CN113228728A

CN113228728A - Method, apparatus and system for saving energy in wireless communications

Info

Publication number: CN113228728A
Application number: CN201880098168.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 梁亚超; 郝鹏; 刘星; 李剑; 魏兴光
Original assignee: ZTE Corp
Current assignee: ZTE Corp
Priority date: 2018-09-27
Filing date: 2018-09-27
Publication date: 2021-08-06
Anticipated expiration: 2038-09-27
Also published as: CN113228728B; WO2020034322A1

Abstract

Methods, devices, and systems for saving energy in wireless communications are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method performed by a wireless communication node is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: configuring a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) cycle for a wireless communication device; configuring a bandwidth part BWP adapted to the wireless communication device; and determining a relationship between a timer associated with the BWP adaptive handover and a phase of the DRX cycle of the wireless communication device.

Description

Method, apparatus and system for saving energy in wireless communications

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly, to methods, devices, and systems for saving energy in wireless communications.

Background

With the development of wireless communication technology and the increasing demand for communication, in order to meet the demand for higher, faster and more recent communication, the Fifth Generation Mobile communication technology (5G for short) has become a trend of network development. The 5G system will support enhanced mobile broadband, ultra-high reliability, ultra-low latency transmission and large-scale connectivity. In addition, the terminal increases power consumption while supporting these functions. To solve the power consumption problem, an adaptive Discontinuous Reception (DRX) cycle and a bandwidth part (BWP) are supported in a 5G system.

Data services for User Equipment (UE) do not occur regularly. It is possible that data transmission is only performed during one time period and no data transmission is performed during the next time period. When there is no data transmission, the UE may turn off its respective receiver and enter a low power consumption mode to save energy. This is called discontinuous reception DRX cycle. In the DRX cycle, a period of data transmission or a period of time during which the UE continuously monitors a Physical Downlink control channel (PDCCH for short) is referred to as an ON duration period; and a period in which there is no data transmission or a period in which the UE does not monitor the PDCCH or a partial function of a receiver of the UE is turned OFF is referred to as an OFF duration period. The ON duration and the OFF duration adjacent to each other form a DRX cycle, and a specific time length thereof may be configured by higher layer signaling. The UE switches between ON duration and OFF duration based ON higher layer signaling or Wake Up Signal (WUS for short) or first layer (Floor 1 for short L1) signals.

To more flexibly allocate frequency domain resources and reduce energy consumption, a bandwidth part BWP is introduced in 5G. BWP includes a certain number of consecutive Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) in the frequency domain. Different BWPs may be allocated according to different transmission requirements. When the flow is low, the UE can switch to BWP with smaller bandwidth; when the traffic is high, the UE may switch to BWP with a large bandwidth. Each BWP may employ different configurations such as subcarrier spacing, cyclic shift, etc. The system can select different BWPs according to different service requirements, thereby improving the flexibility of the system. The BWP carrying the data transmission is referred to as the active BWP and is configured by higher layer signaling. The base station may configure a maximum of four active BWPs for each of uplink and downlink services of each UE. The base station informs the UE which active BWP is used for transmission according to the transmission requirements. Typically, the active BWP is large and contains a large number of PRBs. Operating on active BWP when there is no transmission requirement will cause unnecessary power consumption for the UE. Thus, when the UE is not transmitting data on the active BWP for a certain time, the UE will switch from the active BWP to a smaller BWP, referred to as the default BWP. The handoff from the active BWP to the default BWP is referred to as the timing mechanism for BWP adaptive handoff (BA).

According to existing communication protocols, the BA timing mechanism and the DRX cycle mechanism operate independently of each other. When the UE enters the OFF duration phase as indicated by the periodic configuration or WUS or L1 signals, the BA timer may not expire at the UE at this time so that the UE is still operating on active BWP. The BA timer continues to run despite entering the OFF duration phase. After the BA timer expires, the UE switches from the active BWP to the default BWP. In another case, the BA timer has expired before entering the OFF duration, and the UE has switched to the default BWP during the ON duration phase. The independent operation of the BA timing mechanism and the DRX cycle mechanism will bring flexibility to BWP handover and affect the energy saving effect of the UE. Thus, existing systems and methods for saving power at the UE are not entirely satisfactory.

Disclosure of Invention

The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are intended to solve the problems associated with one or more of the problems presented in the prior art, and to provide additional features that will be readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In accordance with various embodiments, exemplary systems, methods, devices, and computer program products are disclosed herein. It is to be understood, however, that these embodiments are given by way of illustration and not of limitation, and that various modifications to the disclosed embodiments may be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, a method performed by a wireless communication node is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: configuring a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) cycle for a wireless communication device; configuring a bandwidth part BWP adapted to the wireless communication device; and determining a relationship between a timer associated with the BWP adaptive handover and a phase of the DRX cycle of the wireless communication device.

In another embodiment, a method performed by a wireless communication node is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: transmitting configuration information related to an initial uplink UL bandwidth part BWP and an initial downlink DL BWP to the wireless communication device, wherein the initial UL BWP and the initial DL BWP are simultaneously applicable; and performing a random access procedure for the wireless communication device to complete access to the wireless communication node based on both the initial UL BWP and the initial DL BWP.

In yet another embodiment, a method performed by a wireless communication device is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: determining a configuration for a discontinuous reception, DRX, cycle and a configuration adapted to a bandwidth part, BWP, of the wireless communication device; and determining a relationship between a timer associated with the BWP adaptive handover and a phase of the DRX cycle of the wireless communication device.

In yet another embodiment, a method performed by a wireless communication device is disclosed. The method comprises the following steps: receiving configuration information from the wireless communication node relating to an initial uplink, UL, bandwidth portion, BWP, and an initial downlink, DL, BWP; and simultaneously initiating UL BWP and DL BWP to complete access to the wireless communication node before the random access procedure for the wireless communication device is complete based on the configuration information.

In various embodiments, a wireless communication node configured in some embodiments to perform the disclosed methods is disclosed. In another embodiment, a wireless communication device configured in some embodiments to perform the disclosed methods is disclosed. In yet another embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for performing the methods disclosed in some embodiments is disclosed.

