Wake-up signal payload structure and user equipment grouping for low-powered wake-up receiver

Abstract

According to some embodiments, a method is performed by a user equipment (UE). The UE includes a main receiver and a wake-up receiver (WUR). The method comprises monitoring a cell of a network for a wake-up signal (WUS), where the monitoring is performed by the WUR of the UE. The WUS is structured to facilitate decoding based on a first pattern and to facilitate decoding based on a second pattern. The method further comprises decoding the WUS according to the first pattern, the second pattern, or both based at least in part on a capability of the WUR.

Description

Wake-up Signal Payload Structure and User Equipment Grouping for Low-Powered Wake-up ReceiverRELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 540502, filed on September 26, 2023, the disclosure and content of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to wireless communications and more particularly to a wake-up signal payload structure.BACKGROUND

[0003] A wake-up receiver (WUR) or “wake-up radio” provides a low-power receiver in a user equipment (UE). If the WUR detects a wake-up signal (WUS), the WUR wakes up a main receiver in the UE. The main receiver may comprise a baseband or radio frequency (RF) receiver, and the main receiver may be less power efficient than the WUR. When the WUR wakes up the main receiver, the main receiver may detect an incoming message, such as a message associated with paging. For example, the main receiver may receive a message in a paging occasion (PO) of a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) that schedules a paging message on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). Figure 1 illustrates an example location of a WUS and the PO to which it is associated. Benefits of WUR include lowering energy consumption and therefore longer device battery life. Or, at a fixed energy consumption, the downlink latency can be reduced, for example, by providing shorter discontinuous reception (DRX)Zduty-cycles and more frequent checks for incoming transmissions.

[0004] In general, options for detecting WUS include (1) using the main receiver, or (2) having a dedicated receiver (e.g., WUR). These options have different benefits and tradeoffs. With respect to using the main receiver to detect the WUS, a benefit includes being able to use the existing hardware / receiver without a need for additional dedicated hardware, such as an additional receiver, for monitoring the WUS. Another benefit of using the main receiver to detect the WUS is that coverage of the main receiver is not typically impacted (e.g., the main receiver is typically capable of providing better coverage for detecting the WUS because the main receiver tends to be more complex / more sensitive than the WUR). A tradeoff of using the main receiver to detect the WUS is limited power savings compared to using a dedicatedreceiver (e.g., WUR) to monitor the WUS because operating the main receiver typically requires more power than that required for the WUR.

[0005] With respect to using a dedicated receiver (e.g., WUR) to detect the WUS, benefits include reduced power consumption compared to the main receiver, simple and low-cost receiver architecture, and relaxed requirements. Significant power savings can be achieved by maximizing the time during which the main receiver can be in sleep mode. Thus, the dedicated receiver (e.g., WUR) may be used as an enabler for zero energy / battery-less devices and energy harvesting operations. A tradeoff of using the dedicated receiver (e.g., WUR) to detect the WUS is that the WUR tends to have a noisier (i.e., less accurate) clock or oscillator compared to the main receiver. The reduced sensitivity of the WUR may yield coverage considerations (e.g., reduced coverage area for sensing the WUS compared to the coverage possible with a more sensitive main receiver).

[0006] As an example, Figure 2 shows a UE 22 comprising a main receiver 24 and a dedicated WUR 26 used for monitoring a wake-up signal (WUS). Once the WUR 26 detects the intended WUS, it wakes up the main receiver 24 (e.g., a baseband / RF / less power efficient receiver) to detect further incoming messages. Therefore, the main receiver 24 can go to sleep mode and save power until it is triggered by the WUR 26. Here, the WUR 26 is an ultra-low power and low-complexity receiver which can support simple modulation schemes, such as on-off keying (OOK), frequency shift keying (FSK), or phase shift keying (PSK). However, the WUS is transmitted using an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)-based transmitter.WUS for NB-IoT and LTE-MRelease 15 (Rel-15)

[0007] In Rel-15, the third generation partnership project (3GPP) specified WUS for Narrowband Intemet-of-Things (NB-IoT) and Eong-Term Evolution (LTE) Machine Type Communication (LTE-M). The 3 GPP was motivated to reduce UE energy consumption, including, e.g., reducing UE energy consumption associated with certain monitoring of the PDDCH. For example, with coverage enhancement, the PDCCH could be repeated many times. The WUS is relatively much shorter and hence requires less reception time for the UE. The UE checks for a WUS a certain time before its PO. Only if the UE detects a WUS would the UE continue to check for PDCCH in the PO. If the UE does not detect a WUS, which is most of the time, the UE can go back to a sleep state to conserve energy. Due to the coverageenhancements, the WUS can be of variable length depending on the UE’s coverage. For example, see Figure 3, which illustrates a WUS for NB-IoT and LTE-M.

[0008] A WUS is based on the transmission of a short signal that indicates to the UE that it should continue to decode the downlink (DL) control channel, such as the full narrowband PDCCH (NPDCCH) for NB-IoT. If such signal is absent (discontinuous transmission (DTX), i.e., UE does not detect a WUS), then the UE can go back to sleep without decoding the DL control channel. The decoding time for a WUS is considerably shorter than that of the full NPDCCH since the WUS essentially only needs to contain one bit of information whereas the NPDCCH may contain up to 35 bits of information. This, in turn, reduces UE power consumption and leads to longer UE battery life. The WUS would be transmitted only when there is a paging for the UE. But, if there is no paging for the UE, then the WUS will not be transmitted (i.e., implying a discontinuous transmission, DTX) and the UE would go back to deep sleep, for example, upon detecting DTX instead of WUS. This is illustrated in Figure 1, where white blocks indicate possible WUS and PO positions whereas the black boxes indicate actual WUS and PO positions.

[0009] The specification of Rel-15 WUS is spread out over several parts of the LTE 36- series standard, e.g., 36.211, 36.213, 36.304 and 36.331.WUS UE grouping objective in Rel-16

[0010] In Rel-16, the 3GPP agreed to further develop WUS to also include UE grouping to narrow down the number of UEs triggered by a WUS to a smaller subset of the UEs associated with a specific PO.

[0011] UE grouping aims to reduce the false paging rate, i.e., to avoid unnecessarily waking up one UE with a WUS transmission intended for another UE. This feature is referred to as Rel-16 group WUS or “GWUS.” However, this is not directly related to WUR and will not be further explained hereafter.Rel-17 New Radio (NR) Paging Early Indication (PEI)

[0012] In Rel-17, 3GPP began discussions on introducing a WUS for NR, then called “Paging Early Indication” (PEI). However, since at the time no coverage enhancement was specified for NR, the benefit of Rel-17 PEI was limited to scenarios affecting a small fraction of UEs, i.e., UEs in bad coverage and with large synchronization error due to the use of longer DRX cycles. The benefit of using PEI for such UEs was that they would typically only have to acquire one synchronization signal block (SSB) before decoding PEI, instead of up to 3 SSBsif PEI is not used (value according to UE vendors). So, for most UEs, Rel-17 PEI will result in gains or increased performance.

