CN115968059A

CN115968059A - Base station, electronic device, communication method, and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN115968059A
Application number: CN202110599558.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 侯延昭; 陶小峰; 王成瑞; 郭一男; 文阳; 王晓雪; 孙晨
Original assignee: Sony Group Corp
Current assignee: Sony Group Corp
Priority date: 2021-05-31
Filing date: 2021-05-31
Publication date: 2023-04-14
Also published as: CN117413617A; WO2022253062A1

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a base station, an electronic device, a communication method, and a storage medium. There is provided a method performed by a base station, comprising: configuring a first DRX configuration of a plurality of discontinuous reception DRX configurations of a resource pool for through-link communication between a transmitting side electronic device and a receiving side electronic device; and in response to a triggering event associated with available channel resources, determining whether to change the first DRX configuration to a second DRX configuration, wherein the second DRX configuration is another DRX configuration of the plurality of DRX configurations that is different from the first DRX configuration.

Description

Base station, electronic device, communication method, and storage medium

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly, to a base station, an electronic device, a communication method, and a storage medium for direct link communication.

Background

It is specified in TS 38.331 that a User Equipment (UE) can perform a radio-to-radio (NR) direct link measurement and reporting on a corresponding PC5-RRC connection according to a new NR direct link (sidelink) measurement configuration for unicast through a rrcreeconfiguration sidelink message. The information element SL-ResourcePool is used to specify configuration information for the NR direct link communication resource pool.

In a sidelink communication scenario, user Equipments (UEs) in the same area are configured with the same resource pool. Respective resources in the resource pool may be selected for the UE to send and receive data. However, in the related art, there is no specific resource pool implementation scheme.

Disclosure of Invention

A brief summary of the disclosure is provided in this section to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. However, it should be understood that this summary is not an exhaustive overview of the disclosure. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure or to delineate the scope of the disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a base station, including: configuring a first DRX configuration of a plurality of discontinuous reception DRX configurations of a resource pool for through-link communication between a transmitting side electronic device and a receiving side electronic device; and in response to a triggering event associated with available channel resources, determining whether to change the first DRX configuration to a second DRX configuration, wherein the second DRX configuration is another DRX configuration of the plurality of DRX configurations that is different from the first DRX configuration.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a base station including: a memory storing computer executable instructions; and a processor, coupled to the memory, configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to perform the method performed by the base station as described above.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a transmission-side electronic device including: a memory storing computer-executable instructions; and a processor, coupled with the memory, configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to perform the method performed by the transmitting-side electronic device as described above.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by an electronic device, comprising: determining a first DRX configuration of a plurality of DRX configurations of a resource pool for direct link communications between the electronic device and another electronic device; and in response to a triggering event associated with available channel resources, determining whether to change the first DRX configuration to a second DRX configuration, wherein the second DRX configuration is another DRX configuration of the plurality of DRX configurations that is different from the first DRX configuration.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an electronic device including: a memory storing computer-executable instructions; and a processor, coupled with the memory, configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to perform the method performed by the electronic device as described above.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable instructions that, when executed, implement the above-described communication method.

Drawings

The disclosure may be better understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like or similar reference numerals are used throughout the figures to designate like or similar elements. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, further illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure and explain the principles and advantages of the disclosure. Wherein:

fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating multiple DRX configurations included by a resource pool according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating multiple DRX configurations included in a resource pool according to further embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 3 illustrates RRC parameter fields for resource pools and associated DRX configurations, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a direct link unicast communication scenario within the coverage area of a base station in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a communication method performed in a through-link unicast communication scenario within the coverage of a base station, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic design of a MAC CE for activating DRX configuration according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a direct link multicast communication scenario within the coverage of a base station in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a communication method performed in a direct link multicast communication scenario within a base station coverage area according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 is a flow chart illustrating a method 900 performed by a base station in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a method performed by a sending-side electronic device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a method performed by a receive-side electronic device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an out-of-coverage through-link unicast communication scenario for a base station, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 13 is a flow chart illustrating a first communication method in a direct link unicast communication scenario outside the coverage of a base station, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 14 is a flow chart illustrating a second communication method in a direct link unicast communication scenario outside the coverage of a base station, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating an out-of-coverage through-link multicast communication scenario for a base station in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating a communication method performed in a direct link out of coverage area multicast communication scenario of a base station, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 17 is a flow chart illustrating a method performed by an electronic device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 18 is a block diagram showing a first example of a schematic configuration of a base station to which the technique of the present disclosure can be applied.

Fig. 19 is a block diagram showing a second example of a schematic configuration of a base station to which the technique of the present disclosure can be applied.

Fig. 20 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone to which the technique of the present disclosure can be applied.

Fig. 21 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation apparatus 1720 to which the technique of the present disclosure can be applied.

The features and aspects of the present disclosure will be clearly understood by reading the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Detailed Description

Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the interest of clarity and conciseness, not all implementations of embodiments have been described in this specification. It should be noted, however, that in implementing embodiments of the present disclosure, numerous implementation-specific settings may be made in order to achieve the developer's specific goals. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

Further, it should be noted that only process steps and/or equipment structures germane to the technical solutions of the present disclosure are illustrated in the drawings in order to avoid obscuring the present disclosure with unnecessary detail. The following description of exemplary embodiments is merely illustrative and is not intended to limit the disclosure or its application.

The present disclosure introduces DRX (discontinuous reception) configuration to the resource pool. The resource pool may include multiple DRX configurations. An appropriate DRX configuration can be selected from a plurality of DRX configurations included in the resource pool for the UE configuring the resource pool to perform transmission and reception of data.

The DRX configuration specifies ON Duration (awake Duration) and OFF Duration (sleep Duration) in one DRX cycle. When a DRX configuration is selected for the UE, the UE can transmit and receive data only in the ON Duration of the DRX configuration and maintain a sleep state in the OFF Duration of the DRX configuration to save power consumption.

Since the time-frequency resources for UE data transmission/reception are not always scheduled by the base station in a direct link communication scenario, if the DRX configuration of each UE lacks effective management, it is likely that multiple UEs in the same area will be configured with the same DRX configuration, so that ON durations of the multiple UEs overlap in the time domain. Since the UE can only use the time-frequency resources in the ON Duration, channel congestion may occur in the overlapping ON Duration, some UEs have no resources available, and the resources in the OFF Duration are not effectively utilized.

It is desirable that DRX configurations used by a plurality of UEs in the same area and using the same resource pool can be efficiently managed so that ON durations of the UEs are uniformly distributed within a DRX cycle to improve resource utilization, avoid channel congestion, and improve communication quality.

Resource pool and DRX configuration

One resource pool may include multiple DRX configurations. In the present disclosure, for convenience of description, a description is hereinafter made by taking an example in which one resource pool includes 8 DRX configurations. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the number of DRX configurations included in the resource pool can be set according to actual needs.

As shown in fig. 1, the resource pool is associated with 8 DRX configurations (i.e., DRX configuration-1 to DRX configuration-8). Each DRX configuration specifies a position of an awake duration (indicated by "ON" in the drawing) in a DRX cycle, wherein a time other than the awake duration in the DRX cycle is a sleep duration of the DRX configuration.

As shown in fig. 1, the wake-up durations of the 8 DRX configurations have the same length and are distributed at different positions in the DRX cycle without overlapping each other. In some embodiments, at least some of the wake-up durations of the 8 DRX configurations may partially overlap and be evenly distributed at different locations in the DRX cycle.

When a DRX configuration is configured for a UE, the UE is in an active state in an ON Duration of the DRX configuration, and may monitor a PDCCH/PSCCH (physical direct link control channel/physical direct link channel) channel to transmit and receive data, and is in a dormant state in the remaining time, i.e., an OFF Duration.

The DRX cycle may be a long cycle or a short cycle.

In order to meet QoS requirements of different services, the lengths of ON durations of at least some of the plurality of DRX configurations included in the resource pool may be different.

As shown in fig. 2, the resource pool includes 8 DRX configurations, i.e., DRX configuration-1 'to DRX configuration-8', the 8 DRX configurations having ON durations of different lengths. These ON durations may not overlap or partially overlap each other and are evenly distributed in the DRX cycle.

The UE initial resource pool parameters and associated DRX configuration parameters may be pre-configured by the base station or factory pre-configured. Figure 3 illustrates RRC parameter fields for resource pools and associated DRX configurations, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 3, the SL-DRX-Config-r17 element field is contained in the SL-ResourcePool-r17 field, where:

drx-LongCycleStartOffset field: the length of the DRX cycle and the position where the cycle starts are specified.

drx-onDurationTimer field: the length of the ON Duration of each DRX configuration is specified. The drx onDurationTimer field may be configurable with a maximum of 8 values.

drx-SlotOffset field: the position at which the ON Duration of each DRX configuration starts within the cycle is determined. The drx-SlotOffset field may be configured with up to 8 values and may be matched to the drx-onDurationTimer field value in a one-to-one correspondence.

drx-inactivytytimer field: when the PDCCH/PSCCH indicates that the UE has a new direct link scheduling next, the UE needs to start a DRX Inactivity timer to wait for a period of time for a subsequent possible direct link scheduling. The DRX Inactivity timer starts at the first symbol after the PDCCH/PSCCH. The DRX Inactivity timer is set independently of the ON Duration of the DRX configuration, and has no association.

Triggering event

It is also contemplated in this disclosure that the DRX configuration initially configured for the UE may be changed to a new DRX configuration based on a triggering event during the direct link communication. The trigger event is associated with available channel resources. The triggering event may be any event that characterizes the DRX configuration currently used by the UE as no longer applicable.

