HARQ assistance information for energy harvesting devices

Abstract

An apparatus configured to: receive, from a base station, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and transmit, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, assistance information associated with at least one second timer. An apparatus configured to: transmit, to a user equipment, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and determine whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

Description

HARQ ASSISTANCE INFORMATION FOR ENERGY HARVESTING DEVICESTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The example and non-limiting embodiments relate generally to the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) procedure and, more particularly, to performance of (re)transmission(s) by a device with variable power capabilities.BACKGROUND

[0002] It is known, in non-terrestrial networks (NTN), for the network to disable part of the HARQ procedure.SUMMARY

[0003] The following summary is merely intended to be illustrative. The summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

[0004] In accordance with one aspect, an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a base station, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and transmit, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

[0005] In accordance with one aspect, a method comprising: receiving, with a user equipment from a base station, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and transmitting, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

[0006] In accordance with one aspect, an apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from a base station, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and transmitting, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

[0007] In accordance with one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: causing receiving, with a user equipment from a base station, of an indication of, at least, a first timer; and causing transmitting, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, of assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

[0008] In accordance with one aspect, an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: transmit, to a user equipment, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and determine whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

[0009] In accordance with one aspect, a method comprising: transmitting, with a base station to a user equipment, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and determining whether to suspend communication between the base station and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

[0010] In accordance with one aspect, an apparatus comprising means for: transmitting, to a user equipment, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and determining whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

[0011] In accordance with one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: causing transmitting, with a base station to a user equipment, of an indication of, at least, a first timer; andcausing determining whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

[0012] According to some aspects, there is provided the subject matter of the independent claims. Some further aspects are defined in the dependent claims.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The foregoing aspects and other features are explained in the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0014] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one possible and non-limiting example system in which the example embodiments may be practiced;

[0015] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating features as described herein;

[0016] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating features as described herein;

[0017] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating features as described herein;

[0018] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating features as described herein;

[0019] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating features as described herein;

[0020] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating features as described herein;

[0021] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating steps as described herein; and

[0022] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating steps as described herein.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0023] The following abbreviations that may be found in the specification and / or the drawing figures are defined as follows:3 GPP third generation partnership project5G fifth generation5GC 5G core networkACK acknowledgementAIOT or a-IoT ambient Internet of ThingsAMF access and mobility management functionARQ automatic repeat requestBS base stationCG configured grant cRAN cloud radio access networkCRC cyclic redundancy checkCU central unitDCI downlink control informationDL downlinkDU distributed unitEH energy harvestingEHD energy harvesting device eMTC enhanced machine-type communication eNB (or eNodeB) evolved Node B (e.g., an LTE base station)EN-DC E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity en-gNB or En-gNB node providing NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and acting as secondary node in EN-DCE-UTRA evolved universal terrestrial radio access, i.e., the LTE radio access technologyFEC forward error correctiongNB (or gNodeB) base station for 5G / NR, i.e., a node providing NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and connected via the NG interface to the 5GCHARQ hybrid automatic repeat requestI / F interface loT Internet of ThingsLI layer 1LCH logical channelLTE long term evolutionMAC medium access controlMME mobility management entityMO mobile originatedMT mobile terminatedMTC machine-type communicationNACK negative acknowledgementNB-IoT narrow band Internet of Things ng or NG new generation ng-eNB or NG-eNB new generation eNBNR new radioNTN non-terrestrial networkN / W or NW networkO-RAN open radio access networkPDCCH physical downlink control channelPDCP packet data convergence protocolPDSCH physical downlink shared channelPHICH physical HARQ indicator channelPHY physical layerPTR periodic task reportingPUCCH physical uplink control channelPUSCH physical uplink shared channelQoS quality of serviceRAN radio access networkRedCap reduced capabilityRF radio frequencyRFID radio frequency identificationRLC radio link controlRRC radio resource controlRRH remote radio headRS reference signalRU radio unitRV or rv redundancy versionRx receiverSDAP service data adaptation protocolSGW serving gatewaySMF session management functionTx transmitterUE user equipment (e.g., a wireless, typically mobile device)UL uplinkUPF user plane functionVNR virtualized network function

[0024] Turning to FIG. 1 , this figure shows a block diagram of one possible and non-limiting example in which the examples may be practiced. A user equipment (UE) 110, radio access network (RAN) node 170, and network element(s) 190 are illustrated. In the example of FIG. 1, the user equipment (UE) 110 is in wireless communication with a wireless network 100. A UE is a wireless device that can access the wireless network 100. The UE 110 includes one or more processors 120, one or more memories 125, and one or more transceivers 130 interconnected through one or more buses 127. Each of the one or more transceivers 130 includes a receiver, Rx, 132 and a transmitter, Tx, 133. The one or more buses 127 may be address, data, or control buses,and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optics or other optical communication equipment, and the like. A “circuit” may include dedicated hardware or hardware in association with software executable thereon. The one or more transceivers 130 are connected to one or more antennas 128. The one or more memories 125 include computer program code 123. The UE 110 includes a module 140, comprising one of or both parts 140-1 and / or 140-2, which may be implemented in a number of ways. The module 140 may be implemented in hardware as module 140-1, such as being implemented as part of the one or more processors 120. The module 140-1 may be implemented also as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, the module 140 may be implemented as module 140-2, which is implemented as computer program code 123 and is executed by the one or more processors 120. For instance, the one or more memories 125 and the computer program code 123 may be configured to, with the one or more processors 120, cause the user equipment 110 to perform one or more of the operations as described herein. The UE 110 communicates with RAN node 170 via a wireless link 111.

[0025] The RAN node 170 in this example is a base station that provides access by wireless devices such as the UE 110 to the wireless network 100. The RAN node 170 may be, for example, a base station for 5G, also called New Radio (NR). In 5G, the RAN node 170 may be a NG-RAN node, which is defined as either a gNB or a ng-eNB. A gNB is a node providing NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and connected via the NG interface to a 5GC (such as, for example, the network element(s) 190). The ng-eNB is a node providing E- UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and connected via the NG interface to the 5GC. The NG-RAN node may include multiple gNBs, which may also include a central unit (CU) (gNB-CU) 196 and distributed unit(s) (DUs) (gNB-DUs), of which DU 195 is shown. Note that the DU may include or be coupled to and control a radio unit (RU). The gNB- CU is a logical node hosting RRC, SDAP and PDCP protocols of the gNB or RRC and PDCP protocols of the en-gNB that controls the operation of one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU terminates the Fl interface connected with the gNB -DU. The Fl interface is illustrated as reference 198, although reference 198 also illustrates a link between remote elements of the RAN node 170 and centralized elements of the RAN node 170, such as between the gNB-CU 196 andthe gNB-DU 195. The gNB-DU is a logical node hosting RLC, MAC and PHY layers of the gNB or en-gNB, and its operation is partly controlled by gNB-CU. One gNB-CU supports one or multiple cells. One cell is supported by only one gNB-DU. The gNB-DU terminates the Fl interface 198 connected with the gNB-CU. Note that the DU 195 is considered to include the transceiver 160, e.g., as part of a RU, but some examples of this may have the transceiver 160 as part of a separate RU, e.g., under control of and connected to the DU 195. The RAN node 170 may also be an eNB (evolved NodeB) base station, for LTE (long term evolution), or any other suitable base station, access point, access node, or node.