[0013] Note that Rel-17 PEI will also support UE grouping for false paging reduction, similar to the Rel-16 GWUS above, which will have some gains at higher paging load.

[0014] In RAN#93e, it was agreed that PEI will be PDCCH-based, as seen in the next subsection, making it much less interesting for WUR because the main baseband receiver is required for decoding PEI.Rel-18 NR WUR

[0015] In Rel-18, there has been interest in introducing WUR for NR, with an ambition for achieving more significant energy efficiency improvement compared to solutions already specified in earlier releases. As explained above, to be able to use a WUR in the UE, the specification should specify a WUS and a long enough time gap between the WUS and the PDCCH in the PO (e.g., sufficient time to allow the UE to start up the main receiver). Therefore, a main difference between the Rel-17 PEI and the WUS in Rel-18 is that the WUS in Rel-18 should not be PDCCH-based. Additionally, the WUS in Rel-18 should allow for a simpler and low-power receiver, such as a WUR with simple modulation and detection techniques (e.g., using OOK modulation and non-coherent detection).

[0016] In Rel-18, a study item on “low-power wake-up signal and receiver for NR” was approved. The relevant justification and objective sections are copied below:

[0017] The benefit of WUR is to reduce the energy consumption of the receiver, such that the UE can remain in a power saving state unless there is any paging or data for the UE. This will extend the battery life of the device, or alternatively enable shorter downlink latency (shorter DRX) at a fixed battery life. For short-range communication, the WUR power can be low enough (~10 nW) that this can even, in combination with energy harvesting, enable that the WUR is continuously on (i.e., DRX or duty-cycling is not used) without the need for a battery. This can be considered as a key enabler of battery-less devices towards 6G.

[0018] The Rel- 18 study item on “low-power wake-up signal and receiver for NR” is completed and the technical report is provided in: TR 38.869, V0.4.0, “Study on low-power Wake-up Signal and Receiver for NR.” According to the outcome of this study, one important aspect of designing WUR / WUS is synchronization, called low power sync signal (LP-SS), as highlighted below:Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) WUR

[0019] IEEE 802.11 standardized the support for WUR in the task group (TG) ba. Similar to the 3GPP solution, the use of WUR is only enabled in stations and not in access points (APs). That is, the use of WUR is enabled for downlink communication only. The AP advertises that it has WUR operation capability, along with WUR configuration parameters. Among other information, as an example, a WUR configuration parameter may indicate a band / channel in which WUR is operational. This can be different from the band / channel used for data transmission by the main receiver. For example, a 2.4 GHz band may be used for WUR, whereas a 5 GHz band may be used for data communication. Also note that the WUR operating channel is advertised in the beacon. The WUR discovery channel may be different from the WUR operating channel. Stations can then request to be configured with WUR mode of operation. This request must be granted by the AP, and in case it is granted, the station is further configured / setup for WUR mode of operation. The configuration is only valid for the connection to the associated AP, and further the configuration must be tom down / de- configured if WUR is not used anymore. Both continuous WUR (receiver open all the time) and duty-cycled WUR (receiver only open during preconfigured time slots) mode of operations are supported. For the latter, the length of the duty-cycles and on-time during wake up is part of the WUR configuration.

[0020] Unlike the 3GPP solution, the IEEE WUR operation mode is a “sub-state” of the regular operation. Upon the detection of a WUS transmission from the AP, the station will resume the power saving mechanism it was configured with before entering the WUR operation mode. That is, IEEE has specified a number of different power saving mechanisms. As an example, if duty-cycled monitoring of the downlink has been configured for the station, the station will switch to that upon detection of the WUS (i.e., unlike the specified 3GPP mechanism which only covers paging where the UE will continue to monitor PDCCH if WUS is detected). In this way the IEEE WUR functionality is more general and still allows the station, upon detection of WUS, to “monitor paging” by checking in the beacon from the AP for which stations there is data, or for the station to directly respond with an uplink transmission.

[0021] The physical WUS in IEEE contains complete frames which must be processed by the station. The drawback with this design is that it requires more handling and processing in the station, i.e., compared to a simple WUR design that triggers one pre-defined activity in case WUS is detected. The benefit is that it contains more information, and the solution is more general. The IEEE WUS contains information to indicate if the WUS is a WUR sync beacon, a WUR discovery beacon, or a regular WUS (intended to wake up the station). The WUS can also contain proprietary frames that could be used to directly turn actuators on / off, for example. The transmission uses OOK modulation, using Manchester coding, but is using multi-carrier OOK which can be generated by an OFDM transmitter (i.e., WUR can be enabled as a software upgrade in APs). The WUS is 4 MHz wide, but a whole 20 MHz channel is reserved. The WUS starts with a 20 MHz legacy preamble (to allows other stations to perform carrier sense) followed by 4 MHz Manchester coded OOK. Two data rates are supported: 62.5 kbps and 250 kbps, and link adaptation is up to the AP (each packet is self-contained and includes the data rate, i.e., in the WUR there are two possible sync words used to signal the data rate).SUMMARY

[0022] There currently exist certain challenge(s). Power saving methods enabled by a low- powered wake-up signal (LP-WUS) and / or a low-powered wake-up receiver (LP-WUR) have been studied in 3GPP Rel-18. Several candidates for the low-powered wake-up signals and receiver architectures were considered. In practice, supporting many possible combinations of low-powered wake-up signals and receiver architectures in the system will increase system complexity significantly and thus should be avoided.

[0023] As one possible solution, 3GPP has proposed a unified WUS that can be received by multiple types of WUR architectures and / or capabilities. However, 3GPP has left unclear how to design such unified WUS, for example, how WUS information payload and corresponding UE grouping should be designed in combination with such unified WUS design.

[0024] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Certain embodiments present solutions for WUS information payload structure and how the WUS information maps to corresponding UE group / subgroup, which then determines the subsequent wake-up behavior of the main radio / main receiver (MR) of the UE.

[0025] In general, certain embodiments propose a multi-stage payload structure that carries the payload in some form of unified WUS design. In one main example, the unified WUS design consists of an On-Off Keying (OOK) time domain envelope and the sequence modulation during the ON duration of the OOK pattern is considered. Part of the payload is modulated / carried in the OOK pattern while the remaining part is carried by the sequence modulation during the ON durations.

[0026] Additionally, certain embodiments provide solutions how to map WUS payload information in the multi-stage payload structure to the corresponding UE group intended to be addressed by the WUS.

[0027] Different aspects of the solutions are also provided regarding WUS reception based on the unified WUS design.

[0028] Examples of the solutions include a multi-stage payload structure in a (unified) WUS. In addition, or in the alternative, examples of the solutions include mapping between payload information in the multi-stage payload structure carried by WUS to a UE group intended to be woken up.

[0029] According to some embodiments, a method is performed by a UE. The UE includes a main receiver and WUR. The method comprises monitoring a cell of a network for a WUS, where the monitoring is performed by the WUR of the UE. The WUS is structured to facilitate decoding based on a first pattern and to facilitate decoding based on a second pattern. The method further comprises decoding the WUS according to the first pattern, the second pattern, or both based at least in part on a capability of the WUR.

