Paging techniques for ambient IoT

Abstract

An apparatus configured to process a paging message received from a reader for an ambient Internet of things (IoT) device, wherein the reader is one of a base station or a user equipment (UE) and determine whether the paging message is for the apparatus based on information included in the paging message.

Description

Paging Techniques for Ambient loTInventors: Zhibin Wu, Alexander Sirotkin, Fangli Xu, Haijing Hu, Naveen Kumar R Palle Venkata, Peng Cheng, Ping-Heng Kuo, Ralf Rossbach, Vivek G Gupta and Yuqin ChenPriority / Incorporation By Reference

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 63 / 573, 979 filed on April 3, 2024, and entitled "Paging Techniques for Ambient loT," the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.Background

[0002] A network may support ambient Internet of Things (loT) devices. An ambient loT device may harvest energy from the ambient environment. For example, radio waves may serve as an energy source for an ambient loT device. This feature provides cost and / or size reduction benefits that may enable a variety of different use cases. It has been identified that there is a need for paging techniques that support the deployment of ambient loT devices .Summary

[0003] Some example embodiments are related to an apparatus having processing circuitry configured to process a paging message received from a reader for an ambient Internet of things (loT) device, wherein the reader is one of a base station or a user equipment (UE) and determine whether the paging message is for the apparatus based on information included in the paging message .

[0004] Other example embodiments are related to an apparatus having processing circuitry configured to generate, for transmission to one or more ambient Internet of things (loT) devices, a paging message and process a paging response message received from at least one ambient loT device.Brief Description of the Drawings

[0005] Fig. 1 shows an example deployment scenario according to various example embodiments.

[0006] Fig. 2 shows an example wireless device according to various example embodiments.

[0007] Fig. 3 shows an example user equipment (UE) according to various example embodiments.

[0008] Fig. 4 shows an example base station according to various example embodiments.

[0009] Fig. 5 shows an example deployment scenario according to various example embodiments.

[0010] Fig. 6 shows a signaling diagram for ambient loT paging according to various example embodiments.

[0011] Fig. 7 shows an example of a staggered response for ambient loT paging according to various example embodiments.

[0012] Fig. 8 shows an example 800 of a selective response for ambient loT paging according to various example embodiments.Detailed Description

[0013] The example embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the related appended drawings, wherein like elements are provided with the same reference numerals. The example embodiments introduce paging techniques for ambient Internet of things (IoT) devices.

[0014] The example embodiments are described with regard to ambient ioT devices. An ambient ioT device refers to a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) IoT device that is smaller than other types of IoT devices and provides cost-efficient solutions to various types of use cases such as, but not limited to, tracking and monitoring objects. Throughout this description, the terms "wireless device" or "tag" may be used to generally refer to an ambient IoT device or any other type of smaller wireless device that is equipped with similar capabilities and configured with the hardware, software, and / or firmware to exchange information and data with a network.Therefore, the terms "ambient IoT device," "wireless device" and "tag" as described herein is used to represent any appropriate electronic component.

[0015] The example embodiments are further described with regard to different device types including device type 1, device type 2a and device type 2b. The term "device type 1" may refer to a wireless device that possesses one or more of the following characteristics: a peak power consumption of approximately 1 microwatt (gW) , energy storage capabilities, an initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10xparts per million (ppm) , neither downlink nor uplink amplification in the wireless device anduplink transmissions that are backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally to the wireless device.

[0016] The term "device type 2a" may refer to a wireless device that possesses one or more of the following characteristics: a peak power consumption equal to or less than (<) a few hundred microwatt (pW) , energy storage capabilities, an initial SFO up to 10xppm, downlink and / or uplink amplification in the wireless device and uplink transmissions that are backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally to the wireless device.

[0017] The term "device type 2b" may refer to a wireless device that possesses one or more of the following characteristics: a peak power consumption of equal to or less than (<) a few hundred microwatt (pW) , energy storage capabilities, an initial SFO up to 10xppm, downlink and / or uplink amplification in the wireless device and uplink transmissions that are generated internally by the wireless device. However, any reference to a particular device type (e.g., device type 1, 2a, eb, etc.) is merely provided for illustrative purposes. Different entities may refer to similar concepts in a different manner.

[0018] The example embodiments are also described with regard to a 5G New Radio (NR) network. However, reference to a 5G NR network is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The example embodiments may be utilized with any network that may establish a connection to a wireless device and exchange information and data with the wireless device (e.g., 5G-Advanced networks, 6G networks, etc.) .

[0019] The example embodiments are further described with regard to two dif ferent types of deployment scenarios . In some examples , the wireless device may communicate over the air with a base station of the network . In other examples , the wireless device may communicate over the air with a user equipment (UE ) that acts as an intermediate node, under network control , between the wireless device and the base station . Throughout this description, the term "reader" may refer to the node that is communicating over the air with the wireless device . Therefore , a reader may refer to a base station or a UE depending on the applicable deployment scenario .

[0020] There is a need for paging techniques that support ambient loT and address issues speci fic to ambient loT . For example , in contrast to legacy paging, ambient loT paging is not concerned with radio resource control (RRC ) state changes or bringing a UE out of power saving mode ( e . g . , discontinuous reception ( DRX ) , idle mode , etc . ) . Instead, paging in ambient loT may be used for determining the reachability of a wireless device or delivering downlink signaling / data to solicit an uplink response . For instance , paging may be used as a means of discovery and an ambient loT discovered via paging may respond with an indication that the ambient loT device is reachable for a further data exchange between the ambient loT device and the reader or for additional device-speci fic configuration information . In addition, ambient loT device constraints such as , no accurate clock, limited memory and fluctuant energy levels may increase complexity with regard to ambient loT paging design . Some of the example embodiments are designed to address these ambient loT speci fic issues .

