CN114009098A

CN114009098A - Notification of status of discontinuous reception configuration

Info

Publication number: CN114009098A
Application number: CN201980097695.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 章礼繁
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2019-06-26
Filing date: 2019-06-26
Publication date: 2022-02-01
Anticipated expiration: 2039-06-26
Also published as: WO2020258104A1; CN114009098B

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to notifying the status of a DRX configuration. The first device includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to: determining a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for the second device; in response to determining that the state is established, transmitting a message to a third device including a first information element, the first information element including a value for a discontinuous reception offset for the second device; and in response to determining that the status is release, sending a message to the third device without the first information element.

Description

Notification of status of discontinuous reception configuration

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly, to an apparatus, method, device, and computer-readable storage medium for notifying a status of a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) configuration.

Background

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

Disclosure of Invention

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

In a first aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to: determining a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for the second device; in response to determining that the state is established, transmitting a message to a third device including a first information element, the first information element including a value for a discontinuous reception offset for the second device; and in response to determining that the status is release, sending a message to the third device without the first information element.

In a second aspect, a third apparatus is provided. The third device comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the third apparatus to: receiving a message from a first device; determining whether a first information element is included in the message, the first information element including a value of a discontinuous reception offset for a second device; determining that a state of a discontinuous reception configuration for the second device is established in response to determining that the first information element is included in the message; and in response to determining that the first information element is not present in the message, determining that the status is released.

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

In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. The method comprises the following steps: receiving, at a third device, a message from the first device; determining whether a first information element is included in the message, the first information element including a value of a discontinuous reception offset for a second device; determining that a state of a discontinuous reception configuration for the second device is established in response to determining that the first information element is included in the message; and in response to determining that the first information element is not present in the message, determining that the status is released.

In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The device includes: means for determining, at a first device, a discontinuous reception configuration for a second device; means for transmitting, to a third device in response to determining that the status is established, a message comprising a first information element comprising a value for a discontinuous reception offset for the second device; and means for sending the message without the first information element to the third device in response to determining that the status is released.

In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The device includes: means for receiving, at a third device, a message from a first device; means for determining whether a first information element is included in the message, the first information element comprising a value for a discontinuous reception offset for a second device; means for determining that a state of a discontinuous reception configuration for the second device is established in response to determining that the first information element is included in the message; and means for determining that the status is released in response to determining that the first information element is not present in the message.

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

It should be understood that the summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily apparent from the following description.

Drawings

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

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

figure 2 illustrates a DRX cycle and DRX offset configured for a device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

figure 3 illustrates a signaling diagram of a process for notifying the status of a DRX configuration, according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of a method implemented at a device, according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 5 shows a flow diagram of a method implemented at a device, according to some other example embodiments of the present disclosure;

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

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

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements.

Detailed Description

The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to a few exemplary embodiments. It is understood that these embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and to aid those skilled in the art in understanding and enabling the present disclosure, and do not imply any limitation as to the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in a variety of ways other than those described below.

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

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

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, while, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

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

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

(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (e.g., implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry) and

(b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, for example (as applicable):

(i) combinations of analog and/or digital hardware circuitry and software/firmware, and

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

(c) hardware circuitry and/or a processor (e.g., a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor) that requires software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but software may not be present when software is not required to operate.

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

As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that conforms to any suitable communication standard, such as a fifth generation (5G) system, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-advanced (LTE-a), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT), and so forth. Further, communication between terminal devices and network devices in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including, but not limited to, first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, future fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) communication protocols, and/or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to various communication systems. Given the rapid development of communications, there are, of course, future types of communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be implemented. It should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention to the above-described system.

As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, a network device may refer to a Base Station (BS) or an Access Point (AP), such as a node B (nodeb or NB), evolved node B (eNodeB or eNB), NR next generation node B (gnb), Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Radio Head (RH), Remote Radio Head (RRH), relay, low power node such as femto, pico, etc.

The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. By way of example, and not limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, User Equipment (UE), Subscriber Station (SS), portable subscriber station, Mobile Station (MS), or Access Terminal (AT). The end devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable end devices, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture end devices such as digital cameras, gaming end devices, music storage and playback devices, in-vehicle wireless end devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop installed devices (LMEs), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless client devices (CPEs), internet of things (IoT) devices. Watches or other wearable devices, Head Mounted Displays (HMDs), vehicles, targets, medical devices and applications (e.g., tele-surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and/or other wireless devices operating in industrial and/or automated processing chain environments), consumer electronics devices, devices operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

While the functions described herein may be performed in fixed and/or wireless network nodes in various example embodiments, in other example embodiments, the functions may be implemented in a user equipment device, such as a cellular telephone or tablet computer or laptop computer or desktop computer or mobile IOT device or fixed IOT device. The user equipment device may for example be suitably equipped with the respective capabilities described in connection with the fixed and/or radio network node. The user equipment device may be user equipment and/or a control device, such as a chipset or processor, configured to control the user equipment when installed therein. Examples of such functions include a bootstrapping server function and/or a home subscriber server, which may be implemented in the user equipment device by providing the user equipment device with software configured to cause the user equipment device to execute from the point of view of these functions/nodes.

