Methods, architectures, apparatuses and systems for active period synchronization for scheduling

Abstract

Procedures, methods, architectures, apparatuses, systems, devices, and computer program products using wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) configured for receiving first information indicating a first configuration associated with a upload (UL) active time; receiving second information indicating (i) a second configuration associated with a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE) for initiation of a carrier signal and (ii) a mapping between one or more MAC CE values and respective one or more UL active times; determining the UL active time based on the first configuration; selecting, based on the second information, MAC CE value corresponding to the determined UL active time; and sending the MAC CE value.

Description

METHODS, ARCHITECTURES, APPARATUSES AND SYSTEMS FOR ACTIVE PERIOD SYNCHRONIZATION FOR SCHEDULINGCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of US Patent Application No. 63 / 621,714 filed January 17, 2024, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure is generally directed to the fields of communications, software and encoding, including, for example, to methods, architectures, apparatuses, systems directed to perform active period synchronization for scheduling.BACKGROUND

[0003] Ambient internet of things (loT) devices are devices that may use backscattering to connect a radio access network (RAN). Embodiments described herein have been designed with the foregoing in mind.SUMMARY

[0004] Methods, architectures, apparatuses, and systems directed to active period synchronization for scheduling are described herein. In an embodiment, a method implemented in a WTRU is described. The method may include receiving (e.g., from a network) first information indicating a first configuration associated with an uplink (UL) active time. The method may include receiving (e.g., from the network) second information indicating (i) a second configuration associated with a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC CE) for initiation of a carrier signal and (ii) a mapping between one or more MAC CE values and respective one or more UL active times. The method may include determining the UL active time based on the first configuration. The method may include selecting, based on the second information, a MAC CE value corresponding to the determined UL active time. The method may include sending the MAC CE value (e.g., to the network).

[0005] In an embodiment, a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) is described. The WTRU may include circuitry including a transmitter, a receiver, a processor, and a memory. The WTRU may be configured to receive (e.g., from a network) first information indicating a first configuration associated with an uplink (UL) active time The WTRU may be configured to receive (e.g., from the network) second information indicating (i) a second configuration associated with a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC CE) for initiation of a carrier signal and (ii) a mapping between one or more MAC CE values and respective one or more UL active times. The WTRU may be configured to determine the UL active time based on the first configuration. The WTRU may be configured to select, based on the second information, a MAC CE valuecorresponding to the determined UL active time. The WTRU may be configured to send the MAC CE value (e.g., to the network).

[0006] In an embodiment, a method implemented in a network element is described. The method may include sending (e.g., to a WTRU) first information indicating a first configuration associated with an UL active time. The method may include sending (e.g., to the WTRU) second information indicating (i) a second configuration associated with a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC CE) for initiation of a carrier signal and (ii) a mapping between one or more MAC CE values and respective one or more UL active times. The method may include receiving (e.g., from the WTRU) a MAC CE value of the one or more MAC CE values. According to certain embodiments, the MAC CE value may be associated with an UL active time of the respective one or more UL active times. The method may include transmitting during a time span, a downlink control channel transmission comprising one or more UL grants. According to certain embodiments, the time span may be based on the UL active time.

[0007] In an embodiment, a network element is described. The network element may include circuitry including a transmitter, a receiver, a processor, and a memory. The network element may be configured to send (e.g., to a WTRU) first information indicating a first configuration associated with an UL active time. The network element may be configured to send (e.g., to the WTRU) second information indicating (i) a second configuration associated with a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC CE) for initiation of a carrier signal and (ii) a mapping between one or more MAC CE values and respective one or more UL active times. The network element may be configured to receive (e.g., from the WTRU) a MAC CE value of the one or more MAC CE values. According to certain embodiments, the MAC CE value may be associated with an UL active time of the respective one or more UL active times. The network element may be configured to transmit during a time span, a downlink control channel transmission comprising one or more UL grants. According to certain embodiments, the time span may be based on the UL active time.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] A more detailed understanding may be had from the detailed description below, given by way of example in conjunction with drawings appended hereto. Figures in such drawings, like the detailed description, are examples. As such, the Figures (FIGs.) and the detailed description are not to be considered limiting, and other equally effective examples are possible and likely. Furthermore, like reference numerals ("ref.") in the FIGs. indicate like elements, and wherein:

[0009] FIG. 1 A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system;

[0010] FIG. IB is a system diagram illustrating an example wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1 A;

[0011] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network (RAN) and an example core network (CN) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A;

[0012] FIG. ID is a system diagram illustrating a further example RAN and a further example CN that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1 A;

[0013] FIG. 2 depicts a device operating in short active periods while performing energy harvesting during a sleep period;

[0014] FIG. 3 depicts a device performing energy harvesting based on a resource grant occurrence;

[0015] FIG. 4 depicts a method for suspending and resuming timer with energy harvesting operation;

[0016] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a method implemented by a WTRU to perform active period synchronization for scheduling;

[0017] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method implemented by a WTRU to perform active period synchronization for uplink scheduling;

[0018] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a method implemented by a network element to perform active period synchronization for uplink scheduling;

[0019] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a method implemented by a WTRU to perform active period synchronization for downlink scheduling;

[0020] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a method implemented by a network element to perform active period synchronization for downlink scheduling;.

[0021] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a method implemented by a WTRU to perform uplink transmission;

[0022] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a method implemented by a network element to receive uplink transmission;

[0023] FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a method implemented by a WTRU to handle procedures involving timers; and

[0024] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a method implemented by a network element to handle procedures involving timers.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments and / or examples disclosed herein. However, it will be understood that such embodiments and examples may be practiced without some or all of the specific details set forth herein. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, componentsand circuits have not been described in detail, so as not to obscure the following description. Further, embodiments and examples not specifically described herein may be practiced in lieu of, or in combination with, the embodiments and other examples described, disclosed or otherwise provided explicitly, implicitly and / or inherently (collectively "provided") herein. Although various embodiments are described and / or claimed herein in which an apparatus, system, device, etc. and / or any element thereof carries out an operation, process, algorithm, function, etc. and / or any portion thereof, it is to be understood that any embodiments described and / or claimed herein assume that any apparatus, system, device, etc. and / or any element thereof is configured to carry out any operation, process, algorithm, function, etc. and / or any portion thereof.

[0026] Provided below are acronyms / abbreviations for terms and phrases commonly used in this application:ACK AcknowledgementBLER Block Error RateBWP Bandwidth PartCA Carrier aggregationCAP Channel Access PriorityCAPC Channel access priority classCCA Clear Channel AssessmentCCE Control Channel ElementCE Control ElementCG Configured grant or cell groupCHO Conditional handoverCP Cyclic PrefixCP-OFDM Conventional OFDM (relying on cyclic prefix)CPA Conditional PsCell additionCP AC Conditional PsCell addition / changeCPC Conditional PsCell changeCQI Channel Quality IndicatorCRC Cyclic Redundancy CheckCSI Channel State InformationCW Contention WindowCWS Contention Window SizeCO Channel OccupancyDAI Downlink Assignment IndexDC Dual connectivityDCI Downlink Control InformationDFI Downlink feedback informationDG Dynamic grantDL DownlinkDM-RS Demodulation Reference SignalDRB Data Radio Bearer eLAA enhanced Licensed Assisted AccessFeLAA Further enhanced Licensed Assisted AccessHARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat RequestIS In syncLAA License Assisted AccessLBT Listen-Before-TalkLTE Long Term Evolution e.g., from 3GPP LTE R8 and up LTM Ll / 2 triggered mobilityNACK Negative ACKMCG Master cell groupMAC Medium access controlMCS Modulation and Coding SchemeMIMO Multiple Input Multiple OutputNR New RadioOFDM Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing00 S Out of syncPCell Primary cellPCI Physical cell identityPHY Physical LayerPID Process IDPO Paging OccasionPRACH Physical Random Access ChannelPSCell Primary SCG CellPSS Primary Synchronization Signal RA Random Access (or procedure)RACH Random Access ChannelRAR Random Access ResponseRCU Radio access network Central UnitRF Radio Front endRLC Radio Link ControlRLF Radio Link FailureRLM Radio Link MonitoringRNTI Radio Network IdentifierRO RACH occasionRRC Radio Resource ControlRRM Radio Resource ManagementRS Reference SignalRSRP Reference Signal Received PowerRS SI Received Signal Strength IndicatorSCell Secondary cellSCG Secondary cell groupSDU Service Data UnitSIB System Information BroadcastSpCell Special Cell*SRS Sounding Reference SignalSS Synchronization SignalSSS Secondary Synchronization SignalSWG Switching Gap (in a self-contained subframe)SPS Semi-persistent schedulingSUL Supplemental UplinkTB Transport BlockTBS Transport Block SizeTRP Transmission / Reception PointTSC Time-sensitive communicationsTSN Time-sensitive networkingTTT Time to triggerUAV Uncrewed Aerial VehicleUL UplinkURLLC Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency CommunicationsWBWP Wide Bandwidth PartWLAN Wireless Local Area Networks and related technologies (IEEE 802. xx domain)

[0027] The term SpCell may either refer to the PCell of the MCG or the PSCell of the SCG depending on whether the MAC entity is associated to the MCG or the SCG

[0028] Example Communications System

[0029] The methods, apparatuses and systems provided herein are well-suited for communications involving both wired and wireless networks. An overview of various types of wireless devices and infrastructure is provided with respect to FIGs. 1A-1D, where various elements of the network may utilize, perform, be arranged in accordance with and / or be adapted and / or configured for the methods, apparatuses and systems provided herein.

[0030] FIG. 1A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communications system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users. The communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communications systems 100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), singlecarrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail (ZT) unique-word (UW) discreet Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (ZT UW DTS-s OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block- filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), and the like.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 1A, the communications system 100 may include wireless transmit / receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a radio access network (RAN) 104 / 113, a core network (CN) 106 / 115, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and / or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and / or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which may be referred to as a "station" and / or a "STA", may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and may include (or be) a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi- Fi device, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating oncommercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and 102d may be interchangeably referred to as a UE.

[0032] The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and / or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, e.g., to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106 / 115, the Internet 110, and / or the networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be any of a base transceiver station (BTS), a Node-B (NB), an eNode-B (eNB), a Home Node-B (HNB), a Home eNode-B (HeNB), a gNode-B (gNB), a NR Node-B (NR NB), a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and / or network elements.

[0033] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104 / 113, which may also include other base stations and / or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, etc. The base station 114a and / or the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for a wireless service to a specific geographical area that may be relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in an embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each or any sector of the cell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and / or receive signals in desired spatial directions.

[0034] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0035] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 104 / 113 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal MobileTelecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and / or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and / or High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0036] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or LTE- Advanced (LTE-A) and / or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

[0037] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access, which may establish the air interface 116 using New Radio (NR).

[0038] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for instance using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and / or transmissions sent to / from multiple types of base stations (e.g., an eNB and a gNB).

[0039] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 IX, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

[0040] The base station 114b in FIG. 1 A may be a wireless router, Home Node-B, Home eNode- B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a roadway, and the like. In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellular-based RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, etc.) to establish any of a small cell, picocell or femtocell.As shown in FIG. 1 A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to access the Internet 110 via the CN 106 / 115.

[0041] The RAN 104 / 113 may be in communication with the CN 106 / 115, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and / or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have varying quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as differing throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, and the like. The CN 106 / 115 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and / or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although not shown in FIG. 1 A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 / 113 and / or the CN 106 / 115 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 113 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104 / 113, which may be utilizing an NR radio technology, the CN 106 / 115 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing any of a GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or Wi-Fi radio technology.

[0042] The CN 106 / 115 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and / or other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) and / or the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP / IP internet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and / or wireless communications networks owned and / or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 / 114 or a different RAT.

[0043] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system 100 may include multi-mode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links). For example, the WTRU 102c shown in FIG. 1A may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

[0044] FIG. IB is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. IB, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit / receive element 122, aspeaker / microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display / touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and / or other elements / peripherals 138, among others. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0045] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input / output processing, and / or any other functionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit / receive element 122. While FIG. IB depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together, e.g., in an electronic package or chip.

[0046] The transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in an embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and / or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be an emitter / detector configured to transmit and / or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In an embodiment, the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit / receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and / or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0047] Although the transmit / receive element 122 is depicted in FIG. IB as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit / receive elements 122. For example, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit / receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0048] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit / receive element 122 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit / receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11, for example.

[0049] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker / microphone 124, the keypad 126, and / or the display / touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and / or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM), readonly memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

[0050] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and may be configured to distribute and / or control the power to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

[0051] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information over the air interface 116 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and / or determine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information by way of any suitable location-determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0052] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other elements / peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and / or hardware modules / units that provide additional features, functionality and / or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the elements / peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (e.g., for photographs and / or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a virtual reality and / or augmented reality (VR / AR) device, an activity tracker, and the like. The elements / peripherals 138 may include one or more sensors, the sensors may be one or more of agyroscope, an accelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; a geolocation sensor; an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, and / or a humidity sensor.

[0053] The WTRU 102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for both the uplink (e.g., for transmission) and downlink (e.g., for reception) may be concurrent and / or simultaneous. The full duplex radio may include an interference management unit to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via either hardware (e.g., a choke) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include a half-duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for either the uplink (e.g., for transmission) or the downlink (e.g., for reception)).

[0054] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, and 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0055] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In an embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

[0056] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the uplink (UL) and / or downlink (DL), and the like. As shown in FIG. 1C, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

[0057] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (PGW) 166. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any one of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0058] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, and 160c in the RAN 104 via an SI interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the MME 162 maybe responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation / deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. The MME 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and / or WCDMA.

[0059] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via the SI interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to / from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode-B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

[0060] The SGW 164 may be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0061] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers.

