Terminal device, network device, and method

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method, an apparatus, and a computer-readable medium for communication. According to the present disclosure, a terminal device receives a list of minimum discontinuous reception (DRX) cycles associated with a plurality of paging carriers from a network device. The terminal device selects a paging carrier from the plurality of paging carriers. The terminal device determines a DRX cycle based on at least one of a terminal device-specific DRX cycle and a minimum DRX cycle associated with a paging carrier in the minimum DRX cycle list.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of communications, and more particularly to methods, apparatus, and computer-readable media for communications. [Background technology]

[0002] In order to improve the efficiency of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, research is being conducted on optimizing paging schemes for different terminal devices having different communication requirements.

[0003] Conventionally, the DRX cycle for monitoring the frequency resource selected by the terminal device may be determined inappropriately, which may, for example, cause the UE to waste power unnecessarily or fail to meet the UE-specific paging requirements. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Generally, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium for communication. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In a first aspect, a method is provided that is implemented by a terminal device, in which the terminal device receives DRX information from a network device, the DRX information including at least a minimum DRX cycle associated with a first frequency resource, and the terminal device determines a target DRX cycle based on a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device and the minimum DRX cycle.

[0006] In a second aspect, a method is provided that is implemented by a terminal device, in which the terminal device receives discontinuous reception (DRX) information from a network device, the DRX information including at least a DRX cycle associated with a first frequency resource, and the terminal device determines a target DRX cycle based on at least one of a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device and the DRX cycle.

[0007] In a third aspect, there is provided a method implemented by a terminal device, in which the terminal device transmits a first indication of a first criterion to a network device, and the terminal device monitors a first frequency resource selected from a plurality of frequency resources based on the first criterion.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method implemented by a network device, in which the network device determines a first criterion used by a terminal device to select a frequency resource from a plurality of frequency resources, and the network device selects the frequency resource from the plurality of frequency resources for the terminal device based on the first criterion.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a method is provided that is implemented by a core network (CN) device, in which the CN device receives from a first network device a first indication of a first criterion for selecting a paging carrier from a plurality of paging carriers for a terminal device, and the CN device transmits the first indication of the first criterion to a second network device associated with the terminal device.

[0010] In a fifth aspect, there is provided a terminal device, the terminal device comprising circuitry configured to perform the method of any one of the first, second or third aspects.

[0011] In a sixth aspect there is provided a network device comprising circuitry configured to perform the method of the fourth aspect.

[0012] In a seventh aspect, there is provided a CN apparatus comprising circuitry configured to carry out the method of the fifth aspect.

[0013] In an eighth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium storing instructions which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform any one of the methods of the first to fifth aspects.

[0014] It should be understood that this summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, nor to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will be readily apparent from the following description. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] Several exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawings. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an overlap between DRX cycles and paging common search space. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary environment in which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a signaling diagram for determining a DRX cycle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of DRX information including multiple minimum DRX cycles associated with respective paging carriers, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5A] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a DRX cycle determined based on at least one of a minimum DRX cycle specific to a paging carrier, a DRX cycle specific to a terminal device, and a default value according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5B]FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a DRX cycle determined based on at least one of a minimum DRX cycle specific to a paging carrier, a DRX cycle specific to a terminal device, and a default value according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5C] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a DRX cycle determined based on at least one of a minimum DRX cycle specific to a paging carrier, a DRX cycle specific to a terminal device, and a default value according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of DRX information including multiple DRX cycles associated with respective paging carriers, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7A] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a DRX cycle determined based on at least one of a DRX cycle specific to a paging carrier and a DRX cycle specific to a terminal device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7B] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a DRX cycle determined based on at least one of a DRX cycle specific to a paging carrier and a DRX cycle specific to a terminal device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7C] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a DRX cycle determined based on at least one of a DRX cycle specific to a paging carrier and a DRX cycle specific to a terminal device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] A diagram showing an exemplary alignment between a terminal device, a network device, and a core network device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] A diagram showing an exemplary alignment between a terminal device, a network device, and a core network device in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] 4 is a flowchart of an example communication method implemented in a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] 4 is a flowchart of an example communication method implemented in a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 13] 4 is a flowchart of an example communication method implemented in a network device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 14] 4 is a flowchart of an example communication method implemented in a network device of a core network, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 15] 1 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus suitable for implementing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, in which the same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only, to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and implementing the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitations on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways different from those described below.

[0017] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0018] As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any device having wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include, but are not limited to, user equipment (UE), personal computers, desktop computers, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, any Internet of Things (IoE) devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, in-vehicle devices for V2X communication, etc., where the "X" in V2X represents a pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure / network, or an image capture device such as a digital camera, a gaming device, a music storage and playback device, or an Internet appliance that allows wireless or wired Internet access and browsing, etc. The term "terminal device" may be used interchangeably with UE, mobile station, subscriber station, mobile terminal, user terminal, or wireless device. In addition, the term "network device" refers to a device that can provide or host a cell or coverage through which the terminal device can communicate. Examples of network devices include, but are not limited to, low power nodes such as a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a next generation Node B (gNB), a transmit / receive point (TRP), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a femto node, and a pico node.

[0019] In one embodiment, the terminal device can connect to a first network device and a second network device. One of the first network device and the second network device may be a master node and the other may be a secondary node. The first network device and the second network device may use different radio access technologies (RATs). In one embodiment, the first network device may be a first RAT device and the second network device may be a second RAT device. In one embodiment, the first RAT device is an eNB and the second RAT device is a gNB. Information about the different RATs may be transmitted from at least one of the first network device and the second network device to the terminal device. In one embodiment, the first information may be transmitted from the first network device to the terminal device, and the second information may be transmitted from the second network device to the terminal device directly or via the first network device. In one embodiment, information about the configuration of the terminal device configured by the second network device may be transmitted from the second network device via the first network device. Information regarding the reconfiguration of the terminal device configured by the second network device may be transmitted from the second network device directly to the terminal device or via the first network device.

[0020] As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "said" include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term "comprises" and variations thereof should be understood as open-ended terms meaning "including, but not limited to." The term "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on." The terms "one embodiment" and "embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment." The term "another embodiment" should be understood as "at least one other embodiment." Terms such as "first," "second," and the like may refer to different or the same object. The following may include other explicit and implicit definitions.

[0021] In some instances, values, procedures, or devices are referred to as "best," "lowest," "highest," "minimum," "maximum," etc. It should be understood that such descriptions are intended to illustrate that selections can be made from among many functional alternatives used, and that such selections are not necessarily better, smaller, higher, or otherwise more preferred than other selections.

[0022] The term "circuitry" as used herein may refer to a hardware circuit and / or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. For example, a circuit may be a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware. As yet another example, a circuit may be any portion of a hardware processor having software, including a digital signal processor, software, and one or more memories, that cooperate to cause a device, such as a terminal device or a network device, to perform various functions. In yet another example, a circuit may be a hardware circuit and / or a processor, such as a microprocessor or a portion thereof, that requires software / firmware for operation, but the software may not be present if not required for operation. As used herein, the term "circuitry" also includes implementations of only a hardware circuit or one or more processors, or a portion of a hardware circuit or one or more processors, and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware.

[0023] As used in this specification, the term "frequency resource" refers to a frequency resource unit in a communication network, such as a carrier in narrow band (NB) IoT, a narrow band in LTE enhanced MTC (eMTC), a bandwidth part in 5G communication, and any resource.

[0024] As used herein, the term "terminal specific DRX cycle" refers to a UE specific DRX value or any DRX cycle that reflects the requirements of the terminal.