[0030] According to some embodiments, a UE comprises a main receiver, a WUR, processing circuitry, and power supply circuitry. The WUR is configured to monitor a cell of a network for a WUS. The processing circuitry is configured to decode the WUS. The WUS is structured to facilitate decoding based on a first pattern and to facilitate decoding based on asecond patern. The processing circuitry decodes the WUS according to the first patern, the second patern, or both based at least in part on a capability of the WUR. The power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0031] According to certain embodiments, a method in a network node comprises transmiting a WUS to one or more UEs. The WUS is structured to facilitate decoding based on a first patern by a UE comprising a WUR configured according to a first capability. The WUS is further structured to facilitate decoding based on a second patern by a UE comprising a WUR configured according to a second capability.

[0032] According to some embodiments, a network node comprises processing circuitry and power supply circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to transmit a WUS to one or more UEs. The WUS is structured to facilitate decoding based on a first patern by a UE comprising a WUR configured according to a first capability. The WUS is further structured to facilitate decoding based on a second patern by a UE comprising a WUR configured according to a second capability. The power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

[0033] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). As a first example, certain embodiments provide a unified WUS payload structure that can be supported by multiple WUR types, capabilities, architectures, operation modes, etc., such as OOK and OFDM based WUR. As a second example, certain embodiments provide a unified framework for mapping between the WUS payload and corresponding UE grouping. As a third example, certain embodiments provide flexible deployment options depending on use cases, coverage, mobility requirements, and / or WUR capabilities. Other advantages may be readily apparent to one having skill in the art. Certain embodiments may have none, some, or all of the recited advantages.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments and their features and advantages, reference is now made to the drawings, in which:

[0035] Figure 1 illustrates a location of a wake-up signal (WUS) and the paging occasion to which it is associated in accordance with some embodiments.

[0036] Figure 2 illustrates a UE comprising a main receiver and a WUR in accordance with some embodiments.

[0037] Figure 3 illustrates a WUS for Narrowband Intemet-of-Things (NB-IoT) and Long-Term Evolution Machine Type Communication (LTE-M) in accordance with some embodiments.

[0038] Figure 4 illustrates a network node transmitting a unified WUS to a low-power receiver in accordance with some embodiments.

[0039] Figure 5 illustrates an example of a unified WUS based on an OOK waveform where some specific OFDM-based sequences are used during the ON duration of the OOK pattern in accordance with some embodiments.

[0040] Figure 6 shows an example of a method performed by a UE in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0041] Figure 7 shows an example of a method performed by a network node in accordance with certain embodiments.

[0042] Figure 8 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments.

[0043] Figure 9 shows an example of a user equipment (UE) in accordance with some embodiments.

[0044] Figure 10 shows an example of a network node in accordance with some embodiments.

[0045] Figure 11 shows an example of a virtualization environment in accordance with some embodiments.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0047] Figure 4 illustrates an example of a network node 42 transmitting a unified WUS 44 to a low-power receiver 46. A low-power receiver 46, such as a WUR, is expected to have limited capabilities in terms of supported modulation schemes, synchronization, and receiver architecture. For example, the low-power receiver 46 may only support a simple modulation scheme, such as OOK, and may employ time domain envelope detection. Nevertheless, in some other cases, a low-power receiver 46 can be more capable, e.g., capable of receiving an OFDMbased signal or both OOK-based and OFDM-based signals. For deployment flexibility, it may be beneficial that the WUS design can accommodate each type of low-power receiver 46.

[0048] Different use cases can have different service requirements, for example, in terms of coverage for WUS reception and mobility support of WUR operation. For example, in use cases with less stringent coverage and / or low mobility requirement, it might be sufficient that the low-power receiver 46 supports only OOK-based signal reception. On the other hand, in use cases with stricter coverage target and / or high mobility, it is beneficial if the low-power receiver 46 can receive at least an OFDM-based signal.

[0049] Certain embodiments of the present disclosure define an information payload structure such that the information carried in the WUS can be received by multiple types of low-power receivers 46, such as WURs with different receiver architectures / capabilities. For example, the disclosure uses unified WUS (e.g., unified WUS 44) to refer to a WUS that can be received by different types of WUR. As an example, a unified WUS 44 can be designed to be received by any type of WUR, regardless of the architecture / capability the WUR. As a further example, certain embodiments of the unified WUS 44 can be received by a WUR capable of receiving only OOK-based signals, a WUR capable of receiving only OFDM-based signals, and / or a WUR capable of receiving both OOK-based signals and OFDM-based signals.

[0050] As further explained below, certain embodiments define a multi-stage payload structure for the unified WUS 44, and certain embodiments define a mapping from the payload to the corresponding UE group intended to be addressed by the unified WUS 44.WUS information payload structure

[0051] Figure 5 illustrates an example of a unified WUS, such as the unified WUS 44 of Figure 4. The example unified WUS of Figure 5 is based on an OOK waveform. In the example of Figure 5, some specific OFDM-based sequences are transmitted during the ON duration of the OOK pattern. As an example, the OFDM-based sequences can include an existing NR synchronization sequence, such as a primary synchronization signal (PSS) or a secondary synchronization signal (SSS). As another example, the OFDM-based sequences can include a reference sequence, such as a demodulation referenced signal (DMRS), a tracking reference signal (TRS), a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence, or a low peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) sequence.

[0052] In general, the embodiments described below can be applicable to any unified WUS design.

[0053] Also, as an example, certain embodiments provide the OOK pattern that indicates a mapping of each ON or OFF period to one OFDM symbol in the time domain. However, ingeneral, the embodiments described below can also be applicable to any other time domain mapping, including, for example, multiple ON / OFF durations within one OFDM symbol.

[0054] In one embodiment, the WUS information payload in a unified WUS is composed of multi-stage information, each modulated separately in the unified WUS.

[0055] In one example, the first stage information is modulated / carried in the OOK mask / pattem of the WUS, and the second stage information is modulated / carried in the OFDMbased sequences used during the ON duration of the OOK pattern.

[0056] In terms of WUS reception, there can be different behaviors depending on the WUR architecture / capability, for example:• A WUR capable of only OOK-based signal reception decodes the WUS based on the OOK mask / pattem to obtain the first stage WUS information.• A WUR capable of both OOK-based and OFDM-based signal reception decodes the WUS based on the OOK mask / pattem and the OFDM sequences used during the ON duration of the WUS to obtain the first- and second- stage WUS information. It can also decode the WUS based only on the OOK mask / pattem or based only on the OFDM sequence to save time and / or energy.• A WUR capable of only OFDM-based signal reception decodes the WUS based on the OFDM sequences in one or more of any of the ON duration of the WUS to obtain the second stage WUS information.

[0057] One example of the payload structure is provided in Table 1, where the WUS payload structure consists of two stages. The first stage comprises 2 bits of information carried in the OOK mask / pattem, and the second stage comprises 1 bit of information carried in the OFDM-based sequences used during the ON symbol of the WUS.Table 1: Example of the WUS payload structure with two-stage information.

