Communication device, scheduling device, method for communication device, method for scheduling device, and integrated circuit

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a communication device, a base station, and respective methods for the communication device and the base station. When the communication device is in an inactive or idle state, the base station transmits an on-off indication, and the communication device receives the on-off indication. The on-off indication indicates an availability state of a synchronization signal block (SSB) beam. The communication device determines the availability state of the SSB beam and a start time at which the communication device is expected to use the SSB beam if the (indicated) availability state corresponds to an on state of the SSB beam, and a start time at which the communication device is expected not to use the SSB beam if the (indicated) availability state corresponds to an off state of the SSB beam.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to signal transmission and reception in a communication system. In particular, this disclosure relates to methods and apparatuses for such transmission and reception.

Background Art

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP (registered trademark): The 3rd Generation Partnership Project) is formulating the technical specifications of next-generation mobile phone technology, also known as the 5th generation (5G), which includes the "New Radio" (NR: New Radio) radio access technology (RAT: radio access technology) operating in a frequency range of up to 100 GHz. NR is a successor technology to the technologies represented by LTE (Long Term Evolution) and LTE Advanced (LTE-A).

[0003] In systems such as LTE and NR, through further improvements and options, it is possible to promote the efficient operation of not only the communication system but also specific devices related to the system.

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0004]

Non-Patent Document 1

Non-Patent Document 2

Non-Patent Document 3

Non-Patent Document 4

Non-Patent Document 5

Non-Patent Document 6

[0005] One non-limiting and exemplary embodiment facilitates idle / inactive terminals to efficiently access reference signal and / or synchronization signal block (SSB) beams.

[0006] In one embodiment, the technology disclosed herein features a device (e.g., user equipment, UE). The device includes a transceiver that receives signaling from a scheduling device when the UE is in an inactive or idle state. The device further includes a circuit that, when operating, obtains on / off instructions from the signaling indicating the availability state of a synchronous signal block (SSB) beam. The circuit determines the availability state of the SSB beam and (i) the expected start time when the UE will use the SSB beam if the availability state corresponds to the ON state of the SSB beam, and (ii) the expected start time when the UE will not use the SSB beam if the availability state corresponds to the OFF state of the SSB beam.

[0007] It should be noted that general or specific embodiments can be implemented as systems, methods, integrated circuits, computer programs, storage media, or any selective combination thereof.

[0008] Further benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will become apparent from this specification and the drawings. These benefits and / or advantages can be obtained individually by the various embodiments and features of this specification and the drawings, and it is not necessary to provide all of these features in order to obtain one or more of such benefits and / or advantages. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] The following describes exemplary embodiments in more detail with reference to the attached figures and drawings. [Figure 1] This shows a conceptual architecture of the 3GPP NR system. [Figure 2] This is a schematic diagram illustrating the functional separation between NG-RAN and 5GC. [Figure 3] This is a sequence diagram of the RRC connection establishment / reconfiguration procedure. [Figure 4] This is a schematic diagram illustrating usage scenarios for Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC), and Ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC). [Figure 5] This is a block diagram showing an example 5G system architecture for a non-roaming scenario. [Figure 6] This is a block diagram showing the communication system, including user equipment and base stations, and the structure of each component. [Figure 7A] This is a block diagram showing the functional structure of the processing circuit on the user device side. [Figure 7B] This is a block diagram showing the functional structure of the processing circuit on the base station side. [Figure 8] This is a schematic diagram illustrating a scenario where RS availability instructions are sent before RS actually exists. [Figure 9]It is a schematic diagram showing a case where an indication of the availability of RS is transmitted after the presence of RS. [Figure 10] It is a schematic diagram showing a case where an indication of the unavailability of RS is transmitted before and after the presence of RS. [Figure 11] It is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary determination / indication of the start time of validity based on a positive paging occasion indicated by PEI. [Figure 12] It is a flowchart showing an exemplary method for determining the availability and validity of a reference signal.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Architecture and protocol stack of the 5G NR system 3GPP is working on the next release of the fifth-generation cellular technology (simply called 5G), including the development of a new radio access technology (NR) that operates at frequencies up to 100 GHz. The first version of the 5G standard was completed at the end of 2017, enabling the testing and commercial deployment of smartphones compliant with the 5G NR standard.

[0011] In particular, the overall system architecture envisions an NG-RAN (Next Generation Radio Access Network) equipped with gNBs, which terminate the NG Radio Access User Plane (SDAP / PDCP / RLC / MAC / PHY) and Control Plane (RRC) protocols toward the UE. The gNBs are interconnected with each other via Xn interfaces. Furthermore, the gNBs are connected to the NGC (Next Generation Core) via Next Generation (NG) interfaces, more specifically to the AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) (e.g., a specific core entity that performs the AMF) via the NG-C interface, and to the UPF (User Plane Function) (e.g., a specific core entity that performs the UPF) via the NG-U interface. Figure 1 shows the architecture of the NG-RAN (see Section 4 of Non-Patent Literature 1).

[0012] The user plane protocol stack in NR (see, for example, section 4.4.1 of Non-Patent Literature 1) includes the PDCP (Paper Data Convergence Protocol, see section 6.4 of Non-Patent Literature 1) sublayer, the RLC (Radio Link Control, see section 6.3 of Non-Patent Literature 1) sublayer, and the MAC (Medium Access Control, see section 6.2 of Non-Patent Literature 1) sublayer, which are terminated at the gNB on the network side. In addition, a new access layer (AS) sublayer (SDAP: Service Data Adaptation Protocol) is introduced on top of PDCP (see, for example, section 6.5 of Non-Patent Literature 1). A control plane protocol stack is also defined in NR (see, for example, section 4.4.2 of Non-Patent Literature 1). An overview of the Layer 2 functions is described in section 6 of Non-Patent Literature 1. The functions of the PDCP sublayer, RLC sublayer, and MAC sublayer are described in sections 6.4, 6.3, and 6.2 of Non-Patent Document 1, respectively. The function of the RRC layer is described in section 7 of Non-Patent Document 1.

[0013] The Media Access Control (MAC) layer handles, for example, logical channel multiplexing and scheduling and scheduling-related functions (including processing of various numerologies).

[0014] The physical layer (PHY) is responsible for tasks such as encoding, PHY HARQ processing, modulation, multi-antenna processing, and mapping signals to appropriate physical time-frequency resources. Furthermore, the physical layer (PHY) handles the mapping of transport channels to physical channels. The physical layer (PHY) serves the MAC layer in the form of transport channels. A physical channel corresponds to a set of time-frequency resources used for transmitting a particular transport channel, and each transport channel is mapped to a corresponding physical channel. For example, physical channels for uplinks include PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel), PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel), and PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel), while for downlinks, there are PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel), PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel), and PBCH (Physical Broadcast Channel).

[0015] NR use cases / deployment scenarios include Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC), and Massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC), and these services have diverse requirements regarding data rate, latency, and coverage. For example, eMBB is expected to support peak data rates of the order of three times that provided by IMT-Advanced (20 Gbps downlink and 10 Gbps uplink) and user-perceived data rates. URLLC, on the other hand, has even more stringent requirements, including extremely low latency (user plane latency of 0.5 ms for both uplink and downlink) and high reliability (1-10 ms within 1 ms). -5) is imposed. Furthermore, in mMTC, a high connection density (1km in urban environments) is required. 2 Preferably, a capacity of 1,000,000 devices per unit, wide coverage in harsh environments, and extremely long-life batteries (15 years) to reduce device costs may be required.

[0016] Therefore, OFDM numerology suitable for one use case (e.g., subcarrier interval, OFDM symbol duration, cyclic prefix (CP) duration, number of symbols per scheduling interval) may not work well for another use case. For example, low-latency services may prefer shorter symbol durations (and thus larger subcarrier intervals) and / or fewer symbols per scheduling interval (also known as TTI) than mMTC services. Furthermore, in placement scenarios with large channel delay spreads, longer cyclic prefix (CP) durations may be preferred than in scenarios with smaller delay spreads. To maintain a similar level of cyclic prefix (CP) overhead, the subcarrier interval should be optimized according to the delay spread. NR may support two or more values ​​for the subcarrier interval. Therefore, currently, subcarrier intervals of 15kHz, 30kHz, 60kHz, ... are being considered. Symbol duration T u The subcarrier spacing Δf is given by the equation Δf = 1 / T u Therefore, it is directly related. As with LTE systems, the term “resource element” can be used to represent the smallest resource unit consisting of one subcarrier for the length of one OFDM / SC-FDMA symbol.

[0017] In the new 5G NR wireless system, resource grids for subcarriers and OFDM symbols are defined for each numerology and carrier, both for the uplink and downlink. Each element in the resource grid is called a resource element and is identified based on its frequency index in the frequency domain and its symbol position in the time domain (see, for example, section 4 of Non-Patent Literature 2). For example, downlink and uplink transmissions are organized into frames with a duration of 10ms, and each frame consists of 10 subframes, each with a duration of 1ms. In a 5G NR implementation, the number of consecutive OFDM symbols per subframe depends on the subcarrier spacing setting. For example, if the subcarrier spacing is 15kHz, one subframe has 14 OFDM symbols (similar to an LTE-compliant implementation assuming a normal cyclic prefix). On the other hand, if the subcarrier spacing is 30kHz, a subframe has two slots, each slot containing 14 OFDM symbols.

[0018] Compared to LTE's numerology (subcarrier spacing and symbol length), NR supports multiple different types of subcarrier spacings labeled by the parameter μ (LTE only has a 15kHz subcarrier spacing, which corresponds to μ=0 in NR). The types of NR numerology are summarized in Non-Patent Document 3.

[0019] Splitting of 5G NR functionality between NG-RAN and 5GC Figure 2 shows the functional division between NG-RAN and 5GC. The logical nodes of NG-RAN are gNB or ng-eNB. The logical nodes of 5GC are AMF, UPF, and SMF.

[0020] gNB and ng-eNB handle the following key functions in particular: - Radio Resource Management functions such as Radio Bearer Control, Radio Admission Control, Connection Mobility Control, and dynamic resource allocation (scheduling) to UEs in both uplink and downlink directions. - IP header compression, encryption, and data integrity protection - Selection of AMF when UE attaches if routing to AMF cannot be determined from the information provided by the UE. - Routing user plane data to UPF - Routing of control plane information to AMF - Establishing and releasing connections - Scheduling and sending paging messages - Scheduling and transmission of system broadcast information (sent from AMF or OAM) - Setting up measurements and measurement reporting for mobility and scheduling. - Transport-level packet marking in uplink - Session management - Support for network slicing - QoS flow management and mapping to data radio bearers - Support for UEs in the RRC_INACTIVE state - NAS message delivery function - Wireless access network sharing - Double connection - Close interworking between NR and E-UTRA

[0021] The Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) handles the following key functions: - Termination of Non-Access Stratum (NAS) signaling - NAS signaling security - Security control at the Access Layer (AS) - Core Network (CN) node-to-node signaling for mobility between 3GPP access networks - Reachability of idle mode UE (including control and execution of paging retransmissions) - Registration Area Management - Support for intra-system and inter-system mobility - Access Authentication - Access authentication including roaming rights check - Mobility management and control (subscriptions and policies) - Support for network slicing - Selection of Session Management Function (SMF)

[0022] Furthermore, the User Plane Function (UPF) handles the following key functions: - Anchor points for mobility within / between RATs (when applicable) - External PDU session points for interconnection with the data network - Packet routing and forwarding - User plane portion of packet inspection and policy rule enforcement - Traffic usage report - Uplink classifier to support routing of traffic flow to data networks - Branching points to support multi-homed PDU sessions - User plane QoS processing (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement) - Uplink traffic verification (mapping from SDF to QoS flow) - Buffering downlink packets and triggering downlink data notifications

[0023] Finally, the Session Management Function (SMF) handles the following main functions: - Session management - Assignment and management of UE IP addresses - Selection and control of UP function - Configuring traffic steering in User Plane Functions (UPF) to route traffic to the correct destination. - Policy enforcement and QoS control section - Downlink data notification

[0024] Procedure for establishing and reconfiguring RRC connections Figure 3 shows some interactions between the UE, gNB, and AMF (5GC entity) when the UE transitions from RRC_IDLE to RRC_CONNECTED in the NAS portion (see Non-Patent Literature 1).

[0025] RRC is a higher-layer signaling protocol used for configuring UEs and gNBs. Specifically, in this transition, the AMF creates UE context data (e.g., including PDU session context, security key, UE radio capability, UE security capability, etc.) and sends it to the gNB via an Initial Context Setup Request. The gNB then activates AS security with the UE, which is done by the gNB sending a SecurityModeCommand message to the UE, and the UE responding to the gNB with a SecurityModeComplete message. The gNB then performs a reconfiguration to establish the Signaling Radio Bearer 2 (SRB2) and Data Radio Bearer (DRB), which is done by the gNB sending an RRCReconfiguration message to the UE, and the gNB receiving an RRCReconfigurationComplete from the UE in response. In the case of a signaling-only connection, SRB2 and DRB are not established, so these steps related to RRCReconfiguration are skipped. Finally, the gNB notifies the AMF that the establishment procedure is complete by sending an Initial Context Setup Response.

[0026] Accordingly, this disclosure provides a fifth-generation core (5GC) entity (e.g., AMF, SMF, etc.) comprising, during operation, a control circuit for establishing a next-generation (NG) connection with a gNodeB, and, during operation, a transmitter for sending an initial context setup message to the gNodeB via the NG connection to establish a signaling radio bearer between the gNodeB and the user equipment (UE). Specifically, the gNodeB sends RRC (Radio Resource Control) signaling, which includes resource allocation setting information elements, to the UE via the signaling radio bearer. The UE performs uplink transmission or downlink reception based on the resource allocation setting.