[0062] Although the WTRU is described in FIGs. 1A-1D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that such a terminal may use (e.g., temporarily or permanently) wired communication interfaces with the communication network.

[0063] In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0064] A WLAN in infrastructure basic service set (BSS) mode may have an access point (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have an access or an interface to a distribution system (DS) or another type of wired / wireless network that carries traffic into and / or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originates from outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered to the STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinations outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP may deliver the traffic to the destination STA. The traffic betweenSTAs within a BSS may be considered and / or referred to as peer-to-peer traffic. The peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between (e.g., directly between) the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802. l ie DLS or an 802.1 Iz tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g., all of the STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS mode of communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an "ad-hoc" mode of communication.

[0065] When using the 802.1 lac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operations, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width via signaling. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may be used by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, Carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA / CA) may be implemented, for example in in 802.11 systems. For CSMA / CA, the STAs (e.g., every STA), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed / detected and / or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0066] High throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHz channel with an adjacent or nonadj acent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHz wide channel.

[0067] Very high throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and / or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz, and / or 80 MHz, channels may be formed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be formed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining two non-contiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channel encoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide the data into two streams. Inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) processing, and time domain processing, may be done on each stream separately. The streams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may be transmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the above-described operation for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed, and the combined data may be sent to a medium access control (MAC) layer, entity, etc.

[0068] Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.1 laf and 802.11 ah. The channel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.1 laf and 802.1 lah relative to those used in 802. l ln, and 802.11ac. 802.11af supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TVwhite space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11 ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment, 802.11ah may support meter type control / machine-type communications (MTC), such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilities including support for (e.g., only support for) certain and / or limited bandwidths. The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery life above a threshold (e.g., to maintain a very long battery life).

[0069] WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channel bandwidths, such as 802.1 In, 802.1 lac, 802.11af, and 802.1 lah, include a channel which may be designated as the primary channel. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and / or limited by a STA, from among all STAs in operating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operating mode. In the example of 802.1 lah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz wide for STAs (e.g., MTC type devices) that support (e.g., only support) a 1 MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and / or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and / or network allocation vector (NAV) settings may depend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operating mode), transmitting to the AP, the entire available frequency bands may be considered busy even though a majority of the frequency bands remains idle and may be available.

[0070] In the United States, the available frequency bands, which may be used by 802.1 lah, are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the available frequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.1 lah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

[0071] FIG. ID is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 113 and the CN 115 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 113 may employ an NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 113 may also be in communication with the CN 115.

[0072] The RAN 113 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 113 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, gNBs 180a, 180b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and / or receive signals from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. Thus, the gNB180a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and / or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation technology. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum while the remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology. For example, WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and / or gNB 180c).

[0073] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. For example, OFDM symbol spacing and / or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and / or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframe or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths (e.g., including a varying number of OFDM symbols and / or lasting varying lengths of absolute time).

[0074] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and / or a non- standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without also accessing other RANs (e.g., such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c). In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as a mobility anchor point. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in an unlicensed band. In a non- standalone configuration WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with / connect to gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating with / connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In the non- standalone configuration, eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may serve as a mobility anchor for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and / or throughput for servicing WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0075] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and / or DL, support of network slicing, dual connectivity, interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards user plane functions (UPFs) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards access and mobility managementfunctions (AMFs) 182a, 182b, and the like. As shown in FIG. ID, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with one another over an Xn interface.

[0076] The CN 115 shown in FIG. ID may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one session management function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and at least one Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. While each of the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 115, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and / or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0077] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N2 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, support for network slicing (e.g., handling of different protocol data unit (PDU) sessions with different requirements), selecting a particular SMF 183a, 183b, management of the registration area, termination of NAS signaling, mobility management, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 182a, 182b, e.g., to customize CN support for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the types of services being utilized by WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for MTC access, and / or the like. The AMF 182a, 182b may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 113 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and / or non-3GPP access technologies such as WiFi.

[0078] The SMF 183a, 183b may be connected to an AMF 182a, 182b in the CN 115 via an N11 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may also be connected to a UPF 184a, 184b in the CN 115 via an N4 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may select and control the UPF 184a, 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPF 184a, 184b. The SMF 183a, 183b may perform other functions, such as managing and allocating UE IP address, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing downlink data notifications, and the like. A PDU session type may be IP -based, non-IP based, Ethernet-based, and the like.

[0079] The UPF 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 113 via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, e.g., to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184a, 184b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering downlink packets, providing mobility anchoring, and the like.

[0080] The CN 115 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 115 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 115 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 115 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and / or wireless networks that are owned and / or operated by other service providers. In an embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to a local Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b through the UPF 184a, 184b via the N3 interface to the UPF 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPF 184a, 184b and the DN 185a, 185b.

[0081] In view of FIGs. 1 A-1D, and the corresponding description of FIGs. 1 A-1D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein with regard to any of: WTRUs 102a-d, base stations 114a- b, eNode-Bs 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNBs 180a-c, AMFs 182a-b, UPFs 184a- b, SMFs 183a-b, DNs 185a-b, and / or any other element(s) / device(s) described herein, may be performed by one or more emulation elements / devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more, or all, of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and / or to simulate network and / or WTRU functions.

[0082] The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and / or in an operator network environment. For example, the one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partially implemented and / or deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being temporarily implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another device for purposes of testing and / or may performing testing using over-the-air wireless communications.

[0083] The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, including all, functions while not being implemented / deployed as part of a wired and / or wireless communication network. For example, the emulation devices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratory and / or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and / or wireless communication network in order to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and / or wireless communications via RF circuitry (e.g., which mayinclude one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and / or receive data.

[0084] Throughout embodiments described herein the terms "base station", "network", "cell", and "gNB", collectively "the network" may be used interchangeably to designate any network element such as e.g., a network element acting as a serving base station. Embodiments described herein are not limited to gNBs and are applicable to any other type of base stations.

[0085] For the sake of clarity, satisfying, failing to satisfy a condition, and configuring condition parameter(s) are described throughout embodiments described herein as relative to a threshold (e.g., greater, or lower than) a (e.g., threshold) value, configuring the (e.g., threshold) value, etc. For example, satisfying a condition may be described as being above a (e.g., threshold) value, and failing to satisfy a condition may be described as being below a (e.g., threshold) value. Embodiments described herein are not limited to threshold-based conditions. Any kind of other condition and param eter(s) (such as e.g., belonging or not belonging to a range of values) may be applicable to embodiments described herein.

[0086] Throughout embodiments described herein, (e.g., configuration) information may be described as received by a WTRU from the network, for example, through system information or via any kind of protocol message. Although not explicitly mentioned throughout embodiments described herein, the same (e.g., configuration) information may be pre-configured in the WTRU (e.g., via any kind of pre-configuration methods such as e.g., via factory settings), such that this (e.g., configuration) information may be used by the WTRU without being received from the network.

[0087] Throughout embodiments described herein, the expression "the WTRU may be configured with a set of parameters" is equivalent or may be used interchangeably with "the WTRU may receive configuration information (e.g., from another network element (e.g., gNB)) indicating a set of parameters". Throughout embodiments described herein, the expressions "the WTRU may report something", and "the WTRU may be configured to report something", is equivalent or may be used interchangeably with "the WTRU may transmit (e.g., reporting) information indicating something". Throughout embodiments described herein, the expression "the WTRU may provide ( / be provided) with a set of parameters ( / something)" is equivalent or may be used interchangeably with "the WTRU may transmit ( / receive) information indicating a set of parameters ( / something)".

[0088] In embodiments described herein, "a" and "an" and similar phrases are to be interpreted as "one or more" and "at least one". Similarly, any term which ends with the suffix "(s)" is to beinterpreted as "one or more" and "at least one". The term "may" is to be interpreted as "may, for example".

[0089] A symbol " / " (e.g., forward slash) may be used herein to represent "and / or", where for example, "A / B" may imply "A and / or B".

[0090] In embodiments described herein, "list of', "set of and "one or more of may be used interchangeably.

[0091] In embodiments described herein, "identity" and "identifier" may be used interchangeably to refer to how a network element (or a WTRU) may be identified.

[0092] In embodiments described herein, "first / second configuration information" and "first / second information indicating a first / second configuration" may be used interchangeably to any information indicating a configuration.

[0093] In embodiments described herein, a network element may refer to any kind of device including computing resources and networking capabilities, that may be connected to a network. The terms network element and node may be used interchangeably. A network element may be any kind of network infrastructure device and or a WTRU. The architecture depicted at FIG. IB for a WTRU 102 may be applicable more generally to any kind of network element.

[0094] Study of Ambient loT has started in RAN and RAN is currently finalizing the study in TR 38.848.

[0095] Three device types have been identified: o Device Type A: Device has no energy storage, and transmission is performed by the WTRU (e.g., UE) using backscattering alone. o Device Type B : Device uses backscattering (similar to device type A) but the device can perform power boosting by using some stored energy at the device (derived from some energy harvesting) o Device Type C: Device can perform autonomous transmission (i.e., without the need for backscattering) at periods of time when it has stored sufficient energy from energy harvesting.

[0096] In case of device type B and C, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may operate in short active periods 21 while performing energy harvesting during a sleep period 22 as shown in FIG. 2.

[0097] In legacy operation, a WTRU (e.g., UE) monitors a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) for DL transmissions (as well as UL grants) continuously. Even when the WTRU (e.g., UE) is in power savings mode (e.g., connected Discontinuous Reception (DRX) ), channel monitoring by the WTRU (e.g., UE) is performed during defined time periods known by the WTRU (e.g., UE) and the network (NW).

[0098] An ambient loT device may be unable to transmit / receive during periods of time when it is performing energy harvesting. However, those periods of time will not be known by the network as they may depend on the DL RSRP associated with the scattering signal and / or energy harvesting signal, the amount of power consumed by the WTRU (e.g., UE) for other operations (e.g., memory access, etc.), device capacitance, etc. For example, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may be charged by DL signals by the network, and the larger the DL RSRP, the quicker the WTRU (e.g., UE) can charge under those conditions.

[0099] How to synchronize periods active time and inactive time with the network when these periods depend highly on properties at the WTRU (e.g., UE) (e.g., DL RSRP, amount of data available for transmission, power consumption at the WTRU (e.g., UE) for other operations, etc.). Methods and apparatus for UL scheduling operation are provided.

[0100] For the sake of clarity, embodiments are described herein with a scheduling request (SR) resource as an example of medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC CE) e.g., value that may be associated with an (e.g., uplink) active time. Embodiments described herein are not limited to an SR resource and are applicable to any kind of MAC CE (e.g., value).

[0101] According to embodiments, a WTRU (e.g., UE) triggers an scheduling request (SR) to request transmission of a carrier signal for energy harvesting when the WTRU (e.g., UE) does not have sufficient energy for transmitting data and transmits an SR associated with a minimum UL active time to inform the network of the minimum UL active time the WTRU (e.g., UE) requires for transmitting data.

[0102] A WTRU (e.g., UE) receives configuration (e.g., via a SIB) of an association between a minimum UL active time and one or more parameters: o In an example, a parameter may be at least one of:■ DL RSRP;■ Amount of pending (e.g., buffered) data;■ Priority / Packet Delay Budget (PDB);■ Device category (or type). o In an example, the association may be a mapping or a function for determining a minimum UL active time based on one or more of the parameters.

[0103] The WTRU (e.g., UE) receives configuration of an SR resource for initiation of a carrier signal and a mapping between one or more SR resources and a respective one or more minimum UL active times (or minimum UL active time ranges).

[0104] When new data arrives at the WTRU (e.g., UE) or when the WTRU (e.g., UE) has data (e.g., sufficient data) to transmit:o The WTRU (e.g., UE) determines the amount of data pending (buffered) for transmission, the DL RSRP, and / or the priority / PDB of the data. o The WTRU (e.g., UE) determines a minimum UL active time based on the configured association and one or more of the determined DL RSRP, the determined amount of data pending for transmission, the determined priority / PDB of the data, and / or the device category. o If the UE’s stored energy is not sufficient to operate during the determined minimum UL active time:■ if the WTRU (e.g., UE) does not detect a carrier signal transmitted by the gNB• The WTRU (e.g., UE) triggers (e.g., sends) an SR transmission using the SR resource configured for initiation of the carrier signal.■ The WTRU (e.g., UE) initiates energy harvesting until the UE’s stored energy is sufficient to operate during the determined minimum UL active time. o If / when the UE’ s stored energy is sufficient to operate during the determined minimum UL active time:■ The WTRU (e.g., UE) selects an SR resource corresponding to the determined minimum UL active time and triggers (e.g., sends) an SR transmission using the selected SR resource.■ The WTRU (e.g., UE) monitors PDCCH for one or more UL grants, e.g., during a time span, where the time span is based on or at least equal to the determined minimum UL active time.■ When the WTRU (e.g., UE) receives a PDCCH for and UL grant, the WTRU (e.g., UE) transmits data using the UL grants.

[0105] Methods and apparatus for DL scheduling operation are provided.

[0106] According to embodiments, a WTRU (e.g., UE) determines the timing / start of a network indicated DL active period based on DL RSRP and / or QoS and indicates the timing / start of the period to the network.

[0107] A WTRU (e.g., UE) receives configuration (e.g., via a SIB) with an association or mapping (e.g., as a list or table) between one or more indications (e.g., indexes) and a respective number of slots (e.g., consecutive slots) for PDCCH monitoring (e.g., consecutive PDCCH monitoring)

[0108] The WTRU (e.g., UE) receives configuration (e.g., using a mapping table in a SIB) of an association between an energy harvesting time period (e.g., an allowed energy harvesting time period) and one or more parameters:o In an example, a parameter may be at least one of:■ DL RSRP;■ Priori ty / PDB;■ Device category. o In an example, the association may be a mapping or a function for determining an energy harvesting time period based on one or more of the parameters.