[0025] Conventionally, in an IoT communication network, a terminal device may monitor paging occasions (POs) located in a common search space (CSS) in a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle to determine a subsequent operation, such as transitioning to an active mode for data transmission or remaining in an idle mode for energy saving. However, there may be different communication requirements specific to different terminal devices, for example, a terminal device for autonomous vehicle operation may require operation in good coverage with very low latency, while a terminal device for water meters and electricity meters may not. To meet the requirements of paging latency, the terminal device may have a designated DRX cycle. For terminal devices with poor coverage, paging repetitions may be required to enhance coverage. If the DRX cycle for a terminal device is not determined properly, for example, considering the case where the page CSS repetition duration is longer than the DRX cycle used by the terminal device due to deep coverage being supported on the selected page carrier, adjacent CSS repetition durations for the terminal device may overlap each other. In other words, the terminal device starts monitoring a PO belonging to the next DRX cycle when the previous paging CSS repetition is not completed. In another case where the terminal device uses a DRX cycle that is much longer than the paging CSS repetition duration to avoid the paging CSS overlap described above, the paging delay for the terminal may not meet the requirements.

[0026] FIG. 1 shows the overlap between the DRX cycles and the paging common search space (CSS) used by the terminal devices.

[0027] In Fig. 1, the DRX cycle of the terminal device may be 320 ms, which is shorter than the duration of the CSS of the paging carrier monitored by the terminal device, the duration of the CSS has multiple paging occasion candidates to be monitored by the served terminal devices, and the served terminal devices monitor specific paging occasions in the CSS assigned to these terminal devices in the DRX cycle. Conventionally, if the minimum DRX cycle specified for the terminal device is too long, it will cause longer paging delays, and if the minimum DRX cycle specified for the terminal device is too short, the DRX cycle used by some terminal devices may overlap with the CSS.

[0028] As mentioned above, the conventional DRX cycle determination method has the drawback that it may cause a longer delay or overlap between the DRX cycle of the terminal device and the CSS duration of the paging carrier.

[0029] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method is provided to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks. In this method, in the case of multi-carrier operation, the terminal device and the network device may determine a target DRX cycle based on a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device and a minimum DRX cycle associated with a paging carrier. In this method, the terminal device receives discontinuous reception (DRX) information including at least a minimum DRX cycle associated with a first frequency resource from the network device. Then, the terminal device determines a target DRX cycle based on the DRX cycle specific to the terminal device and the minimum DRX cycle. In this method, by using information on the minimum DRX cycle associated with the paging carrier, a target DRX cycle for the paging carrier can be appropriately determined, so that the terminal device monitors paging occasions using the target DRX cycle, thereby avoiding overlap between the target DRX cycle used by the terminal device and the CSS of the paging carrier, and meeting different requirements of different terminal devices.

[0030] Several embodiments according to the present disclosure will now be described in further detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary environment in which exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0031] The environment 200, which may be a part of a communication network, includes a network device 210-1 and a network device 210-2, and a terminal device 220-1, a terminal device 220-2, and a terminal device 220-3. For convenience of explanation, the network device 210-1 and the network device 210-2 may be collectively referred to as a "network device 210", and the terminal device 220-1, the terminal device 220-2, and the terminal device 220-3 may be collectively referred to as a "terminal device 220". The terminal device 220 may communicate with the CN device 230 via the network device 210.

[0032] The three terminal devices and two network devices are shown in environment 200 for illustrative purposes only and do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. In some exemplary embodiments, environment 200 may include other terminal devices that communicate information with other network devices.

[0033] Communications within environment 200 may be in accordance with any suitable communications standard or protocol, existing or developed in the future, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 5G New Radio (NR), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) standards, including, for example, Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), time division multiplexing (TDM), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), code division multiplexing (CDM), Bluetooth, ZigBee, and machine type communication (MTC), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), and other standards. Any suitable communications technology may be employed, including broadband, massive machine type communication (mMTC), ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC), carrier aggregation (CA), dual connection (DC), and new radio unlicensed (NR-U) technologies.

[0034] 3 is a signaling diagram for determining a target DRX cycle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. In the signaling diagram 300, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal device 220 receives 315 DRX information from the network device 210, the DRX information including at least a minimum DRX cycle associated with a first frequency resource. For the sake of explanation, in the context of the present disclosure, the frequency resource that is finally selected and monitored by the terminal device is referred to as the first frequency resource.

[0035] In some embodiments, terminal device 220 receives the DRX information in at least one of system information block (SIB) 2 and system information block (SIB) 22.

[0036] Alternatively, in some embodiments, terminal 220 receives DRX information including a minimum DRX cycle in SIB 22. For example, terminal 220 receives a minimum DRX cycle associated with an anchor carrier in SIB 22 and also receives a minimum DRX cycle associated with a non-anchor carrier in a paging carrier list in SIB 22.

[0037] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the terminal device 220 receives the minimum DRX cycle associated with the anchor carrier in the RadioResourceConfigCommonSIB-NB of SIB2 (system information block (SIB) 2) and further receives the minimum DRX cycle associated with the non-anchor carrier in the paging carrier list in SIB22.

[0038] Also, the page carrier list may be included as a list of downlink (DL) configured common narrowbands (DL configured common list narrowbands (NB)) in the SIB 22. Additionally, the PCHH configuration may be included in the downlink (DL) configured common narrowbands, and DRX information including the minimum DRX cycle may be included in the PCHH configuration (PCCH-config).

[0039] In some alternative embodiments, the terminal device 220 receives 315 a frequency resource list from the network device 210, the frequency resource list including one or more minimum DRX cycles associated with each frequency resource. In one example embodiment, the frequency resource list may be received as a paging carrier list.

[0040] In some embodiments, terminal device 220 receives 315 the DRX information from network device 210 in at least one of a system information block (SIB) (eg, SIB22) and Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0041] According to an example embodiment of the present disclosure, terminal device 220 determines a target DRX cycle based on the terminal device-specific DRX cycle and the minimum DRX cycle 335. Terminal device 220 may then monitor at paging occasions (POs) on the first frequency resource in the target DRX cycle to avoid overlap between CSSs belonging to adjacent DRX cycles.

[0042] In some embodiments, the DRX information includes multiple minimum DRX cycles associated with multiple frequency resources. As an example, the DRX information including multiple minimum cycles may be included in a paging carrier, and a minimum DRX cycle may be included in a configuration of an associated paging carrier in a paging carrier list.

[0043] For illustrative purposes, the details of the determination of the DRX cycle are described with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5A-5C. FIG. 4 illustrates an example of DRX information 400 including a plurality of minimum DRX cycles associated with respective paging carriers according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. By way of example and not limitation, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5A-5C illustrate a target DRX cycle determination process in an NB-IoT communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and thus, frequency resources are shown as paging carriers. In other communication systems, frequencies may also be represented as narrowband (in LTE enhanced MTC (eMTC)), bandwidth parts (in 5G communication), and any resources available for paging a terminal device.

[0044] In the exemplary DRX information 400, three minimum DRX cycles associated with three page carriers (i.e., carriers 0, 1, and 2) are shown, and carriers 0, 1, and 2 may be associated with different coverage levels, without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. As an outline, corresponding CSSs 410, 420, and 430 corresponding to these carriers are shown on the right. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4, it is assumed that the minimum DRX cycles associated with carriers 0, 1, and 2 are 320 ms, 640 ms, and 1280 ms, respectively, the default DRX cycle of the cell associated with the terminal device 220 is 1280 ms, and the DRX cycle specific to the terminal device 220 is 640 ms. Without limitation, the value of the DRX cycle associated with the frequency resource in the present disclosure, or the value of the DRX cycle specified for the terminal device, or the value of the default DRX cycle of the cell are only examples, and any other value of the DRX cycle may be adopted.