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

In some example embodiments, the third device 130 may communicate with the first device 110 via a fronthaul (F1) interface. In this example, the first device 110 is shown separate from the third device 130. However, in other example embodiments, the first device 110 and the third device 130 may be implemented on a single physical node.

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

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

It should be understood that the number of first, second and third devices is for illustrative purposes only and does not imply any limitation. System 100 may include any suitable number of first, second, and third devices suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it is understood that the first device 110 and the third device 130 may serve more than one second device.

Communications in communication system 100 may be implemented in accordance with any suitable communication protocol, including, but not limited to, first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), third-generation (3G), fourth-generation (4G), and fifth-generation (5G), etc. cellular communication protocols, wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11, etc., and/or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future. Further, the communication may utilize any suitable wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), and/or any other technique now known or later developed.

For power saving purposes, the third device 130 may request the first device 110 to establish a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) configuration for the second device 120. When the DRX configuration is established, the second device 120 discontinuously monitors information/data (e.g., downlink information/data) transmitted from the first device 110 or the third device 130. Further, when the DRX configuration is established, in order to receive data, the second device 120 may first wake up to monitor control information indicating whether and how the second device 120 is scheduled to receive data. The DRX cycle specifies a periodic repetition of the on duration followed by a possible inactive period. The DRX cycle includes an on duration and an off duration. The on duration is an active time during which the second device 120 monitors the control information during the DRX cycle. The DRX offset defines the time domain resource (e.g., slot or subframe) where the DRX cycle starts.

For better understanding of DRX, a DRX cycle and a DRX offset will be described with reference to fig. 2. As shown, DRX cycles 210 and 220 are configured for the second device 120. The DRX offset 211 defines the time domain resources for the beginning of the DRX cycle 210. The DRX cycle 210 includes an on duration 212 and an off duration after the on duration 212. Similarly, DRX cycle 220 includes an on duration 222 and an off duration after on duration 222.

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

In some example embodiments, the third device 130 may determine a value of the DRX cycle and transmit the value to the first device 110 for the purpose of establishing the DRX configuration for the second device 120. The first device 110 may determine a value of the DRX offset. In turn, the first device 110 may establish the DRX configuration for the second device 120 by using the value of the DRX cycle and the value of the DRX offset. If the first device 110 successfully establishes the DRX configuration of the second device 120, the state of the DRX configuration of the second device 120 will be established.

In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may be required to perform some operations only during the on-duration of the DRX cycle. For example, the second device 120 will not measure channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), not transmit periodic CSI reports, or not transmit periodic Sounding Reference Signals (SRS).

Therefore, in order to guarantee measurement and/or reporting opportunities, the first device 110 preferably allocates measurement and/or reporting resources in the on-duration of the DRX cycle to the second device 120. Due to this limitation, there is a possibility that the first device 110 fails to find the DRX offset of the second device 120, resulting in a failure in the establishment of the DRX configuration of the second device 120. In this case, the state of the DRX configuration of the second device 120 will be release.

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

In view of the above, the state of the DRX configuration of the second device 120 will be either established or released. Since the state of the DRX configuration of the second device 120 is maintained by the third device 130, it is necessary to notify the third device 130 of the state of the DRX configuration of the second device 120.

According to some example embodiments, a solution for informing the state of a DRX configuration is provided. According to the solution, the first device determines a state of a DRX configuration for the second device. If the state is established, the first device includes a first Information Element (IE) in a message to a third device, the first information element including a value for a DRX offset of the second device. On the other hand, if the status is release, the first device does not include the first IE in the message. The first device then sends the message to the third device. Upon receiving the message, the third device may determine that the state is an establishment via the presence of the first IE in the message and that the state is a release via the absence of the first IE in the message.

Referring now to fig. 3, there is shown a signaling diagram 300 illustrating a process for notifying the status of a DRX configuration, according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For purposes of discussion, the process 300 will be described with reference to fig. 1. The process 300 may include the first device 110, the second device 120, and the third device 130 as shown in fig. 1. Although process 300 has been described in communication system 100 of fig. 1, the process is equally applicable to other communication scenarios.