[0058] Note that the example shown in Table 1 assumes that 4 distinct OOK patterns are used to carry the first stage information. That is, the UE decodes the first stage WUS information by detecting one out of the 4 possible defined OOK patterns. In general, the first stage information can be modulated onto the OOK pattern differently. For example, each of the ON and OFF duration in the OOK pattern can directly carry one or more information bits of the first stage WUS information.

[0059] Similarly, the example shown in Table 1 assumes that 2 distinct OFDM-based sequences are used during the ON duration of the WUS in such a way that if the WUS pattern consists of multiple ON duration, the same OFDM-based sequence is used in every such ON duration. In general, the second stage information can be modulated onto OFDM-based sequences used during the ON durations of the WUS differently. For example, which sequences are used in different ON durations of the WUS pattern can also be used to carry the second stage WUS information.Mapping between WUS information payload to UE group / subgroup

[0060] The WUS information payload typically carries some information about a UE group for which the WUS is intended. That is, after decoding the WUS, the UE will start up / wake up its MR if it belongs to the UE group indicted in the WUS information. Note that the group size can be 1 (e.g., for cases where the WUS information directly indicates the UE ID of the UE that the WUS is intended for) or the group size can be greater than 1.

[0061] With the payload structure described in the previous section, the effective WUS information received at WUR depends on the WUR architecture and / or capability. Such modular structure enables a simple, unified mapping between WUS information and the corresponding UE group / subgroup for which the WUS is intended.

[0062] In one embodiment, the UE group that the WUS is intended for is defined in a nested fashion such that each of the multi-stage WUS information maps to each UE group level. For example, for a WUS with two-stage WUS information carried in the OOK mask and the OFDM-based sequences during the ON duration, the first stage information maps to a UE group and the second stage information maps to a UE subgroup within the UE group.

[0063] One illustrating example of the mapping is provided in Table 2 for the WUS payload structure described in the example of Table 1.Table 2: Example of the mapping between WUS information and UE group / subgroup for which the WUS is intended.

[0064] As seen by the example above, a WUR that is capable of both OOK and OFDM can effectively receive a larger payload, which in turn indicates the UE group information withfiner granularity. This can help the UE with such WURto experience less false wake-up / paging when operating with WUR.Other considerations

[0065] The previous sections describe certain aspects of (a) the WUS information payload structure to be defined for the unified WUS, and (b) how the corresponding UE group can be defined to be compatible with such WUS information payload structure. Certain embodiments include other aspects that may be used in combination with or in addition to the previously described solutions. That is, any of the previous embodiments can therefore be applicable with the following considerations as well.

[0066] As a first example, besides WUR capability and architecture, it is also possible to consider “operation mode.” That is, the WUR might be capable of receiving both OOK-based signal and OFDM-based signal but decide to only receive the OFDM-based signal. Also, whether sequence-based WUS or payload-based WUS is transmitted when the WUR is capable of receiving OOK-based signal. Such flexibility can be considered under the multi-mode WUR operation where different WUR modes (related to type of WUS reception) are defined. Certain embodiments communicate between the UE and the network to indicate which operation mode to use. For example, the network can use system information to configure the operation mode of the UE.

[0067] As a second example, related to the above and the UE behavior, the WUR can have the flexibility to choose to start up the MR upon detecting the WUS based on any of multistage information. For example, the WUR capable of receiving both OOK-based signal and OFDM-based signal can have the flexibility to choose to receive and start up the MR according to any of the following: 1) both OOK and OFDM-based signal, 2) OOK-based signal only, 3) OFDM-based signal only. In certain embodiments, choosing which multi-stage information prompts the start-up of the MR is based on some criteria, such as coverage, UE battery level, deployment scenario / cell size, traffic, etc.

[0068] As a third example, for the WUR capable of receiving OFDM-based signal, there is a flexibility in terms of the number of ON durations and which ON durations in the WUS pattern to use for OFDM-based signal reception. As an example, in an embodiment, the WUR operating in the OFDM-based signal reception mode only may decode WUS based on only the first few ON durations of the WUS pattern. The number of ON durations and which ON durations in the WUS pattern to use can be configured by the network, fixed in the specification, or left for UE implementation. It can be based on coverage as well as the numberof required UE groups / subgroups in a cell. In terms of UE grouping, it is possible to consider time multiplexing to (further) separate UEs (e.g., for a 12-symbol long WUS, we can have 3 groups, each group having 4 symbols, for OFDM-based signal reception).

[0069] As a fourth example, there can be different effective WUS monitoring durations considering a certain duration for the unified WUS. For example, different WUS monitoring durations are defined for different types of WUR, WUR capability, or WUR operation modes. Different WUS monitoring windows and schemes can be used depending on the WUR capability. As an example, in an embodiment, an OOK WUR needs to monitor the entire WUS while an OFDM WUR can monitor only a portion of the WUS.

[0070] As a fifth example, since the coverage performance of the OFDM-based signal tends to be better than that of the OOK-based signal for the same channel condition, certain embodiments design the unified WUS to have a larger amount of information carried by the OFDM-based signal than that the OOK-based signal.

[0071] Coverage can be determined based on measurements performed on a periodic reference signal such as PSS / SSS or LP-SS (OOK-based low power synchronization signal). Examples of measurements include Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI), and Reference Signal - Signal to Noise plus Interference Ratio (RS-SINR).

[0072] Figure 6 illustrates an example of a method 60 that may be performed by a wireless device comprising a main receiver and a wake-up receiver (WUR). Examples of the wireless device include UE 22 of Figure 2, a UE comprising the WUR (low-power receiver 46) of Figure 4, UE 112 of Figure 8, or UE 200 of Figure 9. As an example, in certain embodiments, the wireless device comprises at least one processor (such as processing circuitry 202) configured to perform one or more steps of the method 60. In certain embodiments, the wireless device comprises a computer-readable medium (such as memory 210) comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform any of the steps of the method 60.

[0073] In certain embodiments, method 60 begins at step 62 with monitoring, by the WUR, a cell of a network for a WUS. The WUS is structured to facilitate decoding based on a first pattern and the WUS is further structured to facilitate decoding based on a second pattern. The method proceeds to step 64 with decoding the WUS. The WUS is decoded according to the first pattern, the second pattern, or both based at least in part on a capability of the WUR. As an example, the first pattern may comprise an OOK pattern for decoding by a WUR with OOK-based signal reception capability, and the second pattern may comprise an OFDM pattern for decoding by a WUR with OFDM-based signal reception capability.