Drawings

Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict exemplary embodiments of the disclosure to facilitate the reader's understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, the drawings are not to be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability of the present disclosure. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of illustration, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example communication network in which techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 2 illustrates an example structure of a discontinuous reception, DRX, cycle in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates an exemplary timing mechanism for bandwidth segment BWP adaptive handoff according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example scenario involving both BWP adaptive handover and DRX cycle, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a User Equipment (UE) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method performed by a UE for power saving, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a Base Station (BS) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a method performed by a BS for power saving according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 illustrates an exemplary relationship between a BWP adaptive handover (BA) timer and a phase of a DRX cycle in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 10 illustrates another exemplary relationship between the BA timer and the phase of the DRX cycle, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 illustrates an exemplary relationship between a BA timer and DRX cycle phases with a wake-up signal (WUS) or LI signal, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 12 illustrates another exemplary relationship between the BA timer and DRX cycle phase with WUS/L1 signals, according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

Fig. 13 illustrates an exemplary scenario in which WUS/L1 operates on a dedicated BWP, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 14 illustrates another exemplary scenario in which WUS/L1 operates on a dedicated BWP, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 15 illustrates yet another exemplary scenario in which WUS/L1 operates on a dedicated BWP, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 16 illustrates yet another exemplary scenario in which WUS/L1 operates on a dedicated BWP, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 17 still illustrates an exemplary scenario in which WUS/L1 operates on BWP based on BA timer determination, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 18 illustrates an example method for initial uplink and downlink BWP according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 19 illustrates another exemplary method for initial uplink and downlink BWP according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure are described below with reference to the drawings to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the disclosure. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading this disclosure that various changes or modifications can be made to the examples described herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not limited to the exemplary embodiments and applications described and illustrated herein. Additionally, the particular order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein is merely exemplary. Based upon design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods or processes disclosed may be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the methods and/or techniques disclosed herein present the various steps or actions in a sample order, and the disclosure is not limited to the particular order or hierarchy presented unless specifically indicated otherwise.

A typical wireless communication network includes one or more Base Stations (BSs), each providing geographic radio coverage, and one or more wireless User Equipments (UEs) that can transmit and receive data within the radio coverage. In a wireless communication network, a BS and a UE may communicate with each other via a communication link, e.g., via downlink radio frames from the BS to the UE, or via uplink radio frames from the UE to the BS.

The present disclosure provides methods and systems for saving energy for data transmission systems. A mutual coupling relationship is given between the DRX cycle and BWP adaptive handover (BWP adaptive, abbreviated as BA) timing. In the OFF duration, unnecessary BWP switching may be avoided by adjusting the BA timing. More energy can be saved when the UE enters ON duration.

In one embodiment, when the ON duration and OFF duration of the DRX cycle are configured by higher layer signaling, the BA timer may run or increase only during the ON duration and remain unchanged during the OFF duration. In another embodiment, the BA timer is normally incremented during the ON duration; but may be increased at a slower rate during the OFF duration, e.g., according to a fixed or configured slowdown factor by higher layer signaling.

In one embodiment, the ON duration and OFF duration of the DRX cycle are indicated by the WUS or L1 signal. If the WUS or L1 signal is operating ON active BWP, the BA timer may only run or increment for the ON duration and remain unchanged for the OFF duration. If the WUS or L1 signal is operating on the default BWP, the BA timer may be forced to expire when the UE enters the OFF duration. The WUS or L1 signal may also work on dedicated BWPs with fewer PRBs than the default BWP.

When the dedicated BWP is not the type of BWP configured for the UE, the BA timer may only run or increase during the ON duration and remain unchanged during the OFF duration. In one embodiment, the BA timer is normally incremented during the ON duration; but may be increased at a slower rate during the OFF duration, e.g., according to a fixed or configured slowdown factor by higher layer signaling. The BA timer may be disabled when the dedicated BWP is a type of BWP configured for the UE. When the UE enters the OFF duration, it directly switches to dedicated BWP. When the UE enters ON duration again, it will switch to default BWP.

In one embodiment, the BA timing mechanism is primary. The UE detects the WUS/L1 based on the current BWP determined based on the BA timer. The UE entering the OFF duration does not affect the BA timing.

In various embodiments, a BS may be referred to as a network-side node, and may include or be implemented as: next Generation Node B (generic Node B, abbreviated to gNB), Evolved terrestrial Radio Access Network (Evolved UTRAN, abbreviated to E-UTRAN) Node B (E-UTRAN Node B, abbreviated to eNB), transmission Reception Point (Transfer Reception Points, abbreviated to TRP), Access Point (Access Point, abbreviated to AP), Donor Node (Donor Node, abbreviated to DN), relay Node, core Network (core Network, abbreviated to CN) Node, Radio Access Network (Radio Access Network, abbreviated to RAN) Node, master Node, auxiliary Node, Distributed Unit (DU), Centralized Unit (CU), and the like. The UE in the present disclosure may be referred to as a terminal, and may include or be implemented as a Mobile Station (MS), a Station (STA), and the like. The BS and UE may be described herein as non-limiting examples of "wireless communication nodes"; and, herein, UEs and UEs may be described as non-limiting examples of "wireless communication devices". According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a BS and a UE may practice the methods disclosed herein and may be capable of wireless and/or wired communication.

Fig. 1 illustrates an exemplary communication network 100 in which techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 1, the exemplary communication network 100 includes a Base Station (BS)101 and a plurality of UEs, UE 1110, UE 2120 …, UE 3130, wherein the BS 101 may communicate with the UEs according to a wireless protocol.

In one embodiment, after a UE (e.g., UE 1110) successfully accesses BS 101, the UE may perform a DRX cycle to save energy. In the DRX cycle, the UE continuously monitors a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH for short) during an ON duration period; and does not monitor the PDCCH during the OFF duration period. The ON duration and the OFF duration adjacent to each other form a DRX cycle, and a specific time length thereof may be configured by higher layer signaling.

