Idle-mode measurement operation in low-power mode

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to user equipment (UE) idle-mode measurement operation in Low-Power (LP) mode. A method comprises determining a state of a T331 timer; and performing, based on the determination, at least one operation associated with associated with the LP-WUS mode.

Description

IDLE-MODE MEASUREMENT OPERATION IN LOW-POWER MODECROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority from, and the benefit of, Finland Application No. 20245924, filed July 26, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.FIELD

[0002] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatuses and computer readable storage medium for user equipment (UE) idle-mode measurement operation in Low-Power (LP) mode.BACKGROUND

[0003] The study of low power wake-up signal (WUS) and low power wake-up receiver (LP-WUR) in 5G new radio (NR) may enable more power efficient operation on UE and more optimal resource allocation for network. The main radio of UE can be in a sleep mode (or even powered off) for power saving and the low power radio is not power off and can be in sleep between the reception of the LP- WUS from the network.SUMMARY

[0004] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: determine whether at least one condition associated with an entry of the LP-WUS mode is met; and in accordance with a determination that the at least one condition is met while a T331 timer is running, expire or suspend the T331 timer.

[0005] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: determining whether at least one condition associated with an entry of the LP-WUS mode is met; and in accordance with a determination that the at least one condition is met while a T331 timer is running, expiring or suspend the T331 timer.

[0006] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises means for determining whether at least one condition associated with an entry of the LP-WUS mode is met; and means for in accordance with a determination that the at least one condition is met while a T331 timer is running, expiring or suspend the T331 timer.

[0007] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing a first apparatus to perform at least the method according to the second aspect.

[0008] It is to be understood that the Summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

[0010] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

[0011] FIG. 2 illustrates example state transition of a receiver of a device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0012] FIG. 3 illustrates an example timing diagram of LP-WUS mode and T331 timer duration in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0013] FIG. 4 illustrates a signaling chart for a communication in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0014] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0015] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0016] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] FIG. 8 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0018] FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

[0021] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientificterms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0022] References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0023] It shall be understood that although the terms “first,” “second,”..., etc. in front of noun(s) and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another and they do not limit the order of the noun(s). For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0024] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

[0025] As used herein, unless stated explicitly, performing a step “in response to A” does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs and one or more intervening steps may be included.

[0026] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “has”, “having”, “includes” and / or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0027] As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable):(i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and(ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause a first apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and(c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

[0028] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0029] As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE- A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-loT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1 G), the second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G), 5.5G, the sixth generation (6G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

[0030] As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (I AB) node, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and ageosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology. In some example embodiments, radio access network (RAN) split architecture comprises a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node comprises a Mobile Terminal (IAB-MT) part that behaves like a UE toward the parent node, and a DU part of an IAB node behaves like a base station toward the next-hop IAB node.

[0031] The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE), 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 on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. The terminal device may also correspond to a Mobile Termination (MT) part of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms “terminal device”, “communication device”, “terminal”, “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

[0032] As used herein, the term “resource,” “transmission resource,” “resource block,” “physical resource block” (PRB), “uplink resource,” or “downlink resource” may refer to any resource for performing a communication, for example, a communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a resource in time domain, a resource in frequency domain, a resource in space domain, a resource in code domain, or any other combination of the time, frequency, space and / or code domain resource enabling a communication, and the like. In the following, unless explicitly stated, a resource in both frequency domain and time domain will be used as an example of a transmission resource for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted that example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0033] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. As shown in FIG. 1 , the communication network 100 may comprise a first apparatus 110 which may be, for example, a terminal device. In some example embodiments, the terminal device may also be discussed as a UE.

[0034] The communication network 100 may further comprise a second apparatus 120, which may be, for example, a network device. In some example embodiments, the network device may be discussed as a BS, a gNB, or an eNB.

[0035] A serving area provided by the first apparatus 110 is called a cell. The second apparatus 120 may communicate with the first apparatus 110 within the cell 102. The cell currently serving the second apparatus 120 may be considered as a serving cell 102.

[0036] In the following, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments are described with the first apparatus 110 operating as a terminal device and the second apparatus 120 operating as a network device. However, in some example embodiments, operations described in connection with a terminal device may be implemented at a network device or other device, and operations described in connection with a network device may be implemented at a terminal device or other device.

[0037] In some example embodiments, if the first apparatus 110 is a terminal device and second apparatus 120 is a network device, a link from the second apparatus 120 to first apparatus 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL), while a link from the first apparatus 110 to second apparatus 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In DL, the second apparatus 120 is a transmitting (TX) apparatus (or a transmitter) and the first apparatus 110 is a receiving (RX) apparatus (or a receiver). In UL, the first apparatus 110 is a TX apparatus (or a transmitter) and the second apparatus 120 is a RX apparatus (or a receiver).

[0038] It is to be understood that the number of network devices and terminal devices shown in FIG.1 is given for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations. The communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices.

