PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-12096396-B2
Application Number: US-202017593599-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Determining a location of a wake-up signal for paging reception

Abstract:
A user equipment (UE) configured to monitor paging occasions of a network. The UE operates in a paging discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, wherein the DRX cycle includes a paging occasion (PO). The UE determines a location in time for a wake-up signal (WUS) occasion associated with the PO and determines whether to utilize an active mode or a sleep mode during the PO based on an indication included in a WUS received during the WUS occasion.

Claims:
What is claimed: 
     
       1. A method, comprising:
 at a user equipment (UE) operating in a paging discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, wherein the DRX cycle includes a paging occasion (PO):
 receiving a message comprising a group ID, wherein the group ID is assigned to a group of UEs by a network via non-access stratum (NAS) signaling; 
 determining a location in time for a wake-up signal (WUS) occasion associated with the PO; and 
 determining whether to utilize an active mode or a sleep mode during the PO based on an indication included in a WUS received during the WUS occasion, wherein the WUS indicates that the UE is to utilize the active mode during the PO when the WUS includes the group ID and wherein the UE is to utilize the sleep mode during the PO when the WUS does not include the group ID. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the WUS occasion is associated with the PO based on a predefined timing offset. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the paging DRX cycle includes multiple WUS occasions and each WUS occasion is located in time prior to any PO included in a paging frame. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the PO includes multiple WUS occasions and each WUS occasion precedes a respective monitoring occasion. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the WUS occasion is associated with multiple POs. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 5 , wherein after the WUS occasion the UE does not utilize an active mode during a further WUS occasion until each of the multiple POs occur. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein a first PO is assigned to a first paging group and a second PO is assigned to a second paging group. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the WUS includes i) an indication that is common to both the first paging group and the second paging group or ii) a first indication for the first paging group and a second different indication for the second paging group. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the WUS occasion is included in a WUS occasion set and wherein each WUS occasion in the WUS occasion set is associated with the same PO. 
     
     
       10. A user equipment, comprising:
 a transceiver configured to communicate with a network; and 
 a processor configured to perform operations, the operations comprising:
 operating in a paging discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, wherein the DRX cycle includes a paging occasion (PO); 
 receiving a message comprising a group ID, wherein the group ID is assigned to a group of UEs by a network via non-access stratum (NAS) signaling; 
 determining a location in time for a wake-up signal (WUS) occasion associated with the PO; and 
 determining whether to utilize an active mode or a sleep mode during the PO based on an indication included in a WUS received during the WUS occasion, wherein the WUS indicates that the UE is to utilize the active mode during the PO when the WUS includes the group ID and wherein the UE is to utilize the sleep mode during the PO when the WUS does not include the group ID. 
 
 
     
     
       11. The UE of  claim 10 , wherein the WUS occasion is associated with the PO based on a predefined timing offset. 
     
     
       12. The UE of  claim 10 , wherein the paging DRX cycle includes multiple WUS occasions and each WUS occasion is located in time prior to any PO included in a paging frame. 
     
     
       13. The UE of  claim 10 , wherein the WUS occasion is associated with multiple POs, and
 when the UE determines to utilize the sleep mode during the PO, the UE utilizes the sleep mode during each of the multiple POs. 
 
     
     
       14. The UE of  claim 10 , wherein a first PO is assigned to a first paging group and a second PO is assigned to a second paging group, and
 wherein the WUS includes an indication that is common to both the first paging group and the second paging group. 
 
     
     
       15. The UE of  claim 10 , wherein the WUS occasion is included in a WUS occasion set and wherein each WUS occasion in the WUS occasion set is associated with the same PO. 
     
     
       16. An integrated circuit, comprising:
 circuitry configured to operate in a paging discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, wherein the DRX cycle includes a paging occasion (PO); 
 circuitry configured to receive a message comprising a group ID, wherein the group ID is assigned to a group of UEs by a network via non-access stratum (NAS) signaling; 
 circuitry configured to determine a location in time for a wake-up signal (WUS) occasion associated with the PO; and 
 circuitry configured to determine whether to utilize an active mode or a sleep mode during the PO based on an indication included in a WUS received during the WUS occasion, wherein the WUS indicates that the UE is to utilize the active mode during the PO when the WUS includes the group ID and wherein the UE is to utilize the sleep mode during the PO when the WUS does not include the group ID. 
 
     
     
       17. The integrated circuit of  claim 16 , wherein the WUS occasion is associated with the PO based on a preconfigured timing offset. 
     
     
       18. The integrated circuit of  claim 16 , wherein the paging DRX cycle includes multiple WUS occasions and each WUS occasion is located in time prior to any PO included in a paging frame. 
     
     
       19. The integrated circuit of  claim 16 , wherein the WUS occasion is included in a WUS occasion set and wherein each WUS occasion in the WUS occasion set is associated with the same PO. 
     