Figure 2 illustrates an example structure of a DRX cycle in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 2, there are two ways for the UE to enter ON duration or OFF duration. The first way is to semi-statically configure using higher layer signaling: the start time of the ON duration 211, the length of the ON duration 211, and the length of the DRX cycle 213. Then, according to the structure 210, the OFF duration 212 may be determined according to the length of the DRX cycle 213 and the ON duration 211. The UE semi-statically switches between ON duration and OFF duration according to a higher layer configuration. The second way is based on an activation signal 231, e.g. a wake-up signal or a first layer signal. According to structure 220, the activation signal 231 may dynamically inform the UE to change from an OFF duration to an ON duration, or from an ON duration to an OFF duration. In this case, the length of the DRX cycle 224 is not fixed and can no longer be configured by higher layer signaling. The UE dynamically switches between ON and OFF durations according to either the WUS signal or the L1 signal.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example timing mechanism 300 for BWP adaptive handoff (BA) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As described above, the BWP carrying the data transport is referred to as active BWP 320, which is configured by higher layer signaling. When the UE has no data transmission on active BWP 320 for a certain period of time, the UE will switch from active BWP 320 to a smaller BWP, referred to as default BWP 330. At this time, the UE may receive some control and indication information regarding the default BWP 330. If there is a transmission request, switch from the default BWP 330 to the active BWP. The UE switches from the active BWP to the default BWP according to the BA timing mechanism. BA timer 340 begins to increment or run after the UE completes initial access and begins operating on active BWP 320. If a PDCCH is detected within the BA timer 340, the BA timer 340 is reset and starts to operate again. The UE may configure parameters related to BA timer 340 by higher layer parameters bwp inactivity timer.

If the UE does not detect a Downlink Control Information (DCI) format for PDSCH reception under Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), a DCI format for PDSCH reception under Time Division Duplex (TDD), or a DCI format for PUSCH transmission under TDD within a certain timing interval, the UE adds a timer on a first Frequency range (first Frequency range, FR1 for short) at intervals of 1ms, or adds a timer on a Second Frequency range (Second Frequency range, FR2 for short) at intervals of 0.5 ms. When the BA timer expires, the UE switches from the active BWP to the default BWP.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example scenario 400 involving both BA and DRX cycles, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 4, when the UE enters the OFF duration phase 412 from the ON duration phase 411 according to a periodic configuration or an indication from a WUS or L1 signal, the BA timer 430 may not have expired at the UE yet, so that the UE is still operating ON the active BWP 421. Although OFF duration period 412 is entered, BA timer 430 continues to run. After BA timer 430 expires, the UE switches from active BWP 421 to default BWP 422. In another case (not shown in fig. 4), BA timer 421 has expired before entering OFF duration 412, and the UE has switched to default BWP 422 during ON duration phase 411.

Fig. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a User Equipment (UE)500 in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. UE 500 is an example of a device that may be configured to implement the various methods described herein. As shown in fig. 5, UE 500 includes a housing 540 containing a system clock 502, a processor 504, a memory 506, a transceiver 510 including a transmitter 512 and a receiver 514, a power module 508, a DRX cycle-BA configuration determiner 520, a DRX cycle-BA relationship determiner 522, a BWP activator and switch 524, a BA timer controller 526, an activation signal detector 528, and a DRX cycle phase switch 529.

In this embodiment, the system clock 502 provides timing signals to the processor 504 for controlling the timing of all operations of the UE 500. The Processor 504 controls the overall operation of the UE 500 and may include one or more Processing circuits or modules, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) and/or general purpose microprocessor, a microcontroller, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), a controller, a state machine, gating Logic, discrete hardware components, any combination of dedicated hardware finite state machines, or any other suitable circuit, Device, and/or structure that may perform calculations or other manipulations of data.

Memory 506, which may include Read Only Memory (ROM) and Random Access Memory (RAM), may provide instructions and data to processor 504. A portion of the Memory 506 may also include Non-Volatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM). The processor 504 typically performs logical and arithmetic operations based on program instructions stored within the memory 506. Instructions stored in memory 506 (also referred to as software) may be executed by processor 504 to perform the methods described herein. Together, the processor 504 and memory 506 form a processing system that stores and executes software. As used herein, "software," whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, etc., refers to any type of instructions that can configure a machine or device to perform one or more desired functions or processes. The instructions may include code (e.g., in source code format, binary code format, executable code format, or any other suitable code format). The instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the processing system to perform the various functions described herein.

The transceiver 510, which includes a transmitter 512 and a receiver 514, allows the UE 500 to transmit data to and receive data from a remote device (e.g., a BS or another UE). Antenna 550 is typically attached to housing 540 and electrically coupled to transceiver 510. In various embodiments, the UE 500 includes (not shown) multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, and multiple transceivers. In one embodiment, the antenna 550 is replaced by a multi-antenna array 350 (which may form multiple beams, each pointing in a different direction). The transmitter 512 may be configured to wirelessly transmit packets having different packet types or functionalities, such packets being generated by the processor 504. Similarly, the receiver 514 is configured to receive packets having different packet types or functionalities, and the processor 504 is configured to process packets of a plurality of different packet types. For example, the processor 504 may be configured to determine the type of packet and process the packet and/or fields of the packet accordingly.

In a communication system including the UE 500 served by the BS, the BS may configure the DRX cycle mechanism and the BA mechanism for the UE 500 in order to save energy of the UE 500. In one embodiment, the DRX cycle-BA configuration determiner 520 may determine the configuration of the DRX cycle and the configuration of the BA for the UE 500, e.g., based on higher layer signaling from the BS. The DRX cycle-BA configuration determiner 520 may analyze the configuration of the DRX cycle and BA and transmit the configuration to the DRX cycle-BA relation determiner 522 to determine the relation between the DRX cycle and BA.

As used herein, the term "layer" refers to an abstraction layer of a layered model, such as the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model, which divides a communication System into abstraction layers. One layer serves as the next higher layer above it and is provided by the next lower layer below it.

In this example, DRX cycle-BA relationship determiner 522 may determine a relationship between a timer associated with the BA and a phase of the DRX cycle of UE 500, e.g., based on a configuration from DRX cycle-BA configuration determiner 520, based on higher layer signaling from the BS, and/or based on an agreement agreed upon between the BS and UE 500.

In this example, BWP activator and switch 524 may cause UE 500 to switch from the active BWP to the default BWP in response to expiration of a timer and based on higher layer signaling. In one embodiment, the DRX cycle includes an ON duration phase and an OFF duration phase based ON a higher layer signaling indication from the BS. BA timer controller 526 may control the BA timer to run or pause or expire under various conditions. In one case, BA timer controller 526 may control the BA timer to run during the ON duration phase, pause during the OFF duration phase, and continue running during the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle until the timer expires according to this relationship. In another case, BA timer controller 526 may control the BA timer to run during both the ON duration phase and the OFF duration phase until the timer expires, wherein the BA timer runs slower during the OFF duration phase than during the ON duration phase according to a relationship. For example, the first operating speed of the BA timer during the ON duration period is a multiple of the second operating speed of the BA timer during the OFF duration period, and the multiple is indicated based ON higher layer signaling.

