Method for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) based wake-up signal (WUS) configuration - Patents.com

Abstract

To provide a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) based wake-up signal (WUS) operating method and a network node.SOLUTION: In a method at a network node, setting to a first wireless network temporary identifier (RNTI) defined to address a group of wireless devices and each wireless device in the first group of wireless devices including the at least one wireless device is performed for PDCCH-based WUS operation, transmission of signaling including WUS for a first WUS monitoring opportunity associated with the first group of wireless devices is caused. WUS causes each wireless device in the first group of wireless devices to perform at least one action.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and more particularly, to a network identifier for signaling a downlink control channel based wake-up signal for at least one wireless device prior to at least one ON duration of the at least one wireless device. [Background technology]

[0002] The New Radio (NR) standard in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), also known as 5th Generation (5G), is designed to provide services for multiple use cases such as enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC), and machine type communications (MTC). Each of these services has different technical requirements. For example, a typical requirement for eMBB may be high data rates with medium latency and medium coverage, whereas a URLLC service may require low latency and reliable transmission, but perhaps for medium data rates.

[0003] One solution for low latency data transmission is a shorter transmission time interval. In NR, in addition to slotted transmission, minislot transmission is also allowed to reduce latency. Radio resources in NR are shown in Figure 1. A minislot can consist of any number of OFDM symbols from 1 to 14. The concept of slots and minislots is not specific to a particular service, i.e. minislots can be used for either eMBB, URLC, or other services.

[0004] Furthermore, power consumption of wireless devices is a metric that needs to be enhanced. In general, significant power may be spent on monitoring the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) in Long Term Evolution (LTE) based on one Discontinuous Reception (DRX) setting from the LTE field log. The situation may be similar in NR if a similar DRX setting with traffic modeling is utilized. This is because the wireless device may need to perform blind detection in its configured control resource set (CORESET) to identify whether there is a PDCCH transmitted to the wireless device and act accordingly. Techniques that can reduce unnecessary PDCCH monitoring or allow the wireless device to go to sleep or wake up only when needed may be beneficial, thereby providing power savings when in DRX.

[0005] Furthermore, in the wireless device Power Saving Study Item of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Radio Access Network (RAN)1, the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) based power saving signal is a technique to improve the power consumption of wireless devices compared to other techniques. The PDCCH based power saving signal is associated with the conventional Connected Mode Discontinuous Reception (C-DRX). PDDCH based Wake-up-signaling (WUS) is considered as an efficient realization of this technique.

[0006] The WUS may include transmitting a power save signal before a C-DRX ON duration when the network node wants to wake up the wireless device during that ON duration. In response to detecting the WUS, the wireless device wakes up and, for example, monitors the PDCCH during the next ON duration.

[0007] While the high level concepts are known, the specifics and / or concrete details of a PDCCH-based WUS are unknown and yet to be defined. Summary of the Invention

[0008] Some embodiments advantageously provide methods, systems, and apparatus for a network identifier to signal a downlink control channel based wake-up signal for at least one wireless device prior to at least one ON duration of the at least one wireless device.

[0009] The present disclosure describes one or more aspects related to configuring a PDCCH-based WUS.

[0010] In one or more embodiments, a new group-based RNTI (referred to as GW-RNTI) (or a set thereof) is used for PDCCH-based WUS operation and further mechanisms are described for grouping different wireless devices together and assigning them different GW-RNTI(s) to address a specific wireless device, a group of wireless devices, or all wireless devices in a cell.

[0011] In one or more embodiments, at least one method is provided for identifying WUS opportunity offsets with ON duration and the possibility of using a new DCI format as the WUS, as well as for identifying issues related to CORESET / SS configuration, UE behavior with and without detection of a PDCCH-based WUS associated with a GW-RNTI, and issues related to false detection of a WUS associated with a GW-RNTI.

[0012] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a network node is provided, the network node being configured to configure each wireless device in a first group of wireless devices including at least one wireless device with a first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) defined to address the group of wireless devices for a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) based wake-up signal (WUS) operation, the first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) being configured to address the group of wireless devices for a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) based wake-up signal (WUS) operation, the network node being further configured to cause transmission of signaling including the wake-up signal (WUS) for a first WUS monitoring occasion associated with the first group of wireless devices, the WUS being configured to cause each wireless device in the first group of wireless devices to perform at least one action.

[0013] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the network node is further configured to use the first RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices for scrambling a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) in the signaling. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices is configured via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the network node is further configured to configure a second RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices associated with another group of wireless devices to one or more of the wireless devices in the first group of wireless devices.

[0014] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices is associated with a downlink control information DCI format different from DCI formats 0-0, 0-1, 1-1 and 1-1. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the network node is further configured to configure a first WUS monitoring occasion for the first group of wireless devices 22 with at least a time offset relative to the first discontinuous reception (DRX) ON duration. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the network node is further configured to configure a downlink control information (DCI) addressed to the first group of wireless devices, the DCI including a bitmap, in which a first plurality of bits is configured to indicate whether to wake up a first subgroup of the first group of wireless devices and a second plurality of bits is configured to indicate whether to wake up a second subgroup of the first group of wireless devices.

[0015] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, a first subgroup of the first group of wireless devices is associated with a first DRX ON duration and a second subgroup of the first group of wireless devices is associated with a second DRX ON duration. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the network node is configured to configure Downlink Control Information (DCI) addressed to the first group of wireless devices, the DCI including a bitmap, the bitmap including a first plurality of bits indicating one or more of a plurality of subgroups of the first group of wireless devices selected for implementing the WUS and a second plurality of bits indicating information for implementing the WUS. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the network node is further configured to configure a first control resource set (CORESET) and a first common search space (CSS) configuration for searching the WUS to the first group of wireless devices, the first CORESET and the first CSS configuration being associated with the first group of wireless devices.

[0016] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the at least one action includes monitoring a physical downlink control channel during the first DRX ON duration. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the at least one action includes at least one of triggering aperiodic channel state information (CSI) reporting and scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0017] According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided that is performed by a network node, wherein a first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) defined to address a group of wireless devices for a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)-based wake-up signal (WUS) operation is configured for each wireless device in a first group of wireless devices including at least one wireless device, and a transmission of signaling including a wake-up signal (WUS) for a first WUS monitoring occasion associated with the first group of wireless devices is caused, the WUS being configured to cause each wireless device in the first group of wireless devices to perform at least one action.

[0018] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, a first RNTI defined to address a group of wireless devices is used to scramble a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) in the signaling. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first RNTI defined to address a group of wireless devices is configured via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, a second RNTI defined to address a group of wireless devices associated with another group of wireless devices is configured for one or more of the wireless devices in the first group of wireless devices.

[0019] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, a first RNTI defined to address a group of wireless devices is associated with a downlink control information DCI format different from DCI formats 0-0, 0-1, 1-1 and 1-1. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, a first WUS monitoring opportunity is configured for a first group of wireless devices with at least a time offset relative to a first discontinuous reception (DRX) ON duration. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, a downlink control information (DCI) addressed to the first group of wireless devices is configured, the DCI including a bitmap, in which a first plurality of bits is configured to indicate whether to wake up a first subgroup of the first group of wireless devices and a second plurality of bits is configured to indicate whether to wake up a second subgroup of the first group of wireless devices.

[0020] According to one or more embodiments of the present aspect, a first subgroup of the first group of wireless devices is associated with a first DRX ON duration, and a second subgroup of the first group of wireless devices is associated with a second DRX ON duration. According to one or more embodiments of the present aspect, a Downlink Control Information (DCI) addressed to the first group of wireless devices is configured, the DCI including a bitmap, the bitmap including a first plurality of bits indicating one or more of a plurality of subgroups of the first group of wireless devices selected to implement a WUS, and a second plurality of bits indicating information for implementing a WUS. A first Control Resource Set (CORESET) and a first Common Search Space (CSS) configuration for searching a WUS are configured for the first group of wireless devices, the first CORESET and the first CSS configuration being associated with the first group of wireless devices.

[0021] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the at least one action includes monitoring a physical downlink control channel during the first DRX ON duration. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the at least one action includes at least one of triggering aperiodic channel state information (CSI) reporting and scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0022] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a wireless device configured to communicate with a network node is provided, the wireless device is configured to: obtain a configuration including a first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) defined to address a group of wireless devices for a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) based wake-up signal (WUS) operation; receive signaling including a wake-up signal (WUS) at a first WUS monitoring occasion associated with the first group of wireless devices including at least the wireless device, the WUS being configured to cause the first group of wireless devices to perform at least one action; and perform the at least one action.

[0023] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the wireless device is further configured to descramble a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) in the signaling using the first RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices is configured via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the wireless device is further configured to configure a second RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices associated with another group of wireless devices to one or more of the wireless devices in the first group of wireless devices.

[0024] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices is associated with a downlink control information DCI format different from DCI formats 0-0, 0-1, 1-1 and 1-1. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first WUS monitoring occasion associated with the first group of wireless devices is offset by a time offset relative to at least a first discontinuous reception (DRX) ON duration. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the signaling includes downlink control information (DCI) addressed to the first group of wireless devices, the DCI including a bitmap, in which a first plurality of bits is configured to indicate whether to wake up a first subgroup of the first group of wireless devices and a second plurality of bits is configured to indicate whether to wake up a second subgroup of the first group of wireless devices.