     
       20. The integrated circuit of  claim 16 , wherein a first PO is assigned to a first paging group and a second PO is assigned to a second paging group.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     A user equipment (UE) may be configured with a paging cycle that includes a scheduled time window during which the UE is to monitor for paging. Outside of the scheduled time window, the UE may have the opportunity to sleep and conserve power. Under conventional circumstances, the UE monitors for paging during the scheduled time window regardless of whether a paging transmission intended for the UE is actually performed by the network. This is an inefficient use of the UE&#39;s limited power supply. Accordingly, there is a need for a mechanism that mitigates the inefficient power consumption associated with paging reception at the UE. 
     SUMMARY 
     Some exemplary embodiments are related to a method performed by a user equipment (UE) operating in a paging discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, wherein the DRX cycle includes a paging occasion (PO). The method includes determining a location in time for a wake-up signal (WUS) occasion associated with the PO and determining whether to utilize an active mode or a sleep mode during the PO based on an indication included in a WUS received during the WUS occasion. 
     Other exemplary embodiments are related to a user equipment having a transceiver and a processor. The transceiver is configured to communicate with a network. The processor is configured to perform operations that include operating in a paging discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, wherein the DRX cycle includes a paging occasion (PO), determining a location in time for a wake-up signal (WUS) occasion associated with the PO and determining whether to utilize an active mode or a sleep mode during the PO based on an indication included in a WUS received during the WUS occasion. 
     Still further exemplary embodiments are related to an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit includes circuitry configured to operate in a paging discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, wherein the DRX cycle includes a paging occasion (PO), circuitry configured to determine a location in time for a wake-up signal (WUS) occasion associated with the PO and circuitry configured to determine whether to utilize an active mode or a sleep mode during the PO based on an indication included in a WUS received during the WUS occasion. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    shows an exemplary network arrangement according to various exemplary embodiments. 
         FIG.  2    shows an exemplary user equipment (UE) according to various exemplary embodiments. 
         FIG.  3    shows an exemplary timing diagram for a wake-up signal (WUS) occasion according to various exemplary embodiments. 
         FIG.  4    shows a method for WUS and paging reception according to various exemplary embodiments. 
         FIG.  5    illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasion and a paging occasion (PO) when one WUS is configured to control one PO for one paging group according to various exemplary embodiments. 
         FIG.  6    illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasion and a PO when one WUS is configured to control multiple POs for one paging group according to various exemplary embodiments. 
         FIG.  7    illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasion and a PO when one WUS is configured to control one PO for multiple paging groups according to various exemplary embodiments. 
         FIG.  8    illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasion and a PO when one WUS is configured to control multiple POs for multiple paging groups according to various exemplary embodiments. 
         FIG.  9    illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasion and a PO when multiple WUS occasions are configured to control one PO according to various exemplary embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the related appended drawings, wherein like elements are provided with the same reference numerals. The exemplary embodiments relate to using wake-up signaling between a network and a user equipment (UE) in conjunction with a paging mechanism. As will be described in more detail below, the wake-up signaling may allow the UE to mitigate the inefficient power consumption associated with conventional paging techniques. 
     The exemplary embodiments are described with regard to a UE. However, reference to a UE is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The exemplary embodiments may be utilized with any electronic component that may establish a connection to a network and is configured with the hardware, software, and/or firmware to exchange information and data with the network. Therefore, the UE as described herein is used to represent any electronic component. 
     The exemplary embodiments are also described with regard to the network being a fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) network. The 5G NR network and the UE may utilize a paging mechanism that incorporates a wake-up signal (WUS). However, any reference to the 5G NR network, a particular paging mechanism or a WUS are merely provided for illustrative purposes. The exemplary embodiments may apply to any type of network that utilizes wake-up signaling in conjunction with any appropriate type of paging mechanism. 
     Paging may be used for any of variety of different reasons. For example, when camped on a cell of the 5G NR network, the UE may receive a paging message that is configured to trigger the UE to transition from a radio resource control (RRC) idle state or RRC inactive state to an RRC connected state. In another example, paging may be used by the network to indicate a system information change. In response to this indication, the UE may subsequently acquire the updated system information. In a further example, paging may be used to indicate an emergency message (e.g., a commercial mobile alert system (CMAS) message, an earthquake and tsunami warning system (ETWS) message, etc.). In response to this indication, the UE may subsequently acquire the emergency message. The above examples are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments in any way and are merely provided to illustrate why the network and the UE may utilize a paging mechanism. 