[0109] The WTRU (e.g., UE) receives a DL grant in a DCI containing an indication of the number of slots for PDCCH monitoring. o For example, the DCI includes an index from the configured indexes and the WTRU (e.g., UE) determines the number of slots for PDCCH monitoring based on the index.

[0110] If the indicated or determined number of slots for PDCCH monitoring (e.g., determined from the DCI and the mapping table) is larger than the number of slots the WTRU (e.g., UE) can monitor (e.g., based on the UE’s current stored energy): o The WTRU (e.g., UE) determines an energy harvesting time period based on one or more of the parameters and the configured association (e.g., mapping or function). o The WTRU (e.g., UE) informs the network of the need to perform energy harvesting and of the determined energy harvesting time period:■ E.g., the WTRU (e.g., UE) transmits an SR using an SR resource that corresponds to the determined energy harvesting time period where one or more SR resources may be configured and associated with one or more energy harvesting time periods, respectively (e.g., via a SIB).■ E.g., the WTRU (e.g., UE) includes the determined energy harvesting time period in a transmission (e.g., a MAC control element (CE) transmission) to the network. o The WTRU (e.g., UE) performs energy harvesting for the determined energy harvesting time period indicated to the network. o Upon expiry of the determined energy harvesting time period, the WTRU (e.g., UE) monitors PDCCH for the indicated or determined number of slots:■ The WTRU (e.g., UE) may receive at least one PDCCH during the indicated or determined number of slots and may transmit or receive a data transmission based on the received PDCCH.

[0111] If the indicated or determined number of slots for PDCCH monitoring is less than or equal to the number of slots the WTRU (e.g., UE) can monitor (e.g., based on the UE’s current stored energy)o The WTRU (e.g., UE) monitors PDCCH for the indicated or determined number of slots. o The WTRU (e.g., UE) may receive at least one PDCCH during the indicated or determined number of slots and may transmit or receive a data transmission based on the received PDCCH.

[0112] Methods and apparatus for UL Transmission without buffer status report (BSR) are provided.

[0113] According to embodiments, a WTRU (e.g., UE) switches between a first SR configuration and a second SR configuration based on the availability of data for transmission.

[0114] A WTRU (e.g., UE) receives configuration information indicating a first SR configuration and a second SR configuration different from the first SR configuration (e.g., having a different periodicity of the SR resources).

[0115] The WTRU (e.g., UE) triggers (e.g., sends) a first SR transmission according to the first SR configuration until the WTRU (e.g., UE) receives a confirmation of SR reception by the NW (e g., in a DL MAC CE) o For example, if the WTRU (e.g., UE) does not receive a confirmation of SR reception, it waits for a next SR resource associated with the first SR configuration and transmits an SR transmission in the next SR resource associated with the first SR configuration:■ The WTRU (e.g., UE) may transmit an SR transmission in one or more (e.g., each) subsequent SR resource(s) associated with the first SR configuration until a confirmation of SR reception is received. o The WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger the first SR transmission upon initial arrival of data.

[0116] While the WTRU (e.g., UE) has (e.g., still has) data to transmit, e.g., following the initial arrival of data: o The WTRU (e.g., UE) receives a first UL grant from the network and performs UL transmission based on the first UL grant, whereby:■ If the WTRU (e.g., UE) has additional data to transmit:• If the WTRU (e.g., UE) has sufficient stored energy to receive an additional grant: o the WTRU (e.g., UE) includes a first indication (e.g., “more data” and “sufficient energy) in a MAC CE in the UL grant.• Else (the WTRU (e.g., UE) does not have sufficient stored energy to receive an additional grant):o The WTRU (e.g., UE) includes a second indication (e.g., “more data” and “not sufficient energy) in a MAC CE in the UL grant. o The WTRU (e.g., UE) performs energy harvesting until the WTRU (e.g., UE) has sufficient energy to perform an UL transmission. o The WTRU (e.g., UE) triggers a second SR transmission at the next SR period according to the second SR configuration (e.g., after the energy harvesting and the WTRU (e.g., UE) has sufficient energy to perform UL transmission).■ If the WTRU (e.g., UE) has no additional data to transmit:• The WTRU (e.g., UE) includes an indication of “no more data” in a MAC CE in the UL grant.• (Note: later, after new data arrival, when the WTRU (e.g., UE) has data to transmit, the WTRU (e.g., UE) uses the first SR configuration to transmit an SR transmission to the network).

[0117] Methods and apparatus for handling of procedures involving timers are provided.

[0118] According to embodiments, a WTRU (e.g., UE) (e.g., ambient loT UE):Receives carrier wave from base station or other device used for energy harvesting. Configured with a threshold stored energy level for triggering energy harvesting operation. Configured with a maximum time for completion of a procedure (e.g., T300 timer) Configured with a table of DL RSRP (ranges of RSRP) and corresponding energy harvesting time.Configured with RACH resources and / or preambles, each indicating a different energy harvesting time.Transmits an RRC message (e.g., connection setup) and measures the time until reception of a response message (e.g., RRC setup).If the stored energy level falls below the configured threshold before reception of the response message: o Determine an energy harvesting time based on the measured DL RSRP. o Select the configured RACH resource and / or preamble corresponding to the determined energy harvesting time and initiate a RACH procedure. o Upon successful completion of the RACH procedure, perform an energy harvesting operation for the determined energy harvesting time (the WTRU (e.g., UE) stops monitoring for the response message).o Upon completion of the energy harvesting operation, resume monitoring for the response message. o Subtract, from the elapsed time following transmission of the RRC message, the time spent performing energy harvesting.If the elapsed time following transmission of the RRC message is larger than a maximum time for completion of a procedure (e.g., T300 timer), and the response message was not received: o Initiate a failure procedure (e.g., transmission of a re-establishment request or similar RRC message).

[0119] Energy harvesting and energy harvesting signal

[0120] In this disclosure, energy harvesting consists of the action of a device (i.e., a UE) acquiring / storing energy using the transmission by another device (e.g., another WTRU (e.g., UE), a dedicated equipment generating a signal, a network node, etc.). An energy harvesting signal may refer to a dedicated signal that is transmitted for the purposes of energy harvesting alone. Alternatively, an energy harvesting signal may refer to all or portions of data / control / reference signal / other transmission performed by another node (e.g., a network node, another UE) that is used both for the purposes of communication operation, as well as obtaining energy.

[0121] Herein, energy harvesting signal may refer to the entirety of a waveform, such as a sinusoidal wave, a modulated wave, etc. Alternatively, energy harvesting signal may refer to a component of the signal, such as a particular physical channel that is part of transmitted data. The energy harvesting signal may or may not be coupled with, or the same as, actual data / control transmissions intended to Ambient loT WTRUs (e.g., UEs).

[0122] Backscattering and backscattering signal

[0123] In this disclosure, backscattering consists of the action of a device (i.e., a UE) performing a transmission as a result of being energized by another device (e.g., another WTRU (e.g., UE), a dedicated equipment generating a signal, a network node, etc.). An backscattering signal may refer to a dedicated signal that is transmitted for the purposes of backscattering alone. Alternatively, an backscattering signal may refer to all or portions of data / control / reference signal / other transmission performed by another node (e.g., a network node, another UE) that is used both for the purposes of communication operation, as well as to energize the Ambient loT (AIoT) WTRU (e.g., UE).

[0124] Herein, backscattering signal may refer to the entirety of a waveform, such as a sinusoidal wave, a modulated wave, etc. Alternatively, backscattering signal may refer to a component of the signal, such as a particular physical channel that is part of transmitted data. The backscatteringsignal may or may not be coupled with, or the same as, actual data / control transmissions intended to Ambient loT WTRUs (e.g., UEs).

[0125] WTRU (e.g., UE) Reports stored energy, or some information derived from it

[0126] In one common solution, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may report information about its stored energy, or related information of its stored energy to the network. Such may be any of the following:The amount of stored energy, in terms of an energy-like quantity (e.g., joules): o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may report its total stored energy. o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may report a portion of its stored energy that will be used for a particular activity (e.g., DL monitoring, UL transmission, etc.), possibly by taking into account a portion of the stored energy will be used for another activity (e.g., encoding / decoding). o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may send a report when the amount of stored energy or similar quantity reaches a threshold.An indication of whether or not the WTRU (e.g., UE) has insufficient stored energy to perform an operation: o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may send a report when it does not have sufficient energy to perform an upcoming or predefined operation. o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may send an indication with data about an operation which may / may not be performed due to energy limitations. o The WTRU (e.g., UE) may perform such determination based on other solutions herein.An indication that the amount of stored energy reaches the amount necessary to perform an operation, or some threshold amount more / less than what is necessary to perform such operation: o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may send an indication when the amount of stored energy is a threshold above the amount required to perform an operation. o The WTRU (e.g., UE) may perform such determination based on other solutions herein.Information about the amount of time, a guaranteed amount of time, a minimum amount of time, etc., that the WTRU (e.g., UE) can perform an operation, processing, etc. (e.g., DL PDCCH monitoring, RLM / RLF, UL transmission, etc.): o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may report the number of slots for which it can perform PDCCH monitoring.o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may report the number of slots for which the WTRU (e.g., UE) can perform UL transmission. o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may report the minimum guaranteed active time. o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may report the number of slots for which the WTRU (e.g., UE) may monitor a reference signal. o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may report the number of slots for which the WTRU (e.g., UE) will perform RLM / RLF.Information about the number / amount of resources the WTRU (e.g., UE) can use or intends to use for transmission.

[0127] The WTRU (e.g., UE) may report such information in any of the following:RRC message: o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may report an RRC message whose contents explicitly contains the stored energy information, or the information derived from it. o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger an RRC message transmission when the WTRU (e.g., UE) has insufficient energy to perform an operation.MAC CE (e.g., existing MAC CE message such as BSR, or new MAC CE): o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may report a MAC CE containing the stored energy information, or the information derived from it. o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger a MAC CE transmission when the WTRU (e.g., UE) has insufficient energy to perform an operation.- SR: o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with multiple SR configurations, where each SR corresponds to a specificPhysical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH): o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with dedicated PUCCH resources for providing the information.RACH or RACH-like transmission: o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may report such information by triggering a RACH transmission. o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with a different RACH preamble and / or resource to indicate a different amount of stored energy, different indications related to stored energy, or other information described above.

[0128] The WTRU (e.g., UE) may report such information based on any or a combination of the following triggers:Amount of stored energy at the WTRU (e.g., UE): o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger a report when the amount of stored energy is below a threshold.Ability to perform an operation, or duration in which such operation can be performed (which may be potentially tied to the amount of energy currently stored at the UE): o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger a report when the number of slots on which it can monitor PDCCH, reference signals, SSB, etc. reaches a threshold or computed amount, or is below a threshold or a computed amount.Coverage level change, or some change of a computed quantity that depends on the coverage level, where the quantity may consist of, for example, UL transmit power, MCS, number of time / frequency resources, number of retransmissions, etc.: o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger a report when the measured DL RSRP falls below a threshold, where DL RSRP may be measured on:■ A NW transmitted reference signal (Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) , Channel State Information-Reference Signals (CSI-RS), etc.).■ An energy harvesting signal.■ A backscattering signal.

[0129] WTRU (e.g., UE) Computes a Minimum / Maximum / Required Charging Time or energy harvesting time

[0130] In one solution, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may compute a required charging time. Such charging time may be used by the WTRU (e.g., UE) to determine how long the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be unable to transmit or receive once charging operation is initiated. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may then determine specific operations that will be skipped as a result of the computed charging time. Alternatively, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may report the charging time to the network to inform the network that the WTRU (e.g., UE) will be offline for a period of time.

[0131] A WTRU (e.g., UE) may determine a charging time based on any or a combination of the following: o Quality of the DL transmission:■ For example, this may consist of a quality measure of any DL transmission, which may include DL data, but also quality of the backscattering signal, or quality of the energy harvesting signal.■ For example, this may consist of a measure of RSRP, Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), DL received power, RS SI, or similar measure.■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with a table of DL quality range to required charging time. Specifically, for a range of quality between a first quality QI and a second quality Q2, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may assume at most / least charging time of Tl. ount of pending (e.g., buffered) data:■ For example, this may consist of a number of bytes of buffered data at the WTRU (e.g., UE).■ For example, this may consist of the Packet. Data Convergence Protocol (P.OCP) / RLC buffered traffic or any equivalent.■ For example, this may consist of a number of messages, a number of PDUs, a number of information elements, etc. that are pending transmission at the WTRU (e.g., UE).■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with a table of buffered data to charging time, or a factor by which the charging time increases.■ For example, this may consist of an amount of data to be transmitted in downlink by the network and indicated to the WTRU (e.g., UE) (e.g., in DCI).rity / PDB:■ For example, this may consist of the logical channel, a parameter (e.g., priority) associated with the logical channel, etc.■ For example, the amount of time by which the WTRU (e.g., UE) is to perform charging may depend on the priority / PDB of pending data available at the WTRU (e.g., UE), or indicated by the network (for example, to ensure that the WTRU (e.g., UE) does not miss transmission of critical data during the charging period). For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may receive a priority in DCI and may use the priority to determine the charging period. ice category (or type):■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may have a charging time determination function / mechanisms / parameter set that depends on the device category.tion information:■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with a charging time or charging time factor based on its WTRU (e.g., UE) position. odicity / duty cycle of the charging signal:■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may receive a periodicity / duty cycle / on duration time associated with the charging signal itself. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may receive this information from the network, or may determine it implicitly by observing the signal itself. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may determine the charging time by taking account the charging signal information. o Time instance of a grant:■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may perform energy harvesting up to the timing of a future grant in order to not skip or drop a grant.■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may determine an energy harvesting time such that no grants or a minimum number of grants are dropped or skipped. o UL or DL operating time:■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with an association between a required UL / DL operating time (e.g., possibly indicated by the network) and a minimum charging time.■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be preconfigured with an association between device category, DL RSRP, and minimum charging time to achieve a specific UL or DL operating time. o Network configuration or pre-configuration:■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured (possibly per device category) with a specified, or configured (e.g., in SIB) charging period. This may correspond to a period associated with charging from a certain minimal or predefined stored energy level.