[0045] In some embodiments, the number of the multiple paging carriers may be one, in which case the one paging carrier is selected and monitored by the terminal device 220 as described above, and the one paging carrier is also referred to as a first paging carrier. Then, the terminal device 220 determines a target DRX cycle by determining a maximum value among a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device 220 and a minimum DRX cycle associated with the first frequency resource, and determining a minimum value among a default DRX cycle and the determined maximum value as a target DRX cycle.

[0046] For example, if the DRX information 400 includes only a minimum DRX cycle associated with carrier 0, e.g., 32 ms, the target DRX cycle may be determined by determining the maximum value of the DRX cycle specific to the terminal device 220 and the minimum DRX cycle associated with the first frequency resource, e.g., 70 ms, and determining the minimum value of the default DRX cycle and the determined maximum value as the target DRX cycle, e.g., 70 ms.

[0047] Without limitation, the DRX cycle value associated with the frequency resource in the present disclosure, or the DRX cycle value specified in the terminal device, or the default DRX cycle value of the cell are merely examples, and any other value of the DRX cycle may be adopted.

[0048] Returning to the example of DRX information including three minimum DRX cycles associated with three paging carriers.

[0049] In some embodiments, terminal 220 may select the first paging carrier from the multiple paging carriers based solely on a coverage level associated with terminal 220, and terminal 220 may determine a paging carrier set from the multiple paging carriers that includes paging carriers associated with the coverage level selected by terminal 220. In some embodiments, terminal 220 may determine a paging carrier set from the multiple paging carriers that includes paging carriers capable of supporting the coverage level selected by terminal 220. In some embodiments, terminal 220 may determine a paging carrier set from the multiple paging carriers that includes carriers associated with a coverage level equal to or greater than the selected coverage level. In some embodiments, terminal 220 may also use other criteria to select a paging carrier set.

[0050] In some embodiments, the terminal device 220 may then randomly select a paging carrier from the determined paging carrier set as the first paging carrier. For example, in 3GPP 36.604, the paging carrier with the smallest index n that satisfies the following formula may be determined as the first paging carrier: Floor(UE_ID / (N*Ns)) mod W < W(0)+ W(1)+ W(2)+ …+W(n); (1) where W represents the total weight of all NB-IoT paging carriers in the selected paging carrier set. In some embodiments, the terminal device 220 may then arbitrarily select a paging carrier from the determined paging carrier set.

[0051] In an embodiment in which the first paging carrier is selected based solely on the coverage level associated with the terminal device 220, after the first paging carrier is selected, the terminal device 220 determines the target DRX cycle by determining the maximum value of a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device 220 and a minimum DRX cycle associated with the first paging carrier, and determining the minimum value of the default DRX cycle and the determined maximum value as the target DRX cycle.

[0052] In the example of this embodiment, after the terminal device selects a paging carrier set based only on the coverage level associated with the terminal device 220, for example, after carrier 1 and carrier 2 are selected, the terminal device may randomly select carrier 2 as the first paging carrier. In this case, the DRX cycle may be determined by determining the maximum value (i.e., 1280 ms) of the maximum value (e.g., 640 ms) of the DRX cycle specific to the terminal device 220 and the minimum DRX cycle (e.g., 1280 ms) associated with the first paging carrier (carrier 2), and determining the minimum value (i.e., 1280 ms) of the default DRX cycle (e.g., 1280 ms) and the determined maximum value (e.g., 1280 ms) as the target DRX cycle.

[0053] For example, the target DRX cycle T may be determined by the following equation (2).

number

[0054] 5A to 5C show examples of a target DRX cycle determined based on a minimum DRX cycle associated with a first paging carrier, a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device 220, and a default DRX cycle according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0055] 5A illustrates a relationship between the CSS of the selected first paging carrier, carrier 2, and the PO / DRX cycle determined based on the minimum DRX cycle associated with carrier 2, the terminal device 220-specific DRX cycle, and the default DRX cycle in an embodiment where the first paging carrier is selected based only on the coverage level. It can be seen that the target DRX cycle can be appropriately determined using information about the minimum DRX cycle associated with the paging carrier to avoid overlap between the DRX cycle specified for the terminal device 220 that selected the first paging carrier and the CSS of the first paging carrier. In the schematic diagram 500 of FIG. 5A, the terminal device may avoid overlap between the CSSs belonging to adjacent DRX cycles by monitoring in the PO on the first paging carrier, carrier 2, with the determined target DRX cycle of 1280 ms.

[0056] Returning to FIG. 4, in some embodiments, terminal device 220 may select a paging carrier from multiple paging carriers based on a coverage level associated with terminal device 220 and a DRX value designated to terminal device 220. In this embodiment, terminal device 220 may first determine a paging carrier set from multiple paging carriers associated with a coverage level selected by terminal device 220. In this embodiment, terminal device 220 may determine a paging carrier set from multiple paging carriers in the same manner as the embodiment in which terminal device 220 selects a first paging carrier based solely on a coverage level associated with terminal device 220.

[0057] Then, for each paging carrier in the paging carrier set, the terminal device calculates the difference between the minimum DRX cycle associated with the paging carrier and the DRX specific to the terminal device 220. With reference to Fig. 4, as an example only, assume that the paging carrier set includes carrier 0, carrier 1 and carrier 2, and through the above calculation, the terminal device can obtain three differences of carrier 0, carrier 1 and carrier 2. The difference of carrier 0 is |640ms-320ms|=320ms, the difference of carrier 1 is 0ms, and the difference of carrier 2 is 640ms.

[0058] In some embodiments, the calculated differences may be ranked in order from smallest to largest to indicate the relative difference between the minimum DRX cycle associated with each paging carrier in the set and the DRX cycle specified for the terminal device 220.

[0059] In some embodiments, terminal device 220 may select the paging carrier with the smallest difference as the paging carrier to be used. In some embodiments, if the differences are ranked in order from smallest to largest, terminal device 220 may select the paging carrier corresponding to the first ranked difference as the first paging carrier.

[0060] In some embodiments, the terminal device 220 may determine one or more paging carriers corresponding to one or more smallest differences, and select a paging carrier corresponding to a difference lower than a certain threshold as the first paging carrier. For example, the terminal device 220 may first determine a smallest difference (which may be referred to as a minimum difference) and a paging carrier corresponding to the difference, and then determine a smallest difference (which may be referred to as a second smallest difference) among the remaining differences excluding the first difference corresponding to the first carrier, and another paging carrier corresponding to the second smallest difference. Then, the terminal device 220 may determine the second smallest difference as a threshold, and in this case, selecting a paging carrier corresponding to a difference lower than this threshold means selecting a paging carrier associated with a minimum DRX cycle closest to a DRX cycle specified for the terminal device 220 as the first paging carrier.

[0061] In some embodiments, the terminal device 220 may determine the smallest difference (which may be referred to as the third smallest difference) among the remaining differences excluding the smallest difference and the second smallest difference, and then determine the third smallest difference as a threshold. In this case, selecting a paging carrier corresponding to a difference smaller than the threshold means selecting two paging carriers associated with the two smallest DRX cycles closest to the DRX cycle specified for the terminal device 220. Then, the terminal device 220 may select one of these two paging carriers as the first paging carrier as necessary.

[0062] In some embodiments, terminal device 220 may also determine other thresholds.

[0063] 4, if the threshold is the second smallest difference, the terminal device may select carrier 1 as the first paging carrier, i.e., the paging carrier associated with the minimum DRX cycle (640 ms) closest to the minimum DRX cycle (640 ms) specified for the terminal device 220 is selected. Alternatively, as described above, the terminal device 220 may select the paging carrier associated with the minimum DRX cycle closest to the DRX cycle specified for the terminal device 220 in a ranking manner.

