WO2020258104A1

WO2020258104A1 - Notification of status of discontinuous reception configuration

Info

Publication number: WO2020258104A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/093117
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lifan Zhang
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co., Ltd.; Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy
Priority date: 2019-06-26
Filing date: 2019-06-26
Publication date: 2020-12-30
Also published as: CN114009098A; CN114009098B

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to notification of a status of a DRX configuration. A first device comprises at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program codes. The at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to: determine a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for a second device; in response to a determination that the status is setup, transmit to a third device a message that comprises a first information element, the first information element comprising a value of a discontinuous reception offset for the second device; and in response to a determination that the status is release, transmit to the third device the message without the first information element.

Description

NOTIFICATION OF STATUS OF DISCONTINUOUS RECEPTION CONFIGURATION

FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to a device, method, apparatus and computer readable storage medium for notification of a status of a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration.

BACKGROUND

DRX is a method for reducing battery consumption by allowing a communication device to discontinuously receive information from another communication device. For example, when the DRX is configured, user equipment (UE) discontinuously monitors a downlink channel from a network device so as to reduce the battery consumption. Otherwise, the UE continuously monitors the downlink channel. With the DRX configured, one or more timers may be configured to indicate when a device is in an active status for the reception and/or when the device is in a sleep status where the monitoring or reception is not performed.

SUMMARY

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for notification of a status of a DRX configuration.

In a first aspect, there is provided a first device. The first device comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program codes; the at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to: determine a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for a second device; in response to a determination that the status is setup, transmit to a third device a message that comprises a first information element, the first information element comprising a value of a discontinuous reception offset for the second device; and in response to a determination that the status is release, transmit to the third device the message without the first information element.

In a second aspect, there is provided a third device. The third device comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program codes; the at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the third device to: receive a message from a first device; determine whether a first information element is included in the message, the first information element comprising a value of a discontinuous reception offset for a second device; in response to a determination that the first information element is included in the message, determine that a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for the second device is setup; and in response to a determination that the first information element is absent in the message, determine that the status is release.

In a third aspect, there is provided a method. The method comprises: determining, at a first device, a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for a second device; in response to a determination that the status is setup, transmitting to a third device a message that comprises a first information element, the first information element comprising a value of a discontinuous reception offset for the second device; and in response to a determination that the status is release, transmitting to the third device the message without the first information element.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method. The method comprises: receiving, at a third device, a message from a first device; determining whether a first information element is included in the message, the first information element comprising a value of a discontinuous reception offset for a second device; in response to a determination that the first information element is included in the message, determining that a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for the second device is setup; and in response to a determination that the first information element is absent in the message, determining that the status is release.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises: means for determining, at a first device, a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for a second device; means for transmitting to a third device a message that comprises a first information element in response to a determination that the status is setup, the first information element comprising a value of a discontinuous reception offset for the second device; and means for transmitting to the third device the message without the first information element in response to a determination that the status is release.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises: means for receiving, at a third device, a message from a first device; means for determining whether a first information element is included in the message, the first information element comprising a value of a discontinuous reception offset for a second device; means for determining that a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for the second device is setup in response to a determination that the first information element is included in the message; and means for determining that the status is release in response to a determination that the first information element is absent in the message.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium comprising a computer program for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the above third or fourth aspect.

It is to be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

Fig. 1 illustrates an example communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

Fig. 2 illustrates DRX cycles and a DRX offset configured for a device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 3 illustrates a signaling chart illustrating a process for notification of a status of a DRX configuration according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a device according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 6 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure; and

Fig. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment, ” “an embodiment, ” “an example embodiment, ” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an example embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

It shall be understood that although the terms “first” and “second” etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a” , “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” , “comprising” , “has” , “having” , “includes” and/or “including” , when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof.

As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry) and

(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable) :

(i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit (s) with software/firmware and

(ii) any portions of hardware processor (s) with software (including digital signal processor (s) ) , software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and

(c) hardware circuit (s) and or processor (s) , such as a microprocessor (s) or a portion of a microprocessor (s) , that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as fifth generation (5G) systems, Long Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) , Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the future fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP) , for example, a node B (NodeB or NB) , an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a NR Next Generation NodeB (gNB) , a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) , a radio header (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a relay, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology.