     On the network side, a paging transmission may include a paging message and/or a short message. Those skilled in the art will understand that a paging message may be used for the notification of one or more UEs and may be transmitted via a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or any other appropriate type of physical control channel (PCCH). Those skilled in the art will also understand that a short message may be used to provide the UE with a particular type of indication such as a system information modification or an emergency message. The short message may be transmitted on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), with or without an associated paging message, using the short message filed in downlink control information (DCI). 
     On the UE side, paging reception may include monitoring for paging during a scheduled time window. For example, during a discontinues reception (DRX) cycle, the UE may be configured with a paging occasion (PO). The PO may include a one or more time slots during which the UE is configured to listen to a communication channel (e.g., PCCH, PDSCH, PDCCH, etc.) for a paging transmission. The PO may be included in a paging frame (PF). The PF may refer to a radio frame that includes one or more paging occasions. Those skilled in the art will understand how the timing for a PF and PO may be configured. 
     The DRX cycle is a power saving mechanism that includes utilizing an active mode of data exchange processing and a sleep mode of inactivity. Within the context of paging, the active mode of data exchange processing may refer to the UE performing operations that enable the UE to receive information and/or data broadcast by the network. For example, during a PO, the UE may enter the active mode of data exchange processing to monitor for a paging transmission. Outside of the PO, the UE may have an opportunity to utilize the sleep mode of inactivity and conserve power. Throughout this description, the terms “DRX cycle” and “paging cycle” may be used interchangeably. However, any reference to a DRX cycle or a paging cycle is merely for illustrative purposes, different networks may refer to similar concepts by a different name. The exemplary embodiments may apply to any scenario in which the UE transitions between a power saving mode and an active mode with regard to data exchange processing. 
     Under conventional circumstances, the UE may wakeup during one or more POs regardless of whether a paging transmission is performed by the network during the PO. However, utilizing an active mode of data exchange processing during a PO that does not include a paging transmission intended for the UE is an inefficient use of the UE&#39;s limited power supply. As will be described below, the exemplary embodiments may allow the UE to omit utilizing the active mode of data exchange processing during a PO if there is no paging transmission intended for the UE during the PO. 
     The exemplary embodiments relate to utilizing wake-up signaling between the UE and the network in conjunction with a paging mechanism. Throughout this description, the term “wake-up signal” or “WUS” may refer to a signal transmitted by the network to the UE that includes information regarding a subsequent time window during which the UE is to monitor for paging (e.g., a PO). The WUS may allow the UE to mitigate the inefficient power consumption associated with conventional paging techniques. For example, the WUS may indicate that a paging transmission is not scheduled for a subsequent PO. During the subsequent PO, the UE may remain in the sleep mode of inactivity instead of waking up to use the active mode of data exchange processing because the WUS indicated that there is no paging transmission scheduled for this PO. 
     In one aspect, the exemplary embodiments relate to the timing relationship between the WUS and its corresponding PO. As will be described in detail below, there are various exemplary configurations of one or more WUS and one or more PO that may be implemented. In another aspect, the exemplary embodiments relate the types of contents that may be included in the WUS and how the UE may respond to the WUS. The exemplary wake-up signaling may be used in conjunction with currently implemented paging techniques, future implementations of paging techniques or independently from other paging techniques. 
       FIG.  1    shows an exemplary network arrangement  100  according to various exemplary embodiments. The exemplary network arrangement  100  includes a UE  110 . Those skilled in the art will understand that the UE  110  may be any type of electronic component that is configured to communicate via a network, e.g., mobile phones, tablet computers, desktop computers, smartphones, phablets, embedded devices, wearables, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, etc. It should also be understood that an actual network arrangement may include any number of UEs being used by any number of users. Thus, the example of a single UE  110  is merely provided for illustrative purposes. 
     The UE  110  may be configured to communicate with one or more networks. In the example of the network configuration  100 , the network with which the UE  110  may wirelessly communicate is a 5G NR radio access network (RAN)  120  and a WLAN  122 . However, it should be understood that the UE  110  may also communicate with other types of networks (e.g. 5G cloud RAN, LTE-RAN, legacy cellular network, etc.) and the UE  110  may also communicate with networks over a wired connection. With regard to the exemplary embodiments, the UE  110  may establish a connection with the 5G NR RAN  120  and/or the WLAN  122 . Therefore, the UE  110  may have a 5G NR chipset to communicate with the NG-RAN  120  and an ISM chipset to communicate with the WLAN  122 . 
     The 5G NR RAN  120  may be a portion of a cellular network that may be deployed by a network carrier (e.g., Verizon, AT&amp;T, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc.). The 5G NR RAN  120  may include, for example, cells or base stations (Node Bs, eNodeBs, HeNBs, eNBS, gNBs, gNodeBs, macrocells, microcells, small cells, femtocells, etc.) that are configured to send and receive traffic from UEs that are equipped with the appropriate cellular chip set. The WLAN  122  may include any type of wireless local area network (WiFi, Hot Spot, IEEE 802.11x networks, etc.). 