[0026] The RAN node 170 includes one or more processors 152, one or more memories 155, one or more network interfaces (N / W I / F(s)) 161, and one or more transceivers 160 interconnected through one or more buses 157. Each of the one or more transceivers 160 includes a receiver, Rx, 162 and a transmitter, Tx, 163. The one or more transceivers 160 are connected to one or more antennas 158. The one or more memories 155 include computer program code 153. The CU 196 may include the processor(s) 152, memories 155, and network interfaces 161. Note that the DU 195 may also contain its own memory / memories and processor(s), and / or other hardware, but these are not shown.

[0027] The RAN node 170 includes a module 150, comprising one of or both parts 150-1 and / or 150-2, which may be implemented in a number of ways. The module 150 may be implemented in hardware as module 150-1, such as being implemented as part of the one or more processors 152. The module 150-1 may be implemented also as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, the module 150 may be implemented as module 150-2, which is implemented as computer program code 153 and is executed by the one or more processors 152. For instance, the one or more memories 155 and the computer program code 153 are configured to, with the one or more processors 152, cause the RAN node 170 to perform one or more of the operations as described herein. Note that the functionality of the module 150 may be distributed, such as being distributed between the DU 195 and the CU 196, or be implemented solely in the DU 195.

[0028] The one or more network interfaces 161 communicate over a network such as via the links 176 and 131. Two or more gNBs 170 may communicate using, e.g., link 176. The link 176 may be wired or wireless or both and may implement, for example, an Xn interface for 5G, an X2 interface for LTE, or other suitable interface for other standards.

[0029] The one or more buses 157 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optics or other optical communication equipment, wireless channels, and the like. For example, the one or more transceivers 160 may be implemented as a remote radio head (RRH) 195 for LTE or a distributed unit (DU) 195 for gNB implementation for 5G, with the other elements of the RAN node 170 possibly being physically in a different location from the RRH / DU, and the one or more buses 157 could be implemented in part as, for example, fiber optic cable or other suitable network connection to connect the other elements (e.g., a central unit (CU), gNB-CU) of the RAN node 170 to the RRH / DU 195. Reference 198 also indicates those suitable network link(s).

[0030] It is noted that description herein indicates that “cells” perform functions, but it should be clear that equipment which forms the cell will perform the functions. The cell makes up part of a base station. That is, there can be multiple cells per base station. For example, there could be three cells for a single carrier frequency and associated bandwidth, each cell covering one-third of a 360 degree area so that the single base station’s coverage area covers an approximate oval or circle. Furthermore, each cell can correspond to a single carrier and a base station may use multiple carriers. So if there are three 120 degree cells per carrier and two carriers, then the base station has a total of 6 cells.

[0031] The wireless network 100 may include a network element or elements 190 that may include core network functionality, and which provides connectivity via a link or links 181 with a further network, such as a telephone network and / or a data communications network (e.g., the Internet). Such core network functionality for 5G may include access and mobility management function(s) (AMF(s)) and / or user plane functions (UPF(s)) and / or session management function(s) (SMF(s)). Such core network functionality for LTE may include MME (Mobility ManagementEntity) / SGW (Serving Gateway) functionality. These are merely illustrative functions that may be supported by the network element(s) 190, and note that both 5G and LTE functions might be supported. The RAN node 170 is coupled via a link 131 to a network element 190. The link 131 may be implemented as, e.g., an NG interface for 5G, or an SI interface for LTE, or other suitable interface for other standards. The network element 190 includes one or more processors 175, one or more memories 171, and one or more network interfaces (N / W I / F(s)) 180, interconnected through one or more buses 185. The one or more memories 171 include computer program code 173. The one or more memories 171 and the computer program code 173 are configured to, with the one or more processors 175, cause the network element 190 to perform one or more operations.

[0032] The wireless network 100 may implement network virtualization, which is the process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functionality into a single, software -based administrative entity, a virtual network. Network virtualization involves platform virtualization, often combined with resource virtualization. Network virtualization is categorized as either external, combining many networks, or parts of networks, into a virtual unit, or internal, providing network-like functionality to software containers on a single system. For example, a network may be deployed in a tele cloud, with virtualized network functions (VNF) running on, for example, data center servers. For example, network core functions and / or radio access network(s) (e.g. CloudRAN, O-RAN, edge cloud) may be virtualized. Note that the virtualized entities that result from the network virtualization are still implemented, at some level, using hardware such as processors 152 or 175 and memories 155 and 171, and also such virtualized entities create technical effects.

[0033] It may also be noted that operations of example embodiments of the present disclosure may be carried out by a plurality of cooperating devices (e.g. cRAN).

[0034] The computer readable memories 125, 155, and 171 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. The computer readable memories 125, 155, and 171 may be means for performing storagefunctions. The processors 120, 152, and 175 may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on a multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The processors 120, 152, and 175 may be means for performing functions, such as controlling the UE 110, RAN node 170, and other functions as described herein.

[0035] In general, the various example embodiments of the user equipment 110 can include, but are not limited to, cellular telephones such as smart phones, tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs) having wireless communication capabilities, portable computers having wireless communication capabilities, image capture devices such as digital cameras having wireless communication capabilities, gaming devices having wireless communication capabilities, music storage and playback appliances having wireless communication capabilities, Internet appliances permitting wireless Internet access and browsing, tablets with wireless communication capabilities, as well as portable units or terminals that incorporate combinations of such functions. Further, the user equipment 110 may be an loT device, an ambient loT device, an energy harvesting device, any device type supporting energy harvesting features, etc.

[0036] Having thus introduced one suitable but non-limiting technical context for the practice of the example embodiments of the present disclosure, example embodiments will now be described with greater specificity.

[0037] Features as described herein may generally relate to handling errors in received messages. With the demand for a high-speed, large-volume data communication system for processing and transmitting a variety of information, an error-handling method is essential for minimizing data loss (i.e. increasing data reliability) and for increasing system transmission efficiency. Examples of the error handling method include a forward error correction (FEC) scheme and an automatic repeat request (ARQ) scheme. In the FEC scheme, a receiver corrects an error by appending an extra error correction code to information bits. In the ARQ scheme, when a received signal has an error, a transmitter corrects the error by retransmitting data. A hybrid ARQ (HARQ) scheme is a combination of the FEC scheme and the ARQ scheme.

[0038] According to the HARQ scheme, the receiver basically attempts error correction when data is received and determines data retransmission by using an error detection code. For error detection, the transmitter can append a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) as the error detection code to the data to be transmitted. The receiver can detect an error in the received data by using the appended CRC. If no error is detected by the receiver by using the CRC, the receiver feeds back an acknowledgment (ACK) signal as a response signal to the transmitter. Otherwise, upon detecting an error from the received data, the receiver transmits a negative-acknowledgement (NACK) signal as a response signal to the transmitter. That is, the ACK7NACK signal is feedback on the successful or unsuccessful reception of uplink data. The transmitter retransmits data upon receiving the NACK signal. Such a HARQ operation is performed in a physical layer.

[0039] The uplink transmission and the HARQ operation are performed in the following manner. The base station (BS) transmits scheduling information to the UE through a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) that is a downlink control channel. Then, according to the scheduling information, the UE transmits data to the BS through a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) that is an uplink data channel. When the UE transmits the data to the BS, the BS may transmit an ACK7NACK signal to the UE through an ACK7NACK channel (i.e., as in LTE via physical HARQ indicator channel (PHICH)). If an error occurs in the ACK7NACK channel, the NACK signal may be erroneously decoded instead of the ACK signal, or vice versa. In this case, the UE cannot properly perform retransmission or new transmission. The downlink transmission and HARQ operation is performed in an analogous manner where the network indicates scheduled downlink data via the PDCCH, the UE receives the data on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), and provides its uplink feedback (ACK7NACK) over PUCCH or PUSCH.