[0021] According to some aspects, the example embodiments introduce ambient loT paging techniques for single-device paging, group paging and broadcast paging. In addition, the example embodiments introduce paging messages, paging response messages, paging triggers and paging transmission methods for ambient loT. The example embodiments may be used independently from one another, in conjunction with currently implemented paging mechanisms, in conjunction with future implementations of paging mechanisms or independently from other paging mechanisms.

[0022] Fig. 1 shows an example deployment scenario 100 according to various example embodiments. The example deployment scenario 100 includes a wireless device 112. The wireless device 112 may be an ambient loT device or any other appropriate type of electronic component that is configured to communicate via a network. An actual deployment scenario may include any number of wireless devices being used by any number of users. Thus, the example of a single wireless device 112 is merely provided for illustrative purposes.

[0023] The example deployment scenario 100 also includes a UE 110. The UE 110 may be any type of electronic component that is configured to communicate via a network, e.g. , mobile phones, tablet computers, desktop computers, smartphones, phablets, embedded devices, wearables, Internet of Things (loT) devices, etc. An actual deployment scenario may include any number of UEs being used by any number of users. Thus, the example of a single UE 110 is merely provided for illustrative purposes.

[0024] The example deployment scenario 100 also includes a 5G new radio (NR) radio access network (RAN) 120. However, the example embodiments may apply to other types of networks (e.g., sixth generation (6G) RAN, 5G cloud RAN, a next generation RAN (NG-RAN) , a long-term evolution (LTE) RAN, a legacy cellular network, a wireless local area network (WLAN) , etc.) .

[0025] The 5G NR RAN 120 may be a portion of a cellular network that may be deployed by a network carrier (e.g., Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.) . The 5G NR RAN 120 may include base stations or access nodes (Node Bs, eNodeBs, HeNBs, eNBS, gNBs, gNodeBs, macrocells, microcells, small cells, femtocells, etc.) that are configured to send and receive traffic from devices that are equipped with the appropriate cellular chip set. In the example deployment scenario 100, the 5G NR RAN 120 deploys a gNB 120A.

[0026] In the example deployment scenario 100, the UE 110 may be configured to operate as an intermediate node between the wireless device 112 and the network. Thus, the UE 110 may be configured as a reader and send paging messages over the air to the wireless device 112. The wireless device 112 may also send messages directly to the UE 110. The channels between the reader and the wireless device 112 may be referred to as a physical device- to-reader data channel (PDRCH) for uplink communication and a physical reader-to-device data channel (PRDCH) for downlink communication and / or control.

[0027] Fig. 2 shows an example wireless device 112 according to various example embodiments. The wireless device 112 may include a processor 205, a memory arrangement 210, a transceiver215 and other components 220. The other components may include, for example, an audio output device, a power supply, energy storage, ports to electrically connect the wireless device 112 to other electronic components, etc.

[0028] The processor 205 may be comprised of processing circuitry that is configured to execute a plurality of engines of the wireless device 112. For example, the engines may include an ambient loT paging engine 235. The ambient loT paging engine 235 may perform various operations related to ambient loT paging. To provide some general examples, the ambient loT paging engine 235 may perform operations such as, but not limited to, receiving paging messages, identifying paging identifiers and generating a paging response message. These and other operations are described in greater detail below.

[0029] The above referenced engine 235 being an application (e.g., a program) executed by the processor 205 is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The functionality associated with the processor 205 and / or engine 235 may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the wireless device 112 or may be a modular component coupled to the wireless device 112, e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. The engine may also be embodied as one application or separate applications. In addition, in some devices, the functionality described for the processor 205 is split among two or more processors such as a baseband processor and an applications processor. The example embodiments may beimplemented in any of these or other configurations of a wireless device.

[0030] The memory arrangement 210 may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the wireless device 112. In some examples, the memory arrangement 210 may include non-volatile memory (NVM) that is used to permanently store certain types of information (e.g. , device ID, etc. ) and registers for temporarily storing information while energy is available in energy storage. However, reference to NVM and registers is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The example embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a memory arrangement.

[0031] The transceiver 215 may be a hardware component configured to communicate with the 5G NR-RAN 120, an LTE-RAN (not pictured) , a legacy RAN (not pictured) , a WLAN (not pictured) , etc. Accordingly, the transceiver 215 may operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g. , set of consecutive frequencies) . The transceiver 215 includes circuitry configured to transmit and / or receive signals (e.g. , control signals, data signals) . Such signals may be encoded with information implementing any one of the methods described herein. The processor 205 may be operably coupled to the transceiver 215 and configured to receive from and / or transmit signals to the transceiver 215. The processor 205 may be configured to encode and / or decode signals (e.g., signaling from a base station of a network) for implementing any one of the techniques described herein.

[0032] Fig. 3 shows an example UE 110 according to various example embodiments. The UE 110 will be described with regard to the deployment scenario 100 of Fig. 1. The UE 110 may include a processor 305, a memory arrangement 310, a display device 315, an input / output (I / O) device 320, a transceiver 325 and other components 330. The other components 330 may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a power supply, a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the UE 110 to other electronic devices, etc.

[0033] The processor 305 may be comprised of processing circuitry that is configured to execute a plurality of engines for the UE 110. For example, the engines may include an ambient loT paging engine 335. The ambient loT paging engine 335 may perform various operations related to ambient loT paging. To provide some general examples, the ambient loT paging engine 335 may perform operations such as, but not limited to, transmitting paging messages and receiving paging response messages. These and other operations are described in greater detail below.

[0034] The above referenced engine 335 being an application (e.g., a program) executed by the processor 305 is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The functionality associated with the engine 335 may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the UE 110 or may be a modular component coupled to the UE 110, e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. The engine may also be embodied as one application or separate applications. In addition, in some UEs, the functionalitydescribed for the processor 305 is split among two or more processors such as a baseband processor and an applications processor . The example embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a UE .