[0025] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, a first subgroup of the first group of wireless devices is associated with a first DRX ON duration, and a second subgroup of the first group of wireless devices is associated with a second DRX ON duration. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the signaling includes Downlink Control Information (DCI) addressed to the first group of wireless devices, the DCI including a bitmap, the bitmap including a first plurality of bits indicating one or more of a plurality of subgroups of the first group of wireless devices selected to implement the WUS, and a second plurality of bits indicating information for implementing the WUS. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the wireless devices are further configured to use a first control resource set (CORESET) and a first common search space (CSS) configuration to search for the WUS, the first CORESET and the first CSS configuration being associated with the first group of wireless devices.

[0026] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the at least one action includes monitoring a physical downlink control channel during the first DRX ON duration. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the at least one action includes at least one of triggering aperiodic channel state information (CSI) reporting and scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0027] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided that is performed by a wireless device configured to communicate with a network node. A configuration is obtained that includes a first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) that is defined to address a group of wireless devices for a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)-based wake-up signal (WUS) operation. At a first WUS monitoring occasion associated with the first group of wireless devices that includes at least the wireless device, signaling that includes a wake-up signal (WUS) is received, and the WUS is configured to cause the first group of wireless devices to perform at least one action. The at least one action is performed.

[0028] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) in the signaling is descrambled using a first RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices is configured via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the wireless device is configured to set a second RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices associated with another group of wireless devices to one or more of the wireless devices in the first group of wireless devices.

[0029] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices is associated with a downlink control information DCI format different from DCI formats 0-0, 0-1, 1-1 and 1-1. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the first WUS monitoring occasion associated with the first group of wireless devices is offset by a time offset relative to at least a first discontinuous reception (DRX) ON duration. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the signaling includes downlink control information (DCI) addressed to the first group of wireless devices, the DCI including a bitmap, in which a first plurality of bits is configured to indicate whether to wake up a first subgroup of the first group of wireless devices and a second plurality of bits is configured to indicate whether to wake up a second subgroup of the first group of wireless devices.

[0030] According to one or more embodiments of the present aspect, a first subgroup of the first group of wireless devices is associated with a first DRX ON duration, and a second subgroup of the first group of wireless devices is associated with a second DRX ON duration. According to one or more embodiments of the present aspect, the signaling includes Downlink Control Information (DCI) addressed to the first group of wireless devices, the DCI including a bitmap, the bitmap including a first plurality of bits indicating one or more of a plurality of subgroups of the first group of wireless devices selected to implement the WUS, and a second plurality of bits indicating information for implementing the WUS. According to one or more embodiments of the present aspect, a first control resource set (CORESET) and a first common search space (CSS) configuration are used to search for the WUS, the first CORESET and the first CSS configuration being associated with the first group of wireless devices.

[0031] According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the at least one action includes monitoring a physical downlink control channel during the first DRX ON duration. According to one or more embodiments of this aspect, the at least one action includes at least one of triggering aperiodic channel state information (CSI) reporting and scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). [Brief description of the drawings]

[0032] A more complete understanding of the present embodiments, together with their attendant advantages and features, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0033] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of radio resources in New Radio (NR). [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary network architecture illustrating a communication system connected to a host computer through an intermediate network in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a host computer communicating with a wireless device via a network node, at least partially over a wireless connection, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example method performed in a communication system including a host computer, a network node, and a wireless device for executing a client application on a wireless device in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example method performed in a communication system including a host computer, a network node, and a wireless device for receiving user data at a wireless device, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 6]FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example method performed in a communication system including a host computer, a network node, and a wireless device for receiving user data at a host computer from a wireless device, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an example method performed in a communication system including a host computer, a network node, and a wireless device for receiving user data at a host computer, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node according to some embodiments of the disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of another example process in a network node according to some embodiments of the disclosure. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an example process in a wireless device according to some embodiments of the disclosure. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a flowchart of another example process in a wireless device according to some embodiments of the disclosure. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an example of a wireless device's action based on detection / non-detection of a WUS. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram of a schematic example of GW-RNTI distribution. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram of the time distribution of WUS MO offsets. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram of an example of frequency distribution of a WUS MO. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram of an example of the time and frequency distribution of a WUS MO. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0034] As mentioned above, the WUS is used as a mechanism to inform the wireless device about whether there is a potential message for the wireless device during the next connection DRX ON period. If the wireless device does not detect the WUS before the start of the DRX ON period (ON duration), the wireless device does not need to monitor the PDCCH during the next ON duration. Otherwise, if the WUS is detected, the wireless device may need to monitor the PDCCH during the next ON duration. However, details such as how to divide the wireless devices into different groups and how to address the wireless devices before the ON duration are still to be specified. Several embodiments that address this issue are described herein.

[0035] PDCCH encoding and cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambling with RNTI may be used by wireless devices to identify PDCCH-based WUS. One approach is to use an existing RNTI. Although an existing RNTI (especially C-RNTI) may be the basis of WUS RNTI for wireless device-specific applications, in some cases, a network node may want to address multiple wireless devices simultaneously, for example, when various wireless devices may need to wake up at a given ON duration. If the network node transmits the WUS to each wireless device individually, this may lead to a large network node overhead (i.e., signaling overhead, or additional signaling in the network). Thus, the RNTI may need to be flexible so that the network node can address a group of wireless devices using the same transmitted RNTI.

[0036] In addition to the RNTI, other specific aspects of the PDCCH-based WUS, such as CORESET / SS, WUS opportunity offset, wireless device behavior upon detection or non-detection of the WUS, and false detection, are not yet defined in the standard specification.

[0037] Therefore, it may be necessary to develop methods and mechanisms for PDCCH-based configuration for NR wireless devices.

[0038] The present disclosure advantageously solves at least some of the problems of existing systems by at least facilitating PDCCH-based WUS configuration from different aspects, which leads to wireless device power savings with limited impact on network performance. In particular, for a network node, the ability to address a group of wireless devices using a GW-RNTI may be beneficial as it may lead to saving network control channel resources.

[0039] Before describing the exemplary embodiments in detail, it should be noted that the embodiments primarily pertain to a combination of device components and processing steps related to a network identifier for signaling a downlink control channel-based wake-up signal for at least one wireless device prior to at least one ON duration of the at least one wireless device. Accordingly, components are represented by conventional symbols in the drawings where appropriate, and only specific details relevant to an understanding of the embodiments are shown, so as not to obscure the present disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the description herein. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description.

[0040] As used herein, relationship terms such as "first" and "second," "top" and "bottom" may be used only to distinguish one entity or element from another entity or element without necessarily requiring or implying a physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements. The terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and are not intended to limit the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that as used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," and / or "including" specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0041] In the embodiments described herein, coupling terms such as "in communication with" may be used to indicate electrical or data communication, which may be accomplished, for example, by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling, or optical signaling. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that multiple components may interoperate and modifications and variations are possible to achieve electrical and data communication.

[0042] In some embodiments described herein, terms such as "coupled," "connected," and the like may be used herein to indicate a connection, although not necessarily direct, and may include wired and / or wireless connections.

[0043] The term "network node" as used herein may refer to any type of network node included in a wireless network, which may further include any of a base station (BS), a radio base station, a base transceiver station (BTS), a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), a gNodeB (gNB), an evolved NodeB (eNB or eNodeB), a NodeB, a multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as an MSR BR, a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, a donor node controlling a relay, a radio access point (AP), a transmission point, a transmitting node, a remote radio unit (RRU), a remote radio head (RRH), a core network node (e.g., a mobile management entity (MME), a self-organizing network (SON) node, a coordination node, a positioning node, an MDT node, etc.), an external node (e.g., a third party node, a node outside the current network), a node in a distributed antenna system (DAS), a spectrum access system (SAS) node, an element management system (EMS), etc. A network node may also comprise a test device. As used herein, the term "wireless node" may also be used to denote a wireless device (WD) such as a wireless device (WD) or a wireless network node.

[0044] In some embodiments, the non-limiting terms wireless device (WD) or user equipment (UE) are used interchangeably. A WD in this specification may be any type of wireless device capable of communicating with a network node or another WD by wireless signals, such as a wireless device (WD). A WD may also be a wireless communication device, a target device, a device-to-device (D2D) WD, a machine-type WD or WD capable of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, a low-cost and / or low-complexity WD, a sensor equipped with a WD, a tablet, a mobile terminal, a smartphone, a laptop embedded equipped (LEE), a laptop mounted equipment (LME), a USB dongle, a customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or a narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) device, etc.

[0045] An indication may generally indicate explicitly and / or implicitly the information it represents and / or indicates. An implicit indication may be based, for example, on the location and / or resources used for transmission. An explicit indication may be based, for example, on parameterization with one or more parameters and / or one or more indexes and / or one or more bit patterns representing the information. In particular, it may be considered as control signaling.

[0046] A cell may generally be a communication cell of a cellular or mobile communication network provided by a node. A serving cell may be a cell to which a network node (a node providing the cell or a node associated with the cell, e.g. a base station, gNB or eNodeB) may transmit and / or receive data (which may be data other than broadcast data), in particular control and / or user or payload data, to a user equipment and / or a cell to which a user equipment may transmit and / or receive data to said node. A serving cell may be a cell to which a user equipment is configured and / or is synchronized and / or has performed an access procedure (e.g. a random access procedure) and / or is in RRC_connected or RRC_idle state, e.g. if the node and / or user equipment and / or network are in accordance with the LTE standard. One or more carriers (e.g. uplink and / or downlink carriers and / or carriers for both uplink and downlink) may be associated to a cell.