[0132] A WTRU (e.g., UE) may use one condition to determine whether or not to consider another condition for determining the charging time. For example, if the priority of data buffered at the WTRU (e.g., UE) is above a threshold, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may determine the charging time in order to avoid skipping / dropping a particular grant.

[0133] A WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with an association between one or more of the above parameters and the charging time. In one example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with one or more tables (e.g., in SIB, pre-configuration, or hardcoded in standards) that map a set or range of the above parameters (e.g., RSRP) to a value of charging time. In another example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured (e.g., in the standard) with a function which determines the charging time as a function of each of the above parameters. For example, a trigger to initiate energy harvesting herein, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may compute a minimum charging time based on the amount and priority of the data, the DL RSRP, and the device category. Such minimumcharging time may represent a minimum time required to accumulate sufficient energy to transmit the buffered data. Such minimum charging time may represent a minimum time required to accumulate sufficient energy to receive DL data associated with a priority or an amount of data.

[0134] In one family of solutions, one or more parameters above may decide the table, function, and / or mechanism to determine the active time from the remainder of the other parameters. For example, for a first WTRU (e.g., UE) category, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may use a first table and / or function, while for a category, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may use a second table and / or function.

[0135] In another family of solutions, determination of one parameter in order to use it for active time determination, may require selecting a single value of that one parameter when a range of values exists. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may have data for multiple priority / QoS and may select the priority / QoS associated with the highest priority / lowest priori ty / average priority and use this value in the table or function described above. In another solution, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be provided with a set of MCS to transmit data and may select the average MCS over all expected transmissions for determination of the active time.

[0136] In another family of solutions, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may compute a first value using a function or table (possibly with a subset of parameters) and use the first value to compute the active time using a second function or table. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may compute an equivalent buffer status as a weighted average of the buffer status for each logical channel, weighted by a weight that is configured per logical channel. The corresponding weighted average can then be used as input to a function which determines active time from MCS and number of resources.

[0137] WTRU (e.g., UE) Reports Charging Time

[0138] A WTRU (e.g., UE) may report a time spent performing energy harvesting, as discussed above. The network may use such information to determine that the WTRU (e.g., UE) is not reachable during the indicated time. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may include the reported time in:A PHY layer transmission: o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with RACH resources / preambles, where each resource / preamble indicates a charging time. o For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with a dedicated SR resource each indicating a charging time.- A MAC CE.An RRC message.Other mechanisms for reporting described herein.

[0139] WTRU (e.g., UE) behavior during energy harvesting operation

[0140] A WTRU (e.g., UE) may perform energy harvesting operation in order to accumulate energy for transmission / reception operation. In some cases, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may use the accumulated energy to perform normal Uu reception / transmission once energy has been accumulated (i.e., the device is charged). In another case, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may use the accumulated energy in order to increase the transmission power associated with backscattering performed by the WTRU (e.g., UE) that relies on backscattering of a DL signal to perform transmission.

[0141] During the energy harvesting operation, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may perform any of the following: o Not perform any DL reception. o Drop all grants that were scheduled to occur during the energy harvesting period. o Release all configured grants. o Clear the HARQ buffers. o Reset one or more protocol layers, for example, reset the MAC layer, RLC layer, etc. o Release one or more RRC configurations, such as:■ A measurement configuration.■ A bearer configuration.■ A configured grant configuration. o Deactivate a configured grant. o Reconfigure the offset of a configured grant:■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may assume the configured grant offset is change to a specific offset which occurs following the end of the energy harvesting operation. o Relocate a grant to a different time instant, such as a time instance after the end of the energy harvesting period:■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may determine that a received grant occurs during an energy harvesting period. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may implicitly relocate such grant to an instant in time which occurs immediately following the energy harvesting period, an instant in time which occurs a preconfigured or predetermined number of slots following the energy harvesting period or following the initial grant time.

[0142] UL Scheduling Operation

[0143] A WTRU (e.g., UE) triggers an SR to request transmission of a carrier signal for energy harvesting when the WTRU (e.g., UE) does not have sufficient energy for transmitting data andtransmits an SR associated with a minimum UL active time to inform the network of the minimum UL active time the WTRU (e.g., UE) requires for transmitting data.

[0144] A WTRU (e.g., UE) receives configuration (e.g., via a SIB) of an association between a minimum UL active time and one or more parameters: o In an example, a parameter may be at least one of:■ DL RSRP.■ Amount of pending (e.g., buffered) data.■ Priority / PDB.■ Device category (or type). o In an example, the association may be a mapping or a function for determining a minimum UL active time based on one or more of the parameters.

[0145] The WTRU (e.g., UE) receives configuration of an SR resource for initiation of a carrier signal and a mapping between one or more SR resources and a respective one or more minimum UL active times (or minimum UL active time ranges).

[0146] When new data arrives at the WTRU (e.g., UE) or when the WTRU (e.g., UE) has data (e.g., sufficient data) to transmit: o The WTRU (e.g., UE) determines the amount of data pending (buffered) for transmission, the DL RSRP, and / or the priority / PDB of the data. o The WTRU (e.g., UE) determines a minimum UL active time based on the configured association and one or more of the determined DL RSRP, the determined amount of data pending for transmission, the determined priority / PDB of the data, and / or the device category. o If the UE’s stored energy is not sufficient to operate during the determined minimum UL active time:■ if the WTRU (e.g., UE) does not detect a carrier signal transmitted by the gNB :• The WTRU (e.g., UE) triggers (e.g., sends) an SR transmission using the SR resource configured for initiation of the carrier signal.■ The WTRU (e.g., UE) initiates energy harvesting until the UE’s stored energy is sufficient to operate during the determined minimum UL active time. o If / when the UE’ s stored energy is sufficient to operate during the determined minimum UL active time:The WTRU (e.g., UE) selects an SR resource corresponding to the determined minimum UL active time and triggers (e.g., sends) an SR transmission using the selected SR resource.■ The WTRU (e.g., UE) monitors PDCCH for one or more UL grants, e.g., during a time span, where the time span is based on or at least equal to the determined minimum UL active time.■ When the WTRU (e.g., UE) receives a PDCCH for and UL grant, the WTRU (e.g., UE) transmits data using the UL grants.

[0147] WTRU (e.g., UE) Computes a Minimum / Maximum / Required UL Active Time

[0148] A WTRU (e.g., UE), possibly with energy limitations such as a limit on the amount of stored energy needed to transmit or needed to boost the energy associated with a network backscattering signal, may compute a minimum / maximum or required time needed for UL transmission.

[0149] Specifically, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may determine a time (e.g., in terms of number of slots, seconds, etc.), or an implicit equivalence of time such as: amount of data; number of resources; frequency range; etc.

[0150] Minimum / Maximum / Required UL active time can have different interpretations herein. For example, the computed time may represent the minimum amount of time the WTRU (e.g., UE) can guarantee that it can perform UL transmission, possibly in a continuous fashion, before it needs to perform some kind of energy harvesting or charging operation (where it will be unable to transmit or prefer not to transmit). For example, the computed time may represent the maximum time the WTRU (e.g., UE) will be required to perform UL transmission, or be prepared to receive UL scheduling and / or perform UL transmission based on network scheduling.

[0151] Herein, the solution will be described based on minimum / maximum required time, with the understanding that the same mechanisms can apply to the cases where the WTRU (e.g., UE) computes any of the following as well.

[0152] The WTRU (e.g., UE) may compute a minimum continuous transmission time (i.e., the WTRU (e.g., UE) assumes continuous transmission during the time). Alternatively, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may compute a minimum time which assumes that actual transmission occurs for a subset (e.g., a percentage) of the computed minimum time.

[0153] The WTRU (e.g., UE) may determine the minimum / required active time based on any or a combination of the following: o Quality of the DL transmission:■ For example, this may consist of a quality measure of any DL transmission, which may include DL data, but also quality of the backscattering signal, or quality of the energy harvesting signal.■ For example, this may consist of a measure of RSRP, RSRQ, DL received power, RSSI, or similar measure.■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with a table of DL quality range to active time. Specifically, for a range of quality between QI and Q2, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may assume at most / least active time of T1 (or an active time that is less than or equal, or greater than or equal to Tl). ount of pending (e.g., buffered) data:■ For example, this may consist of a number of bytes of buffered data.■ For example, this may consist of the PDCP / RLC buffered traffic or any equivalent.■ For example, this may consist of a number of messages, a number of PDUs, a number of information elements, etc. that are pending transmission at the WTRU (e.g., UE).■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with a table of buffered data to UL active time. rity / PDB:■ For example, this may consist of the logical channel, a parameter (e.g., priority) associated with the logical channel, etc.■ For example, the active time may be configured on a per Logical channel (LCH) basis. ice category (or type):■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may have an active time determination function / mechanisms / parameter set that depends on the device category. ulation / Coding / etc.:■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may determine an active time based on the modulation / coding used for UL transmissions, whereby the modulation / coding can be indicated by the network, determined by the WTRU (e.g., UE), or may be a hardcoded modulation / coding to be applied (e.g., based on the device type).ource Allocation:■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may determine the minimum active time based on the number of resources (e.g., recurring resources such as configured grants) allocated to the WTRU (e.g., UE).

[0154] A WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with an association between one or more of the above parameters and the minimum active time. In one example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with one or more tables (e.g., in SIB, pre-configuration, or hardcoded in standards) that map a set or range of the above parameters to a value of active time. In another example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured (e.g., in the standard) with a function which determines the active time as a function of each of the above parameters. For example, upon data arrival, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may compute a minimum active time based on the amount and priority of the data, the DL RSRP, and the device category. Such minimum active time may represent a minimum time of operation in order to transmit the buffered data.

[0155] In one family of solutions, one or more parameters above may decide the table, function, and / or mechanism to determine the active time from the remainder of the other parameters. For example, for a first WTRU (e.g., UE) category, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may use a first table and / or function, while for a category, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may use a second table and / or function.

[0156] In another family of solutions, determination of one parameter in order to use it for active time determination, may require selecting a single value of that one parameter when a range of values exists. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may have data for multiple priority / QoS and may select the priority / QoS associated with the highest priority / lowest priori ty / average priority and use this value in the table or function described above. In another solution, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be provided with a set of MCS to transmit data and may select the average MCS over all expected transmissions for determination of the active time.

[0157] In another family of solutions, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may compute a first value using a function or table (possibly with a subset of parameters) and use the first value to compute the active time using a second function or table. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may compute an equivalent buffer status as a weighted average of the buffer status for each logical channel, weighted by a weight that is configured per logical channel. The corresponding weighted average can then be used as input to a function which determines active time from MCS and number of resources.

[0158] WTRU (e.g., UE) Uses a Minimum / Required UL Active Time for Performing UL Scheduling decisions

[0159] In one family of solutions, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may use the computed active time to perform any of the following scheduling actions / decisions:UL grant usage determination■ Specifically, the determined UL active time may influence the UE’s usage of the UL grants. For example, the decision of whether a WTRU (e.g., UE) will transmit in an UL grant, which UL grant to transmit in, whether to prioritize one grant over another, etc., may be determined from the determined UL active time, possibly at the time of the grant, or some time prior to the grant. Buffer status reporting■ For example, the determined UL active time may be used to determine when the WTRU (e.g., UE) reports buffer status to the network, or triggers BSR reporting (e.g., transmission of SR)■ For example, the determined UL active time may be used to determine the amount of buffer status reported to the network.■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may report the active time as part of buffer status or scheduling request. Transport Block Creation■ Specifically, the determined UL active time may be used for rules associated with transport block creation, such as Logical Channel Prioritization (LCF)procedure, LCP restrictions, variables associated with LCP procedure (e.g., LCH priority, PBR, etc.), MAC multiplexing rules, etc. Initiation of an energy harvesting operation■ Specifically, the determined UL active time, possibly in conjunction with characteristics of data available for transmission at the WTRU (e.g., UE), may be used to determine whether the WTRU (e.g., UE) initiates a period of energy harvesting, whereby the WTRU (e.g., UE) does not monitor / receive DL transmissions and / or does not perform UL transmission. Determination of the minimum time in which the WTRU (e.g., UE) performs normal DL monitoring and / or UL transmission■ Specifically, the determined active time may be used in order to determine the normal operating time of the WTRU (e.g., UE) in between periods of charging. Specifically, following determination of the active time and / or reporting of the active time to the network, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may perform channel monitoring and normal UL / DL operation for at least the active time.■ Specifically, the determined active time may be used to determine whether the WTRU (e.g., UE) triggers transmission of an indication of stored energy orindication of charging. For example, following a report of the active time to the network, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be triggered to initiate a charging operation. If the trigger occurs prior to the end of the determined active time, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may initiate transmission of an indication.

[0160] Similar solutions may apply to charging duration. Specifically, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may compute a charging duration using mechanisms herein and may use the duration to perform any of the above operations.

[0161] UL grant usage determination

[0162] In one solution, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may determine which CG resource of a CG the WTRU (e.g., UE) transmits on based on at least the UL active time determined. For example, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may skip a CG resource of a CG if the UL active time is below a threshold at the time of the CG resource. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may further indicate that it skips the CG resource or may include only an indication of such in the resource itself. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with multiple CGs and may select one CG based on the determined UL active time, such as based on a criterion that results in the most efficient usage of CG resources considering the UE’s active time (e.g., select the CG which has the largest number of resources that fall in the active time).

