RRC Inactive Wake-Up Signal for UE Power Saving
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current wireless network technologies face inefficiencies in waking up user equipment (UE) from an inactive state, particularly in the RRC Inactive state, due to the lack of effective wake-up signals that lead to unnecessary power consumption and network overhead, as existing WUS designs are primarily tailored for RRC Connected state and not optimized for RRC Inactive state.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a method where a user equipment in an RRC Inactive state receives a UE-specific wake-up signal (WUS) to trigger a connection resume procedure, replacing traditional paging messages and reducing power consumption by minimizing unnecessary PDCCH decoding operations, and configuring dedicated WUS resources for user plane and control plane data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If traditional paging messages are used to wake up UE from RRC Inactive state, then network coverage is maintained, but power consumption increases and signaling overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the wake-up signaling process into two parts: a compact WUS indicator (1-2 bits) that triggers attention, followed by optional detailed paging information only when needed. This segmentation reduces the average signaling overhead compared to traditional full paging messages, while maintaining the ability to deliver complete information when data is present.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the essential wake-up trigger function from the full paging message, creating a separate WUS indicator that contains only the critical information needed to alert the UE. This extraction allows the system to eliminate unnecessary paging message transmissions when no data is present, reducing both power consumption and signaling overhead.
2Reliability
If UE monitors PDCCH continuously to detect paging messages, then network access reliability is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by sending the WUS indicator before the actual paging message. The UE monitors for this preliminary signal first, and only if detected, proceeds to monitor PDCCH for the full paging message. This preliminary action maintains reliability by ensuring the UE is properly alerted before data transmission, while reducing power consumption by avoiding continuous PDCCH monitoring when no data is present.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic action through the WUS occasion structure, where WUS indicators are transmitted at specific periodic intervals rather than continuously. The UE monitors these periodic WUS occasions and only activates full PDCCH monitoring when a WUS is detected, creating an efficient periodic monitoring pattern that balances reliability with power savings.
3Measurement precision
If WUS is targeted to UE specific identifier (PS-RNTI), then false alarms are minimized, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses copying by reusing the existing PS-RNTI identifier that UEs already maintain in their inactive state configuration. Rather than introducing a completely new identification mechanism, the system copies the existing UE-specific identifier into the WUS indicator field, minimizing device complexity while maintaining high wake-up signal accuracy through UE-specific targeting.
4Measurement precision
If WUS occasions are configured in dedicated RRC signaling, then signaling precision is improved, but network overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements universality by using the existing RRC Inactive state configuration mechanism to carry WUS occasion parameters. The same RRC signaling infrastructure that manages other inactive state parameters is extended to include WUS configuration, allowing multi-functionality of the signaling system without increasing overall network overhead.
Data Source
AI summary
In accordance with an example embodiment of the present invention, a method comprising determining, by a user equipment in a radio resource control inactive state, whether information has been received from a wireless network, wherein the information is configured to cause the user equipment to access the network; and triggering, by the user equipment and in response to receiving the information, an access to the wireless network, is disclosed.