[0047] A transmission on the downlink may refer to a transmission from a network or a network node to a terminal. A transmission on the uplink may refer to a transmission from a terminal to a network or a network node. A transmission on the sidelink may refer to a (direct) transmission from one terminal to another terminal. Uplink, downlink, and sidelink (e.g., sidelink transmission and reception) may be considered as communication directions. In some variants, uplink and downlink may also be used to describe wireless communication between network nodes, e.g., wireless backhaul and / or relay communication and / or (wireless) network communication between, e.g., base stations or similar network nodes, in particular communication terminating at such network nodes. Backhaul and / or relay communication and / or network communication may be considered to be implemented as a form of sidelink or uplink communication or the like.

[0048] Configuring a terminal or wireless device or node may involve instructing and / or causing the wireless device or node to change its configuration, such as, for example, at least one setting and / or registration entry and / or operation mode and / or at least one DRX-related function and / or monitoring function. The terminal or wireless device or node may be configured to configure itself, for example, according to information or data in a memory of the terminal or wireless device. Configuring a node or terminal or wireless device by another device or node or network may refer to and / or include transmitting information and / or data and / or instructions (e.g., assignment data (which may be and / or may include configuration data), and / or schedule data and / or scheduling grants) to the wireless device or node by the other device or node or network. Configuring a terminal may include transmitting assignment / configuration data to the terminal indicating which modulation and / or coding to use. A terminal may be configured with and / or configured for and / or configured to use scheduling data, e.g., for transmitting scheduled and / or assigned uplink resources and / or for receiving scheduled and / or assigned downlink resources, e.g., uplink and / or downlink resources may be scheduled with and / or provided with assignment or configuration data.

[0049] Data / information may refer to any kind of data, particularly any one of control data or user data or payload data and / or any combination thereof. Control information (which may also be referred to as control data) may refer to data that controls and / or schedules and / or relates to the processing of data transmissions and / or network or terminal operation.

[0050] The term "signaling" as used herein may include any of higher layer signaling (e.g., via Radio Resource Control (RRC), etc.), lower layer signaling (e.g., via physical control or broadcast channels), or a combination thereof. Signaling may be implicit or explicit. Signaling may further be unicast, multicast, or broadcast. Signaling may also be direct to other nodes or via a third node.

[0051] Also, in some embodiments, the general term "radio network node" is used, which may be any type of radio network node, which may comprise a base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, RNC, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNB, multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), IAB node, relay node, access point, radio access point, remote radio unit (RRU) remote radio head (RRH).

[0052] It should be noted that, although terminology from one particular wireless system, such as 3GPP LTE and / or New Radio (NR), may be used in this disclosure, this should not be considered as limiting the scope of this disclosure to only the aforementioned systems. Other wireless systems, including but not limited to Wide Band Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), can also benefit from utilizing the ideas covered within this disclosure.

[0053] Furthermore, it should be noted that functionality described herein as being performed by a wireless device or a network node may be distributed across multiple wireless devices and / or network nodes, in other words, it is contemplated that the functionality of the network nodes and wireless devices described herein is not limited to being performed by a single physical device, but may in fact be distributed among several physical devices.

[0054] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this disclosure belongs. Furthermore, it will be understood that the terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the present specification and related art, and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly defined herein.

[0055] An embodiment provides a network identifier for signaling a downlink control channel based wake-up signal for at least one wireless device prior to at least one ON duration of the at least one wireless device.

[0056] Referring again to the drawings, in which like elements are referred to by like reference numerals, FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system 10 according to an embodiment, such as a 3GPP type cellular network that may support standards such as LTE and / or NR (5G), comprising an access network 12, such as a radio access network, and a core network 14. The access network 12 includes a number of network nodes 16a, 16b, 16c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points (collectively referred to as network nodes 16), each defining a corresponding coverage area 18a, 18b, 18c (collectively referred to as coverage area 18). Each network node 16a, 16b, 16c is connectable to the core network 14 via a wired or wireless connection 20. A first wireless device 22a located in the coverage area 18a is configured to wirelessly connect to or be paged by a corresponding network node 16c. A second WD 22b within the coverage area 18b can wirelessly connect to a corresponding network node 16a. Although multiple WDs 22a, 22b (collectively referred to as wireless devices 22) are shown in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to situations where a single WD is within a coverage area or where a single WD connects to a corresponding network node 16. For convenience, only two WDs 22 and three network nodes 16 are shown, but it should be noted that a communication system may include many more WDs 22 and network nodes 16.

[0057] It is also contemplated that the WD 22 may be configured to communicate simultaneously and / or separately with more than one network node 16 and more than one type of network node 16. For example, the WD 22 may have dual connectivity with a network node 16 supporting LTE and the same or different network node 16 supporting NR. As an example, the WD 22 may communicate with an eNB for LTE / E-UTRAN and a gNB for NR / NG-RAN.

[0058] The communication system 10 may itself be connected to a host computer 24, which may be implemented in hardware and / or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as a processing resource in a server farm. The host computer 24 may be owned or controlled by a service provider, or may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. The connection 26, 28 between the communication system 10 and the host computer 24 may extend directly from the core network 14 to the host computer 24, or may extend through an optional intermediate network 30. The intermediate network 30 may be one or a combination of two or more of a public network, a private network, or a host network. The intermediate network 30, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet. In some embodiments, the intermediate network 30 may include two or more sub-networks (not shown).

[0059] The communication system of FIG. 2 generally provides connectivity between one of the connected WDs 22a, 22b and the host computer 24. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection. The host computer 24 and the connected WDs 22a, 22b are configured to communicate data and / or signaling via the OTT connection using the access network 12, the core network 14, any intermediate networks 30, and possibly further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection may be transparent in the sense that at least some of the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection passes are unaware of the routing of the uplink and downlink communications. For example, the network node 16 may not be or need not be informed of the past routing of an incoming downlink communication, with data originating from the host computer 24 being forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected WD 22a. Similarly, network node 16 does not need to know the future routing of outgoing uplink communications from WD 22 a to host computer 24 .

[0060] The network node 16 is configured with a signaling unit 32. The wireless device 22 is configured with a monitoring unit .

[0061] With reference to Fig. 3, an implementation example according to the embodiment of the WD 22, the network node 16 and the host computer 24 described in the previous paragraphs will be described below. In the communication system 10, the host computer 24 comprises hardware (HW) 38 including a communication interface 40 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with interfaces of different communication devices of the communication system 10. The host computer 24 further comprises a processing circuit 42, which may have storage and / or processing capabilities. The processing circuit 42 may include a processor 44 and a memory 46. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor such as a central processing unit and a memory, the processing circuit 42 may comprise an integrated circuit for processing and / or control, for example one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays) and / or ASICs (application specific integrated circuits) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 44 may be configured to access (e.g., write and / or read) the memory 46. The memory may include any type of volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as cache memory and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (random access memory) and / or ROM (read only memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (erasable programmable read only memory).

[0062] The processing circuitry 42 may be configured to control and / or cause any of the methods and / or processes described herein to be performed, for example, by the host computer 24. The processor 44 corresponds to one or more processors 44 for performing the functions of the host computer 24 described herein. The host computer 24 includes a memory 46 configured to store data, programmatic software code, and / or other information as described herein. In some embodiments, the software 48 and / or host application 50 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 44 and / or the processing circuitry 42, cause the processor 44 and / or the processing circuitry 42 to perform the processes described herein with respect to the host computer 24. The instructions may be software associated with the host computer 24.

[0063] The software 48 may be executable by the processing circuitry 42. The software 48 includes a host application 50. The host application 50 may be operable to provide services to remote users, such as the WD 22, connecting via an OTT connection 52 that terminates at the WD 22 and the host computer 24. In providing services to the remote users, the host application 50 may provide user data that is transmitted using the OTT connection 52. "User data" may be data and information described herein as performing the described functions. In one embodiment, the host computer 24 may be configured to provide control and functionality to the service provider and may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. The processing circuitry 42 of the host computer 24 may enable the host computer 24 to supervise, monitor, control, transmit to and / or receive from the network node 16 and / or the wireless device 22. The processing circuitry 42 of the host computer 24 may include an information unit 54 configured to enable the service provider to process, determine, communicate, transmit, receive, forward, relay, store, etc., information related to a network identifier for signaling a downlink control channel based wake-up signal for the at least one wireless device prior to at least one ON duration of the at least one wireless device.

[0064] The communication system 10 further includes a network node 16 provided within the communication system 10 and comprising hardware 58 enabling communication with the host computer 24 and the WD 22. The hardware 58 may include a communication interface 60 for setting up and maintaining wired or wireless connections with interfaces of different communication devices of the communication system 10, and a wireless interface 62 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 64 with the WD 22 located within a coverage area 18 served by the network node 16. The wireless interface 62 may be formed as or include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and / or one or more RF transceivers. The communication interface 60 may be configured to facilitate a connection 66 to the host computer 24. The connection 66 may be direct or may pass through a core network 14 of the communication system 10 and / or one or more intermediate networks 30 outside the communication system 10.

[0065] In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 58 of the network node 16 further comprises processing circuitry 68. The processing circuitry 68 may include a processor 70 and a memory 72. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and a memory, the processing circuitry 68 may comprise integrated circuits for processing and / or control, such as one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays) and / or ASICs (application specific integrated circuits) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 70 may be configured to access (e.g., write and / or read) the memory 72. The memory may include any type of volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as cache memory and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (random access memory) and / or ROM (read only memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (erasable programmable read only memory).

