WO2024168689A1

WO2024168689A1 - Methods and apparatuses for paging

Info

Publication number: WO2024168689A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/076457
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jianguo Liu; Tao Tao; Yan Meng; Chunli Wu
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2023-02-16
Filing date: 2023-02-16
Publication date: 2024-08-22
Anticipated expiration: 2025-08-16
Also published as: CN120677787A

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods and apparatuses for paging. A first apparatus receives a subgroup configuration from a second apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices. The first apparatus monitors a paging early indicator, PEI, based on the subgroup configuration. This solution can improve grouping efficiency for power saving and to meet the battery lifetime requirements for different types of devices.

Description

METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR PAGING

FIELD

Various example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to methods, apparatuses and computer readable storage medium for paging.

BACKGROUND

A wireless network may transmit paging messages at paging occasions (POs) to a group of a terminal devices to indicate arrival of downlink information for the terminal devices. If a terminal device is in an idle/inactive state, the terminal device monitors the paging messages and initiates appropriate procedures (e.g. a connection setup procedure) . The paging functionality in communication systems can be energy consuming, especially if a terminal device is rarely paged or its paging occasion (PO) suffers from a high false paging alarm rate. Therefore, paging enhancements with paging early indication (PEI) are being developed for power saving, where a terminal can be notified in advance of its target PO whether it must monitor for paging messages at the PO. If the PEI indicates that a terminal device needs not monitor the PO or no PEI indicates that the terminal device needs to monitor the PO, the terminal device may skip the associated PO monitoring and possibly skip synchronization based on system synchronization blocks (SSBs) .

SUMMARY

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises one or more processors; and one or more transceivers coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more transceivers are configured with the one or more processors to cause the first apparatus to: receive a subgroup configuration from a second apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices; and monitor a paging early indicator, PEI, based on the subgroup configuration.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises one or more processors; and one or more transceivers coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more transceivers are configured with the one or more processors to cause the second apparatus to: transmit a subgroup configuration to a first apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices; and transmit a paging early indicator, PEI, to the first apparatus based on the subgroup configuration.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: receiving, by a first apparatus and from a second apparatus, a subgroup configuration from a second apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices; and monitoring, by the first apparatus, a paging early indicator, PEI, based on the subgroup configuration.

In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: transmitting, by a second apparatus, a subgroup configuration to a first apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices; and transmitting a paging early indicator, PEI, to the first apparatus based on the subgroup configuration.

In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises means for receiving a subgroup configuration from a second apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices; and means for monitoring a paging early indicator, PEI, based on the subgroup configuration.

In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises means for transmitting a subgroup configuration to a first apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices; and means for transmitting a paging early indicator, PEI, to the first apparatus based on the subgroup configuration.

In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises one or more processors; and one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the first apparatus at least to: receive a subgroup configuration from a second apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices; and monitor a paging early indicator, PEI, based on the subgroup configuration.

In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises one or more processors; and one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the second apparatus at least to: transmit a subgroup configuration to a first apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices; and transmit a paging early indicator, PEI, to the first apparatus based on the subgroup configuration.

In a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the third aspect.

In a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the fourth aspect.

In an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the method according to the third aspect.

In a twelve aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the method according to the fourth aspect.

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

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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

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

FIG. 2A illustrates an example diagram showing paging early indication and paging occasion monitoring without subgrouping;

FIG. 2B illustrates an example diagram showing paging early indication and paging occasion monitoring with subgrouping;

FIG. 3 illustrates a signaling flow for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

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

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

FIG. 6 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

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

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

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

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

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

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

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

As used herein, “at least one of the following: <a list of two or more elements>” and “at least one of <a list of two or more elements>” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or” , mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

As used herein, unless stated explicitly, performing a step “in response to A” does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs and one or more intervening steps may be included.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and/or services the terminal device in a communication network. The network device may refer to at least one of a base station (BS) or an access point (AP) , for example, a node B (NodeB or NB) , an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB) , a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) , a radio header (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology. In some example embodiments, radio access network (RAN) split architecture comprises a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node comprises a Mobile Terminal (IAB-MT) part that behaves like a UE toward the parent node, and a DU part of an IAB node behaves like a base station toward the next-hop IAB node.