[0163] In one solution, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may prioritize one grant over another, drop a grant (in favor of another), etc. based on the UL active time. For example, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may drop a first grant when a second grant (e.g., higher priority grant, grant allowing inclusion of specific data associated with LCHs that have data pending at the WTRU (e.g., UE), etc.) that occurs later falls in the active time, but may not fall in the active time if transmission is performed on the first grant. For example, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may drop a first grant (e.g., in order to perform energy harvesting) if a second grant (e.g., better or higher priority grant) does not fall in the active time of the WTRU (e.g., UE) at the time of the first grant. Specifically, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may perform energy harvesting until the active time includes the time of the second grant.

[0164] In one solution, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may inform the network if / when a grant (e.g., a CG resource) falls outside of (i.e., comes after) the minimum active time of the WTRU (e.g., UE) and / or falls inside the charging time of the WTRU (e.g., UE). Specifically, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may determine whether, based on the computed minimum active time and / or charging time, in addition to the planned starting time of the charging time, a grant will be dropped by the WTRU (e.g., UE). The WTRU (e.g., UE) may include, in the indication, the grant to be dropped, the charging time duration, the charging time start, etc.

[0165] In one solution, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with multiple related grants (e.g., multiple UL grant) from which the WTRU (e.g., UE) is expected to use a subset (e.g., only one) of the multiple grants. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may determine which grant to use based on the timing of the grant relative to the determined active time and / or energy harvesting time. For example, if one of the related grants falls in the active period, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may use that grant and drop the other grants. For example, if one of the related grants occurs during the charging time, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may ignore that grant and use another of the related grants.

[0166] Buffer status reporting

[0167] In one solution, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger SR / BSR when the amount of data buffered at the WTRU (e.g., UE) is at least some amount. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger SR / BSR only when the amount of data buffered at the WTRU (e.g., UE) is above a threshold. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger SR / BSR only when the minimum uplink active time (as determined based on the amount of buffered data) is above or below a threshold.

[0168] In another solution, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may report the UL active time in buffer status reporting. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with different SR configurations for different values / ranges of computed UL active time. When SR / BSR is triggered, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may select the SR configuration that is associated with the computed value / range of UL active time in order to signal the UL active time at the time of SR / BSR triggering to the network. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may include the active time in the BSR, or in an equivalent MAC CE, possibly at the time when BSR is triggered.

[0169] In another solution, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with multiple SR resources, where each SR resource represents the active time determined by the WTRU (e.g., UE) at the time in which the SR is triggered. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with an SR resource per active time or active time range. When data arrives at the WTRU (e.g., UE), or when the WTRU (e.g., UE) triggers SR based on any other trigger herein, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may select the SR resource associated with the determined active time at the time of the SR trigger.

[0170] Transport Block Creation

[0171] In one solution, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may determine whether to use an LCP restriction based on the active time. For example, if the active time computed at the time of a grant is below a threshold, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may restrict transmission to certain high priority LCHs. For example, if the active time computed at the time of a grant is below a threshold, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may not be allowed to include data from low priority logical channels in the grant.

[0172] In another solution, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with different values of an LCH parameter and may use one value or another depending on the computed active time. Forexample, if the active time computed at the time of a grant is below a threshold, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may use a different value of the prioritized bit rate for a specific logical channel.

[0173] Initiation of Energy Harvesting operation

[0174] In one solution, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may determine whether / when to trigger energy harvesting operation based on active time calculation. Other conditions may be used also / instead. Additionally, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with conditions / triggers to further report the initiation of energy harvesting to the network. Specifically, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be allowed to initiate energy harvesting operation at any time, however, if such operation is initiated at some times (based on certain conditions), the WTRU (e.g., UE) may report this to the network.

[0175] The WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with one or a combination of the following conditions / triggers for initiating energy harvesting and / or indicating the energy harvesting operation / duration to the network (via a transmission described herein): o Stored energy and / or active time:■ For example, if the stored energy at the WTRU (e.g., UE) is below a threshold or specific amount, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger energy harvesting. Such threshold or amount may be determined using mechanisms herein.■ For example, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may compute a minimum active time using examples herein. For example, the active time may be determined based on at least the data buffered at the WTRU (e.g., UE) for transmission. If the energy stored at the WTRU (e.g., UE) is sufficient to operate, possibly continuously, for at least the minimum active time, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may perform normal operation. Otherwise, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger an energy harvesting operation.■ For example, a WTRU (e.g., UE) performing energy harvesting may continue to perform such energy harvesting operation until the stored energy at the WTRU (e.g., UE) is sufficient to operate for at least a computed minimum active time.■ For example, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may indicate the initiation of energy harvesting to the network if the energy harvesting is initiated during the active time, possibly if such active time was previously also indicated to the network. o Buffered data:For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger energy harvesting if there is no buffered data at the WTRU (e.g., UE).■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger energy harvesting if the amount of buffered data at the WTRU (e.g., UE) is above / below a threshold. o Priority / PDB of buffered data:■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger energy harvesting if data available if any data available for transmission has a priority below a threshold.■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured per LCH with a parameter indicating whether energy harvesting can be triggered or not when data from that LCH is available for transmission, or with an amount of buffered data that allows energy harvesting when that buffered amount of data associated with that LCH is available.

[0176] WTRU (e.g., UE) Requests Transmission of an energy harvesting signal

[0177] In one solution, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may request an energy harvesting signal, possibly when such signal is currently not being transmitted by another node (e.g., the network) or is not expected to be transmitted by the other node for some time, by transmitting such a request to the network or to another WTRU (e.g., UE) using any of the following: o SR transmission:■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with a dedicated SR resource for transmission of the request. o RACH:■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with a dedicated RACH preamble and / or resource for transmission of the request.■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may include the request as part of the two- step or 4-step RACH procedure. o SIB-request:■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may include the request as part of a SIB request, or the SIB request mechanism (possibly with a special SIB / SI number) may be used by the WTRU (e.g., UE) to request the energy harvesting signal. o PUCCH resource:■ For example, a dedicated PUCCH resource may be allocated for transmission of the request. o HARQ ACK / NACK:■ For example, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may piggyback the request with transmission of HARQ ACK / NACK. o MAC CE:For example, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may include the request in a MAC CE. o Protocol header:■ For example, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may include the request in the header of a PDU, such as a MAC layer header. o RRC message:■ For example, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may transmit an RRC message to request the transmission of the energy harvesting signal.

[0178] A WTRU (e.g., UE) may perform transmission of the request based on one or a combination of the following triggers / conditions: o Conditions / triggers related to stored energy or computed active time:■ For example, if the active time is below a threshold, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger a request.■ For example, if the stored energy is below a threshold, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger a request.■ For example, the threshold in the above examples may further depend on other conditions herein.■ For example, if the active time does not extend to a specific instant of time, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger a request. o Conditions / triggers related to buffer status:■ For example, if the buffer status at the WTRU (e.g., UE), possibly associated with one or more logical channel, is above a threshold, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger a request.■ For example, upon arrival of data, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger a request, o Conditions / triggers related to priority or pending data:■ For example, if the priority of pending data is above a threshold, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger a request.■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured on a LCH basis as to whether data pending for that LCH may allow the WTRU (e.g., UE) to trigger the request. o Conditions / triggers related to the presence / timing of UL / DL grants:■ For example, if an UL grant is received and the time remaining until the grant is below a threshold, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger the request. o Conditions / triggers related to a period of time, possibly in which another condition herein has / has not occurred.

[0179] FIG. 3 shows one scenario where the above solutions can be applied, where a configured grant 31 occurs at the time 32 where the WTRU (e.g., UE) performs energy harvesting. Any of the above solutions may be used to avoid resource waste associated with the configured grant.

[0180] DL scheduling operation

[0181] A WTRU (e.g., UE) determines the timing / start of a network indicated DL active period based on DL RSRP and / or QoS and indicates the timing / start of the period to the network.

[0182] A WTRU (e.g., UE) receives configuration (e.g., via a SIB) with an association or mapping (e.g., as a list or table) between one or more indications (e.g., indexes) and a respective number of slots (e.g., consecutive slots) for PDCCH monitoring (e.g., consecutive PDCCH monitoring)

[0183] The WTRU (e.g., UE) receives configuration (e.g., using a mapping table in a SIB) of an association between an energy harvesting time period (e.g., an allowed energy harvesting time period) and one or more parameters: o In an example, a parameter may be at least one of■ DL RSRP.■ Priority / PDB.■ Device category. o In an example, the association may be a mapping or a function for determining an energy harvesting time period based on one or more of the parameters.

[0184] The WTRU (e.g., UE) receives a DL grant in a DCI containing an indication of the number of slots for PDCCH monitoring. o For example, the DCI includes an index from the configured indexes and the WTRU (e.g., UE) determines the number of slots for PDCCH monitoring based on the index.

[0185] If the indicated or determined number of slots for PDCCH monitoring (e.g., determined from the DCI and the mapping table) is larger than the number of slots the WTRU (e.g., UE) can monitor (e.g., based on the UE’s current stored energy): o The WTRU (e.g., UE) determines an energy harvesting time period based on one or more of the parameters and the configured association (e.g., mapping or function). o The WTRU (e.g., UE) informs the network of the need to perform energy harvesting and of the determined energy harvesting time period:■ E.g., the WTRU (e.g., UE) transmits an SR using an SR resource that corresponds to the determined energy harvesting time period where one or more SR resources may be configured and associated with one or more energy harvesting time periods, respectively (e.g., via a SIB).■ E.g., the WTRU (e.g., UE) includes the determined energy harvesting time period in a transmission (e.g., a MAC CE transmission) to the network. o The WTRU (e.g., UE) performs energy harvesting for the determined energy harvesting time period indicated to the network. o Upon expiry of the determined energy harvesting time period, the WTRU (e.g., UE) monitors PDCCH for the indicated or determined number of slots.■ The WTRU (e.g., UE) may receive at least one PDCCH during the indicated or determined number of slots and may transmit or receive a data transmission based on the received PDCCH.

[0186] If the indicated or determined number of slots for PDCCH monitoring is less than or equal to the number of slots the WTRU (e.g., UE) can monitor (e.g., based on the UE’s current stored energy) o The WTRU (e.g., UE) monitors PDCCH for the indicated or determined number of slots. o The WTRU (e.g., UE) may receive at least one PDCCH during the indicated or determined number of slots and may transmit or receive a data transmission based on the received PDCCH.

[0187] WTRU (e.g., UE) receives a required activity from the network

[0188] In one solution, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may receive an indication of a required activity from the network. Such message may represent activity to be performed by the WTRU (e.g., UE) during a temporary period. Specifically, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may receive an active time (e.g., a number of slots) and the expected WTRU (e.g., UE) behavior during that active time.

[0189] A WTRU (e.g., UE) may receive the activity message in any of the following: o DCI:■ For example, in the contents of the DCI message.■ For example, implicitly based on the RNTI used to decode the DCI message.■ For example, implicitly based on the time / frequency / code / waveform or other property used to transmit the DCI. o MAC CE:■ For example, in the contents of the MAC CE. o RRC message:■ For example, in the contents of the RRC message. o Protocol header:■ For example, in a MAC header, or adaptation layer header.

[0190] The activity message may contain any or a combination of the following information: o An active time:■ For example, the message may contain a number of slots, a period (e.g., in seconds), a number of received reference signals, or other indication of a period of time over which the WTRU (e.g., UE) should be active (e.g., avoid energy harvesting operations). o A set of resources:■ For example, the message may contain a subset of resources that the WTRU (e.g., UE) should monitor on during the active time.■ For example, the message may contain a bandwidth part, carrier, or similar that the WTRU (e.g., UE) should monitor on during the active time. o Amount of data:■ For example, the message may indicate the number of messages which are pending for transmission at the network to the WTRU (e.g., UE).■ For example, the message may indicate the number of messages, PDUs, or similar that the WTRU (e.g., UE) should receive before it moves to inactive or energy harvesting operation. o A priority associated with the data to be received in the active time:■ For example, this may be a LCH index, a priority value, a PDB, a QoS indicator, etc. o Activity level:■ For example, the message may indicate a level of activity to be performed at the WTRU (e.g., UE), for example, the set of operations, the set of parameters to be used for such operations, etc. For example, the message may indicate whether DL monitoring / reception is required only. For example, the message may indicate whether both DL reception and UL transmission (e.g., ACK) is required. For example, the message may indicate whether RLM / RLF is needed during the active time. For example, the message may indicate whether to perform measurements during the active time. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may be (pre)configured with a table of actions / parameters associated with an index and may receive the activity level as an index.

[0191] In one example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may receive a DCI with an index to a (pre)configured set of activity (e.g., a number of consecutive slots for DL PDCCH monitoring). The DCI may further provide the WTRU (e.g., UE) with a downlink grant, as in legacy.

[0192] WTRU (e.g., UE) responds to a required (network indicated) active time

[0193] A WTRU (e.g., UE) may respond to a required active time in any of a number of ways. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may confirm the active time, indicating that it will remain active during the indicated number of slots. For example, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may reject the required active time, possibly by providing a cause. Such causes may be related to the energy storage status or capability of the WTRU (e.g., UE) (e.g., insufficient stored energy, unable to achieve the needed stored energy to the required active time, etc.).

[0194] In another example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may indicate a time period after which it may execute the required active time. Specifically, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may perform energy harvesting until it can achieve the required active time. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may send the indicated time period in any UL message described herein.

