WO2020034322A1

WO2020034322A1 - Methods, apparatus and systems for saving energy in a wireless communication

Info

Publication number: WO2020034322A1
Application number: PCT/CN2018/108023
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yachao LIANG; Peng Hao; Xing Liu; Jian Li; Xingguang WEI
Original assignee: Zte Corporation
Priority date: 2018-09-27
Filing date: 2018-09-27
Publication date: 2020-02-20
Also published as: CN113228728A; CN113228728B

Abstract

Methods, apparatus and systems for saving energy in a wireless communication are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method performed by a wireless communication node is disclosed. The method comprises: configuring a discontinuous reception (DRX) for a wireless communication device; configuring a bandwidth part (BWP) adaptive for the wireless communication device; and determining a relationship between a timer related to the BWP adaptive and a phase of a DRX cycle of the wireless communication device.

Description

METHODS, APPARATUS AND SYSTEMS FOR SAVING ENERGY IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates generally to wireless communications and, more particularly, to methods, apparatus and systems for saving energy at a user equipment in a wireless communication.

BACKGROUND

With the development of wireless communication technology and the increasing demand for communications, in order to meet the needs of higher, faster and newer communications, the fifth generation (5G) mobile communication technology has become the trend of future network development. A 5G system will support enhanced mobile broadband, ultra-high reliability, ultra-low latency transmission, and massive connectivity. In addition, the terminal increases its energy consumption while supporting these features. In order to solve the energy consumption problem, discontinuous reception (DRX) and bandwidth part (BWP) adaptive are supported in a 5G system.

The data service of a user equipment (UE) does not happen regularly. There may be data transmission only for a period of time, while there is no data transmission in the next period of time. When there is no data transmission, the UE can turn off its corresponding receiver and enter a low energy consumption mode to save energy. This is called discontinuous reception (DRX) . In DRX, the time period of data transmission or the time period when the UE continuously monitors the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) is called an ON Duration phase; while the time period without data transmission or the time period when the UE does not monitor the PDCCH or the time period when partial function of the receiver at the UE is turned off is called an OFF Duration phase. An ON Duration and an OFF Duration adjacent to each other form a DRX cycle, whose specific time length may be configured by a higher layer signaling. The UE switches between an ON Duration and an OFF Duration, either based on a higher layer signaling or a wake up signal (WUS) or a first layer (L1) signal.

In order to allocate frequency domain resources more flexibly and reduce energy consumption, bandwidth part (BWP) is introduced in 5G. A BWP includes a certain number of consecutive physical resource blocks (PRBs) in the frequency domain. Different BWPs can be allocated according to different transmission requirements. When the traffic is low, the UE can switch to a BWP with smaller bandwidth; when the traffic is high, the UE can switch to a BWP with larger bandwidth. Each BWP can adopt different configurations, such as subcarrier spacing, cyclic shift, etc. The system can select different BWPs according to different service requirements, thereby improving system flexibility. A BWP that carries the data transmission is called an active BWP, that is configured by a high-layer signaling. The base station may configure up to four active BWPs for each of the uplink and downlink services of each UE. The base station informs the UE which active BWP to use for transmission according to the transmission requirements. Generally, an active BWP is large and contains a large number of PRBs. When there is no transmission requirement, working on the active BWP will bring the UE unnecessary energy consumption. Therefore, when the UE has no data transmission on the active BWP for a certain period of time, the UE will switch from the active BWP to a smaller BWP called a default BWP. The switching from an active BWP to a default BWP depends on a timing mechanism called BWP adaptive (BA) .

According to an existing communication protocol, the BA timing mechanism and the DRX mechanism work independently of each other. When the UE enters the OFF Duration phase according to the periodic configuration or the indication from the WUS or L1 signal, the BA timer may not expire at the UE at this time, such that the UE still works on the active BWP. Although the OFF Duration phase is entered, the BA timer continues to run. After the BA timer expires, the UE switches from the active BWP to the default BWP. In another case, before entering the OFF Duration, the BA timer has expired already, and the UE has switched to the default BWP during the ON Duration phase. The independent operation of the BA timing mechanism and the DRX mechanism will bring inflexibility of the BWP handover and affect the energy saving effect at the UE. Thus, existing systems and methods for saving energy at the UE are not entirely satisfactory.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are directed to solving the issues relating to one or more of the problems presented in the prior art, as well as providing additional features that will become readily apparent by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings. In accordance with various embodiments, exemplary systems, methods, devices and computer program products are disclosed herein. It is understood, however, that these embodiments are presented by way of example and not limitation, and it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art who read the present disclosure that various modifications to the disclosed embodiments can be made while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment, a method performed by a wireless communication node is disclosed. The method comprises: configuring a discontinuous reception (DRX) for a wireless communication device; configuring a bandwidth part (BWP) adaptive for the wireless communication device; and determining a relationship between a timer related to the BWP adaptive and a phase of a DRX cycle of the wireless communication device.

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

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

In still another embodiment, a method performed by a wireless communication device is disclosed. The method comprises: receiving, from a wireless communication node, configuration information related to an initial uplink (UL) bandwidth part (BWP) and an initial downlink (DL) BWP; and activating, based on the configuration information, the initial UL BWP and the initial DL BWP at the same time before a random access procedure for the wireless communication device to complete access to the wireless communication node.