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

As used herein, the term “resource, ” “transmission resource, ” “resource block, ” “physical resource block” (PRB) , “uplink resource, ” or “downlink resource” may refer to any resource for performing a communication, for example, a communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a resource in time domain, a resource in frequency domain, a resource in space domain, a resource in code domain, or any other resource enabling a communication, and the like. In the following, unless explicitly stated, a resource in both frequency domain and time domain will be used as an example of a transmission resource for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted that example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The communication environment 100 comprises a plurality of communication devices, including one or more first apparatuses 110-1, 110-2 (collectively or individually referred to as first apparatuses 110) and a second apparatus 120 which operate in a radio access network (RAN) .

In the example of FIG. 1, the first apparatus 110 may include terminal devices, and the second apparatus 120 may include a network device. A serving area of the second apparatus 120 may be called a cell. The first apparatuses 110 and the second apparatus 120 may operate in a radio access network (RAN) . Although two terminal devices (e.g., first apparatuses) are illustrated, there may be more or less terminal devices within a serving area of the network device.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 and/or the second apparatus 120 may communicate with network devices (entities/functions) in a core network (CN) , for example an access and mobility management function (AMF) 130 and/or a location management function (LMF) 140. In some example embodiments as will be discussed below, one or more first apparatus 110 may be configured for a positioning service. In some example embodiments, the LMF 140 may be configured to manage a service of one or more first apparatuses 110.

Communications in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol (s) , comprising, but not limited to, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , the fifth generation (5G) , the sixth generation (6G) , and beyond, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and/or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) , Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) , Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) , Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) , Time Division Duplex (TDD) , Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) , Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM) , Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and/or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

It is to be understood that the number of apparatuses and their connections shown in FIG. 1 are only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitation. The communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of apparatuses configured to implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it would be appreciated that one or more additional apparatuses may be located comprised in the communication environment 100. It is noted that although being illustrated as a terminal device, the first apparatus 110 may be other device than a terminal device. Although being illustrated as network devices, the second apparatus 120 may be other device than a network device.

In the following, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments are described with the first apparatus 110 operating as a terminal device and the second apparatus 120 operating as network device. However, in some example embodiments, operations described in connection with a terminal device may be implemented at a network device or other device, and operations described in connection with a network device may be implemented at a terminal device or other device.

In the context of paging, a first apparatus 110, e.g., in an idle/inactive state (RRC_IDLE/RRC_INACTIVE state) , may monitor paging occasions (POs) , to receive paging messages from the second apparatus 120. A paging occasion represents a time interval or a time window during which a group of first apparatuses monitor paging information (paging downlink control information, DCI) , and the second apparatus 120 may page one first apparatus 110 within one paging occasion. To further save power consumption, a paging early indication (PEI) is used to notify in advance a first apparatus 110 of its target PO whether it must monitor for paging information at the PO. The PEI may comprise wakeup signaling for paging for the first apparatus 110. A first apparatus 110 which is not indicated by the PEI can skip synchronization based on SSBs and the associated PO monitoring. In some example embodiments, the PEI can be signalled via a DCI message carried in the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) . In some example embodiments, DCI format 2_7 may be used for notifying the paging early indication for one or more first apparatuses. It would be appreciated that the PEI may be signaled through other ways, such as through a sequence.

FIG. 2A illustrates an example 210 showing paging early indication and paging occasion monitoring without subgrouping. As shown, without subgrouping, a first apparatus 110 needs to receive one to three SSB bursts before a PO for time-frequency synchronization based on Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) . If a first apparatus 110 supports PEI and is indicated not to monitor a PO by the PEI received after a SSB burst (SSB Burst 1 in the example of FIG. 2A) , it can skip the subsequent PO monitoring and synchronization based on the following SSB bursts (SSB Burst 2 and SSB Burst 3) for power saving. And thus the first apparatus 110 may not need to receive the paging record.