The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE) , a Subscriber Station (SS) , a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS) , or an Access Terminal (AT) . The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE) , laptop-mounted equipment (LME) , USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE) , an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD) , a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery) , an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain contexts) , a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. In the following description, the terms “terminal device” , “communication device” , “terminal” , “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

Although functionalities described herein can be performed, in various example embodiments, in a fixed and/or a wireless network node may, in other example embodiments, functionalities may be implemented in a user equipment apparatus (such as a cell phone or tablet computer or laptop computer or desktop computer or mobile IOT device or fixed IOT device) . This user equipment apparatus can, for example, be furnished with corresponding capabilities as described in connection with the fixed and/or the wireless network node (s) , as appropriate. The user equipment apparatus may be the user equipment and/or or a control device, such as a chipset or processor, configured to control the user equipment when installed therein. Examples of such functionalities include the bootstrapping server function and/or the home subscriber server, which may be implemented in the user equipment apparatus by providing the user equipment apparatus with software configured to cause the user equipment apparatus to perform from the point of view of these functions/nodes.

Fig. 1 shows an example communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The network 100 includes a first device 110, a second device 120 and a third device 130 that can communicate with each other. The third device 130 may control operations of the first device 110, and serve the second device 120 together with the first device 110.

In some example embodiments, the third device 130 may communicate with the first device 110 via a front-haul (F1) interface. In this example, the first device 110 is illustrated to be separated from the third device 130. However, in other example embodiments, the first device 110 and the third device 130 may be implemented on a single physical node.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may be implemented as a distributed unit of a gNB (also referred to as gNB-DU) , the third device 130 may be implemented as a centralized unit of a gNB (also referred to as gNB-CU) , and the second device 120 may be implemented as a terminal device. In such example embodiments, the first device 110 may include a subset of functions of the gNB. For example, the first device 110 may host Radio Link Control (RLC) , Media Access Control (MAC) and Physical (PHY) layers of the gNB.

In addition, in such example embodiments, the third device 130 may include another subset of functions of the gNB, such as transfer of user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, session management and the like. For example, the third device 130 may host Radio Resource Control (RRC) , Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB.

It is to be understood that the number of the first, second and third devices is only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations. The system 100 may include any suitable number of the first, second and third devices adapted for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it would be appreciated that more than one second devices may be served by the first device 110 and the third device 130.

Communications in the communication system 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol (s) , comprising, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) and the fifth generation (5G) and on the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and/or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) , Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) , Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) , Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) , Time Division Duplex (TDD) , Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) , Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM) , Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and/or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

For the purpose of power saving, the third device 130 may request the first device 110 to set up a discontinuous reception (DRX) configuration for the second device 120. When the DRX configuration is set up, the second device 120 discontinuously monitors information/data (for example, downlink information/data) transmitted from the first device 110 or the third device 130. In addition, when the DRX configuration is set up, to receive data, the second device 120 may first awake to monitor control information which indicates whether the second device 120 is scheduled to receive data and how the data can be received. A DRX cycle specifies the periodic repetition of the on-duration followed by a possible period of inactivity. The DRX cycle includes an on-duration and an off-duration. The on-duration is an active time during which the second device 120 monitors control information within the DRX cycle. A DRX offset defines a resource in time domain (such as a slot or subframe) where the DRX cycle starts.

To better understand the DRX, DRX cycles and DRX offset will be described with reference to Fig. 2. As shown, DRX cycles 210 and 220 are configured for the second device 120. A DRX offset 211 defines a resource in time domain where the DRX cycle 210 starts. The DRX cycle 210 includes an on-duration 212 and an off-duration subsequent to the on-duration 212. Similarly, the DRX cycle 220 includes an on-duration 222 and an off-duration subsequent to the on-duration 222.

Each of the on-

durations

212 and 222 is an active time during which the second device 120 is active to monitor control information within the respective DRX cycle. Each of the off-durations is a duration in which the second device 120 is in a sleep state and does not monitor the control information. The DRX cycles 210 and 220 may be various types. In some examples, the DRX cycles 210 and 220 each may be a long DRX cycle or a short DRX cycle. The long DRX cycle which has a long period can minimize battery consumption of the UE. The short DRX cycle which has a short period can minimize a data transmission delay.