In a different embodiment, a wireless communication node configured to carry out a disclosed method in some embodiment is disclosed. In another embodiment, a wireless communication device configured to carry out a disclosed method in some embodiment is disclosed. In yet another embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for carrying out a disclosed method in some embodiment is disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communication network in which techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary structures of discontinuous reception (DRX) cycles, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary timing mechanism for a bandwidth part (BWP) adaptive, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary scenario involved with both BWP adaptive and DRX, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a user equipment (UE) , in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart for a method performed by a UE for saving energy, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a base station (BS) , in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow chart for a method performed by a BS for saving energy, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

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

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

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary relationship between a BA timer and a DRX phase with a wake-up signal (WUS) or a L1 signal, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates another exemplary relationship between a BA timer and a DRX phase with a WUS/L1 signal, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary scenario where WUS/L1 works on a dedicated BWP, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates another exemplary scenario where WUS/L1 works on a dedicated BWP, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 15 illustrates yet another exemplary scenario where WUS/L1 works on a dedicated BWP, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 illustrates still another exemplary scenario where WUS/L1 works on a dedicated BWP, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 illustrates still an exemplary scenario where WUS/L1 works on a BWP determined based on a BA timer, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary method for activating initial uplink and downlink BWPs, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 19 illustrates another exemplary method for activating initial uplink and downlink BWPs, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the accompanying figures to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the present disclosure. As would be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, various changes or modifications to the examples described herein can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limited to the exemplary embodiments and applications described and illustrated herein. Additionally, the specific order and/or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein are merely exemplary approaches. Based upon design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps of the disclosed methods or processes can be re-arranged while remaining within the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or acts in a sample order, and the present disclosure is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented unless expressly stated otherwise.

A typical wireless communication network includes one or more base stations (typically known as a “BS” ) that each provides geographical radio coverage, and one or more wireless user equipment devices (typically known as a “UE” ) that can transmit and receive data within the radio coverage. In the wireless communication network, a BS and a UE can communicate with each other via a communication link, e.g., via a downlink radio frame from the BS to the UE or via an uplink radio frame from the UE to the BS.

The present disclosure provides methods and systems for saving energy for a data transmission system. A mutual coupling relationship is given between a DRX and a BA timing. In the OFF Duration, some unnecessary BWP switching can be avoided by adjusting the BA timing. The UE can save more energy when it enters an ON Duration.

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

In one embodiment, the ON Duration and the OFF Duration of a DRX cycle are indicated by the WUS or L1 signal. If the WUS or L1 signal works on the active BWP, the BA timer may only run or increase during the ON Duration, and remain unchanged during the OFF Duration. If the WUS or L1 signal works on the default BWP, the BA timer may be forced to expire when the UE enters the OFF Duration. The WUS or L1 signal may also work on a dedicated BWP that has less PRBs than the default BWP.

When the dedicated BWP is not a type of BWP configured for UE, the BA timer may only run or increase during the ON Duration, and remain unchanged during the OFF Duration. In one embodiment, the BA timer increases normally during the ON Duration; but increases at a slower speed during the OFF Duration, e.g. according to a slowdown factor that is a fixed constant or configured by a higher layer signaling. When the dedicated BWP is a kind of BWP configured for the UE, the BA timer loses its effect. When the UE enters the OFF Duration, it directly switches to the dedicated BWP. When the UE enters an ON Duration again, it switches to the default BWP.

In one embodiment, the BA timing mechanism is dominant. The UE detects the WUS/L1 according to the current BWP that is determined based on the BA timer. The BA timing is not affected by the UE entering the OFF Duration.

In various embodiments, a BS may be referred to as a network side node and can include, or be implemented as, a next Generation Node B (gNB) , an E-UTRAN Node B (eNB) , a Transmission Reception Point (TRP) , an Access Point (AP) , a donor node (DN) , a relay node, a core network (CN) node, a RAN node, a master node, a secondary node, a distributed unit (DU) , a centralized unit (CU) , etc. A UE in the present disclosure can be referred to as a terminal and can include, or be implemented as, a mobile station (MS) , a station (STA) , etc. A BS and a UE may be described herein as non-limiting examples of “wireless communication nodes; ” and a UE may be described herein as non-limiting examples of “wireless communication devices. ” The BS and UE can practice the methods disclosed herein and may be capable of wireless and/or wired communications, in accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary communication network 100 in which techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the exemplary communication network 100 includes a base station (BS) 101 and a plurality of UEs, UE 1 110, UE 2 120 …UE 3 130, where the BS 101 can communicate with the UEs according to wireless protocols.

In one embodiment, after a UE, e.g. the UE 1 110, successfully accesses the BS 101, the UE may perform DRX to save energy. In DRX, the UE continuously monitors the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) during an ON Duration phase; and does not monitor the PDCCH during an OFF Duration phase. An ON Duration and an OFF Duration adjacent to each other form a DRX cycle, whose specific time length may be configured by a higher layer signaling.

FIG. 2 illustrates exemplary structures of DRX cycles, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, there are two ways for the UE to enter the ON Duration or the OFF Duration. The first way is to use a high-layer signaling to semi-statically configure: a beginning time of an ON Duration 211, a length of an ON Duration 211, and a length of a DRX cycle 213. Then an OFF Duration 212 can be determined according to the lengths of the DRX cycle 213 and the ON Duration 211, according to the structure 210. The UE switches semi-statically between an ON Duration and an OFF Duration according to a high-layer configuration. The second way is based on an activation signal 231, e.g. a wake-up signal (WUS) signal or a first layer (L1) signal. According to the structure 220, the activation signal 231 may dynamically informs the UE to go from an OFF Duration to an ON Duration or from an ON Duration to an OFF Duration. In this case, the length of a DRX cycle 224 is not fixed and can no longer be configured by a higher layer signaling. The UE switches dynamically between an ON Duration and an OFF Duration according to a WUS signal or a L1 signal.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary timing mechanism 300 for a BWP adaptive (BA) , in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As discussed above, a BWP that carries the data transmission is called an active BWP 320, that is configured by a high-layer signaling. When the UE has no data transmission on the active BWP 320 for a certain period of time, the UE will switch from the active BWP 320 to a smaller BWP called a default BWP 330. At this time, the UE can receive some control and indication information on the default BWP 330. If there is a transmission requirement, switch from the default BWP 330 to an active BWP. The UE switches from an active BWP to a default BWP according to a BA timing mechanism. After the UE completes the initial access and starts working on an active BWP 320, a BA timer 340 starts increasing or running. If a PDCCH is detected within the BA timer 340, the BA timer 340 is reset and restarts running. The UE may configure the parameters related to the BA timer 340 through a high-layer parameter bwp-Inactivity Timer.