[0066] As such, the network node 16 further includes software 74, e.g., stored internally in the memory 72 or stored in an external memory accessible to the network node 16 via an external connection (e.g., a database, a storage array, a network storage device, etc.). The software 74 may be executable by the processing circuitry 68. The processing circuitry 68 may be configured to control and / or cause any of the methods and / or processes described herein to be performed, e.g., by the network node 16. The processor 70 corresponds to one or more processors 70 for performing the functions of the network node 16 described herein. The memory 72 is configured to store data, programmatic software code, and / or other information as described herein. In some embodiments, the software 74 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 70 and / or the processing circuitry 68, cause the processor 70 and / or the processing circuitry 68 to perform the processes described herein with respect to the network node 16. For example, the processing circuitry 68 of the network node 16 may include a signaling unit 32 configured to perform one or more network node functions described herein, e.g., relating to a network identifier for signaling a downlink control channel based wake-up signal for the at least one wireless device prior to at least one ON duration of the at least one wireless device.

[0067] The communication system 10 further includes the previously mentioned WD 22. The WD 22 may have hardware 80 that may include a wireless interface 82 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 64 with a network node 16 that serves the coverage area 18 in which the WD 22 is currently located. The wireless interface 82 may be formed as or include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and / or one or more RF transceivers.

[0068] The hardware 80 of the WD 22 further comprises a processing circuit 84. The processing circuit 84 may include a processor 86 and a memory 88. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor such as a central processing unit and a memory, the processing circuit 84 may comprise an integrated circuit for processing and / or control, for example, one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays) and / or ASICs (application specific integrated circuits) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 86 may be configured to access (e.g., write and / or read) the memory 88. The memory may include any type of volatile and / or non-volatile memory, for example, cache memory and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (random access memory) and / or ROM (read only memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (erasable programmable read only memory).

[0069] Thus, the WD 22 may further include software 90, for example stored in memory 88 within the WD 22 or stored in an external memory accessible to the WD 22 (e.g., a database, a storage array, a network storage device, etc.). The software 90 may be executable by the processing circuitry 84. The software 90 may include a client application 92. The client application 92 may be operable to provide services to a human or non-human user via the WD 22 with the support of the host computer 24. A host application 50 running on the host computer 24 may communicate with the running client application 92 via the WD 22 and an OTT connection 52 terminating at the host computer 24. In providing services to a user, the client application 92 may receive request data from the host application 50 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 52 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 92 may interact with the user to generate the user data it provides.

[0070] The processing circuitry 84 may be configured to control and / or cause any of the methods and / or processes described herein to be performed, for example, by the WD 22. The processor 86 corresponds to one or more processors 86 for performing the functions of the WD 22 described herein. The WD 22 includes a memory 88 configured to store data, programmatic software code, and / or other information as described herein. In some embodiments, the software 90 and / or the client application 92 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 86 and / or the processing circuitry 84, cause the processor 86 and / or the processing circuitry 84 to perform the processes described herein with respect to the WD 22. For example, the processing circuitry 84 of the wireless device 22 may include a monitoring unit 34 configured to perform one or more wireless device functions described herein, for example, with respect to a network identifier for signaling a downlink control channel based wake-up signal for the at least one wireless device prior to at least one ON duration of the at least one wireless device.

[0071] In some embodiments, the internal operation of network node 16, WD 22, and host computer 24 may be as shown in FIG. 3, and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of FIG.

[0072] 3, an OTT connection 52 is depicted abstractly to show communication between the host computer 24 and the wireless device 22 via the network nodes 16, without explicitly referring to any intermediate devices and the exact routing of messages through those devices. The network infrastructure may determine the routing, which may be configured to be hidden from the WD 22, or from the service provider operating the host computer 24, or both. The network infrastructure may further determine to dynamically change the routing while the OTT connection 52 is active (e.g., based on load considerations or network reconfiguration).

[0073] The wireless connection 64 between the WD 22 and the network node 16 follows the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments may improve the performance of the OTT services provided to the WD 22 using the OTT connection 52, of which the wireless connection 64 may form the final segment. More precisely, the teachings of some of these embodiments may improve data rates, latency, and / or power consumption, thereby providing benefits such as reduced user wait times, reduced file sizes, improved responsiveness, extended battery life, etc.

[0074] In some embodiments, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rates, latencies, and other factors that one or more embodiments improve upon. Additionally, there may be an optional network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 52 between the host computer 24 and the WD 22 in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and / or the network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 52 may be implemented in the software 48 of the host computer 24, or in the software 90 of the WD 22, or both. In some embodiments, a sensor (not shown) may be located at or associated with a communication device through which the OTT connection 52 passes. The sensor may participate in the measurement procedure by providing values ​​of monitored quantities, as exemplified above, or by providing values ​​of other physical quantities from which the software 48, 90 may calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 52 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc., and the reconfiguration need not affect the network node 16 and may be unknown or imperceptible to the network node 16. Several such procedures and functions may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, the measurements may include proprietary WD signaling of the host computer 24 to facilitate measurements of throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. In some embodiments, the measurements may be performed by having the software 48, 90 send messages (particularly empty or "dummy" messages) using the OTT connection 52 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0075] Thus, in some embodiments, host computer 24 comprises processing circuitry 42 configured to provide user data and communication interface 40 configured to forward the user data to the cellular network for transmission to WD 22. In some embodiments, the cellular network further includes network node 16 having wireless interface 62. In some embodiments, network node 16 is configured and / or processing circuitry 68 of network node 16 is configured to perform functions and / or methods described herein for preparing / initiating / maintaining / supporting / terminating transmissions to WD 22 and / or for preparing / initiating / maintaining / supporting / terminating reception of transmissions from WD 22.

[0076] In some embodiments, host computer 24 comprises processing circuitry 42 and a communications interface 40 configured to receive user data resulting from transmissions from WD 22 to network node 16. In some embodiments, WD 22 comprises a wireless interface 82 and / or processing circuitry 84 that is configured and / or adapted to perform functions and / or methods described herein for preparing / initiating / maintaining / supporting / terminating transmissions to network node 16 and / or for preparing / initiating / maintaining / supporting / terminating reception of transmissions from network node 16.

[0077] 2 and 3 show various "units" such as the signaling unit 32 and the monitoring unit 34 within respective processors, it is contemplated that these units may be implemented such that parts of the units are stored in corresponding memories within the processing circuitry, in other words, the units may be implemented in hardware within the processing circuitry or in a combination of hardware and software.

[0078] 4 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method performed in a communication system, such as the communication system of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, according to one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16, and a WD 22, which may be as described with reference to FIG. 3. In a first step of the method, the host computer 24 provides user data (block S100). In an optional sub-step of the first step, the host computer 24 provides the user data by executing a host application, such as the host application 50 (block S102). In a second step, the host computer 24 initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the WD 22 (block S104). In an optional third step 930, the network node 16 transmits the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host computer 24 to the WD 22 (block S106), according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional fourth step, the WD 22 executes a client application, such as client application 92, associated with the host application 50 executed by the host computer 24 (block S108).

[0079] FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method performed in a communication system, such as that of FIG. 2, according to one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16, and a WD 22, which may be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. In a first step of the method, the host computer 24 provides user data (block S110). In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer 24 provides the user data by executing a host application, such as the host application 50. In a second step, the host computer 24 initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the WD 22 (block S112). The transmission may pass through the network node 16 in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional third step, the WD 22 receives the user data carried in the transmission (block S114).

[0080] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method performed in a communication system, such as the communication system of FIG. 2, according to one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16, and a WD 22, which may be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. In an optional first step of the method, the WD 22 receives input data provided by the host computer 24 (block S116). In an optional sub-step of the first step, the WD 22 executes a client application 92 that provides user data in response to the received input data provided by the host computer 24 (block S118). Additionally or alternatively, in an optional second step, the WD 22 provides the user data (block S120). In an optional sub-step of the second step, the WD provides the user data by executing a client application, such as the client application 92 (block S122). In providing the user data, the executed client application 92 may further take into account user input received from a user. Regardless of the particular manner in which the user data was provided, in an optional third sub-step, WD 22 initiates transmission of the user data to host computer 24 (block S124). In a fourth step of the method, host computer 24 receives the user data transmitted from WD 22 (block S126) in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

[0081] 7 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method performed in a communication system, such as that of FIG. 2, according to one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16, and a WD 22, which may be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. In an optional first step, the network node 16 receives user data from the WD 22 (block S128), according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional second step, the network node 16 initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer 24 (block S130). In a third step, the host computer 24 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the network node 16 (block S132).

[0082] 8 is a flow chart of an example process in the network node 16, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks and / or functions performed by the network node 16 may be performed by one or more elements of the network node 16 (e.g., by the signaling unit 32 in the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the radio interface 62). In one or more embodiments, the network node 16 is configured to determine a network identifier for signaling a downlink control channel based wake-up signal for at least one wireless device (block S134), e.g., via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the communication interface 60, and the radio interface 62. In one or more embodiments, the network node 16 is configured to cause transmission of the network identifier to the at least one wireless device, optionally via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the communication interface 60, and the radio interface 62 (block S136).

[0083] In one or more embodiments, the downlink control channel based wake-up signal is configured to be implemented prior to an ON duration of an intermittent reception cycle of at least one wireless device 22. In one or more embodiments, the wake-up signal is based at least in part on a downlink control information (DCI) format indicating a group of wireless devices 22, and the network identifier is a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI).