The trigger event may be pre-configured by the base station or factory pre-configured.

The triggering event may include, for example, at least one of:

triggering event A: it is triggered at the TX UE (transmitting side user equipment). When a TX UE detects that its current DRX configuration is within the same region and using other n of the same resource pool ₀ The DRX configuration of each UE is the same, and the perceived proportion of the available resources to the total resources is less than alpha ₀ Trigger event a is triggered. Wherein n is ₀ And alpha ₀ The value of (d) may be preconfigured.

And a triggering event B: it is triggered at the RX UE (receiving side user equipment). When for one transport block, the RX UE continues n ₁ The next time it is decoded in error, trigger event B is triggered. Wherein n is ₁ The value of (d) may be preconfigured.

A trigger event C: it is triggered at the TX UE. The triggering event C is triggered when the CBR (channel busy rate) value measured at the TX UE is greater than β. Wherein the value of β may be preconfigured.

Other trigger events may be conceived by those skilled in the art, as long as the trigger event characterizes that the current DRX configuration of the UE is no longer applicable to the current channel conditions.

Direct link unicast communication scene in base station coverage

As shown in fig. 4, the TX UE is in the coverage of the base station (e.g., gnnodeb), and the RX UE may be in the coverage of the base station or out of the coverage of the base station. And an RRC connection is established between the base station and the TX UE, and a PC5-RRC connection is established between the TX UE and the RX UE. The DRX configuration for the connection between the TX UE and the RX UE is decided by the base station. If the TX UE keeps unicast/multicast connection with other RX UEs simultaneously or the RX UE keeps unicast/multicast connection with other TX UEs simultaneously, the DRX configuration of each connection is configured independently without mutual influence. That is, the DRX configuration is set for each connection.

Fig. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a communication method 500 performed in a direct link unicast communication scenario within the coverage of a base station in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 5, the communication method 500 may include the following steps.

Step 501: an RRC connection is established between the base station and the TX UE.

Step 502: a PC5-RRC connection is established between the TX UE and the RX UE.

Step 503: one of a plurality of DRX configurations (e.g., 8 DRX configurations) of a resource pool is determined by a base station for direct link communications between a TX UE and an RX UE.

The base station may perform the determination of the DRX configuration in consideration of at least one of the DRX configuration, channel congestion condition, and QoS requirements of traffic of other UEs within the same area and using the same resource pool as the TX UE and the RX UE. The other UEs herein refer to UEs other than the TX UE and the RX UE.

The base station may consider the DRX configurations of other UEs when selecting the DRX configuration, so as to avoid using the same DRX configuration as much as possible with other UEs, or to avoid using DRX configurations that are heavily used by other UEs, so that finally, the ON durations of the DRX configurations of the UEs may be relatively uniformly distributed in the DRX cycle. This can alleviate channel congestion, improve resource utilization, and improve communication quality.

The channel congestion situation may be indicated, for example, by a measured channel busy rate CBR.

Step 504: the base station activates the determined DRX configuration at the TX UE through downlink channel transmission.

In some embodiments, the base station may activate the determined DRX configuration for the TX UE through the MAC CE.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic design of a MAC CE for activating a DRX configuration according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 6, this MAC CE (MAC control element) is identified by a MAC header with an associated LCID (logical channel identifier) value. In this design, C _i A value of 1 represents the ith DRX configuration is activated, C _i A value of 0 represents that the ith DRX configuration is deactivated.

In other embodiments, the corresponding DRX configuration may be activated for the TX UE through DCI (downlink control information).

Step 505: the TX UE indicates the active DRX configuration to the RX UE.

In some embodiments, the TX UE may indicate the active DRX configuration to the RX UE through the psch SCI. For example, 3 bits of the psch SCI may be used to indicate an active DRX configuration. For example, 3 bits of SCI "001" indicates activation of a first DRX configuration, "010" indicates activation of a second DRX configuration, and so on.

One skilled in the art may also envision using more bits, e.g., 8 bits, of the psch SCI to indicate an active DRX configuration, where the value of "0" or "1" for each bit corresponds to the activation/deactivation of one DRX configuration, respectively.

At step 506, the tx UE and the RX UE perform direct link communication according to the activated DRX configuration.

During normal communication of TX and RX UEs, the DRX configuration used may be dynamically changed based on triggering events associated with available channel resources. The trigger event may be a trigger event at the RX UE (e.g., trigger event B as described above) or a trigger event at the TX UE.

The triggering event associated with the available channel resources reflects, for example, that under the current DRX configuration, the available channel resources are tight and thus the current DRX configuration is no longer applicable.

As shown in fig. 5, the communication method 500 may further include the following steps.

Step 507: the RX UE determines that the first trigger event is triggered.

The first trigger event is, for example, trigger event B as described above, but may also be any other event triggered at the RX UE indicating that the current DRX configuration is no longer applicable.

Step 508: in response to a first trigger event at the RX UE, the RX UE sends a first DRX configuration change request to the TX UE.

In some embodiments, the RX UE may send a first DRX configuration change request to the TX UE over one bit on the psch SCI. The bit default value may be "0" indicating that the current DRX configuration is requested to be changed when the bit is "1".

Step 509: determining that a first DRX configuration change request is received or determining that a second triggering event is triggered at a TX UE.

The second trigger event may be any event triggered at the TX UE indicating that the current DRX configuration is no longer applicable.

Step 510: the TX UE sends a second DRX configuration change request to the base station in response to receiving the first DRX configuration change request from the RX UE or in response to a second trigger event at the TX UE.

In some embodiments, the TX UE may send a second DRX configuration change request to the base station via uplink channel transmission. For example, the TX UE may use one bit of UCI (uplink control information), which is "0" by default, and when the bit is "1", indicates that the current DRX configuration is requested to be changed.

Step 511: when receiving a second DRX configuration change request, the base station determines whether to change the current DRX configuration to a new DRX configuration; and if so, determining a new DRX configuration.

The base station may determine whether to perform DRX reconfiguration for direct link communication between the TX UE and the RX UE, i.e., whether to change the current DRX configuration to a new DRX configuration, based on at least one of current channel congestion conditions, qoS requirements for traffic, and DRX configurations of other UEs in the same area and using the same resource pool as the TX UE and the RX UE. If the base station determines to perform DRX reconfiguration, the base station determines a new DRX configuration from the plurality of DRX configurations of the resource pool based on at least one of current channel congestion conditions, qoS requirements of traffic, and DRX configurations of other UEs that are in the same region and use the same resource pool as the TX and RX UEs.

Step 512: the base station activates a new DRX configuration at the TX UE through downlink channel transmission.

The base station may activate the determined new DRX configuration for the TX UE through the MAC CE, or may activate the determined new DRX configuration for the TX UE through DCI (downlink control information).

Step 513: the TX UE indicates to the RX UE the new DRX configuration that is active.

The TX UE may indicate the active DRX configuration to the RX UE through the PSSCH SCI. For example, the TX UE may indicate the active DRX configuration to the RX UE through 3 bits of the psch SCI.

Thereafter, the TX UE and the RX UE may perform direct link communication according to the new DRX configuration activated.

As shown in fig. 7, the TX UE is within the coverage of a base station (e.g., a gnnodeb). The TX UE performs multicast communication with a group of RX UEs, namely RX UE-1, RX UE-2 and RX UE-3.

Any of the set of RX UEs may be within the coverage of the base station or outside the coverage of the base station. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, RX UE-1 and RX UE-2 are outside the coverage of the base station, and RX UE-3 is within the coverage of the base station.

An RRC connection is established between the base station and the TX UE. The DRX configuration for the connections between the TX UE and the set of RX UEs is decided by the base station. If the TX UE keeps unicast/multicast connection with other RX UEs simultaneously or the RX UE keeps unicast/multicast connection with other TX UEs simultaneously, the DRX configuration of each connection is configured independently without mutual influence.

Fig. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a communication method 800 performed in a direct link multicast communication scenario within a base station coverage area in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 8, the communication method 800 may include the following steps.

Step 801: an RRC connection is established between the base station and the TX UE.

Step 802: one of a plurality of DRX configurations (e.g., 8 DRX configurations) of a resource pool is determined by a base station for direct link communications between a TX UE and a set of RX UEs.

The base station may perform the determination of the DRX configuration in consideration of at least one of channel congestion conditions, qoS requirements of traffic, and DRX configurations of other UEs in the same area and using the same resources as the TX UE and the set of RX UEs, where the other UEs refer to UEs other than the TX UE and the set of RX UEs.

In a multicast scenario, the determined DRX configuration is applicable for direct link communication between the TX UE and any of the set of RX UEs.

Step 803: the base station activates the determined DRX configuration at the TX UE through downlink channel transmission.

Similar to step 503, the base station may activate the determined DRX configuration for the TX UE through the MAC CE, or may activate the corresponding DRX configuration for the TX UE through DCI (downlink control information).

Step 804: the TX UE indicates the active DRX configuration to all RX UEs within the group. For clarity, only RX UE-1 and RX UE-2 within a group are shown in fig. 8, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that the indicating action is for all RX UEs within a group.

Similar to step 505, the TX UE may indicate the active DRX configuration to all RX UEs within the group through 3 or more bits of the psch SCI.

Step 805: the TX UE and the RX UEs within the group perform direct link communication according to the activated DRX configuration.