If the UE does not detect the DCI format for PDSCH reception under frequency division duplex (FDD) , or the DCI format for PDSCH reception under time division duplex (TDD) , or the DCI format for PUSCH transmission under TDD within a certain timing interval, the UE increases the timer on a first frequency range (FR1) at intervals of 1 ms or increases the timer on a second frequency range (FR2) at intervals of 0.5 ms. When the BA timer expires, the UE switches from the active BWP to the default BWP.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary scenario 400 involved with both BA and DRX, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, when the UE enters from an ON Duration phase 411 to an OFF Duration phase 412 according to a periodic configuration or an indication from the WUS or L1 signal, the BA timer 430 may have not expired at the UE at this time, such that the UE still works on an active BWP 421. Although the OFF Duration phase 412 is entered, the BA timer 430 continues to run. After the BA timer 430 expires, the UE switches from the active BWP 421 to a default BWP 422. In another scenario (not shown in FIG. 4) , before entering the OFF Duration 412, the BA timer 421 has expired already, and the UE has switched to the default BWP 422 during the ON Duration phase 411.

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

In this embodiment, the system clock 502 provides the timing signals to the processor 504 for controlling the timing of all operations of the UE 500. The processor 504 controls the general operation of the UE 500 and can include one or more processing circuits or modules such as a central processing unit (CPU) and/or any combination of general-purpose microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs) , field programmable gate array (FPGAs) , programmable logic devices (PLDs) , controllers, state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware components, dedicated hardware finite state machines, or any other suitable circuits, devices and/or structures that can perform calculations or other manipulations of data.

The memory 506, which can include both read-only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM) , can provide instructions and data to the processor 504. A portion of the memory 506 can also include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM) . The processor 504 typically performs logical and arithmetic operations based on program instructions stored within the memory 506. The instructions (a. k. a., software) stored in the memory 506 can be executed by the processor 504 to perform the methods described herein. The processor 504 and memory 506 together form a processing system that stores and executes software. As used herein, “software” means any type of instructions, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, etc. which can configure a machine or device to perform one or more desired functions or processes. Instructions can include code (e.g., in source code format, binary code format, executable code format, or any other suitable format of code) . The instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the processing system to perform the various functions described herein.

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

In a communication system including the UE 500 served by a BS, to save energy at the UE 500, the BS may configure a DRX mechanism and a BA mechanism for the UE 500. In one embodiment, the DRX-BA configuration determiner 520 may determine a configuration for a DRX and a configuration for a BA for the UE 500, e.g. each based on a high-layer signaling from the BS. The DRX-BA configuration determiner 520 may analyze the configurations for DRX and BA, and send the configurations to the DRX-BA relationship determiner 522 for determining a relationship between the DRX and BA.

As used herein, the term “layer” refers to an abstraction layer of a layered model, e.g. the open systems interconnection (OSI) model, which partitions a communication system into abstraction layers. A layer serves the next higher layer above it, and is served by the next lower layer below it.

The DRX-BA relationship determiner 522 in this example can determine a relationship between a timer related to the BA and a phase of a DRX cycle of the UE 500, e.g. based on the configurations from the DRX-BA configuration determiner 520, based on a high-layer signaling from the BS, and/or based on a protocol agreed between the BS and the UE 500.

The BWP activator and switcher 524 in this example may enable the UE 500 to switch from an active BWP to a default BWP in response to an expiration of a timer and based on a high-layer signaling. In one embodiment, the DRX cycle comprises an ON Duration phase and an OFF Duration phase that are indicated based on a high-layer signaling from the BS. The BA timer controller 526 may control a BA timer to run or pause or expire under various conditions. In one case, the BA timer controller 526 may control the BA timer to run during an ON Duration phase, to pause during an OFF Duration phase according to the relationship, and to continue running during an ON Duration phase of a next DRX cycle until an expiration of the timer. In another case, the BA timer controller 526 may control the BA timer to run during both the ON Duration phase and the OFF Duration phase until an expiration of the timer, where the BA timer runs slower during the OFF Duration phase than it runs during the ON Duration phase according to the relationship. For example, a first running speed of the BA timer during the ON Duration phase is a multiple of a second running speed of the BA timer during the OFF Duration phase, while the multiple may be indicated based on a high-layer signaling.