Furthermore, sub-grouping information can be indicated in PEI to indicate which subgroups of first apparatuses 110 are to be paged. If PEI and subgrouping are configured, the first apparatuses 110 monitoring the same PO can be divided into one or more subgroups. With subgrouping, a first apparatus 110 monitors the associated PO if the corresponding bit for subgroup the first apparatus 110 belongs to is indicated as 1 by PEI corresponding to its PO.

FIG. 2B illustrates an example 220 showing paging early indication and paging occasion monitoring with subgrouping. A first apparatus 110 may monitor the corresponding PO if the associated PEI indicates that the subgroup of the first apparatus 110 is paged. If its subgroup is not paged, the first apparatus 110 may skip DCI and paging message reception, which would result in lower group paging rate and fewer false paging alarms. As illustrated in FIG. 2B, only first apparatuses 110 of Subgroup 1 monitor the PO and first apparatus 110 of other subgroups can skip the PO and also the SSB bursts, for power saving.

It is noted that currently there is only one Paging Radio Network Temporary Identity (P-RNTI) , which means all apparatuses of a PO may have to receive the paging record if at least one first apparatus is to be paged. In this case, there is a false paging alarm for all the other first apparatuses.

Currently, CN-assigned subgrouping (also referred to as CN-controlled subgrouping) and device-identity (e.g., UE ID) -based subgrouping are supported for paging with PEI. The CN-assigned subgrouping may be considered as non-access stratum (NAS) capability, and the device-identity-based subgrouping is considered as radio capability.

If a first apparatus 110 supports CN-assigned subgrouping, a network function or entity in CN (e.g., the AMF 130) determines a paging subgroup ID assignment for the first apparatus 110 and then send the subgroup ID to the first apparatus 110, for example, via NAS signaling. At the same time, the AMF 130 informs the second apparatuses 120 about the CN-assigned subgroup ID for paging the first apparatus 110 in the idle/inactive state. Before the first apparatus 110 is paged in the PO, the second apparatus 120 transmits the associated PEI and indicates the corresponding CN-assigned subgroup of the first apparatus 110 that is to be paged in the PEI.

As for the device-identity-based subgrouping, a network function or entity (e.g., the second apparatus 120) may determine and broadcast the total number of subgroups in a PO (e.g., subgroupsNumPerPO) and the number of subgroups for device-identity-based subgrouping in a cell (e.g., subgroupsNumForUEID) . Then a first apparatus 110 can determine its subgroup in the cell based on subgroupsNumPerPO, subgroupsNumForUEID, and its device ID. Before the first apparatus 110 is paged in the PO, the second apparatus 120 transmits the associated PEI and indicates the corresponding subgroup derived based on the device identity of the first apparatus 110 that is to be paged in the PEI.

According to some mechanism, the device-identity-based subgroup ID (SubgroupID) may be determined by the following Equation (1) :

SubgroupID= (floor (UE_ID/ (N*Ns) ) mod subgroupsNumForUEID) + (subgroupsNumPerPO -subgroupsNumForUEID) ,

where:

N: the number of total paging frames in a certain period T;

Ns: the number of paging occasions for a paging frame (PF) ;

UE_ID: the device identity;

subgroupsNumPerPO: the total number of subgroups for both CN-assigned subgrouping (if any) and device-identity-based based subgrouping (if any) in a PO, which may be broadcasted in system information;

subgroupsNumForUEID: the number of subgroups for the device-identity-based subgrouping in a PO, which may be broadcasted in system information.

In some example embodiments, the RRC state (RRC_IDLE/RRC_INACTIVE) may not impact which subgroup a first apparatus belongs to.

The paging functionality and the paging early indication are both used for the purpose of power consumption saving. There are some devices in the wireless communications systems which have strict requirements on energy consumption, one example of which is low-power high-accuracy positioning (LPHAP) device. It is noted that although “LPHAP” is used herein, such a device which has a strict power saving requirement may be referred to as other terminologies.