[0035] The memory arrangement 310 may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UE 110 . The display device 315 may be a hardware component configured to show data to a user while the I / O device 320 may be a hardware component that enables the user to enter inputs . The display device 315 and the I / O device 320 may be separate components or integrated together such as a touchscreen .

[0036] The transceiver 325 may be a hardware component configured to exchange data with the wireless device 112 , the 5G NR RAN and / or any other appropriate type of network . Accordingly, the transceiver 325 may operate on a variety of di f ferent frequencies or channels ( e . g . , set of consecutive frequencies ) . The transceiver 325 includes circuitry configured to transmit and / or receive signals ( e . g . , control signals , data signals ) . Such signals may be encoded with information implementing any one of the methods described herein . The processor 305 may be operably coupled to the transceiver 325 and configured to receive from and / or transmit signals to the transceiver 325. The processor 305 may be configured to encode and / or decode signals ( e . g . , signaling from a base station of a network) for implementing any one of the techniques described herein .

[0037] Fig. 4 shows an example base station 400 according to various example embodiments. The base station 400 may represent the gNB 120A or any other type of access node.

[0038] The base station 400 may include a processor 405, a memory arrangement 410, an input / output (I / O) device 415, a transceiver 420, and other components 425. The other components 425 may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a battery, a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the base station 400 to other electronic devices and / or power sources, transceiver chains, antenna elements, antenna panels, etc.

[0039] The processor 405 may be comprised of processing circuitry that is configured to execute a plurality of engines for the base station 400. For example, the engines may include an ambient loT paging engine 435. The ambient ToT paging engine 435 may perform various operations related to ambient loT paging. To provide some general examples, the ambient loT paging engine 435 may perform operations such as, but not limited to, transmitting paging messages and receiving paging response messages. These and other operations are described in greater detail below.

[0040] The above noted engine 435 being an application (e.g. , a program) executed by the processor 405 is only an example. The functionality associated with the engine 435 may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the base station 400 or may be a modular component coupled to the base station 400, e.g. , an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include inputcircuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. In addition, in some base stations, the functionality described for the processor 405 is split among a plurality of processors (e.g., a baseband processor, an applications processor, etc.) . The example embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a base station.

[0041] The memory arrangement 410 may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the base station 400. The I / O device 415 may be a hardware component or ports that enable a user to interact with the base station 400.

[0042] The transceiver 420 may be a hardware component configured to exchange data with the UE 110 and / or the wireless device 112. The transceiver 420 may operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g., set of consecutive frequencies) . Therefore, the transceiver 420 may include one or more components to enable the data exchange with the various networks, UEs and wireless devices. The transceiver 420 includes circuitry configured to transmit and / or receive signals (e.g., control signals, data signals) . Such signals may be encoded with information implementing any one of the methods described herein. The processor 405 may be operably coupled to the transceiver 420 and configured to receive from and / or transmit signals to the transceiver 420. The processor 405 may be configured to encode and / or decode signals (e.g., signaling from a UE, a wireless device, etc.) for implementing any one of the methods described herein.

[0043] Fig. 5 shows an example deployment scenario 500 according to various example embodiments. Like the example deployment scenario 100, the example deployment scenario 500 includes the wireless device 112, the gNB 120A and the 5G NR RAN 120 of Fig. 1. However, in the example deployment scenario 500, the wireless device 112 communicates directly over the air with the gNB 120A and there is no intermediate node. Thus, the gNB 120A may be configured as a reader and send paging messages over the air to the wireless device 112. The wireless device 112 may also send messages directly to the gNB 120A. As mentioned above, the channels between the reader and the wireless device 112 may be referred to as a PDRCH for uplink communication and PRDCH for downlink communication.

[0044] Some example embodiments are further described with regard to different application traffic types. One traffic type may be referred to as "device terminated (DT) " traffic. From the perspective of the application layer, the DT traffic may be unidirectional and flow from the reader to the wireless device 112 (e.g., reader- to-device (R2D) ) . The lower layer transmission scheme may be in the downlink channel and a carrier wave may or may not be used. When a base station is the reader, the DT traffic may be triggered by the core network. In some embodiments, the carrier wave may be transmitted by a node other than the reader. When the UE is the reader, the DT traffic may be triggered by the upper layers of the UE or may be a core network-initiated message.

[0045] Another traffic type may be referred to as "device originated device-terminated triggered (DO-DTT) " traffic. From the perspective of the application layer, the DO-DTT traffic isbidirectional where a signal from the reader to the wireless device triggers a response from the wireless device to the reader ( D2R) . The lower layer transmissions scheme may use backscattering . When a base station is the reader, the DT traffic may be triggered by the core network, processed by the wireless device and then DO traffic is generated and sent to the reader . When the UE is the reader, the DT traf fic may be triggered by the upper layers of the UE or may be a core network-initiated message , processed by the wireless device and then DO traf fic is generated and sent to the reader .

[0046] Another type of traf fic may be referred to as "device originated-autonomous ( DO-A) " traf fic . From the perspective of the application layer, the DO-A traf fic is unidirectional from the wireless device to the reader ( D2R) . The wireless device 112 may trigger DO-A traffic when upper layer of the wireless device 112 has DO traffic available . The wireless device 112 may then send a signal to the reader ( e . g . , base station or UE ) .

[0047] To provide an example from a protocol stack perspective , paging may be a part of a light RRC protocol which is directly on top of the medium access control (MAC ) layer . In some examples , there may be no strict separation between the user plane (UP ) and the control plane ( CP ) . Therefore , a downlink message may include both paging and downlink data together in one MAC packet data unit ( PDU) . However, there may also be a dedicated paging procedure to setup ambient loT device context in the base station or intermediate UE without encapsulating any downlink data . The above examples are merely provided for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the example embodiments in any way . The example embodimentsintroduce herein may be used with any appropriate type of protocol stack.