[0039] Communications in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol(s), comprising, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1 G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), the fifth generation (5G), the sixth generation (6G), and the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0040] As described above, a study of LP-WUS and LP-WUR has been discussed for NR. The studyevaluated the usage of an additional LP-WUR at the UE to reduce the overall UE power consumption. The defining principle behind this scheme is that the main radio / receiver (MR) of the UE can be put into a sleep mode (or even powered off) for power saving when not being needed for any processing (e.g., traffic / measurements) and then be easily woken up as and when required by the network upon the reception by the LP-WUR of a newly defined WUS.

[0041] Basically, the network triggers the UE to wake-up exactly when needed in an event-driven manner, by transmitting a special WUS to the UE, which is monitored by the dedicated LP-WUR at the UE. When a UE receives the WUS, the WUR receiver can trigger the wake-up of the ordinary NR MR transceiver and communication can start.

[0042] Thus, the ultra-low power receiver wakes up the MR, otherwise, the MR can be OFF or kept in a deep sleep mode, as shown in FIG. 2, which shows an example of UE operation with LP-WUR. The assumption can also be that the low-power wake-up receiver can be operated in an always ‘on’ manner with very low power consumption. In fact, it is expected that the LP-WUR will consume significantly less power compared to the MR transceiver, by designing a simple (WUS) signal and the use of dedicated hardware for its monitoring, which is only able to receive the WUS. It is also possible that MR and LR may be simultaneously switched on, which may impact the power consumption.

[0043] The MR power consumption depends on the configured length of wake-up periods, e.g., paging cycle. To meet the battery life requirements above, long extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) cycle may be used, resulting in high paging latency, which is not suitable for such services with requirements of both long battery life and low latency. For example, in fire detection and extinguishment use case, fire shutters shall be closed and fire sprinklers shall be turned on by the actuators within 1 to 2 seconds from the time the fire is detected by sensors, long eDRX cycle cannot meet the delay requirements. eDRX is apparently not suitable for latency-critical use cases.

[0044] A study item for "Study on low-power wake up signal and receiver for NR" includes investigations to the followings:• The low-power wake-up signal and receiver, including power saving benefit, coverage, system overhead impact, network energy impact and other related aspects.• The receiver architecture for low-power wake-up receiver and provide analysis for power consumption, noise figure and etc.• L1 design and procedure changes needed to support the low-power wake-up signal and evaluations for the link performances.• Higher layer protocol changes needed to support the low-power wake-up signals• Related RAN4 impacts

[0045] In order to achieve the UE power saving gain by LP-WUS / WUR, the radio resourcemanagement (RRM) measurement on serving cell and neighboring cell(s) via MR can be relaxed or may be stopped when UE is using LP-WUS / WUR allowing MR to enter in ultra-deep sleep.

[0046] Furthermore, a work item to properly define and specify a WUS, to support the operation of UEs with LP-WUR was approved with the following objectives.Table 1Specify necessary RRM requirements

[0047] Early measurement reporting behavior are specified as below:Table 2

[0048] An Early measurement reporting (EMR) capable UE is required to perform measurements in IDLE mode until Timer expires. EMR UEs will maintain the cells detectable from the connected mode until the T331 timer expires. The time after T331 expires and the time until UE receives the RRC setup / resume is unknown. After T331 expires, it is up to UE implementation whether it maintains the cells detectable for early measurement reporting purposes. Based on UE information indication and network information request the UE reports the early measurement results after security is activated. After the UE has moved from RRC IDLE mode to RRC CONNECTED mode, the network sends a measurement configuration to the UE indicating what the UE shall measure and how to report the measurements.

[0049] Measurement configuration is provided using dedicated signaling i.e., RRCReconfigu ration or RRCResume message. With the measurement configuration, the network configures the UE to perform NR and / or inter-RAT measurements and tells how to report the measurement results based on synchronization signal (SS)Zphysical broadcast channel (PBCH) block or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) resources. Both EMR UE and non-EMR UEs are supported.

[0050] Moreover, the following was agreed for FAST Carrier Aggregation (CA) / Dual Connection (DC) setup. Same applies for both idle and inactive-mode measurements:Table 3Measurement report for fast CA / DC setupIntroductionThe requirements of measurement report for fast CA / DC setup apply in this clause for:UE supporting measValidationReportEMR-r18 and configured with measIdleCarrierListNR- r16 and / or measldleCarrierl_istEUTRA-r16 by higher layers.UE supporting measValidationReportReselectionMeasurements-r18 and configured withmeasReselectionCarrierListNR-r18 higher layers.A UE supporting measValidationReportEMR-r18 and idlelnactiveNR-MeasReport-r16 or idlelnactiveEUTRA-MeasReport-r16 shall report based on the idle mode measurement specified in clause 4.4, and according to the measurement reporting requirements specified in clause 4.7.3.A UE supporting measValidationReportReselectionMeasurements-r18 shall report based on the idle mode measurement specified in the clause 4.2.2, and according to the measurement reporting requirements specified in the clause 4.7.3.UE is not required to report for fast CA / DC setup from any measurements during IDLE mode for carriers which are not configured by higher layers.VoidMeasurement Report RequirementsA UE shall perform validity check and report valid measurement results: if the UE is supporting measValidationReportEMR-r18 and measldleValidityDuration-r18 is configured for carriers in measldleCarrierListNR-r16 or measldleCarrierListEUTRA-r16, if the UE is supporting measValidationReportReselectionMeasurements-r18 and measReselectionValidityDuration-r18 is configured for carriers in measReselectionCarrierListNR- r18The measurement results are considered valid if the following conditions are met for the validity check:- the measurements are performed before msg1 transmission for RRC resume / setup request within the last: measl d leValidity D uration-r18 seconds for carriers configured in measl dleCarrierListN R-r 16 or measldleCarrierListEUTRA-r16, and / or measReselectionValidityDuration-r18 seconds for carriers configured in