[0074] Optionally, in some embodiments, whether the decoding in step 64 is according to the first pattern (e.g., OOK pattern) or the second pattern (e.g., OFDM pattern) may be implicit. As an example, suppose a first UE comprises a first WUR that has signal reception capability that is only OOK-based. Accordingly, based on its capability, the first WUR decodes the WUS based on the OOK pattern. The first WUR may use the OOK pattern implicitly (e.g., the first WUR might not necessarily be aware of the OFDM pattern as an option for decoding the WUS). Similarly, suppose a second UE comprises a second WUR that has signal reception capability that is only OFDM-based. Accordingly, based on its capability, the second WUR decodes the WUS based on the OFDM pattern. The second WUR may use the OFDM pattern implicitly (e.g., the second WUR might not necessarily be aware of the OOK pattern as an option for decoding the WUS). As another example, suppose a third UE comprises a third WUR that has both an OOK-based signal reception capability and an OFDM-based signal reception capability. In some embodiments, the third WUR may be pre-configured to use the OOK pattern, the OFDM pattern, or both to decode a WUS. In other embodiments, the third WUR may determine whether (or when) to use the OOK pattern, the OFDM pattern, or both, for example, based on one or more requirements, such as a requirement related to energy savings, battery level, power consumption, coverage, deployment scenario, cell size, traffic condition, mobility, operation mode, and / or other requirement.

[0075] Method 60 may include any other suitable steps or features, including, e.g., any of the steps or features described above with respect to the headings “WUS information payload structure,” “Mapping between WUS information payload to UE group / subgroup,” and / or “Other considerations,” and / or below with respect to the Group A Embodiments.

[0076] Figure 7 illustrates an example of a method 70 that may be performed by a network node, such as network node 42 of Figure 4, network node 110 of Figure 8, or network node 300 of Figure 10. As an example, in certain embodiments, the network node comprises at least one processor (such as processing circuitry 302) configured to perform one or more steps of the method 70. In certain embodiments, the network node comprises a computer-readable medium (such as memory 304) comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform any of the steps of the method 70.

[0077] In certain embodiments, method 70 begins at step 72 with generating a WUS. Generating the WUS may comprise configuring / structuring the WUS and / or preparing the WUS for transmission, for example. The WUS is structured to facilitate decoding based on afirst patern by a UE comprising a WUR configured according to a first capability. The WUS is further structured to facilitate decoding based on a second patern by a UE comprising a WUR configured according to a second capability. As an example, the first patern may comprise an OOK patern for decoding by a WUR with OOK-based signal reception capability, and the second patern may comprise an OFDM patern for decoding by a WUR with OFDMbased signal reception capability. The method proceeds to step 74 with transmiting the WUS to one or more UEs.

[0078] Method 70 may include any other suitable steps or features, including, e.g., any of the steps or features described above with respect to the headings “WUS information payload structure,” “Mapping between WUS information payload to UE group / subgroup,” and / or “Other considerations,” and / or below with respect to the Group B Embodiments.

[0079] In certain embodiments, a wireless device and a network node may perform reciprocal operations. For example, a message sent from a wireless device to a network node may be received by the network node from the wireless device, and vice versa. Thus, method 70 performed by the network node may include any suitable steps or features to support the wireless device performing method 60, and vice versa.

[0080] Figure 8 shows an example of a communication system 100 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0081] In the example, the communication system 100 includes a telecommunication network 102 that includes an access network 104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 106, which includes one or more core network nodes 108. The access network 104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 110a and 110b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 110), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 102 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 102 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 102, including one or more network nodes 110 and / or core network nodes 108.

[0082] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU), an open distributed unit (O-DU), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O- CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the 0-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 112a, 112b, 112c, and 112d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 112) to the core network 106 over one or more wireless connections.

[0083] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 100 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0084] The UEs 112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices that include a main receiver and a WUR, such as described above, for example, with respect to Figure 2. The UEs 112 may include wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 110 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 112 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 102 to enable and / or providenetwork access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 102.

[0085] In the depicted example, the core network 106 connects the network nodes 110 to one or more hosts, such as host 116. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 106 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 108) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 108. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0086] The host 116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 104 and / or the telecommunication network 102, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0087] As a whole, the communication system 100 of Figure 8 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802. 11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0088] In some examples, the telecommunication network 102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 102. For example, the telecommunications network 102 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)ZMassive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0089] In some examples, the UEs 112 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 104. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi -RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e., being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN- DC).

[0090] In the example, the hub 114 communicates with the access network 104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 112c and / or 112d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 110b). In some examples, the hub 114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 114. As another example, the hub 114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0091] The hub 114 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 110b. The hub 114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 114 and UEs (e.g., UE 112c and / or 112d), and between the hub 114 and the core network 106. In other examples, the hub 114 is connected to the core network 106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 104 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 110 while still connected via the hub 114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 114 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 110b. In other embodiments, the hub 114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 110b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0092] Figure 9 shows a UE 200 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0093] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), orvehicle- to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or whichmay not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0094] The UE 200 includes processing circuitry 202 that is operatively coupled via a bus 204 to an input / output interface 206, a power source 208, a memory 210, a communication interface 212, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 9. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0095] The processing circuitry 202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 210. As an example, processing circuitry 202 of the UE 200 may include processing circuitry configured to perform functionality of a WUR (e.g., monitor for a WUS) and processing circuitry configured to perform functionality of a main receiver (e.g., wake up and monitor for further incoming messages based on an indication from the WUR that a WUS intended for the UE has been detected).

[0096] The processing circuitry 202 may be implemented as one or more hardware- implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0097] In the example, the input / output interface 206 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 200. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. Thepresence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0098] In some embodiments, the power source 208 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 208 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 208 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 200 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 208. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 208 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 200 to which power is supplied.

[0099] The memory 210 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 210 includes one or more application programs 214, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 216. The memory 210 may store, for use by the UE 200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0100] The memory 210 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD- DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICCcommonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 210 may allow the UE 200 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 210, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0101] The processing circuitry 202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 212. The communication interface 212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 222. The communication interface 212 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 218 and / or a receiver 220 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 218 and receiver 220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 222) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately. In certain embodiments, the UE 200 includes a first receiver 220 (e.g., main receiver) and a second receiver 220b (e.g., WUR), such as described above, for example, with respect to Figure 2.

[0102] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / intemet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0103] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 212, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes ifit reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0104] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0105] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 200 shown in Figure 9.

[0106] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3 GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, orother equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0107] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0108] Figure 10 shows a network node 300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NRNodeBs (gNBs)), 0-RAN nodes or components of an 0-RAN node (e.g., 0-RU, O-DU, O-CU).

[0109] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an 0-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0110] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0111] The network node 300 includes a processing circuitry 302, a memory 304, a communication interface 306, and a power source 308. The network node 300 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 300 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 300 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 300, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 300.

[0112] The processing circuitry 302 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 300 components, such as the memory 304, to provide network node 300 functionality.

[0113] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 312 and baseband processing circuitry 314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 312 and the baseband processing circuitry 314 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 312 and baseband processing circuitry 314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0114] The memory 304 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computerexecutable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 302. The memory 304 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 302 and utilized by the network node 300. The memory 304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 302 and / or any data received via the communication interface 306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 302 and memory 304 is integrated.

[0115] The communication interface 306 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 306 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 306 also includes radio front-end circuitry 318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 310. Radio front-end circuitry 318 comprises filters 320 and amplifiers 322. The radio front-end circuitry 318 may be connected to an antenna 310 and processing circuitry 302. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 310 and processing circuitry 302. The radio front-end circuitry 318 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 318 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 320 and / or amplifiers 322. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 310. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 318. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0116] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 300 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 318, instead, the processing circuitry 302 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 312 is part of the communication interface 306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 306 includes one or more ports or terminals 316, the radio front-end circuitry 318, and the RF transceiver circuitry 312, as part of a radio unit(not shown), and the communication interface 306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0117] The antenna 310 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 310 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 310 is separate from the network node 300 and connectable to the network node 300 through an interface or port.