During normal communication of TX UEs with RX UEs within a group, the DRX configuration used may be dynamically changed based on triggering events associated with available channel resources. The trigger event may be a trigger event at any RX UE within the group (e.g., trigger event B as described above) or a trigger event at the TX UE.

As shown in fig. 8, the communication method 800 may further include the following steps.

Step 806: any RX UE within the group, e.g., RX UE-1 in fig. 8, determines that the first trigger event is triggered.

Step 807: in response to a first trigger event at RX UE-1, RX UE-1 sends a first DRX configuration change request to the TX UE.

The first trigger event is, for example, trigger event B as described above, triggered at RX UE-1, but may also be any other event triggered at RX UE-1 indicating that the current DRX configuration is no longer applicable.

Similar to step 508, RX UE-1 may send a first DRX configuration change request to the TX UE over one bit on the psch SCI.

Step 808: the TX UE determines that a first DRX configuration change request is received or that a second trigger event is triggered.

Step 809: in response to receiving the first DRX configuration change request from any RX-UE in the group (shown as RX UE-1 in fig. 8) or in response to a second trigger event at the TX UE, the TX UE sends a second DRX configuration change request to the base station.

Similar to step 510, the TX UE may send a second DRX configuration change request to the base station through uplink channel transmission (e.g., using one bit of UCI).

Step 810: when receiving a second DRX configuration change request, the base station determines whether to change the current DRX configuration to a new DRX configuration; and if so, determining a new DRX configuration.

Similar to step 511, the base station may determine whether to perform DRX reconfiguration for direct link communication between the TX UE and the set of RX UEs, i.e., whether to change the current DRX configuration to a new DRX configuration, based on at least one of current channel congestion conditions, qoS requirements for traffic, and DRX configurations of other UEs in the same area and using the same resource pool as the TX UE and the set of RX UEs. If the base station determines to perform DRX reconfiguration, the base station determines a new DRX configuration from the plurality of DRX configurations of the resource pool based on at least one of current channel congestion conditions, qoS requirements of traffic, and DRX configurations of other UEs that are in the same region and use the same resource pool as the TX UE and the group of RX UEs. Other UEs herein refer to UEs other than the TX UE and the set of RX UEs.

Step 811: the base station activates a new DRX configuration at the TX UE through downlink channel transmission.

Similar to step 512, the base station may activate the determined new DRX configuration for the TX UE through the MAC CE, and may also activate the determined new DRX configuration for the TX UE through DCI (downlink control information).

Step 812: the TX UE indicates the active new DRX configuration to all RX UEs within the group.

Similar to step 513, the TX UE may indicate the active DRX configuration to the RX UEs within the group by bits of the psch SCI.

Thereafter, the TX UE and the RX UEs within the group may perform direct link communication according to the activated new DRX configuration.

As shown in fig. 9, the method 900 includes the steps of:

step 901: a first DRX configuration of a plurality of discontinuous reception DRX configurations of a resource pool is configured for direct link communication between a transmitting side electronic device and a receiving side electronic device.

The transmitting side electronic device is, for example, the TX UE in fig. 4-5 and 7-8, and the receiving side electronic device is, for example, the RX UE in fig. 4-5 and 7-8.

In some embodiments, the wake-up durations of the respective DRX configurations are respectively set at different positions within one DRX cycle.

In other embodiments, the wake-up duration for each of the plurality of DRX configurations has a preconfigured length.

In some embodiments, step 901 may further comprise: determining a first DRX configuration for the direct link communication between a transmitting side electronic device and a receiving side electronic device based on at least one of channel congestion conditions, qoS requirements for traffic, and DRX configurations of other electronic devices in the same area and using the same resource pool as the transmitting side electronic device and the receiving side electronic device.

The other electronic devices herein may be electronic devices other than the transmission-side electronic device and the reception-side electronic device. In the case where the reception-side electronic device is one of a group of reception-side electronic devices with which the transmission-side electronic device performs multicast communication, the other electronic devices may be electronic devices other than the transmission-side electronic device and the group of reception-side electronic devices. In other words, since the DRX configuration is set for one connection between the TX UE and the RX UE, the other UEs herein refer to UEs other than the TX UE and the RX UE associated with the one connection, which are in the same area and use the same resource pool as the TX UE and the RX UE associated with the one connection.

Step 901 may further include: enabling the first DRX configuration at the sending side electronic device via downlink channel transmission such that the sending side electronic device can perform the through-link communication with the receiving side electronic device using the first DRX configuration.

Enabling the first DRX configuration at the transmitting side electronic device over a downlink channel transmission includes one of: activating a first DRX configuration at the transmitting side electronic device by a MAC CE; and indicating the first DRX configuration to the transmitting side electronic device via the DCI.

Step 902: in response to a triggering event associated with available channel resources, determining whether to change the first DRX configuration to a second DRX configuration, wherein the second DRX configuration is another DRX configuration of the plurality of DRX configurations different from the first DRX configuration.

In some embodiments, step 902 may further comprise: determining whether to change the first DRX configuration to a second DRX configuration in response to a first DRX configuration change request from a transmitting side electronic device, wherein the first DRX configuration change request is transmitted by the transmitting side electronic device in response to a second DRX configuration change request from the receiving side electronic device indicating the trigger event. The first DRX configuration change request in fig. 9 corresponds to, for example, the second DRX configuration change request transmitted by the TX UE in fig. 5 and 8. The second DRX configuration change request here corresponds to, for example, the first DRX configuration change request transmitted by the RX-UE in fig. 5 and 8.

In some embodiments, step 902 may further comprise: determining whether to change the first DRX configuration to the second DRX configuration based on at least one of a current channel congestion situation, qoS requirements of traffic, and DRX configurations of other electronic devices that are in a same area and use a same resource pool as the transmitting-side electronic device and the receiving-side electronic device.

Step 903: determining a second DRX configuration from the plurality of DRX configurations in response to determining to change the first DRX configuration to the second DRX configuration.

The determination of the second DRX configuration may be based on at least one of a current channel congestion situation, qoS requirements of traffic, and DRX configurations of other electronic devices that are in the same area and use the same resource pool as the transmitting-side electronic device and the receiving-side electronic device.

Step 904: enabling the second DRX configuration at the transmitting side electronic device over a downlink channel transmission.

Enabling the second DRX configuration at the transmitting side electronic device over the downlink channel transmission includes one of: activating a second DRX configuration at the transmitting side electronic device by a MAC CE; and indicating the second DRX configuration to the transmitting-side electronic device via the DCI.

The trigger event associated with the available channel resources may be a trigger event at the transmitting side electronic device or a trigger event at the receiving side electronic device. The triggering event associated with the available channel resources reflects that under the current DRX configuration, the available channel resources are tight and, therefore, the current DRX configuration is no longer applicable. In some embodiments, the triggering event comprises, at the receiving-side electronic device, the receiving-side electronic device continuously decoding a transport block with errors more than a predetermined number of times.

Fig. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a method 1000 performed by a sending-side electronic device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The transmitting side electronic device is, for example, a TX UE shown in fig. 4-5 and fig. 7-8.

As shown in fig. 10, the method 1000 includes the steps of:

step 1001: performing direct link communication with a receiving-side electronic device using a first Discontinuous Reception (DRX) configuration, wherein the first DRX configuration is configured by a base station for the direct link communication from a plurality of DRX configurations of a resource pool.

The first DRX configuration is configured, for example, by the base station for the through-link communication from a plurality of DRX configurations of a resource pool considering at least one of: channel congestion, qoS requirements for traffic, and DRX configurations for other UEs in the same area and using the same resource pool as the transmitting side electronics and the corresponding receiving side electronics. The other UEs refer to UEs other than the transmitting-side electronic device and the receiving-side electronic device.

In some embodiments, the receiving-side electronic device is one of a set of receiving-side electronic devices with which the transmitting-side electronic device performs multicast communication, in which case the other UEs refer to UEs other than the transmitting-side electronic device and the set of receiving-side electronic devices.

Step 1002: in response to a triggering event associated with available channel resources, sending a first DRX configuration change request to the base station, the first DRX configuration change request causing the base station to determine whether to change the first DRX configuration to a second DRX configuration, wherein the second DRX configuration is another DRX configuration of the plurality of DRX configurations different from the first DRX configuration.

The second DRX configuration is reconfigured for the direct link communication from a plurality of DRX configurations of a resource pool, e.g., by the base station, taking into account at least one of: current channel congestion conditions, qoS requirements for traffic, and DRX configurations of other UEs in the same area and using the same resource pool as the transmitting side electronic device and the corresponding receiving side electronic device.

In some embodiments, step 1002 may further comprise: receiving a second configuration change request from the receiving-side electronic device indicating a second triggering event at the receiving-side electronic device; and transmitting a first DRX configuration change request to the base station in response to the second configuration change request. In some embodiments, the second triggering event may include, at the receiving-side electronic device, the receiving-side electronic device continuously decoding a transport block with errors more than a predetermined number of times. The second configuration change request may be received from the receiving-side electronic device via the psch SCI.

Step 1003: receiving a downlink channel transmission from a base station, the downlink channel transmission enabling a second DRX configuration at the electronic device. The second DRX configuration may be activated by the MAC CE; or the second DRX configuration may be indicated via DCI.

Step 1004: indicating the second DRX configuration to the receiving side electronic device and performing communication with the receiving side electronic device using the second DRX configuration.

For example, the transmitting-side electronic device may indicate the second DRX configuration via the PSCCH SCI.

In some embodiments, the receiving-side electronic device is one of a group of receiving-side electronic devices (e.g., as shown in fig. 7-8) with which the transmitting-side electronic device performs multicast communication. The transmitting side electronic device indicates the second DRX configuration to all receiving side electronic devices within the group.

