eMTC Paging Frame Window Design for Power and Reliability

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current paging procedures in eMTC unlicensed wireless communication systems face challenges in ensuring reliable and efficient power management for user equipment (UEs) during extended discontinuous reception, leading to potential interference and suboptimal battery life due to infrequent communications.

Innovation Solution

The method involves defining a paging frame window (PFW) on a hop frequency or narrow band of frequencies using a specific formula, where the last three bits are ignored, and periodically waking up to monitor for paging messages, with additional high-priority messages being added to enhance communication reliability and power conservation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If UEs monitor paging messages frequently to ensure reliable reception, then paging reliability is improved, but power consumption increases and battery life decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepaging reliabilityVSAvoidpower consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements extended DRX cycles where UEs periodically wake up at predetermined intervals to monitor paging messages during specific paging frames, rather than continuously monitoring. This periodic monitoring approach maintains paging reliability by ensuring UEs check for messages at regular intervals while significantly reducing power consumption compared to continuous monitoring, directly resolving the contradiction between reliability and energy usage

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent pre-configures UEs with specific paging frames and monitoring occasions before they need to receive paging messages. The network provides paging configuration information in advance that includes timing parameters and frequency resources, allowing UEs to prepare their reception in advance and wake up only when needed, rather than continuously monitoring, thus improving reliability while conserving battery life

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If UEs wake up for longer periods to monitor paging messages, then paging reliability is improved, but time available for other operations decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepaging reception reliabilityVSAvoidtime for other operations
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the monitoring duty into specific segmented time periods called paging frames and paging occasions within the extended DRX cycle. Instead of requiring UEs to monitor continuously or for long uninterrupted periods, the monitoring function is segmented into discrete, predetermined time slots where UEs wake up only briefly to check for paging messages, then return to sleep mode, thus maintaining reliability while minimizing time loss for other operations

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent establishes periodic paging frames at predetermined intervals within the extended DRX cycle, allowing UEs to wake up for brief, regular intervals to monitor paging messages. This periodic structure ensures that paging reception reliability is maintained through regular checks while limiting the duration of wake periods, thereby preserving time for other device operations between paging occasions

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

3Object-affected harmful factors

If frequency hopping is used to reduce interference, then interference resistance is improved, but complexity of frequency management increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinterference resistanceVSAvoidfrequency management complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the frequency parameter dynamically through frequency hopping, where UEs transition between different frequency resources according to a predetermined hopping pattern. This parameter change approach allows the system to avoid persistent interference by moving to different frequencies, improving interference resistance while the predetermined nature of the hopping pattern keeps management complexity manageable through algorithmic rather than manual control

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP3659377B1Paging and DRX enhancements for emtc-u (iot-u)
Publication Date: 2024.06.19 QUALCOMM INC
  • EP3659377B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3659377B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3659377B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods and apparatus for monitoring paging occasions. In one example, a mobile communication device defines a paging frame window (PFW) for a duration of time on a hop frequency or narrow band of frequencies indicated by a paging formula, and periodically wakes up to monitor the PFW for a page message. In another example, the mobile device receives a frame structure information at the start of a frame.