[0048] Fig. 6 shows a signaling diagram 600 for ambient loT paging according to various example embodiments. The signaling diagram 600 includes the wireless device 112 and a reader 605. As described above, the reader 605 may represent a base station(e.g., gNB 120A) or an intermediate node (e.g. , UE 110) . The signaling diagram 600 is provided as a general overview of ambient loT paging and the example embodiments will be described in more detail below after the signaling diagram 600.

[0049] In 610, the reader 605 sends a paging message to the wireless device 112. The paging message may include one or more identifiers that may be used by the wireless device 112 to determine whether the wireless device 112 is an intended recipient of the paging message. The paging identifiers and the other contents of the paging messages will be described in more detail below after the signaling diagram 600.

[0050] In 620, the wireless device 112 sends a paging response to the reader 605. The paging response may also be referred to as message 1 (Msgl) and used for initial access. Msgl may include parameters such as, but not limited to, a device ID and / or a temporary ID. In 630, the reader 605 sends an initial access response to the wireless device 112. The initial access response may also be referred to as message 2 (Msg2) . In 640, the wireless device 112 may send a device ID to the reader 605. This message may also be referred to as message 3 (Msg3) . 620-640 show an example of initial access. However, the example embodiments are not limited to initial access and anyappropriate type of random-access resolution may be used in response to the paging message. In other embodiments, the wireless device 112 may not initiate random access procedure. Instead, the wireless device 112 may send a paging response (e.g., Msg3) directly without Msgl / Msg2 exchange. This approach may be beneficial for scenarios where the paging messages itself has already included an uplink grant.

[0051] In 650, after random access resolution, application traffic related to ambient loT transactions may flow between the reader 605 and wireless device 112. The traffic may be unidirectional or bidirectional (e.g., DO, DT, DO-DTT, DO-A, etc. ) . As indicated above the signaling diagram 600 is provided as a general overview for ambient loT paging and is not intended to limit the example embodiments in any way. Instead, this signaling diagram may be used to provide context for the example embodiments introduced herein.

[0052] As will be described in more detail below, the example embodiments include various features that may be included in a paging message. These features include, but are not limited to, a paging type, a paging ID with or without a mask, a paging instance differentiator, a paging counter to track paging repetitions, paging response window parameters, paging contention mitigation parameters, uplink grants, system information (e.g. , downlink timing, cell ID, base station ID, etc. ) and downlink data payload of ambient loT application to be piggybacked by the device. Throughout this description, any reference to a paging message containing any particular parameter is provided as an example and is not intended to limit the example embodiments in any way. The example embodiments mayuse a paging message that include any combination of one or more of the features referenced above.

[0053] In addition, the example embodiments include various features that may be included in a paging response message. These features include, but are not limited to, a paging instance differentiator, a device indicator (e.g., device ID, a short index or identifier, etc. ) , upper layer data sent to the reader and / or network, an energy level indicator, future energylevel predictions and a mobility indicator (e.g., stationary, mobile, etc. ) . Throughout this description, any reference to a paging response message containing any particular parameter is provided as an example and is not intended to limit the example embodiments in any way. The example embodiments may use a paging message that includes any combination of one or more of the features referenced above.

[0054] According to some aspects, for control plane purposes, the wireless device 112 may include beneficial information in the paging response message. In one example, the paging response message may include a short index or short identifier for contention resolution instead of providing a full device ID in uplink transmissions. In another example, the paging response message may include an indication of the current energy level of the wireless device 112 and / or future energy level predictions. For instance, the wireless device 112 may be able to compute how much energy the wireless device 112 is expected to have at certain times. In another example, the paging response message may include a stationary or mobile indication. Knowing whether a wireless device is expected to be stationary or may be on the move may allow the network to better plan for and manage how toinitiate downlink paging to ensure the wireless device 112 can be reached.

[0055] The example embodiments include single-device paging and group paging. For single-device paging, only one wireless device is the intended recipient of the paging message. From the perspective of the reader, only one wireless device is expected to be reached or there may be no response at all, e.g., [0 or 1] . For group paging, multiple wireless devices may be reached by one paging message. From the perspective of the reader, one or more wireless devices may be reached or there may be no response at all, e.g., [0, 1, ..., M] where M is the number of potential devices matching the paging request. However, the value of M may or may not be known to the paging initiator.

[0056] For single-device paging, the paging message may include a single identifier. For group paging, the paging message may include one or more identifiers. In one example, the paging message may include a single group ID that is associated with one or more device types, one or more operators, one or more manufacturers or any other appropriate characteristic. In another example, the paging message may include a list of multiple identifiers, each identifier corresponding to one or more wireless device.

[0057] In a further example, a prefix identifier may be used for group paging. The prefix identifier may be a portion of a device identifier, or some other identifier preconfigured at the wireless device. In another example for group paging in order to represent multiple intended paging recipients, a single identifier may be used in conjunction with a single bitmap mask,or a single identifier may be used with multiple bitmap masks. In some embodiments, the paging group may be represented with a combination of the prefix identifier and the paging identifier may be with a single bitmap mask, the paging identifier with multiple bitmap masks or one or more paging identifiers without a bitmap mask.

[0058] Alternatively, or in addition to the group paging examples described above, a blocklist may be used. The blocklist may include a list of Ids that are not supposed to respond to the paging messages. In some examples, IDs not on the blocklist may are permitted to respond to the paging message. In other embodiments, the paging can be regarded as broadcast paging which may be intended for any device if there is not any paging identifier or paging identifier list provided in the paging message. In this example, the wireless device receiving the paging message is assumed to be the intended recipient by default. In other embodiments, this broadcast paging can also be implemented with a specific paging identifier (e.g., all zeros, all ones, etc.) . In other embodiments, the broadcast paging may also be implemented using an explicit paging type value.