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

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

In yet another case, the BWP activator and switcher 524 may enable the UE 500 to switch, based on the relationship, from an active BWP to a dedicated BWP in response to a switch of the UE 500 from the ON Duration phase to the OFF Duration phase. The dedicated BWP includes less resource blocks than those included in the default BWP. In this case, the activation signal detector 528 may detect, via the receiver 514, an activation signal on a dedicated BWP during the OFF Duration phase; and the DRX phase switcher 529 may enable the UE 500 to switch, based on the activation signal, from the OFF Duration phase to the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle. In one embodiment, the BA timer controller 526 may control the BA timer to run during the ON Duration phase and continue running during the OFF Duration phase. Then the UE 500 may be on a default BWP at a beginning of the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle in response to an expiration of the timer during the OFF Duration phase; or may be on an active BWP at the beginning of the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle when there is no expiration of the timer during the OFF Duration phase. In another embodiment, the BA timer controller 526 may force the BA timer to expire in response to the switch of the UE 500 from the ON Duration phase to the OFF Duration phase. Then the UE 500 may be on a default BWP at a beginning of the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle, while the timer restarts from a beginning of a first active BWP in the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle.

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

In one embodiment, the BWP activator and switcher 524 may receive, via the receiver 514 from a BS, configuration information related to an initial uplink (UL) BWP and an initial downlink (DL) BWP. The BWP activator and switcher 524 may then activate, based on the configuration information, both the initial UL BWP and the initial DL BWP before a random access procedure for the UE 500 to complete access to the BS.

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

The various modules discussed above are coupled together by a bus system 530. The bus system 530 can include a data bus and, for example, a power bus, a control signal bus, and/or a status signal bus in addition to the data bus. It is understood that the modules of the UE 500 can be operatively coupled to one another using any suitable techniques and mediums.

Although a number of separate modules or components are illustrated in FIG. 5, persons of ordinary skill in the art will understand that one or more of the modules can be combined or commonly implemented. For example, the processor 504 can implement not only the functionality described above with respect to the processor 504, but also implement the functionality described above with respect to the DRX-BA relationship determiner 522. Conversely, each of the modules illustrated in FIG. 5 can be implemented using a plurality of separate components or elements.

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

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

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

In a communication system, the BS 700 may configure a DRX mechanism and a BA mechanism for a UE served by the BS 700. In one embodiment, the DRX configurator 720 may generate and transmit, via the transmitter 712 to the UE, configuration information related to a DRX for the UE; the BA configurator 722 may generate and transmit, via the transmitter 712 to the UE, configuration information related to a BA for the UE. The DRX configurator 720 and the BA configurator 722 may send the configuration information to the DRX-BA relationship determiner 724 for determining a relationship between the DRX and the BA.

The DRX-BA relationship determiner 724 in this example may determine a relationship between a timer related to the BA and a phase of a DRX cycle of the UE. In one embodiment, the DRX cycle comprises an ON Duration phase and an OFF Duration phase that are indicated based on a high-layer signaling.

In one embodiment, the timer is configured for the UE to switch from an active BWP to a default BWP in response to an expiration of the timer and based on a high-layer signaling. In one case, the timer runs during the ON Duration phase; pauses during the OFF Duration phase according to the relationship; and continues to run during an ON Duration phase of a next DRX cycle until an expiration of the timer. In another case, the timer runs during both the ON Duration phase and the OFF Duration phase until an expiration of the timer; and runs slower during the OFF Duration phase than it runs during the ON Duration phase according to the relationship. For example, a first running speed of the timer during the ON Duration phase is a multiple of a second running speed of the timer during the OFF Duration phase. The multiple may be indicated based on a high-layer signaling from the BS 700.

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

In one case, the timer runs during the ON Duration phase; pauses during the OFF Duration phase according to the relationship; and continues to run during an ON Duration phase of a next DRX cycle until an expiration of the timer. The activation signal, once detected by the UE on an active BWP during the OFF Duration phase, can inform the UE to switch from the OFF Duration phase to the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle.

In another case, the timer runs during the ON Duration phase; and is forced to expire in response to a switch of the UE from the ON Duration phase to the OFF Duration phase according to the relationship. The activation signal, once detected by the UE on a default BWP during the OFF Duration phase, can inform the UE to switch from the OFF Duration phase to the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle.

In yet another case, the timer runs during the ON Duration phase, while the relationship informs the UE to switch from an active BWP to a dedicated BWP in response to a switch of the UE from the ON Duration phase to the OFF Duration phase. The dedicated BWP includes less resource blocks than those included in the default BWP.

In one example, the activation signal, once detected by the UE on the dedicated BWP during the OFF Duration phase, informs the UE to switch from the OFF Duration phase to the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle. In this example, the timer continues to run during the OFF Duration phase. The UE may be on a default BWP at a beginning of the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle, in response to an expiration of the timer during the OFF Duration phase; and may be on an active BWP at the beginning of the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle, when there is no expiration of the timer during the OFF Duration phase.

In another example, the timer is forced to expire in response to the switch of the UE from the ON Duration phase to the OFF Duration phase. The UE may be on a default BWP at a beginning of the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle; and the timer restarts from a beginning of a first active BWP in the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle.

In one embodiment, the timer runs during the ON Duration phase. The relationship informs the UE to detect the activation signal during the OFF Duration phase on an active BWP before the timer expires and on a default BWP after the timer expires.

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

The various modules discussed above are coupled together by a bus system 730. The bus system 730 can include a data bus and, for example, a power bus, a control signal bus, and/or a status signal bus in addition to the data bus. It is understood that the modules of the BS 700 can be operatively coupled to one another using any suitable techniques and mediums.

Although a number of separate modules or components are illustrated in FIG. 7, persons of ordinary skill in the art will understand that one or more of the modules can be combined or commonly implemented. For example, the processor 704 can implement not only the functionality described above with respect to the processor 704, but also implement the functionality described above with respect to the DRX-BA relationship determiner 724. Conversely, each of the modules illustrated in FIG. 7 can be implemented using a plurality of separate components or elements.

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

Different embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in detail hereinafter. It is noted that the features of the embodiments and examples in the present disclosure may be combined with each other in any manner without conflict.