Low power high accuracy positioning is an integral part of a considerable number of industrial applications. The total energy needed for a specific operation time for such LPHAP devices is a combination of energy for positioning (varies depending on the used positioning method) , energy for communication/synchronization and a difficult to predict factor to take additional losses through e.g. security, power management, microcontroller, and self-discharge of batteries into account. Examples of target applications for low power high accuracy positioning are asset tracking in process automation, tracking of vehicles, and tool tracking.

LPHAP devices have very challenged battery lifetime requirements. Table 1 gives an example of the required battery lifetime requirements of the LPHAP devices for different use cases.

Table 1: Low power high accuracy positioning use cases

It has been studied and concluded that the existing positioning for terminal devices in RRC_INACTIVE state cannot satisfy the target battery life required by LPHAP use case 6 and higher in most of the evaluation scenarios that were examined. Therefore, the power saving mechanism needs to be further enhanced, at least for LPHAP devices, to meet the power consumption requirement.

According to legacy communication mechanism, terminal devices in RRC_IDLE/RRC_INACTIVE wake up periodically to monitor PDCCH at its POs. This is quite power consuming if a terminal device is rarely paged and the false paging alarm rate is high when other terminal devices with the same PO is paged. As discussed above, Paging Early Indication (PEI) with subgrouping is defined to reduce false paging alarm rate for power saving. To meet the strict battery lifetime requirement of some apparatuses (e.g., the LPHAP devices) , a candidate solution is to apply the PEI with subgrouping to reduce the false paging rate and thus save device power.

However, the existing subgrouping methods may need further study for power saving enhancements.

Generally, the terminal devices supporting CN-assigned subgrouping in idle/inactive state can be assigned a subgroup ID (e.g., between 0 to 7) by the AMF through NAS signalling. The terminal devices belonging to the assigned subgroup ID monitors its associated PEI which indicates the paged subgroup (s) .

However, the CN-assigned subgrouping depends on UE and network capability. For support of CN-assigned subgrouping, the terminal devices including the LPHAP devices need to report their capability information to the AMF and thus the AMF can determine and configure the CN-assigned subgroup ID for the terminal devices, which would cause additional power consumption and implementation complexity for the devices. Besides, the AMF may not support CN-assigned subgrouping.

Different from the CN-assigned subgrouping, the device-identity-based subgrouping is self-contained in RAN. The terminal device and the serving network device implicitly determine the subgroup of the terminal device based on the device identity and the number of subgroups for device-identity-based subgrouping in a PO, which may not need to interact among the CN entity (e.g., the AMF) , the serving network device and the terminal device with signal overhead for assignment and configuration of subgroup information for the terminal device. Thus it is beneficial to reduce the power consuming and implementation complexity of the terminal devices, especially for LPHAP devices. For this, it makes sense for terminal devices with lower paging rate to support device-identity-based subgrouping instead of the CN-assigned subgrouping in order to save device power.

However, the inventors have found that since the device identity allocation does not consider the requirement of paging subgrouping for terminal devices, it is hard to ensure that the devices which have the same or similar paging characteristics (e.g., lower paging rate) can be mapped to the dedicated subgroup (s) using the solution for the subgroup ID assignment based on device identity and thus results in a high false paging alarm rate for some terminal devices whenever any other device in the same subgroup is paged.

To achieve more energy saving for certain devices, it is beneficial to provide an enhanced mechanism for assigning the subgroup ID for the devices.

According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided an improved solution for paging subgrouping. This solution may be directed to device-identity-based subgrouping. In this solution, a first apparatus can receive a subgroup configuration from a second apparatus, where the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices. The first apparatus monitors a PEI based on the subgroup configuration. This solution improves grouping efficiency for power saving and to meet the battery lifetime requirements for different types of devices.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3, which shows a signaling flow 300 for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the signaling flow 300 involves a first apparatus 110 and a second apparatus 120. For the purpose of discussion, reference is made to FIG. 1 to describe the signaling flow 300. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may be a terminal device, and the second apparatus 120 may be a network device.