[0040] HARQ is described as follows in Section 7.2.1.4 of 3GPP TS, 38.821 the MAC sublayer supports error correction and / or repetition through HARQ as in NR Release 15. The HARQ functionality ensures delivery between peer entities at Layer 1.

[0041] For non-terrestrial networks (NTN), the network could disable uplink HARQ feedback for downlink transmission at the UE receiver (e.g. to support long propagation delays). Even if HARQ feedback is disabled, the HARQ processes are still configured. Enabling / disablingHARQ feedback is a network decision signaled semi-statically to the UE by RRC signaling. The enabling / disabling of HARQ feedback for downlink transmission should be configurable on a per UE and per HARQ process basis via RRC signaling.

[0042] For NTN, the network could disable HARQ uplink retransmission at the UE transmitter. Even if HARQ uplink retransmissions are disabled, the HARQ processes are still configured. The enabling / disabling of HARQ uplink retransmission could be configurable on a per UE, per HARQ process, and / or per logical channel (LCH) basis. Details can be decided in a normative phase. The LCP impact caused by disabling the HARQ uplink retransmission configuration may be discussed in the work item phase.

[0043] Features as described herein may generally relate to ambient Internet of Things (a- loT) devices. There is a demand for improved coverage (i.e. 30 m indoor and up to 100 m outdoor) and increased device density with ultra-low-cost and power consumption that is not addressed by existing solutions (i.e. radio frequency identification (RFID) that has coverage up to 10 m). The use of Ambient loT devices (i.e., devices that are battery-less or devices that have batteries but don’t need battery replacement over the lifetime of the device) is being studied within the 3GPP framework (currently a Rel-19 study item in SA and a potential Rel-19 RAN study item). These devices are expected to have lower complexity, data rate, coverage, cost, and energy consumption than NB-IoT / eMTC. The use cases for ambient loT devices include identification, tracking, monitoring, sensing, logistics and supply chain management, transportation, manufacturing (factory automation), healthcare, energy, agriculture, transportation, smart cities, environment, extreme conditions, and hazardous environments in some use cases (e.g. environments where devices with batteries is not an option).

[0044] The design targets of ambient loT devices include the following: improved link budget compared to existing RFID solutions; frequency bands for global useability; ultra-low-cost; no need for battery charging or replacement (enabling low maintenance long life cycle operation); ultra-low-power (e.g., < 100 micro-Watts, to enable operation with back-scattering or energy harvesting); small device size, form-factor; positioning accuracy (e.g., 3 - 5m); data rate (e.g., 10 - 100 kbps); energy source: ambient devices make use of backscattering techniques, while semi-ambient devices operate with energy harvesting or with a very small battery (e.g., <100mAh); mobile-originated and mobile-terminated data.

[0045] As per the 3GPP RAN#99 outcome, the work on AIoT is progressing a lot (i.e. RP- 230807 contains agreed connectivity topologies for Ambient loT, RP-230808 contains agreed deployment scenarios for Ambient loT and RP-230058 provides AIoT device type (A, B C) considering storage or without storage capability). In RAN#98, three distinct types of devices were agreed upon for implementation. In a proposal at the RAN plenary, the following set of Ambient loT devices are considered in the study item:

[0046] Device A: no energy storage, no independent signal generation (i.e. relies on backscattering transmission).

[0047] Device B: has energy storage, no independent signal generation (i.e. relies on backscattering transmission). Use of stored energy can include amplification for reflected signals.

[0048] Device C: has energy storage, has independent signal generation (i.e. employs an active RF component for generation / transmission). In one proposal, device type C is defined as an active device with full capabilities to perform both network registration (uplink & downlink) and both mobile originated (MO) and mobile terminated (MT) operations.

[0049] Example embodiments of the present disclosure may, for example, relate to device type C, which is an active device with full capabilities to perform both network registration (uplink & downlink) and both MO and MT operations.

[0050] Type C devices are energy harvesting devices (EHD) with active transmission and storage. Transmission is similar to NR UE, so access protocols can still be used, with some changes. The main difference is the lack of stable power availability. For RF energy harvesting, power and signal construction could be different (different waveforms). Furthermore, the energy harvesting signal is usually broadcast, and other UEs can benefit from the energy harvesting signal when transmitted for one user.

[0051] Ambient power-enabled loT is an loT service with an loT device powered by energy harvesting, being either battery-less or with limited energy storage capability (e.g., using a capacitor) and the energy is provided through the harvesting of radio waves, light, motion, heat, or any other power source that could be seen as suitable. The ambient loT device has low complexity, small size and lower capabilities and lower power consumption than previously defined 3GPP loT devices (e.g., NB-IoT / eMTC devices). Massive MTC is one important use cases for 5G. NB-IoT / LTE-M / RedCap have been specified in 3GPP to support low power devices that still require battery. Ambient power-enabled loT service, however, is to focus on battery-less devices or devices with limited energy storage capability.

[0052] Features as described herein may generally relate to transmission and / or reception. The transmission and reception process involves transmitting data, receiving an acknowledgement (ACK) or negative acknowledgement (NACK), and performing retransmissions, if necessary. The whole procedure (transmission, reception and ACK7NACK reporting, retransmission) is done by a special process called the HARQ process. A few typical examples of HARQ operation are illustrated in FIG. 2.

[0053] Referring now to FIG. 2, illustrated is an example HARQ procedure for downlink data transmission.

[0054] In a first case, there may be a pass at the first reception. At 205, the gNB (base station) may transmit PDSCH with redundancy version (rv) 0 to the UE over the PDSCH. At 210, the UE may receive the data and performs error detection using the cyclic redundancy check (CRC). At 215, if the CRC is OK, the UE may send an ACK message to the gNB through PUCCH or PUSCH, indicating successful reception. Since in this example the transmission was successful, there may be no need for retransmissions. There may be no need to save the data in HARQ buffer, and at 220, the UE may forward the decoded data to a higher layer.

[0055] In a second case, there may be a pass with retransmission(s). At 225, the gNB may transmit PDSCH with rv 0 to the UE over the PDSCH. At 230, the UE may receive the data and perform error detection using the CRC. In this example, the CRC fails, indicating a decodingfailure. At 235, the UE may send a NACK message to the gNB through the PUCCH or PUSCH, indicating a decoding failure. At 240, the UE may store data from rv 0. At 245, based on the NACK, the gNB may retransmit the data with a different RV (e.g. RV=3) to increase the likelihood of successful decoding. At 250, the UE may receive the retransmitted data and perform error detection using the CRC. In this example, the CRC fails again, indicating another decoding failure. When the UE decodes data, it combines the previous data stored in the buffer and the current data it just received and then decodes the combined data. At 255, the UE may send another NACK message to the gNB, indicating a second decoding failure. At 260, the UE may store data from rv 3. At 265, based on the second NACK, the gNB may retransmit the data again with a different RV (e.g. RV=2) to further increase the likelihood of successful decoding. At 270, the UE may receive the retransmitted data and perform error detection using the CRC. In this example, the CRC is OK this time, indicating successful decoding. When the UE decodes data, it combines all the previous data stored in the buffer and the current data it just received, and then decodes the combined data. At 275, the UE sends an ACK message to the gNB, indicating successful reception after the third transmission attempt. At 280, the UE may forward the decoded data to a higher layer.