Fig. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 1100 performed by a receive-side electronic device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The receiving-side electronic device is, for example, the RX UE in fig. 4-5 and fig. 7-8.

As shown in fig. 11, the method 1100 includes the following steps.

Step 1101: direct link communication with a transmitting-side electronic device is performed using a first Discontinuous Reception (DRX) configuration.

The first DRX configuration is configured by the base station for the through-link communication from a plurality of DRX configurations of a resource pool. The first DRX configuration is indicated by the transmitting-side electronic device.

The first DRX configuration is configured for the direct link communication from a plurality of DRX configurations of a resource pool, e.g., by the base station, taking into account at least one of: channel congestion, qoS requirements for traffic, and DRX configurations of other UEs in the same area and using the same resource pool as the transmitting side electronic device and the receiving side electronic device.

Step 1102: receiving an indication of a second DRX configuration from the transmitting-side electronic device, wherein the second DRX configuration is another DRX configuration of the plurality of DRX configurations, different from the first DRX configuration.

The second DRX configuration is reconfigured by the base station for the through-link communication from among multiple DRX configurations of a resource pool.

The second DRX configuration is configured for the direct link communication from a plurality of DRX configurations of a resource pool, e.g., by the base station, taking into account at least one of: current channel congestion conditions, qoS requirements for traffic, and DRX configurations of other UEs in the same area and using the same resource pool as the transmitting side electronic device and the receiving side electronic device. The other UEs refer to UEs other than the transmitting-side electronic device and the receiving-side electronic device.

Step 1103: performing the pass-through link communication with the transmitting side electronic device using a second DRX configuration.

In some embodiments, the method 1100 may further include: in response to a trigger event, sending a first DRX configuration change request to the sending side electronic device, wherein the DRX configuration change request causes the sending side electronic device to send a second DRX configuration change request to the base station, and the second DRX configuration change request causes the base station to determine whether to change the first DRX configuration to the second DRX configuration. The triggering event is included at the receiving-side electronic device, which continuously decodes a transport block with errors more than a predetermined number of times.

Unicast communication scene of direct link outside coverage area of base station

As shown in fig. 12, neither TX UE nor RX UE is within the coverage of the base station. A PC5-RRC connection is established between the TX UE and the RX UE. The DRX parameter configuration of the UE may be determined by the TX UE as well as by the RX UE. If the TX UE keeps unicast/multicast connection with other RX UE simultaneously, or the RX UE keeps unicast/multicast connection with other TX UE simultaneously, DRX parameters of each connection are configured independently and do not influence each other.

Fig. 13 is a flow chart illustrating a first communication method 1300 in a direct link unicast communication scenario outside of a base station coverage area, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. According to the communication method, a DRX configuration is determined by a transmitting-side electronic device, for example, a TX UE in fig. 12.

As shown in fig. 13, method 1300 may include the following steps.

Step 1301: a PC5-RRC connection is established between the TX UE and the RX UE.

Step 1302: the RX UE acquires the assistance information.

The RX UE acquiring the auxiliary information may include performing a resource awareness operation to learn available resources in the resource pool as a resource awareness result.

The assistance information may include at least one of: the resource perception result of the RX UE, DRX configuration used by other UEs nearby, channel congestion condition, qoS requirement of traffic, and energy saving requirement of the RX UE. Nearby other UEs may refer to other UEs in the same area and using the same resource pool as the TX and RX UEs.

Step 1303: the RX UE transmits the obtained assistance information to the TX UE.

Step 1304: based on the assistance information, the TX UE determines one of a plurality of DRX configurations (e.g., 8 DRX configurations) of a resource pool for direct link communication between the TX UE and the RX UE.

Step 1305: the TX UE indicates the determined DRX configuration to the RX UE.

The TX UE may indicate the determined DRX configuration to the RX UE through the PSSCH SCI.

Step 1306: the TX UE and the RX UE perform direct link communication according to the determined DRX configuration.

During normal communication of TX and RX UEs, the DRX configuration used may be dynamically changed based on triggering events associated with available channel resources. The trigger event may be a trigger event at the RX UE (e.g., trigger event B as described above) or a trigger event at the TX UE (e.g., trigger event a or C as described above).

As shown in fig. 13, method 1300 may further include the following steps.

Step 1307: the RX UE determines that the first trigger event is triggered.

Step 1308: in response to a first trigger event at the RX UE, the RX UE sends a first DRX configuration change request to the TX UE.

The RX UE may send a first DRX configuration change request to the TX UE over one bit on the psch SCI. The bit default value may be "0" indicating that the current DRX configuration is requested to be changed when the bit is "1".

The first trigger event may include: the RX UE continuously decodes a transport block with errors more than a predetermined number of times.

Step 1309: determining whether to perform a DRX reconfiguration in response to receiving the first DRX configuration change request or the second trigger event being triggered at the TX UE; and if so, selecting a new DRX configuration.

The second trigger event may include at least one of: at the TX UE, up to a predetermined number of other electronic devices within a predetermined range using the same resource pool and using the same DRX configuration as the current DRX configuration of the transmitting side electronic device, and the perceived proportion of available channel resources to total resources is less than a predetermined proportion; and at the TX UE, the measured channel busy rate is above a predetermined threshold.

In some embodiments, in response to receiving the first DRX configuration change request or the second trigger event being triggered at the TX UE, the TX UE may determine whether to perform a DRX reconfiguration based on recent assistance information. For example, the TX UE may request recent assistance information from the RX UE and determine whether to perform DRX reconfiguration based on the assistance information. In other embodiments, the RX UE may also periodically transmit auxiliary information to the TX UE. In still other embodiments, the RX UE may acquire the newly obtained assistance information when the first trigger event is triggered, thereby sending the newly obtained assistance information to the RX UE.

Step 1310: the TX UE indicates the determined new DRX configuration to the RX UE.

Thereafter, the TX UE and the RX UE may perform direct link communication according to the determined new DRX configuration.

Fig. 14 is a flow chart illustrating a second communication method 14000 in a direct link out of base station coverage unicast communication scenario, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. According to the communication method, the DRX configuration is determined by the receiving-side electronic device, e.g., the RX UE in fig. 12.

As shown in fig. 14, method 14000 may include the following steps.

Step 1401: a PC5-RRC connection is established between the TX UE and the RX UE.

Step 1402: the RX UE acquires the assistance information.

As described above, the assistance information may include at least one of: the resource perception result of the RX UE, DRX configuration used by other UEs nearby, channel congestion condition, qoS requirement of traffic, and energy saving requirement of the RX UE. Nearby other UEs may refer to other UEs in the same area and using the same resource pool as the TX and RX UEs.

Step 1403: based on the assistance information, the RX UE determines one of a plurality of DRX configurations (e.g., 8 DRX configurations) of a resource pool for direct link communication between the TX UE and the RX UE.

Step 1404: the RX UE indicates the determined DRX configuration to the TX UE.

The RX UE may indicate the determined DRX configuration to the TX UE through the PSCCH SCI.

Step 1405: the TX UE and the RX UE perform direct link communication according to the determined DRX configuration.

During normal communication of TX and RX UEs, the DRX configuration used may be dynamically changed based on triggering events associated with available channel resources. The trigger event may be a trigger event at the RX UE (e.g., trigger event B, as described above) or a trigger event at the TX UE (e.g., trigger event a or C, as described above).

As shown in fig. 14, method 14000 may also include the following steps.

Step 1406: it is determined that a first trigger event is triggered at the TX UE.

The first trigger event may include at least one of: at the TX UE, up to a predetermined number of other electronic devices within a predetermined range using the same resource pool and using the same DRX configuration as the current DRX configuration of the transmitting side electronic device, and the perceived proportion of available channel resources to total resources is less than a predetermined proportion; and at the TX UE, the measured channel busy rate is above a predetermined threshold.

Step 1407: in response to determining that the first trigger event is triggered at the TX UE, the TX UE sends a first DRX configuration change request to the RX UE.

The TX UE may send a first DRX configuration change request to the RX UE over one bit on the psch SCI.

Step 1408: determining whether to perform a DRX reconfiguration in response to receiving the first DRX configuration change request or the second trigger event being triggered at the RX UE; and if so, selecting a new DRX configuration.

The second trigger event may include: the RX UE continuously decodes a transport block with errors more than a predetermined number of times.

In some embodiments, in response to receiving the first DRX configuration change request or the second trigger event being triggered at the RX UE, the RX UE may acquire recent/current assistance information and determine whether to perform a DRX reconfiguration based on the recent/current assistance information.

The recent/current assistance information includes at least one of recent/current resource awareness results, qoS requirements of traffic, DRX configurations used by other UEs in the same area and using the same resource pool as the electronic device and the another electronic device, and power saving requirements of the electronic device.

Step 1409: the RX UE indicates the determined new DRX configuration to the TX UE.

Multicast communication scene of direct link outside coverage area of base station

As shown in fig. 15, the TX UE is not within the coverage of the base station (e.g., the gnnodeb). The TX UE performs multicast communication with a group of RX UEs, namely RX UE-1, RX UE-2 and RX UE-3.

Any of the RX UEs may be within or outside the coverage of the base station. For example, as shown in FIG. 15, RX UE-1 is within the coverage of the base station, and RX UE-2 and RX UE-3 are outside the coverage of the base station.