[0195] A WTRU (e.g., UE) may decide whether to acknowledge the active time message, or provide an indication of the time instance when the active time can be provided, based on any of the following: o The UE’ s stored energy:■ For example, if the WTRU (e.g., UE) has sufficient stored energy to operate for the given number of slots, it may acknowledge the required active time message. Otherwise, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may determine a charging time and may possibly indicate the charging time to the network. o UE’s buffer status:■ For example, if the WTRU (e.g., UE) has higher priority UL data (compared to the data indicated by the network in the activity message), the WTRU (e.g., UE) may determine a charging time and indicate the charging time to the network.

[0196] WTRU (e.g., UE) may interrupt a required (network indicated) active time to perform energy harvesting

[0197] A WTRU (e.g., UE) may interrupt a required active time to perform energy harvesting based on one or more of the triggers described herein.

[0198] For example, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may interrupt active time operation upon the arrival, possibly a certain amount, of higher priority data. For example, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may interrupt the network indicated active time operation if the determined minimum active time (as described herein), possibly following computation of such after the arrival of new data for transmission, is larger than the remaining network indicated active time.

[0199] Upon interruption of the active time, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may indicate such to the network and include a cause value and / or information about arrived data (e.g., a BSR).Specifically, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may interrupt active time by triggering an SR / BSR and providing the buffer status to the network. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may further indicate the corresponding charging time to the network. Alternatively, the charging time may be implicitly indicated / calculated from the information in the BSR (e.g., buffered amount of data, priority) as described herein.

[0200] UL Transmission without BSR

[0201] BSR provides the network with information about the amount of data and associated priority level of data buffered at the WTRU (e.g., UE). For AIoT devices, data may be streamlined in such a way that all data may have the same or similar priority, removing the need for differentiating a LCH or LCH group. Furthermore, such devices may transmit fixed / known sized data at regular intervals or upon request from the network only. Therefore, the need for a BSR for AIoT devices may be questioned.

[0202] A WTRU (e.g., UE) switches between a first SR configuration and a second SR configuration based on the availability of data for transmission.

[0203] A WTRU (e.g., UE) receives configuration information indicating a first SR configuration and a second SR configuration different from the first SR configuration (e.g., having a different periodicity of the SR resources).

[0204] The WTRU (e.g., UE) triggers (e.g., sends) a first SR transmission according to the first SR configuration until the WTRU (e.g., UE) receives a confirmation of SR reception by the NW (e g., in a DL MAC CE): o For example, if the WTRU (e.g., UE) does not receive a confirmation of SR reception, it waits for a next SR resource associated with the first SR configuration and transmits an SR transmission in the next SR resource associated with the first SR configuration.■ The WTRU (e.g., UE) may transmit an SR transmission in one or more (e.g., each) subsequent SR resource(s) associated with the first SR configuration until a confirmation of SR reception is received. o The WTRU (e.g., UE) may trigger the first SR transmission upon initial arrival of data.

[0205] While the WTRU (e.g., UE) has (e.g., still has) data to transmit, e.g., following the initial arrival of data: o The WTRU (e.g., UE) receives a first UL grant from the network and performs UL transmission based on the first UL grant, whereby:■ If the WTRU (e.g., UE) has additional data to transmit:• If the WTRU (e.g., UE) has sufficient stored energy to receive an additional granto the WTRU (e.g., UE) includes a first indication (e.g., “more data” and “sufficient energy) in a MAC CE in the UL grant.• Else (the WTRU (e.g., UE) does not have sufficient stored energy to receive an additional grant): o The WTRU (e.g., UE) includes a second indication (e.g., “more data” and “not sufficient energy) in a MAC CE in the UL grant. o The WTRU (e.g., UE) performs energy harvesting until the WTRU (e.g., UE) has sufficient energy to perform an UL transmission. o The WTRU (e.g., UE) triggers a second SR transmission at the next SR period according to the second SR configuration (e.g., after the energy harvesting and the WTRU (e.g., UE) has sufficient energy to perform UL transmission).■ If the WTRU (e.g., UE) has no additional data to transmit:• The WTRU (e.g., UE) includes an indication of “no more data” in a MAC CE in the UL grant.• (Note: later, after new data arrival, when the WTRU (e.g., UE) has data to transmit, the WTRU (e.g., UE) uses the first SR configuration to transmit an SR transmission to the network).

[0206] WTRU (e.g., UE) changes between different SR configurations

[0207] In one solution, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may be provided multiple SR configurations (e.g., 2 configurations) whereby only one of the configurations may be active / applicable to the WTRU (e.g., UE) at a given time. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may receive a first SR configuration and a second SR configuration, where the first SR and second SR configurations may differ in terms of: the frequency / density SR resources; the transmit power required for transmission on the SR resource; the amount of time the SR resource spans; the physical layer characteristics associated to transmission on the SR resource; the frequency location / carrier / BWP of the SR resources; etc.

[0208] A WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with specific triggers for changing between a first SR configuration and a second SR configuration, such as any or a combination of: o Triggers associated with a WTRU (e.g., UE) transmission:■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may change from using one SR configuration to another SR configuration following transmission of an SR.■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may change from using one SR configuration to another SR configuration following transmission of an explicit message (e.g., a MAC CE, an RRC message, data with a specific flag in a protocol header, etc.).■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may change from using one SR configuration to another SR configuration following transmission of HARQ feedback by the WTRU (e.g., UE) (e.g., ACK and / or NACK). gers associated with a network transmission:■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may change from using one SR configuration to another SR configuration following reception of a network acknowledgment to any of the WTRU (e.g., UE) transmissions described above.■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may change from using one SR configuration to another SR configuration following reception of a message from the network.■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may change from using one SR configuration to another SR configuration following confirmation of SR reception by the network. gers associated with an active period or a charging period:■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may change from using one SR configuration to another SR configuration following the start / end of an active time or following the start / end of an energy harvesting period. gers associated with DL measurements:■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may use a first SR configuration when the DL RSRP is below a threshold, and a second SR configuration. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may change from the use of a first SR configuration to a second SR configuration following a measurement report, possibly indicating the DL RSRP. gers associated with available data for transmission:■ For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may change from one SR configuration to another SR configuration following a transmission in which the WTRU (e.g., UE) has no additional buffered data to be transmitted, possibly after aconfigured period of time. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may further indicate to the network when such is triggered.

[0209] In one solution, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may receive an SR confirmation following transmission of an SR. Specifically, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may receive a message (e.g., DL MAC CE, DL PHY signal, initiation of a backscattering signal or energy harvesting signal) acknowledging reception of an SR by the network. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may then clear the triggered SR. Alternatively, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may keep the triggered SR pending until reception of an SR acknowledgement. Specifically, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may continue to transmit in a subsequent SR resource to indicate availability of the same data until reception of the SR acknowledgement.

[0210] A WTRU (e.g., UE) may further change from the use of one SR configuration to another SR configuration following reception of a confirmation from the network following transmission on an SR resource of one SR configuration.

[0211] In one example embodiment, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may be configured with a first SR configuration. Upon arrival of data for transmission, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may perform SR transmission according to the first SR configuration until reception of an SR acknowledgement by the network. The WTRU (e.g., UE), upon switching to the second SR configuration, may indicate the arrival of additional data using the second SR configuration only. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may continue to perform transmission according to the second SR configuration until the WTRU (e.g., UE) has transmitted all buffered data, or following a period of time in which the WTRU (e.g., UE) has no buffered data for transmission while it is using the second SR configuration. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may further indicate to the network that there is no additional data buffered at the WTRU (e.g., UE) (e.g., in a MAC CE, or BSR-like transmission).

[0212] WTRU (e.g., UE) indicates a request for a (additional) UL grant

[0213] In one example solution, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may transmit an indication to request a grant. Such transmission may indicate only the availability of data for transmission (e.g., similar to legacy SR) and not indicate an amount of buffered data. Such transmission may further indicate whether a grant should be increased compared to the previously received / requested grant.

[0214] A WTRU (e.g., UE) may use a different mechanism (i.e., messages discussed herein such as SR, MAC CE, RRC, etc.) to request an UL grant depending on the active time, stored energy, or charging time. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may use either an SR transmission or transmission of a MAC CE depending one whether the request for an UL grant occurs immediately after (as the first request following) an energy harvesting period by the WTRU (e.g., UE) or not. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may use either an SR transmission or transmission of a MACCE depending one whether the WTRU (e.g., UE) has an available UL grant to perform the request. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may use either an SR transmission or transmission of a MAC CE depending on whether the WTRU (e.g., UE) requests a grant following an indication / determination that no additional data was available for transmission at the WTRU (e.g., UE), possibly for some time. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may use either an SR transmission or transmission of a MAC CE for subsequent grant request depending on whether the grant provided to the WTRU (e.g., UE) is sufficient to transmit all available data at the WTRU (e.g., UE), or whether additional grants are required for the buffered data.

[0215] A combination of conditions above may further be used to determine whether to use a first mechanism or a second mechanism.

[0216] In one example embodiment, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may transmit an SR to request a grant upon arrival of data when the UE’s buffers are empty. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may receive a grant and transmit (in a first transmission) a subset of the available data within the grant. If the WTRU (e.g., UE) has additional data remaining in the buffers, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may transmit a request for additional grant using either an SR or a MAC CE (for example, included in the first transmission), depending on the stored energy at the WTRU (e.g., UE). Specifically, if the stored energy at the WTRU (e.g., UE) is sufficient to perform a subsequent transmission after the first transmission without performing energy harvesting, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may include a MAC CE requesting additional grant in the first transmission. Otherwise, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may not include a MAC CE in the first transmission and perform energy harvesting following the first transmission. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may then request a grant using an SR for the remaining data in the buffers.

[0217] Handling of Procedures involving Timers

[0218] A WTRU (e.g., UE) (e.g., ambient loT UE)Receives carrier wave from base station or other device used for energy harvesting operation.Configured with a threshold stored energy level for triggering energy harvesting operation. Configured with a maximum time for completion of a procedure (e.g., T300 timer) Configured with a table of DL RSRP (ranges of RSRP) and corresponding energy harvesting time.Configured with RACH resources and / or preambles, each indicating a different energy harvesting time.Transmits an RRC message (e.g., connection setup) and measures the time until reception of a response message (e.g., RRC setup).If the stored energy level falls below the configured threshold before reception of the response message: o Determine an energy harvesting time based on the measured DL RSRP o Select the configured RACH resource and / or preamble corresponding to the determined energy harvesting time and initiate a RACH procedure. o Upon successful completion of the RACH procedure, perform an energy harvesting operation for the determined energy harvesting time (the WTRU (e.g., UE) stops monitoring for the response message). o Upon completion of the energy harvesting operation, resume monitoring for the response message. o Subtract, from the elapsed time following transmission of the RRC message, the time spent performing energy harvesting operation.If the elapsed time following transmission of the RRC message is larger than a maximum time for completion of a procedure (e.g., T300 timer), and the response message was not received: o Initiate a failure procedure (e.g., transmission of a re-establishment request or similar RRC message).

[0219] Timer-based operations at the WTRU (e.g., UE) take energy harvesting into account

[0220] FIG. 4 illustrates a method for suspending and resuming timer with energy harvesting operation.

[0221] A WTRU (e.g., UE) may modify timer behavior (e.g., RRC timers, DRX timers, CG timer, beam failure, etc.) to account for the period of energy harvesting where the WTRU (e.g., UE) is unavailable.

[0222] In one family of solutions, a WTRU (e.g., UE) interrupts the running of the timer during energy harvesting operation. Specifically, a timer which is started prior to an energy harvesting operation and which is still running at the start of energy harvesting operation may be suspended by the WTRU (e.g., UE) during energy harvesting operation, and resumed some time after the completion of the energy harvesting operation. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may further provide indication of this to the network in one of the following forms:Transmission at or before initiation of the energy harvesting operation: o Specifically, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may start the timer, and during the running of the time, may transmit an indication prior to the initiation of energy harvesting operation.o For example, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may initiate a connection establishment / resume operation and start the connection establishment / resume timer (T3xx). If the WTRU (e.g., UE) does not receive the corresponding RRC message from the network (e.g., connection setup / resume) some time prior to initiation of energy harvesting operation, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may transmit the indication to the network.■ In one sub-option, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may perform transmission of the indication without confirmation (e.g., in a RACH transmission). The WTRU (e.g., UE) may initiate energy harvesting operation immediately following transmission of the indication.■ In another sub-option, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may perform transmission of the indication and wait for confirmation of the indication. If confirmation is not received prior to the time instant where energy harvesting operation is initiated, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may assume the timer (T3xx) has expired when energy harvesting is initiated. For example, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may initiate re-establishment at the completion of energy harvesting. Alternatively, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may move to IDLE and initiate connection establishment at completion of the energy harvesting operation.■ In another sub-option, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may initiate energy harvesting operation immediately following confirmation by the network of the indication. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may delay energy harvesting operation a maximum amount in order to wait for the confirmation or retransmit the indication, after which, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may assume T3XX expiry. In another solution, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may suspend the timer (T3xx) during energy harvesting operation and resume the timer when energy harvesting operation has completed.Transmission along with the connection establishment / resume request o Specifically, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may include an indication along with the request message. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may further include such message only in the case where energy harvesting may occur while the timer is running.

[0223] In another family of solutions, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may ensure it has sufficient energyo be active for the period associated with the timer. For example, if the UE’s energy is sufficiento remain active during the entire T3XX, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may initiate connectionestablishment / resume upon it being triggered. Otherwise, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may initiate connection establishment / resume following the completion of an energy harvesting operation.

[0224] In another family of solutions, the WTRU (e.g., UE) uses a new (extended) value of the timer which includes the energy harvesting time. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may further indicate the extension of the timer value to the network, by providing either the new timer value, or the amount by which the timer should be extended (e.g., the energy harvesting time).