     The base station (e.g., the gNB  120 A) may include one or more communication interfaces to exchange data and/or information with camped UEs, the corresponding RAN, the cellular core network  130 , the internet  140 , etc. Further, the base station may include a processor configured to perform various operations. For example, the processor of the base station may be configured to perform operations related to paging and the exemplary wake-up signaling described herein. However, reference to a processor is merely for illustrative purposes. The operations of the base station may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the base station or may be a modular component coupled to the base station, e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. In addition, in some base stations, the functionality of the processor is split among two or more processors such as a baseband processor and an applications processor. The exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a base station. 
     Those skilled in the art will understand that any association procedure may be performed for the UE  110  to connect to the 5G NR RAN  120 . For example, as discussed above, the 5G NR RAN  120  may be associated with a particular network carrier where the UE  110  and/or the user thereof has a contract and credential information (e.g., stored on a SIM card). Upon detecting the presence of the 5G NR RAN  120 , the UE  110  may transmit the corresponding credential information to associate with the 5G NR RAN  120 . More specifically, the UE  110  may associate with a specific cell (e.g., the gNB  120 A). As mentioned above, the use of the 5G NR RAN  120  is for illustrative purposes and any type of network may be used. For example, the UE  110  may also connect to the LTE-RAN (not pictured) or the legacy RAN (not pictured). 
     In addition to the networks  120  and  122  the network arrangement  100  also includes a cellular core network  130 , the Internet  140 , an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)  150 , and a network services backbone  160 . The cellular core network  130  may be considered to be the interconnected set of components that manages the operation and traffic of the cellular network. The cellular core network  130  also manages the traffic that flows between the cellular network and the Internet  140 . The IMS  150  may be generally described as an architecture for delivering multimedia services to the UE  110  using the IP protocol. The IMS  150  may communicate with the cellular core network  130  and the Internet  140  to provide the multimedia services to the UE  110 . The network services backbone  160  is in communication either directly or indirectly with the Internet  140  and the cellular core network  130 . The network services backbone  160  may be generally described as a set of components (e.g., servers, network storage arrangements, etc.) that implement a suite of services that may be used to extend the functionalities of the UE  110  in communication with the various networks. 
       FIG.  2    shows an exemplary UE  110  according to various exemplary embodiments. The UE  110  will be described with regard to the network arrangement  100  of  FIG.  1   . The UE  110  may represent any electronic device and may include a processor  205 , a memory arrangement  210 , a display device  215 , an input/output (I/O) device  220 , a transceiver  225  and other components  230 . The other components  230  may include, for example, an audio input device, an audio output device, a battery that provides a limited power supply, a data acquisition device, ports to electrically connect the UE  110  to other electronic devices, etc. 
     The processor  205  may be configured to execute a plurality of engines of the UE  110 . For example, the engines may include a WUS engine  235 . The WUS engine  235  may be configured to perform operations associated with detecting a WUS and determining the contents of the WUS. The WUS engine  235  may be further configured to control the paging reception behavior of the UE  110  in response to receiving a WUS. 
     The above referenced engine being an application (e.g., a program) executed by the processor  205  is only exemplary. The functionality associated with the engines may also be represented as a separate incorporated component of the UE  110  or may be a modular component coupled to the UE  110 , e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, the integrated circuit may include input circuitry to receive signals and processing circuitry to process the signals and other information. The engines may also be embodied as one application or separate applications. In addition, in some UEs, the functionality described for the processor  205  is split among two or more processors such as a baseband processor and an applications processor. The exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of a UE. 
     The memory  210  may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by the UE  110 . The display device  215  may be a hardware component configured to show data to a user while the I/O device  220  may be a hardware component that enables the user to enter inputs. The display device  215  and the I/O device  220  may be separate components or integrated together such as a touchscreen. The transceiver  225  may be a hardware component configured to establish a connection with the 5G NR-RAN  120 , the WLAN  122 , etc. Accordingly, the transceiver  225  may operate on a variety of different frequencies or channels (e.g., set of consecutive frequencies). 
     When connected to the network, the UE  110  may be configured to be in one of a plurality of different operating states. One operating state may be characterized as RRC idle state and another operating state may be characterized as RRC connected state. RRC refers to the radio resource control (RRC) protocols. Those skilled in the art will understand that when the UE  110  is in an RRC connected state, the UE  110  and the network may be configured to exchange information and/or data. The exchange of information and/or data may allow the UE  110  to perform functionalities available via the network connection. Further, those skilled in the art will understand that when the UE  110  is connected to the network and in RRC idle state the UE  110  is generally not exchanging data with the network and radio resources are not being assigned to the UE  110  within the network. However, when the UE  110  is in RRC idle state, the UE  110  may monitor for information and/or data transmitted by the network (e.g., WUS, paging, etc.). 