[0056] Note for redundancy version (rv): when a transmission (or retransmission) takes place, the original data bits are encoded using a specific Forward Error Correction (FEC) scheme. The encoded bits are then punctured or rate-matched to create a set of output bits for transmission. The redundancy version determines which bits are selected for transmission, and different RVs will result in different sets of bits being sent. The selection of bits in different redundancy versions is usually achieved using a circular buffer and a specific interleaving pattern for each RV. As a result, each RV will provide a different portion of the rate-matched output, increasing the chances of successful decoding at the receiver.

[0057] Referring now to FIG. 3, illustrated is an example of failure of the HARQ procedure. For example, the HARQ procedure may fail due to the unavailability of energy on the UE side. This lack of energy may occur at, for example, an energy harvesting device (e.g. energy -harvesting type C UE).

[0058] At 310, the BS may send scheduling information to the UE through PDCCH. At 320, the UE may transmit UL data through PUSCH. At 330, the BS may check the data decoding error. At 340, the BS may send NACK if errors are detected. At 350, the UE may attempt to re-transmit data stored in the UE’s buffer based on the number of set HARQ re-transmissions. At 360, the UE may be unable to perform the data transmission due to the low availability of energy. It may be noted that, in the example of FIG. 3, the energy resources of the UE deplete over time.

[0059] The problem of low availability of energy may occur for an initial transmission as well as retransmission (so it can happen during step 2 (320) or step 5 (350). The problem may also exist for DL transmissions. The UE may be able to correctly decode the DL PDSCH, but may not have the energy to send the UL feedback on the PUCCH / PUSCH. This may result in inefficient HARQ (re)transmission decisions for EH devices; re-transmissions may be scheduled, but they shouldn’t be to avoid wasting resources.

[0060] In the case of configured grant (CG) transmission, the initial transmissions are already configured and the retransmissions are scheduled in the case of decoding failure. In this case, step 1 (310) does not exist (i.e. the BS transmits data to the UE via PDSCH without first sending scheduling information via PDCCH).

[0061] There is a question of how the HARQ procedure may be performed for UEs with low energy capabilities, for example energy-harvesting type C UEs. In an example embodiment, the HARQ procedure may be performed based on energy harvesting information and / or periodic data / measurement reporting of the devices (i.e. UE(s) and / or the NW).

[0062] In an example embodiment, the HARQ re-transmission decision may be dynamically adjusted by monitoring the data transmission periodicity and energy conditions for (EH) devices. The gNB may configure the parameters to help compute a HARQ re-transmission timer at the UE side to provide HARQ (re)transmission assistance information to the gNB. Based on this assistance information, the gNB may suspend / resume DL and / or UL HARQ.

[0063] In an example embodiment, the gNB may provide conditional scheduling information to the UE through PDCCH, where the condition may be a waiting timer (Tl) so that the UE maycompute an active timer (T) for HARQ (re)transmission and provide this information as an assistance information to the gNB within T1 to confirm the allocated resources. Alternatively, the UE may provide HARQ suspension information within T1 to the gNB (in case the HARQ (re)transmission timer (T) is not active) so that the gNB may suspend the allocated resources and allocate them to other UEs.

[0064] In an example embodiment, the UE may transmit data through PUSCH and report HARQ timer (T) information to the gNB as assistance information. A few bits may be added in PUSCH for HARQ assistance information, or in PUCCH.

[0065] In an example embodiment, the assistance information may comprise the suspension timer (Ts).

[0066] In an alternate example embodiment, the gNB may directly send a ‘suspend timer’ indication to the UE based on assistance information received from the energy harvesting UE, for example instead of simply suspending / resuming HARQ. This timer may be used to implement an iterative method at the UE side for dynamic HARQ scheduling. This timer may be fixed for HARQ scheduling for a particular UE for a fixed time, and the UE may send new assistance information if there is a change in its condition (e.g., stored energy, periodic reporting period) and the gNB may compute a new timer based on the information.

[0067] As the energy level may increase or decrease for an energy harvesting device (unlike a conventional battery), a dynamic HARQ configuration process may be mandatory to exploit the full benefits of energy harvesting. The energy harvesting mechanism usually correlates with previous harvesting occasions. If energy is not being harvested for some time, it is useless to waste energy on (re)transmissions. In an example embodiment the HARQ (re)transmission timer may be computed to provide assistance information to the gNB.

[0068] Referring now to FIG. 4, illustrated is an example of a modified HARQ procedure according to example embodiment(s) of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 illustrates three alternative cases: Case 1 (420), Case 2 (435), and Case 3 (450). Any one of these cases may be true at a given time. Steps 1 (405) and 2 (415) may be performed prior to any of these three cases.

[0069] At 405, the BS may provide scheduling information to the UE through PDCCH. The condition may be a timer (Tl). The timer (Tl) (410) may be a waiting timer such that the UE may be expected to provide feedback with assistance information to the gNB before the expiration of the timer Tl. Thus, the gNB may wait for assistance information for at least time Tl before determining that the UE is unable to provide feedback (see step 5 (455)).

[0070] In one scenario (e.g., when stored energy is high and hence HARQ (re)transmission can be supported by the UE), within time Tl the UE may provide assistance information comprising an active timer (T) for HARQ (re)transmission in step 3 (425). Within the active timer, the UE may receive HARQ. In this scenario, the BS may confirm the allocated resources.

[0071] In another scenario (e.g., when stored energy is low and hence the HARQ (re)transmission timer (T) is not activated), within time Tl the UE may provide assistance information comprising HARQ suspension information comprising a suspension timer (Ts) in step 3 (440). In this scenario, the BS may suspend the allocated resources and reallocate them to other UEs.

[0072] Additionally, the BS may provide other parameters to the UE to compute the HARQ active timer (T). The parameters may be: required energy for current (re)transmission or reception; the minimum required energy for a device to be in an active state; the minimum required power for a (re)transmission or reception; EHD periodic task reporting time (could be one or more than one); and / or delta, a parameter to fine-tune the HARQ active timer in such a way as to save energy for the next new transmission, this could be >1. Delta may be indicated by the NW based on a data rate requirement, or how fast it requires data vs reliability, or based on optimization requirements of the device. A large delta may imply that less energy should be spent on the HARQ process (e.g. a conservative approach) and energy should be saved for future transmission. A small delta may imply that more energy should be spent on the HARQ process.

[0073] At 415, the UE may compute the HARQ timer (T). In case the UE has enough energy, this timer (>0) assistance information may be sent to the BS (e.g. at 425). If the timer is 0 or less than 0 (e.g. Ts = abs(T)), the UE may send a HARQ suspension indication to the BS (e.g. at 440).

[0074] In an example embodiment, the HARQ suspend timer (Ts) may be less than (i.e. sooner than) the next scheduling interval. For example, the gNB may determine the HARQ suspend timer (Ts) based on EH history and periodic task reporting (PTR).

[0075] In an example embodiment, both DL and UL HARQ suspensions may be supported (e.g. at 445, 460).

[0076] In an example embodiment, the gNB may learn that the UE cannot perform HARQ generally from past experiences.

[0077] In an example embodiment, there may be multiple assistance timers (e.g. active timers computed by the UE) for multiple use cases, where each timer may be indicated along with data priority (e.g. data priority for the use case 1 so the timer is for use case 1, etc.). Priority may be for data approaching the next PTR period.