The first device 110 determines 310 a state of the DRX configuration for the second device 120. If the first device 110 determines that the status is established, the first device 110 sends 320 a message including the first IE to the third device 130. The first IE includes a value for the DRX offset of the second device 120. For example, the first IE may include the value of DRX offset 211 in fig. 2. On the other hand, if the first device 110 determines that the status is release, the first device 110 sends 330 a message to the third device 130 without the first IE.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, the first device 110 determines that the state is the release if the first device 110 determines that the DRX configuration for the second device 120 is not established. Alternatively, if the first device 110 determines that the DRX configuration for the second device 120 is released, the first device 110 determines that the state is release.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, the third device 130 may send a request to the first device 110 to establish or release the DRX configuration for the second device 120. Examples of requests may include, but are not limited to, F1AP: UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST (UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST), and F1AP: UE CONTEXT MODIFY REQUEST (UE CONTEXT modification REQUEST). In such an example embodiment, the first device 110 may send a first signaling message to the third device 130 related to establishment of a context for the second device 120 when determining the state of the DRX configuration for the second device 120. The presence of the first IE in the first signaling message may indicate that the state of the DRX configuration for the second device 120 is setup. The absence of the first IE in the first signaling message may indicate that the state of the DRX configuration for the second device 120 is release. An example of the first signaling message may include, but is not limited to, F1AP UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE (UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE). Alternatively, the first device 110 may send a second signaling message to the third device 130 related to the modification of the context of the second device 120. The presence of the first IE in the second signaling message may indicate that the state of the DRX configuration of the second device 120 is established. The absence of the first IE in the second signaling message may indicate that the state of the DRX configuration of the second device 120 is release. Examples of the second signaling message may include, but are not limited to, F1AP: UE CONTEXT MODIFY RESPONSE.

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

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

Accordingly, the third device 130 receives the message from the first device 110. The third device 130 determines 340 whether the first IE is included in the message. If the third device 130 determines that the first IE is included in the message, the third device 130 determines that the state of the DRX configuration for the second device 120 is established. On the other hand, if the third device 130 determines that the first IE does not exist in the message, the third device 130 determines that the state of the DRX configuration for the second device 120 is release. In other words, if the third device 130 determines that the first IE is not included in the message, the third device 130 determines that the state of the DRX configuration of the second device 120 is the release.

According to example embodiments of the present disclosure, upon receiving the message from the first device 110, the third device 130 may determine that the status is established via the presence of the first IE in the message and that the status is released via the absence of the first IE in the message. Thus, the third device 130 may maintain the state of the second device 120.

In some example embodiments, if the third device 130 has instructed the first device 110 to establish the DRX configuration for the second device 120 and the first IE is not included in the message from the first device 110, the third device 130 may determine that the first device 110 does not establish the DRX configuration for the second device 120. In this case, the third device 130 may send a further request to the first device 110 for establishing the DRX configuration for the second device 120.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, upon determining the state of the DRX configuration for the second device 120, the third device 130 may transmit the state of the DRX configuration to another device (not shown) serving the second device 120. To enable the second device 120 to save more power, the other device and the third device 130 may establish the same DRX configuration for the second device 120.

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

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

If the state is established, the first device 110 sends a message to the third device including a first information element including a value for the discontinuous reception offset of the second device at block 420. On the other hand, if the status is release, the first device 110 sends a message without the first information element to the third device at block 430.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, determining the state of the discontinuous reception configuration comprises: in response to determining that the discontinuous reception configuration is not established, determining that the state is a release.

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

In some example embodiments of the disclosure, sending the message comprises sending one of: a first signaling message related to establishment of a context of the second device, and a second signaling message related to modification of the context of the second device.

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

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, sending the message comprises: the message is sent to the third device via the F1 interface.

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

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

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

If the first information element is included in the message, the third device 130 determines that the status of the discontinuous reception configuration for the second device is established at block 530. On the other hand, if the first information element is not present in the message, the third device 130 determines that the status is released.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, determining that the state is a release comprises: it is determined that a discontinuous reception configuration cannot be established.

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

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

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

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

In some example embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., first device 110) capable of performing any of method 400 may include means for performing the various steps of method 400. The apparatus may be embodied in any suitable form. For example, the apparatus may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for receiving, at a third device, a message from the first device; means for determining whether a first information element is included in the message, the first information element comprising a value for a discontinuous reception offset for a second device; means for determining that a state of a discontinuous reception configuration for the second device is established in response to determining that the first information element is included in the message; and means for determining that the status is released in response to determining that the first information element is not present in the message.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The processor 610 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network, and may include one or more of the following: by way of non-limiting example, general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 600 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time dependent from a clock that synchronizes the main processors.