The DRX configuration for direct link communication between the TX UE and the EX UE is decided by the TX UE. If the TX UE keeps unicast/multicast connection with other RX UEs simultaneously or the RX UE keeps unicast/multicast connection with other TX UEs simultaneously, DRX parameters of each connection are configured independently without mutual influence.

Fig. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating a communication method 16000 performed in a direct link multicast communication scenario outside of the coverage of a base station in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 16, the communication method 16000 may include the following steps.

Step 16001: the TX UE determines one of a plurality of DRX configurations (e.g., 8 DRX configurations) of a resource pool for direct link communication between the TX UE and a set of RX UEs based on at least one of channel congestion conditions, qoS requirements of traffic, and DRX configurations of other UEs in the vicinity. The nearby other UEs refer to UEs other than the TX UE and the group RX UE that are in the same area and use the same resource pool as the TX UE and the group RX UE.

Step 16002: TX UE directional groupAll RX UEs within indicate the determined DRX configuration.

For clarity, only RX UE-1 and RX UE-2 within a group are shown in fig. 16, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that the indicating action is for all RX UEs within a group.

The TX UE may indicate the active DRX configuration to all RX UEs within the group in 3 or more bits of the psch SCI.

Step 16003: the TX UE and all RX UEs within the group perform direct link communication according to the determined DRX configuration.

During normal communication of TX UEs with RX UEs within a group, the DRX configuration used may be dynamically changed based on triggering events associated with available channel resources. The trigger event may be a trigger event at any RX UE within the group (e.g., trigger event B as described above) or a trigger event at the TX UE (e.g., trigger event a or trigger event C as described above).

As shown in fig. 16, method 16000 may further include the steps of:

step 16004: any RX UE within the group, e.g., RX UE-1 in fig. 16, determines that the first trigger event is triggered.

Step 16005: in response to a first triggering event at RX UE-1, RX UE-1 sends a DRX configuration change request to the TX UE.

RX UE-1 may send a DRX configuration change request to the TX UE over one bit on the PSSCH SCI.

Step 16006: in response to receiving a DRX configuration change request from any RX-UE (shown as RX UE-1 in fig. 8) within the group or determining that a second trigger event is triggered, the TX UE determines whether to perform a DRX reconfiguration; and if so, determining a new DRX configuration.

The second trigger event may be any event triggered at the TX UE indicating that the current DRX configuration is no longer applicable, such as trigger event a or C described above.

In response to receiving the DRX configuration change request or determining that a second trigger event is triggered, the TX UE determines whether to perform DRX reconfiguration based on at least one of current channel congestion conditions, qoS requirements of traffic, and DRX configurations of other UEs in the vicinity. If it is determined to perform a DRX reconfiguration, the TX UE selects a new DRX configuration from the plurality of DRX configurations based on at least one of current channel congestion conditions, qoS requirements of traffic, and DRX configurations of other UEs in the vicinity.

Step 16007: the TX UE indicates the new DRX configuration to the intra-group RX UE.

The TX UE may indicate the new DRX configuration to the RX UEs within the group by a bit of the PSSCH SCI.

Fig. 17 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 1700 performed by an electronic device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 17, method 1700 includes:

step 1701: a first DRX configuration of a plurality of DRX configurations of a resource pool is configured for direct link communication between an electronic device and another electronic device.

Step 1702: in response to a triggering event associated with available channel resources, determining whether to change the first DRX configuration to a second DRX configuration, wherein the second DRX configuration is another DRX configuration of the plurality of DRX configurations different from the first DRX configuration.

Step 1703: in response to determining to change the first DRX configuration to a second DRX configuration, selecting the second DRX configuration from the plurality of DRX configurations and indicating the second DRX configuration to the other electronic device.

In some embodiments, the electronic device is a transmit side electronic device, e.g., the TX UE in fig. 12 and 15, and the other electronic device is a receive side electronic device, e.g., the RX UE in fig. 12 and 15.

In some embodiments, the DRX configuration is decided by the electronic device (e.g., as shown in fig. 13 and 16).

In some embodiments, method 1700 may further include: determining a first DRX configuration for a direct link communication between the electronic device and another electronic device based at least on assistance information received from the other electronic device, wherein the assistance information may include at least one of: resource awareness of another electronic device, qoS requirements of a service, DRX configurations used by other UEs that are in the same area and use the same resource pool as the electronic device and the other electronic device, and power saving requirements of the other electronic device. The other UEs may be UEs other than the electronic device and the other electronic device (the situation shown in fig. 13).

In still other embodiments, where the other electronic device is one of a group of other electronic devices with which the electronic device is in multicast communication (as is the case in fig. 15 and 16), the method 1700 may further include: determining a first DRX configuration for direct link communications between the electronic device and the other electronic device based on at least one of channel congestion conditions, qoS requirements for traffic, and DRX configurations used by other UEs that are in a same area and use a same resource pool as the electronic device and the other electronic device. In this case, the other UEs may be UEs other than the electronic device and the group of other electronic devices.

In some embodiments, the electronic device determines whether to change the first DRX configuration to the second DRX configuration in response to one of: a first trigger event at the electronic device; or a first configuration change request received from the other electronic device indicating a second triggering event at the other electronic device.

The first trigger event is, for example, trigger event a or trigger event C. The second trigger event is, for example, trigger event B.

In other embodiments, the electronic device is a receive-side electronic device, such as the RX UE in fig. 12 and 14, and the other electronic device is a transmit-side electronic device, such as the RX UE in fig. 12 and 13.

The method 1700 may further include: auxiliary information is acquired. Wherein the assistance information may include at least one of resource awareness results, qoS requirements of traffic, DRX configuration used by other UEs that are in the same area and use the same resource pool as the electronic device and the other electronic device, and power saving requirements of the electronic device. The method 1700 may also include determining a first DRX configuration for direct link communication between the electronic device and the other electronic device based on the assistance information.

Step 1702 may further include: acquiring current auxiliary information; and determining to change the first DRX configuration to the second DRX configuration based on the current assistance information.

Technical effects

The embodiments of the present disclosure achieve at least the following technical effects.

The embodiment of the disclosure introduces a DRX mechanism in a resource pool, so that the resource pool is associated with a plurality of DRX configurations, and resource allocation is carried out between UEs using the same resource pool by allocating different DRX configurations for direct link communication between the UEs.

When the DRX configuration is set for the direct link communication between the UEs, the DRX configuration which is most suitable for the direct link communication between the UEs is selected from the DRX configurations of the resource pool by considering one or more of channel congestion request, qoS requirement of service, DRX configurations of other nearby UEs, resource sensing result, energy-saving requirement of equipment and the like. This can allow DRX configurations used by a plurality of UEs in the same area and using the same resource pool to be efficiently managed, so that ON durations of the UEs are uniformly distributed within a DRX cycle, thereby improving resource utilization, avoiding channel congestion, and improving communication quality.

The embodiments of the present disclosure may perform DRX reconfiguration based on trigger events associated with available channel resources, and may enable dynamic DRX adjustment, thereby improving resource utilization, reducing channel congestion, and improving communication quality.

Electronic devices and communication methods according to some embodiments of the present disclosure are described next.

Exemplary implementations of the present disclosure

Various implementations of implementing the concepts of the present disclosure are contemplated in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, including but not limited to:

1) A method performed by a base station, comprising:

configuring a first DRX configuration of a plurality of DRX configurations of a resource pool for through-link communication between a transmitting side electronic device and a receiving side electronic device; and

in response to a triggering event associated with available channel resources, determining whether to change the first DRX configuration to a second DRX configuration, wherein the second DRX configuration is another DRX configuration of the plurality of DRX configurations different from the first DRX configuration.

2) The method of 1), wherein the operation of determining whether to change the first DRX configuration to the second DRX configuration in response to a triggering event associated with available channel resources further comprises:

determining whether to change the first DRX configuration to a second DRX configuration in response to a first DRX configuration change request from a transmitting side electronic device, wherein the first DRX configuration change request is transmitted by the transmitting side electronic device in response to a second DRX configuration change request from the receiving side electronic device indicating the trigger event.

3) The method of 1), wherein the operation of determining whether to change the first DRX configuration to the second DRX configuration further comprises:

determining whether to change the first DRX configuration to a second DRX configuration based on at least one of a current channel congestion situation, qoS requirements of traffic, and DRX configurations of other electronic devices which are in the same area and use the same resource pool as the transmitting-side electronic device and the receiving-side electronic device;

wherein the method further comprises:

determining a second DRX configuration from the plurality of DRX configurations in response to determining to change the first DRX configuration to the second DRX configuration; and

enabling the second DRX configuration at the transmitting side electronic device over the downlink channel transmission.

4) The method of claim 1), wherein configuring a first DRX configuration of a plurality of DRX configurations of a resource pool for through-link communication between a sending side electronic device and a receiving side electronic device further comprises:

determining a first DRX configuration for the direct link communication between the sending side electronic device and the receiving side electronic device based on at least one of channel congestion conditions, qoS requirements for traffic, and DRX configurations of other electronic devices in the same area and using the same resource pool as the sending side electronic device and the receiving side electronic device; and

enabling a first DRX configuration at a transmitting side electronic device over a downlink channel transmission such that the transmitting side electronic device is capable of performing the direct link communication with the receiving side electronic device using the first DRX configuration.

5) The method according to any one of 1) to 4), wherein the wake-up duration of each DRX configuration in the plurality of DRX configurations is set at different positions in one DRX cycle.

6) A base station, comprising:

a memory storing computer-executable instructions; and

a processor, coupled with the memory, configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to perform the method of any of 1) -5).