In another embodiment, BWP activator and switch 524 may cause UE 500 to switch from the active BWP to the default BWP in response to expiration of the BA timer, wherein the DRX cycle includes an ON duration phase and an OFF duration phase indicated based ON the activation signal. The activation signal may be a WUS or L1 signal from the BS. In this embodiment, BA timer controller 526 may control the BA timer to run or pause or expire under various conditions. In one case, BA timer controller 526 may control the BA timer to run during the ON duration phase, pause during the OFF duration phase, and continue running during the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle until the timer expires according to this relationship. In this case, the activation signal detector 528 may detect an activation signal on the active BWP via the receiver 514 during the OFF duration period; also, the DRX cycle phase switcher 529 may cause the UE 500 to switch from the OFF duration phase to the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle based ON the activation signal.

In another case, BA timer controller 526 may control the BA timer to run during the ON duration phase and be forced to expire in response to the UE 500 switching from the ON duration phase to the OFF duration phase according to a relationship. In this case, the activation signal detector 528 may detect an activation signal on the default BWP via the receiver 514 during the OFF duration period; also, the DRX cycle phase switcher 529 may cause the UE 500 to switch from the OFF duration phase to the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle based ON the activation signal.

In another case, BWP activator and switch 524 may cause UE 500 to switch from the active BWP to the dedicated BWP based ON the relationship in response to the switching of UE 500 from the ON duration phase to the OFF duration phase. The dedicated BWP contains fewer resource blocks than contained in the default BWP. In this case, the activation signal detector 528 may detect an activation signal on the dedicated BWP via the receiver 514 during the OFF duration period; also, the DRX cycle phase switcher 529 may cause the UE 500 to switch from the OFF duration phase to the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle based ON the activation signal. In one embodiment, BA timer controller 526 may control the BA timer to run during the ON duration period and continue running during the OFF duration period. Then, the UE 500 may be ON the default BWP at the beginning of the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle in response to the timer expiring during the OFF duration phase; or may be ON active BWP at the beginning of the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle when the timer has not expired during the OFF duration phase. In another embodiment, BA timer controller 526 may force the BA timer to expire in response to a handover of UE 500 from an ON duration phase to an OFF duration phase. The UE 500 may then be ON the default BWP at the beginning of the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle, while the timer is restarted from the beginning of the first active BWP of the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle.

In another case, the activation signal detector 528 may detect the activation signal during the OFF duration period based on the relationship, an active BWP before expiration of the timer and a default BWP after expiration of the timer. BA timer controller 526 may control the BA timer to run during the ON duration period.

In one embodiment, the BWP activator and switch 524 may receive configuration information related to an initial uplink (Up Link, UL for short) BWP and an initial downlink (DL for short) BWP from the BS via the receiver 514. Then, the BWP activator and switch 524 may initiate both UL BWP and DL BWP to complete access to the BS before the random access procedure for the UE 500 based on the configuration information.

The power module 508 may include a power source, such as one or more batteries, and a power regulator to provide regulated power to each of the aforementioned modules in fig. 5. In some embodiments, if the UE 500 is coupled to a dedicated external power source (e.g., a wall outlet), the power module 508 may include a transformer and a power regulator.

The various modules discussed above are coupled together by a bus system 530. For example, the bus system 530 may include a data bus, a power bus in addition to the data bus, a control signal bus, and/or a status signal bus. It should be appreciated that the modules of UE 500 may be operatively coupled to each other using any suitable techniques and media.

Although many separate modules or components are shown in fig. 5, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that one or more modules may be combined or jointly implemented. For example, processor 504 may implement not only the functionality described above with respect to processor 504, but also the functionality described above with respect to DRX cycle-BA relation determiner 522. Rather, each of the modules shown in FIG. 5 may be implemented using a plurality of separate components or elements.

Fig. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 600 performed by a UE (e.g., UE 500 in fig. 5) for saving energy in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In operation 610, the UE determines a configuration of a DRX cycle for the UE. In operation 620, the UE determines a configuration of a BA for the UE. In operation 630, the UE determines a relationship between a timer related to a BA and a phase of a DRX cycle of the UE. In operation 640, the UE controls a timer to run during an ON duration phase of the DRX cycle and to pause during an OFF duration phase according to the relationship. In operation 650, the UE switches from the active BWP to the default BWP in response to expiration of the timer.

Fig. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a Base Station (BS)700, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. BS 700 is an example of a node that may be configured to implement the various methods described herein. As shown in fig. 7, the BS 700 includes a housing 740 containing a system clock 702, a processor 704, a memory 706, a transceiver 710 including a transmitter 712 and a receiver 714, a power module 708, a DRX cycle configurator 720, a BA configurator 722, a DRX cycle-BA relationship determiner 724, and an activation signal generator 726.

In this embodiment, system clock 702, processor 704, memory 706, transceiver 710, and power module 708 operate similarly to system clock 502, processor 504, memory 506, transceiver 510, and power module 508 in UE 500. An antenna 750 or multi-antenna array 750 is typically attached to the housing 740 and electrically coupled to the transceiver 710.

In a communication system, the BS 700 may configure a DRX cycle mechanism and a BA mechanism for UEs served by the BS 700. In one embodiment, DRX cycle configurator 720 may generate and transmit (via a transmitter to the UE) configuration information for the UE relating to the DRX cycle; BA configurator 720 may generate and transmit (via a transmitter to the UE) configuration information related to the BA for the UE. The DRX cycle configurator 720 and BA configurator 722 may send configuration information to the DRX cycle-BA relation determiner 724 for determining a relation between the DRX cycle and the BA.

In this example, the DRX cycle-BA relation determiner 724 may determine a relation between a timer related to BA and a phase of the DRX cycle of the UE. In one embodiment, the DRX cycle includes an ON duration phase and an OFF duration phase based ON a higher layer signaling indication.

As used herein, the term "layer" refers to an abstraction layer of a layered model, such as the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model that divides a communication system into abstraction layers. One layer serves as the next higher layer above it and is provided by the next lower layer below it.