[0027] The operation of RRC is guided by a state machine that defines specific, unique states that a UE can be in. Each of the multiple different RRC states in this state machine is associated with a different amount of radio resources, which are the resources available to the UE when it is in a given particular state. In 5G NR, a new RRC state name, RRC Inactive, was introduced, separate from the RRC Connected and RRC IDLE states. When a UE is powered on, it is in Disconnected / Idle mode, and can transition to RRC Connected upon initial attachment or connection establishment. If there is no activity from the UE for a period of time, the UE can interrupt the session by transitioning to RRC Inactive, and can resume the session by transitioning to RRC Connected mode. The UE can transition from the RRC Connected or RRC Inactive state to RRC Idle mode. In the Connected state, the UE has both signaling (control plane) and data (user plane) connections to the network. In contrast, in the Idle and Inactive states, no data connection exists. Therefore, in idle and inactive states, the UE receives system information, synchronization, and paging. If the UE needs to send data, it must use the RACH procedure.

[0028] IMT usage scenarios from 2020 onwards Figure 4 illustrates some use cases for 5G NR. The 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) New Radio (3GPP NR) considers three anticipated use cases to support various services and applications using IMT-2020. Phase 1 specifications for Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) have been finalized. Current and future work includes further expanding eMBB support, as well as standardization of Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC) and Massive Machine-Type Communications. Figure 4 shows some examples of anticipated use scenarios for IMT beyond 2020 (see, for example, Figure 2 in Non-Patent Document 4).

[0029] URLLC use cases have stringent requirements regarding capabilities such as throughput, latency, and availability, and are envisioned as one means of realizing future vertical applications such as wireless control of industrial manufacturing and production processes, remote medical surgery, power distribution automation in smart grids, and transportation safety. The ultra-high reliability of URLLC is supported by identifying the technology to meet the requirements set out in Non-Patent Document 5. In NR URLLC of Release 15, the main requirements include a target user plane latency of 0.5 ms for UL (uplink) and 0.5 ms for DL ​​(downlink). Typical URLLC requirements for a single packet transmission are a BLER (block error rate) of 1E-5 for a packet size of 32 bytes with a user plane latency of 1 ms.

[0030] From a physical layer perspective, several ways to improve reliability are possible. Current approaches to improving reliability include defining separate CQI tables for URLLC, a more compact DCI format, and repeated transmission of PDCCH. However, as NR becomes more stable and development progresses (regarding key requirements for NR URLLC), the scope for achieving ultra-high reliability may expand. Specific use cases for NR URLLC in Release 15 include augmented reality / virtual reality (AR / VR), e-health, e-safety, and mission-critical applications.

[0031] Furthermore, the technical enhancements targeted by NR URLLC aim to improve latency and reliability. Technical enhancements for improving latency include configurable numerology, non-slot-based scheduling using flexible mapping, grant-free (configured grant) uplinks, slot-level repeated transmissions on data channels, and downlink preemption. Preemption means that a transmission for which resources have already been allocated is aborted, and the allocated resources are used for another transmission requested later with lower latency / higher priority requirements. Thus, a transmission that has already been permitted is preempted by a later transmission. Preemption applies regardless of service type. For example, a transmission of service type A (URLLC) can be preempted by a transmission of service type B (e.g., eMBB). Technical enhancements related to reliability include a dedicated CQI / MCS table for the 1E-5 target BLER.

[0032] The use case for mMTC (Massive Machine Type Communication) is characterized by a very large number of connected devices transmitting relatively small amounts of data, which are generally less affected by latency. These devices are required to be low-cost and have extremely long battery life. From a noise reduction (NR) perspective, utilizing a very narrow bandwidth is one possible solution to achieve power savings from an UE perspective and enable long battery life.

[0033] As mentioned above, the range of reliability in NR is expected to broaden. One important requirement needed in all cases, especially for URLLC and mMTC, is high or very high reliability. Several mechanisms can be considered to improve reliability from both a radio and network perspective. In general, there are several important areas that can help improve reliability. These areas include compact control channel information, repeated transmission of data channel / control channel, and diversity related to the frequency domain, time domain, and / or spatial domain. These areas are generally applicable to reliability, regardless of the specific communication scenario.

[0034] In the case of NR URLLC, further use cases with more stringent requirements have been identified, such as factory automation, transportation, and power distribution. These stringent requirements, depending on the use case, include higher reliability (up to 10%). -6 The features include higher availability, a maximum packet size of 256 bytes, time synchronization down to the order of a few microseconds (values ​​ranging from 1 microsecond to several microseconds depending on the frequency range), and low latency on the order of 0.5 to 1 ms, particularly a target user plane latency of 0.5 ms.

[0035] Furthermore, in the case of NR URLLC, several technical enhancements have been identified from a physical layer perspective. In particular, enhancements related to the PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) include a compact DCI, repeated PDCCH transmission, and an increased PDCCH monitor. Enhancements related to the UCI (Uplink Control Information) include improved HARQ (Hybrid Auto Retransmission Request) and improved CSI feedback. Enhancements to PUSCH related to mini-slot level hopping and improved retransmission / repeated transmission have also been recognized. The term "mini-slot" refers to a TTI (Transmission Time Interval) containing fewer symbols than a slot (a slot contains 14 symbols).

[0036] QoS control The 5G QoS (Quality of Service) model is based on QoS flows and supports both QoS flows that require a guaranteed flow bitrate (GBR QoS flows) and QoS flows that do not require a guaranteed flow bitrate (non-GBR QoS flows). Therefore, at the NAS level, QoS flows are the finest granularity of QoS differentiation within a PDU session. Within a PDU session, QoS flows are identified by a QoS flow ID (QFI) transmitted in the encapsulation header via the NG-U interface.

[0037] 5GC establishes one or more PDU sessions per UE. NG-RAN establishes at least one data radio bearer (DRB) with each PDU session for each UE, and can then configure additional DRBs for the QoS flow of that PDU session, as described above, for example, referring to Figure 3 (NG-RAN decides when to configure them). NG-RAN maps packets belonging to different PDU sessions to different DRBs. NAS-level packet filtering in the UE and 5GC associates UL and DL packets with QoS flows, and AS-level mapping rules in the UE and NG-RAN associate UL and DL QoS flows with DRBs.

[0038] Figure 5 shows the non-roaming standard architecture for 5G NR (see Section 4.23 of Non-Patent Literature 6). Application Functions (AFs) (e.g., external application servers handling 5G services as illustrated in Figure 4) interact with the 3GPP core network for the purpose of providing services. For example, they support the application's influence on traffic routing, access Network Exposure Functions (NEFs), and interact with policy frameworks for policy control (e.g., QoS control) (see Policy Control Functions (PCFs)). Based on the operator's deployment, application functions (AFs) that are considered trusted by the operator may be allowed to interact directly with the relevant Network Functions. Application functions (AFs) that are not permitted by the operator to directly access Network Functions interact with the relevant Network Functions using external exposure frameworks via NEFs.

[0039] Figure 5 shows further functional units of the 5G architecture, namely the Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF), Network Repository Function (NRF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), and Data Network (DN) (e.g., operator services, internet access, or third-party services). All or some of the core network functions and application services may be deployed and run in a cloud computing environment.

[0040] Accordingly, this disclosure provides an application server (e.g., AF in a 5G architecture) which includes a transmitter that, when in operation, sends a request including QoS requirements for at least one of the URLLC service, eMBB service, and mMTC service to at least one of the 5GC functions (e.g., NEF, AMF, SMF, PCF, UPF, etc.) to establish a PDU session including a radio bearer between the gNodeB and the UE in accordance with the QoS requirements, and a control circuit that, when in operation, performs the service using the established PDU session.

[0041] Control signals In this disclosure, the downlink control signals (information) relating to this disclosure may be signals (information) transmitted via the PDCCH of the physical layer, or signals (information) transmitted via the MAC control element (CE) or RRC of the upper layer. The downlink control signals may be predefined signals (information).

[0042] The uplink control signals (information) related to this disclosure may be signals (information) transmitted via the physical layer PUCCH, or signals (information) transmitted via the upper layer MAC CE or RRC. Furthermore, the uplink control signals may be predefined signals (information). The uplink control signals may be replaced with uplink control information (UCI), first-stage sidelink control information (SCI), or second-stage SCI.

[0043] terminal A terminal, user terminal, user device, mobile station, or mobile node is referred to as user equipment (UE) in LTE and NR. User equipment (UE) may be a mobile device or communication device, such as a radiotelephone, smartphone, tablet computer, or USB (Universal Serial Bus) stick with user equipment functionality. However, the term mobile device is not limited to these, and generally, a repeater may also have the functionality of such a mobile device, and a mobile device may function as a repeater. For example, a terminal is a physical entity (physical node) in a communication network. Furthermore, a communication device may be any machine type of communication device, such as an IoT device. A single node may have several functional entities. A functional entity refers to a software or hardware module that implements a given set of functions and / or provides a given set of functions to the same node, another node, or other functional entities in the network. A node may have one or more interfaces to attach itself to communication equipment or communication media, and a node can communicate through these communication equipment or communication media. Similarly, a network entity may have a logical interface for attaching functional entities to communication equipment or communication media, and functional entities may communicate with other functional entities or corresponding nodes through these communication equipment or communication media.

[0044] base station In this disclosure, a base station can be, for example, a Transmission Reception Point (TRP), a cluster head, an access point, a Remote Radio Head (RRH), an eNodeB (eNB), a gNodeB (gNB), a base station (BS), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a base unit, or a gateway. Furthermore, in side-link communication, a terminal can be used instead of a base station. A base station may also be a relay device that relays communication between an upper-level node and a terminal. A base station may also be a roadside unit. A base station may also be, for example, a scheduling node or network node that forms part of a network for providing services to a terminal. In particular, a base station can provide radio access to a terminal. Communication between a terminal and a base station is generally standardized and can be defined by different layers such as PHY, MAC, and RRC. In LTE and NR, the radio interface protocol stack includes the physical layer, the medium access layer (MAC), and upper layers. The control plane is provided with a radio resource control protocol, which is an upper-layer protocol. Through RRC, the base station can control the configuration of a terminal, and the terminal can communicate with the base station to perform control tasks such as establishing and changing connections and bearers, measurements, and other functions. The term used in LTE is eNB (or eNodeB), and the term currently used in 5G NR is gNB. The term base station or radio base station here refers to a physical entity in a communication network. Like mobile stations, a base station can have several functional entities. A functional entity refers to a software or hardware module that implements a given set of functions and / or provides a given set of functions to the same node or another node or other functional entities in the network. Physical entities perform several control tasks related to communication devices, including one or more of scheduling and configuration.It should be noted that the functions of a base station and a communication device may be integrated into a single device. For example, a mobile terminal can also perform base station functions for other terminals. The technical term used in LTE is eNB (or eNodeB), while the technical term currently used in 5G NR is gNB.

[0045] Uplink / Downlink / Sidelink This disclosure can be applied to uplinks, downlinks, and sidelinks.

[0046] This disclosure can be applied, for example, to uplink channels such as PUSCH, PUCCH, and PRACH, downlink channels such as PDSCH, PDCCH, and PBCH, and sidelink channels such as Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), and Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

[0047] PDCCH, PDSCH, PUSCH, and PUCCH are examples of downlink control channels, downlink data channels, uplink data channels, and uplink control channels, respectively. PSCCH and PSSCH are examples of sidelink control channels and sidelink data channels, respectively. PBCH and PSBCH are examples of broadcast channels, respectively, and PRACH is an example of a random access channel.

[0048] Data Channel / Control Channel This disclosure can be applied to either data channels or control channels. The channels in this disclosure can be replaced with data channels including PDSCH, PUSCH, and PSSCH, and / or control channels including PDCCH, PUCCH, PBCH, PSCCH, and PSBCH.

[0049] reference signal In this disclosure, a reference signal is a signal known to both the base station and the mobile station, and each reference signal may be called a Reference Signal (RS) or, if applicable, a pilot signal. A reference signal may be any of the following: DMRS, Channel State Information - Reference Signal (CSI-RS), Tracking Reference Signal (TRS), Phase Tracking Reference Signal (PTRS), Cell-Specific Reference Signal (CRS), and Sounding Reference Signal (SRS).

[0050] synchronization In NR downlink synchronization, the UE detects the radio boundary (i.e., the timing when the radio frame begins) and the OFDM symbol boundary (i.e., the timing when the OFDM symbol begins). This detection is performed by detecting and analyzing the synchronization signal block (SSB). The components of the SSB include synchronization signals, namely the Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and the Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS). Furthermore, the SSB includes a PBCH, which further contains PBCH DMRS and PBCH (data). The SSB also transmits further data. NR SSBs are transmitted in various different patterns depending on the numerology and several other parameters. The patterns are signaled within the system information.

[0051] In NR, the TRS can be provided as a dedicated RS for a UE, or as a common RS for multiple UEs in connected mode. Based on the TRS, the UE can perform fine-tuning of synchronization without having to constantly receive a synchronization signal.

[0052] In some systems, such as NR (e.g., releases 15 / 16), TRS / CSI resources used by measurements performed by a UE in RRC_CONNECTED mode (e.g., channel state estimation, time tracking, frequency tracking, and / or beam tracking) are configured for the UE. For UEs in other modes (RRC_IDLE and RRC_INACTIVE), such measurements may rely on SSB. In NR release 17, TRS / CSI-RS may also be used for time tracking and frequency tracking by INACTIVE UE / IDLE UEs that support this functionality and are notified of additional TRS / CSI-RS opportunities. Therefore, in general, TRS / CSI and SSB are signals that can be used by a UE in any RRC state for channel state estimation, time tracking (e.g., time synchronization), frequency tracking, and / or beam tracking.