[0064] In an embodiment in which a paging carrier associated with a minimum DRX cycle closest to a DRX cycle specified for the terminal device 220 is selected as the first paging carrier, the DRX cycle may be determined by the terminal device 220 by determining, by the terminal device, a maximum value among a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device 220 and a minimum DRX cycle specific to the paging carrier, and selecting, as a target DRX cycle, a minimum value among a default DRX cycle and the determined maximum value. Similarly, in this embodiment, once the first paging carrier is selected, the target DRX cycle may be determined by equation (2).

[0065] FIG. 5B illustrates a relationship between the CSS of carrier 1, which is the selected paging carrier, and the DRX cycle determined based on the minimum DRX cycle associated with the paging carrier, the terminal device specific DRX cycle, and the default DRX cycle in an embodiment in which the paging carrier associated with the minimum DRX cycle closest to the DRX cycle specified for the terminal device 220 is selected as the first paging carrier. In this case, the paging carrier (carrier 1) associated with the minimum DRX cycle closest to the terminal device 220 specific DRX cycle is selected as the first paging carrier, and the target DRX cycle is determined as 640 ms by the determination of the DRX cycle, and overlaps can be avoided. Thus, a trade-off is realized between communication efficiency and terminal device requirements. In the schematic diagram 510 of FIG. 5B, the terminal device 220 may avoid overlaps between CSSs belonging to adjacent DRX cycles while being able to meet the requirements of the terminal device 220 by monitoring in PO on carrier 1, which is the first paging carrier, with the determined target DRX cycle of 640 ms.

[0066] In some embodiments, terminal 220 may select as the first paging carrier a paging carrier whose associated minimum DRX cycle is equal to or shorter than the terminal-specific DRX cycle.

[0067] In some embodiments, after the calculated differences are ranked in order from smallest to largest, the terminal device 220 may find a difference whose corresponding minimum DRX cycle is shorter or equal to the terminal device 220-specific DRX cycle and determine the first ranked difference among the found differences. Then, the paging carrier whose associated minimum DRX cycle corresponds to this first ranked difference is selected as the first paging carrier. For example, referring to FIG. 4, carriers 0, 1, and 2 are ranked in the following order: carrier 1, e.g., 640 ms; carrier 0, e.g., 320 ms; carrier 2, e.g., 1280 ms, and carrier 1 is selected as the first paging carrier. This means that the paging carrier whose associated minimum DRX cycle is closest to and shorter or equal to the terminal device 220-specific DRX cycle is selected as the first paging carrier.

[0068] In some embodiments, as described above, when the terminal device uses a certain threshold to determine one or more paging carriers, the terminal device may dynamically change the threshold until the difference in the number corresponding to the minimum DRX cycle associated with a particular paging carrier meets (i.e., is below) the threshold, and the DRX cycle associated with the particular paging carrier is shorter than or equal to the DRX cycle specific to the terminal device 220. Then, the terminal device 220 selects the particular paging carrier as the first paging carrier. With reference to FIG. 4, carrier 1 is selected as the first paging carrier. Similarly, this means that the paging carrier whose associated minimum DRX cycle is closest to and shorter than or equal to the DRX cycle specific to the terminal device 220 is selected as the first paging carrier.

[0069] In an embodiment in which a paging carrier associated with a minimum DRX cycle that is closest to the DRX cycle and is shorter than or equal to the DRX cycle specified for the terminal device 220 is selected, the DRX cycle may be determined by the terminal device 220 by selecting the minimum of the default DRX cycle and the DRX cycle specified for the terminal device 220 as the target DRX cycle.

[0070] FIG. 5C illustrates a relationship between the CSS of carrier 1, which is the selected paging carrier, and the DRX cycle determined based on the minimum DRX cycle associated with the paging carrier and the DRX cycle associated with the terminal device in an embodiment in which a paging carrier associated with a minimum DRX cycle that is closest to the DRX cycle and shorter or equal to the DRX cycle specified for the terminal device 220 is selected. In this case, the paging carrier (carrier 1) associated with the minimum DRX cycle that is closest to and shorter or equal to the DRX cycle specified for the terminal device 220 is selected as the first paging carrier, and the determination of the DRX cycle can avoid overlaps. Thus, a trade-off is realized between communication efficiency and taking more into account the terminal device requirements. In the schematic diagram 520 of FIG. 5C, the terminal device 220 may avoid overlaps between CSSs belonging to adjacent DRX cycles while taking more into account the requirements of the terminal device 220 by monitoring in PO on carrier 1, which is the first paging carrier, with the determined target DRX cycle of 640 ms.

[0071] In some embodiments, terminal 220 may select a paging carrier based only on the DRX cycle specific to terminal 220. In this case, terminal 220 may select a first paging carrier from the multiple carriers based only on the DRX cycle specific to terminal 220. As described above, terminal 220 may use a ranking or a suitable threshold to directly select a first paging carrier from the multiple paging carriers whose minimum DRX cycle is closest to the DRX cycle specific to terminal 220. In some embodiments, terminal 220 may also use a ranking or a suitable threshold to directly select a first paging carrier from the multiple paging carriers whose minimum DRX cycle is closest to and shorter than or equal to the DRX cycle specific to terminal 220.

[0072] In an embodiment of selecting the first paging carrier based only on a DRX cycle specified for the terminal device 220, the DRX cycle may be determined by the terminal device 220 by determining, by the terminal device, the maximum of a terminal device specific DRX cycle and a paging carrier specific minimum DRX cycle, and selecting the minimum of a default DRX cycle and the determined maximum value as the DRX cycle to be used. For example, referring to FIG. 4, if carrier 1 is selected as the first paging carrier (whose associated DRX cycle is closest to the terminal device 220 specific DRX cycle among carriers 0, 1, and 2), the target DRX cycle is calculated as 640 ms.

[0073] These embodiments allow for a more flexible determination of the target DRX cycle by taking into account the minimum DRX cycle associated with the frequency resource.

[0074] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, another method is provided to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks. In this method, in the case of multi-carrier operation, the terminal device and the network device may determine a DRX cycle based on at least one of a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device and a DRX cycle associated with a first frequency resource. In this method, the terminal device receives DRX information including at least a DRX cycle associated with the first frequency resource from the network device. Then, the terminal device determines a target DRX cycle based on at least one of a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device and the DRX cycle. In this method, the target DRX cycle can be appropriately determined by utilizing information on the DRX cycle associated with the first frequency resource in order to avoid overlapping between the DRX cycle specified for the terminal device that selects the first paging carrier and the CSS of the first paging carrier and to meet different requirements of different terminal devices.

[0075] The method will now be described with continued reference to Figure 3. In a signaling diagram 300, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal device 220 receives 315 DRX information from the network device 210, the DRX information including at least a DRX cycle associated with a first frequency resource.

[0076] In some embodiments, terminal device 220 receives the DRX information in at least one of system information block (SIB) 2 and system information block (SIB) 22.

[0077] Alternatively, in some embodiments, terminal device 220 receives DRX information including a DRX cycle in SIB 22. For example, terminal device 220 receives a DRX cycle associated with an anchor carrier in SIB 22 and also receives a DRX cycle associated with a non-anchor carrier in a paging carrier list in SIB 22.

[0078] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the terminal device 220 receives a DRX cycle associated with the anchor carrier in the RadioResourceConfigCommonSIB-NB of SIB2 (system information block (SIB) 2) and further receives a DRX cycle associated with the non-anchor carrier in the paging carrier list in SIB22.

[0079] Also, the page carrier list may be included as a list of downlink (DL) configured common narrowbands (DL configured common list narrowbands (NB)) in the SIB 22. Additionally, the PCHH configuration may be included in the downlink (DL) configured common narrowband, and DRX information including the DRX cycle may be included in the PCHH configuration (PCCH-config).