In some example embodiments, for the purpose of setup of a DRX configuration for the second device 120, the third device 130 may determine a value of a DRX cycle and transmit the value to the first device 110. The first device 110 may determine a value of a DRX offset. In turn, the first device 110 may set up the DRX configuration for the second device 120 by using the value of the DRX cycle and the value of the DRX offset. If the first device 110 sets up the DRX configuration for the second device 120 successfully, a status of the DRX configuration for the second device 120 will be setup.

In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may be required to perform some operations only in an on-duration of a DRX cycle. For example, the second device 120 will not measure Channel State Information Reference Signals (CSI-RS) , send periodic CSI report, or send periodic Sounding Reference Signals (SRS) in an off-duration of a DRX cycle.

Therefore, to guarantee the measurement and/or report chance, it is better for the first device 110 to allocate to the second device 120 measurement and/or report resource in an on-duration of a DRX cycle. Due to such restriction, there is a possibility that the first device 110 fails to find a DRX offset for the second device 120, resulting in a failure of setup of the DRX configuration for the second device 120. In this case, the status of the DRX configuration for the second device 120 will be release.

On the other hand, the third device 130 may require the second device 120 continuously monitoring information/data transmitted from the first device 110 or the third device 130. Thus, the third device 130 may request the first device 110 to release the DRX configuration for the second device 120. If the first device 110 releases the DRX configuration for the second device 120 successfully, the status of the DRX configuration for the second device 120 will be release.

In view of the above, the status of the DRX configuration for the second device 120 will be either setup or release. Because the status of the DRX configuration for the second device 120 is maintained by the third device 130, the third device 130 needs to be notified of the status of the DRX configuration for the second device 120.

According to some example embodiments, there is provided a solution for notification of a status of DRX configuration. According to the solution, the first device determines a status of a DRX configuration for a second device. If the status is setup, the first device includes a first information element (IE) comprising a value of a DRX offset for the second device in a message to the third device. On the other hand, if the status is release, the first device does not include the first IE in the message. In turn, the first device transmits the message to the third device. Upon receiving the message, the third device may determine that the status is setup via a presence of the first IE in the message, and that the status is release via an absence of the first IE in the message.

Reference is now made to Fig. 3, which shows a signaling chart 300 illustrating a process for notification of a status of a DRX configuration according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the process 300 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The process 300 may involve the first device 110, the second device 120 and the third device 130 as illustrated in Fig. 1. Although the process 300 has been described in the communication system 100 of Fig. 1, this process may be likewise applied to other communication scenarios.

The first device 110 determines 310 a status of a DRX configuration for the second device 120. If the first device 110 determines that the status is setup, the first device 110 transmits 320 to the third device 130 a message that comprises a first IE. The first IE comprises a value of a DRX offset for the second device 120. For example, the first IE may comprise a value of the DRX offset 211 in Fig. 2. On the other hand, if the first device 110 determines that the status is release, the first device 110 transmits 330 the message without the first IE to the third device 130.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, if the first device 110 determines that the DRX configuration for the second device 120 fails to be set up, the first device 110 determines that the status is release. Alternatively, if the first device 110 determines that the DRX configuration for the second device 120 is released, the first device 110 determines that the status is release.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, the third device 130 may transmit to the first device 110 a request for setup or release of the DRX configuration for the second device 120. Examples of the request may include, but are not limited to, F1AP: UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST, and F1AP: UE CONTEXT MODIFY REQUEST. In such example embodiments, upon determining the status of DRX configuration for the second device 120, the first device 110 may transmit to the third device 130 a first signaling message related to setup of a context of the second device 120. A presence of the first IE in the first signaling message may indicate the status of the DRX configuration for the second device 120 is setup. An absence of the first IE in the first signaling message may indicate the status of the DRX configuration for the second device 120 is release. Examples of the first signaling message may include, but are not limited to, F1AP: UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE. Alternatively, the first device 110 may transmit to the third device 130 a second signaling message related to modification of the context of the second device 120. A presence of the first IE in the second signaling message may indicate the status of the DRX configuration for the second device 120 is setup. An absence of the first IE in the second signaling message may indicate the status of the DRX configuration for the second device 120 is release. Examples of the second signaling message may include, but are not limited to, F1AP: UE CONTEXT MODIFY RESPONSE.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, the first device 110 may include the first IE in a second IE in one of the first and second signaling messages. The second IE comprises the first IE and radio resource control information about the second device 120. Examples of the second IE may include, but are not limited to, DU to CU RRC Information IE.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, the first device 110 is caused to transmit the message to the third device 130 via an F1 interface.