[0118] The antenna 310, communication interface 306, and / or the processing circuitry 302 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 310, the communication interface 306, and / or the processing circuitry 302 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0119] The power source 308 provides power to the various components of network node 300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 300 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 300 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 308. As a further example, the power source 308 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0120] Embodiments of the network node 300 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 10 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 300 and to allow output of information from the network node 300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 300.

[0121] Figure 11 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 400 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 400 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 400 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface.

[0122] Applications 402 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0123] Hardware 404 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 406 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 408a and 408b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 408), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 406 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 408.

[0124] The VMs 408 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 406. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 402 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 408, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volumeserver hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0125] In the context of NFV, a VM 408 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non- virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 408, and that part of hardware 404 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 408 on top of the hardware 404 and corresponds to the application 402.

[0126] Hardware 404 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 404 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 404 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 410, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 402. In some embodiments, hardware 404 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 412 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.Example EmbodimentsGroup A Embodiments

[0127] In an embodiment Al, a method is performed by a user equipment (UE) having a main receiver and a wake-up receiver (WUR). The method comprises monitoring, by the WUR, a cell of a network for a wake-up signal (WUS) and decoding the WUS. The WUS is structured to facilitate decoding based on a first pattern and to facilitate decoding based on a second pattern, and the decoding of the WUS is according to the first pattern, the second pattern, or both based at least in part on a capability of the WUR. See, e.g., Figure 6 at steps 62 and 64.

[0128] In an embodiment A2, the method of embodiment Al, wherein the WUS comprises a multi-stage payload structure in order to facilitate decoding based on the first pattern and decoding based on the second pattern.

[0129] In an embodiment A3, the method of embodiment A2, wherein a first part of a payload of the multi-stage payload structure is modulated or carried according to the first pattern and wherein a second part of the payload of the multi-stage payload structure is modulated or carried according to the second pattern.

[0130] In an embodiment A4, the method of embodiment A3, wherein the first part of the payload is modulated or carried based on an On-Off Keying (OOK) pattern comprising an ON duration and an OFF duration. The second part of the payload is modulated or carried based on a sequence modulation pattern during the ON duration of the OOK pattern.

[0131] In an embodiment A5, the method of embodiment A4, wherein the sequence modulation is based on an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) sequence.

[0132] In an embodiment A6, the method of embodiment A4 or A5, wherein the sequence modulation is based on a synchronization sequence.

[0133] In an embodiment A7, the method of embodiment A4 or A5, wherein the sequence modulation is a based on a reference sequence.

[0134] In an embodiment A8, the method of any of embodiments A4-A7, further comprising receiving, from the network, information indicating a number of ON durations and / or which ON durations in the OOK pattern to use for OFDM-based signal reception.

[0135] In an embodiment A9, the method of any of embodiments A1-A8, wherein the capability of the WUR comprises only a first type of signal reception capability, and wherein the decoding of the WUS is according to only the first pattern.

[0136] In an embodiment A 10, the method of embodiment A9, wherein the first type of signal reception capability comprises an On-Off Keying (OOK)-based signal reception capability and wherein the first pattern comprises an OOK-based pattern.

[0137] In an embodiment Al l, the method of any of embodiments A1-A8, wherein the capability of the WUR comprises only a second type of signal reception capability, and wherein the decoding of the WUS is according to only the second pattern.

[0138] In an embodiment A 12, the method of embodiment Al l, wherein the second type of signal reception capability comprises an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)-based signal reception capability and wherein the second pattern comprises an OFDM-based pattern.

[0139] In an embodiment A 13, the method of any of embodiments A1-A8, wherein the capability of the WUR comprises both a first type of signal reception capability and a second type of signal reception capability, and wherein the decoding of the WUS is according to both the first pattern and the second pattern.

[0140] In an embodiment A14, the method of any of embodiments A1-A8, wherein the capability of the WUR comprises both a first type of signal reception capability and a second type of signal reception capability, and wherein the decoding of the WUS is according to only the first pattern or only the second pattern.

[0141] In an embodiment A 15, the method of any of embodiments A1-A8, wherein the capability of the WUR comprises both a first type of signal reception capability and a second type of signal reception capability. The method further comprises determining to perform decoding according to only the first pattern, according to only the second pattern, or according to both the first pattern and the second pattern.

[0142] In an embodiment A 16, the method of embodiment A 15, wherein the determining is based at least in part on a requirement related to energy savings or battery level or power consumption.

[0143] In an embodiment A 17, the method of embodiment A15 or A 16, wherein the determining is based at least in part on a requirement related to coverage, deployment scenario, cell size, or traffic condition.

[0144] In an embodiment A18, the method of any of embodiments A15-A17, wherein the determining is based at least in part on a requirement related to mobility.

[0145] In an embodiment A19, the method of any of embodiments A15-A18, wherein the determining is based at least in part on an operation mode configured for the UE.

[0146] In an embodiment A20, the method of embodiment A 19, further comprising receiving information from the network indicating the operation mode to configure for the UE. As an example, the information may be received via system information (SI) from the network.

[0147] In an embodiment A21, the method of any of embodiments A 15-Al 9, wherein the first pattern comprises an OOK-based pattern and the second pattern comprises an OFDMbased pattern.

[0148] In an embodiment K 1, the method of any of embodiments A1-A21, wherein the WUS is a unified WUS.

[0149] In an embodiment A23, the method of any of embodiments A1-A22, wherein the first pattern corresponds to a first mask and the second pattern corresponds to a second mask.

[0150] In an embodiment A24, the method of any of embodiments A1-A23, wherein the method further comprises determining, based on information indicated by the WUS, whether the WUS is intended for the UE. In response to determining that the WUS is intended for the UE, the method further comprises waking up the main receiver of the UE.

[0151] In an embodiment A25, the method of embodiment A24, wherein determining whether the WUS is intended for the UE is based on a mapping between payload information associated with the WUS and a UE group or subgroup.

[0152] In an embodiment A26, the method of embodiment A25, wherein the UE group or subgroup comprises only 1 UE.

[0153] In an embodiment A27, the method of embodiment A25, wherein the UE group or subgroup comprises multiple UEs.

[0154] In an embodiment A28, the method of any of embodiments A25-A27, wherein the first pattern facilitates mapping the UE to a group and the second pattern facilitates mapping the UE to a subgroup.

[0155] In an embodiment A29, the method of embodiment A28, the method further comprising mapping the UE to only the group, to only the subgroup, or to both the group and the subgroup depending on the capability of the WUR.

[0156] In an embodiment A30, the method of embodiment A28 or A29, the method further comprising at least one of: mapping the UE to the group and / or mapping the UE to the subgroup. Mapping the UE to the group is based on the capability of the WUR comprising an On-Off Keying (OOK)-based signal reception capability. Mapping the UE to the subgroup is based on the capability of the WUR comprising an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)-based signal reception capability.