In the signaling flow 300, the second apparatus 120 transmits (305) and the first apparatus 110 thus receives (310) a subgroup configuration. The subgroup configuration the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices.

In example embodiments of the present disclosure, it is proposed to map devices of a certain type to one or more dedicated subgroups for paging monitoring. As the devices of the same type may share the same or similar paging characteristics, it is possible to achieve a low false paging alarm rate and thus reduce power consuming for the devices due to paging monitoring. To support the device-identity-based subgrouping for the specific type of devices, the subgroup configuration is provided to the first apparatus 110. The first apparatus 110 monitors (315) a PEI based on the subgroup configuration. The second apparatus 120 transmits (320) a PEI to the first apparatus 110 based on the subgroup configuration.

In some example embodiments, the subgroup configuration may be transmitted to the first apparatus 110 using a legacy subgroup configuration information element (IE) , e.g., SubgroupConfig-r17. In some example embodiments, a new IE may be defined to configure the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices.

As mentioned above, the subgroup configuration may indicate the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices (which may be one or larger than one) , and/or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices (which may be zero, one or larger than one) . Accordingly, based on the subgroup configuration, the predetermined type of devices can be mapped to one or more specific subgroups for this device type, and non-predetermined type of devices can be mapped to one or more other specific subgroups through certain subgrouping solution, respectively.

In some example embodiments, the predetermined type of devices may comprise LPHAP devices which have strict battery lifetime requirement and thus needs a low false paging alarm rate for power saving. The non-predetermined type of devices may comprise non-LPHAP devices. In some example embodiments, the predetermined type of devices may comprise any other type of devices which are configured to map to one or more dedicated subgroups for paging monitoring.

In some example embodiments, first apparatuses 110 (e.g., terminal devices) which support device-identity-based subgrouping may be divided to the predetermined type of devices and non-predetermined type of devices, e.g., LPAHP devices and non-LPHAP devices based on their device types. Those first apparatuses 110 may be mapped to respective subgroups at least based on their device types, as discussed above.

In some example embodiments, the subgroup configuration may further indicate a total number for both CN-assigned subgrouping and device-identity-based subgrouping, for example, a total number of subgroups in a PO (considering that both CN-assigned subgrouping and device-identity-based subgrouping are supported in the PO) . The subgroups of device-identity-based subgrouping may comprise the predetermined type of devices and the number of subgroups for the non-predetermined type of devices. In this case, the number of subgroups for CN-assigned subgrouping (if any) is determined by subtracting, from the total number of subgroups, a sum of the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices and the number of subgroups for the non-predetermined type of devices (if any) , which may be represented by the following Equation (2) :
subgroupsNumForCN=
subgroupsNumPerPO –subgroupsNumForLPHAPUEID –subgroupsNumForUEID

where “subgroupsNumForCN ” represents the number of subgroups for CN-assigned subgrouping; “subgroupsNumPerPO ” represents the total number for both CN-assigned subgrouping and device-identity-based subgrouping; “subgroupsNumForLPHAPUEID ” represents the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices (for LPHAP devices in this example) ; and “subgroupsNumForUEID” represents the number of subgroups for the non-predetermined type of devices. In this example, the parameters “subgroupsNumPerPO” and “subgroupsNumForUEID” may be defined as in the legacy device-identity-based subgrouping.