[0053] paging Paging is a method by which a network signals idle or inactive UEs (Underground Users). Paging has several functions. For example, when there is an incoming call to a UE, paging can trigger RRC Setup. Furthermore, paging can notify a UE of changes in system information.

[0054] The UE must monitor whether paging messages are being sent to it from the network, which requires some energy / battery power. In particular, during idle mode (or inactive mode), the UE enters and maintains a sleep mode defined in the DRX cycle (Discontinuous Receive Cycle). The UE periodically wakes up to monitor the PDCCH to check for the presence of paging messages. This is done using the Paging Temporary Identifier (P-RNTI). If the PDCCH indicates that a paging message is being sent in a subframe, the UE must demodulate the PCH to confirm that the paging message is addressed to it.

[0055] A paging opportunity (PO) is a subframe on which a P-RNTI addressing a paging message can be transmitted over a PDCCH. A paging frame (PF) is a single radio frame and can contain one or more paging opportunities. A paging cycle is defined in system information and specifies the position of the paging frame in the network (base station) time resource and the position of the paging opportunity within the paging frame. In particular, as described in section 7.1 of Non-Patent Literature 7 (available from www.3gpp.org) (details are also provided in this section), for example, a PO may be a series of PDCCH monitor opportunities and can consist of multiple time slots (e.g., subframes or OFDM symbols) on which paging DCI can be sent (Non-Patent Literature 8). Furthermore, a single paging frame (PF) is a single radio frame and can contain one or more POs or the start of a PO. Thus, a paging opportunity is a resource on which a paging PDCCH may (but may not) exist to schedule paging messages for one or more UEs. A paging opportunity that is actually used to send a paging PDCCH that schedules a paging message for a specific UE is called a positive PO, and a paging opportunity that does not send a paging PDCCH that schedules a paging message for a specific UE is called a negative PO.

[0056] Time interval In this disclosure, the unit of time resource is not limited to slots and symbols, or a combination thereof, but may be a time resource unit such as a frame, superframe, subframe, slot, time slot subslot, or minislot, or a time resource unit such as a symbol, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, single carrier-frequency division multiplexing access (SC-FDMA) symbol, or any other time resource unit. The number of symbols contained in one slot is not limited to the number exemplified in the embodiments described above, but may be a different number of symbols.

[0057] frequency band This disclosure can be applied to both licensed and unlicensed bands.

[0058] communication This disclosure can be applied to any of the following: communication between a base station and a terminal (Uu-link communication), communication between terminals (side-link communication), and communication between a vehicle and any entity (V2X: Vehicle to Everything). The channels in this disclosure can be replaced with PSCCH, PSSCH, Physical Sidelink Feedback Channel (PSFCH), PSBCH, PDCCH, PUCCH, PDSCH, PUSCH, and PBCH.

[0059] Furthermore, this disclosure can be applied to either terrestrial networks or non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) that use satellites or high-altitude pseudo-satellites (HAPS). In addition, this disclosure may be applied to networks with large cell sizes or terrestrial networks where the delay is large relative to the symbol length or slot length, such as ultra-wideband transmission networks.

[0060] Antenna port An antenna port refers to a logical antenna (antenna group) formed from one or more physical antennas. That is, an antenna port does not necessarily refer to a single physical antenna, but can also refer to an array antenna or other structure formed from multiple antennas. For example, the number of physical antennas forming an antenna port is not defined; instead, the smallest unit from which a terminal can transmit a reference signal is defined as an antenna port. Furthermore, an antenna port may also be defined as the smallest unit for multiplication of pre-coding vector weights.

[0061] Downlink control channel monitoring, PDCCH, DCI Many of the functions operated by the UE include, for example, monitoring a downlink control channel (e.g., PDCCH; see Section 5.2.3 of Non-Patent Document 1) to receive specific control information or data destined for the UE.

[0062] The following is a list of such features (not exhaustive): - Paging message monitoring function, - System information acquisition function, - Signaling monitor operation in discontinuous reception (DRX) function, - Inactivity monitoring operation in the Discontinuous Reception (DRX) function. - Receiving random access responses in random access functionality, - Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer sorting function

[0063] As mentioned above, PDCCH monitoring is performed by the UE to identify and receive information targeting the UE, such as control information and user traffic (e.g., DCI on the PDCCH, user data on the PDSCH directed by the PDCCH).

[0064] Downlink control information (which can be called downlink control information, or DCI) serves the same purpose in 5G NR as DCI in LTE, namely, a special set of control information for scheduling downlink data channels (e.g., PDSCH) or uplink data channels (e.g., PUSCH). In 5G NR, many different DCI formats have already been defined (see Section 7.3.1 of Non-Patent Document 9).

[0065] These DCI formats represent predetermined formats in which each piece of information is formed and transmitted. In particular, DCI formats 0_1 and 1_1 are used to schedule PUSCH and PDSCH in a single cell, respectively.

[0066] Each of these functions has a PDCCH monitor that serves a specific purpose and is therefore initiated for that purpose. The PDCCH monitor is generally controlled at least based on a timer operated by the UE. The timer serves the purpose of controlling the PDCCH monitor, for example, by limiting the maximum length of time the UE monitors the PDCCH. For example, the UE does not need to monitor the PDCCH indefinitely and can stop monitoring after a certain period of time to conserve power.

[0067] As mentioned above, one of the purposes of DCI in PDCCH is to dynamically schedule resources on downlink, uplink, or sidelink. In particular, several formats of DCI are provided to convey resource assignments (RAs) for which resources are allocated to data channels for a specific user. Resource assignments can include specification of resources in the frequency domain and / or time domain.

[0068] Physical resource blocks Generally, the term "physical resource block" (PRB) refers to the smallest allocatable resource unit available for transmitting (user) data. In LTE and NR, a PRB consists of a predetermined number (e.g., 12) consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain and a predetermined number of symbols (e.g., 14 OFDM symbols in LTE) in the time domain.

[0069] Technical terms The following describes UEs, base stations, and procedures for new radio access technologies envisioned in 5G mobile communication systems (although these can also be used in LTE mobile communication systems). Several different implementations and variations are also described. The following disclosures are facilitated by, and can be based on, at least partially on, the discussions and findings described above.

[0070] In general, many assumptions are made in this specification to explain the underlying principles in a clear and easily understandable manner. However, these assumptions are merely illustrative examples and should not be used to limit the scope of this disclosure.

[0071] Furthermore, while certain terminology used in the context of new radio access technologies for the next 3GPP 5G communication systems is not yet fully determined or may ultimately change, some of the terms used below, such as procedures, entities, and layers, are closely related to the terminology used in LTE / LTE-A systems or in current 3GPP 5G standardization. Therefore, while terminology may change in the future, this will not affect the functionality of the embodiments. Accordingly, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that embodiments and their scope of protection are not limited to certain terms used exemplarily herein because no newer or finally agreed-upon terminology exists, but should be understood more broadly in terms of the functions and concepts that form the basis of the functionality and principles of this disclosure.

[0072] Communication systems, base stations, and UE embodiments This disclosure provides techniques for efficiently signaling the switching of availability for a reference signal (RS) and / or a synchronous signal block (SSB) beam. Efficient signaling is explicitly described below in the case of a reference signal. However, it should be noted that everything described for the RS also applies to the SSB beam, and vice versa, unless otherwise specified. In other words, embodiments for the SSB beam can be obtained by replacing the term "reference signal" with the term "SSB beam."

[0073] It should be noted here that the term "SSB beam" refers to the transmission of SSB in a specific (spatial) direction. Furthermore, each SSB beam may have / indicate a beam index (also called an SSB index) that can be used to distinguish it from other SSB beams transmitted in a different direction. Based on the received signal of the SSB beam, the UE can determine the SSB index of the received SSB beam and the direction in which that SSB beam was transmitted by the base station.

[0074] Furthermore, it should be noted that an SSB burst may include multiple SSBs being transmitted, each of which has a beam index and / or is transmitted in a specific spatial direction. In this case, each of these multiple SSBs in an SSB burst may be an SSB beam. In other words, an SSB burst may include multiple SSB beams. The individual SSB beams of an SSB burst may be transmitted consecutively at different times by a scheduling device, for example, during the transmission time of the SSB burst (e.g., 5 ms). Because this disclosure concerns the transmission of a reference signal and the time when the reference signal is present / absent, both entities—the device being scheduled (generally a communication device / transceiver device) and the device doing the scheduling (generally a network node)—are involved. Thus, this disclosure provides a base station and user equipment. As shown in Figure 6, the user equipment 610 and the base station 660 can communicate with each other via a radio channel in a wireless communication system. For example, the user equipment may be NR user equipment, and the base station may be a network node or scheduling node such as an NR gNB, particularly a gNB in ​​a non-terrestrial network (NTN) NR system.

[0075] This disclosure further provides a system including a scheduling device and a scheduling device, as well as corresponding methods and programs. An example of such a communication system is shown in Figure 6. The communication system 600 may be a wireless communication system in accordance with the technical specifications of 5G, in particular an NR communication system. However, this disclosure is not limited to 3GPP NR and may also be applied to other wireless or cellular systems such as NTN.

[0076] Figure 6 shows a simplified, general, and exemplary block diagram of a user device 610 (also called a communication device) and a scheduling device 660, which is herefore illustratively assumed to be located at a base station (network node), eNB or gNB. However, generally, the scheduling device may be a terminal in the case of a sidelink connection between two terminals. Furthermore, particularly with respect to the use cases of URLLC, eMBB, and mMTC, the communication device 610 may be a sensor device, a wearable device, or a controller for a connected vehicle or automated machinery in an industrial plant. Moreover, the communication device 610 may also function as a relay between the base station 660 and another communication device (for example, this disclosure is not limited to communication “terminal” or user “terminal”).

[0077] The UE and eNB / gNB communicate with each other via (radio) physical channel 650, using transceivers 620 (UE side) and 670 (base station side), respectively. The base station 660 and terminal 610 together form a communication system 600. The communication system 600 may further include other entities as shown in Figure 1.

[0078] As shown in Figure 6, in some embodiments, the user equipment (UE) 610 includes a transceiver 620, which, when operating, receives signaling from a scheduling device when the UE is in an inactive or idle state. The UE further includes a circuit 630, which, when operating, obtains availability indicators from the signaling indicating the availability state of a reference signal (RS). The circuit 630 determines the availability state of the RS and, if the (indicated) availability state corresponds to an available state of the RS, the expected start time when the UE will use the RS, and if the (indicated) availability state corresponds to an unavailable state of the RS, the expected start time when the UE will not use the RS. For example, the UE (e.g., circuit 630) may determine the availability state and / or start time of the RS based on the availability indicators and / or based on the availability signaling.

[0079] Figure 7A shows the functional structure of circuit 630. In particular, circuit 630 includes a transceiver control circuit 710. The transceiver control circuit 710 controls the transceiver when in operation. For example, the control may include controlling the transceiver 620 to decode (monitor) PEI and / or PO and / or system information, etc., or to receive (detect) a reference signal. For example, the transceiver control circuit 710 controls the transceiver 620 to decode an availability indicator. Circuit 630 may include an availability indicator processing circuit 720, which determines the value of the availability indicator received by the transceiver 620. Depending on the value of the availability indicator, the availability determination circuit 730 determines the start time at which the communication device 610 assumes the reference signal (whose availability or unavailability is indicated by the availability indicator) is available or no longer available, as will be described in more detail later in some exemplary embodiments.

[0080] The circuit may be a general processing circuit including one or more processors, and the processors execute code instructions stored in memory (which may also be part of the circuit), and the code instructions may include parts of the code instructions corresponding to the functions described above, while referring to each of the circuits 710-730. However, this disclosure is not limited to any particular circuit, and embodiments of this disclosure may include dedicated hardware, programmable hardware, general-purpose hardware, or any combination thereof.

[0081] In general, signaling that includes availability indicators or availability signaling can be L1 signaling. In particular, availability signaling can include or be PEI or paging DCI. Availability signaling includes availability indicators, which are generated by the scheduling device and can be obtained by the UE. Availability indicators indicate the (future) state of one or more reference signals (RSs), rather than the current availability state of an RS. If multiple RSs exist, an availability indicator can indicate the state of each of those RSs, or a single state that applies to all RSs or a group of RSs. In particular, availability indicators can indicate different states of RSs.

[0082] Generally, there can be two availability states for an RS, which are referred to herein as "available" and "unavailable." Here, "available" means that the RS is transmitted by the base station (e.g., periodically) and the UE is expected to use the RS, while "unavailable" means that the UE is not expected to use the RS. Note that when the UE is expected to use the RS, the RS is generally transmitted / needs to be transmitted by the base station, and when the base station is not transmitting the RS, the UE is generally expected / needs not to use the RS. However, when the base station is transmitting the RS, the UE may or may not be expected to use the RS, and when the UE is not expected to use the RS, the base station may actually be transmitting the RS. Furthermore, note that the availability state indicated by an availability directive may correspond to the current availability state of the RS or the currently expected behavior of the UE, but should not be the current availability state of the RS or the currently expected behavior of the UE. As will be further explained later, the indicated availability state generally indicates the availability state of the RS that is in effect from the start time of the availability directive, which may generally be after the time the availability directive was received.

[0083] The availability indicator, which is one or more reference signals (RS) indicating availability or unavailability, may also be a traffic reference signal (TRS), which may be used as a CSI-RS. Note that the terms RS and RS setting are used interchangeably. That is, an RS (setting) can correspond to multiple RS opportunities, and the term RS opportunity refers to an individual transmission of a reference signal. In other words, an RS opportunity can correspond to one or more specific time / frequency resources on which RS transmissions take place (e.g., according to a specific pattern defined by the RS setting). Note that different or the same signal may be transmitted in each RS opportunity of a given RS.

