PDCCH Skipping for UE Power Saving in DRX Cycles
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Solution Overview
Problem
In wireless communication systems, user equipment (UE) experiences power consumption issues due to the need to reconfigure from long to short discontinuous reception (DRX) cycles for handling low-latency traffic, leading to inefficiencies in power saving and increased latency.
Innovation Solution
Implementing enhanced DRX and power saving procedures by using PDCCH skipping indications to adjust UE monitoring behavior, allowing for adaptive power saving even during sporadic low-latency traffic conditions without RRC reconfiguration, through the use of DCI formats like DCI format 2_6 and 2_6z, which indicate when to skip or continue PDCCH monitoring within DRX cycles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If the UE reconfigures from long DRX cycle to short DRX cycle to handle low-latency traffic, then the latency is reduced, but the power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic DRX cycle adjustment where the UE can switch between long and short DRX cycles based on traffic conditions. The network can trigger this switching via wake-up indications or PDCCH skipping indications, allowing the system to adapt to varying latency requirements without permanently committing to a short cycle, thus balancing power consumption and latency performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the DRX cycle parameter dynamically based on traffic characteristics. When low-latency traffic is detected, the system transitions from long DRX cycle configuration to short DRX cycle configuration, and can revert when traffic conditions change, optimizing the trade-off between latency and power consumption through parameter adjustment rather than fixed configuration.
2Loss of time
If the UE continuously monitors PDCCH to handle low-latency traffic, then the latency is reduced, but the power saving efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial monitoring action through PDCCH skipping indications where the UE monitors PDCCH only during necessary periods and skips monitoring during idle periods. This partial action approach allows the UE to maintain readiness for low-latency traffic when needed while conserving power during periods when traffic is unlikely, achieving a balance between continuous monitoring and complete sleep.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic PDCCH monitoring patterns where the UE alternates between monitoring and skipping phases. The network controls this periodic behavior through wake-up indications and PDCCH skipping indications, creating a rhythm of activity and rest that reduces average power consumption while maintaining the capability to respond to low-latency traffic when it arrives.
3Use of energy by moving object
If the UE uses long DRX cycle for power saving, then the power consumption is reduced, but the latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses wake-up indications as preliminary actions that prepare the UE for potential low-latency traffic before it actually arrives. The network can send a wake-up indication during the long DRX cycle's sleep period, triggering the UE to activate and monitor PDCCH in advance, ensuring that when low-latency traffic arrives, the UE is already ready, thus reducing actual latency without permanently abandoning long DRX cycles for power saving.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces wake-up indications and PDCCH skipping indications as intermediary mechanisms between the long DRX cycle power-saving state and the short DRX cycle low-latency state. These intermediaries allow smooth transitions and conditional activation, enabling the UE to maintain long DRX cycles for power saving while having the capability to quickly respond to latency-critical traffic through intermediary signals from the network.
Data Source
AI summary
Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to enhanced discontinuous reception and power saving for user equipment. An apparatus includes a transceiver that receives a physical downlink control channel (“PDCCH”) skipping indication for a group of search space sets via a downlink control information (“DCI”) from a network node during a PDCCH monitoring occasion and a processor that ceases monitoring PDCCH for the group of search space sets at least after an elapse of an application delay, in response to the PDCCH skipping indication indicating PDCCH skipping for the group of search space sets.