Correspondingly, the third device 130 receives the message from the first device 110. The third device 130 determines 340 whether the first IE is included in the message. If the third device 130 determines that the first IE is included in the message, the third device 130 determines that the status of the DRX configuration for the second device 120 is setup. On the other hand, if the third device 130 determines that the first IE is absent in the message, the third device 130 determines that the status of the DRX configuration for the second device 120 is release. In other words, if the third device 130 determines that the first IE is not included in the message, the third device 130 determines that the status of the DRX configuration for the second device 120 is release.

According to example embodiments of the present disclosure, upon receiving the message from the first device 110, the third device 130 may determine that the status is setup via a presence of the first IE in the message, and that the status is release via an absence of the first IE in the message. Thus, it is possible for the third device 130 to maintain the status of the second device 120.

In some example embodiments, if the third device 130 has instructed the first device 110 to set up the DRX configuration for the second device 120 and the first IE is not included in the message from the first device 110, the third device 130 may determine that the first device 110 fails to set up the DRX configuration for the second device 120. In this case, the third device 130 may transmit a further request for setup of the DRX configuration for the second device 120 to the first device 110.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, upon determining the status of the DRX configuration for the second device 120, the third device 130 may transmit the status of the DRX configuration to a further device (not shown) serving the second device 120. In order to enable the second device 120 to save more power, the further device and the third device 130 may set up the same DRX configuration for the second device 120.

Fig. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method 400 implemented at a device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 400 will be described from the perspective of the first device 110 with reference to Fig. 1. It would be appreciated that the method 400 may also be implemented at the second device 120 or the third device 130 in Fig. 1.

At block 410, the first device 110 determines a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for a second device.

If the status is setup, at block 420, the first device 110 transmits to a third device a message that comprises a first information element, the first information element comprising a value of a discontinuous reception offset for the second device. On the other hand, if the status is release, at block 430, the first device 110 transmits to the third device the message without the first information element.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, determining the status of the discontinuous reception configuration comprises: in response to a determination that the discontinuous reception configuration fails to be set up, determining that the status is release.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, determining the status of the discontinuous reception configuration comprises: in response to a determination that the discontinuous reception configuration is released, determining that the status is release.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, transmitting the message comprises transmitting one of the following: a first signaling message related to setup of a context of the second device, and a second signaling message related to modification of the context of the second device.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, transmitting the message comprises: transmitting one of the first and second signaling messages comprising a second information element, the second information element comprising the first information element and radio resource control information about the second device.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, transmitting the message comprises: transmitting the message to the third device via an F1 interface.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, the first device is a distributed unit of a gNB, the second device is a terminal device and the third device is a centralized unit of the gNB.

Fig. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method 500 implemented at a device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 500 will be described from the perspective of the third device 130 with reference to Fig. 1. It would be appreciated that the method 500 may also be implemented at the second device 120 or the first device 110 in Fig. 1.

At block 510, the third device 130 receives a message from a first device. At block 520, the third device 130 determines whether a first information element is included in the message, the first information element comprising a value of a discontinuous reception offset for a second device.