[0084] As shown in Figure 6, in some embodiments, the base station 660 (or scheduling device 660) includes a circuit 680. When operational, the circuit 680 determines that the availability status of the RS should be notified to UEs that are in an inactive or idle state. The circuit can generally determine that the RS should be notified to one or more inactive / idle UEs, and / or to which (one or more) UEs should be notified. Furthermore, when operational, the circuit 680 determines a start time to be instructed to the UEs, which is i) the time when the UE is expected to use the RS if the availability status corresponds to the RS being available, and ii) the time when the UE is expected not to use the RS if the availability status corresponds to the RS being unavailable. Furthermore, when operational, the circuit 680 generates a signaling that includes an availability instruction i) indicating a start time, and ii) indicating the availability status of the RS. Here, the instruction for the start time can be explicit or implicit (e.g., simply based on the time the signaling is received), as will be further described later. The base station 660 further comprises a transceiver 670, which, when in operation, transmits the generated signaling. The base station (e.g., transceiver 670) may also transmit RS in accordance with one or more availability instructions sent to one or more UEs. That is, when there is at least one UE that is expected to use a particular RS (setting), the base station must and / or transmit its own RS.

[0085] Figure 7B shows the functional structure of circuit 680. In particular, circuit 680 includes a transceiver control circuit 750. The transceiver control circuit 750 controls the transceiver when in operation. For example, the control may include controlling the transceiver 670 to transmit PEI and / or PO and / or system information, etc., or to transmit a reference signal. For example, the transceiver control circuit 710 controls the transceiver 670 to transmit an availability instruction. Circuit 680 may include an availability instruction determination circuit 760, which determines that an RS availability status instruction should be provided to user equipment (UEs) (one or more UEs) that are in an inactive or idle state, and determines whether the RS availability should indicate available or unavailable. Furthermore, circuit 680 includes a validity setting circuit 770, which provides the UE with a validity instruction for the availability instruction. In this way, the BS can configure the UE. The availability setting circuit 770 determines the start time to be instructed to the UE, which is the time when the UE is expected to use the RS if the availability status corresponds to the RS being available, and the time when the UE is expected not to use the RS if the availability status corresponds to the RS being unavailable. Subsequently, the transceiver control circuit 750 controls the transceiver to transmit a signaling indicating the start time.

[0086] In response to the UE described above, a method is provided that is performed by / for the UE. As shown in Figure 12, the method includes the following steps: 1250 receiving signaling from a scheduling device when the UE is in an inactive or idle state; 1260 obtaining an availability instruction from the signaling indicating the availability state of a reference signal (RS); i) the availability state of RS; and ii) a) the expected start time when the UE will use RS if the availability state corresponds to an available state of RS; and b) the expected start time when the UE will not use RS if the availability state corresponds to an unavailable state of RS. The UE station (e.g., transceiver 620) may also detect RS (1280) according to the received availability instruction. That is, when the availability instruction indicates that RS is available (yes, 1270), the UE may also begin detecting RS 1280 at the effective start time determined by the UE for the availability instruction (1260).

[0087] Furthermore, corresponding to the base stations described above, a method is provided that is performed by / for a scheduling device. As shown in Figure 12, the method includes the following steps: 1210 determining that the availability status of the RS should be communicated to a UE that is in an inactive or idle state; 1220 determining a start time to be instructed to the UE, where the start time is i) the time at which the UE is expected to use the RS if the availability status corresponds to the RS being available, and ii) the time at which the UE is expected not to use the RS if the availability status corresponds to the RS being unavailable; 1220 generating a signaling, which includes an availability instruction that a) indicates a start time and b) indicates the availability status of the RS; and 1220 transmitting the signaling. The base station (e.g., transceiver 670) may also transmit the RS (1240) in accordance with the availability instruction (1220) transmitted to the UE. In other words, when the availability directive indicates that RS is available (yes, 1230), the base station may also initiate transmission 1240 of RS at least at the effective start time that the UE is expected to determine for the availability directive.

[0088] Furthermore, note that any of the steps / operations described below may be performed or controlled by circuit 630 (on the UE side) and / or circuit 680 (on the base station side).

[0089] In further description, details and embodiments apply to the transceiver devices, scheduling devices (or scheduling nodes), and methods, respectively, unless otherwise specified or indicated by the context. In particular, note that since the UE and network nodes belong to a communication system and the UE uses (one or more) RS in the communication system, the UE and network nodes must recognize / determine the same start / end / validity time. Therefore, generally, the UE and network nodes can individually determine the expected UE behavior using the same method, or at least a method that yields the same result. In other words, the methods for determining the start / end / validity time provided herein can generally be performed on the UE side and / or the base station (network node) side.

[0090] However, while the UE can determine the start / end / validity period based on the received signaling, the base station can generate this signaling so that the UE determines the appropriate start / end / validity period, i.e., the start / end / validity period that the base station decides to instruct the UE to perform. For example, the base station can determine the start / end / validity period to instruct the UE to perform based on the time it plans to stop or start transmitting each RS.

[0091] One of the design objectives of NR, particularly in Release 17, is efficient power saving. Specifically, enhancements for power saving in idle or inactive UE modes are desirable, taking into account system performance aspects at the physical layer (L1) and MAC layers. For example, enhanced paging to reduce unnecessary paging reception by UEs has been considered and discussed, provided it does not affect legacy UEs. Furthermore, the possibility of providing potential TRS / CSI-RS opportunities available in connected mode to idle / inactive UEs has been discussed, while minimizing the impact on system overhead. Always-on TRS / CSI-RS transmission by gNB should not be necessary.

[0092] Similarly, further enhancements to power-saving techniques for connected mode UEs are desired, provided that the impact on system performance is minimized. In particular, extensions to Release 16 DCI-based power-saving adaptations during the DRX active time of active BWPs are being considered, including a reduction in PDCCH monitoring when C-DRX is configured. Furthermore, the feasibility and performance impact of easing UE measurements for RLM and / or BFD are being investigated, especially for low-mobility UEs with short DRX periods / cycles.

[0093] Pre-paging instructions As a potential enhancement to paging, the possibility of transmitting Paging Early Indications (PEIs) has been explored. A PEI is received before a target paging opportunity (PO) and instructs the UE whether to monitor the PDCCH scrambled by P-RNTI at that PO. In other words, using a PEI eliminates the need for the UE to monitor every paging opportunity. Rather, the PEI informs the UE whether to monitor the next (one or more) POs. Transmission of PEIs is not yet standardized, and there are several possibilities for providing PEIs. For example, PEIs could be DCI-based, meaning the UE monitors the DCI to detect the PEI value. A DCI containing a PEI could be an existing DCI extended to transmit a PEI. For example, DCI formats 1_0 or 2_6 could be used for this purpose. This extension could be done by utilizing one of the spare bits or values, or in other ways. Another possibility is to define a new DCI format for transmitting PEIs.

[0094] However, PEI does not necessarily have to be transmitted via DCI. Instead of, or in addition to, a DCI-based concept, PEI can be RS-based or sequence-based. In such cases, a synchronization signal (e.g., SSS) or a reference signal (e.g., TRS or CSI-RS) conveys the PEI. For example, the PEI can be indicated by selecting the transmitted SSS from a set of predefined synchronization signals. A first synchronization signal from the set of synchronization signals may indicate a first PEI value (e.g., instructing the UE to read subsequent POs (one or more)), and a second synchronization signal from the set of synchronization signals may indicate a second PEI value (e.g., instructing the UE not to read POs (one or more)). Similarly, different values ​​of PEI can be indicated by selecting an RS sequence from a set of predefined RS sequences.

[0095] Non-legacy UEs can use PEI, while legacy UEs (compliant with NR releases that do not support PEI) can use legacy paging procedures. Such PEI can be thought of as introducing a two-stage paging approach, namely subgrouping. Generally, PEI is not the only possible approach to subgrouping. Instead, multiple P-PNTIs can be used, or additional receive opportunities can be introduced in the time domain and / or frequency domain. However, for idle and inactive modes, paging pre-indications prior to paging opportunities have been considered and agreed upon. Note that this disclosure is readily applicable in combination with PEI-based approaches, but is not limited thereto. In fact, this disclosure can also work with legacy paging or any other approach.

[0096] Instructions for the availability of the reference signal As mentioned above, the availability of TRS / CSI-RS is already signaled to connected UEs. In principle, the availability of any kind of reference signal can be signaled. When a reference signal is transmitted and available to connected UEs, it may be advantageous to also provide the reference signal in idle and / or inactive states (states may also be referred to as modes in this disclosure).

[0097] The information provided by the physical layer availability indication of the reference signal in the context of idle UEs and / or inactive UEs may support one or more of the following possibilities: - A bitmap is used, where each bit is associated with at least one resource or resource setting, or a set (group) of resources. For example, a code point indicates the availability or unavailability of all or some of the resources of a set reference signal. - A value or code point that indicates one or more resource indexes or resource configuration indexes corresponding to available RS resources.

[0098] Timing of reference signal availability and unavailability As mentioned above, TRS (similar to CSI-RS but serving the purpose of tracking synchronization) has traditionally only been set and transmitted for UEs in the CONNECTED state. Therefore, UEs in the IDLE or inactive state had no way to track synchronization other than synchronization procedures based on the reception of PSS and SSS. However, it can be advantageous to provide such reference signals to UEs in IDLE and inactive modes, especially if the overhead can be kept reasonable. Thus, a gNB can send a TRS availability indicator to an IDLE / INACTIVE UE based on the TRS transmission status regarding whether the TRS is stably present, and the IDLE / INACTIVE UE can also share the TRS used for time / frequency tracking and serving cell measurements.

[0099] Therefore, RS (or TRS in a specific example) set for a CONNECTED UE can also be used by an IDLE or inactive UE. "Stable presence" above means that the same RS settings exist over a period of time, and therefore IDLE / inactive UEs have the opportunity to utilize them.

[0100] Current draft standards and discussions within 3GPP do not define how a UE should behave after receiving a physical layer TRS availability directive, nor do they define the UE's assumptions regarding when the RS is applicable. Physical layer directives refer to L1 (Layer 1) signaling, such as PEI (Paging Pre-Direction) or Paging DCI, as opposed to higher-layer signaling, such as RRC signaling.

[0101] IDLE UEs and / or INACTIVE UEs have one opportunity to monitor L1 signaling per paging cycle, which can be, for example, 320ms, 640ms, 1.28s, or 2.56s. After receiving an instruction, ambiguity can arise in the operation between the gNB and the UE if there is no clear definition of when and how the UE assumes the availability / unavailability of the TRS. For example, the UE might begin to assume the existence of the TRS before it is sent, or the UE might still assume the existence of the TRS after the transmission of the TRS has stopped. Such ambiguity stems from the gNB deciding when to indicate RS availability. Note that even if an RS exists on a configured resource and is provided to, for example, a CONNECTED state UE, the gNB does not need to signal that these RSs are also available to IDLE / INACTIVE state UEs.

[0102] Figures 8 and 9 illustrate an example of a switch from unavailable to available. In such cases, under specific RS configurations (including period and offset, frequency resources, patterns within slots / RBs, sequence settings, etc.), RS transmission may begin either before or after an L1 instruction (PEI or paging DCI). For RS to be reliably used, the UE needs to be able to recognize that RS is indeed present from some specific starting point. Figure 8 shows availability instruction 810. This current availability instruction is the first availability instruction indicating "available" after at least one availability instruction indicating "unavailable" that was recently received (before the current availability instruction). This can also be understood as the current availability instruction indicating a switch from an unavailable RS to an available RS. In Figure 8, the first RS opportunity is located some time (801) after availability instruction 810. If the UE were to begin using RS immediately after receiving availability instruction 810, it would be too early, as the gNB may not yet be transmitting RS (steadily). After the initial RS opportunity 830, further RS ​​opportunities (such as 835) follow periodically, for example, with periods of 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, or 80ms. If the UE starts using RS too early, the RS may not actually exist, and the UE may not be able to track synchronization.

[0103] Figure 9 shows an example where the base station (gNB) sends an availability instruction only after it has already been stably transmitting RS. Stable transmission of RS begins with RS opportunity 920. Subsequently, the UE receives an availability instruction 910 indicating a change from unavailable to available. The UE then begins using RS at the next RS opportunity 930. In this case, the UE can correctly detect the RS.

[0104] Figure 10 illustrates an example of a switch from available to unavailable. In such cases, it is desirable for the gNB to pre-instruct such a switch before stopping RS transmission. Otherwise, if the gNB first stops transmitting RS and then instructs the UE to be unavailable, it can lead to ambiguity for the UE when using RS, for example, for serving cell measurement. Figure 10 shows both cases, with RS opportunities 940 and 960 shown, of which opportunity 960 is the last RS opportunity to be transmitted. Availability instruction 950 is received sufficiently early, and therefore the UE can stop using RS by the last RS opportunity 960. Availability instruction 955 is received too late, after the last RS opportunity 960. Problems can arise if the UE attempts to use a signal detected at a location where RS is no longer being transmitted.

[0105] As illustrated in the examples in Figures 8-10, it is sometimes desirable to define UE behavior with as little overhead as possible and to avoid ambiguity and / or inconsistencies between the gNB and the UE. The BS can consider the expected behavior of the UE when planning the transmission of RS and the corresponding availability directives. In the case of L1 signaling, the start time when the availability directive becomes effective can be defined by a fixed period, for example, an N0 value defined by the K0 value included in the DCI or the UE capability.

