are: Channel State Information (CSI) reporting; configured permissions (CG), Buffer Failure Recovery (BFR), and Random Access (RACH) Preamble Transmission The network device according to any one of claims 27 to 29, comprising one or more of the following conditions:

31. The network device further comprises: transmitting at least one uplink resource configuration, the uplink resource configuration indicating uplink transmission resources configured periodically or semi-persistently, the uplink transmission resources including one or both of CSI reporting resources and CG resources; The network device according to any one of claims 27 to 30.

32. A terminal device according to any one of claims 27 to 31, wherein the DRX mode configuration comprises a DRX mode configuration for either a cell, a beam or a cell group.

33. 1. A method in a terminal device, comprising: receiving a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration from a network device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; monitoring downlink transmissions from the network device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX configuration; The method comprising:

34. 1. A method in a terminal device, comprising: receiving a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration from a network device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; performing uplink transmissions based on one or more conditions regardless of the DRX configuration; The method comprising:

35. 1. A method in a network device, comprising: transmitting a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration to a terminal device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; performing a downlink transmission to the terminal device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX configuration; The method comprising:

36. 1. A method in a network device, comprising: transmitting a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration to a terminal device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; monitoring uplink transmissions from the terminal device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DRX configuration; The method comprising:

37. An apparatus for a terminal device, comprising: means for receiving a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration from a network device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; and means for monitoring downlink transmissions from the network device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX configuration; The device comprising:

38. An apparatus for a terminal device, comprising: means for receiving a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration from a network device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; and means for performing uplink transmission based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DRX configuration; The device comprising:

39. A network device apparatus, means for transmitting a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration to a terminal device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; and means for performing downlink transmission to the terminal device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX configuration; The device comprising:

40. A network device apparatus, means for transmitting a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration to a terminal device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; and means for monitoring uplink transmissions from the terminal device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DRX configuration; The device comprising:

41. A terminal device, at least one processor; and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, using the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to: receiving a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration from a network device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; monitoring downlink transmissions from the network device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX configuration; The terminal device is configured to cause the

42. A terminal device, at least one processor; and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, using the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to: receiving a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration from a network device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; performing uplink transmissions based on one or more conditions regardless of the DRX configuration; The terminal device is configured to cause the

43. 1. A network device, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, using the at least one processor, cause the network device to: transmitting a discontinuous transmission (DTX) configuration to a terminal device, the DTX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DTX mode of the network device; performing a downlink transmission to the terminal device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DTX configuration; The network device is configured to:

44. 1. A network device, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to, using the at least one processor, cause the network device to: transmitting a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration to a terminal device, the DRX configuration indicating configuration information regarding a DRX mode of the network device; monitoring uplink transmissions from the terminal device based on one or more conditions, regardless of the DRX configuration; The network device is configured to:

45. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method of any of claims 33 to 36.

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