7) A method performed by a transmitting-side electronic device, comprising:

performing direct link communication with a receiving-side electronic device using a first Discontinuous Reception (DRX) configuration, wherein the first DRX configuration is configured for the direct link communication by a base station from a plurality of DRX configurations of a resource pool; and

in response to a trigger event associated with available channel resources, sending a first DRX configuration change request to the base station, the first DRX configuration change request causing the base station to determine whether to change the first DRX configuration to a second DRX configuration, wherein the second DRX configuration is another one of the plurality of DRX configurations different from the first DRX configuration.

8) The method of claim 7), wherein sending a first DRX configuration change request to a base station in response to a triggering event associated with available channel resources further comprises:

receiving a second configuration change request from the receiving-side electronic device indicating a second triggering event at the receiving-side electronic device; and

transmitting a first DRX configuration change request to the base station in response to the second configuration change request.

9) The method of claim 7), further comprising:

receiving a downlink channel transmission from a base station, the downlink channel transmission enabling a second DRX configuration at the electronic device, wherein the second DRX configuration is activated by a MAC CE; or the second DRX configuration is indicated via DCI.

10 The method according to any one of claims 7) to 9), wherein the wake-up durations of the respective DRX configurations are set at different positions within one DRX cycle.

11 A transmission-side electronic device includes:

a memory storing computer-executable instructions; and

a processor, coupled with the memory, configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to perform the method of any of claims 7) -10).

12 A method performed by an electronic device, comprising:

determining a first DRX configuration of a plurality of DRX configurations of a resource pool for direct link communications between the electronic device and another electronic device; and

13 The method of 12), wherein the electronic device is a transmitting-side electronic device and the other device is a receiving-side electronic device, the method further comprising one of:

determining a first DRX configuration for a direct link communication between the electronic device and the other electronic device based at least on assistance information received from the other electronic device, wherein the assistance information includes at least one of: a resource perception result of the other electronic device, a channel congestion condition, a QoS requirement of a service, a DRX configuration used by other UEs that are in the same area and use the same resource pool as the electronic device and the other electronic device, and an energy saving requirement of the other electronic device; or

Determining a first DRX configuration for direct link communications between the electronic device and another electronic device based on at least one of channel congestion conditions, qoS requirements for traffic, and DRX configurations used by other UEs that are in a same area and use a same resource pool as the electronic device and the other electronic device, wherein the other electronic device is one of a set of other electronic devices with which the electronic device is in multicast communications.

14 The method of 12), wherein the electronic device is a transmitting side electronic device and the other device is a receiving side electronic device, and wherein the operation of determining whether to change the first DRX configuration to the second DRX configuration in response to a triggering event associated with available channel resources further comprises determining whether to change the first DRX configuration to the second DRX configuration in response to one of:

a first trigger event at the electronic device; or

A first configuration change request received from the other electronic device indicating a second triggering event at the other electronic device.

15 The method of 12), wherein the electronic device performs multicast communication with a set of other devices, the other device being one of the set of other devices, the method further comprising:

indicating a first DRX configuration to the set of other devices; and

indicating the second DRX configuration to the set of other devices.

16 The method of 12), wherein the electronic device is a receiving-side electronic device and the other electronic device is a transmitting-side electronic device, the method further comprising:

acquiring auxiliary information, wherein the auxiliary information comprises at least one of a resource sensing result, qoS requirements of services, DRX configuration used by other UEs in the same area and using the same resource pool with the electronic equipment and the other electronic equipment, and energy-saving requirements of the electronic equipment;

determining a first DRX configuration for a direct link communication between the electronic device and the other electronic device based on the assistance information.

17 The method of 12), wherein the electronic device is a receiving side electronic device and the other electronic device is a transmitting side electronic device, and the operation of determining whether to change the first DRX configuration to the second DRX configuration in response to a triggering event associated with available channel resources further comprises:

acquiring current auxiliary information; and

based on the current assistance information, it is determined to change the first DRX configuration to the second DRX configuration.

18 The method of 12), wherein the wake-up durations of the respective DRX configurations are respectively set at different positions within one DRX cycle.

19 An electronic device comprising:

a memory storing computer executable instructions; and

a processor, coupled with the memory, configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to perform the method of any of 12) -18).

20 Computer program medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the method according to any one of claims 1) -5), 7) -10), and 12) -18) to be performed.

Application examples of the present disclosure

The techniques described in this disclosure can be applied to a variety of products.

For example, electronic devices according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented as or installed in various base stations, or implemented as or installed in various user devices.

The communication method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by various base stations or user equipments; methods and operations according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be embodied as computer-executable instructions, stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and may be executed by various base stations or user equipment to implement one or more of the functions described above.

Techniques according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be made as various computer program products to be used in various base stations or user equipment to implement one or more of the functions described above.

The base stations referred to in this disclosure may be implemented as any type of base station, preferably such as macro-gNB and ng-eNB as defined in the 5G NR standard of 3 GPP. The gNB may be a gNB covering a cell smaller than a macro cell, such as a pico gNB, a micro gNB, and a home (femto) gNB. Alternatively, the base station may be implemented as any other type of base station, such as a NodeB, an eNodeB, and a Base Transceiver Station (BTS). The base station may further include: a main body configured to control wireless communication, and one or more Remote Radio Heads (RRHs), wireless relay stations, drone towers, control nodes in an automation plant, etc., disposed in a different place from the main body.

The user equipment may be implemented as a mobile terminal such as a smart phone, a tablet Personal Computer (PC), a notebook PC, a portable game terminal, a portable/cryptographic dog-type mobile router, and a digital camera, or a vehicle-mounted terminal such as a car navigation apparatus. The user equipment may also be implemented as a terminal (also referred to as a Machine Type Communication (MTC) terminal) that performs machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, a drone, a sensor and an actuator in an automation plant, and the like. Further, the user equipment may be a wireless communication module (such as an integrated circuit module including a single chip) mounted on each of the above-described terminals.

Examples of base stations and user equipment to which the techniques of this disclosure may be applied are briefly described below.

It should be understood that the term "base station" as used in this disclosure has its full breadth of ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is used to facilitate communications as part of a wireless communication system or radio system. Examples of base stations may be for example, but not limited to, the following: one or both of a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) and a Base Station Controller (BSC) in a GSM communication system; one or both of a Radio Network Controller (RNC) and a NodeB in a 3G communication system; eNB in 4G LTE and LTE-A systems; gNB and ng-eNB in a 5G communication system. In D2D, M2M, and V2V communication scenarios, a logical entity having a control function for communication may also be referred to as a base station. In the cognitive radio communication scenario, a logical entity playing a role in spectrum coordination may also be referred to as a base station. In an automation plant, the logical entity that provides the network control function may be referred to as a base station.

First application example of base station

Fig. 18 is a block diagram showing a first example of a schematic configuration of a base station to which the technique of the present disclosure can be applied. In fig. 18, the base station may be implemented as a gNB1400. The gbb 1400 includes a plurality of antennas 1410 and a base station apparatus 1420. The base station device 1420 and each antenna 1410 may be connected to each other via an RF cable.

The antenna 1410 includes multiple antenna elements, such as multiple antenna arrays for massive MIMO. The antennas 1410 may be arranged in an antenna array matrix, for example, and used for the base station apparatus 1420 to transmit and receive wireless signals. For example, the multiple antennas 1410 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the gNB1400.

The base station equipment 1420 includes a controller 1421, memory 1422, a network interface 1423, and a wireless communication interface 1425.

The controller 1421 may be, for example, a CPU or a DSP, and operates various functions of the higher layers of the base station apparatus 1420. For example, the controller 1421 generates a data packet from data in a signal processed by the wireless communication interface 1425, and transfers the generated packet via the network interface 1423. The controller 1421 may bundle data from a plurality of baseband processors to generate a bundle packet, and deliver the generated bundle packet. The controller 1421 may have a logic function to perform the following control: such as radio resource control, radio bearer control, mobility management, admission control and scheduling. This control may be performed in connection with a nearby gNB or core network node. The memory 1422 includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores programs executed by the controller 1421 and various types of control data (such as a terminal list, transmission power data, and scheduling data).

The network interface 1423 is a communication interface for connecting the base station apparatus 1420 to a core network 1424 (e.g., a 5G core network). The controller 1421 may communicate with a core network node or another gNB via a network interface 1423. In this case, the gNB1400 and the core network node or other gnbs may be connected to each other through logical interfaces such as an NG interface and an Xn interface. The network interface 1423 may also be a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface for wireless backhaul. If the network interface 1423 is a wireless communication interface, the network interface 1423 may use a higher frequency band for wireless communication than the frequency band used by the wireless communication interface 1425.

Wireless communication interface 1425 supports any cellular communication scheme, such as 5G NR, and provides wireless connectivity to terminals located in the cells of the gNB1400 via antennas 1410. The wireless communication interface 1425 may generally include, for example, a baseband (BB) processor 1426 and RF circuitry 1427. The BB processor 1426 may perform, for example, encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, and multiplexing/demultiplexing, and perform various types of signal processing for each layer (e.g., physical layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, SDAP layer). In place of the controller 1421, the bb processor 1426 may have a part or all of the above-described logic functions. The BB processor 1426 may be a memory storing a communication control program, or a module comprising a processor and associated circuitry configured to execute a program. The update program may cause the function of the BB processor 1426 to change. The module may be a card or blade that is inserted into a slot of the base station device 1420. Alternatively, the module may be a chip mounted on a card or blade. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 1427 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmit and receive a wireless signal via the antenna 1410. Although fig. 18 shows an example in which one RF circuit 1427 is connected to one antenna 1410, the present disclosure is not limited to this illustration, and one RF circuit 1427 may be connected to a plurality of antennas 1410 at the same time.