[0106] In the case of a UE in CONNECTED mode, activation and deactivation of the semi-persistent CSI-RS are performed by the MAC CE (control element), and the delay for both applications is 3ms.

number

[0107] Determination of the effective start time The following describes several methods for determining the effective start time (also called the start time). Note that the term effective start time refers to the time when the indicated RS state (e.g., "available" / "unavailable") applies, i.e., when the indicated RS availability / unavailability begins to take effect and / or becomes effective. In other words, the start time refers to the time when the UE is expected to use the RS if the (indicated) availability state corresponds to the RS availability state, or when the UE is expected not to use the RS if the (indicated) availability state corresponds to the RS unavailability state.

[0108] In general, a start time can correspond to an RS opportunity. For example, when an availability directive indicates "available" (and the current state of the RS is "unavailable"), the start time can correspond to, or be, the first RS opportunity in which the UE is expected to use or measure the RS. Similarly, when an availability directive indicates "unavailable" (and the current state of the RS is "available"), the start time can correspond to, or be, the first RS opportunity in which the UE is not expected to use or measure the RS. In other words, the first RS opportunity can be the RS opportunity in which the UE is expected to start or stop using the RS in accordance with the availability directive. Thus, in general, the UE can determine a start time when the state indicated by the availability directive is different from the current state of the RS. In other words, the UE can determine a start time when the availability directive indicates a change in the RS's availability and / or a change in the UE's expected behavior.

[0109] Instructions for start times based on positive pacing opportunities Generally, availability signaling can include instructions indicating i) one or more POs to be monitored by the UE, and / or ii) which of several POs will be monitored by the UE. Here, a positive PO is a PO that the UE is expected to monitor on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for paging. In other words, the term positive PO refers to paging messages that the UE is expected to receive, for example, those sent via the paging PDCCH. The UE (e.g., circuit 630) can obtain instructions from the signaling that indicate positive paging opportunities (POs) among the configured POs. For example, as shown in Figure 11, availability signaling can include a PEI indicating a positive PO. More specifically, in the example shown in Figure 11, PEI 110 indicates that PO#2 112 is a positive PO that should be monitored by the UE. Furthermore, PO#1 111, PO#2 113, and PO#4 114, which are negative POs, do not need to be monitored by the UE. In general, a PEI may explicitly indicate that PO#1 111, PO#2 113, and PO#4 114 are negative POs, or it may implicitly indicate that they are negative POs by not indicating that they are positive POs.

[0110] In general, when availability signaling includes indications of POs, particularly positive POs, the UE can then determine a start time based on one or more of the positive POs it has received. For example, the start time can be, or correspond to, the first or last positive PO indicated by the availability signaling. In particular, the UE (e.g., circuit 630) can determine a start time based on the first positive PO among the positive POs when the (indicated) availability state corresponds to an available state, and / or based on the last positive PO among the positive POs when the (indicated) availability state corresponds to an unavailable state.

[0111] For example, the slot with the first positive PO, or the slot with the last positive PO, can be the start time or correspond to the start time. In particular, the UE (e.g., circuit 630) can determine that the start time corresponds to (or is) i) the RS opportunity that precedes the first positive PO and is closest to the first positive PO when the (indicated) availability state corresponds to the available state, and / or ii) the RS opportunity that follows the last positive PO and is closest to the last positive PO when the (indicated) availability state corresponds to the unavailable state.

[0112] When an instruction is communicated by an L1 signaling indicating that one or more RS settings are available, and that L1 signaling is associated with one or more POs, the effective start time can be determined by the slot having the first positive PO. For example, as shown in Figure 11, the UE may assume that RS begins to exist from the nearest RS opportunity preceding the positive PO. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and in some embodiments, the UE may assume that RS begins to exist from a slot having an offset from the slot having the positive PO (i.e., n-N_offset) (where N_offset may be set in the SIB or be a fixed / default value (e.g., an integer), and n is the slot having the first positive PO).

[0113] Similarly, when an L1 signaling indicates that one or more RS settings are unavailable, and that L1 signaling is associated with one or more POs, the effective start time can be determined by the slot with the last positive PO. For example, the start time can be after the slot with the last positive PO.

[0114] When RS availability instructions are associated with the presence of paging, using only PO to determine / instruct the start time can eliminate additional overhead.

[0115] Instructions for start times based on standard paging opportunities Generally, availability signaling can include an effectiveness start time instruction that specifies a start time. For example, an effectiveness start time can be explicitly signaled by availability signaling / L1 signaling by referring to a specific PO, for example, the effectiveness start time can be from or after that specific PO. A UE (e.g., circuit 630) can obtain an effectiveness start time instruction from availability signaling that designates one of the configured POs as the start time reference PO.

[0116] For example, this start time instruction can indicate or reference a configured PO (also called a start time reference PO or reference PO). Note that the reference PO (which may be a positive or negative PO) is used to instruct the UE of the start time. In other words, the instruction of the reference PO, when indicated by availability signaling, does not need to be related to whether the PO is positive or negative.

[0117] In this case, the UE may determine, for example, that the start time corresponds to the RS opportunity of an RS that is after the indicated reference PO and is closest to the indicated reference PO. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and in some embodiments, the UE may determine that the start time corresponds to the RS opportunity of an RS that is before the indicated reference PO and is closest to the indicated reference PO. Furthermore, in another embodiment, the UE may determine that the start time corresponds to the RS opportunity of that RS that is closest to the indicated reference PO. Furthermore, in yet another embodiment, the UE may determine that the start time corresponds to the RS opportunity of an RS that is not after the indicated reference PO and is closest to the indicated reference PO. Furthermore, in yet another embodiment, the UE may determine that the start time corresponds to the RS opportunity of an RS that is not before the indicated reference PO and is closest to the indicated reference PO. In other words, the start time can be the RS opportunity that is (temporarily) closest to the indicated reference PO among RS opportunities that are before, after, not before, or not after the indicated reference PO.

[0118] Furthermore, it should be noted that the effectiveness start time instruction can be per RS ​​configuration, or it can apply to all RS configurations whose signaling includes availability instructions. More specifically, there may generally be multiple RSs (e.g., multiple RS configurations), and the availability signaling may include availability instructions for each of these RSs that indicate the availability status of each RS. In this case, the UE can obtain the respective availability instructions for each of these RSs. Furthermore, the UE can determine the availability status of each RS based on the RS's availability instructions.

[0119] However, this disclosure is not limited thereto, and in some embodiments, availability signaling includes availability indicators that indicate the availability status of each of a plurality of RSs, and the UE takes these availability indicators and determines the availability status of each RS based on the availability indicators. Furthermore, for each RS, the UE can determine the start time at which the UE is expected to use the RS if the RS's availability status corresponds to an available state, and the start time at which the UE is expected not to use the RS if the RS's availability status corresponds to an unavailable state. In particular, for each RS, the UE can determine that the start time of the RS corresponds to the RS opportunity closest to the indicated start time reference PO among the RS opportunities that fall after the indicated start time reference PO for that RS. However, this disclosure is not limited thereto, and in some embodiments, the UE determines that for each RS, the start time corresponds to the RS opportunity closest to the indicated reference PO among the RS opportunities that fall before the indicated reference PO. Furthermore, in another embodiment, the UE determines that for each RS, the start time corresponds to the RS opportunity closest to the indicated reference PO among the RS opportunities for that RS. Furthermore, in yet another embodiment, the UE determines that for each RS, the start time corresponds to the RS opportunity that is not after the indicated reference PO and is closest to the indicated reference PO. Furthermore, in yet another embodiment, the UE determines that for each RS, the start time corresponds to the RS opportunity that is not before the indicated reference PO and is closest to the indicated reference PO. In other words, for each RS, the start time can be the RS opportunity that is (temporarily) closest to the indicated reference PO among the RS opportunities that are before, after, not before, or not after the indicated reference PO.

[0120] In this case, the effective start time instruction can specify i) a start time reference PO for each RS, or ii) a start time reference PO for all RSs, or iii) a first start time reference PO for RSs whose indicated availability state corresponds to the RS's available state, and a second start time reference PO for RSs whose indicated availability state corresponds to the RS's unavailable state. In other words, different timing points can be set for availability and unavailability. In other words, the effective start time instruction can specify one reference PO for all RSs, or two reference POs (one for available RSs and one for unavailable RSs), or one reference PO for each RS. In this case, the UE can determine the start time for each RS using the reference PO specified for that RS.

[0121] By specifying a start time through an availability instruction that designates one or more reference POs, scheduling devices can be made more flexible in controlling the start time.

[0122] Instructions for the start time based on the time of receipt and the set point. Generally, the start time can be determined based on the time of signaling reception by the transceiver, which refers to the time when the UE (e.g., its transceiver) received the availability signaling, and is also called the reception time.

[0123] For example, the start time can be determined based on the most recent configured time point among several configured times that is closest to the reception time. Therefore, when the UE is instructed that one or more RS settings are available or unavailable, the UE can assume that the effective start time is the most recent configured time point (and not earlier than, for example, the reception time).

[0124] However, generally, timing points or intervals can be set differently for availability and unavailability, respectively. In this case, the UE (e.g., circuit 630) can determine that when the (indicated) availability state corresponds to an available state, the start time corresponds to a first set time, and / or when the (indicated) availability state corresponds to an unavailable state, the start time corresponds to a second set time. In other words, when the availability state of the RS corresponds to an available state, the corresponding start time can be determined / indicated based on the nearest set time among a first set of multiple set time points, while when the availability state of the RS corresponds to an unavailable state, the corresponding start time can be determined / indicated based on the nearest set time among a second set of multiple set time points. In particular, the first set of multiple time points and the second set of multiple time points may be the same or different.

[0125] For example, when the RS availability status corresponds to an available state, the start time can correspond to the nearest configured PO among the configured POs. On the other hand, when the RS availability status corresponds to an unavailable state, the start time can correspond to the nearest configured start point of the paging cycle (for example, the start time of the next paging cycle).

[0126] Generally, a first set time can be one of the following: i) the start of the next paging cycle in a set paging cycle, ii) the start of the next paging frame (PF) in a set paging frame (PF), or iii) the next paging opportunity (PO) in a set paging opportunity (PO). A second set time can be one of the following: i) the start of the next paging cycle in a set paging cycle, ii) the start of the next paging frame (PF) in a set PF, or iii) the next PO in a set PO. In other words, the first and / or second set times can include set paging cycles, set PFs, and / or set POs (e.g., set by a SIB).

[0127] The step of instructing (on the scheduling device side) / determining (on the UE side) the effective start time based on the reception time can be more flexibly controlled by the network based on the status and instruction timing of one or more RS configurations. No additional L1 signaling overhead is added.

[0128] Start time indication based on reception time and indicated offset Generally, availability signaling can specify a start time (e.g., explicitly). For example, a UE (circuit 630) can obtain a signal from the signaling that specifies an offset (e.g., a period), and determine the start time as a time offset by the specified offset from the reception of the signaling by the transceiver.

[0129] Herein, note that in this disclosure, "offset by an offset" may mean "added," that is, the start time may be a time that is later than the reception time by a period corresponding to the offset. However, this does not necessarily mean that the reception time is offset by the indicated offset. In other words, the reception time can be offset by at least the offset. In other words, this expression may mean that i) each start time is determined using the indicated offset, and / or ii) the start time is determined as a time offset from the reception of the signaling by the transceiver using the indicated offset.

[0130] In other words, the start time can be the time of reception plus a specified offset, or in other words, the start time can be a specific period after the time of reception. Here, the term offset generally means a period or length of time. The offset can be, for example, N times a given time unit, and the instruction indicating the offset can indicate a value for N (N can be a non-negative integer). Thus, a given time unit can be a (predetermined) period or length of time. Examples of a given time unit or time granularity are one or more paging cycles, paging opportunity (PO) intervals, paging frame (PF) intervals, slots, or wireless frames.

[0131] In summary, the effective start time can generally be a specific number of time granularities offset from the time the availability instruction (or availability signaling) is received, and the value of this number can be signaled or indicated by availability signaling, i.e., PEI or paging DCI.

[0132] In general, this embodiment can function by indicating the offset through a combination of L2 and L1 signaling. For example, the time granularity can be signaled and / or set. For example, the time granularity can be set by Layer 2 (L2) signaling (e.g., via SIB), and the granularity multiplier can be indicated by availability signaling (e.g., Layer 1 (L1)) signaling.

[0133] However, this disclosure is not limited thereto. The SIB may also have multiple offset value candidates, and the L1 signaling may indicate one of them. For example, availability signaling may indicate one of several configured offsets or one of several configured N values.

[0134] However, this disclosure is not limited to the use of L2 signaling. The time granularity may be a fixed period or a default period. In this case, the offset may be indicated by a value of N indicated by availability signaling (e.g., simply by the value of N, or by the value of N alone).

[0135] Furthermore, the effectiveness start time can be specified for each RS configuration, or for all RS configurations included in the specification. In other words, if availability signaling specifies the availability status of multiple RSs, the availability signaling can specify a separate offset for each of those RSs, or it can specify a single offset that applies to all of those RSs.

[0136] However, this disclosure is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, timing points or intervals can be set differently for availability and unavailability, respectively. In other words, availability signaling can generally indicate two offsets: a first offset used to indicate (on the scheduling device side) / determine (on the UE side) the start times of (one or more) RSs corresponding to an available state when the (indicated) availability state is available, and a second offset used to indicate (on the scheduling device side) / determine (on the UE side) the start times of (one or more) RSs corresponding to an unavailability state when the (indicated) availability state is unavailable. The first and second offsets may be different.

[0137] By explicitly specifying the offset, the network (e.g., scheduling device) can flexibly control the effective start time expected by the UE.

[0138] Instructions for start time based on reception time and fixed / default offset However, this disclosure is not limited to specifying an offset. For example, the UE (its circuit) may determine the start time as a time offset by a predetermined offset from the reception of signaling by the transceiver. In particular, the predetermined offset (period) may be a fixed / default period.