[0084] 9 is a flowchart of another example process in the network node 16, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks and / or functions performed by the network node 16 may be performed by one or more elements of the network node 16 (e.g., by the signaling unit 32 in the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the radio interface 62). In one or more embodiments, the network node 16 is configured to set (block S138), such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the communication interface 60, and the radio interface 62, each wireless device 22 in a first group of wireless devices 22 including at least one wireless device 22, a first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) defined to address the group of wireless devices for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) based wake-up signal (WUS) operation as described herein. In one or more embodiments, the network node 16 is configured to cause transmission (block S140), such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the communications interface 60, and the wireless interface 62, of signaling including a wake-up signal (WUS) for a first WUS monitoring opportunity associated with a first group of wireless devices 22, as described herein, and the WUS is configured to cause each wireless device 22 in the first group of wireless devices to perform at least one action.

[0085] According to one or more embodiments, the network node 16 is further configured to use the first RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices to scramble cyclic redundancy checks (CRCs) in the signaling, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the communication interface 60, and the air interface 62. According to one or more embodiments, the first RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices is configured via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. According to one or more embodiments, the network node 16 is further configured to configure, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the communication interface 60, and the air interface 62, a second RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)-based wake-up signal (WUS) operation, to one or more of the wireless devices 22 in the first group of wireless devices. The second RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices is associated with another group of wireless devices 22.

[0086] According to one or more embodiments, the first RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices is associated with a downlink control information DCI format different from DCI formats 0-0, 0-1, 1-1 and 1-1. According to one or more embodiments, the network node 16 is further configured to configure a first WUS monitoring occasion for the first group of wireless devices 22 with at least a time offset relative to a first discontinuous reception (DRX) ON duration. According to one or more embodiments, the network node 16 is further configured to configure a downlink control information (DCI) addressing the first group of wireless devices 22, the DCI including a bitmap, in which a first plurality of bits is configured to indicate whether to wake up a first subgroup of the first group of wireless devices 22 and a second plurality of bits is configured to indicate whether to wake up a second subgroup of the first group of wireless devices 22.

[0087] According to one or more embodiments, a first subgroup of the first group of wireless devices 22 is associated with a first DRX ON duration and a second subgroup of the first group of wireless devices 22 is associated with a second DRX ON duration. According to one or more embodiments, the network node 16 is further configured to configure Downlink Control Information (DCI) addressed to the first group of wireless devices 22, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the communication interface 60, and the air interface 62. The DCI includes a bitmap, the bitmap including a first plurality of bits indicating one or more of a plurality of subgroups of the first group of wireless devices 22 selected to implement the WUS and a second plurality of bits indicating information for implementing the WUS. According to one or more embodiments, the network node 16 is further configured, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the communication interface 60, and the radio interface 62, to set a first control resource set (CORESET) and a first common search space (CSS) setting for searching the WUS for the first group of wireless devices, the first CORESET and the first CSS setting being associated with the first group of wireless devices 22. According to one or more embodiments, the at least one action includes monitoring a physical downlink control channel during the first DRX ON duration. According to one or more embodiments, the at least one action includes at least one of triggering aperiodic channel state information (CSI) reporting and scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0088] 10 is a flow chart of an example process in the wireless device 22, according to one or more embodiments. One or more blocks and / or functions performed by the wireless device 22 may be performed by one or more elements of the wireless device 22 (e.g., by the monitoring unit 34 in the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82). In one or more embodiments, the wireless device is configured to monitor, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, and the air interface 82, for a network identifier indicative of a downlink control channel based wake-up signal prior to the ON duration of the discontinuous reception cycle (block S142). In one or more embodiments, the wireless device is configured, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, and the air interface 82, to optionally perform at least one function if the network identifier is detected (block S144).

[0089] In one or more embodiments, the wake-up signal is based at least in part on a downlink control information (DCI) format that indicates a group of wireless devices 22. In one or more embodiments, the network identifier is a wireless network temporary identifier associated with multiple wireless devices 22.

[0090] 11 is a flowchart of an example process in the wireless device 22, according to one or more embodiments. One or more blocks and / or functions performed by the wireless device 22 may be performed by one or more elements of the wireless device 22 (e.g., by the monitoring unit 34 in the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the radio interface 82). In one or more embodiments, the wireless device 22 is configured to obtain a configuration including a first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) defined to address a group of the wireless devices 22 for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) based wake-up signal (WUS) operation from the network node 16, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, and the radio interface 82, as described herein (block S146).

[0091] In one or more embodiments, the wireless device 22 is configured to receive signaling including a wake-up signal (WUS) from the network node (16) at a first WUS monitoring occasion associated with a first group of wireless devices (22) including at least the wireless device 22 (block S148), such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, and the air interface 82, as described herein, and the WUS is configured to cause the first group of wireless devices (22) to perform at least one action. In one or more embodiments, the wireless device 22 is configured to perform the at least one action (block S150), such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, and the air interface 82, as described herein.

[0092] According to one or more embodiments, the wireless device 22 is further configured to descramble a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) in the signaling using a first RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, and the air interface 82. According to one or more embodiments, the first RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices is configured via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. According to one or more embodiments, the wireless device 22 is further configured with a second RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) based wake-up signal (WUS) operation. The second RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices is associated with another group of the wireless devices 22.

[0093] According to one or more embodiments, the first RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices is associated with a downlink control information DCI format different from DCI formats 0-0, 0-1, 1-1 and 1-1. According to one or more embodiments, the first WUS monitoring occasion associated with the first group of wireless devices 22 is offset by a time offset relative to at least a first discontinuous reception (DRX) ON duration. According to one or more embodiments, the signaling includes downlink control information (DCI) addressing the first group of wireless devices 22, the DCI including a bitmap, where a first plurality of bits is configured to indicate whether to wake up a first subgroup of the first group of wireless devices 22 and a second plurality of bits is configured to indicate whether to wake up a second subgroup of the first group of wireless devices 22.

[0094] According to one or more embodiments, a first subgroup of the first group of wireless devices 22 is associated with a first DRX ON duration and a second subgroup of the first group of wireless devices 22 is associated with a second DRX ON duration. According to one or more embodiments, the signaling includes Downlink Control Information (DCI) addressed to the first group of wireless devices 22, the DCI including a bitmap, the bitmap including a first plurality of bits indicating one or more of a plurality of subgroups of the first group of wireless devices 22 selected to implement the WUS and a second plurality of bits indicating information for implementing the WUS. According to one or more embodiments, the wireless devices 22 are further configured to use a first control resource set (CORESET) and a first common search space (CSS) configuration to search for the WUS, the first CORESET and the first CSS configuration being associated with the first group of wireless devices 22.

[0095] According to one or more embodiments, the at least one action includes monitoring a physical downlink control channel during the first DRX ON duration. According to one or more embodiments, the at least one action includes at least one of triggering an aperiodic channel state information (CSI) report and scheduling a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). Having broadly described configurations for signaling a downlink control channel based wake-up signal for the at least one wireless device 22 prior to the at least one ON duration of the at least one wireless device 22, details of these configurations, functions and processes are provided below and may be implemented by the network node 16, the wireless device 22, and / or the host computer 24.

[0096] An embodiment provides a network identifier for signaling a downlink control channel based wake-up signal for at least one wireless device prior to at least one ON duration of the at least one wireless device.

[0097] An embodiment is provided in which one or more WUS monitoring occasions (MOs) are configured in the wireless device 22, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, processor 70, air interface 62, signaling unit 32, etc. of the network node 16, that occur a predetermined time (e.g., a pre-defined amount of X slots) before the ON duration of the wireless device 22. The WUS is based on a signal transmitted by the network node 16 to the wireless device 22 over the PDCCH using an existing or new DCI format. The wireless device 22 decodes the DCI via the processing circuitry 84 and / or the monitoring unit 34. The wireless device 22 may use a receiver based on decoding the PDCCH and / or the air interface 82, or other types of receivers (e.g., a correlation-based receiver). If the WUS is configured to wake up that wireless device 22 (either specifically or as part of a group), the wireless device 22, via the processing circuitry 84 and / or the monitoring unit 34, monitors the PDCCH at a PDCCH monitoring opportunity (MO) during the next ON duration or follows an action configured / commanded by the network / network node 16 in response to detection of the WUS (e.g., aperiodic CSI reporting, scheduling PDSCH over the WUS, etc.). Otherwise, if the wireless device 22 does not detect and / or fails to detect / decode the WUS, the wireless device 22 may skip monitoring the PDCCH at the next opportunity, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc., or follow other types of actions configured / commanded by the network / network node 16 in response to non-detection of the WUS (e.g., monitoring the PDCCH with a longer period in a search space (SS) different from the normal one). FIG. 12 illustrates example actions of the wireless device 22 in response to detecting (or not detecting / failing to detect) a WUS.

[0098] One or more embodiments related to configuring a PDCCH-based WUS are described in more detail below. As used herein, a network identifier may refer to one or more RNTIs described herein and / or other types of identifiers that may provide the functionality of the RNTIs described herein. As used herein, an ON duration may refer to the duration of a DRX / CDRX cycle during which the wireless device 22 is configured to monitor one or more channels, such as a control channel, as known in the art.

[0099] <Aspect 1: GW-RNTI setting> Since the WUS is transmitted via / using the PDCCH, it may be important to configure with which RNTI the associated DCI is transmitted via the PDCCH.

[0100] In one or more embodiments, one or more Radio Network Temporary Identifiers (RNTIs) for receiving messages, including, for example, control / data messages, may be configured in the wireless device 22 by the network node 16 via control signaling, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the radio interface 62, the signaling unit 32, etc. Some RNTIs are used for broadcast messages.