If the first information element is included in the message, at block 530, the third device 130 determines that a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for the second device is setup. On the other hand, if the first information element is absent in the message, the third device 130 determines that the status is release.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, determining that the status is release comprises: determining that the discontinuous reception configuration fails to be set up.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, determining that the status is release comprises: determining that the discontinuous reception configuration is released.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, receiving the message comprises receiving one of the following: a first signaling message related to setup of a context of the second device, and a second signaling message related to modification of the context of the second device.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, determining whether the first information element is included or absent in the message comprises: determining whether the first information element is included or absent in a second information element in the one of the first and second signaling messages, the second information element comprising radio resource control information about the second device.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, receiving the message comprises: receiving the message from the first device via an F1 interface.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 400 (for example, the first device 110) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 400. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for determining, at a first device, a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for a second device; means for transmitting to a third device a message that comprises a first information element in response to a determination that the status is setup, the first information element comprising a value of a discontinuous reception offset for the second device; and means for transmitting to the third device the message without the first information element in response to a determination that the status is release.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, means for determining the status of the discontinuous reception configuration comprises: in response to a determination that the discontinuous reception configuration fails to be set up, means for determining that the status is release.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, means for determining the status of the discontinuous reception configuration comprises: in response to a determination that the discontinuous reception configuration is released, means for determining that the status is release.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, means for transmitting the message comprises means for transmitting one of the following: a first signaling message related to setup of a context of the second device, and a second signaling message related to modification of the context of the second device.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, means for transmitting the message comprises: means for transmitting one of the first and second signaling messages comprising a second information element, the second information element comprising the first information element and radio resource control information about the second device.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, means for transmitting the message comprises: means for transmitting the message to the third device via an F1 interface.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 500 (for example, the third device 130) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 400. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for receiving, at a third device, a message from a first device; means for determining whether a first information element is included in the message, the first information element comprising a value of a discontinuous reception offset for a second device; means for determining that a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for the second device is setup in response to a determination that the first information element is included in the message; and means for determining that the status is release in response to a determination that the first information element is absent in the message.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, means for determining that the status is release comprises: means for determining that the discontinuous reception configuration fails to be set up.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, means for determining that the status is release comprises: means for determining that the discontinuous reception configuration is released.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, means for receiving the message comprises means for receiving one of the following: a first signaling message related to setup of a context of the second device, and a second signaling message related to modification of the context of the second device.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, means for determining whether the first information element is included or absent in the message comprises: means for determining whether the first information element is included or absent in a second information element in the one of the first and second signaling messages, the second information element comprising radio resource control information about the second device.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, means for receiving the message comprises: receiving the message from the first device via an F1 interface.

Fig. 6 is a simplified block diagram of a device 600 that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 600 may be provided to implement the communication device, for example the first device 110, the second device 120, or the third device 130 as shown in Fig. 1. As shown, the device 600 includes one or more processors 610, one or more memories 620 coupled to the processor 610, and one or more communication modules 640 coupled to the processor 610.

The communication module 640 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 640 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements.

The processor 610 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 600 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

The memory 620 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 624, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM) , a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD) , a digital video disk (DVD) , and other magnetic storage and/or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) 622 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

A computer program 630 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 610. The program 630 may be stored in the ROM 624. The processor 610 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 630 into the RAM 622.

The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 630 so that the device 600 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to Figs. 3 to 5. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

In some example embodiments, the program 630 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 600 (such as in the memory 620) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 600. The device 600 may load the program 630 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 622 for execution. The computer readable medium may include any types of tangible non-volatile storage, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. Fig. 7 shows an example of the computer readable medium 700 in form of CD or DVD. The computer readable medium has the program 630 stored thereon.

Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor, to carry out the

method

400 or 500 as described above with reference to Fig. 4 and Fig. 5. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions/operations specified in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) , an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) , an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

Although the present disclosure has been described in languages specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

A first device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program codes;

the at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first device to:

determine a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for a second device;

in response to a determination that the status is setup, transmit to a third device a message comprising a first information element, the first information element comprising a value of a discontinuous reception offset for the second device; and

in response to a determination that the status is release, transmit to the third device the message without the first information element.
The first device of Claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to determine the status of the discontinuous reception configuration by:

in response to a determination that the discontinuous reception configuration fails to be set up, determining that the status is release.
The first device of Claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to determine the status of the discontinuous reception configuration by:

in response to a determination that the discontinuous reception configuration is released, determining that the status is release.
The first device of Claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to transmit the message by transmitting one of the following:

a first signaling message related to setup of a context of the second device, and

a second signaling message related to modification of the context of the second device.
The first device of Claim 4, wherein the first device is caused to transmit the message by:

transmitting one of the first and second signaling messages comprising a second information element, the second information element comprising the first information element and radio resource control information about the second device.
The first device of Claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to transmit the message to the third device by:

transmitting the message to the third device via an F1 interface.
The first device of any of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the first device is a distributed unit of a gNB, the second device is a terminal device and the third device is a centralized unit of the gNB.
A third device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program codes;

the at least one memory and the computer program codes are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the third device to:

receive a message from a first device;