[0059] As indicated above, in some embodiments, a mask may be included in the paging message. To provide an example, the wireless device 112 may receive the paging message comprising an identifier and the mask and then derive a first value from the identifier and the mask. The wireless device 112 may then use its own device ID or some other preconfigured identifier and the mask from the paging message to derive a second value. If the first value matches the second value, the wireless device 112 knows that the paging messages was intended for the wirelessdevice 112. If the first value and the second value do not match, the wireless device 112 may discard the paging message.

[0060] The wireless device 112 may apply one or more preconfigured masks to determine whether the paging message is intended for the wireless device 112. The preconfigured mask may be used to configure the paging group for the wireless device 112. In some examples, the wireless device 112 may be hard encoded with information from technical specifications that specify which parts of the mask (e.g., bitmap, etc. ) to check against its own identifier. This preconfigured information may enable the wireless device 112 to determine which bit to start the matching and / or how many trailing zeros are needed (if any) for the matching operation. In other examples, the preconfigured information may define different types of masks (e.g. , different lengths, different numbering system, etc. ) and indicate the corresponding paging type. The wireless device 112 can then derive the bitmap itself and identify a match based on the mask. However, these examples are merely provided for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the example embodiments in any way. The masks described herein may be used in any of a variety of different ways to indicate whether or not the paging message is intended for the wireless device 112.

[0061] According to some aspects, the example embodiments relate to paging as a trigger for DO traffic transmission. DO traffic in the uplink may start with a downlink message even when there is no DT traffic from the reader side. This message may be referred to as message 0 (MsgO) . For device type 1 and device type 2a, the transmissions may rely on backscattering and a downlink trigger. For device type 2b, the transmission may beself-generated (e.g., DO-A) but if there is no timing or synchronization information from the reader, uplink access may be difficult. Accordingly, the paging message may be used as MsgO to provide timing and synchronization if needed for any ensuing DO transmissions.

[0062] The example embodiments may include periodic transmission of paging messages as triggers for DO traffic. The indication of a DO trigger may be included in the paging message by an explicit value in a paging type field or in any other appropriate manner. Each paging message may contain system timing information. For example, the system timing information may be a subframe number (SFN) , a counter value or any other appropriate type of parameter. In addition, the paging message may contain other system information which may make the use of a separate system information block (SIB) or SIB broadcasting channel for ambient loT redundant. After the downlink paging trigger is received, the wireless device 112 may be synchronized with downlink timing and may schedule its own transmission. In some examples, a specific paging ID may be used for this purpose. In other examples, when no paging ID is included in the paging message, this may indicate to the wireless device 112 that the paging message is configured to allow any recipient of paging messages to trigger DO success and every wireless device that received this message may respond.

[0063] On the reader side, the base station or UE may be triggered to perform paging based on any of a variety of different factors. In one example, user plane triggering conditions may include the arrival of downlink traffic from the network may cause the reader to send a paging message to one ormore wireless devices. In another example, control plane triggering conditions may include the reader receiving a downlink control message from the core network (e.g. , non-access stratum (NAS) , AIoT function, etc. ) and / or a request for an uplink response. In another example, control plane triggering conditions may include a periodic trigger based on a timer to enable DO traffic initial access to occur after paging. In a further example, control plane triggering conditions may include an event-based trigger. For instance, the current wireless device context in the send node or network may no longer be valid and the network may trigger paging to update the context of the wireless device. In a further example, control plane triggering conditions may include RAN-node internal trigger. For instance, the reader's control entity (e.g., RRC layer or equivalent) intend to know the presence of one or more wireless devices. The proximity determination function in the reader may also trigger the paging procedure to determine whether one or more devices is in proximity.

[0064] According to some aspects, there may be multiple paging messages occupying the downlink channel used for ambient loT communication. To provide some examples, multiple paging messages may be transmitted in subsequent slots, multiple paging messages may be transmitted in different tones of the same slot or multiple paging messages may be sent by different readers at the same time.

[0065] The example embodiments introduce a paging instance differentiator to allow devices to differentiate between the different paging messages. In some examples, a nonce may be added to the paging message to differentiate instances of thepaging message. The nonce may be randomly generated or determined by the network entities amongst themselves in a nonrandom manner. This approach may be used because the wireless device may not have the energy or memory to maintain different transaction IDs. In other examples, a transaction ID may be used in combination with a sender ID (Src ID) in lower layer address (e.g., MAC address, etc. ) . The transaction ID can be an incremental numerical value like a counter. In some embodiments, a sender ID can be the cell ID of the base station reader or the UE ID of the UE reader.

[0066] The example embodiments also include techniques for repeated paging of the same paging instance. In one example, all the paging messages from the same reader may have an identical nonce or transaction ID. In some embodiments, an additional counter may be included in the paging message to differentiate the repeated downlink pages. When the wireless device has processed the paging message, the wireless device may ignore the repeated instanced of the paging message.

[0067] According to some aspects, the example embodiments introduce techniques to mitigate contention in paging response for ambient loT paging. When multiple wireless devices respond to paging at the same time a collision may occur. As will be described in more detail below, the example embodiments include a staggered response approach and a selective response approach.

[0068] Fig. 7 shows an example 700 of a staggered response for ambient loT paging according to various example embodiments. The example embodiments are described with regard to a reader 705 and wireless device 710-714. However, an actual deploymentscenario may include any number of wireless devices being paged and thus, the example of three wireless devices is merely provided for illustrative purposes.

[0069] The example 700 shows a paging message 750 sent by the reader 705 and a corresponding response window 755. The response window 755 may represent a time window during which the reader 705 expects to receive a response to the paging message. In some examples, layer 1 or layer 2 signaling may be used to indicate the valid paging response duration. In other examples, the duration of the response window may be predefined and hard encoded in technical specification. In other examples, the duration of the response window may be indicated in the paging message itself. The duration of the paging response window may be indicated in slots, symbols, milliseconds or any other appropriate time duration. However, as mentioned above, the reader 705 may not be aware of the number of wireless devices that are actually going to respond to the paging.