In some example embodiments where the total number of subgroups is configured, the subgroup ID (s) (also referred to as subgroup index) allocated for the one or more subgroups for the predetermined type of devices (e.g., for LPHAP device-identity-based subgroups) may follow the subgroup ID (s) allocated for the CN-assigned subgroups. If the first apparatus 110 is the predetermined type of devices, its subgroup ID may be determined based on the device identity of the first apparatus 110 (represented as “UE_ID” ) , the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices (e.g., “subgroupsNumForLPHAPUEID ” ) , and the number of subgroups for CN-assigned subgrouping. The device identity of the first apparatus 110 “UE_ID” may be determined as any suitable ID that assigned to the first apparatus 110. In some examples, the subgroup ID of the first apparatus 110 may be determined by the following Equation (3) :

In this solution, all the subgroups for CN-assigned subgrouping, non-LPHAP device-identity-based subgrouping and LPHAP device-identity-based subgrouping can be indicated through a single paging indication field and each bit in the field indicates one subgroup of a paging occasion based on the subgroup ID allocation. For example, a paging indication field (e.g., a legacy paging indication field in DCI Format 2_7) may comprise eight bits to indicate eight subgroups, respectively, where the eight subgroups may comprise a number of (zero, one or more) subgroups for CN-assigned subgrouping, a number of subgroups for device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices (e.g., the LPHAP devices) , and a number of subgroups for device-identity-based subgroups for the non-predetermined type of devices (e.g., the non-LPHAP devices) . In an example, the total number of subgroups in a PO ( “subgroupsNumPerPO” ) , the number of subgroups for non-predetermined type of devices ( “subgroupsNumForUEID” ) , and the number of subgroups for the predetermined type of devices ( “subgroupsNumForLPHAPUEID ” ) may be configured as equal to 8, 4, and 2, respectively. It means that the total number of subgroups in a PO is 8, the number of device-identity-based subgroups for non-predetermined type of devices is 4, the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices is 2. Then, the number of subgroups for CN-assigned subgrouping is 2. It would be appreciated that the number provided here is for the purpose of illustration only without suggesting any limitation. Any other suitable number of subgroups may also be applicable.

In some example embodiments, the legacy signaling for subgroup configuration may remain as it is for device-identity-based subgrouping for the non-predetermined type of devices (e.g., non-LPHAP UE_ID based subgrouping) and CN-based subgrouping. In addition, one or more subgroups may be configured for the predetermined type of devices. In some example embodiments, a total number of subgroups smaller than the actual subgroups the cell supports in the PO can be configured through the legacy signaling, where the total number of subgroups “subgroupsNumPerPO ” may comprise the number of subgroups for CN-assigned subgrouping “subgroupsNumForCN ” and the number of subgroups for the non-predetermined type of devices “subgroupsNumForUEID ” . Furthermore, the subgroups for the predetermined type of devices may be configured as separate subgroups for paging, which may follow the subgroups for the non-predetermined type of devices and the subgroups for CN-assigned subgrouping in the PO.

For example, if there are eight bits for indexing subgroups for paging, the total number of subgroups “subgroupsNumPerPO” may be 6, the number of subgroups for the non-predetermined type of devices “subgroupsNumForUEID ” may be 4, and then the number of subgroups for CN-assigned subgrouping “subgroupsNumForCN” may be 2. An additional two bits may be used to index two subgroups dedicated for the predetermined type of devices, respectively. In this case, the two bits for the two dedicated subgroups may be invisible to the legacy or non-predetermined type of devices.

In some example embodiments where some bits are used to index dedicates subgroups for the predetermined type of devices, if the first apparatus 110 is the predetermined type of devices, its subgroup ID may be determined at least based on the device identity of the first apparatus 110 (represented as “UE_ID) , the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices (e.g., “subgroupsNumForLPHAPUEID” ) . In some example embodiments, the subgroup ID for the first apparatus 110 of the predetermined type of devices may be determined further based on the number of total paging frames in a certain period T and the number of paging occasions for a paging frame (PF) . In some examples, the period T may be a DRX (Discontinuous Reception) cycle of idle state. In some examples, the subgroup ID of the first apparatus 110 may be determined by the following Equation (4) :
SubgroupID = (floor (UE_ID/ (N*Ns) ) mod subgroupsNumForLPHAPUEID)

where N represents the number of total paging frames in the period T; Ns represents the number of paging occasions for a paging frame (PF) ; and “subgroupsNumForLPHAPUEID” represents the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices (for LPHAP devices in this example) ; and UE_ID represents the device identity.