[0078] The UE may report, at 425, an active timer (Case 1 (420) in FIG. 4) or may report, at 440, HARQ suspension for a timer TS to gNB as assistance information (Case 2 (435) in FIG. 4) before the expiry of T1.

[0079] The gNB may, at 430, confirm or, at 445, de-allocate the resources based on the assistance information.

[0080] In case the gNB does not receive any feedback from the UE within T1 (e.g., T1 expires (455), see Case 3 (450) in FIG. 4), the gNB may assume that the UE is in such a low energy state that it is unable to even transmit the assistance information. In this case, there may be a pre- configured / default / defined value of Ts. Then, at 460, the BS may suspend the allocated resources and reallocate them to other UEs.

[0081] Referring now to FIG. 5, illustrated is an example of a modified HARQ procedure according to example embodiment(s) of the present disclosure. At 505, the BS may provide scheduling information to the UE through PDCCH and parameters to the UE to compute HARQ active timer (T). The parameters may be: required energy for current (re)transmission or reception; the minimum required energy for a device to be in an active state; the minimum required powerfor a (re)transmission or reception; EHD periodic task reporting time (could be one or more than one); and / or delta, a parameter to fine-tune the HARQ active timer in such a way as to save energy for the next new transmission, this could be >1. Delta may be indicated by the NW based on data rate requirement, or how fast it requires data vs reliability, or based on optimization requirements of the device.

[0082] At 510, the UE may compute the HARQ active timer (T). At 515, the UE may transmit data through PUSCH and report HARQ active timer (T) information to the gNB as assistance information (e.g. the active timer (T), and / or information associated with the active timer (T)). In case the UE has enough energy, this timer (>0) assistance information may be sent to the BS. If the active timer is 0 or less than 0, the UE may send a HARQ (re)transmission suspension indication to the BS. In an example embodiment, a few bits may be added in PUSCH for HARQ assistance information, or in PUCCH.

[0083] At 520, the UE may store the transmitted data in the buffer.

[0084] At 525, the gNB may detect the error and need for a HARQ (re)transmission. If there is no decoding error in this step, the assistance information provided in step 3 (515) may be used for scheduling the new transmissions (e.g. at step 6 (530)).

[0085] At 530, the BS may check the HARQ active timer information. If the HARQ assistance / active timer is active, the BS may schedule the HARQ (re)transmission.

[0086] At 535, the BS may provide an UL grant for possible (re)transmission, for example by a downlink control information (DCI) or CG.

[0087] At 540, the UE may determine to perform data (re)transmission based on decoding of the BS information (sent in step 7 (535)).

[0088] At 545, the UE may again compute the HARQ assistance timer.

[0089] At 550, the UE may send the updated timer to the BS. In an example embodiment, a few bits may be added in PUSCH for HARQ assistance information, or in PUCCH.

[0090] In an alternative example embodiment, as compared to the example embodiments illustrated with FIGs. 4-5, only one suspend timer may be required that may be used to implement a dynamic HARQ process capable of handling different (stored or harvested) energy states at the UE side.

[0091] Referring now to FIG. 6, illustrated is an example of a modified HARQ procedure where HARQ is scheduled after temporary suspension. In this example, the HARQ process is suspended for T_suspend as E_s (stored energy) is less than the energy required for HARQ retransmission, but it is enabled again before next reporting period as E_s (stored energy) state improves meanwhile. Note that the gNB is informed on HARQ suspension only when HARQ is suspended first time after step 2 (625), and the gNB assumes it is suspended until it is informed again (after step 4(b) (650)) in FIG. 6 or the next reporting period starts.

[0092] At 605, the UE may send assistance information to the gNB, including: periodic reporting time, and / or average energy status (may include stored energy and energy harvesting rate, etc.) and device energy condition processing power.

[0093] At 610, based on information in 0-A (605), the gNB may compute a suspend timer T_suspend, where T_suspend<Periodic Reporting Period, and may, at 615, send it to the UE. It may be up to the gNB implementation how small the suspend timer should be, as compared to the periodic reporting period; both very long and very short timers have drawbacks. The UE may use the received information to implement an energy harvesting dependent method to handle a dynamic HARQ process with different available energy states.

[0094] In an example embodiment, in steps 1-4 (620-650), the UE may implement an iterative process that makes use of a suspend timer to dynamically implement the HARQ process for energy harvesting UEs. At 620, the UE may not be able to make HARQ, as E_s (i.e. the stored energy) may be less than E_transmit (i.e. the energy needed to (re)transmit). At 625, the UE may start a suspend timer, and inform the gNB as to the suspend timer. At 630, the UE may transmit, to the gNB, a suspend scheduling transmission, for example until informed or next reporting periodstarts. At 640, the gNB may have the option to suspend HARQ transmission, or all submissions, until informed.

[0095] At 635, the UE may, if the timer expires before the next reporting period, evaluate E_s < E_transmit again. At 645, if true, the UE may start the timer again. There may be no need to inform the gNB of this. Alternatively, at 650, if false, and transmission may be made before the next reporting period, the UE may inform the gNB to schedule HARQ. At 655, the UE may schedule HARQ. At 660, the gNB may transmit, to the UE, scheduling information.

[0096] In an example embodiment, the suspend timer in 0-B (615) may not need to be sent to the UE very frequently. It may depend on long term statistics, such as periodic reporting time and average energy (stored) and average energy harvesting rate. As these parameters are constant for a fairly long period of time, the UE may repeat 0-A (605) only when there is a change in these parameters, and consequently, the gNB may compute a new suspend timer (610) and send it back to the UE (615).

[0097] Referring now to FIG. 7, illustrated is an example of a modified HARQ procedure where HARQ is not scheduled after temporary suspension (and possibly discarded), and new transmission is prioritized. In this example, the HARQ process is suspended due to low energy, and the next reporting period starts in step 4-c (755), and the suspend timer is disabled unconditionally as a new transmission gets priority over HARQ of old data. If, after sending HARQ suspension signal (after step 2 (725)), no signal is received at gNB, it may be assumed that UE still does not have enough energy until the next reporting period starts, which may indicate prioritization of new data by default. When a timer is disabled, is is neither ON nor OFF. While a timer is disabled, HARQ may not be considered based on the energy condition, as new data may get priority due to the reporting period.

[0098] At 705, the UE may transmit, to the gNB, assistance information, for example periodic reporting interval, energy storage state, etc. At 710, the gNB may compute the suspend timer. At 715, the gNB may transmit, to the UE, the suspend timer. At 720, the UE may determine that it is not able to make HARQ as E_s < E_transmit. At 725, the UE may start the suspend timer,and inform the gNB. At 730, the UE may transmit, to the gNB, an indication to suspend scheduling transmission until informed, or next reporting period starts. At 740, the gNB may have the option to suspend HARQ transmission, or all transmissions, until informed. At 735, if the timer expires before the next reporting period, the UE may evaluate E_s < E_transmit again. At 745, if true, the UE may start the timer again, but there may be no need to inform the gNB. Alternatively, at 750, if false, and transmission may be made before the next reporting period, the UE may inform the gNB to schedule HARQ. Alternatively, at 755, if the suspend timer is ON, and the next reporting period starts, the HARQ timer may be disabled. At 760, the UE may disble the suspend timer for HARQ process and prioritize new transmission.

[0099] It is left to the gNB implementation if the HARQ process is terminated / killed at the start of next reporting period, or if it may be restarted again if new transmission is successful and the UE still has time and energy to complete HARQ transmission for the old (suspended) transmission before the next reporting period.