[0051] The definitions of the rel-18 capabilities are as follows:

[0052] When T331 is running, the UE performs I dle / inacti ve Measurements and UE may store them. Main problem is that if the UE starts LP-WUS monitoring when T331 is running then it may have impact on the Idle / inactive Measurements since when the UE is monitoring LP-WUS RRM measurements may relaxed or totally omitted. It can be challenging for the network to configure proper carrier aggregation configuration for the UE based on measurements which are performed during LP-WUS monitoring.

[0053] When UE enters idle or inactive state with EMR configuration, T331 timer is started. Upon the timer expiry, the UE may stop performing EMR related measurements / it is up to UE implementation whether to continue them. When the T331 timer expires, also the configuration associated with the EMR measurements is removed.

[0054] When UE is in using LP-WUS / is in LP-WUS mode, measurement relaxations and offloading may apply depending on various (radio) conditions.

[0055] The purpose of T331 timer is to extend the measurements to idle-mode for fast delivery of CA / DC measurement report while the purpose of LP-WUS is to relax measurements during idle-mode. These are clearly conflicting goals but to make the system operational, both of them need to work together.

[0056] The present disclosure proposes a solution of UE idle-mode measurement operation in LP mode. In this solution, the first apparatus 1 10 may determine whether at least one condition associated with an entry of the LP-WUS mode is met. If the first apparatus 1 10 determine that the at least one condition is met while a T331 timer is running, the first apparatus 1 10 may expire or suspend the T331 timer.

[0057] Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0058] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, for “using LP-WUS” or “UE is in LP-WUS mode”, the following cases should be considered:1. MR offloading to LR:• UE is offloading MR measurements to LR due to LP-WUS being used / configured• LR measurements are either PSS / SSS based on LP-SS based.• The offloading of MR may be full or partial2. MR serving and / or neighbouring cell relaxation:• UE is relaxing MR and / or LR measurements due to thresholds being met where such operation is allowed for UE.• MR relaxation may mean that the measurements are more sparse than when in regular operation.3. LP-WUS monitoring:• LR (or some implementations, some part of MR), is monitoring specific LP-WUS reference signal that wakes up the UE.• UE is / has entered LP-WUS monitoring and LP-WUS monitoring is active. The assumption in this case is that the UE also supports LP-WUS monitoring capability.

[0059] The reference now is made to FIG. 3, which illustrates an example timing diagram of LP- WUS mode and T331 timer duration in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purposes of discussion, the signaling flow 300 will be discussed with reference to FIG. 1 , for example, by using the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120 that manages a cell 102 currently serving the first apparatus 110.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 3, the first apparatus 110 is in connected mode with the second apparatus 120 during the time interval 302. The first apparatus 110 may receive radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration 301 in connected mode.

[0061] Upon receiving the RRC release message 303, the first apparatus 110 may enter the idle / inactive mode and the T331 timer may start running. During the time interval 304 of the idle / inactive mode, the first apparatus 110 may perform at least one RRM measurement based on an idle / inactive radio resource management (RRM) measurement configuration.

[0062] In this situation, if the first apparatus 110 determines that at least one condition associated with an entry of the LP-WUS mode is met while the T331 timer is running, the first apparatus 110 may stop the T331 timer. Herein a stopping of the T331 timer may refer to an expiry of the T331 timer or a suspending of the T331 timer. Some embodiments will be further described in detail as below.

[0063] For example, as shown in FIG. 3, upon receiving the RRC release message 303, the T331 timer start running until the end of the time interval 311 , i.e., at time point T1 , in case the LP-WUS related condition(s) is fulfilled. Then the first apparatus 110 may operate with the LP-WUS mode during the time interval 310.

[0064] Upon entering LP-WUS mode i.e., the LP-WUS related condition(s) is fulfilled, the first apparatus 110 may stop the T331 timer and associated idle / inactive measurements. That is, the first apparatus 110 is not required to perform idle / inactive measurements associated with the T331 timer.

[0065] In some example embodiments, the LP-WUS related condition associated with the entry of the LP-WUS mode may comprise a LP-WUS monitoring condition. In some other exampleembodiments, the LP-WUS related condition associated with the entry of the LP-WUS mode may comprise a LP-WUS RRM measurement relaxation condition.