[0139] For example, when a UE is instructed that one or more RS settings are available or unavailable, the UE can assume that the effective start time is shifted by a fixed / default offset value relative to the time the UE received the instruction. The fixed / default offset is known to the gNB and the UE (e.g., not signaled in the availability instruction) and can be, for example, N slots or radio frames, where N=1, 2, ... is a known / fixed / default integer. Such a predetermined offset (or N) can be defined, for example, in a standard. In this case, the availability instruction can begin to become effective from a time shifted by the fixed / default offset value relative to the time the UE received the availability instruction / signaling (similar to the case of indicating an offset as already described above).

[0140] The offset values ​​may differ for availability and unavailability. In other words, there may be two fixed / default offset values: a first offset used to indicate (on the scheduling device side) / determine (on the UE side) the start times of (one or more) RSs corresponding to the available state for the (indicated) availability state, and a second offset used to indicate (on the scheduling device side) / determine (on the UE side) the start times of (one or more) RSs corresponding to the unavailability state for the (indicated) availability state. The first and second offsets may be different.

[0141] The advantages of using a fixed or default offset are that it has little impact on the specifications and zero control overhead.

[0142] Instructions for the start time according to the specified conditions. In general, the methods described above for determining the start time can be combined. For example, when the indicated availability state corresponds to an available state, the first method of determining the start time can be used, and when the availability state corresponds to an unavailable state, the second method of determining the start time can be used. When there are multiple RSs for which the availability indication indicates an availability state, the first method can be used for (one or more) RSs for which the (indicated) availability state corresponds to an available state, and the second method can be used for (one or more) RSs for which the (indicated) availability state corresponds to an unavailable state. Here, the first and second methods may be different. In particular, the start time can be determined in different ways and / or the UE can behave differently depending on whether the RS is indicated as available or unavailable.

[0143] For example, in some embodiments, if the (indicated) availability state corresponds to an available state, the UE (e.g., circuit 630) obtains an indication from the signaling that points to a positive PO among the configured POs, the positive PO being the PO that the UE expects to monitor the paging PDCCH for. If the (indicated) availability state corresponds to an available state, the UE determines that the start time corresponds to the RS opportunity closest to the first positive PO among the RS opportunities preceding the first positive PO. On the other hand, if the (indicated) availability state corresponds to an unavailable state, the UE determines the start time as a time offset by a predetermined offset from the time the signaling is received by the transceiver.

[0144] This avoids additional overhead when RS availability is indicated and the presence of the RS is associated with a positive PO. When unavailability is indicated, there is no need to associate the presence or absence of the RS with a positive or negative PO, resulting in zero overhead and minimal impact on the specification. In other words, this is mainly true when the RS needs to be available when paging is present. However, when paging is not present, the network / scheduling device has more flexibility in controlling whether or not to send the RS.

[0145] Availability directive without an expiration date. In general, the validity end time or validity period may not exist by default, or may be considered non-existent if not set.

[0146] Here, the term "effectiveness end time" is similar to "effectiveness start time," and refers to the time when the indicated state of the RS (e.g., "available" / "unavailable") ceases to apply, i.e., when the indicated RS availability / unavailability is no longer valid and / or invalid. In other words, the effectiveness end time refers to the time when the UE is expected not to use the RS if the (indicated) availability state corresponds to the RS availability state, and when the UE is expected to use the RS if the (indicated) availability state corresponds to the RS unavailability state. That is, the effectiveness end time can be the point at which the availability state applied at / before the receipt of the availability indication becomes applicable again, i.e., the point at which the UE returns to its original RS use / non-use behavior.

[0147] In contrast, the term "validity period" refers to the period between the validity start time and the validity end time. Generally, the validity end time can be given / indicated based on the validity period, and vice versa.

[0148] Availability instruction has no expiration date. In general, an availability directive (e.g., the availability states of one or more RSs indicated by the availability directive) may remain in effect until another subsequent availability directive becomes effective. In other words, the indicated availability states may remain in effect until another availability state is indicated. Therefore, a UE (e.g., circuit 630) can determine, according to the indicated availability state, whether the UE will use or not use the RS until another availability state is indicated. Here, "until another availability state is indicated" may mean until the effective start time of the other availability directive. That is, the indicated availability state remains in effect until the scheduling device "overwrites" that availability state.

[0149] More specifically, if the scheduling device or gNB indicates availability (e.g., by an availability indicator), the UE assumes that the RS is available until the scheduling device indicates it is unavailable. Conversely, if the scheduling device indicates it is unavailable, the UE assumes that the RS is unavailable until the scheduling device indicates it is available.

[0150] Especially when the RS status does not change frequently, overhead can be reduced by changing the RS availability status without setting an expiration date for the validity indication.

[0151] Expiration of availability instruction However, this disclosure is not limited to availability instructions that do not set an expiration date for the availability instruction. In some embodiments, the availability instruction has an expiration date, which means the (natural) end of the availability instruction's validity without needing to be instructed by the scheduling device.

[0152] In these embodiments, the UE (e.g., circuit 630) can determine, according to the availability status indicated by the availability signaling, whether the UE is expected to use or not use the RS until the end time. That is, after the determined end time, the indicated availability status no longer applies, and i) if the availability indicator indicated availability, the UE can stop using the RS, and ii) if the availability indicator indicated unavailability, the UE can start using the RS.

[0153] Generally, the validity end time and / or validity period can be set by a System Information Block (SIB). That is, the end time and / or validity period can be set by the scheduling device using an SIB.

[0154] In general, multiple end times can be set by the SIB. In particular, these end times can follow a certain periodicity; that is, each of two consecutive / successive end times can be separated by the same period. In this case, the effective end time applied to a given availability instruction can be the one after the set end time (e.g., the one after the start time of the availability instruction). For example, the end time can be per paging cycle (or, for example, per wireless frame) in the RS setting, and the availability instruction may be effective until the start of the next paging cycle.

[0155] In general, the validity period or expiration time may be set differently or the same for availability and unavailability. For example, a first validity period may be set for an available status indication, and a second corresponding validity period (e.g., different from the first validity period) may be set for an unavailable status indication. That is, the UE is expected to stop using an RS indicated as available after the first validity period from the time of reception, and to start using an RS indicated as unavailable after the second validity period from the time of reception. Furthermore, different or the same validity period or expiration time may be set for different RS settings.

[0156] By setting a validity period or validity end time via the SIB, the network can flexibly trade off the signaling overhead of updating the RS status in accordance with how often the RS status changes, and the maximum period during which ambiguity may occur if detection fails.

[0157] Generally, the validity period is a fixed or default validity period, for example, as specified in a standard. Similarly, the validity end time can be a fixed or default validity end time. In other words, a fixed / default period or a fixed / default end point can be used (e.g., a certain number of wireless frames, one or more paging cycles). In the case of a fixed / default end point, the next fixed / default end point following the start point can be used as the end point. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto, and in some embodiments, the next end point after the start point, or the next end point after two points, can be used as the end point.

[0158] Using a fixed / default duration or end date minimizes the impact on specifications and can result in zero control overhead. Furthermore, if the UE fails to detect an availability indicator, the UE can recover from ambiguity after the validity period / end date. In general, the above points regarding configuration by SIB also apply to fixed / default durations / end dates. In particular, as with configuration by SIB, there may be different fixed / default validity periods or validity end dates for "available" and "unavailable" indicators, and / or different validity periods or validity end dates may be set for different RS configurations.

[0159] In general, the end time or validity period can also be specified by the availability instruction. In particular, the availability instruction can include an instruction for the end time or validity period. In general, the above-mentioned provisions for configuration by SIB also apply when the instruction is included in the availability instruction. In particular, as with configuration by SIB, different validity periods or validity end times may be specified for "available" and "unavailable" instructions, and / or different validity periods or validity end times may be set for different RS settings.

[0160] By specifying the validity period and / or validity end time through availability instructions, scheduling devices can be provided with high flexibility.

[0161] End time of validity according to the specified status In general, the methods described above for determining expiration / validity periods can be combined. For example, when the indicated availability state corresponds to an available state, the first method of determining expiration / validity periods can be used, and when the availability state corresponds to an unavailable state, the second method of determining expiration / validity periods can be used. When there are multiple RSs whose availability indications indicate availability states, the first method can be used for RSs whose (indicated) availability state corresponds to an available state, and the second method can be used for RSs whose (indicated) availability state corresponds to an unavailable state. Here, the first and second methods may be different. In particular, the expiration / validity periods can be determined differently, and / or the UE can behave differently, depending on whether the RS is indicated as available or unavailable.

[0162] For example, a UE (e.g., circuit 630) can determine whether or not it is expected to use RS according to the availability status indicated by the signaling, until the end time set by the System Information Block (SIB) when the (indicated) availability status corresponds to an available state, or until it is indicated as available when the (indicated) availability status corresponds to an unavailable state.

[0163] This particular combination of methods for determining the validity period of availability directives can offer a good trade-off between network control flexibility, control overhead, and the effort required for standardization.

[0164] Availability indicator for synchronous signal block (SSB) beams As already stated above, the efficient indication of this disclosure can also be used to indicate the availability status of an SSB beam, rather than to indicate the availability status of an RS (in particular by replacing the term “reference signal” with the term “SSB beam”). In particular, the validity period of an SSB beam availability indication (in particular one or more of the validity start time, validity period, and validity end time of the availability indication) can be derived / determined as described above for an RS availability indication.

[0165] Furthermore, availability indications for one or more reference signals can be combined with availability indications for one or more SSB beams. For example, availability signaling may include availability indications for reference signals and availability indications for SSB beams, and the scheduling device / UE can perform the respective steps for each RS and SSB beam (in particular, obtaining the availability status and determining the validity start time / validity period / validity end time). In this case, for each of the (one or more) RSs and (one or more) SSB beams in which the availability signaling includes availability indications, the respective availability status and / or validity period (start time, end time, and / or period) can be indicated (base station side) and determined (UE side) according to the same method / approach among those described above. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and (i) different methods among those described above may be used for several RSs and / or SSB beams, or (ii) different methods among those described above may be used for each RS and each SSB beam. In other words, RS availability indications and SSB beam availability indications can be combined with each other in any way.

[0166] However, it should be noted that in the context of indicating the availability status of an SSB beam, the terms "on / off state" and "on-off state" can also be used to refer to the "availability status" of an SSB beam. In other words, terms such as "on / off state," "on-off state," and "availability status" can be used interchangeably and mean whether the respective signal / beam is transmitted by the scheduling device and therefore can be received by the UE. Similarly, the terms "on-off indication" and "on / off indication" can be used instead of the term "availability indication." Furthermore, the terms "on state" and "off state" can also be used interchangeably with the terms "available state" and "unavailable state," respectively.

[0167] Generally, a gNB can use the current SSB structure and signaling in SIB1 to instruct the UE which SSB beams it is using. In this case, the gNB can use on / off instructions to inform the UE which beams will be switched on or off during which period. For example, a PDCCH in the Common Search Space (CSS) can instruct the on / off state of an SSB beam and the duration of the instructed on / off state. The PDCCH can be a PDCCH for paging pre-instruction (PEI), or a paging PDCCH as already described above in relation to RS availability instructions.

[0168] It should be further noted that SSB beam on / off instructions can be transmitted to, received by, and used by the RRC INACTIVE / IDLE UE and / or RRC CONNECTED UE.

[0169] Instructions for the beam pattern of an SSB beam Generally, availability signaling can also include instructions (also called beam pattern instructions) that specify the beam patterns of one or more SSB beams.

[0170] In particular, availability indicators that indicate the availability status of an SSB beam can indicate the beam pattern of that SSB beam. For example, an SSB beam beam pattern indicator can indicate one or more of the following: (i) beam on / off bit mapping of one or more SSB beams (one or more SSB beams include that SSB beam), (ii) that the SSB beam is quasi-co-located (QCL) with another SSB beam, and / or (iii) beam coupling of that SSB beam with another SSB beam. Here, another SSB beam refers to an SSB beam different from the SSB beam in question.

[0171] In general, availability indications can indicate the beam patterns of multiple SSB beams. For example, availability indications can indicate one or more of the following: (i) beam on / off bit mapping of multiple SSB beams, (ii) that two or more of the multiple SSB beams are pseudo-colocated (QCL) with each other, and / or (iii) beam coupling of two or more of the multiple SSB beams with each other.

[0172] Here, the beam on / off bit mapping can be a bitmap that indicates (i) an on / off instruction for each of a plurality of SSB beams, and / or (ii) an on / off instruction for each of a plurality of opportunities for a particular SSB beam. More specifically, each bit in the bitmap can indicate (i) whether the on / off state of a particular SSB beam is on or off (for example, over the duration of the validity period), and / or (ii) whether a particular transmission opportunity of a particular SSB beam is actually used by the base station to transmit that SSB beam (in other words, the on / off state of the SSB beam is indicated for that particular opportunity).

[0173] Generally, the indication of pseudo-collocation (QCL) of two SSB beams can be interpreted as the two beams being exposed to very similar channel conditions. In particular, the two beams can be transmitted from the same location (e.g., the same location and the same antenna). Specifically, these two beams can be transmitted from the same transmit / receive point (TRP) and / or by the same antenna array applying the same spatial filter. As a result, the channel characteristics of one SSB beam can be used to detect the other SSB beam. Further details regarding QCL in NR are described, for example, in section 5.1.5 of Non-Patent Document 10.

[0174] Furthermore, beam coupling can, for example, involve combining two or more different (narrow) beams into a single (wide) beam. That is, a beam obtained by combining two or more beams can cover the solid angles of the two or more original beams from which the beam was obtained. More specifically, when a first SSB beam and a second SSB beam are coupled, the resulting beam can be transmitted (i) in each direction from which the first beam is transmitted, and (ii) in each direction from which the second beam is transmitted. It should be noted that the beams being coupled are typically adjacent beams (i.e., transmitted in adjacent directions), and therefore the resulting wider beam is transmitted in a continuous (e.g., connected) spatial region. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. In general, multiple beams transmitted in any direction can be coupled.