[0070] The example 700 shows each of the wireless devices 710-714 transmitting a paging response 760-764 at a different instance of time within the response window 755. Each wireless device 710-714 should still be in sync with the downlink timing during the response window 755. In some embodiments, the response window may be several tens of symbols, a few milliseconds or any other appropriate duration of time.

[0071] To achieve the staggered response pattern illustrated in the example 700, each of the wireless devices 710-714 are configured to respond to a paging message using a different slot. The slot may be preconfigured duration based on thedownlink timing. In some examples, energy level-based filtering may be used by the wireless devices to determine their staggering response. With this approach, a wireless device chooses to delay its response based on its energy level. For example, each slot within the response window may correspond to a different energy level. The first slot may be associated with the highest energy level and the last slot may be associated with the lowest energy level. This allows devices with less energy storage more time to accumulate the energy needed to perform the uplink transmission. In some embodiments, the energy threshold or conditions for each slot of the response window may be included in the paging message. In other embodiments, the energy threshold or conditions for each slot may be hard encoded in technical specifications. In some embodiments, a device with a very low energy level may not send a response within this response window because the device may determine that the energy gap is unable to be filled within this response window based on its energy harvesting capability. In other embodiments, the threshold here can be applied to a radio-strength measurement of paging transmission, the wireless devices of different radio signal strength measurements may be possibly configured to use different slots, with the device whose signal strength measurement is below the lowest threshold transmitting last or not transmitting at all because it is likely that the paging response message from this device will be unable to reach the reader due to the link budget issue.

[0072] In another approach, priority-based filtering may be used to achieve the staggered response illustrated in the example 700. With this approach, each wireless device chooses when to respond to the paging message based on a preconfiguredpriority. Different priorities correspond to different wait times and thus, the staggered response may be achieved.

[0073] In other examples, a random approach may be used. A wireless device may select a random number between [0, 1 / Vmax] where Wmaxisapreconfigured value based on the paging response window. However, the above examples are merely provided for illustrative purposes. The example embodiments may use any appropriate technique to achieve the staggered response illustrated in the example 700 of Fig. 7.

[0074] Fig. 8 shows an example 800 of a selective response for ambient loT paging according to various example embodiments. The example embodiments are described with regard to a reader 805 and wireless device 810-814. However, an actual deployment scenario may include any number of wireless devices being paged and thus, the example of three wireless devices is merely provided for illustrative purposes.

[0075] The example 800 shows paging messages 850-852 sent by the reader 805 each with a respective response window 855-857. The response windows 855-857 may represent a time window during which the reader 805 expects to receive a response to the paging message. In some examples, layer 1 or layer 2 signaling may be used to indicate the valid paging response duration. In other examples, the duration of the response window may be predefined and hard encoded in technical specification. In other examples, the duration of the response window may be indicated in the paging message itself. The duration of the paging response window may be indicated in slots, symbols, milliseconds or any other appropriate time duration. However, as mentioned above,the reader 805 may not be aware of the number of wireless devices that are actually going to respond to the paging.

[0076] The example 800 shows each of the wireless devices 810-814 transmitting a paging response 860-864 to a different one of the paging messages 850-852. The wireless devices 810-814 may receive each of the paging messages 850-852 but may select to respond to a particular one of the paging messages 850-852. For example, wireless device 810 receives paging messages 850 and sends a paging response 860 within the corresponding response window 855. The wireless device 810 may then ignore paging messages 851-852. Wireless device 812 receives paging message 850 but decides not to respond. Instead, wireless device 810 sends a paging response 862 in response to the next paging message 851 within the corresponding paging window 856. Wireless device 814 ignores paging messages 850-852 and instead, decides to send a paging response 864 in response to paging message 852 within the corresponding response window 857.

[0077] As demonstrated above, each of the wireless devices 810-814 are configured to respond to a different paging message. The reader 805 may indicate that the paging message is to be repeated in the downlink channel. In one example, the indication may be a single-bit indication provided in the first paging message 850. In another example, a counter may be provided in each paging message that is configured to indicate the number of remaining paging messages to be repeated. For example, paging message 850 may have a counter value of 2 because there are two more paging messages, e.g., 851-852. In this example, paging message 851 may have a counter value of 1 because there is one more paging message remaining. In a further example, anincrementing counter may be provided in each paging message to indicate how many times the paging message has been repeated. The repeated paging messages may share the same paging instance identifier (e.g., nonce, transaction ID, etc. ) .

[0078] A wireless device may determine whether or not to response to a paging message when using the selective paging approach based on a variety of different factors. The wireless device may check whether it has responded to a prior paging message for a current paging instance and may not respond to a paging message if it has already responded to a previous paging instance. In some examples, the paging message may include a retransmission counter and the wireless device can decide whether or not to respond to a paging message based on the retransmission counter. With sufficient retransmission this may resolve all contentions because the number of responding devices should decrease with each retransmission of the same paging instance .

[0079] In other examples, a wireless device may not have reliable memory capabilities and thus, each paging message may appear to be a new paging message instead of a repetition of a prior paging message. The wireless device may be preconfigured with a probability parameter p. The parameter p may be chosen based on the number of times the paging message is to be retransmitted. The network may determine the number of retransmissions based on the expected number of ambient loT devices in the paging area.

[0080] According to some aspects, the example embodiments include an uplink grant for paging response in the pagingmessage. With this approach, the paged device can skip random access and use the allocated uplink grant to trans its paging response as its first uplink transmission. In some embodiments, multiple uplink grants may be provided if the wireless device is to repeat the paging response multiple times. Multiple uplink grants may be included even in a group paging or broadcast paging scenario. This will mitigate any contention issues that may occur for uplink resources.Examples

[0081] In a first example, a method comprising processing a paging message received from a reader for an ambient Internet of things (loT) device, wherein the reader is one of a base station or a user equipment (UE) and determining whether the paging message is for the apparatus based on information included in the paging message.