[0080] In some embodiments, the terminal device 220 receives 315 a frequency resource list from the network device 210, the frequency resource list including one or more DRX cycles associated with each frequency resource. In one example embodiment, the frequency resource list may be received as a paging carrier list.

[0081] In some embodiments, terminal device 220 receives 315 the DRX information from network device 210 in at least one of a system information block (SIB) (eg, SIB22) and radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0082] According to an example embodiment of the present disclosure, terminal device 220 determines a target DRX cycle based on the terminal device-specific DRX cycle and the DRX cycle 335. Terminal device 220 can then monitor the first frequency resource at a paging occasion (PO) having the target DRX cycle to avoid overlap between the CSS of the first frequency resource and the PO / DRX cycle.

[0083] In some embodiments, the DRX information includes multiple DRX cycles associated with multiple frequency resources. As an example, the DRX information including multiple cycles may be included in a paging carrier, and a DRX cycle may be included in a configuration of an associated paging carrier in a paging carrier list.

[0084] For illustrative purposes, the details of the determination of the DRX cycle are described with reference to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7A-7C. FIG. 6 illustrates an example of DRX information 600 including multiple DRX cycles associated with multiple paging carriers according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. By way of example and not limitation, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7A-7C illustrate a target DRX cycle determination process in an NB-IoT communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and thus, frequency resources are shown as paging carriers. In other communication systems, frequencies may also be represented as narrowband (in LTE enhanced MTC (eMTC)), bandwidth parts (in 5G communication), and any resources available for paging a terminal device.

[0085] In some embodiments, the number of the multiple paging carriers may be one, in which case the one paging carrier is selected and monitored by the terminal device 220 as described above, and the one paging carrier is also referred to as a first paging carrier. Then, the terminal device 220 determines the target DRX cycle by determining the DRX cycle associated with the first paging carrier as the target DRX cycle.

[0086] For example, if the DRX information 600 includes only a DRX cycle (e.g., 320 ms) associated with carrier 3, the target DRX cycle may be determined by determining the DRX cycle associated with the first page carrier (carrier 3) as the target DRX cycle (e.g., 320 ms).

[0087] Returning to the example of DRX information comprising three DRX cycles associated with three paging carriers.

[0088] In some embodiments, terminal 220 may select a first paging carrier from multiple paging carriers based solely on a coverage level associated with terminal 220. In some embodiments, terminal 220 may also select a first paging carrier from multiple paging carriers based solely on a coverage level associated with terminal 220 and a DRX cycle designated for terminal 220. In some embodiments, terminal 220 may also select a first paging carrier from multiple paging carriers based solely on a DRX cycle designated for terminal 220.

[0089] In some embodiments, the terminal device may select the first paging carrier based only on the coverage level in the same manner as the embodiment of selecting the first paging carrier based only on the coverage level described above with respect to the DRX information including the minimum DRX cycle associated with the paging carrier. In some embodiments, in the embodiment of selecting the first paging carrier based on the coverage level associated with the terminal device 220 and the DRX cycle specified for the terminal device 220, the terminal device may select the first paging carrier in the same manner as the embodiment of selecting the first paging carrier based on the coverage level and the DRX cycle with respect to the DRX information including the minimum DRX cycle associated with the paging carrier described above. In some embodiments, in the embodiment of selecting the first paging carrier based only on the DRX cycle, the terminal device may select the first paging carrier in the same manner as the embodiment of selecting the first paging carrier based only on the DRX cycle with respect to the DRX information including the minimum DRX cycle associated with the paging carrier described above.

[0090] In some embodiments, after terminal 220 selects the first paging carrier, the target DRX cycle is determined by DRX cycle=DRX cycle associated with the first paging carrier selected by terminal 220.

[0091] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of DRX information including multiple DRX cycles associated with respective paging carriers, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0092] In the exemplary DRX information 600, three DRX cycles associated with three page carriers in the list (i.e., carriers 3, 4, and 5) are shown, and carriers 3, 4, and 5 may be associated with different coverage levels, without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. As an outline, corresponding CSS durations 610, 620, and 630 corresponding to these carriers are shown on the right. In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 6, assume that the DRX cycles associated with carriers 3, 4, and 5 are 320 ms, 640 ms, and 1280 ms, respectively, the default DRX cycle of the cell associated with terminal device 220 is 1280 ms, and the DRX cycle specific to terminal device 220 is 640 ms. Without limitation, the value of the DRX cycle associated with the frequency resource in the present disclosure, or the value of the DRX cycle specified for the terminal device, or the value of the default DRX cycle of the cell are only examples, and any other value of the DRX cycle may be adopted.

[0093] 7A to 7C show examples of a target DRX cycle determined based on at least one of a DRX cycle associated with a paging carrier and a DRX cycle specific to a terminal device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0094] Figure 7A illustrates the relationship between the CSS of the selected paging carrier, carrier 5, and the determined DRX cycle in an embodiment that selects a first paging carrier based solely on a coverage level associated with terminal device 220. In diagram 700 of Figure 7A, terminal device 220 may avoid overlap between CSSs belonging to adjacent DRX cycles by monitoring at a PO on first paging carrier, carrier 5, with a determined target DRX cycle of 1280 ms.

[0095] 7B illustrates a relationship between the CSS of the selected paging carrier, carrier 4, and the determined DRX cycle in an embodiment that selects a first paging carrier based on a coverage level associated with terminal device 220 and a DRX cycle specified for terminal device 220. In schematic diagram 710 of FIG. 7B, terminal device 220 may avoid overlap between CSSs belonging to adjacent DRX cycles by monitoring at a PO on first paging carrier, carrier 4, with a determined target DRX cycle of 640 ms.

[0096] Fig. 7C illustrates the relationship between the CSS of the selected paging carrier, carrier 4, and the determined DRX cycle in an embodiment in which the first paging carrier is selected based solely on a DRX cycle specified for the terminal device 220. In the schematic diagram 720 of Fig. 7C, the terminal device 220 may avoid overlap between CSSs belonging to adjacent DRX cycles by monitoring in a PO on the first paging carrier, carrier 4, with a determined target DRX cycle of 640 ms.

[0097] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method implemented in a terminal device is provided for alignment between a terminal device and a network device, in which the terminal device and the network device align with each other on a first criterion for frequency resource selection.

[0098] For illustrative purposes, the method will be described with reference to FIG. 8. The signaling diagram shown in FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary alignment between a terminal device, a network device, and a core network device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 8, a terminal device 220, a first network device 210-1, a second network device 210-2, and a CN device 230 are shown. For illustrative purposes only, the first network device 210-1 and the second network device 210-2 represent multiple network devices that page the terminal device 220. The CN device 230 may communicate with the terminal device 220 via the first network device 210-1, the second network device 210-2, or other network devices.

[0099] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, terminal device 220 selects a paging carrier from the multiple paging carriers based on a first criterion (810). Terminal device 220 then transmits a first indication of the first criterion to first network device 210-1 (810).

[0100] In some embodiments, the first criterion relates to selecting a first frequency resource from the plurality of frequency resources based on at least one of a coverage level associated with the terminal device and a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device.

[0101] In some embodiments, the first indication may indicate to terminal 220 to select a first paging carrier from the multiple paging carriers based only on a coverage level. In some embodiments, the first criterion may indicate to terminal 220 to select a first paging carrier from the multiple paging carriers based on a coverage level and a DRX cycle. In some embodiments, the first criterion may indicate to terminal 220 to select a first paging carrier from the multiple paging carriers based only on a DRX cycle.