[0100] A technical effect of example embodiments of the present disclosure may be that adaptation of HARQ may depend on the EH process to fully exploit available energy.

[0101] A technical effect of example embodiments of the present disclosure may be to reduce the energy consumption of EH devices when they are in high need of energy.

[0102] A technical effect of example embodiments of the present disclosure may be to improve QoS of EH devices when their energy arrival or energy storage is high.

[0103] A technical effect of example embodiments of the present disclosure may be to reduceHARQ failures.

[0104] FIG. 8 illustrates the potential steps of an example method 800. The example method 800 may include: receiving, from a base station, an indication of, at least, a first timer, 810; and transmitting, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, assistance information associated with at least one second timer, 820. The example method 800 may be performed, for example, with a user equipment, a EH device, an loT device, an a-IoT device, etc.

[0105] FIG. 9 illustrates the potential steps of an example method 900. The example method 900 may include: transmitting, to a user equipment, an indication of, at least, a first timer, 910; and determining whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer, 920. The example method 900 may be performed, for example, with a base station, an eNB, a gNB, a network entity, a network node, etc.

[0106] In accordance with one example embodiment, an apparatus may comprise: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a base station, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and transmit, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

[0107] The indication may further comprise an indication of at least one of: a required energy for transmission, a required energy for reception, a minimum required energy for the apparatus to be in an active state, a minimum required power for transmission, a minimum required power for reception, at least one periodic task reporting time, or at least one parameter for tuning of the at least one second timer.

[0108] The at least one second timer may be associated with at least one priority.

[0109] The example apparatus may be further configured to: determine the at least one second timer based, at least partially, on the received indication.

[0110] The at least one second timer may be further determined based, at least partially, on an amount of energy stored for the apparatus.

[0111] The assistance information may comprise at least one of: the at least one second timer, at least one priority associated with the at least one second timer, at least one suspension timer, or an indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the base station.

[0112] The assistance information may comprise the indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the base station in response to the at least one second timer being less than or equal to zero.

[0113] The indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the base station may comprise, at least, a third timer for suspension of communication.

[0114] The assistance information may comprise the at least one second timer in response to the at least one second timer being greater than zero.

[0115] The example apparatus may be further configured to: transmit, to the base station, uplink data; receive, from the base station, a grant for retransmitting the uplink data; determine at least one third timer for the uplink data; and transmit, to the base station, the uplink data and further assistance information associated with the at least one third timer.

[0116] The assistance information may be transmitted in bits in at least one of: a physical uplink shared channel, or a physical uplink control channel.

[0117] The example apparatus may be further configured to: transmit, to the base station, at least one of: a time for periodic reporting, an average energy status of the apparatus, or a device energy condition processing power.

[0118] The first timer may comprise a suspend timer, wherein the example apparatus may be further configured to: determine that an amount of energy stored for the apparatus may be less than an amount of energy needed to transmit to the base station; start the first timer; and transmit, to the base station, an indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the base station.

[0119] The example apparatus may be further configured to: in response to expiration of the first timer, determine whether the amount of energy stored for the apparatus may be less than the amount of energy needed to transmit to the base station; in response to the amount of energy stored for the apparatus being less than the amount of energy needed to transmit to the base station, restart the first timer; and in response to the amount of energy stored for the apparatus being more thanor equal to the amount of energy needed to transmit to the base station, transmit, to the base station, an indication to schedule a hybrid automatic repeat request procedure.

[0120] In accordance with one aspect, an example method may be provided comprising: receiving, with a user equipment from a base station, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and transmitting, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

[0121] The indication may further comprise an indication of at least one of: a required energy for transmission, a required energy for reception, a minimum required energy for the user equipment to be in an active state, a minimum required power for transmission, a minimum required power for reception, at least one periodic task reporting time, or at least one parameter for tuning of the at least one second timer.

[0122] The at least one second timer may be associated with at least one priority.

[0123] The example method may further comprise: determining the at least one second timer based, at least partially, on the received indication.

[0124] The at least one second timer may be further determined based, at least partially, on an amount of energy stored for the user equipment.

[0125] The assistance information may comprise at least one of: the at least one second timer, at least one priority associated with the at least one second timer, at least one suspension timer, or an indication to suspend communication between the user equipment and the base station.

[0126] The assistance information may comprise the indication to suspend communication between the user equipment and the base station in response to the at least one second timer being less than or equal to zero.

[0127] The indication to suspend communication between the user equipment and the base station may comprise, at least, a third timer for suspension of communication.

[0128] The assistance information may comprise the at least one second timer in response to the at least one second timer being greater than zero.

[0129] The example method may further comprise: transmitting, to the base station, uplink data; receiving, from the base station, a grant for retransmitting the uplink data; determining at least one third timer for the uplink data; and transmitting, to the base station, the uplink data and further assistance information associated with the at least one third timer.

[0130] The assistance information may be transmitted in bits in at least one of: a physical uplink shared channel, or a physical uplink control channel.

[0131] The example method may further comprise: transmitting, to the base station, at least one of: a time for periodic reporting, an average energy status of the user equipment, or a device energy condition processing power.

[0132] The first timer may comprise a suspend timer, and the example method may further comprise: determining that an amount of energy stored for the user equipment may be less than an amount of energy needed to transmit to the base station; starting the first timer; and transmitting, to the base station, an indication to suspend communication between the user equipment and the base station.

[0133] The example method may further comprise: in response to expiration of the first timer, determining whether the amount of energy stored for the user equipment may be less than the amount of energy needed to transmit to the base station; in response to the amount of energy stored for the user equipment being less than the amount of energy needed to transmit to the base station, restarting the first timer; and in response to the amount of energy stored for the user equipment being more than or equal to the amount of energy needed to transmit to the base station, transmitting, to the base station, an indication to schedule a hybrid automatic repeat request procedure.

[0134] In accordance with one example embodiment, an apparatus may comprise: circuitry configured to perform: receiving, from a base station, an indication of, at least, a first timer; andcircuitry configured to perform: transmitting, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

[0135] In accordance with one example embodiment, an apparatus may comprise: processing circuitry; memory circuitry including computer program code, the memory circuitry and the computer program code configured to, with the processing circuitry, enable the apparatus to: receive, from a base station, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and transmit, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

[0136] As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and (c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.” This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0137] In accordance with one example embodiment, an apparatus may comprise means for: receiving, from a base station, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and transmitting, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

[0138] The indication may further comprise an indication of at least one of: a required energy for transmission, a required energy for reception, a minimum required energy for the apparatus to be in an active state, a minimum required power for transmission, a minimum required power for reception, at least one periodic task reporting time, or at least one parameter for tuning of the at least one second timer.

[0139] The at least one second timer may be associated with at least one priority.

[0140] The means may be further configured for: determining the at least one second timer based, at least partially, on the received indication.

[0141] The at least one second timer may be further determined based, at least partially, on an amount of energy stored for the apparatus.

[0142] The assistance information may comprise at least one of: the at least one second timer, at least one priority associated with the at least one second timer, at least one suspension timer, or an indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the base station.

[0143] The assistance information may comprise the indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the base station in response to the at least one second timer being less than or equal to zero.

[0144] The indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the base station may comprise, at least, a third timer for suspension of communication.

[0145] The assistance information may comprise the at least one second timer in response to the at least one second timer being greater than zero.

[0146] The means may be further configured for: transmitting, to the base station, uplink data; receiving, from the base station, a grant for retransmitting the uplink data; determining at least one third timer for the uplink data; and transmitting, to the base station, the uplink data and further assistance information associated with the at least one third timer.