[0157] In an embodiment A31, the method of any of embodiments A25-A30, wherein a first stage of a multi-stage payload structure facilitates mapping the UE to a group and a second stage of the multi-stage payload structure facilitates mapping the UE to a subgroup. For examples of a multi-stage payload structure, see embodiments A2-A7.

[0158] In an embodiment A32, the method of any of embodiments A25-A31, wherein the mapping indicates both a UE group and a subgroup within the UE group. As an example, see Table 2, e.g., “WUR with both OOK and OFDM capability” column.

[0159] In an embodiment A33, the method of any of embodiments A1-A32, wherein monitoring the cell of the network for the WUS is according to a monitoring duration, the monitoring duration depending on one or more of: the capability of the WUR, a type of the WUR, or an operation mode of the WUR.Group B Embodiments

[0160] In an embodiment Bl, a method in a network node comprises transmitting a wakeup signal (WUS) to one or more user equipments (UEs). The WUS is structured to facilitatedecoding based on a first patern by a UE comprising a WUR configured according to a first capability. The WUS is further structured to facilitate decoding based on a second patern by a UE comprising a WUR configured according to a second capability. See, e.g., Figure 7 at step 74.

[0161] In an embodiment B2, the method of embodiment Bl, wherein the WUS comprises a multi-stage payload structure in order to facilitate decoding based on the first patern and decoding based on the second patern.

[0162] In an embodiment B3, the method of embodiment B2, wherein a first part of a payload of the multi-stage payload structure is modulated or carried according to the first patern and wherein a second part of the payload of the multi-stage payload structure is modulated or carried according to the second patern.

[0163] In an embodiment B4, the method of embodiment B3 wherein the first part of the payload is modulated or carried based on an On-Off Keying (OOK) patern comprising an ON duration and an OFF duration. The second part of the payload is modulated or carried based on a sequence modulation patern during the ON duration of the OOK patern.

[0164] In an embodiment B5, the method of embodiment B4, wherein the sequence modulation is based on an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) sequence.

[0165] In an embodiment B6, the method of embodiment B4 or B5, wherein the sequence modulation is based on a synchronization sequence.

[0166] In an embodiment B7, the method of embodiment B4 or B5, wherein the sequence modulation is based on a reference sequence.

[0167] In an embodiment B8, the method of any of embodiments B4-B7, further comprising sending, to the one or more UEs, information indicating a number of ON durations and / or which ON durations in the OOK patern to use for OFDM-based signal reception.

[0168] In an embodiment B9, the method of any of embodiments B1-B8, wherein the first capability comprises an On-Off Keying (OOK)-based signal reception capability and wherein the first patern comprises an OOK-based patern.

[0169] In an embodiment B10, the method of any of embodiments B1-B9, wherein the second capability comprises an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)-based signal reception capability and wherein the second patern comprises an OFDM-based patern.

[0170] In an embodiment Bl l, the method of any of embodiments Bl -B10, further comprising: transmiting, to a first UE, information that assists the first UE in determining whether to decode the WUS according to only the first patern, only the second patern, or boththe first pattern and the second pattern. The first UE comprises a WUR configured according to both the first capability and the second capability.

[0171] In an embodiment B12, the method of embodiment Bll, wherein the information is associated with a requirement related to one or more of: energy savings, battery level, power consumption, coverage, deployment scenario, cell size, traffic condition, or mobility.

[0172] In an embodiment Bl 3, the method of embodiment Bl l, wherein the information indicates an operation mode.

[0173] In an embodiment B14, the method of any of embodiments Bl 1-B14, wherein the information is transmitted via system information (SI).

[0174] In an embodiment Bl 5, the method of any of embodiments Bl -Bl 4, wherein the WUS is a unified WUS.

[0175] In an embodiment Bl 6, the method of any of embodiments Bl -Bl 5, wherein the first pattern corresponds to a first mask and the second pattern corresponds to a second mask.

[0176] In an embodiment Bl 7, the method of any of embodiments Bl -Bl 6, wherein the WUS indicates one or more UEs that the WUS is intended for.

[0177] In an embodiment Bl 8, the method of embodiment B17, wherein the one or more UEs that the WUS is intended for is based on a mapping between payload information associated with the WUS and a UE group or subgroup.

[0178] In an embodiment Bl 9, the method of embodiment Bl 8, wherein the UE group or subgroup comprises only one UE.

[0179] In an embodiment B20, the method of embodiment B 18, wherein the UE group or subgroup comprises multiple UEs.

[0180] In an embodiment B21, the method of any of embodiments B18-B20, wherein the one or more UEs include a first UE comprising a WUR configured according to the first capability and a second UE comprising a WUR configured according to the second capability. The first pattern facilitates the first UE in mapping to a group, and the second pattern facilitates the second UE in mapping to a subgroup. (The first UE and the second UE may refer to the same UE if said UE’s WUR supports both the first capability and the second capability, or the first UE and the second UE may be different UEs).

[0181] In an embodiment B22, the method of any of embodiments B1-B21, wherein the first pattern comprises an OOK pattern and the first capability comprises an OOK-based reception capability. The second pattern comprises an OFDM pattern and the second capability comprises an OFDM-based reception capability.

[0182] In an embodiment B23, the method of any of embodiments B18-B22, wherein a first stage of a multi-stage payload structure facilitates mapping one or more of the UE(s) to a group and a second stage of the multi-stage payload structure facilitates mapping one or more of the UE(s) to a subgroup.

[0183] In an embodiment B24, the method of any of embodiments B18-B23, wherein the mapping indicates both a UE group and a subgroup within the UE group. As an example, see Table 2, e.g., “WUR with both OOK and OFDM capability” column.

[0184] In an embodiment B25, the method of any of embodiments B1-B24, the method further comprising transmitting information to one or more of the UE(s) that assists in determining a monitoring duration to monitor for the WUS, the monitoring duration depending on one or more of: the capability of the WUR, a type of the WUR, or an operation mode of the WUR.

[0185] In an embodiment B26, the method of any of embodiments B1-B25, the method further comprising, prior to transmitting the WUS, generating the WUS according to the structure. See, e.g., Figure 7 at step 72.Group C Embodiments

[0186] In an embodiment Cl, a user equipment comprises power supply circuitry and processing circuitry. The power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

[0187] In an embodiment C2, a network node comprises power supply circuitry and processing circuitry. The power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

[0188] In an embodiment C3, a user equipment (UE) comprises an antenna and radio frontend circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry. The UE further comprises an input interface, an output interface, and a battery, each connected to the processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments. The antenna is configured to send and receive wireless signals. The radio frontend circuitry is configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry. The input interface is configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry. The output interface is configured to outputinformation from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry. The battery is configured to supply power to the UE.Modifications

[0189] Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the systems and apparatuses described herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware. Thus, the components of the systems and apparatuses may be integrated or separated in any suitable manner, and the operations of the systems and apparatuses may be performed by more, fewer, or other components.