[0101] For WUS carried by PDCCH, a new RNTI is defined herein to address a group of wireless devices 22 for PDCCH-based WUS operation, and is referred to as group WUS RNTI or GW-RNTI. The GW-RNTI may be used to address a single wireless device 22, a group of wireless devices 22, or all of the wireless devices 22 in a cell. In one embodiment, a single WUS identified with an RNTI common to all wireless devices 22 in a cell may be provided / used / communicated to all wireless devices 22 for some ON durations where several wireless devices 22 or groups of wireless devices 22 may need to be addressed. Control channel blocking may be reduced by using a cell-common RNTI instead when individual or group WUS are used. Figure 13 shows a schematic example of GW-RNTI between different wireless devices 22. The wireless device 22 may be associated with (or configured with) two or more GW-RNTIs as shown in FIG. 13, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the radio interface 62, the signaling unit 32, etc.

[0102] In one or more embodiments, a logical wake-up channel (WUCH) is configured in the wireless device 22 via RRC configuration and / or reconfiguration, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the radio interface 62, the signaling unit 32, etc. The WUCH may also be mapped to a PDCCH or carried by a PDCCH (i.e., a PDCCH-based WUS) and identified by scrambling a CRC with a predefined RNTI (e.g., a GW-RNTI as described herein), such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the radio interface 62, the signaling unit 32, etc. The predefined RNTI may be explicitly configured by a higher layer (i.e., a higher communication layer), such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the radio interface 62, the signaling unit 32, etc. In response to detecting a PDCCH-based WUS or WUCH associated with the GW-RNTI, e.g., via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc., the wireless device 22 performs one or more specific actions, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc. In one action, the wireless device 22 monitors a PDCCH at the wireless device 22's next ON duration, via the processing circuitry 84 and / or the monitoring unit 34 and / or the air interface 82. In another embodiment, the action includes the wireless device 22 following a set of actions configured by the network when a DCI format associated with the GW-RNTI is detected.

[0103] To identify WUCH / WUS or PDCCH-based WUS, or generally WU functionality, for one or more wireless devices 22, the network node 16, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the radio interface 62, the signaling unit 32, etc., may select a GW-RNTI from the range of 0001-FFEF assigned to the majority of the RNTIs (excluding the P-RNTI and SI-RNTI), or may use a reserved field of FFF0-FFFD.

[0104] As mentioned above, the GW-RNTI may be set by the network node 16, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the radio interface 62, the signaling unit 32, etc., to address a single wireless device 22, a group of wireless devices 22, or all of the wireless devices 22 in a cell.

[0105] When the GW-RNTI addresses a single wireless device 22, the GW-RNTI may be configured for that particular wireless device 22, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the air interface 62, the signaling unit 32, etc., to be the same as the C-RNTI of the wireless device 22 (or another current wireless device 22-specific RNTI, such as the CS-RNTI), or to be related to another wireless device 22-specific RNTI (e.g., a particular function of the C-RNTI).

[0106] The GW-RNTI may be useful to address a group of multiple wireless devices 22. Multiple wireless devices 22 may be grouped together in different ways, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the air interface 62, the signaling unit 32, etc. In one embodiment, excessive use of RNTI resources for GW-RNTI purposes may be avoided by reusing the same GW-RNTI among user / wireless device 22 groups associated with disjoint WUS opportunities. In other words, the wireless device 22 uses both its WUS opportunity (possible T, F allocation) information and the GW-RNTI to detect WUCH / WUS intended for the wireless device 22, and both the opportunity monitoring parameters and the RNTI may match to detect WUS, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc. In other embodiments, wireless devices 22 that may have to be woken up within the same ON duration may be grouped together. However, this is a special case and may be useful when the number of RNTIs to allocate is limited, or for certain use cases (eg, multicasting use cases).

[0107] In some embodiments, the GW-RNTI may be assigned to a subset of wireless devices 22 that share the same ON duration and / or WUS opportunity, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the air interface 62, the signaling unit 32, etc., i.e., a certain ON duration or WUS opportunity may be signaled separately to multiple subgroups of wireless devices 22 associated with that opportunity, such that a smaller number of wireless devices 22 are alerted.

[0108] In one embodiment, the wireless device 22 is configured to monitor the first RNTI and the second RNTI on the same WUCH or PDCCH-based WUS, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc. In response to detecting the first RNTI, the wireless device 22 may assume a DCI format carrying scheduling information for the PDSCH / PUSCH, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc. In response to detecting the second RNTI, the wireless device 22 monitors the PDCCH in the search space at a later time (e.g., a time after detection of the second RNTI) according to a second configuration, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc. The second RNTI may be a GW-RNTI. In yet another embodiment, a third RNTI may be configured in the wireless device 22, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the air interface 62, the signaling unit 32, etc., and upon detecting the third RNTI, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc., the wireless device 22 monitors a PDCCH in the search space in accordance with the third configuration at a later time (e.g., a time after detection of the third RNTI), such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc. The third RNTI may be another GW-RNTI.

[0109] The wireless device 22 may have several different GW-RNTIs, i.e., the wireless device 22 may be configured to belong to several WUS groups, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the air interface 62, the signaling unit 32, etc. In one embodiment, the GW-RNTI is calculated based on the system timing (e.g., slot number, SFN). In another embodiment, higher layers configure the GW-RNTI to the wireless device 22, such as via RRC dedicated signaling, MAC, etc.

[0110] <Aspect 2: WUS Opportunity Offset of GW-RNTI> This aspect pertains to embodiments in which a PDCCH-based WUS is used a predetermined time (e.g., X slots) before the ON duration to wake up the wireless device 22. The network node 16, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the air interface 62, the signaling unit 32, etc., may configure the wireless device 22 to monitor the WUS at a particular offset before the ON duration (e.g., X slots before the ON duration, where X may be an integer, such as a positive and / or non-negative integer).

[0111] Because network resources may be limited, in one or more embodiments, the network node 16 may distribute multiple wireless devices 22 to different time offsets with ON durations, such that wireless devices 22 with the same GW-RNTI may be configured with the same offset with ON duration (e.g., as shown in FIG. 14 ). However, if wireless devices 22 with the same GW-RNTI have slightly different ON durations, the offset for each wireless device 22 may be configured individually to be able to address all of the wireless devices 22 in one PDCCH-based WUS.

[0112] In one or more embodiments, when the size of the group of wireless devices 22 having the same GW-RNTI is large, different subgroups may be formed with different WUS MO offsets, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the air interface 62, the signaling unit 32, etc.

[0113] Alternatively, multiple wireless devices 22 with similar GW-RNTIs may be multiplexed in different frequency regions (e.g., different frequency offsets), such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the air interface 62, the signaling unit 32, etc. In one or more embodiments, the frequency offset is relative to the frequency at which PDCCH monitoring is performed during the DRX ON duration. This is particularly useful because it may be more useful to have the WUS opportunity as close to the ON duration as possible to improve throughput of the wireless device 22 and reduce the energy consumption of the wireless device 22. An example is shown in FIG. 15.

[0114] Furthermore, a combination of the above approaches / embodiments may be used, i.e. to distribute WUS MO in both time and frequency. An example is shown in FIG.

[0115] <Aspect 3: WUS DCI format / core resource set (CORESET) / search space (SS) and GW-RNTI> This aspect addresses on which DCI format the WUS may be based for WUS operation.

[0116] In one or more embodiments, the WUS may be based on an existing DCI format (e.g., 0-0 / 0-1 / 1-0 / 1-1). In such a case, if the wireless device 22 decodes the GW-RNTI, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc., the wireless device 22 may take this as an indication that the associated DCI is a WUS. In one or more embodiments, the GW-RNTI (defined to address a group of wireless devices) may be configured to be associated with a particular DCI format defined to address a group of wireless devices 22 for PDCCH-based wake-up signaling operations.

[0117] In one or more embodiments, a new and potentially compact DCI format may be developed specifically for the WUS. For example, the new and potentially compact DCI format may differ from existing DCI formats such as 0-1, 0-1, 1-0, and 1-1. Such DCI may be specifically associated with the GW-RNTI as an indication, and thus, in one or more embodiments, may create some additional bits to include additional commands or space for future extensions. In one or more embodiments, in the same occasion where the new DCI format may accommodate fewer bits than the existing DCI format, the new DCI format may have to exist alongside the current DCI format, and zero padding may be used to make the size of the new DCI format equal to the existing DCI format. In such a case, the bits before the zero padding are considered information bits, while the zero padding bits may be considered as bits or non-information bits, since the zero padding bits are not configured to carry information and may only be used for DCI size reasons.

[0118] In one or more embodiments using an existing or new DCI format, if payload bits are available in the PDCCH, they may represent information to a subgroup of wireless devices 22 that share the same GW-RNTI. In other words, using a single DCI addressed to a group of wireless devices 22, the DCI may include a bitmap with wake-up information for the subgroup of wireless devices 22. Typically, in a DCI, there may be three types of bits for a wireless device 22: 1) bits with information related to the wireless device 22, 2) bits with information fields not related to the wireless device 22 ("reserved"), and 3) known bits (wireless device 22 knows the value of these bits in advance, such as padding). Also, for wake-up (WU), wireless device 22 may need to receive information about where item 1) is located in the DCI, and possibly item 3), to utilize for improved decoding. Note that item 3) can be avoided by using a compact DCI instead. Table 1 shows an example of this embodiment. In one example, BO-B3 may include wake-up information for subgroup 1 indicating that subgroup 1 is selected to implement the WUS (i.e., perform a task according to the information (i.e., wake-up information) carried in the WUS). In one or more embodiments, as used herein, implementing the WUS may generally refer to performing at least one task according to the information carried in the WUS.