In one embodiment, a timer is configured for the wireless communication device and a switch from the active BWP to the default BWP is made in response to expiration of the timer and based on higher layer signaling. In one case, the timer runs during the ON duration phase; pausing during an OFF duration period according to the relationship; and continues to run during the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle until the timer expires. In another case, the timer runs during both the ON duration phase and the OFF duration phase until the timer expires; and according to the relationship, the speed of operation during the OFF duration phase is slower than the speed of operation during the ON duration phase. For example, the first operating speed of the timer during the ON duration phase is a multiple of the second operating speed of the timer during the OFF duration phase. The multiple may be indicated based on higher layer signaling from BS 700.

In one embodiment, the DRX cycle includes an ON duration phase and an OFF duration phase indicated based ON the activation signal. The activation signal may be a WUS and/or L1 signal. A timer may be configured for the UE to switch from the active BWP to the default BWP in response to expiration of the timer.

In one case, the timer runs during the ON duration phase; pausing during an OFF duration period according to the relationship; and continues to run during the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle until the timer expires. Notifying the wireless communication device to switch from the OFF duration phase to the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle if the wireless communication device detects the activation signal ON an active BWP during the OFF duration phase.

In another case, the timer runs during the ON duration phase; and is forced to expire in response to the UE switching from the ON duration phase to the OFF duration phase according to this relationship. In the event that the UE detects an activation signal ON the default BWP during the OFF duration phase, the UE is notified to switch from the OFF duration phase to the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle.

In yet another case, the timer runs during the ON duration phase and the relationship informs the UE to switch from the active BWP to the dedicated BWP in response to the UE switching from the ON duration phase to the OFF duration phase. The dedicated BWP contains fewer resource blocks than contained in the default BWP.

In one example, in the event that the UE detects an activation signal ON the dedicated BWP during the OFF duration phase, the UE is notified to switch from the OFF duration phase to the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle. In this example, the timer continues to run during the OFF duration period. The UE 500 may be ON the default BWP at the beginning of the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle in response to the timer expiring during the OFF duration phase; and may be ON active BWP at the beginning of the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle when the timer has not expired during the OFF duration phase.

In another example, the timer is forced to expire in response to the UE switching from the ON duration phase to the OFF duration phase. At the beginning of the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle, the UE may be in default BWP; and restarts the timer from the beginning of the first active BWP for the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle.

In one embodiment, the timer runs during the ON duration period. This relationship informs the UE to detect an activation signal on the active BWP before and after expiration of the timer during the OFF duration period.

In one embodiment, BA configurator 722 may transmit configuration information related to initial uplink ul bwp and initial downlink dl bwp to the UE via transmitter 712. Based on the initial UL BWP and the initial DL BWP, the BS 700 may perform a random access procedure for the UE to complete access to the BS 700.

The various modules discussed above are coupled together by a bus system 730. For example, the bus system 730 may include a data bus, as well as a power bus, a control signal bus, and/or a status signal bus that are separate from the data bus. It should be understood that the modules of BS 700 may be operatively coupled to each other using any suitable techniques and media.

Although many separate modules or components are shown in fig. 7, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that one or more modules may be combined or jointly implemented. For example, the processor 704 may implement not only the functionality described above with respect to the processor 704, but also the functionality described above with respect to the DRX cycle-BA relation determiner 724. Rather, each of the modules shown in FIG. 7 may be implemented using a plurality of separate components or elements.

Fig. 8 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 800 performed by a BS (e.g., BS 700 in fig. 7) for saving energy in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In operation 810, the BS configures a DRX cycle for the UE. In operation 820, the BS configures a BA for the UE. In operation 830, the BS determines a relationship between the timer related to the BA and the phase of the DRX cycle of the UE. At operation 840, the BS optionally transmits an activation signal, e.g., a WUS or L1 signal, to the UE to switch the phase of the DRX cycle.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail below. Note that the features of the embodiments and examples in the present disclosure may be combined with each other in any manner without conflict.

The present teachings disclose methods for generating a relationship and linkage between DRX cycle and BA timing mechanism to avoid unnecessary operation of the UE and enhance power saving effect.

In the first embodiment, the ON duration and the OFF duration of the DRX cycle are switched according to a high-level configuration. Fig. 9 illustrates an exemplary relationship 900 between a BWP adaptive handover (BA) timer and a phase of a DRX cycle in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 9, when the UE is in the OFF duration 912, its receiver is in an OFF state. At this time, the UE does not perform data transmission and thus has no energy consumption for data transmission. Thus, a UE operating on active BWP 921 has little difference in energy consumption from a UE operating on default BWP 922. Accordingly, the UE may achieve the same power saving effect as switching to the default BWP 922 without actually switching to the default BWP 922 for the OFF duration 912. Furthermore, when the UE remains ON active BWP 921 for the OFF duration 912, the next time the UE enters ON duration 913, the UE can work directly ON active BWP 921, eliminating the time and energy consumption to switch from default BWP 922 to active BWP 921. Therefore, in the OFF duration, the BA timer 930 is suspended and kept unchanged, and the BA timer 930 is run or increased only during the

ON durations

911, 913, which may reduce unnecessary BWP switching and achieve better energy conservation effect.

In a second embodiment, the ON duration and the OFF duration of a DRX cycle are switched according to a high-level configuration. Fig. 10 illustrates another exemplary relationship 1000 between the BA timer and the phase of the DRX cycle, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 10, when the UE is in the OFF duration 1012, its receiver is in an OFF state. At this time, the UE does not perform data transmission and thus has no energy consumption for data transmission. Thus, UEs operating on the

active BWPs

1021, 1031 make little difference in energy consumption from UEs operating on the

default BWPs

1022, 1032. When the UE is ON duration, the energy consumed by the UE to operate ON the

active BWP

1021, 1031 will be much larger than the energy consumed ON the

default BWP

1022, 1032. The primary purpose of the BA scheduling mechanism is to prevent the UE from operating on the active BWP when there is no transmission demand and to reduce power consumption by switching to the default BWP. For example, the UE adds BA timers at 1ms intervals over a first frequency range (FR 1 for short) or at 0.5ms intervals over a Second frequency range (FR 2 for short).