     Another operating state may be characterized as RRC inactive state. In RRC inactive state, the UE  110  maintains an RRC connection while minimizing signaling and power consumption. Similar to RRC idle state, when the UE  110  is connected to the network and in RRC inactive state the UE  110  is generally not exchanging data with the network. When the UE  110  is in RRC inactive state, the UE  110  may still monitor for information and/or data transmitted by the network (e.g., WUS, paging, etc.). However, any reference to RRC connected state, RRC idle state and RRC inactive state is merely provided for illustrative purposes, the exemplary embodiments may apply to any suitable operating state for the UE  110 . 
     When the UE  110  is camped on a cell and in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state, the UE  110  may not be able to exchange data with the network. To exchange data with the network the UE  110  may transition from the RRC idle state to the RRC connected state. For example, while in RRC idle state or inactive state the UE  110  may listen for information such as but not limited to, primary synchronization signals (PSS) and secondary synchronization signals (SSS), Master Information Block (MIB), broadcast messages, System Information Block (SIB), WUS, paging messages, etc. In response, the UE  110  may issue a request to the network that indicates that the UE  110  wants to be moved to the RRC connected state. A successful transition from the RRC idle state or RRC inactive state to RRC connected state may include the exchange of messages between the UE  110  and the cell of the network. In the RRC connected state, a network context may be established between the cell of first network and the UE  110 . Thus, the UE  110  may be assigned radio resources and the UE  110  may be able to exchange data with the network. 
     When in RRC idle state or RRC inactive state, the UE  110  may be configured with a DRX cycle. As indicated above, the DRX cycle may include a PO during which the UE  110  may monitor for paging. In accordance with legacy operation, the UE  110  may enter the active mode of data exchange processing and monitor a PO regardless of whether a paging transmission is performed by the network during the PO. The exemplary embodiments reduce the power consumption associated with legacy operations by implementing wake-up signaling that may be used to control UE  110  paging reception behavior. 
     The exemplary embodiments are also described with regard to a paging mechanism that supports multiple beam operation. For multiple beam operation, the PO may include a set of PDCCH monitoring occasions that each include one or more time slots where downlink control information (DCI) may be transmitted. The length of the PO may correspond to one period of beam sweeping and the UE  110  may assume that a paging message is include in all beams of the beam sweeping pattern. The exemplary embodiments will describe how the wake-up signaling may be used in conjunction with a paging mechanism that supports multiple beam operation. 
       FIG.  3    shows an exemplary timing diagram  300  for a WUS occasion according to various exemplary embodiments.  FIG.  3    will be described with regard to the network arrangement  100  of  FIG.  1    and the UE  110  of  FIG.  2   . The timing diagram  300  provides a general overview of how wake-up signaling may be used in conjunction with a paging mechanism. A specific example from the perspective of the UE  110  is provided below with regard to the method  400  of  FIG.  4   . 
     The timing diagram  300  includes a line  310  that represents time. Initially, consider a scenario in which the UE  110  is camped on the gNB  120 A and operating in an RRC idle state. During a first time duration  312 , a synchronization signal blocks (SSB) burst may be transmitted by the gNB  120 A. In this example, the SSB burst includes a first SSB  301 , a second SSB  302 , a third SSB  303  and a fourth SSB  304 . In some embodiments, each SSB  301 - 304  may correspond to a different beam within the beam sweeping pattern. The UE  110  may then select a beam to utilize for WUS and paging reception based on one or more of the SSBs  301 - 304 . 
     During a second time duration  314 , a WUS occasion  320  is scheduled. Similar to the concept of the PO occasion, the UE  110  is configured to monitor for a WUS during the WUS occasion  320 . 
     The network may transmit a WUS during the WUS occasion  320 . In some embodiments, downlink control information (DCI) based wake-up signaling may be implemented. In this configuration, the WUS occasion  320  may represent a set of PDCCH monitoring occasions and may include multiple time slots (e.g., subframe or orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol) during which the WUS DCI may be transmitted. Within the WUS occasion  320 , each monitoring occasion is associated with one of the SSBs  301 - 304 . For multiple beam operation, the UE  110  may assume that the same WUS is repeated in all transmitted beams within the same WUS occasion. The UE  110  may select one of the beams based on any appropriate criteria. 
     During the WUS occasion  320 , the UE  110  may monitor for WUS DCI. The monitoring may be performed based on WUS specific radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), the UE  110  paging RNTI (P-RNTI) or any other appropriate indicator included in the WUS. In response to the WUS DCI, the UE  110  may decide whether to monitor for paging or use the sleep mode of inactivity during the subsequent PO  330 . 
     In other embodiments, reference signal based wake-up signaling may be implemented. In this configuration, the WUS occasion  320  may include multiple time slots during which one or more WUS reference signals may be transmitted. Within the WUS occasion  320 , each monitoring occasion is associated with one of the SSBs  301 - 304 . For multiple beam operation, the UE  110  may assume that the same WUS is repeated in all transmitted beams within the same WUS occasion. The UE  110  may select one of the beams based on any appropriate criteria. 
     During the WUS occasion  320 , the UE  110  may monitor for a WUS reference signal. In response to the WUS reference signal, the UE  110  may decide whether to monitor for paging or use the sleep mode of inactivity during the subsequent monitoring occasion  330 . 
       FIG.  4    shows a method  400  for WUS and paging reception according to various exemplary embodiments.  FIG.  4    will be described with regard to the network arrangement  100  of  FIG.  1    and the UE  110  of  FIG.  2   . 