As shown in fig. 18, wireless communication interface 1425 may include multiple BB processors 1426. For example, the plurality of BB processors 1426 may be compatible with the plurality of frequency bands used by the gNB1400. As shown in fig. 18, wireless communication interface 1425 may include a plurality of RF circuits 1427. For example, the plurality of RF circuits 1427 may be compatible with a plurality of antenna elements. Although fig. 18 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 1425 includes a plurality of BB processors 1426 and a plurality of RF circuits 1427, the wireless communication interface 1425 may also include a single BB processor 1426 or a single RF circuit 1427.

In the gNB1400 shown in fig. 18, one or more units (e.g., the transmitting unit 1003, the receiving unit 2002, the receiving unit 3003, or the like) included in the processing circuit 1001, 2001, 3001, or 4001 may be implemented in the wireless communication interface 1425. Alternatively, at least a portion of these components may be implemented in the controller 1421. For example, the gNB1400 includes a portion (e.g., the BB processor 1426) or all of the wireless communication interface 1425, and/or a module including the controller 1421, and one or more components can be implemented in the module. In this case, the module may store a program for allowing the processor to function as one or more components (in other words, a program for allowing the processor to perform operations of one or more components), and may execute the program. As another example, a program to allow a processor to function as one or more components can be installed in the gNB1400, and the wireless communication interface 1425 (e.g., BB processor 1426) and/or controller 1421 can execute the program. As described above, as an apparatus including one or more components, the gNB1400, the base station apparatus 1420, or a module may be provided, and a program for allowing the processor to function as one or more components may be provided. In addition, a readable medium in which the program is recorded may be provided.

Second application example of base station

Fig. 19 is a block diagram showing a second example of a schematic configuration of a base station to which the technique of the present disclosure can be applied. In fig. 19, the base station is shown as a gNB 1530. The gNB 1530 includes multiple antennas 1540, base station equipment 1550, and RRHs 1560. The RRH 1560 and each antenna 1540 may be connected to each other via an RF cable. The base station apparatus 1550 and the RRH 1560 may be connected to each other via a high-speed line such as an optical fiber cable.

The antenna 1540 includes multiple antenna elements, such as multiple antenna arrays for massive MIMO. The antennas 1540 may be arranged in an antenna array matrix, for example, and used for the base station apparatus 1550 to transmit and receive wireless signals. For example, the multiple antennas 1540 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the gNB 1530.

Base station equipment 1550 includes a controller 1551, memory 1552, a network interface 1553, a wireless communication interface 1555, and a connection interface 1557. The controller 1551, memory 1552 and network interface 1553 are identical to the controller 1421, memory 1422 and network interface 1423 described with reference to fig. 19.

The wireless communication interface 1555 supports any cellular communication scheme, such as 5G NR, and provides wireless communication via RRH 1560 and antenna 1540 to terminals located in the sector corresponding to RRH 1560. Wireless communication interface 1555 may generally include, for example, BB processor 1556. BB processor 1556 is identical to BB processor 1426 described with reference to fig. 20, except that BB processor 1556 is connected to RF circuitry 1564 of RRH 1560 via connection interface 1557. As shown in fig. 19, wireless communication interface 1555 may include multiple BB processors 1556. For example, multiple BB processors 1556 may be compatible with multiple frequency bands used by the gNB 1530. Although fig. 19 shows an example in which wireless communication interface 1555 includes multiple BB processors 1556, wireless communication interface 1555 may also include a single BB processor 1556.

The connection interface 1557 is an interface for connecting the base station apparatus 1550 (wireless communication interface 1555) to the RRH 1560. The connection interface 1557 may also be a communication module for communication in the above-described high-speed line connecting the base station apparatus 1550 (wireless communication interface 1555) to the RRH 1560.

RRH 1560 includes connection interface 1561 and wireless communication interface 1563.

The connection interface 1561 is an interface for connecting the RRH 1560 (wireless communication interface 1563) to the base station apparatus 1550. The connection interface 1561 may also be a communication module used for communication in the above-described high-speed line.

The wireless communication interface 1563 transmits and receives wireless signals via the antenna 1540. Wireless communication interface 1563 may typically include, for example, RF circuitry 1564. The RF circuit 1564 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmits and receives a wireless signal via the antenna 1540. Although fig. 19 shows an example in which one RF circuit 1564 is connected to one antenna 1540, the present disclosure is not limited to this illustration, and one RF circuit 1564 may simultaneously connect a plurality of antennas 1540.

As shown in fig. 19, wireless communication interface 1563 may include a plurality of RF circuits 1564. For example, multiple RF circuits 1564 may support multiple antenna elements. Although fig. 19 shows an example in which wireless communication interface 1563 includes multiple RF circuits 1564, wireless communication interface 1563 may also include a single RF circuit 1564.

In the gNB 1500 shown in fig. 19, one or more units (e.g., the transmitting unit 1003, the receiving unit 2002, the receiving unit 3003, or the like) included in the processing circuit 1001, 2001, 3001, or 4001 may be implemented in the wireless communication interface 1525. Alternatively, at least a portion of these components may be implemented in the controller 1521. For example, the gNB 1500 includes a portion (e.g., the BB processor 1526) or all of the wireless communication interface 1525 and/or a module including the controller 1521, and one or more components can be implemented in the module. In this case, the module may store a program for allowing the processor to function as one or more components (in other words, a program for allowing the processor to perform operations of one or more components), and may execute the program. As another example, a program for allowing the processor to function as one or more components can be installed in the gNB 1500, and the wireless communication interface 1525 (e.g., BB processor 1526) and/or the controller 1521 can execute the program. As described above, as an apparatus including one or more components, the gNB 1500, the base station apparatus 1520, or a module may be provided, and a program for allowing a processor to function as the one or more components may be provided. In addition, a readable medium in which the program is recorded may be provided.

First application example of user equipment

Fig. 20 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a smartphone 1600 to which the techniques of this disclosure may be applied.

The smartphone 1600 includes a processor 1601, memory 1602, storage 1603, external connection interfaces 1604, camera 1606, sensors 1607, a microphone 1608, an input device 1609, a display 1610, a speaker 1611, a wireless communication interface 1612, one or more antenna switches 1615, one or more antennas 1616, a bus 1617, a battery 1618, and an auxiliary controller 1619.

The processor 1601 may be, for example, a CPU or a system on a chip (SoC), and controls the functions of an application layer and another layer of the smartphone 1600. The processor 1601 may include or serve as any of the processing circuits 1001, 2001, 3001, 4001 described with reference to the drawings. The memory 1602 includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 1601. The storage device 1603 may include a storage medium such as a semiconductor memory and a hard disk. The external connection interface 1604 is an interface for connecting external devices, such as a memory card and a Universal Serial Bus (USB) device, to the smartphone 1600.

The image pickup device 1606 includes an image sensor such as a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) and a Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS), and generates a captured image. The sensors 1607 may include a set of sensors such as a measurement sensor, a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an acceleration sensor. The microphone 1608 converts sound input to the smartphone 1600 into an audio signal. The input device 1609 includes, for example, a touch sensor, a keypad, a keyboard, buttons, or switches configured to detect a touch on the screen of the display device 1610, and receives an operation or information input from a user. The display device 1610 includes a screen, such as a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display, and displays an output image of the smart phone 1600. The speaker 1611 converts an audio signal output from the smartphone 1600 into sound.

The wireless communication interface 1612 supports any cellular communication scheme (such as 4G LTE or 5G NR, etc.) and performs wireless communication. The wireless communication interface 1612 may generally include, for example, a BB processor 1613 and RF circuitry 1614. The BB processor 1613 may perform, for example, encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, and multiplexing/demultiplexing, and perform various types of signal processing for wireless communication. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 1614 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmit and receive a wireless signal via the antenna 1616. The wireless communication interface 1612 may be one chip module on which the BB processor 1613 and the RF circuit 1614 are integrated. As shown in fig. 20, the wireless communication interface 1612 may include a plurality of BB processors 1613 and a plurality of RF circuits 1614. Although fig. 20 shows an example in which the wireless communication interface 1612 includes a plurality of BB processors 1613 and a plurality of RF circuits 1614, the wireless communication interface 1612 may also include a single BB processor 1613 or a single RF circuit 1614.

Further, the wireless communication interface 1612 may support another type of wireless communication scheme, such as a short-range wireless communication scheme, a near field communication scheme, and a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) scheme, in addition to the cellular communication scheme. In this case, the wireless communication interface 1612 may include the BB processor 1613 and the RF circuitry 1614 for each wireless communication scheme.

Each of the antenna switches 1615 switches a connection destination of an antenna 1616 between a plurality of circuits (for example, circuits for different wireless communication schemes) included in the wireless communication interface 1612.

The antenna 1616 includes multiple antenna elements, such as multiple antenna arrays for massive MIMO. The antennas 1616 may be arranged, for example, in an antenna array matrix, and used for the wireless communication interface 1612 to transmit and receive wireless signals. The smartphone 1600 may include one or more antenna panels (not shown).

Further, the smartphone 1600 may include an antenna 1616 for each wireless communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 1615 may be omitted from the configuration of the smartphone 1600.

