User Equipment Power Saving via Device-to-Device Wake-Up
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need to reduce power consumption in user equipment while maintaining network control over devices in a power saving state, as existing methods result in long periods of unreachability for cellular communication networks, particularly in machine-to-machine (M2M) communication scenarios.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a power saving state in user equipment that can be woken up by device-to-device signals, allowing the cellular communication network to request further user equipment to relay device-to-device discovery, communication, or synchronization signals to transition the user equipment from a power saving state to an RRC idle or connected state, thereby maintaining network reachability with reduced power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If user equipment enters a power saving state with long sleep periods, then power consumption is reduced and battery lifetime is increased, but the user equipment becomes unreachable for the cellular communication network
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a further user equipment as an intermediary device that maintains an active connection with the cellular network and relays wake-up signals to the target user equipment in power saving state. This intermediary enables the network to reach dormant devices without requiring them to maintain continuous active connections, thus resolving the contradiction between power saving and network reachability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by establishing device-to-device communication channels and configuring wake-up signal mechanisms before the user equipment enters power saving state. This allows the network to maintain control and reachability without requiring continuous active monitoring by the target device, enabling both power efficiency and network accessibility.
2Loss of energy
If user equipment deactivates access stratum functions to enter power saving state, then power consumption is reduced, but the user equipment cannot receive paging and system information from the network
Solution Approach 1:
The further user equipment acts as an intermediary that receives wake-up requests from the network and transmits them to the target user equipment. This allows the target device to remain in power saving state with deactivated access stratum functions while still being able to receive critical information through the intermediary device, thus maintaining information flow without continuous power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The user equipment in power saving state can still perform limited self-service functions such as monitoring for wake-up signals from further user equipment and autonomously transitioning to active state when needed, reducing the need for continuous network interaction while maintaining basic operational capability.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If user equipment maintains long sleep periods in power saving state, then battery lifetime is increased, but operators cannot perform updates on the terminal
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the further user equipment monitors the status of the target user equipment and relays information back to the network. This feedback loop enables the network to know when the target device is available for updates while it remains in power saving state, allowing operators to schedule updates at optimal times without compromising battery lifetime.
Solution Approach 2:
The further user equipment serves as an intermediary that facilitates update operations by maintaining network connection and transmitting update commands to the target device when it transitions from power saving state. This intermediary mechanism enables update capability while allowing the target device to spend most time in low-power state, thus resolving the contradiction between battery lifetime and ease of operation.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
A user equipment (2) comprises a wireless interface for communication with a cellular communication network (1). The user equipment (2) has different operating states which include a power saving state. Transitions between the power saving state and a further operating state different from the power saving state may be triggered by a device-to-device signal (6) received directly from a further user equipment (3, 4).