[0147] The assistance information may be transmitted in bits in at least one of: a physical uplink shared channel, or a physical uplink control channel.

[0148] The means may be further configured for: transmitting, to the base station, at least one of: a time for periodic reporting, an average energy status of the apparatus, or a device energy condition processing power.

[0149] The first timer may comprise a suspend timer, wherein the means may be further configured for: determining that an amount of energy stored for the apparatus may be less than an amount of energy needed to transmit to the base station; starting the first timer; and transmitting, to the base station, an indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the base station.

[0150] The means may be further configured for: in response to expiration of the first timer, determining whether the amount of energy stored for the apparatus may be less than the amount of energy needed to transmit to the base station; in response to the amount of energy stored for the apparatus being less than the amount of energy needed to transmitting to the base station, restarting the first timer; and in response to the amount of energy stored for the apparatus being more than or equal to the amount of energy needed to transmit to the base station, transmitting, to the base station, an indication to schedule a hybrid automatic repeat request procedure.

[0151] A processor, memory, and / or example algorithms (which may be encoded as instructions, program, or code) may be provided as example means for providing or causing performance of operation.

[0152] In accordance with one example embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon which, when executed with at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: cause receiving, with a user equipment from a base station, of an indication of, at least, a first timer; and cause transmitting, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, of assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

[0153] In accordance with one example embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: causing receiving, with a user equipment from a base station, of an indication of, at least, a first timer; and causing transmitting, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, of assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

[0154] In accordance with another example embodiment, a non-transitory program storage device readable by a machine may be provided, tangibly embodying instructions executable by the machine for performing operations, the operations comprising: causing receiving, with a user equipment from a base station, of an indication of, at least, a first timer; and causing transmitting, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, of assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

[0155] In accordance with another example embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: causing receiving, with a user equipment from a base station, of an indication of, at least, a first timer; and causing transmitting, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, of assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

[0156] A computer implemented system comprising: at least one processor and at least one non-transitory memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system at least to perform: causing receiving, with a user equipment from a base station, of an indication of, at least, a first timer; and causing transmitting, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, of assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

[0157] A computer implemented system comprising: means for causing receiving, with a user equipment from a base station, of an indication of, at least, a first timer; and means for causing transmitting, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, of assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

[0158] In accordance with one example embodiment, an apparatus may comprise: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least oneprocessor, cause the apparatus at least to: transmit, to a user equipment, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and determine whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

[0159] The indication may further comprise an indication of at least one of: a required energy for transmission, a required energy for reception, a minimum required energy for the user equipment to be in an active state, a minimum required power for transmission, a minimum required power for reception, at least one periodic task reporting time, or at least one parameter for tuning of at least one second timer.

[0160] The assistance information may comprise at least one of: at least one second timer, at least one priority associated with the at least one second timer, at least one suspension timer, or an indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment.

[0161] The assistance information may comprise the indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment, wherein the example apparatus may be further configured to: suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment.

[0162] The indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment may comprise, at least, a third timer, wherein communication may be suspended until expiration of the third timer.

[0163] The assistance information may comprise the at least one second timer, wherein the example apparatus may be further configured to: transmit, to the user equipment, a confirmation of resources for communication between the apparatus and the user equipment.

[0164] The assistance information may comprise the at least one second timer, wherein the example apparatus may be further configured to: determine whether the at least one second timer is active; and in response to a determination that the at least one second timer may be active, schedule communication between the apparatus and the user equipment.

[0165] The example apparatus may be further configured to: receive, from the user equipment, uplink data; transmit, to the user equipment, a grant for retransmitting the uplink data; and receive, from the user equipment, the uplink data and further assistance information associated with at least one third timer.

[0166] The assistance information may be received in bits in at least one of: a physical uplink shared channel, or a physical uplink control channel.

[0167] The example apparatus may be further configured to: receive, from the user equipment, at least one of: a time for periodic reporting, an average energy status of the user equipment, or a device energy condition processing power.

[0168] Determining whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment may comprise the example apparatus being further configured to: determine to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment; and reallocate communication resources allocated to the user equipment for use with at least one different user equipment.

[0169] Communication between the apparatus and the user equipment may be suspended for a defined time period.

[0170] The first timer may be less than a next scheduling interval.

[0171] In accordance with one aspect, an example method may be provided comprising: transmitting, with a base station to a user equipment, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and determining whether to suspend communication between the base station and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

[0172] The indication may further comprise an indication of at least one of: a required energy for transmission, a required energy for reception, a minimum required energy for the user equipment to be in an active state, a minimum required power for transmission, a minimum required power for reception, at least one periodic task reporting time, or at least one parameter for tuning of at least one second timer.

[0173] The assistance information may comprise at least one of: at least one second timer, at least one priority associated with the at least one second timer, at least one suspension timer, or an indication to suspend communication between the base station and the user equipment.

[0174] The assistance information may comprise the indication to suspend communication between the base station and the user equipment, and the example method may further comprise: suspending communication between the base station and the user equipment.

[0175] The indication to suspend communication between the base station and the user equipment may comprise, at least, a third timer, wherein communication may be suspended until expiration of the third timer.

[0176] The assistance information may comprise the at least one second timer, and the example method may further comprise: transmitting, to the user equipment, a confirmation of resources for communication between the base station and the user equipment.

[0177] The assistance information may comprise the at least one second timer, and the example method may further comprise: determining whether the at least one second timer is active; and in response to a determination that the at least one second timer may be active, scheduling communication between the base station and the user equipment.

[0178] The example method may further comprise: receiving, from the user equipment, uplink data; transmitting, to the user equipment, a grant for retransmitting the uplink data; and receiving, from the user equipment, the uplink data and further assistance information associated with at least one third timer.

[0179] The assistance information may be received in bits in at least one of: a physical uplink shared channel, or a physical uplink control channel.

[0180] The example method may further comprise: receiving, from the user equipment, at least one of: a time for periodic reporting, an average energy status of the user equipment, or a device energy condition processing power.

[0181] The determining of whether to suspend communication between the base station and the user equipment may comprise: determining to suspend communication between the base station and the user equipment; and reallocating communication resources allocated to the user equipment for use with at least one different user equipment.

[0182] Communication between the base station and the user equipment may be suspended for a defined time period.

[0183] The first timer may be less than a next scheduling interval.

[0184] In accordance with one example embodiment, an apparatus may comprise: circuitry configured to perform: transmitting, to a user equipment, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and circuitry configured to perform: determining whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

[0185] In accordance with one example embodiment, an apparatus may comprise: processing circuitry; memory circuitry including computer program code, the memory circuitry and the computer program code configured to, with the processing circuitry, enable the apparatus to: transmit, to a user equipment, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and determine whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

[0186] In accordance with one example embodiment, an apparatus may comprise means for: transmitting, to a user equipment, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and determining whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

[0187] The indication may further comprise an indication of at least one of: a required energy for transmission, a required energy for reception, a minimum required energy for the user equipment to be in an active state, a minimum required power for transmission, a minimum required power for reception, at least one periodic task reporting time, or at least one parameter for tuning of at least one second timer.

[0188] The assistance information may comprise at least one of: at least one second timer, at least one priority associated with the at least one second timer, at least one suspension timer, or an indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment.

[0189] The assistance information may comprise the indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment, wherein the means may be further configured for: suspending communication between the apparatus and the user equipment.