[0102] In an exemplary embodiment, the first indication may be an indicator format consisting of one bit. In this case, if the indicator format is "0", the first indication indicates that the first paging carrier is selected based only on the coverage level associated with the terminal device 220. Furthermore, if the indicator format is "1", the first indication indicates that the first paging carrier is selected based on the coverage level associated with the terminal device 220 and the DRX cycle specified for the terminal device 220.

[0103] Alternatively, the first indication may be an indicator consisting of two bits. In this case, if the indicator format is "00", the first indication indicates that the first paging carrier is selected based only on the coverage level associated with the terminal device 220. Furthermore, if the indicator format is "01", the first indication indicates that the first paging carrier is selected based only on the coverage level associated with the terminal device 220 and the DRX cycle specified for the terminal device 220. Furthermore, if the indicator format is "10", the first indication indicates that the first paging carrier is selected based only on the DRX cycle specified for the terminal device 220. The above format of the first indication is merely an example, and any format capable of expressing a frequency resource selection criterion may be used as the first indication.

[0104] In some embodiments, the terminal device 220 may determine a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle based on a second criterion. The terminal device 220 then also transmits a second indication to the first network device 210-1. In some embodiments, the first indication and the second indication may be transmitted to the first network device 210-1 within the same signaling.

[0105] In some embodiments, the second instruction may indicate a decision criterion for the terminal device to determine the target DRX cycle, for example, the terminal device determines the target DRX cycle in the same manner as the embodiment in which the target DRX cycle is determined based on a minimum DRX cycle associated with the first paging carrier or the embodiment in which the DRX cycle is determined based on a DRX cycle associated with the first paging carrier.

[0106] In some embodiments, the first network device 210-1 transmits the first indication to the CN device 230 (820). For example, the first network device 210-1 transmits the first indication to the CN device 230 in a ue-RadioPagingInfo information element. For example, this information element is transmitted to the CN device 230 at the same time that the network device 210 uploads the UE Radio Capabilities information. The CN device 230 stores the UE Radio Capability for Paging in the MME context. When paging is required, the CN device 230 provides the UE Radio Capability for Paging information for the RAT to the network device 210 as part of an S1 paging message. The network device 210 may then use the UE Radio Capability for Paging information to enhance paging for the terminal device 220.

[0107] In some embodiments, the first network device 210-1 also transmits the second instruction to the CN device 230 (820). In some embodiments, the CN device 230 transmits the first instruction to the first network device 210-1 and the second network device 210-2 so that these network devices know the paging selection criteria of the terminal device 220 (830, 840). In some embodiments, the CN device 230 transmits the second instruction to these network devices so that the first network device 210-1 and the second network device 210-2 know the DRX cycle decision criteria of the terminal device 220 (830, 840). In some embodiments, the CN device 230 transmits the first instruction and the second instruction in an S1 interface paging message to the terminal device 220 that the network device pages (830, 840).

[0108] In some embodiments, based on the first instruction, the first network device 210-1 and the second network device 210-2 can determine the same first paging carrier selected by the terminal device 220. In some embodiments, by utilizing a predetermined rule, after the paging carrier is selected for the terminal device, these network devices can determine a target DRX cycle for the terminal device that is the same as the target DRX cycle determined by the terminal device, so that the network devices and the terminal device can be aligned with each other based on the first instruction.

[0109] In some embodiments, after selecting a paging carrier for the terminal device, these network devices 210-1 and 210-2 may determine a target DRX cycle that is the same as the target DRX cycle determined by the terminal device 220 based on the received second indication. In some embodiments, the second criterion relates to at least one of a minimum DRX cycle associated with the first paging carrier and a DRX cycle associated with the first frequency resource.

[0110] Thus, the network device and the terminal device can align with each other by the first instruction. Furthermore, the network devices 210-1, 210-2 may page (870, 880) the terminal device on the selected paging carrier in the determined DRX cycle, and the terminal device 220 monitors the first frequency resource, which is selected from the multiple frequency resources based on the first criterion. Note that the above steps can be performed in parallel, sequentially, or in reverse order in time.

[0111] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method implemented in a network device is provided for alignment between a terminal device and a network device, in which the terminal device and the network device align with each other on a first criterion of paging selection.

[0112] For illustrative purposes, the method will be described with reference to FIG. 9. The signaling diagram 900 shown in FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary alignment between a terminal device, a network device, and a core network device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 9, there are a terminal device 220, a first network device 210-1, a second network device 210-2, and a CN device 230. For illustrative purposes only, the first network device 210-1 and the second network device 210-2 represent multiple network devices that page the terminal device 220. The terminal device 220 may communicate with the CN device 230 via the first network device 210-1, the second network device 210-2, or other network devices.

[0113] In some embodiments, terminal device 220 negotiates (910) with CN device 230 on a first criterion used by terminal device 220 to select a paging carrier from multiple paging carriers. In some embodiments, terminal device 220 negotiates (910) with CN device 230 on a second criterion used by terminal device 220 to determine a DRX cycle.

[0114] In an exemplary embodiment, for terminal device 220, network device 210 may broadcast an indication of support of a DRX cycle specific to terminal device 220 in the cell of network device 210, and terminal device 220 may request a DRX cycle specific to terminal device 220 during the Attach and Tracking Area Update procedures regardless of whether the cell broadcasts the support indication. CN device 230 should accept the DRX cycle proposed by terminal device 220 for WB-E-UTRAN. In the case of NB-IoT, CN device 230 should accept the DRX cycle requested by terminal device 220. In other scenarios, according to carrier policy, CN device 230 may change the DRX cycle requested by terminal device 220. Then, CN device 230 responds to the UE with the accepted DRX cycle.

[0115] In some embodiments, the CN device 230 sends a first instruction to the first network device 210-1 and the second network device 210-2 so that these network devices know the paging selection criteria of the terminal device 220 (920, 930).

[0116] In some embodiments, the CN device 230 transmits (920, 930) the second instruction to the first network device 210-1 and the second network device 210-2 so that these network devices know the DRX cycle decision criteria of the terminal device 220. In some embodiments, the CN device 230 transmits (960, 970) the first instruction and the second instruction in an S1 interface paging message to the terminal device 220 that the network device pages.

[0117] In one exemplary embodiment, in each S1 interface paging message, CN device 230 sends a first instruction to network device 210 currently associated with terminal device 220 (to help determine a DRX cycle specific to terminal device 220) and information from which the first instruction was derived (defining when terminal device 220 wakes up from its sleep mode).

[0118] In some embodiments, the first instruction may indicate to terminal device 220 to select a first paging carrier from a plurality of paging carriers based only on the coverage level. In some embodiments, the first criterion may indicate to terminal device 220 to select a first paging carrier from a plurality of paging carriers based on the coverage level and the DRX cycle. In some embodiments, the first criterion may indicate to terminal device 220 to select a first paging carrier from a plurality of paging carriers based only on the DRX cycle. In this embodiment, for example, if the network device finds that in each S1 interface paging message, a DRX cycle specific to terminal device 220 is included, for both terminal device 220 and network device 210, the paging carrier should be selected based on the coverage level and the DRX cycle.

[0119] Thus, when a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device 220 is agreed upon between the terminal device 220 and the CN device 230, the selection of a paging carrier for the terminal device 220 may be based on the DRX cycle specific to the terminal device 220 in addition to the coverage level associated with the terminal device 220. This contributes to selecting a first paging carrier that is more suitable for the terminal device 220.

[0120] In some embodiments, the second instruction may indicate how the terminal device 220 determines the DRX cycle, for example by selecting a first paging carrier based solely on a coverage level associated with the terminal device 220, or by selecting a first paging carrier based solely on a coverage level associated with the terminal device 220 and a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device 220, or by selecting a first paging carrier based solely on a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device 220 in a manner similar to the embodiments in which the terminal device 220 determines the DRX cycle, which will not be described in detail here.