[0225] In another family of solutions, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may decide whether to interrupt running of the timer (the solution above) or assume timer expiry occurs immediately at initiation of energy harvesting based on whether the original timer would expiry while energy harvesting is ongoing or after completion of energy harvesting. Specifically, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may perform the following actions:Start the timer (e.g., at transmission of the connection establishment / resume request).If energy harvesting operation may be initiated while the timer is running: o Determine the duration of energy harvesting operation. o If timer expiry is expected while energy harvesting operation is ongoing:■ Assume the timer expires at the initiation of energy harvest operation (e.g., failure of the RRC procedure). o Else:■ Resume the timer following completion of energy harvesting operation, possibly adding the additional time of energy harvesting to T3xx.

[0226] In the above solutions, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may determine the energy harvesting time needed for deciding its behavior based on solutions described herein. The WTRU (e.g., UE) may also use solutions herein to indicate the energy harvesting time to the network.

[0227] In the above solutions, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may include any of the above information in the indication:Flag indicating the timer should be extended / suspended.- New value of the timer.Energy harvesting period.Whether the WTRU (e.g., UE) continues to run the timer during energy harvesting or not.

[0228] Counting-based operations at the WTRU (e.g., UE) take energy harvesting into account

[0229] Certain procedures involve counting the occurrence of events (e.g., IS / OOS for RLM / RLF, beam failure indications, LBT failure indication for determining consistent LBT failure, counting number of retransmissions versus a maximum in sidelink, etc.). The WTRU (e.g.,UE) may take the period of energy harvesting into account in such procedures, given that events cannot occur during energy harvesting.

[0230] In one solution, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may reset a counter that has started prior to energy harvesting so that when energy harvesting is complete, the count of the number of events is zero.

[0231] In another solution, a WTRU (e.g., UE) may suspend the counter during energy harvesting, and resume counting events when energy harvesting has completed.

[0232] In another solution, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may determine that the maximum count has been reached when energy harvesting is initiated.

[0233] In another solution, whether the WTRU (e.g., UE) suspends the counting, considers the maximum count to be reached, or resets the count after energy harvesting may be based on the value of count at the time energy harvesting is started. For example, if the value is above a threshold, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may assume the count has reached a maximum when energy harvesting is initiated, otherwise, the WTRU (e.g., UE) may reset the count to zero at the completion of energy harvesting.

[0234] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a representative method 500 implemented by a WTRU 102. Referring to FIG. 5, the representative method 500 may include, at block 510, receiving, first configuration information associated with a upload (UL) active time. At block 520, the representative method 500 may include receiving second configuration information associated with a scheduling request (SR) resource for initiation of a carrier signal and a mapping between one or more SR resources and a respective one or more UL active times. At block 530, the representative method 500 may include determining the UL active time based on the first configuration information and any of: a quality of a downlink transmission, an amount of data pending for transmission, priority / packet delay budget of the data, and / or the WTRU category. At block 540, the representative method 500 may include selecting, based on the second configuration information, an SR resource corresponding to the determined UL active time. At block 550, the representative method 500 may include sending a SR transmission using the selected SR resource.

[0235] According to certain embodiments, the representative method 500 may include monitoring a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) for one or more UL grants, during a time span, where the time span is based on the determined UL active time; and / or responsive to the reception a PDCCH for and UL grant, sending the data pending for transmission.

[0236] According to certain embodiments, the determined UL active time may be a maximum UL active time, a minimum UL active time, or a required UL active time.

[0237] According to certain embodiments, sending the SR transmission may be based on a detection of carrier signal transmitted by a network node.

[0238] According to certain embodiments, determining the UL active time may be based on any of: a modulation and coding scheme, a number of resources allocated to the WTRU.

[0239] According to certain embodiments, the representative method 500 may include sending the SR transmission based on any of the following triggers / conditions associated with: (1) a stored energy or computed active time, (2) a buffer status, (3) a priority or pending data, a presence / timing of UL / DL grants, and (4) a period of time in which another trigger / condition has not occurred.

[0240] According to certain embodiments, sending the SR transmission may comprise using any of the following: a SR transmission, a random-access channel, a system information broadcast request, a physical uplink control channel resource, a hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement / non- acknowledgement, a medium access control element, a protocol header, and a radio resource control message.

[0241] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method 600 implemented by a WTRU 102 to perform active period synchronization for uplink scheduling. Referring to FIG. 6, the method 600 may include, at block 610, receiving (e.g., from a network) first information indicating a first configuration associated with an UL active time. As shown at block 620, the method 600 may include receiving (e.g., from the network) second information indicating (i) a second configuration associated with a MAC CE for initiation of a carrier signal and (ii) a mapping between one or more MAC CE values and respective one or more UL active times. As shown at block 630, the method 600 may include determining the UL active time based on the first configuration. As shown at block 640, the method 600 may include selecting, based on the second information, a MAC CE value corresponding to the determined UL active time. As shown at block 650, the method 600 may include sending the MAC CE value (e.g., to the network).

[0242] According to certain embodiments, the first configuration may indicate any of (i) a quality of a downlink transmission, (ii) an amount of data pending for transmission, (iii) a priority of the data pending for transmission, (iv) a packet delay budget of the data pending for transmission, and (v) a category of the WTRU.

[0243] According to certain embodiments, determining the UL active time based on the first configuration may comprise determining the UL active time based on any of (i) the quality of a downlink transmission, (ii) the amount of data pending for transmission, (iii) the priority of the data pending for transmission, (iv) the packet delay budget of the data pending for transmission, and (v) the category of the WTRU.

[0244] According to certain embodiments, the method may further comprise monitoring a downlink control channel for one or more UL grants, during a time span. According to certain embodiments, the time span may be based on the determined UL active time. According to certain embodiments, the method may further comprise sending the data pending for transmission responsive to receiving an UL grant.

[0245] According to certain embodiments, the determined UL active time may be a maximum UL active time, a minimum UL active time, or a required UL active time.

[0246] According to certain embodiments, sending the MAC CE value may be based on a detection of the carrier signal received from a network element.

[0247] According to certain embodiments, determining the UL active time may be based on any of a modulation and coding scheme and a number of resources allocated to the WTRU.

[0248] According to certain embodiments, the method may further comprise sending the MAC CE value based on a condition associated with any of (1) a stored energy, (2) a buffer status, (3) a priority of pending data, (4) a presence of UL grants, and (5) a period of time in which another condition may have not occurred.

[0249] According to certain embodiments, the one or more MAC values may comprise one or more SR resources.

[0250] According to certain embodiments, sending the MAC value may comprise sending a SR transmission comprising the MAC CE value.

[0251] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method 700 implemented by a network element (such as e.g., a base station) to perform active period synchronization for uplink scheduling. Referring to FIG. 7, the method 700 may include, at block 710, sending (e.g., to a WTRU) first information indicating a first configuration associated with an UL active time. As shown at block 720, the method 700 may include sending (e.g., to the WTRU) second information indicating (i) a second configuration associated with a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC CE) for initiation of a carrier signal and (ii) a mapping between one or more MAC CE values and respective one or more UL active times. As shown at block 730, the method 700 may include receiving (e.g., from the WTRU) a MAC CE value of the one or more MAC CE values. According to certain embodiments, the MAC CE value may be associated with an UL active time of the respective one or more UL active times. As shown at block 740, the method 700 may include transmitting during a time span, a downlink control channel transmission comprising one or more UL grants. According to certain embodiments, the time span may be based on the UL active time.

[0252] FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method 800 implemented by a WTRU to perform active period synchronization for downlink scheduling. Referring to FIG. 8, the method 800 may include,at block 810, receiving (e.g. from a network) first information indicating a mapping between one or more indications and one or more respective number of slots. As shown at block 820, the method 800 may include receiving (e.g. from the network) second information indicating a function for determining an energy harvesting time period based on one or more parameters. As shown at block 830, the method 800 may include receiving (e.g. from the network) an indication of a number of slots for downlink control channel monitoring. As shown at block 840, the method 800 may include determining that the number of slots for downlink control channel monitoring may be larger than the number of slots that the WTRU may be able to monitor based on currently stored energy. As shown at block 850, the method 800 may include determining the energy harvesting time period based on the one or more parameters. As shown at block 860, the method 800 may include sending (e.g. to the network) a request to perform energy harvesting. According to certain embodiments, the request may indicate the determined energy harvesting time period.

[0253] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method 900 implemented by a network element (such as e.g., a base station) to perform active period synchronization for downlink scheduling. Referring to FIG. 9, the method 900 may include, at block 910, sending (e.g. to a WTRU) first information indicating a mapping between one or more indications and one or more respective number of slots. As shown at block 920, the method 900 may include sending (e.g. to the WTRU) second information indicating a function for determining an energy harvesting time period based on one or more parameters. As shown at block 930, the method 900 may include sending (e.g. to the WTRU) an indication of a number of slots for downlink control channel monitoring. As shown at block 940, the method 900 may include receiving (e.g. from the WTRU) a request to perform energy harvesting. According to certain embodiment, the request may indicate an energy harvesting time period. As shown at block 950, the method 900 may include transmitting (e.g., to the WTRU), a carrier signal for energy harvesting based on the energy harvesting time period.

[0254] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1000 implemented by a WTRU to perform uplink transmission. Referring to FIG. 10, the method 1000 may include, at block 1010, receiving (e.g. from a network) configuration information indicating a first SR configuration and a second SR configuration associated with different periodicities of SR resources. As shown at block 1020, the method 1000 may include sending (e.g., to the network) a first SR according to a first periodicity of the first SR configuration until a confirmation may be received (e.g., from the network) indicating a reception of the first SR. As shown at block 1030, the method 1000 may include receiving (e.g., from the network) a first uplink grant for a first uplink transmission. As shown at block 1040, the method 1000 may include determining that more data may be to be transmitted (e.g., to the network) beyond the first uplink transmission. As shown at block 1050,the method 1000 may include sending (e.g., to the network) the first uplink transmission based on the first uplink grant. As shown at block 1060, the method 1000 may include sending (e.g., to the network) a second SR according to a second periodicity of the second SR configuration based on more data being to be transmitted (e.g., to the network) beyond the first uplink transmission.

[0255] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1100 implemented by a network element (such as e.g., a base station) to receive uplink transmission. Referring to FIG. 11, the method 1100 may include, at block 1110, sending (e.g. to a WTRU) configuration information indicating a first SR configuration and a second SR configuration associated with different periodicities of SR resources. As shown at block 1120, the method 1100 may include receiving (e.g., from the WTRU) a first SR according to a first periodicity of the first SR configuration. As shown at block 1130, the method 1100 may include sending (e.g., to the WTRU) a confirmation indicating a reception of the first SR. As shown at block 1140, the method 1100 may include sending (e.g., to the WTRU) a first uplink grant for a first uplink transmission. As shown at block 1150, the method 1100 may include receiving (e.g., from the WTRU) the first uplink transmission based on the first uplink grant. As shown at block 1160, the method 1100 may include receiving (e.g., from the WTRU) a second SR according to the second SR configuration. As shown at block 1170, the method 1100 may include determining that more data may be to be transmitted (e.g., by the WTRU) beyond the first uplink transmission, based on receiving the second SR according to the second SR configuration.

[0256] FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1200 implemented by a WTRU to handle procedures involving timers. Referring to FIG. 12, the method 1200 may include, at block 1210, receiving (e.g. from a network) first information indicating a plurality of power levels associated with a plurality of respective energy harvesting times. As shown at block 1220, the method 1200 may include receiving (e.g., from the network) second information indicating a plurality of any of random-access resources and random-access preambles associated with different energy harvesting times. As shown at block 1230, the method 1200 may include sending a first message (e.g., to the network). As shown at block 1240, the method 1200 may include monitoring for a second message to be received in response to the first message. According to certain embodiments, the monitoring may be to be performed for a first duration. As shown at block 1250, the method 1200 may include determining that a stored energy may fall below a threshold before the second message may be received and before the first duration may have elapsed. As shown at block 1260, the method 1200 may include determining an energy harvesting time from the plurality of energy harvesting times based on a measured power level and the first information. As shown at block 1270, the method 1200 may include selecting any of a random-access preamble and a random-access resource corresponding to the determined energy harvesting time to perform a randomaccess procedure. As shown at block 1280, the method 1200 may include, upon completion of the random-access procedure, performing energy harvesting for the determined energy harvesting time and suspending monitoring for the second message for the determined energy harvesting time. As shown at block 1290, the method 1200 may include, after the determined energy harvesting time may have elapsed, resuming monitoring for the second message. According to certain embodiments, the first duration during which monitoring may be to be performed may be incremented by the determined energy harvesting time.

[0257] FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1300 implemented by a network element (e.g., such as a base station) to handle procedures involving timers. Referring to FIG. 13, the method 1300 may include, at block 1310, sending (e.g. to a WTRU) first information indicating a plurality of power levels associated with a plurality of respective energy harvesting times. As shown at block 1320, the method 1300 may include sending (e.g., to the WTRU) second information indicating a plurality of any of random-access resources and random-access preambles associated with different energy harvesting times. As shown at block 1330, the method 1300 may include receiving a first message (e.g., from the WTRU). According to certain embodiments, a second message may be to be sent (e.g., to the WTRU) in response to the first message within a first duration after the first message may have been received. As shown at block 1340, the method 1300 may include performing a random-access procedure (e.g., with the WTRU). As shown at block 1350, the method 1300 may include determining an energy harvesting time based on any of a random-access resource and a random-access preamble used in the random-access procedure being associated with the energy harvesting time. As shown at block 1360, the method 1300 may include, upon completion of the random-access procedure, refraining from sending the second message (e.g., to the WTRU) for the determined energy harvesting time. As shown at block 1370, the method 1300 may include, after the determined energy harvesting time may have elapsed, sending the second message (e.g., to the WTRU) within the first duration incremented by the determined energy harvesting time.