[0066] Upon stopping the T331 timer, the first apparatus 110 may maintain the idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration for the at least one idle / inactive RRM measurement. That is to say, the first apparatus 110 may be required to store the idle / inactive measurement configuration, even if the first apparatus 110 has stopped T331. The idle / inactive measurements configuration is required to be usable for idle / inactive measurements reporting after stopping the T331 timer.

[0067] As another option, the first apparatus 110 may ignore the at least one RRM measurement after stopping the T331 timer. The first apparatus 110 may also remove the idle / inactive measurement configuration after stopping the T331 timer.

[0068] In some example embodiments, if at least one LP-WUS related condition associated with the entry of the LP-WUS mode is met, the first apparatus 110 may discard one or more stored idle / inactive measurements. In some other example embodiment, it is also possible that the first apparatus 110 may maintain one or more stored idle / inactive measurements if the at least one LP-WUS related condition associated with the entry of the LP-WUS mode is met.

[0069] As described above, if the first apparatus 110 determines that at least one condition associated with an entry of the LP-WUS mode is met while the T331 timer is running, the first apparatus 110 may suspend the T331 timer. In other words, the T331 timer may restart the T331 timer when the first apparatus 110 does not operate with the LP-WUS mode anymore.

[0070] In some example embodiments, if the at least one condition associated with an entry of the LP-WUS mode is met, the first apparatus 110 may suspend the T331 timer while recording an elapsed duration of the T331 timer, for example, a time point at which the T331 timer is suspended during a duration of the T331 timer. Upon determining the first apparatus 110 does not operate with a LP- WUS mode, the first apparatus 110 may restart the T331 timer until an expiry of a remaining duration of the T331 timer.

[0071] As shown in FIG. 3, if the T331 timer is suspended at time point T1 , the first apparatus 110 may record that the elapsed duration of the T331 timer, i.e., the time interval 311. If the first apparatus 110 does not operate with a LP-WUS mode after time point T2, the first apparatus 110 may restart the T331 timer at the time point T2 until an expiry of a remaining duration (e.g., the time interval 313) of the T331 timer,

[0072] In some example embodiments, if during the time interval 310 associated with the LP-WUS, if the first apparatus 110 receives a wake-up signal 305, the first apparatus 110 may quit the LP-WUS mode and perform actions related to when T331 is running. For example, the first apparatus 110 may start performing MR measurements.

[0073] In some other embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may not quit the LP-WUS mode uponreceiving the wake-up signal 305. The first apparatus 110 may continue monitoring paging information 307 at an incoming paging occasion. If the first apparatus 110 determines that the first apparatus 110 should quit the LP-WUS mode by reading the paging information 307, the first apparatus 110 may quit the LP-WUS mode and perform actions related to when T331 is running. It is also possible that, upon receiving the wake-up signal 305, if the radio conditions of the first apparatus 110 cause the first apparatus 110 to start MR measurements, the first apparatus 110 may quit the LP-WUS mode and perform actions related to when T331 is running.

[0074] After restarting of the T331 timer, the first apparatus 110 may resume at least one RRM measurement based on an idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration after restarting the T331 timer.

[0075] In this case, if the idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration is still stored in the first apparatus 110 after expiring or suspending the T331 timer, the first apparatus 110 may perform the at least one idle / inactive RRM measurement based on the idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration after restarting the T331 timer.

[0076] If the idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration has been removed, obtain a new idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration, e.g., from system information block (SIB) 309.

[0077] In some other scenarios, the first apparatus 120 may determine a state of the T331 timer and perform, based on the state of the T331 timer, at least one operation associated with associated with the LP-WUS mode.

[0078] In some example embodiments, if the T331 timer is running, the first apparatus 110 may determine that at least one operation associated with the LP-WUS mode is unallowed before an expiry of the T331 timer.

[0079] That is, the first apparatus 110 may be allowed to perform the at least one operation associated with the LP-WUS mode only upon an expiry of the T331 timer.

[0080] The at least one operation associated with the LP-WUS mode mentioned hereinafter may comprise a measurement offloading from a main radio of the first apparatus to a low power receiver at the first apparatus, a monitoring of a LP-WUS monitoring, an evaluation of at least one condition associated with the LP-WUS operation, and / or an evaluation of at least one condition associated with an entry of the LP-WUS mode.

[0081] For example, the first apparatus 110 may apply MR measurement offloading (to LR) or measurement relaxation (partial or measurements are totally omitted) after the T331 timer expiry. As another example, the first apparatus 110 may start LP-WUS monitoring only after the T331 timer expiry.

[0082] It is also possible that the first apparatus 110 may start to evaluate the LP-WUS operation related conditions upon expiry of the T331 timer (i.e., the first apparatus 110 may start to evaluate whether configured thresholds are met (over evaluation time) after the T331 timer expiry. As anotherexample, T331 timer expiry may trigger the first apparatus 110 to start evaluating WUS condition(s).