The memory 620 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memory include, but are not limited to, Read Only Memory (ROM)624, Electrically Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), flash memory, a hard disk, a Compact Disk (CD), a Digital Video Disk (DVD), and other magnetic and/or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memory include, but are not limited to, Random Access Memory (RAM)622 and other volatile memory that does not persist for the duration of the power down.

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

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by way of program 630 such that device 600 may perform any of the processes of the present disclosure as discussed with reference to fig. 3-5. Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

In some example embodiments, program 630 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium, which may be included in device 600 (e.g., in memory 620) or other storage accessible by device 600. The device 600 may load the program 630 from the computer-readable medium into the RAM622 for execution. The computer readable medium may include any type of tangible, non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, a hard disk, a CD, a DVD, etc. Fig. 7 shows an example of a computer readable medium 700 in the form of a CD or DVD. The computer readable medium has program 630 stored thereon.

In general, the various embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

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

methods

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

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

In the context of the present disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier for enabling a device, apparatus or processor to perform various procedures and operations as described above. Examples of carrier waves include signals, computer readable media, and the like.

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

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

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

Claims

1. A first device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus to:

determining a status of a discontinuous reception configuration for the second device;

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

in response to determining that the status is release, sending the message without the first information element to the third device.

2. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to determine the state of the discontinuous reception configuration by:

determining that the state is a release in response to determining that the discontinuous reception configuration is not established.

3. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to determine the state of the discontinuous reception configuration by:

determining that the state is released in response to determining that the discontinuous reception configuration is released.

4. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to send the message by sending one of:

a first signaling message related to the establishment of the context of the second device, an

A second signaling message related to a modification of a context of the second device.

5. The first device of claim 4, wherein the first device is caused to send the message by:

transmitting one of the first signaling message and the second signaling message, the one of the first signaling message and the second signaling message including a second information element, the second information element including the first information element and radio resource control information regarding the second device.

6. The first device of claim 1, wherein the first device is caused to send the message to the third device by:

sending the message to the third device via an F1 interface.

7. The first device of any of claims 1-6, wherein the first device is a distributed unit of a gNB, the second device is a terminal device, and the third device is a centralized unit of the gNB.

8. A third device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the third apparatus to:

receiving a message from a first device;

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

determining that a state of a discontinuous reception configuration for the second device is established in response to determining that the first information element is included in the message; and

determining that the state is released in response to determining that the first information element is not present in the message.

9. The third device of claim 8, wherein the third device is caused to determine that the status is released by:

determining that the discontinuous reception configuration is not established.

10. The third device of claim 8, wherein the third device is caused to determine that the status is released by:

determining that the discontinuous reception configuration is released.

11. The third device of claim 8, wherein the third device receives the message by receiving one of:

12. The third device of claim 11, wherein the third device is caused to determine whether the first information element is included in the message or absent from the information by:

determining whether the first information element is included in or absent from a second information element in one of the first signaling message and the second signaling message, the second information element including radio resource control information about the second device.

13. The third device of claim 8, wherein the third device is caused to receive the message by:

receiving the message from the first device via an F1 interface.

14. The third device of any of claims 8 to 13, wherein the first device is a distributed unit of a gNB, the second device is a terminal device, and the third device is a centralized unit of the gNB.

15. A method, comprising:

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

16. The method of claim 15, wherein determining the state of the discontinuous reception configuration comprises:

17. The method of claim 15, wherein determining the state of the discontinuous reception configuration comprises:

18. The method of claim 15, wherein sending the message comprises sending one of:

19. The method of claim 18, wherein sending the message comprises:

20. The method of claim 15, wherein sending the message comprises:

sending the message to the third device via an F1 interface.

21. The method of any of claims 15 to 20, wherein the first device is a distributed unit of a gNB, the second device is a terminal device, and the third device is a centralized unit of the gNB.

22. A method, comprising:

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

23. The method of claim 22, wherein determining that the status is a release comprises:

determining that the discontinuous reception configuration is not established.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein determining that the status is a release comprises:

determining that the discontinuous reception configuration is released.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein receiving the message comprises receiving one of:

26. The method of claim 25, wherein determining whether the first information element is included in the message or absent from the information comprises:

27. The method of claim 22, wherein receiving the message comprises:

receiving the message from the first device via an F1 interface.

28. The method of any of claims 22 to 27, wherein the first device is a distributed unit of a gNB, the second device is a terminal device, and the third device is a centralized unit of the gNB.

29. An apparatus, comprising:

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

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

means for sending the message without the first information element to the third device in response to determining that the status is release.

30. An apparatus, comprising:

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

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

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

means for determining that the status is released in response to determining that the first information element is not present in the message.

31. A computer-readable medium comprising a computer program for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to claim 15 or 22.