[0190] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0191] Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the methods described herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The methods may include more, fewer, or other steps. Additionally, steps may be performed in any suitable order.

[0192] Although this disclosure has been described in terms of certain embodiments, alterations and permutations of the embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the description of the embodiments does not constrain this disclosure. Other changes, substitutions, and alterations are possible without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method in a user equipment (UE) having a main receiver and a wake-up receiver (WUR), the method comprising: monitoring (62), by the WUR, a cell of a network for a wake-up signal (WUS), the WUS structured to facilitate decoding based on a first pattern and the WUS further structured to facilitate decoding based on a second pattern; and decoding (64) the WUS, the WUS decoded according to the first pattern, the second pattern, or both based at least in part on a capability of the WUR.

2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the WUS comprises a multi-stage payload structure in order to facilitate the decoding based on the first pattern and the decoding based on the second pattern.

3. The method of Claim 2, wherein a first part of a payload of the multi-stage payload structure is modulated or carried according to the first pattern and wherein a second part of the payload of the multi-stage payload structure is modulated or carried according to the second pattern.

4. The method of Claim 3, wherein: the first part of the payload is modulated or carried based on an On-Off Keying (OOK) pattern comprising an ON duration and an OFF duration; and the second part of the payload is modulated or carried based on a sequence modulation pattern during the ON duration of the OOK pattern.

5. The method of Claim 4, wherein the sequence modulation is based on an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) sequence.

6. The method of any of Claims 4-5, wherein the sequence modulation is based on a synchronization sequence.

7. The method of any of Claims 4-5, wherein the sequence modulation is a based on a reference sequence.

8. The method of any of Claims 4-7, further comprising: receiving, from the network, one or more of: information indicating a number of ON durations; andinformation indicating which ON durations in the OOK pattern to use for OFDM-based signal reception.

9. The method of any of Claims 1-8, wherein the capability of the WUR comprises only a first type of signal reception capability, and wherein the decoding of the WUS is according to only the first pattern.

10. The method of Claim 9, wherein the first type of signal reception capability comprises an On-Off Keying (OOK)-based signal reception capability and wherein the first pattern comprises an OOK-based pattern.

11. The method of any of Claims 1-8, wherein the capability of the WUR comprises only a second type of signal reception capability, and wherein the decoding of the WUS is according to only the second pattern.

12. The method of Claim 11, wherein the second type of signal reception capability comprises an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)-based signal reception capability and wherein the second pattern comprises an OFDM-based pattern.

13. The method of any of Claims 1-8, wherein the capability of the WUR comprises both a first type of signal reception capability and a second type of signal reception capability, and wherein the decoding of the WUS is according to both the first pattern and the second pattern.

14. The method of any of Claims 1-8, wherein the capability of the WUR comprises both a first type of signal reception capability and a second type of signal reception capability, and wherein the decoding of the WUS is according to only the first pattern or only the second pattern.

15. The method of any of Claims 1-8, wherein the capability of the WUR comprises both a first type of signal reception capability and a second type of signal reception capability, and wherein the method further comprises: determining to perform the decoding according to only the first pattern, according to only the second pattern, or according to both the first pattern and the second pattern.

16. The method of Claim 15, wherein the determining to perform the decoding according to only the first pattern, according to only the second pattern, or according to both the first pattern and the second pattern is based at least in part on an operation mode configured for the UE.

17. The method of Claim 16, further comprising: receiving, from the network, information indicating the operation mode to configure for the UE.

18. The method of any of Claims 1-17, further comprising: determining, based on information indicated by the WUS, whether the WUS is intended for the UE; and in response to determining that the WUS is intended for the UE, waking up the main receiver of the UE.

19. The method of Claim 18, wherein determining whether the WUS is intended forthe UE is based on a mapping between payload information associated with the WUS and a UE group or subgroup.

20. The method of any of Claims 1-19, further comprising: in response to determining that the WUS is intended for the UE, monitoring a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) by the main receiver of the UE.

21. A user equipment (22, 112, 200), comprising: a main receiver (24); a wake-up receiver (WUR) (26) configured to monitor a cell of a network for a wakeup signal (WUS); processing circuitry (202) configured to decode the WUS, the WUS structured to facilitate decoding based on a first pattern and to facilitate decoding based on a second pattern, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to decode the WUS according to the first pattern, the second pattern, or both based at least in part on a capability of the WUR; and power supply circuitry (208) configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

22. The user equipment of Claim 21, the processing circuitry further configured to perform the steps of any of Claims 2-20.

23. A method in a network node, the method comprising:transmitting (74) a wake-up signal (WUS) to one or more user equipments (UEs), wherein: the WUS is structured to facilitate decoding based on a first pattern by a UE comprising a WUR configured according to a first capability; and the WUS is further structured to facilitate decoding based on a second pattern by a UE comprising a WUR configured according to a second capability.

24. The method of Claim 23, wherein the WUS comprises a multi-stage payload structure in order to facilitate the decoding based on the first pattern and the decoding based on the second pattern.

25. The method of Claim 24, wherein a first part of a payload of the multi-stage payload structure is modulated or carried according to the first pattern and wherein a second part of the payload of the multi-stage payload structure is modulated or carried according to the second pattern.

26. The method of Claim 25, wherein: the first part of the payload is modulated or carried based on an On-Off Keying (OOK) pattern comprising an ON duration and an OFF duration; and the second part of the payload is modulated or carried based on a sequence modulation pattern during the ON duration of the OOK pattern.

27. The method of Claim 26, wherein the sequence modulation is based on an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) sequence.

28. The method of any of Claims 26-27, wherein the sequence modulation is based on a synchronization sequence.

29. The method of any of Claims 26-27, wherein the sequence modulation is a based on a reference sequence.

30. The method of any of Claims 26-29, further comprising: sending, to the one or more UEs, one or more of: information indicating a number of ON durations; and information indicating which ON durations in the OOK pattern to use for OFDM-based signal reception.

31. The method of any of Claims 23-30, wherein the first capability comprises an On- Off Keying (OOK)-based signal reception capability and wherein the first pattern comprises an OOK-based pattern.

32. The method of any of Claims 23-31, wherein the second capability comprises an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)-based signal reception capability and wherein the second pattern comprises an OFDM-based pattern.

33. The method of any of Claims 23-32, wherein the WUS indicates one or more UEs that the WUS is intended for.

34. The method of Claim 33, wherein the one or more UEs that the WUS is intended for is based on a mapping between payload information associated with the WUS and a UE group or subgroup.

35. The method of any of Claims 23-34, further comprising, prior to transmitting the WUS, generating (72) the WUS.

36. A network node (42, 110, 300), the network node comprising: processing circuitry (302) configured to transmit a wake-up signal (WUS) to one or more user equipments (UEs), wherein the WUS is structured to facilitate decoding based on a first pattern by a UE comprising a WUR configured according to a first capability, and wherein the WUS is further structured to facilitate decoding based on a second pattern by a UE comprising a WUR configured according to a second capability; and power supply circuitry (308) configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.

37. The network node of Claim 36, the processing circuitry further configured to perform the steps of any of Claims 23-35.

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