[0083] The at least one condition associated with an entry of the LP-WUS mode mentioned hereinafter may comprise a LP-WUS monitoring condition, a LP-WUS RRM measurement relaxation condition, and / or a LP-WUS RRM measurement offloading condition.

[0084] In some other example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may determine that the T331 timer is not to be started if the first apparatus is allowed to operate with the LP-WUS mode. For example, if the first apparatus 110 supports LP-WUS operation and the first apparatus 110 is configured with LP-WUS mode (via system information and / or dedicated signaling), the first apparatus 110 may not start the T331 timer upon a reception of an RRC Release message with idle / inactive measurement configuration. That is, the T331 timer may be ignored in this case.

[0085] In other words, as shown in FIG. 3, when the first apparatus 110 is configured with LP-WUS operation, upon releasing the first apparatus 110 by the RRC Release message 303, the behavior of the first apparatus 110 is similar to T331 timer expiry. For example, the first apparatus 110 may remove the EMR configuration, and it is up to the implementation of the first apparatus 110 whether to continue measurements. This means that there is no T331 timer in idle-mode, and it is up to the implementation of the first apparatus 110 to perform measurements.

[0086] It is also possible that the second apparatus 120 may not configure both idle / inactive measurements and LP-WUS mode at the same time for a same UE, e.g., the first apparatus 110.

[0087] In some example embodiments, the duration of the T331 timer may be configured as being infinite. That is, The T331 timer may be required to be set to a very long, maximum or “infinite” value. For example, when in LP-WUS operation, the T331 timer may be configured, or required to be configured, to “infinite”, or a very long value. For example, a maximum range of the configured variable (e.g. hex FFFF or all the bits set to ‘1 ’) of the variable, special number (999). This indicates that the T331 does not expire no matter how long the first apparatus 110 is in LP-WUS mode.

[0088] In this case, the first apparatus 110 may maintain or ignore at least one operation associated with the T331 timer upon an entry of the LP-WUS mode.

[0089] In some cases, when the T331 timer is set to infinite value, the LP-WUS behavior of the first apparatus 110 may be specified assuming that T331 timer is always running and does not expire. When this is specified, the first apparatus 110 may be allowed to relax measurements associated with the T331 timer, but once the relaxation ends, the timer behavior returns to normal state.

[0090] In some other cases, when the T331 timer value is infinite, the first apparatus 110 may relax the carriers associated with EMR, but when first apparatus 110 exists LP-WUS mode, first apparatus 110 may be required to perform the measurements as T331 timer is running.

[0091] Reference is made to FIG. 4, which illustrates a signaling flow 400 of UE idle-mode measurement operation in LP mode in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.For the purpose of discussion, the signaling flow 400 will be discussed with reference to FIG. 1 , for example, by using the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120 that manages a cell serving the first apparatus 110, which may be referred to as a serving cell 401. The signaling flow 400 may involve a secondary cell 402 of the first apparatus 110 which may be managed by the second apparatus 120 or another network node. It is noted that the order of acts / steps shown in FIG. 4 is only an example not limitation.

[0092] As shown in FIG. 4, system information and a LP-WUS configuration may be provided (405) from the serving cell 401 to the first apparatus 110. Then the first apparatus 110 is in a connected mode.

[0093] Upon receiving (410) the RRC release message and the idle / inactive measurement configuration from the serving cell 401 , the first apparatus 110 may enter (415) the idle / inactive mode. If the first apparatus 110 determines at least one condition associated with an entry of the LP-WUS mode is not met, the first apparatus 110 may start (420) the T331 timer.

[0094] Upon a start of the T331 timer, the first apparatus 110 may perform (425) and store at least one RRM measurement associated with the serving cell 401 and / or secondary cell 402 based on the idle / inactive measurement configuration.

[0095] If the first apparatus 110 determines at least one condition associated with an entry of the LP-WUS mode is met, the first apparatus 110 may expiry or suspend (430) the T331 timer.

[0096] In this case, the first apparatus 110 may store or discard the at least one RRM idle / inactive measurement.

[0097] If a wake-up signal is received (435) from the serving cell 401 , the first apparatus 110 may quit (445) the LP-WUS mode and start or restart (450) the T331 timer.

[0098] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may not quit the LP-WUS mode upon a reception of the wake-up signal and may monitor the paging information at an incoming paging occasion. If the paging information is detected (440) by the first apparatus 110 and the paging information indicates the first apparatus 110 is required to wake-up, the first apparatus 110 may quit (445) the LP-WUS mode and start or restart (450) the T331 timer.

[0099] I n this case, the first apparatus 110 may also resume (455) at least one operation associated with the running of the T331 timer, e.g., at least one RRM measurement associated with idle / inactive mode.

[0100] If the first apparatus 110 had remove the idle / inactive measurement configuration, the first apparatus 110 may obtain the idle / inactive measurement configuration from SIB.

[0101] Based on the solution of the present disclosure, it is specified that the UE shall not relax EMR (and RRM) measurements when T331 timer is running. In some examples, when the T331 timer is running and UE is using LP-WUS, in other words when the LP-WUS entry / exit thresholds areconfigured, and / or met, or the LP-WUS RRM relaxation / MR measurement offloading thresholds. When UE determines the measured metrics exceed the entry threshold, UE is allowed to perform idle-mode measurements in relaxed manner.