determine whether a first information element is included in the message, the first information element comprising a value of a discontinuous reception offset for a second device;

in response to a determination that the first information element is included in the message, determine that a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for the second device is setup; and

in response to a determination that the first information element is absent in the message, determine that the status is release.
The third device of Claim 8, wherein the third device is caused to determine that the status is release by:

determining that the discontinuous reception configuration fails to be set up.
The third device of Claim 8, wherein the third device is caused to determine that the status is release by:

determining that the discontinuous reception configuration is released.
The third device of Claim 8, wherein the third device is caused to receive the message by receiving one of the following:

a first signaling message related to setup of a context of the second device, and

a second signaling message related to modification of the context of the second device.
The third device of Claim 11, wherein the third device is caused to determine whether the first information element is included or absent in the message by:

determining whether the first information element is included or absent in a second information element in the one of the first and second signaling messages, the second information element comprising radio resource control information about the second device.
The third device of Claim 8, wherein the third device is caused to receive the message by:

receiving the message from the first device via an F1 interface.
The third device of any of Claims 8 to 13, wherein the first device is a distributed unit of a gNB, the second device is a terminal device and the third device is a centralized unit of the gNB.
A method, comprising:

determining, at a first device, a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for a second device;

in response to a determination that the status is setup, transmitting to a third device a message that comprises a first information element, the first information element comprising a value of a discontinuous reception offset for the second device; and

in response to a determination that the status is release, transmitting to the third device the message without the first information element.
The method of Claim 15, wherein determining the status of the discontinuous reception configuration comprises:

in response to a determination that the discontinuous reception configuration fails to be set up, determining that the status is release.
The method of Claim 15, wherein determining the status of the discontinuous reception configuration comprises:

in response to a determination that the discontinuous reception configuration is released, determining that the status is release.
The method of Claim 15, wherein transmitting the message comprises transmitting one of the following:

a first signaling message related to setup of a context of the second device, and

a second signaling message related to modification of the context of the second device.
The method of Claim 18, wherein transmitting the message comprises:

transmitting one of the first and second signaling messages comprising a second information element, the second information element comprising the first information element and radio resource control information about the second device.
The method of Claim 15, wherein transmitting the message comprises:

transmitting the message to the third device via an F1 interface.
The method of any of Claims 15 to 20, wherein the first device is a distributed unit of a gNB, the second device is a terminal device and the third device is a centralized unit of the gNB.
A method, comprising:

receiving, at a third device, a message from a first device;

determining whether a first information element is included in the message, the first information element comprising a value of a discontinuous reception offset for a second device;

in response to a determination that the first information element is included in the message, determining that a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for the second device is setup; and

in response to a determination that the first information element is absent in the message, determining that the status is release.
The method of Claim 22, wherein determining that the status is release comprises:

determining that the discontinuous reception configuration fails to be set up.
The method of Claim 22, wherein determining that the status is release comprises:

determining that the discontinuous reception configuration is released.
The method of Claim 22, wherein receiving the message comprises receiving one of the following:

a first signaling message related to setup of a context of the second device, and

a second signaling message related to modification of the context of the second device.
The method of Claim 25, wherein determining whether the first information element is included or absent in the message comprises:

determining whether the first information element is included or absent in a second information element in the one of the first and second signaling messages, the second information element comprising radio resource control information about the second device.
The method of Claim 22, wherein receiving the message comprises:

receiving the message from the first device via an F1 interface.
The method of any of Claims 22 to 27, wherein the first device is a distributed unit of a gNB, the second device is a terminal device and the third device is a centralized unit of the gNB.
An apparatus, comprising:

means for determining, at a first device, a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for a second device;

means for transmitting to a third device a message that comprises a first information element in response to a determination that the status is setup, the first information element comprising a value of a discontinuous reception offset for the second device; and

means for transmitting to the third device the message without the first information element in response to a determination that the status is release.
An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving, at a third device, a message from a first device;

means for determining whether a first information element is included in the message, the first information element comprising a value of a discontinuous reception offset for a second device;

means for determining that a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for the second device is setup in response to a determination that the first information element is included in the message; and

means for determining that the status is release in response to a determination that the first information element is absent in the message.
A computer readable medium comprising a computer program for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method of Claim 15 or 22.