[0175] Furthermore, the (transmission) opportunities of the combined new beam can be a combination (i.e., union) of the opportunities of the two narrower beams. More specifically, when the first SSB beam and the second SSB beam are combined, the resulting combined SSB beam can be transmitted in each transmission opportunity of the first SSB beam and each transmission opportunity of the second SSB beam.

[0176] In general, the beam pattern indicated by a beam pattern instruction may differ from the current beam pattern of the SSB beam. In particular, changes to the beam pattern can be indicated in the availability instruction, for example by PDCCH as described above.

[0177] Furthermore, generally, instructions specifying a beam pattern can specify one of several beam patterns set by a System Information Block (SIB). For example, available SSB beam patterns, including QCLs between different beams, can be set by upper-layer signaling such as SIBx (e.g., any of SIB1 to SIB9).

[0178] Network energy can be saved by adapting the on / off state of SSB beams and / or beam pattern. In particular, support for beam on / off adaptation and beam pattern adaptation by gNB / UEs can enable network energy savings by adapting the number and pattern of SSB beams according to the cell load (in terms of the number of UEs), traffic load, and the target coverage area.

[0179] Implementation of this disclosure by hardware and software This disclosure can be implemented by software, by hardware, or by software working in conjunction with hardware. Each functional block used in the description of each embodiment above can be implemented in part or in whole by an LSI such as an integrated circuit, and each process described in each embodiment can be controlled in part or in whole by the same LSI or combination of LSIs. An LSI can be formed individually as a chip, or it can be formed as a single chip containing some or all of the functional blocks. An LSI can include data input / output units coupled to itself. Here, LSIs are also referred to as ICs, system LSIs, super LSIs, or ultra LSIs, depending on the degree of integration. However, the technology for implementing integrated circuits is not limited to LSIs and may be implemented using dedicated circuits, general-purpose processors, or dedicated processors. Furthermore, FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays) that can be programmed after the manufacture of the LSI, or reconfigurable processors that can reconfigure the connections and settings of circuit cells located inside the LSI can also be used. This disclosure can be implemented as digital or analog processing. If LSIs are replaced by future integrated circuit technologies as a result of advancements in semiconductor technology or other derivative technologies, functional blocks can be integrated using those future integrated circuit technologies. Biotechnology can also be applied.

[0180] This disclosure can be implemented by any type of device or system having communication capabilities (referred to as a communication device).

[0181] A communication device may comprise a transceiver and a processing / control circuit. The transceiver may comprise a receiver and a transmitter, and / or may function as both a receiver and a transmitter. A transceiver acting as both a transmitter and a receiver may include an RF (radio frequency) module, including an amplifier, an RF modulator / demodulator, etc., and one or more antennas.

[0182] Some non-exclusive examples of such communication devices include telephones (e.g., mobile phones, smartphones), tablets, personal computers (PCs) (e.g., laptops, desktops, notebooks), cameras (e.g., digital still / video cameras), digital players (digital audio / video players), wearable devices (e.g., wearable cameras, smartwatches, tracking devices), game consoles, e-readers, telemedicine / telemedicine devices, vehicles providing communication capabilities (e.g., automobiles, airplanes, ships), and various combinations thereof.

[0183] Communication devices are not limited to portable or mobile devices, but may include any type of non-portable or stationary device, device, or system, such as smart home devices (e.g., appliances, lighting, smart meters, control panels), vending machines, and any other "things" in the "Internet of Things (IoT)" network.

[0184] Communication may include steps such as exchanging data through cellular systems, wireless LAN systems, satellite systems, and others, and various combinations thereof.

[0185] A communication device may include devices such as controllers and sensors coupled to a communication device that performs the communication functions described in this disclosure. For example, a communication device may include a controller or sensor that generates control signals or data signals used by the communication device that performs the communication functions of the communication device.

[0186] Communication equipment may further include base stations, access points, and any other devices, devices, or systems that communicate with or control infrastructure equipment, such as the devices in the non-limiting examples above.

[0187] Furthermore, various embodiments may be implemented by software modules, which are executed by a processor or directly in hardware. Combinations of software modules and hardware implementations are also possible. Software modules can be stored in any type of computer-readable storage medium. In particular, according to another implementation, a non-temporary computer-readable recording medium is provided. The recording medium stores a program, and when the program is executed by one or more processors, one or more processors perform the steps of the method according to this disclosure.

[0188] As an example, and without limiting the scope of this invention, such computer-readable storage media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage devices, magnetic disk storage devices, or other magnetic storage devices, flash memory, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection may be referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if instructions are transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technology such as infrared, radio, or microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technology such as infrared, radio, or microwave are included in the definition of a medium. However, it should be understood that computer-readable storage media and data storage media do not include connections, carriers, signals, or other temporary media, but rather non-temporary tangible storage media. The magnetic and optical disks used herein include compact discs (CDs), laserdiscs, optical disks, digital-purpose discs (DVDs), floppy disks (registered trademark), and Blu-ray (registered trademark) disks. Magnetic disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical disks reproduce data optically using a laser. Any combination of the above is also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0189] Furthermore, it should be noted that individual features of several different embodiments can be the subject of other embodiments, individually or in any combination. Those skilled in the art will understand that numerous changes and / or modifications are possible to the disclosure shown in specific embodiments. Therefore, the embodiments described herein should be considered as illustrative in all respects and not as limiting the invention.

[0190] Further aspects According to the first embodiment, a user device (UE) is provided. The UE includes a transceiver that receives signaling from a scheduling device when the UE is in an inactive or idle state, and a circuit that, when operating, (i) obtains an availability indicator from the signaling indicating the availability state of a reference signal (RS), and (ii) determines the availability state of the RS and a start time. The start time is the time when the UE is expected to use the RS if the availability state corresponds to an available state of the RS, and the time when the UE is expected not to use the RS if the availability state corresponds to an unavailable state of the RS.

[0191] In an exemplary implementation of the first embodiment, the circuit, during operation, obtains signals from the signaling indicating positive paging opportunities (POs) from among the set paging opportunities (POs), where the positive PO is the PO that the UE is expected to monitor the paging physical downlink control channel, and makes a decision based on one or more of the obtained positive POs.

[0192] For example, when the circuit is operating, if the availability state corresponds to an available state, it makes a decision based on the first positive PO among the positive POs, and / or if the availability state corresponds to an unavailable state, it makes a decision based on the last positive PO among the positive POs.

[0193] In an exemplary implementation of the first embodiment, the circuit, in operation, determines that the start time corresponds to the RS opportunity closest to the first positive PO among those preceding the first positive PO when the availability state corresponds to an available state, and / or, to the RS opportunity closest to the last positive PO among those following the last positive PO when the availability state corresponds to an unavailable state.

[0194] In an exemplary implementation of the first embodiment, the circuit, during operation, obtains an effective start time instruction from signaling that designates one of the set paging opportunities (POs) as the start time reference PO, and determines that the start time corresponds to (i) the RS opportunity of an RS that is after the designated start time reference PO and is closest to the designated start time reference PO, or (ii) the RS opportunity of an RS that is before the designated start time reference PO and is closest to the designated start time reference PO, or (iii) the RS opportunity of an RS that is closest to the designated start time reference PO.

[0195] In an exemplary implementation of the first embodiment, the RS is one of several RSs, and the circuit, in operation, determines for each RS, based on availability indicators, (i) the availability state of the RS, and (ii) the expected start time when the UE will use the RS if the RS's availability state corresponds to the RS's available state, and the expected start time when the UE will not use the RS if the RS's availability state corresponds to the RS's unavailable state.

[0196] In an exemplary implementation of the first embodiment, the circuit, in operation, determines that for each RS, the start time of the RS corresponds to (i) the RS opportunity of the RS that is after the start time reference PO indicated for the RS and is closest to the start time reference PO indicated for the RS, or (ii) the RS opportunity of the RS that is before the start time reference PO indicated for the RS and is closest to the start time reference PO indicated for the RS, or (iii) the RS opportunity of the RS that is closest to the indicated start time reference PO, and the validity start time indication indicates, for each RS, the start time reference PO, or the start time reference PO for all RS, or the first start time reference PO for RSs whose indicated availability state corresponds to the RS being available, and the second start time reference PO for RSs whose indicated availability state corresponds to the RS being unavailable.

[0197] For example, during operation, the circuit determines that the start time corresponds to a first set time when the availability status corresponds to an available state, and / or to a second set time when the availability status corresponds to an unavailable state.

[0198] In an exemplary implementation of the first aspect, the first set time is the next paging cycle in a set paging cycle, the next paging frame (PF) in a set paging frame (PF), or the next paging opportunity (PO) in a set paging opportunity (PO), and / or the second set time is the next paging cycle in a set paging cycle, the next paging frame in a set PF, or the next PO in a set PO.

[0199] For example, during operation, the circuit obtains an instruction to specify an offset from the signaling, and in the determination process, the start time is determined as the time offset by the specified offset from the time the signaling is received by the transceiver.

[0200] In particular, the offset is an integer N multiple of a given time unit, and the instruction indicating the offset indicates an integer N.

[0201] For example, during operation, the circuit determines the start time as a time offset by a predetermined amount from the reception of the signaling by the transceiver.

[0202] In an exemplary implementation of the first embodiment, the circuit, during operation, (i) when the availability state corresponds to an available state, obtains an instruction from the signaling indicating a positive PO among the set paging opportunities (POs), the positive PO being the PO that the UE is expected to monitor the paging physical downlink control channel (PDCCH); ii) in the determination, when the availability state corresponds to an available state, determines that the start time corresponds to the RS opportunity closest to the first positive PO among the RS opportunities preceding the first positive PO; and (iii) in the determination, when the availability state corresponds to an unavailable state, determines that the start time is a time offset by a predetermined offset from the reception of the signaling by the transceiver.

[0203] For example, during operation, the circuit determines whether the UE is expected to use or not use the RS until the end time, according to the availability status indicated by signaling, and the end time is set, fixed, defaulted, or indicated by the availability indicator in the System Information Block (SIB).

[0204] In an exemplary implementation of the first embodiment, the circuit determines that, during operation, when the availability state corresponds to an available state, the UE is expected to use the RS until an unavailable state is indicated, and / or, when the availability state corresponds to an unavailable state, the UE is expected not to use the RS in accordance with the availability state indicated by the signaling until an available state is indicated.

[0205] In an exemplary implementation of the first embodiment, the circuit determines, during operation, whether the UE is expected to use or not use the RS according to the availability state indicated by the signaling, until the end time set by the System Information Block (SIB) when the availability state corresponds to an available state, or until the available state is indicated when the availability state corresponds to an unavailable state.

[0206] According to a second aspect, a method for user equipment (UE) comprising the steps of: receiving a signaling from a scheduling device when the UE is in an inactive or idle state; obtaining an availability indicator from the signaling indicating the availability state of a reference signal (RS); and determining (i) the availability state of the RS; and (ii) the expected start time when the UE will use the RS, if the availability state corresponds to an available state of the RS; or, if the availability state corresponds to an unavailable state of the RS, the expected start time when the UE will not use the RS.

[0207] According to a third embodiment, a scheduling device is provided comprising: a circuit that, when in operation, determines that the availability status of an RS is to be notified to a user equipment (UE) that is in an inactive or idle state, determines a start time to be instructed to the UE, and generates a signaling that includes an availability instruction indicating the start time and the availability status of the RS, where the start time is the time when the UE is expected to use the RS if the availability status corresponds to the RS being available, and the time when the UE is expected not to use the RS if the availability status corresponds to the RS being unavailable; and a transceiver that, when in operation, transmits the signaling.

[0208] According to a fourth aspect, a scheduling device method is provided, the method comprising the steps of: determining that the availability status of an RS should be notified to a user equipment (UE) that is in an inactive or idle state; determining a start time to be indicated to the UE, wherein the start time is (i) the time at which the UE is expected to use the RS if the availability status corresponds to an available state of the RS, and (ii) the time at which the UE is expected not to use the RS if the availability status corresponds to an unavailable state of the RS; and generating a signaling, which includes an availability instruction indicating the start time and the availability status of the RS. The method further comprises the step of transmitting the signaling.

[0209] In summary, a communication device, a base station, and methods for the communication device and base station are provided. When the communication device is in an inactive or idle state, the base station transmits and the communication device receives an availability instruction. The availability instruction indicates the availability state of a reference signal (RS). The communication device determines the availability state of the RS, the expected start time when the communication device will use the RS if the (indicated) availability state corresponds to an available state of the RS, and the expected start time when the communication device will not use the RS if the (indicated) availability state corresponds to an unavailable state of the RS.

[0210] According to a fifth aspect, a user device (UE) is provided. The UE comprises a transceiver that receives signaling from a scheduling device when operating and when the UE is in an inactive or idle state. Furthermore, the UE comprises a circuit that, when operating, (i) obtains on / off instructions from the signaling indicating the availability state of a synchronization signal block (SSB) beam, and (ii) determines the availability state and start time of the SSB beam. The start time is the time at which the UE is expected to use the SSB beam if the availability state corresponds to the ON state of the SSB beam, and the time at which the UE is expected not to use the SSB beam if the availability state corresponds to the OFF state of the SSB beam.

[0211] In an exemplary implementation of the fifth aspect, the circuit, during operation, (i) obtains an indication from the signaling that a positive PO is one of the set paging opportunities (POs) in which the UE is expected to monitor the paging physical downlink control channel, and (ii) makes a decision based on one or more of the obtained positive POs.