     Initially, consider a scenario in which the UE  110  is camped on the gNB  120 A of the 5G NR RAN  120  and operating in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state. The UE  110  may be further configured with a DRX cycle that includes one or more POs. 
     In  405 , the UE  110  determines a WUS occasion location in time and a PO location in time. For example, the UE  110  may utilize legacy and/or standards based techniques to determine when a PO is scheduled to occur. In some embodiments, the WUS may be located at a predetermined offset from the PO and thus, once the PO is known the WUS occasion may be derived. In another example, the WUS occasion and/or PO location may be explicitly or implicitly indicated by the network using any appropriate type of signaling. Specific examples of the relationship between the WUS occasion and the PO will be described below with regard to  FIGS.  5 - 9   . 
     In  410 , the UE  110  selects a beam to utilize for WUS reception. For instance, within the context of the timing diagram  300 , the UE  110  may receive the SSBs  301 - 304 . As mentioned above, each of the SSBs  301 - 304  may correspond to a different beam. The UE  110  may then select a beam based on one or more of the SSBs  301 - 304 . The above example is merely provided for illustrative purposes, the UE  110  may select a beam to utilize for WUS reception based on any appropriate basis. 
     In  415 , the UE  110  receives a WUS during the WUS occasion. As mentioned above, either DCI based wake-up signaling or reference signal based wake-up signaling may be implemented. Although not depicted in the method  400 , there may be scenarios in which the UE  110  does not receive a WUS during the WUS occasion. If this scenario occurs, in some embodiments, the UE  110  may monitor for paging in the conventional manner. In other embodiments, the network may configure a default state (e.g., wake-up or sleep) that the UE  110  is to utilize during the PO via RRC signaling or any other appropriate type of signaling. 
     In  420 , the UE  110  determines the contents of the WUS. For example, the WUS may indicate that a paging transmission intended for the UE  110  is to be performed during the corresponding PO. In another example, the WUS may indicate that a paging transmission is not scheduled for the UE  110 . As will be explained in more detail below, the WUS may also include more specific information regarding the corresponding PO and/or paging transmission. 
     In  425 , the UE  110  may operate in accordance with the contents of the WUS during the corresponding PO. For example, if the WUS received in  420  indicated that a paging transmission intended for the UE  110  is to be performed during the PO, the UE  110  may wake-up and enter the active mode of data exchange processing during the PO to monitor for the paging transmission. In some embodiments, the WUS may indicate to the UE  110  only paging DCI is to be monitored for short message reception. In other embodiments, the WUS may indicate to the UE  110  that both paging DCI and the PDSCH are to be monitored. 
     To provide another example, if the WUS received in  420  indicated that a paging transmission is not scheduled for the PO, the UE  110  may use the sleep mode of inactivity and conserve power during the PO. Thus, the WUS may control the paging reception behavior of the UE  110 . 
     The WUS may also be used to include more specific information regarding the upcoming PO and/or paging transmission. In some embodiments, the WUS may be configured to include an indication of the purpose of the upcoming paging transmission, e.g., system information update/modification, ETWS/CMAS indication, paging message, etc. This indication may provide the basis for how the UE  110  operates during the PO. To provide an example, if the WUS indicates that the upcoming PO is to be used for paging message transmission, the UE  110  may monitor the PDCCH using P-RNTI to detect the scheduled paging message during the PO. To provide another example, if the WUS indicates that the corresponding PO is to be used for a paging transmission indicating a system information update or an emergency message, the UE  110  may use the sleep mode of inactivity during the PO. Since the UE  110  is already aware of what the paging transmission is going to indicate, it would be redundant to receive this indication during the PO. Instead, the UE  110  may conserve power during the PO and perform the normal operations for system information update or emergency message reception. 
     In some embodiments, the WUS may be configured to include information such as a service type, an access type, a paging type and/or network slicing information. This information may provide the basis for how the UE  110  operates during the PO. To provide an example, the WUS content may indicate that the corresponding paging transmission is related to non-third generation partnership program (non-3GPP) access. If the UE  110  does not support non-3GPP access, the UE  110  does not need to monitor the PO because a paging transmission corresponding to non-3GPP access is irrelevant to the UE  110 . In another example, the WUS content may indicate that the corresponding paging transmission is related to voice services. If the UE  110  is not configured for voice services or does not intend to access voice services at this time, the UE  110  does not need to monitor the PO because a paging transmission corresponding to voice services is irrelevant to the UE  110 . Those skilled in the art will understand that this technique may be applicable to any other network service type. 
     In a further example, the WUS content may indicate that the paging type is RAN initiated. Since RAN initiated paging type is relevant to RRC inactive state, the UE  110  may monitor the PO if the UE  110  is operating in RRC inactive state and not monitor the PO if the UE  110  is operating in RRC idle state. Alternatively, the WUS content may indicate that the paging type is core network initiated. Since core network initiated paging type is relevant to RRC idle state, the UE  110  may monitor the PO if the UE  110  is operating in RRC idle state and not monitor the PO if the UE  110  is operating in RRC inactive state. 