[0119] [Table 1]

[0120] For example, B0-B1=00 may indicate no wakeup, 01 may indicate wakeup and monitoring with setting 1 and monitor, 10 may indicate wakeup and monitoring with setting 2, and 11 may indicate wakeup and monitoring with setting 3. Some examples of subgroups are as follows: A subgroup may be one wireless device 22 . The subgroup may be two wireless devices 22 . A subgroup may be a set of wireless devices 22 that have the same ON duration.

[0121] Yet another aspect of addressing WUS configuration is related to PDCCH blind decoding (BD), especially considering GW-RNTI, which is related to control resource set (CORESET) / search space (SS) configuration. In general, PDCCH MO consists of time / frequency components where wireless device 22 monitors PDCCH and tries to detect PDCCH by blind decoding. PDCCH MO is generally configured by association with CORESET and SS. In other words, CORESET is the time / frequency resource where wireless device 22 tries to decode candidate control channels using one or more SS, SS is the set of candidate control channels that wireless device 22 is expected to try to decode and / or is configured to try to decode, SS has a certain periodicity, aggregation level, etc.

[0122] In one embodiment, the network node 16, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the air interface 62, the signaling unit 32, etc., may ensure that a group of wireless devices 22 searching for a WUS share the same CORESET configuration (especially if the group shares the same GW-RNTI). This can be achieved by using a common search space (defined in 3GPP Release 15) for transmitting the WUS, and may be difficult (or not always possible) if transmitted in a WD-specific search space (defined in 3GPP Release 15) with hashing based on the C-RNTI of the wireless device 22 (≥ difficult to ensure that different wireless devices 22 always look for the same candidates). Using a CSS is possible, but the WUS requires more functionality to be supported on top of the CSS normally used for SI / P / RA messages and fallbacks. A "group" common search space with new GW-RNTI based hashing is an additional option.

[0123] One way to efficiently utilize the bits in the DCI is to have a bitmap where each bit indicates whether a particular subgroup of wireless devices 22 sharing the same GW-RNTI is targeted for WUS or not. The bitmap allows downselecting one or more subgroups in that GW-RNTI. In other words, with a single DCI addressed to a group of wireless devices 22, the DCI may include a bitmap with wake-up information for the subgroup of wireless devices 22. An example is shown in Table 2 below. In Table 2, bits B0-B5 provide the possibility to address one or more size subgroups, and optional bit fields B6-B11 provide wake-up information for the targeted group.

[0124] [Table 2]

[0125] <Aspect 4: Behavior of the wireless device 22 in relation to WUS detection> As described above, the wireless device 22 monitors the PDCCH-based WUS / WUCH in the WUS MO, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc. If a PDCCH WUS associated with the GW-RNTI or a DCI format associated with the GW-RNTI is detected, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc., in one embodiment, the wireless device 22 monitors the PDCCH in the next ON duration with a PDCCH MO preconfigured by the network, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc. In other embodiments, the WUS itself may include additional information / commands (e.g., triggering aperiodic CSI reporting or scheduling the first PDSCH, etc.) that may be implemented by the wireless device 22, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc.

[0126] On the other hand, if the wireless device 22 does not detect a PDCCH WUS / WUCH or DCI format associated with the GW-RNTI, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc., the wireless device 22 may skip monitoring the PDCCH in the next ON duration, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc., or may follow other actions preconfigured by the network. For example, the network node 16 may configure a different SS having a longer period, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, processor 70, radio interface 62, signaling unit 32, etc., so that the wireless device 22, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, processor 86, radio interface 82, monitoring unit 34, etc., monitors the PDCCH in that SS when a WUS is not detected as described herein, or such that the wireless device may need to wake up, etc., when the wireless device 22 notices / determines, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, processor 86, radio interface 82, monitoring unit 34, etc., that channel conditions are deteriorating and that non-detection of a WUS may be related thereto.

[0127] <Aspect 5: Reducing WUCH / WUS false alarms> The introduction of a group RNTI for WUCH / WUS detection may generate a false alarm phenomenon conceptually similar to paging using a P-RNTI, whereby the wireless device 22 detects the WUS and WUCH using its configured GW-RNTI, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc., but the ON duration supported with the WUS does not include a PDCCH and associated data with the wireless device 22's C-RNTI. This aspect may be distinguished from a WUS false alarm, where a PDCCH-WUS is detected by the wireless device 22, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc., when the WUS was not actually transmitted by the network node 16.

[0128] Reducing the group size per unique GW-RNTI reduces the false alarm probability, but may increase the number of GW-RNTI entries required and the number of WUSs transmitted on average. In order to maintain a desirable tradeoff between false alarms and WUS load and capacity, The network node 16, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the radio interface 62, the signaling unit 32, etc., may, for example, consider and use one or more of the following: - the number of available GW-RNTI entries and the possibility of GW-RNTI re-use, as described herein; - the expected maximum number of wireless devices 22 to be scheduled during one ON duration and the maximum number of simultaneous WUSs that can be transmitted and the resulting WUS blocking probability; - The resulting WUS false detection probability by the wireless device 22.

[0129] The desired tradeoff may depend on one or more of network loading, scheduling robustness, and energy saving priorities of the wireless device 22 in a given deployment or network architecture and design.

[0130] <Additional Features:> In one or more embodiments, it is described that one or more mechanisms related to PDCCH-based WUS / WUCH and GW-RNTI may be associated with WUS having an offset to the ON duration, among other things. The same principles described herein may be applied to other possible PDCCH-based power saving signals (e.g., GTS, PDCCH-based skipping indicators, etc.) before or during the ON duration.

[0131] In one or more embodiments, the WUCH of a given wireless device 22 may be associated with both the C-RNTI (or a function thereof) and the GW-RNTI of the wireless device 22, or multiple GW-RNTIs, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 68, the processor 70, the air interface 62, the signaling unit 32, etc. One possible configuration may be to have one GW-RNTI equal to the C-RNTI, one identifying a subgroup of wireless devices 22 that share an ON duration, and one identifying any / all wireless devices 22 in the cell. Also, in response to decoding the PDCCH-WUS, such as via one or more of the processing circuitry 84, the processor 86, the air interface 82, the monitoring unit 34, etc., the wireless device 22 checks the CRC using multiple scrambling hypotheses, declares the detected WUS, and monitors the associated ON duration if any of the associated RNTIs lead to a successful CRC check.

[0132] <Some examples> Example A1. A network node 16 configured to communicate with a wireless device 22 (WD22), said network node 16 comprising a wireless interface 62 and / or processing circuitry 68 configured as follows: determining a network identifier for signaling a downlink control channel based wake-up signal for the at least one wireless device; optionally causing transmission of said network identifier to said at least one wireless device 22; A network node configured to:

[0133] Example A2. The network node 16 of example A1, wherein the downlink control channel based wake-up signal is configured to be implemented prior to an ON duration of an discontinuous reception cycle of the at least one wireless device 22.

[0134] Example A3. The network node 16 of example A1, wherein the wake-up signal is based at least in part on a downlink control information (DCI) format indicating a group of wireless devices 22; The method, wherein the network identifier is a wireless network temporary identifier.

[0135] Example B1. A method performed on a network node 16, the method comprising: determining a network identifier for signaling a downlink control channel based wake-up signal for at least one wireless device; optionally causing transmission of said network identifier to said at least one wireless device 22; A method comprising:

[0136] Example B2. The method of example B1, wherein the downlink control channel based wake-up signal is configured to be implemented prior to an ON duration of an discontinuous reception cycle of the at least one wireless device 22.

[0137] Example B3. The method of example B1, wherein the wake-up signal is based at least in part on a downlink control information (DCI) format indicating a group of wireless devices 22; The method, wherein the network identifier is a wireless network temporary identifier.

[0138] Example C1. A wireless device 22 (WD22) configured to communicate with a network node 16, the WD22 comprising: monitoring a network identifier indicative of a downlink control channel based wake-up signal prior to an ON duration of the discontinuous reception cycle; Optionally, performing at least one function if said network identifier is detected; and The WD is configured to perform and / or includes a wireless interface 82 and / or a processing circuit 84 configured to perform.

[0139] Example C2. The WD 22 of example C1, wherein the wake-up signal is based at least in part on a downlink control information (DCI) format indicating a group of wireless devices 22.

[0140] Example C3. The WD 22 of example C1, wherein the network identifier is a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) associated with a plurality of wireless devices 22.

[0141] Example D1. A method performed in a wireless device 22 (WD22), the method comprising: monitoring a network identifier indicative of a downlink control channel based wake-up signal prior to an ON duration of the discontinuous reception cycle; Optionally, performing at least one function if said network identifier is detected; and A method comprising:

[0142] Example D2. The method of example D1, wherein the wake-up signal is based at least in part on a downlink control information (DCI) format indicating a group of wireless devices 22.

[0143] Example D3. The method of example D1, wherein the network identifier is a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) associated with a plurality of wireless devices 22.

[0144] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the concepts described herein may be embodied as a method, a data processing system, a computer program product, and / or a computer storage medium having an executable computer program stored thereon. Thus, the concepts described herein may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining any software and hardware aspects, generally referred to herein as a "circuit" or "module." Any process, step, action, and / or function described herein may be performed by and / or associated with a corresponding module, which may be implemented in software and / or firmware and / or hardware. Furthermore, the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program program on a tangible computer usable storage medium having computer program code embodied therein, executable by a computer. Any suitable tangible computer readable medium may be utilized, including hard disks, CD-ROMs, electronic storage devices, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

[0145] Some embodiments are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, systems, and computer program products. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer (to create a special purpose computer), a special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to generate a machine, such that the instructions, executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions / actions identified in one or more blocks of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams.