[0212] For example, during operation, the circuit makes a decision based on (i) the first positive PO among the positive POs when the availability state corresponds to the ON state, and / or (ii) the last positive PO among the positive POs when the availability state corresponds to the OFF state.

[0213] In an exemplary implementation of the fifth embodiment, the circuit, during operation, determines that the start time corresponds to (i) the SSB beam opportunity closest to the first positive PO among the SSB beam opportunities preceding the first positive PO when the availability state corresponds to the ON state, and / or (ii) the SSB beam opportunity closest to the last positive PO among the SSB beam opportunities following the last positive PO when the availability state corresponds to the OFF state.

[0214] In an exemplary implementation of the fifth aspect, the circuit obtains an effective start time indication from the signaling during operation, which indicates a set paging opportunity (PO) as the start time reference PO. Furthermore, the circuit determines that the start time corresponds to (i) the SSB beam opportunity of an SSB beam that is after the indicated start time reference PO and is closest to the indicated start time reference PO, or (ii) the SSB beam opportunity of an SSB beam that is before the indicated start time reference PO and is closest to the indicated start time reference PO, or (iii) the SSB beam opportunity of an SSB beam that is closest to the indicated start time reference PO.

[0215] In an exemplary implementation of the fifth embodiment, the SSB beam is one of several SSB beams, and the circuit, in operation, determines, based on an on / off instruction, for each SSB beam, the availability state of the SSB beam and (i) the start time at which the UE is expected to use the SSB beam if the availability state of the SSB beam corresponds to the ON state of the SSB beam, and (ii) the start time at which the UE is expected not to use the SSB beam if the availability state of the SSB beam corresponds to the OFF state of the SSB beam.

[0216] In an exemplary implementation of the fifth embodiment, the circuit, in operation, determines that for each SSB beam, the start time of the SSB beam corresponds to (i) the SSB beam opportunity of an SSB beam that is after the start time reference PO indicated for the SSB beam and is closest to the indicated start time reference PO for the SSB beam, (ii) the SSB beam opportunity of an SSB beam that is before the indicated start time reference PO for the SSB beam and is closest to the indicated start time reference PO for the SSB beam, or (iii) the SSB beam opportunity of an SSB beam that is closest to the indicated start time reference PO, and the effective start time indication indicates (i) the start time reference PO for each SSB beam, (ii) the start time reference PO for all SSB beams, or (iii) the first start time reference PO for SSB beams whose indicated availability state corresponds to the ON state of the SSB beam, and the second start time reference PO for SSB beams whose indicated availability state corresponds to the OFF state of the SSB beam.

[0217] For example, during operation, the circuit makes a decision that (i) when the availability state corresponds to the ON state, the start time corresponds to a first set time, and / or (ii) when the availability state corresponds to the OFF state, the start time corresponds to a second set time.

[0218] In an exemplary implementation of the fifth aspect, the first set time is (i) the next paging cycle of the set paging cycle, (ii) the next PF of the set paging frame (PF), or (iii) the next PO of the set paging opportunity (PO), and / or the second set time is (i) the next paging cycle of the set paging cycle, (ii) the next PF of the set PF, or (iii) the next PO of the set PO.

[0219] For example, during operation, the circuit (i) obtains an instruction indicating the offset from the signaling, and (ii) in the determination, determines the start time as the time offset by the indicated offset from the reception of the signaling by the transceiver.

[0220] For example, the offset can be an integer (N) multiple of a given time unit, and the indicator showing the offset will be an integer N.

[0221] For example, during operation, the circuit determines the start time as a time offset by a predetermined amount from the reception of the signaling by the transceiver.

[0222] In an exemplary implementation of the fifth aspect, the circuit, during operation, (i) when the availability state corresponds to an ON state, obtains an indication from the signaling that indicates a positive PO among the set paging opportunities (POs), the positive PO being the PO that the UE is expected to monitor the paging physical downlink control channel (PDCCH); ii) in the determination, when the availability state corresponds to an ON state, determines that the start time corresponds to the SSB beam opportunity that precedes the first positive PO and is closest to the first positive PO; and (iii) in the determination, when the availability state corresponds to an OFF state, determines that the start time is a time offset by a predetermined offset from the reception of the signaling by the transceiver.

[0223] For example, the circuit determines, during operation, whether the UE is expected to use or not use the SSB beam until the termination time, according to the availability status indicated by signaling, the termination time being (i) set by the System Information Block (SIB), (ii) fixed, (iii) default, or (iv) indicated by an on / off instruction.

[0224] In an exemplary implementation of the fifth aspect, the circuit determines that, during operation, the UE is expected to (i) use the SSB beam when the availability state corresponds to the ON state until the OFF state is indicated, and / or (ii) not use the SSB beam in accordance with the availability state indicated by the signaling when the availability state corresponds to the OFF state until the ON state is indicated.

[0225] In an exemplary implementation of the fifth aspect, the circuit determines, during operation, that the UE is expected to use or not use the SSB beam according to the availability status indicated by the signaling, (i) until the end time set by the System Information Block (SIB) when the availability status corresponds to the ON state, or (ii) until the ON state is indicated when the availability status corresponds to the OFF state.

[0226] In an exemplary implementation of the fifth embodiment, the circuit obtains instructions indicating the beam pattern of the SSB beam from the signaling during operation.

[0227] For example, a beam pattern indication might indicate one or more of the following: (i) beam on / off bit mapping of an SSB beam, (ii) that an SSB beam is quasi-identical (QCL) with another SSB beam, and / or (iii) beam coupling of an SSB beam with another SSB beam.

[0228] In the exemplary implementation of the fifth embodiment, the beam pattern shown differs from the current beam pattern of the SSB beam.

[0229] In an exemplary implementation of the fifth embodiment, the beam pattern indication indicates one of several beam patterns set by the System Information Block (SIB).

[0230] According to a sixth aspect, a method is provided for a user equipment (UE), the method comprising the following steps: (i) receiving signaling from a scheduling device when the UE is in an inactive or idle state; (ii) obtaining on / off instructions from the signaling indicating the availability state of a synchronization signal block (SSB) beam; (iii) determining the availability state of the SSB beam; and (iv) determining (a) the expected start time when the UE will use the SSB beam if the availability state corresponds to the SSB beam being on, and (b) the expected start time when the UE will not use the SSB beam if the availability state corresponds to the SSB beam being off.

[0231] According to a seventh aspect, a scheduling device is provided. The scheduling device comprises a circuit that, when in operation, (i) determines that the availability status of a synchronous signal block (SSB) beam should be notified to a user equipment (UE) that is in an inactive or idle state; (ii) determines a start time to be indicated to the UE, where the start time is (a) the time at which the UE is expected to use the SSB beam if the availability status corresponds to the ON state of the SSB beam; or (b) the time at which the UE is expected not to use the SSB beam if the availability status corresponds to the OFF state of the SSB beam; and (iii) generates a signaling that includes an on / off instruction indicating the start time and the availability status of the SSB beam. Furthermore, the scheduling device comprises a transceiver that transmits the signaling when in operation.

[0232] According to the eighth aspect, a method for a scheduling device is provided, the method comprising the following steps: (i) determining that the availability status of a synchronization signal block (SSB) beam is to be communicated to a user equipment (UE) that is in an inactive or idle state; (ii) determining a start time to be instructed to the UE, the start time being (a) the time at which the UE is expected to use the SSB beam if the availability status corresponds to an ON state of the SSB beam, or (b) the time at which the UE is expected not to use the SSB beam if the availability status corresponds to an OFF state of the SSB beam; (iii) generating a signaling that includes an on / off instruction indicating the start time and the availability status of the SSB beam; and (iv) transmitting the signaling.

[0233] According to the ninth aspect, an integrated circuit is provided. The integrated circuit controls the processing of a user device (UE) when in operation, the processing includes the following steps: (i) receiving signaling from a scheduling device when the UE is in an inactive or idle state; (ii) obtaining on / off instructions from the signaling indicating the availability state of a synchronization signal block (SSB) beam; (iii) determining the availability state of the SSB beam; and (iv) determining (a) the start time when the UE is expected to use the SSB beam if the availability state corresponds to the ON state of the SSB beam; and (b) the start time when the UE is expected not to use the SSB beam if the availability state corresponds to the OFF state of the SSB beam.

[0234] According to a tenth aspect, an integrated circuit is provided. The integrated circuit controls the processing of a scheduling device when in operation, the processing includes the following steps: (i) determining that the availability status of a synchronization signal block (SSB) beam is to be communicated to a user equipment (UE) that is in an inactive or idle state; (ii) determining a start time to be instructed to the UE, the start time being (a) the time at which the UE is expected to use the SSB beam if the availability status corresponds to the ON state of the SSB beam, or (b) the time at which the UE is expected not to use the SSB beam if the availability status corresponds to the OFF state of the SSB beam; (iii) generating a signaling that includes an on / off instruction indicating the start time and the availability status of the SSB beam; and (iv) transmitting the signaling.

[0235] In summary, a communication device, a base station, and methods for the communication device and base station are provided. When the communication device is in an inactive or idle state, the base station sends an on / off instruction, and the communication device receives the on / off instruction. The on / off instruction indicates the availability state of a synchronous signal block (SSB) beam. The communication device determines the availability state of the SSB beam and, if the (indicated) availability state corresponds to the SSB beam's on state, the expected start time when the communication device will use the SSB beam, and if the (indicated) availability state corresponds to the SSB beam's off state, the expected start time when the communication device will not use the SSB beam.

Claims

1. A communication device, When the communication device is in an inactive or idle state, the transceiver receives signaling from the scheduling device, including an availability indicator that indicates the availability status of the tracking reference signal (TRS). The availability status of the TRS, The aforementioned communication device If the availability state corresponds to the availability state of the TRS, the first start time at which the TRS is to be used is, If the availability status corresponds to the unavailability of the TRS, a second start time is set at which the TRS will not be used. to decide Circuits and, Equipped with, The first start time is determined by the offset from the paging opportunity (PO). Communication device.

2. The aforementioned availability instruction indicates the availability status for multiple TRSs. The communication device according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned circuit, When the availability state corresponds to the usable state, the first start time is determined to correspond to the first set time. The communication device according to claim 1.

4. The circuit determines whether or not the communication device will use the TRS until the termination time, according to the availability status indicated by the signaling. The aforementioned end time is, Set by the System Information Block (SIB), or Default, The communication device according to claim 1.

5. A method for a communication device, The aforementioned communication device When in an inactive or idle state, the scheduling device receives signaling including an availability indicator that indicates the availability status of the tracking reference signal (TRS); The steps include determining the availability status of the TRS, The aforementioned communication device If the availability state corresponds to the availability state of the TRS, the first start time at which the TRS is to be used is, If the availability status corresponds to the unavailability of the TRS, a second start time is set at which the TRS will not be used. The steps to determine, Includes, The first start time is determined by the offset from the paging opportunity (PO). method.

6. A scheduling device, It is decided that the availability status of the tracking reference signal (TRS) will be notified to communication devices that are inactive or idle. The aforementioned communication device If the availability state corresponds to the availability state of the TRS, the first start time at which the TRS is to be used is, If the availability status corresponds to the unavailability of the TRS, a second start time is determined in which the TRS will not be used. A signaling is generated that includes an availability indicator that specifies the first start time and the second start time, and the availability status of the TRS. Circuits and, A transceiver that transmits the aforementioned signaling, Equipped with, The first start time is determined by the offset from the paging opportunity (PO). Scheduling device.

7. A method for scheduling devices, The steps include determining whether the availability status of a tracking reference signal (TRS) is communicated to a communication device that is inactive or idle, The aforementioned communication device If the availability state corresponds to the availability state of the TRS, the first start time at which the TRS is to be used is, If the availability status corresponds to the unavailability of the TRS, a second start time is determined in which the TRS will not be used. A step of generating a signaling that includes an availability indicator that indicates the first start time and the second start time, and the availability status of the TRS, The steps include transmitting the aforementioned signaling, Includes, The first start time is determined by the offset from the paging opportunity (PO). method.

8. An integrated circuit that controls the processing of a communication device, wherein the processing is When the communication device is in an inactive or idle state, the process includes receiving a signaling from the scheduling device that includes an availability indicator indicating the availability status of the tracking reference signal (TRS), A process for determining the availability status of the TRS, The aforementioned communication device If the availability state corresponds to the availability state of the TRS, the first start time at which the TRS is to be used is, If the availability status corresponds to the unavailability state of the TRS, a process is performed to determine a second start time at which the TRS will not be used. Includes, The first start time is determined by the offset from the paging opportunity (PO). Integrated circuit.

9. An integrated circuit that controls the processing of a scheduling device, wherein the processing is A process to determine whether the availability status of a tracking reference signal (TRS) is notified to a communication device that is inactive or idle, The aforementioned communication device If the availability state corresponds to the availability state of the TRS, the first start time at which the TRS is to be used is, If the availability status corresponds to the unavailability of the TRS, a process is performed to determine a second start time at which the communication device will not use the TRS. A process for generating a signaling that includes an availability instruction that specifies the first start time and the second start time, and the availability status of the TRS, The process of sending the aforementioned signaling, Includes, The first start time is determined by the offset from the paging opportunity (PO). Integrated circuit.

10. The aforementioned signaling includes paging advance instructions (PEI). The communication device according to claim 1.

11. When multiple TRSs are configured, including a first TRS and a second TRS, the availability indicator indicates a first availability state for the first TRS and a second availability state for the second TRS. The communication device according to claim 1.

12. The validity period, which is the period between the first start time and the end time, is set by the SIB. The communication device according to claim 1.

13. The first set time is associated with the start of the set paging frame (PF), The communication device according to claim 3.

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