[0102] In one example embodiment UE stops all idle-mode measurements. In one example embodiment UE stops at least one or more idle-mode measurement. In one example the periodicity of the idle-mode measurements is scaled with a multiplier when T331 is running (measurements are less frequent).

[0103] Furthermore, it is configured or specified that the UE shall start evaluating LP-WUS monitoring (entry) and / or RRM measurement relaxation condition when T331 timer expires.

[0104] In some example embodiments, the UE is required to delay / stop the evaluation of LP-WUS entry or RRM relaxation threshold(s) when T331 timer is running. For the measurements to which T331 timer is configured: Upon entering idle-mode, if T331 timer is enabled, the UE shall only start LP-WUS operation after T331 timer has expired. Upon entering idle-mode, if T331 timer is running, UE is required to wait for a wait duration time, and after the wait duration, the UE may start using LP- WUS.

[0105] Moreover, the T331 timer may be stopped / delayed while using LP-WUS.

[0106] In this example, the state of T331 timer is modified based on LP-WUS operation. As an example, T331 timer is stopped when the UE starts LP-WUS monitoring and / or RRM measurement relaxations. As another example, if the UE enters the LP-WUS monitoring mode (exceeds the LP- WUS entry condition or RRM rel axation / offloadi ng threshold), the UE stops the T331 timer.

[0107] In one example, when UE returns from the LP-WUS operation (network or UE triggered), the T331 timer is restarted (i.e. , T331 timer is starting from previously configured value).

[0108] In one example, when UE returns from LP-WUS operation, the T331 timer continues from where it was left when the UE started to use LP-WUS.

[0109] When the UE is entering one of the LP-WUS states, and T331 is halted / stopped, the following states can be considered: LR is activated, MR is triggered to offload measurements to LR, MR measurements are relaxed (e.g. scaled by a factor), LP-WUS monitoring is started.

[0110] Furthermore, the LP-WUS monitoring may be independent of the MR to LR offloading state.

[0111] FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an example method 500 implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 500 will be described from the perspective of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0112] At block 510, the first apparatus determines whether at least one condition associated with an entry of the LP-WUS mode is met.

[0113] At block 520, in accordance with a determination that the at least one condition is met while a T331 timer is running, at block 530, the first apparatus expires or suspends the T331 timer.

[0114] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: storing an idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration; and using the idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration for at least one RRM measurement after the expiry of T331 time.

[0115] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: ignoring the at least one RRM measurement after the expiry of T331 time.

[0116] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the at least one condition is met, discarding one or more stored idle / inactive measurements.

[0117] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the at least one condition is met, maintaining one or more stored idle / inactive measurements.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the at least one condition is met, suspending the T331 timer while recording an elapsed duration of the T331 timer; and in accordance with a determination that the first apparatus does not operate with a LP-WUS mode, restarting the T331 timer until an expiry of a remaining duration of the T331 timer.

[0119] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the at least one condition is met, suspending the T331 timer while recording an elapsed duration of the T331 timer; and in accordance with a determination that a wake-up signal and / or paging is received by the first apparatus, restarting the T331 timer until an expiry of a remaining duration of the T331 timer.

[0120] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: resuming at least one RRM measurement based on an idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration after restarting the T331 timer.

[0121] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: determining whether the idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration is still stored in the first apparatus after expiring or suspending the T331 timer; and in accordance with a determination that the idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration has been removed, obtaining a new idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration from system information.

[0122] In some example embodiments, at least one condition associated with the entry of the LP- WUS mode comprises at least one of the following: a LP-WUS monitoring condition, or a LP-WUS RRM measurement relaxation condition.

[0123] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device.

[0124] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an example method 600 implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion,the method 600 will be described from the perspective of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0125] At block 610, the first apparatus 110 determines a state of a T331 timer.

[0126] At block 620, the first apparatus 110 performs, based on the determination, at least one operation associated with associated with the LP-WUS mode.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the T331 timer is running, determining that at least one operation associated with the LP-WUS mode is unallowed before an expiry of the T331 timer.

[0128] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the T331 timer is running, performing the at least one operation associated with the LP-WUS mode upon an expiry of the T331 timer.

[0129] In some example embodiments, the at least one operation associated with the LP-WUS mode comprising at least one of: a measurement offloading from a main radio of the first apparatus to a low power receiver at the first apparatus, a monitoring of a LP-WUS monitoring, an evaluation of at least one condition associated with the LP-WUS operation, or an evaluation of at least one condition associated with an entry of the LP-WUS mode.

[0130] In some example embodiments, at least one condition associated with the entry of the LP- WUS mode comprises at least one of the following: a LP-WUS monitoring condition, or a LP-WUS RRM measurement relaxation condition, or a LP-WUS RRM measurement offloading condition.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the first apparatus is allowed to operate with the LP-WUS mode, determining that the T331 timer is not to be started.