According to this solution, in some example embodiments, the subgroups for the predetermined type of devices (e.g., LPHAP devices) subgrouping may be indicated through a new paging indication field and each bit in the field indicates one subgroup of a paging occasion for device-identity-based subgrouping for this type of devices.

In some example embodiments, for first apparatuses 110 supporting CN-assigned subgrouping, they may also use the legacy CN assignment for subgrouping. In some example embodiments, the priorities of CN-assigned subgrouping and device-identity-based subgrouping may be predefined or (pre-) configured.

In an example embodiment, the CN-assigned subgrouping may be predefined or (pre-) configured to have a higher priority than the device-identity-based subgrouping (or higher than the LPHAP UE_ID based subgrouping) . In this case, if a first apparatus 110 receives a subgroup ID from a CN entity (e.g., from the AMF 130) , the first apparatus 110 may determine to apply the received subgroup ID for paging monitoring, e.g., for PEI reception, instead of determining a subgroup ID based on its device identity.

In another example embodiment, the priority of the CN-assigned subgrouping may be predefined or (pre-) configured to be lower than the priority of the device-identity-based subgrouping. In this case, the first apparatus 110 may determine its subgroup ID based at least in part on its device identity and the subgroup configuration (e.g., based on at least the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices) .

At the side of the second apparatus 120, in some cases the second apparatus 120 may also receive a subgroup ID of a first apparatus 110 from a CN entity (e.g., from the AMF 130) if the first apparatus 110 supports CN-assigned subgrouping. The second apparatus 120 may also determine whether to apply the CN-assigned subgroup ID or a device-identity-based subgroup ID for the first apparatus 110 based on the priorities of CN-assigned subgrouping and device-identity-based subgrouping.

In some example embodiments, the subgroup configuration may be determined by the second apparatus 120 which is to page the first apparatus 110, or by a CN entity/function, e.g., the AMF 130. In some example embodiments, the subgroup configuration may be determined at least for the first apparatuses (or for the predetermined type of devices, e.g., the LPHAP devices) which support the device-identity-based subgrouping. The first apparatus 110 may transmit paging subgrouping assistance information of the first apparatus 110, for example, to the second apparatus 120 and/or the AMF 130. The paging subgrouping assistance information may at least comprise a device type of the first apparatus 110 (for example, indicating whether it is of the predetermined type or not, e.g., an LPHAP device or a non-LPHAP device) . In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 and/or the AMF 130 may receive the paging subgrouping assistance information of the first apparatus 110 from other entities/functions, such as the LMF 140.

With the paging subgrouping assistance information, the second apparatus 120 and/or the AMF 130 may determine and provide the subgroup configuration for the first apparatus 110. In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may determine whether to assign a subgroup dedicated for the predetermined type of devices for a first apparatus 110 based on its device type. In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may determine a subgroup ID allocation for the first apparatus 110, for example, based on one of the solutions as discussed above. Depending on the subgroup ID allocation solution, different parameters may be comprised in the subgroup configuration.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may also determine the subgroup ID of the first apparatus 110 based on the device type of the first apparatus 110, the device identity of the first apparatus 110, and the subgroup configuration (e.g., at least the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices) .

With the subgroup configuration provided, the first apparatus 110 may determine its subgroup ID, and the second apparatus 120 may also determine the subgroup ID of the first apparatus 110. The subgroup ID may be applied in PEI transmission and reception.

Specifically, the second apparatus 120 may determine a PO and the associated PEI occasion for the subgroup of first apparatuses 110 if there is paging message (s) for any first apparatus in the same subgroup. The paging message (s) for a first apparatus 110 may be received from the CN, or generated at the second apparatus 120, or obtained from any other source.