However, when the UE is in the OFF duration, there is not a large difference in energy consumption between the active BWP and the default BWP. The desire or requirement for the UE to save energy by switching to the default BWP is less strong than for the UE in the ON duration. The rate of increase or running speed of the BA timer may be slowed down appropriately for the OFF duration to make the UE longer on the active BWP 1021. For example, the UE increments a timer at intervals of N × 1ms on FR1, or increments a timer at intervals of N × 0.5ms on FR2, where the value of N can be configured by higher layer signaling or fixed to a constant, as shown in fig. 10.

When the UE enters ON duration 1013 after OFF duration 1012, the UE may directly operate ON active BWP 1021, as compared to BA timer 1031 with a normal speed increase. This may save time and power consumption for switching from the default BWP to the active BWP. At the same time, this avoids a situation where the OFF duration is configured too long for the UE to enter the default BWP for a long time. Therefore, slowing the rate of increase of the BA timer at the OFF duration may provide better power saving effects.

In a third embodiment, when the UE enters the ON duration at a fixed time according to a time period configured by higher layer signaling, there is no transmission requirement for the ON duration. In this case, the UE goes into ON duration, which causes unnecessary energy consumption. When the transmission request of the UE occurs within the OFF duration, the transmission request is missed, thereby affecting the traffic transmission. The introduction of WUS or L1 signaling may well address the above-mentioned problems. In this embodiment, the UE enters ON duration only after receiving WUS or L1 signaling. This prevents the UE from entering ON duration when there is no transmission need and avoids the situation where the UE cannot enter ON duration when there is a transmission need. In a third embodiment, the ON duration and OFF duration of the DRX cycle are switched according to the indication of the WUS or L1 signal.

In order to make the ON duration configuration more flexible to respond to burst transmission requirements, the moment when the UE enters the ON duration will no longer be determined only by the period of the semi-static configuration. The UE will also enter ON duration if a WUS or L1 signal is received for OFF duration. The WUS or L1 signal may operate in an active BWP, a default BWP, a dedicated BWP, or may be controlled by a BA scheduling mechanism, which will be discussed in more detail below.

In the first case, the WUS or L1 signal acts on the active BWP. Fig. 11 illustrates an exemplary relationship 1100 between a BA timer and DRX cycle phases with wake-up signals, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 11, the UE needs to monitor for the presence of a WUS or L1 signal on the active BWP 1121 for an OFF duration 1112. If a WUS or L1 signal is detected, the UE will enter the ON duration 1113. If not, the UE is still operating for OFF duration 1112. In this case, the UE needs to be on the active BWP 1121 at all times during the OFF duration 1112 and cannot switch to the default BWP 1122. Therefore, the BA timing needs to be limited. Because the UE consumes less energy ON the active BWP 1121 during the OFF duration 1112, BA timer 1130 is only incremented or running ON

durations

1111, 1113 and not incremented or running ON the OFF duration 1112.

In the second case, the WUS or L1 signal operates on the default BWP. Fig. 12 illustrates another exemplary relationship 1200 between a BA timer and a DRX cycle phase with WUS in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 12, the UE needs to monitor for the presence of a WUS or L1 signal on the default BWP1222 for an OFF duration 1212. If a WUS or L1 signal is detected, the UE will enter the ON duration 1213. If not, the UE is still operating for OFF duration 1212. In this case, the UE must always be in the default BWP1222 during the OFF duration 1212, regardless of whether the BA timer expires. Thus, when the UE enters the OFF duration 1212, the BA timer 1230 is forced to expire at the beginning of the OFF duration 1212, rather than at the scheduled time by the BA timer 1230. The UE then advances into the default BWP1222, as shown in FIG. 12.

In the third case, the WUS or L1 signal operates on a dedicated BWP. Since the WUS or L1 signal only provides an indication of the ON duration, the resources required to detect the WUS or L1 signal are very small. For example, a BWP of 1 to 2 Resource Blocks (RB) is sufficient. This BWP is only usable to send or receive WUS or L1 signals. In order for the UE to receive a WUS or L1 signal on the dedicated BWP, the UE may switch to the dedicated BWP during the OFF duration.

In a first scenario, the dedicated BWP is not a type of BWP configured for the UE. Fig. 13 illustrates an exemplary scenario 1300 in which WUS/L1 operates on a dedicated BWP, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 13, a UE operating on a dedicated BWP does not affect a UE operating in a default BWP or an active BWP. The UE switches to the

dedicated BWP

1322, 1332 during the OFF duration 1312. At this point,

BA timers

1330, 1340 work normally because

dedicated BWPs

1322, 1332 do not affect the timing of the default BWP and the active BWP. If a WUS or L1 signal is received for the UE to enter ON duration 1313 and BA timer 1330 has not expired, then the UE is operating directly ON active BWP 1323 for the next ON duration 1313; if the BA timer 1340 has expired before the WUS or L1 signal is received, the UE first operates at the default BWP 1333 for the next ON duration 1313 and then switches from the default BWP 1333 to the active BWP 1334, as shown in fig. 13.

Fig. 14 illustrates another exemplary scenario 1400 where WUS/L1 operates on a dedicated BWP, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Alternatively, BA timer 1430 remains unchanged for OFF duration 1412 and is incremented or run only for

ON durations

1411, 1413. If the UE is operating ON the active BWP 1421 before going into the OFF duration 1412, the UE switches directly from the dedicated BWP 1422 to the active BWP 1423 when the UE goes into the next ON duration 1413, as shown in fig. 14.

Fig. 15 illustrates yet another exemplary scenario 1500 in which WUS/L1 operates on a dedicated BWP, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Alternatively, when the BA timer is at the OFF duration 1512, the rate of increase or running speed of the BA timer may be slowed as appropriate. For example, the UE increments the timer at intervals of N × 1ms on FR1, or increments the timer at intervals of N × 0.5ms on FR 2. As shown in fig. 15, the value of N may be configured by higher layer signaling or may be fixed to a constant.