[0082] In a second example, the method of the first example, further comprising, when the paging message is for the apparatus, generating a paging response message to be transmitted to the reader.

[0083] In a third example, the method of the first example, wherein the paging message comprises a paging identifier.

[0084] In a fourth example, the method of the third example, wherein the paging identifier corresponds to a single ambient loT device.

[0085] In a fifth example, the method of the third example, wherein the paging identifier is a group ID corresponding to one of a device type, an operator or a manufacturer.

[0086] In a sixth example, the method of the third example, wherein the paging message comprises a list of paging identifiers for ambient loT devices.

[0087] In a seventh example, the method of the third example, wherein the paging identifier is a prefix of a device ID.

[0088] In an eighth example, the method of the third example, wherein the paging message further comprises one or more masks.

[0089] In a ninth example, the method of the eighth example, further comprising determining the paging identifier and a first mask matches a device identifier stored by the apparatus and the first mask.

[0090] In a tenth example, the method of the third example, wherein the paging message includes an indication that the paging identifier corresponds to one of a single ambient loT device, a group ID or a prefix of a device ID.

[0091] In an eleventh example, the method of the first example, wherein the paging message contains an indication configured to trigger device originated (DO) traffic.

[0092] In a twelfth example, the method of the first example, wherein the paging message comprises a list of identifierscorresponding to devices that are not to respond to the paging message .

[0093] In a thirteenth example, the method of the first example, wherein the paging message further comprises system information .

[0094] In a fourteenth example, the method of the thirteenth example, wherein the system information comprises a subframe number (SFN) .

[0095] In a fifteenth example, the method of the first example, wherein the paging message does not include a paging identifier and in response, the apparatus determines that the paging message is intended for the apparatus.

[0096] In a sixteenth example, the method of the first example, wherein the paging message comprises a paging instance di f f erentiator .

[0097] In a seventeenth example, the method of the sixteenth example, wherein the paging instance differentiator is a nonce.

[0098] In an eighteenth example, the method of the sixteenth example, wherein the paging instance differentiator is a transaction ID.

[0099] In a nineteenth example, the method of the first example, wherein the paging messages comprises one or more uplink grants.

[0100] In a twentieth example, the method of the first example, wherein the paging message includes a parameter for a paging response window.

[0101] In a twenty first example, the method of the second example, further comprising determining when to send the paging response message based on an energy level parameter.

[0102] In a twenty second example, the method of the second example, further comprising determining whether to send a paging response based on the threshold value and when to send the paging response based on the threshold value.

[0103] In a twenty third example, the method of the second example, wherein the threshold value is provided in the paging message .

[0104] In a twenty fourth example, the method of the second example, further comprising determining when to send the paging response message within a paging response window based on a priority parameter.

[0105] In a twenty fifth example, the method of the second example, further comprising determining when to send the paging response message within a paging response window based on a random number selected from a preconfigured set of values.

[0106] In a twenty sixth example, the method of the first example, wherein the paging message includes an indication or counter that is configured to indicate whether a same instanceof the paging message is to be retransmitted and how the same instance of the paging message is to be retransmitted.

[0107] In a twenty seventh example, the method of the twenty sixth example, further comprising determining whether to send the paging response message in response to the paging message or in response to a retransmitted instance of the paging message based on a probability parameter.

[0108] In a twenty eighth example, the method of the first example, wherein the paging response comprises an energy level indication .

[0109] In a twenty ninth example, the method of the twenty eighth example, wherein the energy level indication corresponds to a current energy level for the apparatus.

[0110] In a thirtieth example, the method of the twenty eighth example, wherein the energy level indication includes a future energy level prediction for the apparatus.

[0111] In a thirty first example, the method of the first example, wherein the paging response message comprises one or a stationary or mobility indication for the apparatus.

[0112] In a thirty second example, the method of the first example, wherein the paging message response comprises one or more of a paging instance differentiator, a ambient loT device Id, a short index, upper layer data, an energy level indicator, a future energy level prediction, a stationary indication and a mobility indication.

[0113] In a thirty third example, the method of the first example, wherein the paging message comprises one or more of a paging type, a paging ID, a paging instance differentiator, a paging counter, an indication of a paging response window, an uplink grant, a contention mitigation parameter, system information and upper layer data.

[0114] In a thirty fourth example, a processor configured to perform any of the methods of the first through thirty third examples .

[0115] In a thirty fifth example, an ambient Internet of Things (loT) user equipment (UE) comprising a transceiver configured to communicate with a network and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform any of the methods of the first through thirty third examples .

[0116] In a thirty sixth example, a method, comprising generating, for transmission to one or more ambient Internet of things (loT) devices, a paging message and processing a paging response message received from at least one ambient loT device.

[0117] In a thirty seventh example, the method of the thirty sixth example, wherein the paging message comprises a paging identifier .

[0118] In a thirty eighth example, the method of the thirty seventh example, wherein the paging identifier corresponds to a single ambient loT device.

[0119] In a thirty ninth example, the method of the thirty seventh example, wherein the paging identifier is a group ID corresponding to one of a device type, an operator or a manufacturer .

[0120] In a fortieth example, the method of the thirty seventh example, wherein the paging message comprises a list of paging identifiers for ambient loT devices.

[0121] In a forty first example, the method of the thirty seventh example, wherein the paging identifier is a prefix of a device ID.

[0122] In a forty second example, the method of the thirty seventh example, wherein the paging message further comprises one or more masks.

[0123] In a forty third example, the method of the thirty seventh example, wherein the paging identifier is configured to trigger device originated (DO) traffic.

[0124] In a forty fourth example, the method of the thirty sixth example, wherein the paging message comprises a list of identifiers corresponding to ambient loT devices that are not to respond to the paging message.

[0125] In a forty fifth example, the method of the thirty sixth example, wherein the paging message further comprises system information.