[0190] The indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment may comprise, at least, a third timer, wherein communication may be suspended until expiration of the third timer.

[0191] The assistance information may comprise the at least one second timer, wherein the means may be further configured for: transmitting, to the user equipment, a confirmation of resources for communication between the apparatus and the user equipment.

[0192] The assistance information may comprise the at least one second timer, wherein the means may be further configured for: determining whether the at least one second timer is active; and in response to a determination that the at least one second timer is active, scheduling communication between the apparatus and the user equipment.

[0193] The means may be further configured for: receiving, from the user equipment, uplink data; transmitting, to the user equipment, a grant for retransmitting the uplink data; and receiving, from the user equipment, the uplink data and further assistance information associated with at least one third timer.

[0194] The assistance information may be received in bits in at least one of: a physical uplink shared channel, or a physical uplink control channel.

[0195] The means may be further configured for: receiving, from the user equipment, at least one of: a time for periodic reporting, an average energy status of the user equipment, or a device energy condition processing power.

[0196] The means configured for determining whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment may comprise means configured for: determining to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment; and reallocating communication resources allocated to the user equipment for use with at least one different user equipment.

[0197] Communication between the apparatus and the user equipment may be suspended for a defined time period.

[0198] The first timer may be less than a next scheduling interval.

[0199] In accordance with one example embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon which, when executed with at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: cause transmitting, with a base station to a user equipment, of an indication of, at least, a first timer; and cause determining whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

[0200] In accordance with one example embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: causing transmitting, with a base station to a user equipment, of an indication of, at least, a first timer; and causing determining whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

[0201] In accordance with another example embodiment, a non-transitory program storage device readable by a machine may be provided, tangibly embodying instructions executable by the machine for performing operations, the operations comprising: causing transmitting, with a base station to a user equipment, of an indication of, at least, a first timer; and causing determining whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

[0202] In accordance with another example embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: causing transmitting, with a base station to a user equipment, of an indication of, at least, a first timer; and causing determining whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

[0203] A computer implemented system comprising: at least one processor and at least one non-transitory memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system at least to perform: causing transmitting, with a base station to a user equipment, of an indication of, at least, a first timer; and causing determining whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

[0204] A computer implemented system comprising: means for causing transmitting, with a base station to a user equipment, of an indication of, at least, a first timer; and means for causing determining whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

[0205] The term “non-transitory,” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e. tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0206] It should be understood that the foregoing description is only illustrative. Various alternatives and modifications can be devised by those skilled in the art. For example, features recited in the various dependent claims could be combined with each other in any suitable combination(s). In addition, features from different embodiments described above could be selectively combined into a new embodiment. Accordingly, the description is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modification and variances which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a base station, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and transmit, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the indication further comprises an indication of at least one of: a required energy for transmission, a required energy for reception, a minimum required energy for the apparatus to be in an active state, a minimum required power for transmission, a minimum required power for reception, at least one periodic task reporting time, or at least one parameter for tuning of the at least one second timer.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one second timer is associated with at least one priority.

4. The apparatus of any of claims 1 through 3, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: determine the at least one second timer based, at least partially, on the received indication.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one second timer is further determined based, at least partially, on an amount of energy stored for the apparatus.

6. The apparatus of any of claims 1 through 5, wherein the assistance information comprises at least one of: the at least one second timer, at least one priority associated with the at least one second timer, at least one suspension timer, or an indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the base station.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the assistance information comprises the indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the base station in response to the at least one second timer being less than or equal to zero.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 or 7, wherein the indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the base station comprises, at least, a third timer for suspension of communication.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the assistance information comprises the at least one second timer in response to the at least one second timer being greater than zero.

10. The apparatus of any of claims 1 through 9, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: transmit, to the base station, uplink data;receive, from the base station, a grant for retransmitting the uplink data; determine at least one third timer for the uplink data; and transmit, to the base station, the uplink data and further assistance information associated with the at least one third timer.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the assistance information is transmitted in bits in at least one of: a physical uplink shared channel, or a physical uplink control channel.

12. The apparatus of any of claims 1 through 9, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: transmit, to the base station, at least one of: a time for periodic reporting, an average energy status of the apparatus, or a device energy condition processing power.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first timer comprises a suspend timer, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: determine that an amount of energy stored for the apparatus is less than an amount of energy needed to transmit to the base station; start the first timer; and transmit, to the base station, an indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the base station.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: in response to expiration of the first timer, determine whether the amount of energy stored for the apparatus is less than the amount of energy needed to transmit to the base station; in response to the amount of energy stored for the apparatus being less than the amount of energy needed to transmit to the base station, restart the first timer; and in response to the amount of energy stored for the apparatus being more than or equal to the amount of energy needed to transmit to the base station, transmit, to the base station, an indication to schedule a hybrid automatic repeat request procedure.

15. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: transmit, to a user equipment, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and determine whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the indication comprises an indication of at least one of:a required energy for transmission, a required energy for reception, a minimum required energy for the user equipment to be in an active state, a minimum required power for transmission, a minimum required power for reception, at least one periodic task reporting time, or at least one parameter for tuning of at least one second timer.

17. The apparatus of claim 15 or 16, wherein the assistance information comprises at least one of: at least one second timer, at least one priority associated with the at least one second timer, at least one suspension timer, or an indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the assistance information comprises the indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the indication to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment comprises, at least, a third timer, wherein communication is suspended until expiration of the third timer.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the assistance information comprises the at least one second timer, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: transmit, to the user equipment, a confirmation of resources for communication between the apparatus and the user equipment.

21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the assistance information comprises the at least one second timer, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: determine whether the at least one second timer is active; and in response to a determination that the at least one second timer is active, schedule communication between the apparatus and the user equipment.

22. The apparatus of any of claims 15 through 21, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: receive, from the user equipment, uplink data; transmit, to the user equipment, a grant for retransmitting the uplink data; and receive, from the user equipment, the uplink data and further assistance information associated with at least one third timer.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the assistance information is received in bits in at least one of: a physical uplink shared channel, or a physical uplink control channel.

24. The apparatus of any of claims 15 through 20, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:receive, from the user equipment, at least one of: a time for periodic reporting, an average energy status of the user equipment, or a device energy condition processing power.

25. The apparatus of any of claims 15 through 24, wherein determining whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment comprises the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: determine to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment; and reallocate communication resources allocated to the user equipment for use with at least one different user equipment.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein communication between the apparatus and the user equipment is suspended for a defined time period.

27. The apparatus of any of claims 15 through 26, wherein the first timer is less than a next scheduling interval.

28. A method comprising: receiving, from a base station, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and transmitting, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

29. An apparatus comprising means for: receiving, from a base station, an indication of, at least, a first timer; andtransmitting, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

30. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: causing receiving, with a user equipment from a base station, of an indication of, at least, a first timer; and causing transmitting, to the base station before expiration of the first timer, of assistance information associated with at least one second timer.

31. A method comprising: comprising: transmit, with a base station to a user equipment, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and determine whether to suspend communication between the base station and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

32. An apparatus comprising means for: transmitting, to a user equipment, an indication of, at least, a first timer; and determine whether to suspend communication between the apparatus and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, orexpiration of the first timer.

33. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: causing transmitting, with a base station to a user equipment, of an indication of, at least, a first timer; and causing determining whether to suspend communication between the base station and the user equipment based, at least partially, on at least one of: assistance information received from the user equipment before expiration of the first timer, or expiration of the first timer.

Images