[0132] In some example embodiments, the T331 timer is considered as being disabled upon a reception of an RRC Release with an idle / inactive measurement configuration.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that a duration of the T331 timer is configured as being infinite, maintaining or ignore at least one operation associated with the T331 timer upon an entry of the LP-WUS mode.

[0134] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device.

[0135] FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of an example method 700 implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 700 will be described from the perspective of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0136] At block 710, during an LP-WUS mode of the first apparatus, the first apparatus 110 detects a wake-up signal and / or paging information in an incoming paging occasion.

[0137] At block 720, in accordance with a determination that the wake-up signal is detected and / or the paging information indicates the first apparatus is required to wake-up, at block 730, the first apparatus 110 resumes at least one operation associated with a T331 timer.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the method 700 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the T331 timer is suspended upon entering the LP-WUS mode and the LP-WUS signal and / or paging information indicates the first apparatus is required to wake-up, restarting the T331 timer.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the method 700 further comprises: determining an elapsed duration of the T331 timer before the suspending; and in accordance with a determination of a restart of the T331 timer, running the T331 timer until an expiry of a remaining duration of the T331 timer.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the method 700 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the T331 timer expires before entering the LP-WUS mode and the paging information indicates the first apparatus is required to wake-up, starting the T331 timer.

[0141] In some example embodiments, the method 700 further comprises: resuming at least one RRM measurement based on an idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration after starting or restarting the T331 timer.

[0142] In some example embodiments, the method 700 further comprises: determining whether the idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration is still stored in the first apparatus after expiring or suspending the T331 timer; and in accordance with a determination that the idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration has been removed, obtaining a new idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration from system information.

[0143] In some example embodiments, a duration of the T331 timer is configured as being infinite.

[0144] In some example embodiments, the at least one operation associated with a T331 timer is ignored during the LP-WUS mode of the first apparatus.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device.

[0146] In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing any of the method 500 (for example, the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1 ) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 500. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1 .

[0147] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for determining whether at least one condition associated with an entry of the LP-WUS mode is met; and means for in accordance with a determination that the at least one condition is met while a T331 timer is running, expiring or suspend the T331 timer.

[0148] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for storing an idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration; and means for using the idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration for at least one RRM measurement after the expiry of T331 time.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for ignoring theat least one RRM measurement after the expiry of T331 time.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that the at least one condition is met, discarding one or more stored idle / inactive measurements.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that the at least one condition is met, maintaining one or more stored idle / inactive measurements.

[0152] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that the at least one condition is met, suspending the T331 timer while recording an elapsed duration of the T331 timer; and means for in accordance with a determination that the first apparatus does not operate with a LP-WUS mode, restarting the T331 timer until an expiry of a remaining duration of the T331 timer.

[0153] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that the at least one condition is met, suspending the T331 timer while recording an elapsed duration of the T331 timer; and means for in accordance with a determination that a wake-up signal and / or paging is received by the first apparatus, restarting the T331 timer until an expiry of a remaining duration of the T331 timer.

[0154] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for resuming at least one RRM measurement based on an idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration after restarting the T331 timer.

[0155] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for determining whether the idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration is still stored in the first apparatus after expiring or suspending the T331 timer; and means for in accordance with a determination that the idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration has been removed, obtaining a new idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration from system information.

[0156] In some example embodiments, at least one condition associated with the entry of the LP- WUS mode comprises at least one of the following: a LP-WUS monitoring condition, or a LP-WUS RRM measurement relaxation condition.

[0157] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device.

[0158] In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing any of the method 600 (for example, the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1 ) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 600. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1 .

[0159] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for determining a stateof a T331 timer; and means for performing, based on the determination, at least one operation associated with associated with the LP-WUS mode.

[0160] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that the T331 timer is running, determining that at least one operation associated with the LP-WUS mode is unallowed before an expiry of the T331 timer.

[0161] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that the T331 timer is running, performing the at least one operation associated with the LP-WUS mode upon an expiry of the T331 timer.

[0162] In some example embodiments, the at least one operation associated with the LP-WUS mode comprising at least one of: a measurement offloading from a main radio of the first apparatus to a low power receiver at the first apparatus, a monitoring of a LP-WUS monitoring, an evaluation of at least one condition associated with the LP-WUS operation, or an evaluation of at least one condition associated with an entry of the LP-WUS mode.

[0163] In some example embodiments, at least one condition associated with the entry of the LP- WUS mode comprises at least one of the following: a LP-WUS monitoring condition, or a LP-WUS RRM measurement relaxation condition, or a LP-WUS RRM measurement offloading condition.

[0164] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that the first apparatus is allowed to operate with the LP-WUS mode, determining that the T331 timer is not to be started.

[0165] In some example embodiments, the T331 timer is considered as being disabled upon a reception of an RRC Release with an idle / inactive measurement configuration.

[0166] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that a duration of the T331 timer is configured as being infinite, maintaining or ignore at least one operation associated with the T331 timer upon an entry of the LP- WUS mode.