[0146] These computer program instructions may further be stored in a computer readable memory or storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions / actions identified in one or more blocks of the flowcharts and / or block diagrams.

[0147] The computer program instructions may further be loaded into a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to perform a series of operational steps to create a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions executing on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions / actions identified in one or more blocks of the flowcharts and / or block diagrams.

[0148] It should be understood that the functions / acts noted in the blocks may occur in a different order than that noted in the operational diagrams. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially simultaneously or may possibly be executed in the reverse order, depending on the functions / acts included in the blocks. Although some of the figures include arrows on communication paths to indicate a primary direction of communication, it should be understood that communication may occur in a direction opposite to that of the depicted arrow.

[0149] Computer program code for carrying out the operations of the concepts described herein may be written in an object-oriented programming language such as Java or C++. However, computer program code for carrying out the operations of the present disclosure may also be written in a conventional procedural programming language such as the "C" programming language. The program code may be executed entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer via a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN), or may be connected to an external computer (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).

[0150] Many different embodiments are disclosed herein in connection with the above description and drawings. It will be understood that literally describing and illustrating every combination and subcombination of these embodiments would be undue repetition and obfuscation. Thus, all embodiments can be combined in any manner and / or combination, and the present specification, including the drawings, should be construed as constituting a complete written description of all combinations and subcombinations of the embodiments described herein, and of the methods and processes for making and using them, and should support claims to any such combinations or subcombinations.

[0151] Abbreviations that may be used in the foregoing description include the following: 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project 5G Fifth Generation BB Baseband BW Bandwidth CDRX Connected mode DRX (i.e. DRX in RRC_CONNETED state) CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check DCI Downlink Control Information DL Downlink DRX Discontinuous Reception gNB A radio base station in 5G / NR HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request IoT Internet of Things LO Local Oscillator LTE Long Term Evolution MAC Medium Access Control MCS Modulation and Coding Scheme mMTC massive MTC (refers to a scenario with ubiquitously deployed MTC devices) ms millisecond MTC Machine-Type Communication NB Narrowband NB-IoT Narrowband Internet of Things NR New Radio NW Network PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel RF Radio Frequency RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier RRC Radio Resource Control RX Receiver / Reception SSB Synchronization Signal Block T / F Time / Frequency TX Transmitter / Transmission UE User Equipment UL Uplink WU Wake-up WUG Wake-up Group WUR Wake-up Radio / Wake-up Receiver WUS Wake-up Signal / Wake-up Signaling

[0152] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments described herein are not limited to those specifically shown and described hereinabove. In addition, unless otherwise noted above, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. In light of the above teachings, various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A network node (16), Setting a first radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) for each wireless device (22) in a first group of wireless devices (22) including at least one wireless device (22), the first group being defined to address the group of wireless devices (22) for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)-based wake-up signal (WUS) operation; causing transmission of signaling including a wake-up signal (WUS) for a first WUS monitoring opportunity associated with the first group of wireless devices (22) and using the first RNTI defined to address the group of wireless devices (22) to scramble a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) in the signaling, the WUS being based on a downlink control information (DCI) format including a bitmap, each bit of the bitmap included in the DCI format indicating whether a respective subgroup of the first group of wireless devices (22) addressed by the first RNTI is targeted for the WUS, and the WUS being configured to cause each wireless device (22) in the subgroup of the first group of wireless devices addressed by the first RNTI to perform at least one action based on the DCI format; The device is configured to: The network node (16) is further configured to set in each wireless device of the first group of wireless devices where in the bitmap the bit indicating whether the respective subgroup of the first group of wireless devices is targeted for WUS is located.

2. 2. The network node (16) of claim 1, further configured to set the first WUS monitoring opportunity for the first group of wireless devices (22) using at least a time offset relative to a first discontinuous reception (DRX) ON duration.

3. 3. The network node (16) of claim 1 or 2, further configured to configure a first control resource set (CORESET) and a first common search space (CSS) configuration for searching the WUS for the first group of wireless devices (22), the first CORESET and the first CSS configuration being associated with the first group of wireless devices (22).

4. 4. The network node (16) of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the at least one action comprises monitoring a physical downlink control channel during a first DRX ON duration.

5. A method performed by a network node (16), the method comprising: Setting (S138) a first radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) for addressing the group of wireless devices (22) for a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)-based wake-up signal (WUS) operation in each wireless device (22) in a first group of wireless devices (22) including at least one wireless device (22); causing (S140) transmission of signaling including a wake-up signal (WUS) for a first WUS monitoring opportunity associated with the first group of wireless devices (22) and using the first RNTI defined to address a group of wireless devices (22) to scramble a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) in the signaling, the WUS being based on a downlink control information (DCI) format including a bitmap, each bit of the bitmap included in the DCI format indicating whether a respective subgroup of the first group of wireless devices (22) addressed by the first RNTI is targeted for the WUS, and the WUS being configured to cause each wireless device (22) in the subgroup targeted for the WUS of the first group of wireless devices (22) addressed by the first RNTI to perform at least one action based on the DCI format; Including, The method further includes setting in each wireless device of the first group of wireless devices where in the bitmap the bit indicating whether the respective subgroup of the first group of wireless devices is targeted for WUS is located.

6. 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: setting the first WUS monitoring opportunity for the first group of wireless devices (22) using at least a time offset relative to a first discontinuous reception (DRX) ON duration.

7. 7. The method of claim 5 or 6, further comprising: setting a first control resource set (CORESET) and a first common search space (CSS) setting for searching the WUS to the first group of wireless devices (22), the first CORESET and the first CSS setting being associated with the first group of wireless devices (22).

8. 8. The method of claim 5, wherein the at least one action comprises monitoring a physical downlink control channel during a first DRX ON duration.

9. A wireless device (22) configured to communicate with a network node (16), said wireless device (22) being included in a subgroup of a first group of wireless devices, said wireless device (22) comprising: obtaining a configuration including a first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) defined to address a group of wireless devices (22) for a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) based wake-up signal (WUS) operation such that wireless devices included in the first group of wireless devices are addressed by the first RNTI; receiving, at a first WUS monitoring opportunity associated with the first group of wireless devices (22) including at least the wireless device (22), signaling including a wake-up signal (WUS) and descrambling a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) in the signaling using the first RNTI defined to address a group of wireless devices (22), the WUS being based on a downlink control information (DCI) format including a bitmap, each bit of the bitmap included in the DCI format indicating whether a respective subgroup of the first group of wireless devices (22) addressed by the first RNTI is targeted for the WUS, and the WUS being configured to cause each wireless device (22) in the subgroup targeted for the WUS of the first group of wireless devices (22) addressed by the first RNTI to perform at least one action based on the DCI format; performing the at least one action when the subgroup including the wireless device (22) is targeted for the WUS; The device is configured to: The wireless device (22) is further configured to receive information about where in the bitmap the bit indicating whether the subgroup including the wireless device (22) is subject to the WUS is located.

10. 10. The wireless device (22) of claim 9, wherein the first WUS monitoring occasions associated with the first group of wireless devices (22) are offset by at least a time offset relative to a first discontinuous reception (DRX) ON duration.

11. 11. The wireless device (22) of claim 9 or 10, wherein the wireless device (22) is further configured to use a first control resource set (CORESET) and a first common search space (CSS) setting to search for the WUS, the first CORESET and the first CSS setting being associated with the first group of wireless devices (22).

12. 12. The wireless device (22) of any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the at least one action comprises monitoring a physical downlink control channel during a first DRX ON duration.

13. A method performed by a wireless device (22) configured to communicate with a network node (16), the wireless device (22) being included in a subgroup of a first group of wireless devices, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining a configuration including a first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) defined to address a group of wireless devices (22) for a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) based wake-up signal (WUS) operation such that wireless devices included in the first group of wireless devices are addressed by the first RNTI (S146); receiving (S148) signaling including a wake-up signal (WUS) at a first WUS monitoring opportunity associated with the first group of wireless devices (22) including at least the wireless device (22); and descrambling a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) in the signaling using the first RNTI defined to address a group of wireless devices (22), the WUS being based on a downlink control information (DCI) format including a bitmap, each bit of the bitmap included in the DCI format indicating whether a respective subgroup of the first group of wireless devices (22) addressed by the first RNTI is targeted for the WUS; and the WUS being configured to cause each wireless device (22) in the subgroup targeted for the WUS of the first group of wireless devices (22) addressed by the first RNTI to perform at least one action based on the DCI format; performing (S150) the at least one action when the subgroup including the wireless device (22) is targeted for the WUS; Including, The method further includes receiving information about where in the bitmap the bit indicating whether the subgroup including the wireless device (22) is targeted for WUS is located.

14. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first WUS monitoring occasion associated with the first group of wireless devices (22) is offset by at least a time offset relative to a first discontinuous reception (DRX) ON duration.

15. 15. The method of claim 13 or 14, further comprising using a first control resource set (CORESET) and a first common search space (CSS) configuration to search for the WUS, the first CORESET and the first CSS configuration being associated with the first group of wireless devices (22).

16. 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the at least one action comprises monitoring a physical downlink control channel during a first DRX ON duration.

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