[0258] While not explicitly described, embodiments described herein may be employed in any combination or sub-combination. For example, the present principles are not limited to the described variants, and any arrangement of variants and embodiments can be used.

[0259] Besides, any characteristic, variant or embodiment described for a method is compatible with an apparatus device comprising means for processing the disclosed method, with a device comprising circuitry, including any of a transmitter, a receiver, a processor, and memory, the circuitry being operable (e.g., configured) to process the disclosed method, with a computerprogram product comprising program code instructions and with a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium storing program instructions. Besides, any characteristic, variant or embodiment described for a WTRU is compatible with an (e.g., infrastructure) network element of the cellular network.

[0260] Although features and elements are provided above in particular combinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with the other features and elements. The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular embodiments described in this application, which are intended as illustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations may be made without departing from its spirit and scope, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. No element, act, or instruction used in the description of the present application should be construed as critical or essential to the invention unless explicitly provided as such. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to particular methods or systems.

[0261] The foregoing embodiments are discussed, for simplicity, with regard to the terminology and structure of infrared capable devices, i.e., infrared emitters and receivers. However, the embodiments discussed are not limited to these systems but may be applied to other systems that use other forms of electromagnetic waves or non-electromagnetic waves such as acoustic waves.

[0262] It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the term "video" or the term "imagery" may mean any of a snapshot, single image and / or multiple images displayed over a time basis. As another example, when referred to herein, the terms "user equipment" and its abbreviation "UE", the term "remote" and / or the terms "head mounted display" or its abbreviation "HMD" may mean or include (i) a wireless transmit and / or receive unit (WTRU); (ii) any of a number of embodiments of a WTRU; (iii) a wireless-capable and / or wired-capable (e.g., tetherable) device configured with, inter alia, some or all structures and functionality of a WTRU; (iii) a wireless-capable and / or wired-capable device configured with less than all structures and functionality of a WTRU; or (iv) the like. Details of an example WTRU, which may be representative of any WTRU recited herein, are provided herein with respect to FIGs. 1 A-1D. As another example, various disclosed embodiments herein supra and infra are described as utilizinga head mounted display. Those skilled in the art will recognize that a device other than the head mounted display may be utilized and some or all of the disclosure and various disclosed embodiments can be modified accordingly without undue experimentation. Examples of such other device may include a drone or other device configured to stream information for providing the adapted reality experience.

[0263] In addition, the methods provided herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronic signals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) and computer-readable storage media. Examples of computer- readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

[0264] Variations of the method, apparatus and system provided above are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. In view of the wide variety of embodiments that can be applied, it should be understood that the illustrated embodiments are examples only, and should not be taken as limiting the scope of the following claims. For instance, the embodiments provided herein include handheld devices, which may include or be utilized with any appropriate voltage source, such as a battery and the like, providing any appropriate voltage.

[0265] Moreover, in the embodiments provided above, processing platforms, computing systems, controllers, and other devices that include processors are noted. These devices may include at least one Central Processing Unit ("CPU") and memory. In accordance with the practices of persons skilled in the art of computer programming, reference to acts and symbolic representations of operations or instructions may be performed by the various CPUs and memories. Such acts and operations or instructions may be referred to as being "executed," "computer executed" or "CPU executed."

[0266] One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the acts and symbolically represented operations or instructions include the manipulation of electrical signals by the CPU. An electrical system represents data bits that can cause a resulting transformation or reduction of the electrical signals and the maintenance of data bits at memory locations in a memory system to thereby reconfigure or otherwise alter the CPU's operation, as well as other processing of signals. The memory locations where data bits are maintained are physical locations that have particularelectrical, magnetic, optical, or organic properties corresponding to or representative of the data bits. It should be understood that the embodiments are not limited to the above-mentioned platforms or CPUs and that other platforms and CPUs may support the provided methods.

[0267] The data bits may also be maintained on a computer readable medium including magnetic disks, optical disks, and any other volatile (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM)) or non-volatile (e.g., Read-Only Memory (ROM)) mass storage system readable by the CPU. The computer readable medium may include cooperating or interconnected computer readable medium, which exist exclusively on the processing system or are distributed among multiple interconnected processing systems that may be local or remote to the processing system. It should be understood that the embodiments are not limited to the above-mentioned memories and that other platforms and memories may support the provided methods.

[0268] In an illustrative embodiment, any of the operations, processes, etc. described herein may be implemented as computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium. The computer-readable instructions may be executed by a processor of a mobile unit, a network element, and / or any other computing device.

[0269] There is little distinction left between hardware and software implementations of aspects of systems. The use of hardware or software is generally (but not always, in that in certain contexts the choice between hardware and software may become significant) a design choice representing cost versus efficiency tradeoffs. There may be various vehicles by which processes and / or systems and / or other technologies described herein may be effected (e.g., hardware, software, and / or firmware), and the preferred vehicle may vary with the context in which the processes and / or systems and / or other technologies are deployed. For example, if an implementer determines that speed and accuracy are paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly hardware and / or firmware vehicle. If flexibility is paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly software implementation. Alternatively, the implementer may opt for some combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0270] The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments of the devices and / or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts, and / or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and / or examples include one or more functions and / or operations, it will be understood by those within the art that each function and / or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples may be implemented, individually and / or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In an embodiment, several portions of the subject matter described herein may be implemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors(DSPs), and / or other integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part, may be equivalently implemented in integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and / or writing the code for the software and or firmware would be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light of this disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein may be distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described herein applies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearing medium include, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable type medium such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a CD, a DVD, a digital tape, a computer memory, etc., and a transmission type medium such as a digital and / or an analog communication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wired communications link, a wireless communication link, etc.).

[0271] Those skilled in the art will recognize that it is common within the art to describe devices and / or processes in the fashion set forth herein, and thereafter use engineering practices to integrate such described devices and / or processes into data processing systems. That is, at least a portion of the devices and / or processes described herein may be integrated into a data processing system via a reasonable amount of experimentation. Those having skill in the art will recognize that a typical data processing system may generally include one or more of a system unit housing, a video display device, a memory such as volatile and non-volatile memory, processors such as microprocessors and digital signal processors, computational entities such as operating systems, drivers, graphical user interfaces, and applications programs, one or more interaction devices, such as a touch pad or screen, and / or control systems including feedback loops and control motors (e.g., feedback for sensing position and / or velocity, control motors for moving and / or adjusting components and / or quantities). A typical data processing system may be implemented utilizing any suitable commercially available components, such as those typically found in data computing / communication and / or network computing / communication systems.

[0272] The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates different components included within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely examples, and that in fact many other architectures may be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components toachieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that the desired functionality may be achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality may be seen as "associated with" each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated may also be viewed as being "operably connected", or "operably coupled", to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated may also be viewed as being "operably couplable" to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but are not limited to physically mateable and / or physically interacting components and / or wirelessly interactable and / or wirelessly interacting components and / or logically interacting and / or logically interactable components.

[0273] With respect to the use of substantially any plural and / or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and / or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and / or application. The various singular / plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

[0274] It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as "open" terms (e.g., the term "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," the term "includes" should be interpreted as "includes but is not limited to," etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, where only one item is intended, the term "single" or similar language may be used. As an aid to understanding, the following appended claims and / or the descriptions herein may include usage of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits any particular claim including such introduced claim recitation to embodiments including only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" and / or "an" should be interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more"). The same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of "two recitations," without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to "at least oneof A, B, and C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, or C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and / or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase "A or B" will be understood to include the possibilities of "A" or "B" or "A and B." Further, the terms "any of' followed by a listing of a plurality of items and / or a plurality of categories of items, as used herein, are intended to include "any of," "any combination of," "any multiple of," and / or "any combination of multiples of the items and / or the categories of items, individually or in conjunction with other items and / or other categories of items. Moreover, as used herein, the term "set" is intended to include any number of items, including zero. Additionally, as used herein, the term "number" is intended to include any number, including zero. And the term "multiple", as used herein, is intended to be synonymous with "a plurality".

[0275] In addition, where features or aspects of the disclosure are described in terms of Markush groups, those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosure is also thereby described in terms of any individual member or subgroup of members of the Markush group.

[0276] As will be understood by one skilled in the art, for any and all purposes, such as in terms of providing a written description, all ranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subranges and combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein may be readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third, etc. As will also be understood by one skilled in the art all language such as "up to," "at least," "greater than," "less than," and the like includes the number recited and refers to ranges which can be subsequently broken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, as will be understood by one skilled in the art, a range includes each individual member. Thus, for example, a group having 1-3 cells refers to groupshaving 1, 2, or 3 cells. Similarly, a group having 1-5 cells refers to groups having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 cells, and so forth.

[0277] Moreover, the claims should not be read as limited to the provided order or elements unless stated to that effect. In addition, use of the terms "means for" in any claim is intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. §112, 6 or means-plus-function claim format, and any claim without the terms "means for" is not so intended.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method implemented by a wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU), the method comprising: receiving first information indicating a first configuration associated with an upload (UL) active time; receiving second information indicating (i) a second configuration associated with a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) for initiation of a carrier signal and (ii) a mapping between one or more MAC CE values and respective one or more UL active times; determining the UL active time based on the first configuration; selecting, based on the second information, a MAC CE value corresponding to the determined UL active time; and sending the MAC CE value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first configuration indicates any of (i) a quality of a downlink transmission, (ii) an amount of data pending for transmission, (iii) a priority of the data pending for transmission, (iv) a packet delay budget of the data pending for transmission, and (v) a category of the WTRU.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining the UL active time based on the first configuration comprises determining the UL active time based on any of (i) the quality of a downlink transmission, (ii) the amount of data pending for transmission, (iii) the priority of the data pending for transmission, (iv) the packet delay budget of the data pending for transmission, and (v) the category of the WTRU.

4. The method of any of claims 2 to 3, further comprising: monitoring a downlink control channel for one or more UL grants, during a time span, wherein the time span is based on the determined UL active time; and responsive to receiving an UL grant, sending the data pending for transmission.

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the determined UL active time is a maximum UL active time, a minimum UL active time, or a required UL active time.

6. The method of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein, sending the MAC CE value is based on a detection of the carrier signal received from a network element.

7. The method of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein determining the UL active time is based on any of a modulation and coding scheme and a number of resources allocated to the WTRU.

8. The method of any of claims 1 to 7, further comprising sending the MAC CE value based on a condition associated with any of (1) a stored energy, (2) a buffer status, (3) a priority of pending data, (4) a presence of UL grants, and (5) a period of time in which another condition has not occurred.

9. The method of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the one or more MAC values comprise one or more scheduling request (SR) resources.

10. The method of any of claims 1 to 9, wherein sending the MAC value comprises sending a SR transmission comprising the MAC CE value.

11. A wireless transmit / receive unit (WTRU) comprising circuitry including a transmitter, a receiver, a processor and a memory, configured to: receive first information indicating a first configuration associated with an upload (UL) active time; receive second information indicating (i) a second configuration associated with a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC CE) for initiation of a carrier signal and (ii) a mapping between one or more MAC CE values and respective one or more UL active times; determine the UL active time based on the first configuration; select, based on the second information, a MAC CE value corresponding to the determined UL active time; and send the MAC CE value.

12. The WTRU of claim 11, wherein the first configuration indicates any of (i) a quality of a downlink transmission, (ii) an amount of data pending for transmission, (iii) a priority of the data pending for transmission, (iv) a packet delay budget of the data pending for transmission, and (v) a category of the WTRU.

13. The WTRU of claim 12, wherein the WTRU being configured to determine the UL active time based on the first configuration comprises the WTRU being configured to determine the UL active time based on any of (i) the quality of a downlink transmission, (ii) the amount of data pending for transmission, (iii) the priority of the data pending for transmission, (iv) the packet delay budget of the data pending for transmission, and (v) the category of the WTRU.

14. The WTRU of any of claims 12 to 13, further configured to: monitor a downlink control channel for one or more UL grants, during a time span, wherein the time span is based on the determined UL active time; and responsive to receiving an UL grant, send the data pending for transmission.

15. The WTRU of any of claims 11 to 14, wherein the determined UL active time is a maximum UL active time, a minimum UL active time, or a required UL active time.

16. The WTRU of any of claims 11 to 15, configured to send the MAC CE value based on a detection of the carrier signal received from a network element.

17. The WTRU of any of claims 11 to 16, wherein the WTRU being configured to determine the UL active time comprises the WTRU being configured to determine the UL active time based on any of a modulation and coding scheme and a number of resources allocated to the WTRU.

18. The WTRU of any of claims 11 to 17, further configured to send the MAC CE value based on a condition associated with any of (1) a stored energy, (2) a buffer status, (3) a priority of pending data, (4) a presence of UL grants, and (5) a period of time in which another condition has not occurred.

19. A method implemented by a network element, the method comprising: sending first information indicating a first configuration associated with an upload (UL) active time; sending second information indicating (i) a second configuration associated with a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC CE) for initiation of a carrier signal and (ii) a mapping between one or more MAC CE values and respective one or more UL active times; receiving a MAC CE value of the one or more MAC CE values, wherein the MAC CE value is associated with an UL active time of the respective one or more UL active times; and transmitting during a time span, a downlink control channel transmission comprising one or more UL grants, wherein the time span is based on the UL active time.

20. A network element comprising circuitry including a transmitter, a receiver, a processor and a memory, configured to: send first information indicating a first configuration associated with an upload (UL) active time;send second information indicating (i) a second configuration associated with a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC CE) for initiation of a carrier signal and (ii) a mapping between one or more MAC CE values and respective one or more UL active times; receive a MAC CE value of the one or more MAC CE values, wherein the MAC CE value is associated with an UL active time of the respective one or more UL active times; and transmit during a time span, a downlink control channel transmission comprising one or more UL grants, wherein the time span is based on the UL active time.

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