[0167] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device.

[0168] In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing any of the method 700 (for example, the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1 ) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 700. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1 .

[0169] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for, during an LP-WUS mode of the first apparatus, detect a wake-up signal and / or paging information in an incoming paging occasion; and means for in accordance with a determination that the wake-up signal is detected and / or the paging information indicates the first apparatus is required to wake-up, resuming at least oneoperation associated with a T331 timer.

[0170] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that the T331 timer is suspended upon entering the LP-WUS mode and the LP-WUS signal and / or paging information indicates the first apparatus is required to wake-up, restarting the T331 timer.

[0171] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for determining an elapsed duration of the T331 timer before the suspending; and means for in accordance with a determination of a restart of the T331 timer, running the T331 timer until an expiry of a remaining duration of the T331 timer.

[0172] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that the T331 timer expires before entering the LP-WUS mode and the paging information indicates the first apparatus is required to wake-up, starting the T331 timer.

[0173] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for resuming at least one RRM measurement based on an idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration after starting or restarting the T331 timer.

[0174] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for determining whether the idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration is still stored in the first apparatus after expiring or suspending the T331 timer; and means for in accordance with a determination that the idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration has been removed, obtaining a new idle / inactive RRM measurement configuration from system information.

[0175] In some example embodiments, a duration of the T331 timer is configured as being infinite.

[0176] In some example embodiments, the at least one operation associated with a T331 timer is ignored during the LP-WUS mode of the first apparatus.

[0177] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device.

[0178] FIG. 8 is a simplified block diagram of a device 800 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 800 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the first apparatus 110 or the second apparatus 120 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 800 includes one or more processors 810, one or more memories 820 coupled to the processor 810, and one or more communication modules 840 coupled to the processor 810.

[0179] The communication module 840 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 840 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interfaces may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 840 may include at least one antenna.

[0180] The processor 810 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 800 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

[0181] The memory 820 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 824, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disk (DVD), an optical disk, a laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random-access memory (RAM) 822 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

[0182] A computer program 830 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 810. The instructions of the program 830 may include instructions for performing operations / acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 830 may be stored in the memory, e.g., the ROM 824. The processor 810 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 830 into the RAM 822.

[0183] The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 830 so that the device 800 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 7. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0184] In some example embodiments, the program 830 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 800 (such as in the memory 820) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 800. The device 800 may load the program 830 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 822 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer readable medium may include any types of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. The term “non-transitory,” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e. , tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0185] FIG. 9 shows an example of the computer readable medium 900 which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 900 has the program 830 stored thereon.

[0186] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may beimplemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. Although various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0187] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, to carry out any of the methods as described above. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machineexecutable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0188] Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

[0189] In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

[0190] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0191] Further, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, although several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Unless explicitly stated, certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, unless explicitly stated, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in a plurality of embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0192] Although the present disclosure has been described in languages specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. l / We claim:

1. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: determine a state of a T331 timer; and perform, based on the determination, at least one operation associated with associated with the LP-WUS mode.

2. The first apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first apparatus is caused to: in accordance with a determination that the T331 timer is running, determine that at least one operation associated with the LP-WUS mode is unallowed before an expiry of the T331 timer.

3. The first apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first apparatus is caused to: in accordance with a determination that the T331 timer is running, perform the at least one operation associated with the LP-WUS mode upon an expiry of the T331 timer.

4. The first apparatus of any of claims 1 -3, wherein the at least one operation associated with the LP-WUS mode comprises at least one of the following: a measurement offloading from a main radio of the first apparatus to a low power receiver at the first apparatus, a monitoring of a LP-WUS monitoring, an evaluation of at least one condition associated with the LP-WUS operation, or an evaluation of at least one condition associated with an entry of the LP-WUS mode.

5. The first apparatus of claim 4, wherein at least one condition associated with the entry of the LP-WUS mode comprises at least one of the following: a LP-WUS monitoring condition, or a LP-WUS RRM measurement relaxation condition, or a LP-WUS RRM measurement offloading condition.

6. The first apparatus of claim 5, wherein the first apparatus is caused to: in accordance with a determination that the first apparatus is allowed to operate with the LP- WUS mode, determine that the T331 timer is not to be started.

7. The first apparatus of claim 6, wherein the T331 timer is considered as being disabled upon a reception of an RRC Release with an idle / inactive measurement configuration.

8. The first apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first apparatus is caused to: in accordance with a determination that a duration of the T331 timer is configured as being infinite, maintain or ignore at least one operation associated with the T331 timer upon an entry of the LP-WUS mode.

9. The first apparatus of any of claims 1-8, wherein the first apparatus comprises a terminal device.

10. A method comprising: determining a state of a T331 timer; and performing, based on the determination, at least one operation associated with associated with the LP-WUS mode.11 . A first apparatus comprising: means for determining a state of a T331 timer; and means for performing, based on the determination, at least one operation associated with associated with the LP-WUS mode.

12. A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus at least to perform the method of claim 10.

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