In the second case, the dedicated BWP is a type of BWP configured for the UE. In this case, a UE operating on dedicated BWP will affect a UE operating in default BWP or active BWP. Fig. 16 illustrates yet another exemplary scenario 1600 in which a WUS/L1 operates on a dedicated BWP, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. When the UE enters the OFF duration 1612, the UE switches to dedicated BWP 1622, at which time the BA timer becomes invalid because BA timing is applied to switch from active BWP to default BWP. In this case, if the BA timer has not expired by then, the BA timer is forced to expire at the beginning of the OFF duration 1612, but the UE switches from the active BWP 1621 to the dedicated BWP 1622, rather than the default BWP, during the OFF duration 1612. If the BA timer has expired during the ON duration, the UE switches from the active BWP 1631 to the default BWP 1632 in response to the expiration of the BA timer and then switches from the default BWP 1632 to the dedicated BWP 1633 at the beginning of the OFF duration 1612. In either case, as shown in fig. 16, when the UE enters the next ON duration 1613, the UE switches from the

dedicated BWP

1622, 1633 to the default BWP 1623, 1634 and then switches from the default BWP 1623, 1634 to the active BWP 1624, 1635 and restarts the BA timer.

In the fourth case, the BA timing mechanism dominates the relation between DRX cycle and BA. Fig. 17 still illustrates an exemplary scenario 1700 in which WUS/L1 operates on BWP based on BA timer determination, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. When dominated by the BA timing mechanism, the UE will only detect WUS or L1 signals on the currently operating BWP. When the UE enters OFF duration 1712, if BA timer 1730 has not expired, the UE is operating on active BWP 1721 and the UE receives a WUS or L1 signal on active BWP 1721. If BA timer 1730 has expired when the UE enters OFF duration 1712, the UE operates on default BWP 1722. At this point, the UE receives a WUS or L1 signal on the default BWP 1722. As shown in fig. 17, the BWP at which the WUS or L1 operates for OFF duration 1712 is determined by the BWP in the BA scheduling mechanism.

In a fourth embodiment, a method for initial uplink and downlink BWP is proposed. In the NR TDD system, downlink DLBWP and uplink ULBWP are required to form a pairing relationship. That is, each DL BWP has a corresponding UL BWP. The center frequencies of DL BWP and UL BWP must coincide. The NR system delivers configuration information (remaining minimum system information) of the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP in the RMSI. The Resource Management System (RMSI) message is also called a System Information Block 1 (SIB 1). The initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP may have different sizes but must have the same center frequency. After receiving the configuration information of the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP through the RMSI, the UE immediately initiates the UL BWP and sends a corresponding random access message on the initial UL BWP. But the initial DL BWP is activated after the UE completes random access (i.e. after Msg4 of the random access procedure). Prior to the initial DL BWP, downlink scheduling for the UE occurs within a bandwidth corresponding to a control resource set (CORESET) # 0. That is, the Msg1 and Msg3 messages for the initial access are sent on the initial UL BWP, and the Msg2 and Msg4 messages for the initial access are sent on the bandwidth corresponding to CORESET # 0.

Fig. 18 illustrates an example method 1800 for initial uplink and downlink BWP, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In order to satisfy the pairing requirement of DL BWP and UL BWP in the TDD system, the base station needs to make the center frequency (f0) of CORESET #0 coincide with the center frequency (center frequency, abbreviated as f1) of the initial UL BWP before the initial DL BWP can be used. After Msg4, it must also be ensured that the center frequency of the initial DL BWP (f2) coincides with the center frequency of the initial UL BWP (f 1). As shown in fig. 18, all the center frequency points f0, f1, and f2 are uniform. This will impose a greater restriction on the configuration flexibility of the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP, since the center frequency of both the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP are limited by the center frequency of the core (core) # 0. A fourth embodiment is proposed to solve this problem.

Fig. 19 illustrates another example method 1900 for initial uplink and downlink BWP, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. After the UE receives the configuration information of the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP through the RMSI, the UE immediately initializes a UL/DL BWP pair. That is, the UE simultaneously initiates UL BWP and DL BWP before the random access procedure. In this case, the base station only needs to ensure that the center frequency of the initial UL BWP coincides with the center frequency of the initial DL BWP. The center frequency of the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP is no longer limited by the location of the center frequency of CORESET # 0. The flexibility of the initial BWP configuration will be greatly improved. As shown in fig. 19, the initial UL BWP and the initial DL BWP are simultaneously performed before the random access procedure.

According to existing protocols, a UE receives DCI on a Common Search Space (CSS for short). The size of the DCI is determined by CORESET # 0. The RB position corresponding to the initial count of frequency domain resource allocation is the lowest RB position of CORESET # 0. Therefore, when the initial UL BWP and the initial DL BWP are at the same time, the original information transmission that occurs on the bandwidth corresponding to core set #0 will not be affected.

While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Likewise, the various figures may depict example architectures or configurations provided to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to understand the example features and functionality of the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure is not limited to the example architectures or configurations shown, but may be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations. In addition, as one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, one or more features of one embodiment may be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.

It will also be understood that any reference herein to elements using a name such as "first," "second," etc., does not generally limit the number or order of those elements. Rather, these names may be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, reference to first and second elements does not imply that only two elements are used or that the first element must be somehow before the second element.

In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art would understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits and symbols that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

Those of ordinary skill would further appreciate that any of the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, devices, circuits, methods, and functions described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware (e.g., a digital implementation, an analog implementation, or a combination of the two), firmware, various forms of program or design code containing instructions (which may be referred to herein, for convenience, as "software" or a "software module"), or any combination of these technologies.

To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software, or as a combination of such technologies, depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure. According to various embodiments, a processor, device, component, circuit, structure, machine, module, etc. may be configured to perform one or more of the functions described herein. The terms "configured to" or "configured to" as used herein with respect to a particular operation or function refer to a processor, device, component, circuit, structure, machine, module, etc., that is physically constructed, programmed, and/or arranged to perform the specified operation or function.

Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, devices, components, and circuits described herein may be implemented or performed with Integrated Circuits (ICs) including general purpose processors, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), or other Programmable logic devices, or any combination thereof. The logic blocks, modules and circuits may further include antennas and/or transceivers to communicate with various components within the network or within the device. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration to perform the functions described herein.

If implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Thus, the steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein may be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that can cause a computer program or code to be transferred from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), or any other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device, any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

As used herein, the term "module" refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements to perform the relevant functions described herein. In addition, for purposes of discussion, the various modules are described as discrete modules; however, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that two or more modules may be combined to form a single module that performs the relevant functions according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Additionally, memory or other storage and communication components may be employed in embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be appreciated that the above description for clarity has described embodiments of the disclosure with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, processing logic elements, or domains may be used without departing from the disclosure. For example, functionality illustrated to be performed by separate processing logic elements or controllers may be performed by the same processing logic elements or controllers. Thus, references to specific functional units are only to references to suitable means for providing the described functionality rather than indicative of a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

Various modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A method performed by a wireless communication node, the method comprising:

configuring Discontinuous Reception (DRX) for a wireless communication device;

configuring a bandwidth part BWP adaptive handover for the wireless communication device; and

determining a relationship between a timer associated with the BWP adaptive handoff and a phase of a DRX cycle of the wireless communication device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the DRX cycle includes an ON duration phase and an OFF duration phase indicated based ON higher layer signaling; and

the timer is configured based on higher layer signaling and the timer is configured for the wireless communication device, and the wireless communication device switches from an active BWP to a default BWP in response to expiration of the timer.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the timer runs during an ON duration period;

said timer is suspended during said OFF duration period in accordance with said relationship; and

the timer continues to run during the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle until the timer expires.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the timer runs during both the ON duration period and the OFF duration period until the timer expires; and

the timer operates slower during the OFF duration period than during the ON duration period in accordance with the relationship.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein:

a first operating speed of the timer during the ON duration phase is a multiple of a second operating speed of the timer during the OFF duration phase, wherein the multiple is indicated based ON higher layer signaling.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the DRX cycle includes an ON duration phase and an OFF duration phase indicated based ON an activation signal, wherein the activation signal includes at least one of: a wake up signal WUS and a first layer L1 signal; and

the timer is configured for the wireless communication device, and the wireless communication device switches from an active BWP to a default BWP in response to expiration of the timer.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein:

the timer runs during an ON duration period;

8. The method of claim 7, wherein:

notifying the wireless communication device to switch from the OFF duration phase to the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle if the wireless communication device detects the activation signal ON an active BWP during the OFF duration phase.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein:

the timer runs during the ON duration period; and

in accordance with the relationship, the timer is forced to expire in response to the wireless communication device switching from the ON duration period to the OFF duration period.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein:

notifying the wireless communication device to switch from an OFF duration phase to an ON duration phase of a next DRX cycle if the wireless communication device detects the activation signal ON a default BWP during the OFF duration phase.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein:

the timer runs during the ON duration period;

notifying the wireless communication device to switch from the active BWP to a dedicated BWP in accordance with the relationship in response to the wireless communication device switching from the ON duration period to the OFF duration period; and

the dedicated BWP contains fewer resource blocks than contained in the default BWP.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein:

notifying the wireless communication device to switch from the OFF duration phase to an ON duration phase of a next DRX cycle if the wireless communication device detects the activation signal ON a dedicated BWP during the OFF duration phase.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the timer continues to run during the OFF duration period;

upon a start of the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle, the wireless communication device being ON a default BWP in response to expiration of the timer of the OFF duration phase; and

when the timer does not expire during the OFF duration period when the ON duration period of the next DRX cycle begins, the wireless communication device is ON active BWP.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the timer is forced to expire in response to the switching of the wireless communication device from the ON duration period to the OFF duration period.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein:

at the beginning of the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle, the wireless communication device is ON a default BWP; and

the timer will restart from the first active BWP during the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle.

16. The method of claim 6, wherein:

the timer runs during the ON duration period; and

notifying the wireless communication device, in accordance with the relationship, to detect the activation signal on an active BWP before expiration of the timer during the OFF duration period, and to detect the activation signal on a default BWP after expiration of the timer.

17. A method performed by a wireless communication node, the method comprising:

transmitting configuration information related to an initial uplink, UL, bandwidth part, BWP, and an initial downlink, DL, BWP, to a wireless communication device, wherein the initial UL BWP and the initial DL BWP are applicable simultaneously; and

performing a random access procedure for the wireless communication device to complete access to the wireless communication node based on both the initial UL BWP and the initial DL BWP.

18. A method performed by a wireless communication device, the method comprising:

determining, for the wireless communication device, a configuration for discontinuous reception, DRX, and a configuration of a bandwidth part, BWP, adapted to the wireless communication device; and

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

switching from active BWP to default BWP based ON higher layer signaling in response to expiration of the timer, wherein the DRX cycle includes an ON duration phase and an OFF duration phase indicated based ON higher layer signaling from the wireless communication node.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein:

the timer runs during an ON duration period;

21. The method of claim 19, wherein:

22. The method of claim 21, wherein:

23. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

in response to expiration of the timer, switching from an active BWP to a default BWP, wherein the DRX cycle includes an ON duration phase and an OFF duration phase indicated based ON an activation signal, wherein the activation signal includes at least one of: a wake up signal WUS from the wireless communication node and a first layer L1 signal.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein:

the timer runs during an ON duration period;

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

detecting the activation signal on active BWP during the OFF duration period; and

switching from the OFF duration phase to the ON duration phase of the next DRX cycle based ON the activation signal.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein:

the timer runs during the ON duration period; and

27. The method of claim 26, wherein:

detecting the activation signal on a default BWP during the OFF duration period; and

switching from the OFF duration phase to the ON duration phase of a next DRX cycle based ON the activation signal.

28. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

switching from an active BWP to a dedicated BWP in response to the wireless communication device switching from the ON duration period to the OFF duration period based ON the relationship, wherein the dedicated BWP includes fewer resource blocks than contained in the default BWP.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

detecting the activation signal on the dedicated BWP during the OFF duration period; and

30. The method of claim 29, wherein:

the timer runs during the ON duration period;

the timer continues to run during the OFF duration period;

31. The method of claim 28, wherein:

the timer is forced to expire in response to the wireless communication device switching from the ON duration period to the OFF duration period.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein:

33. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

detecting the activation signal during the OFF duration period based ON the relationship at an active BWP before expiration of the timer and a default BWP after expiration of the timer, wherein the timer runs during the ON duration period.

34. A method performed by a wireless communication device, the method comprising:

receiving configuration information from the wireless communication node relating to an initial uplink, UL, bandwidth portion, BWP, and an initial downlink, DL, BWP; and

based on the configuration information, the initial UL BWP and the initial DL BWP are synchronized to complete access to the wireless communication node before a random access procedure for the wireless communication device is completed.

35. A wireless communication node configured to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 17.

36. A wireless communication device configured to perform the method of any of claims 18 to 34.

37. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions for performing the method of any one of claims 1 to 34.