The present teaching discloses methods for generating relationships and links between the DRX and the BA timing mechanisms, to avoid unnecessary operations of the UE and enhance the energy saving effect.

In a first embodiment, the DRX’s ON Duration and OFF Duration are switched according to a high-layer configuration. FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary relationship 900 between a BWP adaptive (BA) timer and a phase of a DRX cycle, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9, when the UE is at an OFF Duration 912, its receiver is at an off state. At this time, the UE does not perform data transmission, and thus does not have energy consumption of data transmission. Therefore, there is almost no difference in energy consumption for the UE working on an active BWP 921 vs. working on a default BWP 922. Therefore, the UE can achieve the same energy saving effect as switching to the default BWP 922 without actually switching to the default BWP 922 in the OFF Duration 912. Moreover, when the UE remains on the active BWP 921 during the OFF Duration 912, the UE can directly work on the active BWP 921 when the UE enter an ON Duration 913 next time, eliminating the time and energy consumption of switching from the default BWP 922 to the active BWP 921. Therefore, in the OFF Duration, the BA timer 930 pauses and is unchanged, and the BA timer 930 runs or increases only during the

ON Duration

911, 913, which can reduce unnecessary BWP switching and achieve better energy saving effects.

In a second embodiment, the DRX’s ON Duration and OFF Duration are switched according to a high-layer configuration. FIG. 10 illustrates another exemplary relationship 1000 between a BA timer and a phase of a DRX cycle, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 10, when the UE is at an OFF Duration 1012, its receiver is at the off state. At this time, the UE does not perform data transmission, and thus does not have energy consumption of data transmission. Therefore, there is almost no difference in energy consumption for the UE working on an

active BWP

1021, 1031 vs. working on a

default BWP

1022, 1032. When the UE is at an ON Duration, the energy consumed by the UE to work on the

active BWP

1021, 1031 will be much greater than the energy consumed on the

default BWP

1022, 1032. The original intention of the BA timing mechanism is to prevent the UE from working on the active BWP when there is no transmission requirement, and to reduce the energy consumption by switching to the default BWP. For example, the UE increases the BA timer on a first frequency range (FR1) at intervals of 1 ms or increases the BA timer on a second frequency range (FR2) at intervals of 0.5 ms.

However, when the UE is at an OFF Duration, the energy consumption between the active BWP and the default BWP is not much different. Compared with the UE in the ON Duration, the desire or requirement for the UE to save energy by switching to the default BWP is not so strong. The increasing rate or running speed of the BA timer can be appropriately slowed down in the OFF Duration, such that the UE is on the active BWP 1021 for a longer time. For example, the UE increases the timer at intervals of N*1ms on FR1 or increases the timer at intervals of N*0.5ms on FR2, where the value of N can be configured by a high layer signaling or fixed to a constant, as shown in FIG. 10.

Compared with the BA timer 1031 with a normal speed increase, the UE can directly work on the active BWP 1021 when the UE enters the ON Duration 1013 after the OFF Duration 1012. This saves the time and energy consumption for switching from the default BWP to the active BWP. At the same time, this avoid a situation when the OFF Duration is configured too long such that the UE cannot enter the default BWP for a long time. Therefore, at OFF Duration, slowing down the BA timer’s increasing speed can provide a better energy saving effect.

In a third embodiment, when the UE enters an ON Duration at a fixed time according to the period configured by a high-layer signaling, there is not necessarily transmission requirement on the ON Duration. In this case, the UE entering the ON Duration will cause unnecessary energy consumption. When the transmission requirement of the UE occurs in the OFF Duration, the transmission requirement is missed, thereby affecting the service transmission. An introduction of the WUS or L1 signaling can solve the above problem very well. In this embodiment, the UE enters the ON Duration only after receiving the WUS or L1 signaling. This prevents the UE from entering the ON Duration when there is no transmission requirement, and avoids a situation when the UE cannot enter the ON Duration when there is a transmission requirement. In the third embodiment, the ON Duration and OFF Duration of the DRX are switched according to an indication of the WUS or L1 signal.

In order to make the ON Duration configuration more flexible to respond to burst transmission requirements, the moment when the UE enters an ON Duration will no longer be determined only by the period of semi-static configuration. If a WUS or L1 signal is received at the OFF Duration, the UE will also enter to the ON Duration. The WUS or L1 signal may work in active BWP, default BWP, dedicated BWP, or may be dominated by the BA timing mechanism, as to be discussed in detail below.

In a first case, the WUS or L1 signal works on the active BWP. FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary relationship 1100 between a BA timer and a DRX phase with a wake-up signal (WUS) , in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 11, the UE needs to monitor whether there is a WUS or L1 signal on the active BWP 1121 on the OFF Duration 1112. If the WUS or L1 signal is detected, the UE will enter the ON Duration 1113. If not, the UE still works on the OFF Duration 1112. In this case, the UE needs to be always on the active BWP 1121 during the OFF Duration 1112, and cannot be switched to the default BWP 1122. Therefore, the BA timing needs to be limited. Because the UE consumes less energy on the active BWP 1121 during the OFF Duration 1112, the BA timer 1130 only increases or runs on the

ON Duration

1111, 1113, but does not increase or run in the OFF Duration 1112.