     In another example, the WUS content may indicate that the paging transmission is associated with a particular network slice. If the UE  110  is configured to support the relevant slicing ID or network slice selection assistance information (NSSAI), the UE  110  may monitor for paging during the PO. Otherwise, the UE  110  may sleep during the PO. The above examples are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments in any way and are merely provide for illustrative purposes. The UE  110  may use information such as service type, access type, paging type and/or network slicing information in any appropriate manner to determine whether to utilize the active mode of data exchange processing during the PO or the sleep mode of inactivity during the PO. 
     In some embodiments, the WUS may be configured to include UE information. This information may provide the basis for how the UE  110  operates during the PO. For example, the WUS may include the full UE ID for the UE that is the intended recipient of the paging transmission. If the UE ID is relevant to the UE  110 , the UE  110  may monitor the PO. Otherwise, the UE  110  may use the sleep mode of inactivity during the PO. In another example, the WUS may include a partial UE ID (e.g., (n) least significant bits (LSBs) of the UE ID) for the UE that is the intended recipient of the paging transmission. If the partial UE ID is relevant to the UE  110 , the UE  110  may monitor the PO. Otherwise, the UE  110  may use the sleep mode of inactivity during the PO. In a further example, the WUS may include a WUS group ID. In some embodiments, the UE  110  may be provisioned with the WUS group ID via non-access stratum (NAS) signaling or RRC signaling. In other embodiments, the UE  110  may generate a WUS group ID using predefined rule. Regardless of how the UE  110  derives the WUS group ID, If the WUS group ID is relevant to the UE  110 , the UE  110  may monitor the PO. Otherwise, the UE  110  may use the sleep mode of inactivity during the PO. 
     The method  400  demonstrated how the contents of the WUS may be used to control the paging reception behavior of the UE  110 . The following  FIGS.  5 - 9    are provided to demonstrate the different ways in which one or more WUS occasions may be associated with one or more POs. 
       FIG.  5    illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasion and a PO when one WUS is configured to control one PO for one paging group according to various exemplary embodiments.  FIG.  5    includes three timing diagrams  510 ,  520 ,  530  that each correspond to a different configuration. 
     In some embodiments, the WUS occasion may be located a preconfigured offset from the PO. The timing diagram  510  includes a line  511  that represents time. The timing diagram also shows a WUS occasion  512  preceding its corresponding PO  514  by a preconfigured offset  513  and WUS occasion  516  preceding its corresponding PO  518  by the preconfigured offset  517 . 
     In some embodiments, for each PF or paging DRX cycle, all WUSs are transmitted before all POs. The timing diagram  520  includes a line  521  that represents a time duration of a single PF. The timing diagram also shows a WUS occasions  522 ,  524  preceding their corresponding POs  526 ,  528 , respectively. 
     In some embodiments, a WUS channel is located before its corresponding monitoring occasion for the same beam. The timing diagram  530  includes a line  531  that represents time. The timing diagram  530  includes a PO  540  and within the PO  540  shows four WUS occasions  541 - 544  each preceding their respective monitoring occasion  545 - 548 . 
     To utilize the configurations shown in the timing diagrams  510 - 530 , the UE  110  may initially determine PO location using legacy techniques. In some embodiments, the WUS occasion may be associated with the corresponding PO according to RRC configuration. In other embodiments, the WUS occasion is the closest WUS occasion in front of the correspond P. To provide an example, the WUS occasion  512  is associated with the PO  514  and the WUS occasion  516  is associated with the PO  516  in the timing diagram. As mentioned above with regard to the method  400 , the WUS received during the WUS occasion may be used to control UE  110  paging reception behavior, e.g., active mode of data exchange processing during the PO or sleep mode of inactivity during the PO. 
       FIG.  6    illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasion and a PO when one WUS is configured to control multiple POs for one paging group according to various exemplary embodiments.  FIG.  6    includes a timing diagram  610 . 
     In some embodiments, a WUS occasion may be associated with (N) POs. The timing diagram  610  shows a line  611  that represents time. In this example, a first WUS occasion  612  is associated with two POs  614 - 616  and WUS occasion  618  is associated with three POs  620 - 624 . The number of POs (N) and the identity of the POs may be configured by RRC signaling or indicated with the WUS. 
     To utilize the configuration shown in the timing diagram  610 , the UE  110  may initially determine its PO locations and WUS occasion location. If the WUS indicates that the UE  110  is to wake-up for paging monitoring, the UE  110  may wakeup and enter the active mode of data exchange processing to monitor the N POs. If the WUS indicates that the UE  110  is to sleep, the UE  110  will sleep and not monitor the N POs. Within the N POs, the UE  110  will not monitor WUS occasions. After N consecutive POs, the UE  110  will resume monitoring WUS occasions. 
       FIG.  7    illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasion and a PO when one WUS is configured to control one PO for multiple paging groups according to various exemplary embodiments.  FIG.  7    includes a timing diagram  710 . 
     In some embodiments, a WUS may be used to indicate a wake-up/sleep state for multiple paging groups. The timing diagram  710  includes a line  711  that represents time. In this example, the WUS occasion  712  is shown to include a WUS that is associated with PO  714  and PO  716 . The PO  714  is assigned to a first paging group and the PO  716  is assigned to a second different paging group. However, reference to two paging groups is merely provided for illustrative purposes, this configuration may be used for any appropriate one to (N) paging groups mapping. 