[0126] In a forty sixth example, the method of the forty fifth example, wherein the system information comprises a subframe number (SFN) .

[0127] In a forty seventh example, the method of the thirty sixth example, wherein the paging message does not include a paging identifier and wherein the paging message is configured to trigger device originated (DO) traffic from the one or more ambient loT devices.

[0128] In a forty eighth example, the method of the thirty sixth example, wherein the paging message comprises a paging instance differentiator.

[0129] In a forty ninth example, the method of the forty eighth example, wherein the paging instance differentiator is a nonce .

[0130] In a fiftieth example, the method of the forty eighth example, wherein the paging instance differentiator is a transaction ID.

[0131] In a fifty first example, the method of the thirty sixth example, wherein the paging message comprises one or more uplink grants.

[0132] In a fifty second example, the method of the thirty sixth example, wherein the paging message includes a parameter for a paging response window.

[0133] In a fifty third example, the method of the fifty second example, wherein the paging message further comprises an energy threshold value configured to indicate when an ambient loT device is to respond to the paging message within the paging response window.

[0134] In a fifty fourth example, the method of the thirty sixth example, wherein the paging message includes an indication that a same instance of the paging message is to be retransmitted .

[0135] In a fifty fifth example, the method of the thirty sixth example, wherein the paging response comprises an energy level indication.

[0136] In a fifty sixth example, the method of the fifty fifth example, wherein the energy level indication corresponds to a current energy level for an ambient loT device.

[0137] In a fifty seventh example, the method of the fifty fifth example, wherein the energy level indication includes a future energy level prediction for an ambient loT device.

[0138] In a fifty eighth example, the method of the thirty sixth example, wherein the paging response message comprises one or a stationary or mobility indication for an ambient loT device .

[0139] In a fifty ninth example, the method of the thirty sixth example, wherein the paging message response comprises one or more of a paging instance differentiator, an ambient loTdevice Id, a short index, upper layer data, an energy level indicator, a future energy level prediction, a stationary indication and a mobility indication.

[0140] In a sixtieth example, the method of the thirty sixth example, wherein the paging message comprises one or more of a paging type, a paging ID, a paging instance differentiator, a paging counter, an indication of a paging response window, an uplink grant, a contention mitigation parameter, system information and upper layer data.

[0141] In a sixty first example, the method of the thirty sixth example, wherein the transmission of the paging message is triggered based on an arrival of downlink traffic.

[0142] In a sixty second example, the method of the thirty sixth example, wherein the transmission of the paging message is triggered based on a downlink control message.

[0143] In a sixty third example, the method of the thirty sixth example, wherein the transmission of the paging message is triggered based on a periodic trigger.

[0144] In a sixty fourth example, the method of the thirty sixth example, wherein the transmission of the paging message is triggered based on an ambient loT device context being invalid.

[0145] In a sixty fifth example, a processor configured to perform any of the methods of the thirty sixth through sixty fourth examples.

[0146] In a thirty fi fth example , a base station comprising a transceiver configured to communicate with an ambient Internet of Things ( loT ) user equipment (UE ) and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform any of the methods of the thirty sixth through sixty fourth examples .

[0147] Tho se skilled in the art will understand that the above-described example embodiments may be implemented in any suitable software or hardware configuration or combination thereof . An example hardware platform for implementing the example embodiments may include , for example, an Intel x86 based platform with compatible operating system, a Windows OS , a Mac platform and MAC OS , a mobile device having an operating system such as iOS , Android, etc . The example embodiments of the above described method may be embodied as a program containing lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that , when compiled, may be executed on a processor or microprocessor .

[0148] Although this application described various embodiments each having different features in various combinations , those skilled in the art will understand that any of the features of one embodiment may be combined with the features of the other embodiments in any manner not speci fically disclaimed or which is not functionally or logically inconsistent with the operation of the device or the stated functions of the disclosed embodiments .

[0149] It is well understood that the use of personally identi fiable information should follow privacy policies andpractices that are generally recogni zed as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users . In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimi ze risks of unintentional or unauthori zed access or use , and the nature of authori zed use should be clearly indicated to users .

[0150] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modi fications may be made in the present disclosure , without departing from the spirit or the scope of the disclosure . Thus , it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalent .

Claims

What is claimed:

1. An apparatus comprising processing circuitry configured to: process a paging message received from a reader for an ambient Internet of things (loT) device, wherein the reader is one of a base station or a user equipment (UE) ; and determine whether the paging message is for the apparatus based on information included in the paging message.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further configured to: when the paging message is for the apparatus, generate a paging response message to be transmitted to the reader.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the paging message comprises a paging identifier.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the paging identifier corresponds to a single ambient loT device.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the paging identifier is a group ID corresponding to one of a device type, an operator or a manufacturer.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the paging message comprises a list of paging identifiers for ambient loT devices.

7. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the paging identifier is a prefix of a device ID.

8. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the paging message further comprises one or more masks.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, further configured to: determine the paging identifier and a first mask matches a device identifier stored by the apparatus and the first mask.

10. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the paging message includes an indication that the paging identifier corresponds to one of a single ambient loT device, a group ID or a prefix of a device ID.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the paging message contains an indication configured to trigger device originated (DO) traffic.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the paging message comprises a list of identifiers corresponding to devices that are not to respond to the paging message.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the paging message further comprises system information.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the system information comprises a subframe number (SFN) .

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the paging message does not include a paging identifier and in response, the apparatus determines that the paging message is intended for the apparatus .

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the paging message comprises a paging instance differentiator.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the paging instance differentiator is a nonce.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the paging instance differentiator is a transaction ID.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the paging message comprises one or more uplink grants.

20. An apparatus comprising processing circuitry configured to: generate, for transmission to one or more ambient Internet of things (loT) devices, a paging message comprising a paging identifier; and process a paging response message received from at least one ambient loT device.

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