The bus 1617 connects the processor 1601, the memory 1602, the storage device 1603, the external connection interface 1604, the image pickup device 1606, the sensor 1607, the microphone 1608, the input device 1609, the display device 1610, the speaker 1611, the wireless communication interface 1612, and the auxiliary controller 1619 to each other. The battery 1618 provides power to the various blocks of the smartphone 1600 shown in fig. 20 via a feed line, which is partially shown as a dashed line in the figure. The secondary controller 1619 operates the minimum necessary functions of the smartphone 1600, for example, in a sleep mode.

In the smartphone 1600 shown in fig. 20, one or more units (e.g., the transmitting unit 1003, the receiving unit 2002, the receiving unit 3003, or the like) included in the processing circuit 1001, 2001, 3001, or 4001 may be implemented in the wireless communication interface 1612. Alternatively, at least a portion of these components may be implemented in the processor 1601 or the auxiliary controller 1619. As one example, the smartphone 1600 includes a portion (e.g., the BB processor 1613) or the entirety of the wireless communication interface 1612 and/or a module that includes the processor 1601 and/or the secondary controller 1619, and one or more components can be implemented in the module. In this case, the module may store a program that allows a process to function as one or more components (in other words, a program for allowing a processor to perform the operation of one or more components), and may execute the program. As another example, a program for allowing a processor to function as one or more components may be installed in the smartphone 1600 and the wireless communication interface 1612 (e.g., BB processor 1613), processor 1601, and/or secondary controller 1619 may execute the program. As described above, the smartphone 1600 or the module may be provided as an apparatus including one or more components, and a program for allowing the processor to function as one or more components may be provided. In addition, a readable medium in which the program is recorded may be provided.

Second application example of user equipment

Fig. 21 is a block diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a car navigation apparatus 1720 to which the technique of the present disclosure can be applied. The car navigation device 1720 includes a processor 1721, a memory 1722, a Global Positioning System (GPS) module 1724, sensors 1725, a data interface 1726, a content player 1727, a storage medium interface 1728, an input device 1729, a display device 1730, speakers 1731, a wireless communication interface 1733, one or more antenna switches 1736, one or more antennas 1737, and a battery 1738.

The processor 1721 may be, for example, a CPU or a SoC, and controls the navigation function and further functions of the car navigation device 1720. The memory 1722 includes a RAM and a ROM, and stores data and programs executed by the processor 1721.

The GPS module 1724 measures the position (such as latitude, longitude, and altitude) of the car navigation device 1720 using GPS signals received from GPS satellites. The sensors 1725 may include a set of sensors, such as a gyroscope sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, and an air pressure sensor. The data interface 1726 is connected to, for example, an in-vehicle network 1741 via a terminal not shown, and acquires data generated by a vehicle (such as vehicle speed data).

The content player 1727 reproduces content stored in a storage medium (such as a CD and a DVD) inserted into the storage medium interface 1728. The input device 1729 includes, for example, a touch sensor, a button, or a switch configured to detect a touch on the screen of the display device 1730, and receives an operation or information input from a user. The display device 1730 includes a screen such as an LCD or OLED display, and displays an image of a navigation function or reproduced content. The speaker 1731 outputs the sound of the navigation function or the reproduced content.

Wireless communication interface 1733 supports any cellular communication scheme (such as 4G LTE or 5G NR) and performs wireless communication. Wireless communication interface 1733 may generally include, for example, BB processor 1734 and RF circuitry 1735. The BB processor 1734 may perform, for example, encoding/decoding, modulation/demodulation, and multiplexing/demultiplexing, and perform various types of signal processing for wireless communication. Meanwhile, the RF circuit 1735 may include, for example, a mixer, a filter, and an amplifier, and transmit and receive a wireless signal via the antenna 1737. Wireless communication interface 1733 may also be a chip module having BB processor 1734 and RF circuitry 1735 integrated thereon. As shown in fig. 21, wireless communication interface 1733 may include multiple BB processors 1734 and multiple RF circuits 1735. Although fig. 21 shows an example in which wireless communication interface 1733 includes multiple BB processors 1734 and multiple RF circuits 1735, wireless communication interface 1733 may also include a single BB processor 1734 or a single RF circuit 1735.

Further, wireless communication interface 1733 may support additional types of wireless communication schemes, such as a short-range wireless communication scheme, a near field communication scheme, and a wireless LAN scheme, in addition to the cellular communication scheme. In this case, wireless communication interface 1733 may include BB processor 1734 and RF circuitry 1735 for each wireless communication scheme.

Each of the antenna switches 1736 switches a connection destination of the antenna 1737 among a plurality of circuits included in the wireless communication interface 1733 (such as circuits for different wireless communication schemes).

The antenna 1737 includes multiple antenna elements, such as multiple antenna arrays for massive MIMO. Antennas 1737 may be arranged in an antenna array matrix, for example, and used for wireless communication interface 1733 to transmit and receive wireless signals.

Further, the car navigation device 1720 may include an antenna 1737 for each wireless communication scheme. In this case, the antenna switch 1736 may be omitted from the configuration of the car navigation device 1720.

The battery 1738 provides power to the various blocks of the car navigation device 1720 shown in fig. 21 via a feed line, which is partially shown in the figure as a dashed line. The battery 1738 accumulates power supplied from the vehicle.

In the car navigation apparatus 1720 shown in fig. 21, one or more units (e.g., the transmitting unit 1003, the receiving unit 2002, the receiving unit 3003, or the like) included in the processing circuit 1001, 2001, 3001, or 4001 may be implemented in the wireless communication interface 1733. Alternatively, at least a portion of these components may be implemented in the processor 1721. As one example, the car navigation device 1720 includes a portion (e.g., BB processor 1734) or all of the wireless communication interface 1733, and/or a module including the processor 1721, and one or more components may be implemented in the module. In this case, the module may store a program that allows the process to function as one or more components (in other words, a program for allowing the processor to perform the operation of one or more components), and may execute the program. As another example, a program for allowing a processor to function as one or more components may be installed in the car navigation device 1720, and the wireless communication interface 1733 (e.g., BB processor 1734) and/or processor 1721 may execute the program. As described above, as a device including one or more components, the car navigation device 1720 or the module may be provided, and a program for allowing the processor to function as the one or more components may be provided. In addition, a readable medium in which the program is recorded may be provided.

The techniques of this disclosure may also be implemented as an in-vehicle system (or vehicle) 1740 including one or more blocks of the car navigation device 1720, the in-vehicle network 1741, and the vehicle module 1742. The vehicle module 1742 generates vehicle data (such as vehicle speed, engine speed, and fault information) and outputs the generated data to the on-board network 1741.

The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described above with reference to the drawings, but the present disclosure is of course not limited to the above examples. Various changes and modifications within the scope of the appended claims may be made by those skilled in the art, and it should be understood that these changes and modifications naturally will fall within the technical scope of the present disclosure.

For example, a plurality of functions included in one unit may be implemented by separate devices in the above embodiments. Alternatively, a plurality of functions implemented by a plurality of units in the above embodiments may be implemented by separate devices, respectively. In addition, one of the above functions may be implemented by a plurality of units. Needless to say, such a configuration is included in the technical scope of the present disclosure.

In this specification, the steps described in the flowcharts include not only the processing performed in time series in the described order but also the processing performed in parallel or individually without necessarily being performed in time series. Further, even in the steps processed in time series, needless to say, the order can be changed as appropriate.

Although the present disclosure and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims. Also, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, of the embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrases "comprising a," "8230," "8230," or "comprising" does not exclude the presence of additional like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

Claims

1. A method performed by a base station, comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the operation of determining whether to change the first DRX configuration to the second DRX configuration further comprises:

wherein the method further comprises:

3. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring a first DRX configuration of a plurality of DRX configurations of a resource pool for through-link communication between a sending side electronic device and a receiving side electronic device further comprises:

enabling, by a downlink channel transmission, a first DRX configuration at a transmitting side electronic device, such that the transmitting side electronic device can perform the through-link communication with the receiving side electronic device using the first DRX configuration.

4. A method performed by a transmitting-side electronic device, comprising:

performing a direct link communication with a receiving-side electronic device using a first Discontinuous Reception (DRX) configuration, wherein the first DRX configuration is configured by a base station for the direct link communication from among a plurality of DRX configurations of a resource pool; and

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the operation of sending a first DRX configuration change request to a base station in response to a triggering event associated with available channel resources further comprises:

6. The method of claim 4 or 5, wherein the wake-up duration of each of the plurality of DRX configurations is set at a different location within one DRX cycle, respectively.

7. A method performed by an electronic device, comprising:

determining a first DRX configuration of a plurality of DRX configurations of a resource pool for through-link communication between the electronic device and another electronic device; and

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the electronic device is a transmitting side electronic device and the other device is a receiving side electronic device, the method further comprising one of:

Determining a first DRX configuration for through-link communication between the electronic device and the other electronic device based on at least one of a channel congestion condition, qoS requirements for traffic, and DRX configurations used by other UEs that are in a same area and use a same resource pool as the electronic device and the other electronic device, wherein the other electronic device is one of a set of other electronic devices with which the electronic device is in multicast communication.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the electronic device is a receiving side electronic device and the other electronic device is a transmitting side electronic device, the method further comprising:

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the electronic device is a receiving side electronic device and the other electronic device is a transmitting side electronic device, and the operation of determining whether to change the first DRX configuration to the second DRX configuration in response to a triggering event associated with available channel resources further comprises:

acquiring current auxiliary information, wherein the current auxiliary information comprises at least one of a current resource perception result, qoS requirements of a service, DRX configuration used by other UEs that are in the same area and use the same resource pool as the electronic device and the other electronic device, and energy-saving requirements of the electronic device; and