[0121] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first network device 210-1 and the second network device 210-2 determine (940, 950) a first criterion to be used by the terminal device to select a paging carrier from the multiple paging carriers. Then, each network device selects (940, 950) a first paging carrier from the multiple paging carriers based on the first criterion for the terminal device 220.

[0122] In some embodiments, the first network device 210-1 and the second network device 210-2 may determine the same first paging carrier selected by the terminal device 220 based on the first instruction. In some embodiments, by utilizing a predetermined rule, after the first paging carrier is selected for the terminal device, these network devices can determine a DRX cycle for the terminal device 220 that is the same as the DRX cycle determined by the terminal device 220. In this way, the network devices and the terminal device can be aligned with each other based on the first instruction.

[0123] In some embodiments, determining the first criterion includes, in response to a terminal device being assigned a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle specific to the terminal device, determining that the first criterion is to select a first frequency resource from the plurality of frequency resources based on at least one of a coverage level associated with the terminal device and a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device.

[0124] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving a second indication of a second criterion for determining a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle for the terminal device. In some embodiments, the second criterion relates to at least one of a minimum DRX cycle associated with the first frequency paging carrier and a DRX cycle associated with the first paging carrier. Note that the above steps can be performed in parallel, sequentially, or in reverse order in time.

[0125] 10 illustrates a flowchart of an example communication method 1000 implemented in a terminal device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication method 1000 may be implemented in the terminal device 220 shown in FIG. 2. For purposes of explanation, the communication method 1000 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. It should be understood that the communication method 1000 may include additional operations not shown and / or may omit some operations shown, and that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0126] As shown in FIG. 10, in block 1010, the terminal device 220 receives DRX information from the network device 210, the DRX information including at least a minimum DRX cycle associated with a first frequency resource.

[0127] In block 1020, terminal device 220 determines a target DRX cycle based on the terminal device specific DRX cycle and the minimum DRX cycle.

[0128] In some embodiments, receiving the DRX information includes receiving a frequency resource list from the network device that includes one or more minimum DRX cycles associated with each frequency resource.

[0129] In some embodiments, receiving the DRX information includes receiving the DRX information from the network device in at least one of a system information block (SIB) and radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0130] In some embodiments, where the DRX information includes a plurality of minimum DRX cycles associated with a plurality of frequency resources, the method further includes determining a first frequency resource from the plurality of frequency resources based on at least one of a coverage level associated with the terminal device and the plurality of minimum DRX cycles.

[0131] The DRX information includes a plurality of minimum DRX cycles associated with a plurality of frequency resources. In some embodiments, the method further includes determining a frequency resource set from the plurality of frequency resources based on a coverage level associated with the terminal device, and selecting a first frequency resource from the frequency resource set.

[0132] In some embodiments, the terminal device 220 selecting the first page carrier from the page carrier set includes randomly selecting one frequency resource in the frequency resource set as the first frequency resource.

[0133] In some embodiments, selecting the first frequency resource from the frequency resource set includes selecting the first frequency resource from the frequency resource set such that a difference between a minimum DRX cycle associated with the first frequency resource and a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device is lower than a threshold.

[0134] In some embodiments, the minimum DRX cycle associated with the first frequency resource is equal to or shorter than a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device, and determining the target DRX cycle includes selecting the target DRX cycle from a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device and a default DRX cycle.

[0135] In some embodiments, determining the target DRX cycle includes determining a maximum value among a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device 220 and a minimum DRX cycle associated with the first frequency resource, and determining a minimum value among a default DRX cycle and the determined maximum value as the target DRX cycle.

[0136] 11 illustrates a flowchart of an example communication method 1100 implemented in a terminal device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication method 1100 can be implemented in the terminal device 220 shown in FIG. 2. For purposes of explanation, the communication method 1100 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. It should be understood that the communication method 1100 may include additional operations not shown and / or may omit some operations that are shown, and that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0137] As shown in FIG. 11, in block 1110, the terminal device 220 receives DRX information from the network device 210, the DRX information including at least a DRX cycle associated with a first frequency resource.

[0138] In block 1120, terminal device 220 determines a target DRX cycle based on at least one of a DRX cycle specific to terminal device 220 and the DRX cycle.

[0139] In some embodiments, receiving the DRX information includes receiving a frequency resource list from the network device that includes one or more DRX cycles associated with each frequency resource.

[0140] In some embodiments, receiving the DRX information includes receiving the DRX information from the network device in at least one of a system information block (SIB) and radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0141] In some embodiments, where the DRX information includes a plurality of DRX cycles associated with a plurality of frequency resources, the method further includes determining a first frequency resource from the plurality of frequency resources based on at least one of a coverage level associated with the terminal device and the plurality of DRX cycles.

[0142] In some embodiments, the DRX information includes a plurality of DRX cycles associated with a plurality of frequency resources. In some embodiments, the method further includes determining a frequency resource set from the plurality of frequency resources based on a coverage level associated with the terminal device, and selecting a first frequency resource from the frequency resource set.

[0143] In some embodiments, selecting the first frequency resource from the frequency resource set includes randomly selecting one of the frequency resource set as the first frequency resource.

[0144] In some embodiments, selecting a first frequency resource from the frequency resource set includes selecting the first frequency resource from the frequency resource set such that a difference between a DRX cycle associated with the first frequency resource and a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device is lower than a threshold.

[0145] In some embodiments, the DRX cycle associated with the first frequency resource is equal to or shorter than a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device, and determining the target DRX cycle includes selecting the DRX cycle associated with the first frequency resource as the target DRX cycle.

[0146] 12 illustrates a flowchart of an example communication method 1200 implemented in a terminal device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication method 1200 may be implemented in the terminal device 220 shown in FIG. 2. For purposes of explanation, the communication method 1200 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. It should be understood that the communication method 1200 may include additional operations not shown and / or may omit some operations that are shown, and that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0147] At block 1210, end device 220 transmits a first indication of a first criterion to network device 210-1.

[0148] At block 1220, terminal device 220 monitors a first frequency resource selected from the plurality of frequency resources based on a first criterion.

[0149] In some embodiments, the first criterion relates to selecting a first frequency resource from the plurality of frequency resources based on at least one of a coverage level associated with the terminal device and a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device.

[0150] In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting a second indication of the second criterion to the network device and determining a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle based on the second criterion.

[0151] In some embodiments, the second criterion relates to at least one of a minimum DRX cycle associated with the first frequency resource and a DRX cycle associated with the first frequency resource.

[0152] 13 illustrates a flow chart of an example communication method 1300 implemented in a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication method 1300 may be implemented in a network device 210-1 / 210-2 as shown in FIG. 2. For purposes of explanation, the communication method 1300 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. It should be understood that the communication method 1300 may include additional operations not shown and / or may omit some operations that are shown, and that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0153] In block 1310, the network device 210-1 determines a first criterion used by the terminal device to select a paging carrier from a plurality of paging carriers.

[0154] At block 1320, the network device 210-1 selects a paging carrier from a plurality of paging carriers for the terminal device based on a first criterion.

[0155] In some embodiments, determining the first criterion includes receiving a first indication of the first criterion from the terminal device and determining the first criterion based on the first indication.

[0156] In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting a first indication of the first criteria to the CN device 230.

[0157] In some embodiments, the network device 210-1 determining the first criterion includes determining, in response to the terminal device being assigned a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle specific to the terminal device, that the first criterion is to select a paging carrier from the multiple paging carriers based on at least one of a coverage level associated with the terminal device and a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device.

[0158] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving a second indication of a second criterion for determining a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle for the terminal device.