In a second case, the WUS or L1 signal works on the default BWP. FIG. 12 illustrates another exemplary relationship 1200 between a BA timer and a DRX phase with a WUS, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 12, the UE needs to monitor whether there is a WUS or L1 signal on the default BWP 1222 on the OFF Duration 1212. If the WUS or L1 signal is detected, the UE will enter the ON Duration 1213. If not, the UE still works on the OFF Duration 1212. In this case, the UE needs to be always on the default BWP 1222 during OFF Duration 1212, regardless of whether the BA timer expires. Therefore, when the UE enters the OFF Duration 1212, the BA timer 1230 is forced to expire at the beginning of the OFF Duration 1212 instead of at a scheduled time by the BA timer 1230. The UE then enters the default BWP 1222 earlier than scheduled, as shown in FIG. 12.

In a third case, the WUS or L1 signal works on the dedicated BWP. Since the WUS or L1 signal only provides an indication to enter the ON Duration, the required resource for detecting the WUS or L1 signal is very small. For example, a BWP of 1 to 2 resource blocks (RBs) would be sufficient. But this BWP can only be used to transmit or receive the WUS or L1 signal. For the UE to receive the WUS or L1 signal on the dedicated BWP, the UE may switch to the dedicated BWP during OFF Duration.

In a first scenario, the dedicated BWP is not a type of BWP configured for the UE. FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary scenario 1300 where WUS/L1 works on a dedicated BWP, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 13, the UE working on the dedicated BWP does not affect the UE working in the default BWP or the active BWP. The UE switches to the

dedicated BWP

1322, 1332 during the OFF Duration 1312. At this time, the

BA timer

1330, 1340 works normally, because the

dedicated BWP

1322, 1332 does not affect the timing of the default BWP and the active BWP. If the WUS or L1 signal is received for the UE to enter the ON Duration 1313 and the BA timer 1330 has not expired, then the UE works directly on the active BWP 1323 on the next ON Duration 1313; if the BA timer 1340 has expired before receiving the WUS or L1 signal, then the UE works first on the default BWP 1333 on the next ON Duration 1313, and then switches from the default BWP 1333 to the active BWP 1334, as shown in FIG. 13.

FIG. 14 illustrates another exemplary scenario 1400 where WUS/L1 works on a dedicated BWP, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Optionally, the BA timer 1430 remains unchanged during the OFF Duration 1412 and only increases or runs on the

ON Duration

1411, 1413. If the UE works on the active BWP 1421 before it enters the OFF Duration 1412, the UE directly switches from the dedicated BWP 1422 to the active BWP 1423 when it enters the next ON Duration 1413, as shown in FIG. 14.

FIG. 15 illustrates yet another exemplary scenario 1500 where WUS/L1 works on a dedicated BWP, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Optionally, when the BA timer is at the OFF Duration 1512, the increasing rate or running speed of the BA timer may be appropriately slowed. For example, the UE increases the timer at intervals of N*1ms on the FR1 or increases the timer at intervals of N*0.5ms on the FR2. The value of N can be configured by a high layer signaling or fixed to a constant, as shown in FIG. 15.

In a second scenario, the dedicated BWP is a type of BWP configured for the UE. In this scenario, the UE working on the dedicated BWP will affect the UE working in the default BWP or the active BWP. FIG. 16 illustrates still another exemplary scenario 1600 where WUS/L1 works on a dedicated BWP, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. When the UE enters an OFF Duration 1612, the UE switches to the dedicated BWP 1622, at which time the BA timer becomes ineffective because the BA timing is applied for switching from the active BWP to the default BWP. In this scenario, the BA timer is forced to expire at the beginning of the OFF Duration 1612 if the BA timer has not expired by then, but the UE switches from an active BWP 1621 to a dedicated BWP 1622 instead of to a default BWP during the OFF Duration 1612. If the BA timer has expired during the ON Duration, the UE switches from the active BWP 1631 to the default BWP 1632 in response to the expiration of the BA timer, and then switches to the dedicated BWP 1633 from the default BWP 1632 at the beginning of the OFF Duration 1612. In either case, when the UE enters the next ON Duration 1613, the UE switches from the

dedicated BWP

1622, 1633 to the

default BWP

1623, 1634, and then switches from the

default BWP

1623, 1634, to the

active BWP

1624, 1635, and restarts the BA timer as shown in FIG. 16.

In a fourth case, BA timing mechanism is dominant in the relationship between DRX and BA. FIG. 17 illustrates still an exemplary scenario 1700 where WUS/L1 works on a BWP determined based on a BA timer, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. When dominated by the BA timing mechanism, the UE will only detect the WUS or L1 signal on the a currently working BWP. When the UE enters the OFF Duration 1712, if the BA timer 1730 has not expired, the UE works on the active BWP 1721, and the UE receives the WUS or L1 signal on the active BWP 1721. If the BA timer 1730 has expired when the UE enters the OFF Duration 1712, the UE works on the default BWP 1722. At this time, the UE receives the WUS or L1 signal on the default BWP 1722. The BWP on which the WUS or L1 works in the OFF Duration 1712 is determined by the BWP in the BA timing mechanism, as shown in FIG. 17.

In a fourth embodiment, a method for activating initial uplink and downlink BWPs is proposed. In the NR TDD system, the downlink (DL) BWP and the uplink (UL) BWP are required to form a pairing relationship. That is, each DL BWP has a UL BWP correspondingly. The center frequencies of the DL BWP and the UL BWP need to be consistent. An NR system delivers the configuration information of the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP in the RMSI (Remaining Minimum System Information) . A RMSI message is also called SIB1 (System Information Block 1) . The initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP may have different sizes, but must have the same center frequency. After receiving configuration information of the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP by the RMSI, the UE immediately activates the initial UL BWP and sends a corresponding random access message on the initial UL BWP. But the initial DL BWP is activated after the UE completes the random access, i.e. after Msg4 of the random access procedure. Before the initial DL BWP is activated, the downlink scheduling of the UE occurs within the bandwidth corresponding to control resource set (CORESET) #0. That is, the Msg1 and Msg3 messages of the initial access are sent on the initial UL BWP, and the Msg2 and Msg4 messages of the initial access are sent on the bandwidth corresponding to CORESET #0.

FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary method 1800 for activating initial uplink and downlink BWPs, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In order to meet the pairing requirements of DL BWP and UL BWP in the TDD system, the base station needs to make the center frequency (f0) of CORESET#0 coincide with the center frequency (f1) of the initial UL BWP before the initial DL BWP can be used. After Msg4, it is also necessary to ensure that the center frequency (f2) of the initial DL BWP is consistent with the center frequency (f1) of the initial UL BWP. As shown in FIG. 18, all center frequency points f0, f1, and f2 are consistent. This will impose greater restrictions on the flexibility of the configuration of the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP, since the center frequencies of both the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP are limited by the center frequency of CORESET #0. The fourth embodiment is proposed to solve this problem.

FIG. 19 illustrates another exemplary method 1900 for activating initial uplink and downlink BWPs, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. After receiving the configuration information of the initial DL BWP and initial UL BWP through the RMSI, the UE activates the initial UL/DL BWP pair immediately. That is, the UE activates both the initial UL BWP and the initial DL BWP at the same time before the random access procedure. At this time, the base station only needs to ensure that the center frequency of the initial UL BWP is consistent with the center frequency of the initial DL BWP. The center frequencies of the initial DL BWP and the initial UL BWP are no longer limited by the position of the center frequency of the CORESET #0. The flexibility of the initial BWP configuration will be improved a lot. As shown in FIG. 19, the initial UL BWP and the initial DL BWP are activated simultaneously before the random access procedure.

According to an existing protocol, the UE receives the DCI on the CSS (Common Search Space) . The size of the DCI is determined by CORESET #0. The RB position of the initial count of the corresponding frequency domain resource allocation is the lowest RB position of CORESET #0. Therefore, when the initial UL BWP and the initial DL BWP are simultaneously activated, the original information transmission occurring on the bandwidth corresponding to CORESET #0 will not be affected.

While various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not by way of limitation. Likewise, the various diagrams may depict an example architectural or configuration, which are provided to enable persons of ordinary skill in the art to understand exemplary features and functions of the present disclosure. Such persons would understand, however, that the present disclosure is not restricted to the illustrated example architectures or configurations, but can be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations. Additionally, as would be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, one or more features of one embodiment can be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.

It is also understood that any reference to an element herein using a designation such as "first, " "second, " and so forth does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. Rather, these designations can be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, a reference to first and second elements does not mean that only two elements can be employed, or that the first element must precede the second element in some manner.

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

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

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

Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that various illustrative logical blocks, modules, devices, components and circuits described herein can be implemented within or performed by an integrated circuit (IC) that can include a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) , an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logical blocks, modules, and circuits can further include antennas and/or transceivers to communicate with various components within the network or within the device. A general purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration to perform the functions described herein.

If implemented in software, the functions can be stored as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Thus, the steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein can be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that can be enabled to transfer a computer program or code from one place to another. A storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

In this document, the term "module" as used herein, refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements for performing the associated functions described herein. Additionally, for purpose of discussion, the various modules are described as discrete modules; however, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, two or more modules may be combined to form a single module that performs the associated functions according embodiments of the present disclosure.

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

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

Claims

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

configuring a discontinuous reception (DRX) for a wireless communication device;

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

determining a relationship between a timer related to the BWP adaptive and a phase of a DRX cycle of the wireless communication device.
The method of claim 1, wherein:

the DRX cycle comprises an ON Duration phase and an OFF Duration phase that are indicated based on a high-layer signaling; and

the timer is configured for the wireless communication device to switch from an active BWP to a default BWP in response to an expiration of the timer and based on a high-layer signaling.
The method of claim 2, wherein:

the timer runs during the ON Duration phase;

the timer pauses during the OFF Duration phase according to the relationship; and

the timer continues to run during an ON Duration phase of a next DRX cycle until an expiration of the timer.
The method of claim 2, wherein:

the timer runs during both the ON Duration phase and the OFF Duration phase until an expiration of the timer; and

the timer runs slower during the OFF Duration phase than it runs during the ON Duration phase according to the relationship.
The method of claim 4, wherein:

a first running speed of the timer during the ON Duration phase is a multiple of a second running speed of the timer during the OFF Duration phase, wherein the multiple is indicated based on a high-layer signaling.
The method of claim 1, wherein:

the DRX cycle comprises an ON Duration phase and an OFF Duration phase that are indicated based on an activation signal that comprises at least one of: a wake up signal (WUS) and a first layer (L1) signal; and

the timer is configured for the wireless communication device to switch from an active BWP to a default BWP in response to an expiration of the timer.
The method of claim 6, wherein:

the timer runs during the ON Duration phase;

the timer pauses during the OFF Duration phase according to the relationship; and

the timer continues to run during an ON Duration phase of a next DRX cycle until an expiration of the timer.
The method of claim 7, wherein:

the activation signal, once detected by the wireless communication device on an active BWP during the OFF Duration phase, informs the wireless communication device to switch from the OFF Duration phase to the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle.
The method of claim 6, wherein:

the timer runs during the ON Duration phase; and

the timer is forced to expire in response to a switch of the wireless communication device from the ON Duration phase to the OFF Duration phase according to the relationship.
The method of claim 9, wherein:

the activation signal, once detected by the wireless communication device on a default BWP during the OFF Duration phase, informs the wireless communication device to switch from the OFF Duration phase to the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle.
The method of claim 6, wherein:

the timer runs during the ON Duration phase;

the relationship informs the wireless communication device to switch from an active BWP to a dedicated BWP in response to a switch of the wireless communication device from the ON Duration phase to the OFF Duration phase; and

the dedicated BWP includes less resource blocks than those included in the default BWP.
The method of claim 11, wherein:

the activation signal, once detected by the wireless communication device on the dedicated BWP during the OFF Duration phase, informs the wireless communication device to switch from the OFF Duration phase to the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle.
The method of claim 12, wherein:

the timer continues to run during the OFF Duration phase;

the wireless communication device is on a default BWP at a beginning of the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle, in response to an expiration of the timer during the OFF Duration phase; and

the wireless communication device is on an active BWP at the beginning of the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle, when there is no expiration of the timer during the OFF Duration phase.
The method of claim 11, wherein:

the timer is forced to expire in response to the switch of the wireless communication device from the ON Duration phase to the OFF Duration phase.
The method of claim 14, wherein:

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

the timer restarts from a beginning of a first active BWP in the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle.
The method of claim 6, wherein:

the timer runs during the ON Duration phase; and

the relationship informs the wireless communication device to detect the activation signal during the OFF Duration phase on an active BWP before the timer expires and on a default BWP after the timer expires.
A method performed by a wireless communication node, the method comprising:

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

performing, based on both the initial UL BWP and the initial DL BWP, a random access procedure for the wireless communication device to complete access to the wireless communication node.
A method performed by a wireless communication device, the method comprising:

determining a configuration for a discontinuous reception (DRX) and a configuration for a bandwidth part (BWP) adaptive for the wireless communication device; and

determining a relationship between a timer related to the BWP adaptive and a phase of a DRX cycle of the wireless communication device.
The method of claim 18, further comprising:

switching from an active BWP to a default BWP in response to an expiration of the timer and based on a high-layer signaling, wherein the DRX cycle comprises an ON Duration phase and an OFF Duration phase that are indicated based on a high-layer signaling from a wireless communication node.
The method of claim 19, wherein:

the timer runs during the ON Duration phase;

the timer pauses during the OFF Duration phase according to the relationship; and

the timer continues to run during an ON Duration phase of a next DRX cycle until an expiration of the timer.
The method of claim 19, wherein:

the timer runs during both the ON Duration phase and the OFF Duration phase until an expiration of the timer; and

the timer runs slower during the OFF Duration phase than it runs during the ON Duration phase according to the relationship.
The method of claim 21, wherein:

a first running speed of the timer during the ON Duration phase is a multiple of a second running speed of the timer during the OFF Duration phase, wherein the multiple is indicated based on a high-layer signaling.
The method of claim 18, further comprising:

switching from an active BWP to a default BWP in response to an expiration of the timer, wherein the DRX cycle comprises an ON Duration phase and an OFF Duration phase that are indicated based on an activation signal that comprises at least one of: a wake up signal (WUS) and a first layer (L1) signal from a wireless communication node.
The method of claim 23, wherein:

the timer runs during the ON Duration phase;

the timer pauses during the OFF Duration phase according to the relationship; and

the timer continues to run during an ON Duration phase of a next DRX cycle until an expiration of the timer.
The method of claim 24, further comprising:

detecting the activation signal on an active BWP during the OFF Duration phase; and

switching, based on the activation signal, from the OFF Duration phase to the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle.
The method of claim 23, wherein:

the timer runs during the ON Duration phase; and

the timer is forced to expire in response to a switch of the wireless communication device from the ON Duration phase to the OFF Duration phase according to the relationship.
The method of claim 26, wherein:

detecting the activation signal on a default BWP during the OFF Duration phase; and

switching, based on the activation signal, from the OFF Duration phase to the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle.
The method of claim 23, further comprising:

switching, based on the relationship, from an active BWP to a dedicated BWP in response to a switch of the wireless communication device from the ON Duration phase to the OFF Duration phase, wherein the dedicated BWP includes less resource blocks than those included in the default BWP.
The method of claim 28, further comprising:

detecting the activation signal on the dedicated BWP during the OFF Duration phase; and

switching, based on the activation signal, from the OFF Duration phase to the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle.
The method of claim 29, wherein:

the timer runs during the ON Duration phase;

the timer continues to run during the OFF Duration phase;

the wireless communication device is on a default BWP at a beginning of the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle, in response to an expiration of the timer during the OFF Duration phase; and

the wireless communication device is on an active BWP at the beginning of the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle, when there is no expiration of the timer during the OFF Duration phase.
The method of claim 28, wherein:

the timer is forced to expire in response to the switch of the wireless communication device from the ON Duration phase to the OFF Duration phase.
The method of claim 31, wherein:

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

the timer restarts from a beginning of a first active BWP in the ON Duration phase of the next DRX cycle.
The method of claim 23, further comprising:

detecting the activation signal during the OFF Duration phase based on the relationship, on an active BWP before the timer expires and on a default BWP after the timer expires, wherein the timer runs during the ON Duration phase.
A method performed by a wireless communication device, the method comprising:

receiving, from a wireless communication node, configuration information related to an initial uplink (UL) bandwidth part (BWP) and an initial downlink (DL) BWP; and

activating, based on the configuration information, the initial UL BWP and the initial DL BWP at the same time before a random access procedure for the wireless communication device to complete access to the wireless communication node.
A wireless communication node configured to carry out the method of any one of claims 1 through 17.
A wireless communication device configured to carry out the method of any one of claims 18 through 34.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for carrying out the method of any one of claims 1 through 34.