     To utilize the configuration shown in the timing diagram  710 , the UE  110  may initially determine its PO location and WUS occasion location. In some embodiments, the WUS may indicate a common wake-up/sleep state for multiple paging groups. Thus, if the WUS includes a wake-up indication the UEs of both paging groups will wake-up and enter the active mode of data exchange processing during their respective POs. In other embodiments, the WUS may indicate individual wake-up/sleep state for each paging group. For example, the WUS may include a set of bits. A first subset of one or more bits may be used to indicate whether a first paging group is to wake-up or sleep during its corresponding PO and a second subset of one or more bits may be used to indicate whether a second paging group is to wake-up or sleep during its corresponding PO. 
       FIG.  8    illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasion and a PO when one WUS is configured to control multiple POs for multiple paging groups according to various exemplary embodiments.  FIG.  8    includes a timing diagram  810 . 
     The timing diagram  810  includes a line  811  that represents time. The WUS occasion  812  may correspond to (N) paging groups and (x) consecutive POs for each paging groups. The timing diagram  810  shows POs  814 ,  816  that correspond to a first paging group and POs  818 ,  820  that correspond to a second paging group. 
     In this example, the UE  110  is in the first paging group. Thus, the UE  110  may operate in accordance with the WUS during POs  814 ,  816  (e.g., (x) consecutive POs). Similar to the examples shown in  FIG.  6   , within the (x) consecutive paging group POs, the UE  110  will not monitor WUS occasions. After the (x) consecutive POs, the UE  110  will resume monitoring WUS occasions. 
     The UEs of the second paging group may operate in accordance with the contents of the WUS. Similar to the example shown in  FIG.  7   , in some embodiments, the WUS may indicate a common wake-up/sleep state for multiple paging groups. Thus, if the WUS includes a wake-up indication the UEs of both paging groups will wake-up and enter the active mode of data exchange processing during their respective POs. In other embodiments, the WUS may indicate individual wake-up/sleep state for each paging group. For example, the WUS may include a set of bits. A first subset of one or more bits may be used to indicate whether a first paging group is to wake-up or sleep during its corresponding PO and a second subset of one or more bits may be used to indicate whether a second paging group is to wake-up or sleep during its corresponding PO. 
       FIG.  9    illustrates examples of the relationship between a WUS occasion and a PO when multiple WUS occasions are configured to control one PO according to various exemplary embodiments.  FIG.  9    includes a timing diagram  910 . 
     The timing diagram  910  includes a line  911  that represents time. In this example, the PO  912  is associated with a WUS occasion set  920  that includes multiple WUS occasions  922 - 925 . 
     During operation, the UE  110  may determine its PO location using legacy techniques. The UE  110  may then determine the WUS occasion set  920  location. Within the WUS occasion set  920 , the UE  110  may find its WUS occasion based on its UE ID (e.g., 5G S-temporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI) or any other appropriate UE ID). The WUS occasion index may be set to equal to UE ID mod N. For example, if there are four WUS occasions in the WUS occasion set, the LSB 2 bits of the UE ID is the WUS occasion index within the associated WUS occasion set. 
     To provide an example, consider a scenario in which eight UEs are in the same paging group and configured to use the WUS occasion set  920  and the PO  912 . In this example, WUS occasion  922  is assigned to UE1 and UE5, WUS occasion  923  is assigned to UE 2 and UE 6, WUS occasion  924  is assigned to UE 3 and UE 7 and WUS occasion  925  is assigned to UE 4 and UE 8. If WUS occasion  922  indicates wake-up UE 1 and UE 5 will monitor for paging during PO  912 , if WUS occasion  923  indicates sleep UE 2 and UE 6 will sleep during the PO  912 , if WUS occasion  924  indicates wake-up UE 3 and UE 7 will monitor for paging during PO  912  and if WUS occasion  925  indicates sleep UE 4 and UE 8 will sleep during the PO  912 . 
     Those skilled in the art will understand that the above-described exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any suitable software or hardware configuration or combination thereof. An exemplary hardware platform for implementing the exemplary embodiments may include, for example, an Intel x86 based platform with compatible operating system, a Windows OS, a Mac platform and MAC OS, a mobile device having an operating system such as iOS, Android, etc. The exemplary embodiments of the above described method may be embodied as a program containing lines of code stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium that, when compiled, may be executed on a processor or microprocessor. 
     Although this application described various embodiments each having different features in various combinations, those skilled in the art will understand that any of the features of one embodiment may be combined with the features of the other embodiments in any manner not specifically disclaimed or which is not functionally or logically inconsistent with the operation of the device or the stated functions of the disclosed embodiments. 
     It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the present disclosure, without departing from the spirit or the scope of the disclosure. Thus, it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalent.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20200723
Publication Date: 20240917
Grant Date: 20240917
Priority Date: 20200723
Inventors: XU, FANGLI
YAO, CHUNHAI
ROGERS, Clive E.
ZHANG, DAWEI
HU, HAIJING
SUN, HAITONG
XING, LONGDA
SHIKARI, MURTAZA A.
VANGALA, SARMA V.
Gurumoorthy, Sethuraman
LOVLEKAR, SRIRANG A.
ZENG, WEI
KIM, YUCHUL
CHEN, YUQIN
ZHANG, YUSHU
WU, ZHIBIN
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04W76/28", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "Y02D30/70", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W68/005", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W52/028", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W52/0229", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W76/28", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W68/00", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W52/0216", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W76/28", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04W68/00", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 79729943