[0159] In some embodiments, the second criterion relates to at least one of a minimum DRX cycle associated with the paging carrier and a DRX cycle associated with the first frequency resource.

[0160] 14 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary communication method 1400 implemented in a CN device, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication method 1400 may be implemented in a CN device 230, such as that shown in FIG. 2. For purposes of explanation, the communication method 1400 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. It should be understood that the communication method 1400 may include additional operations not shown and / or may omit some operations that are shown, and that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0161] In block 1410, the CN device 230 receives from the first network device 210-1 a first indication of a first criterion for selecting a paging carrier from a plurality of paging carriers for the terminal device.

[0162] In block 1420, the CN device 230 transmits a first indication of the first criteria to a second network device associated with the terminal device.

[0163] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving from the first network device 210-1 a second indication of a second criterion for determining a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle for the terminal device, and transmitting the second indication of the second criterion to the second network device.

[0164] Fig. 15 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 1500 suitable for implementing some embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus 1500 may be considered as another exemplary embodiment of the network apparatus 210 shown in Fig. 8 or the terminal apparatus 220 shown in Fig. 3. Thus, the apparatus 1500 may be implemented in the network apparatus 210 or the terminal apparatus 220, or as at least a part thereof.

[0165] As shown, the apparatus 1500 comprises a processor 1510, a memory 1520 coupled to the processor 1510, a suitable transmitter (TX) and receiver (RX) 1540 coupled to the processor 1510, and a communication interface coupled to the TX / RX 1540. The memory 1520 stores at least a portion of a program 1530. The TX / RX 1540 is used for bidirectional communication. Although the TX / RX 1040 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, the access nodes referred to herein may actually have multiple antennas. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements, such as an X2 interface for bidirectional communication between gNBs or eNBs, an S1 interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) / Serving Gateway (S-GW) and an eNB, an Un interface for communication between a gNB or eNB and a Relay Node (RN), or an Uu interface for communication between a gNB or eNB and a terminal device.

[0166] The program 1530 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 1510, enable the device 1500 to operate according to embodiments of the present disclosure, as described herein with reference to Figures 2-14. The embodiments herein may be realized by computer software executable by the processor 1510 of the device 1500, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1510 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the combination of the processor 1510 and the memory 1520 may form a processing means 1550 suitable for implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0167] The memory 1520 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as, by way of non-limiting example, non-transitory computer-readable storage media, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. Although only one memory 1520 is shown in the device 1500, there may be several physically different memory modules in the device 1500. The processor 1510 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 1500 may have multiple processors, for example application specific integrated circuit chips time-slaved to a clock that synchronizes the main processor.

[0168] In some embodiments, a terminal device comprises circuitry configured to perform the method described in any one of the communication methods 1000, 1100 and 1200.

[0169] In some embodiments, a network device comprises circuitry configured to perform the method described in any one of the communication methods 1300.

[0170] In some embodiments, the CN device comprises circuitry configured to perform the method described in any one of the communication methods 1400.

[0171] The components included in the device and / or apparatus of the present disclosure may be implemented in various ways, including software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, one or more units may be implemented using software and / or firmware, such as machine-executable instructions stored on a storage medium. In addition to or in lieu of machine-executable instructions, some or all of the units in the device and / or apparatus may be implemented, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components. By way of example and not limitation, exemplary types of hardware logic components that may be used include field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), application specific general purpose products (ASSPs), systems on chips (SOCs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and the like.

[0172] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated 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 can be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described using block diagrams, flow charts, or some other pictorial representations, it should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, technology terminal devices, or methods described herein may be implemented, by way of non-limiting examples, in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or any combination thereof.

[0173] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module, that execute in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform a process or method as described above with reference to any one of Figures 3 to 11. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as appropriate. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules may be executed in local or distributed devices. In a distributed device, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0174] Program codes for carrying out the methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, and when executed by the processor or controller, the program code causes the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may run entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a separate software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0175] The above program code may be implemented on a machine-readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program used by or associated with an instruction execution system, device, or apparatus. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, device, or apparatus, or any suitable combination of the aforementioned media. More specific examples of the machine-readable storage medium may include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the aforementioned.

[0176] It should be understood that although operations have been described in a particular order, it is not required that such operations be performed in the particular order shown, or in any sequential order, or that all of the operations described be performed, in order to achieve desired results. In some cases, multitasking or parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although details of several specific embodiments are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be unique to certain embodiments. Some features described in the context of individual embodiments may be realized in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0177] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the present disclosure, as defined in the appended claims, is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, means for receiving from a network device a carrier list associated with at least one minimum discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle; means for determining at least one carrier from the carrier list corresponding to a coverage level among a plurality of coverage levels for carrier selection; means for determining a target DRX cycle for paging based on a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device, a minimum DRX cycle within the at least one minimum DRX cycle associated with the coverage level, and a default DRX cycle; Equipped with Terminal device.

2. The means for receiving from the network device the carrier list associated with the at least one minimum DRX cycle comprises: means for receiving, via a System Information Block (SIB), the carrier list associated with the at least one minimum DRX cycle; Including, The terminal device according to claim 1 .

3. each carrier in the carrier list is associated with one minimum DRX cycle of the at least one minimum DRX cycle; The terminal device according to claim 1 .

4. means for determining a carrier for paging from the at least one carrier based on the coverage level; The terminal device according to claim 1 .

5. means for transmitting to a terminal device a carrier list associated with at least one minimum discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle; the carrier list includes at least one carrier corresponding to a coverage level among a plurality of coverage levels for carrier selection; a target DRX cycle for paging is based on a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device, a minimum DRX cycle within the at least one minimum DRX cycle associated with the coverage level, and a default DRX cycle; Network device.

6. The means for transmitting the carrier list associated with the at least one minimum DRX cycle to the terminal device includes: means for transmitting, via a System Information Block (SIB), the carrier list associated with the at least one minimum DRX cycle; Including, The network device according to claim 5.

7. each carrier in the carrier list is associated with one minimum DRX cycle of the at least one minimum DRX cycle; The network device according to claim 5.

8. a carrier for paging is from the at least one carrier based on the coverage level; The network device according to claim 5.

9. A method performed by a terminal device, comprising: receiving from a network device a carrier list associated with at least one minimum discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle; determining at least one carrier from the carrier list corresponding to a coverage level among a plurality of coverage levels for carrier selection; determining a target DRX cycle for paging based on a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device, a minimum DRX cycle within the at least one minimum DRX cycle associated with the coverage level, and a default DRX cycle; Including, method.

10. Receiving from the network device the carrier list associated with the at least one minimum DRX cycle, receiving, via a System Information Block (SIB), the carrier list associated with the at least one minimum DRX cycle; Including, 10. The method of claim 9.

11. each carrier in the carrier list is associated with one minimum DRX cycle of the at least one minimum DRX cycle; 10. The method of claim 9.

12. determining a carrier for paging from the at least one carrier based on the coverage level.

10. The method of claim 9.

13. 1. A method performed by a network device, comprising: transmitting to the terminal device a carrier list associated with at least one minimum discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle; the carrier list includes at least one carrier corresponding to a coverage level among a plurality of coverage levels for carrier selection; a target DRX cycle for paging is based on a DRX cycle specific to the terminal device, a minimum DRX cycle within the at least one minimum DRX cycle associated with the coverage level, and a default DRX cycle; method.

14. Transmitting the carrier list associated with the at least one minimum DRX cycle to the terminal device includes: transmitting the carrier list associated with the at least one minimum DRX cycle via a System Information Block (SIB); Including, The method of claim 13.

15. each carrier in the carrier list is associated with one minimum DRX cycle of the at least one minimum DRX cycle; The method of claim 13.

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