If the second apparatus 120 determines to page the first apparatus 110, the subgroup ID of the first apparatus 110 to be paged may be indicated in the PEI. In some example embodiments, if the subgroup ID of the first apparatus 110 is determined according to Equation (3) , the second apparatus 120 may transmit the PEI using a legacy paging indication filed in Format 2_7 to indicate the subgroup to be paged. In some example embodiments, if the first apparatus 110 is of the predetermined type and the subgroup ID of the first apparatus 110 is determined according to Equation (4) , the second apparatus 120 may transmit the PEI using a new paging indication filed in Format 2_7 or a new format to indicate the subgroup to be paged.

At an associated PEI occasion, the first apparatus 110 may monitor and receive the PEI. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may be in an idle or inactive state and may wake up at the PEI occasion to receive the PEI. If the subgroup ID of the first apparatus 110 is indicated in the PEI, the first apparatus 110 may continue to monitor a page message in the associated PO. Otherwise, it can skip the subsequent PO monitoring and synchronization for power saving.

According to example embodiments of the present disclosure, some terminal devices (e.g., LPHAP devices) may be mapped to one or more dedicated subgroups for paging monitoring based on the device type, which is beneficial to reduce the false paging alarm rate and power consuming for those terminal devices. It can support device-identity-based subgrouping for devices with low legacy signaling overhead and implementation complexity for terminal devices and thus increase the battery lifetime of the devices.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of an example method 400 implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 400 will be described from the perspective of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

At block 410, the first apparatus 110 receives a subgroup configuration from a second apparatus (e.g., the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1) . The subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices.

At block 420, the first apparatus 110 monitors a paging early indicator, PEI, based on the subgroup configuration.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus may further transmit paging subgrouping assistance information of the first apparatus to the second apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the paging subgrouping assistance information comprises at least a device type of the first apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may further receive a subgroup identity of the first apparatus from a core network entity; or may determine a subgroup identity of the first apparatus based at least in part on a device identity of the first apparatus and the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may monitor the PEI by: in accordance with a determination that a priority of core-network-assigned subgrouping is higher than a priority of device-identity-based subgrouping, monitoring the PEI based on the received subgroup identity; or in accordance with a determination that the priority of core-network-assigned subgrouping is lower than the priority of device-identity-based subgrouping, monitoring the PEI based on the determined subgroup identity.

In some example embodiments, the subgroup configuration further indicates a total number of subgroups for both core network-assigned subgrouping and device-identity-based subgrouping. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 is configured to determine the subgroup identity of the first apparatus by: determining the number of subgroups for core network-assigned subgrouping by subtracting, from the total number of subgroups, a sum of the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices and the number of subgroups for the non-predetermined type of devices; and determining the subgroup identity of the first apparatus based on the device identity of the first apparatus, the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices, and the number of subgroups for core network-assigned subgrouping.

In some example embodiments, the predetermined type of devices comprises low-power high-accuracy positioning, LPHAP, devices, and the non-predetermined type of devices comprises non-LPHAP devices.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device, and the second apparatus comprises a network device.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an example method 500 implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 500 will be described from the perspective of the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

At block 510, the second apparatus 120 transmits a subgroup configuration to a first apparatus (e.g., the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1) . The subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices.

At block 520, the second apparatus 120 transmits a paging early indicator, PEI, to the first apparatus based on the subgroup configuration.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may further receive, from the first apparatus or from a core network entity, paging subgrouping assistance information of the first apparatus.

In some example embodiments, in accordance with a determination that the device type of the first apparatus is the predetermined type, the second apparatus 120 may further transmit the subgroup configuration to the first apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may further receive a subgroup identity of the first apparatus from a core network entity; or may determine the subgroup identity of the first apparatus based at least in part on a device identity of the first apparatus and the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may transmit the PEI by: in accordance with a determination that a priority of core-network-assigned subgrouping is higher than a priority of device-identity-based subgrouping, transmitting the PEI to the first apparatus based on the received subgroup identity; or in accordance with a determination that the priority of core-network-assigned subgrouping is lower than the priority of device-identity-based subgrouping, transmitting the PEI to the first apparatus based on the determined subgroup identity.

In some example embodiments, the subgroup configuration further indicates a total number of subgroups for both core network-assigned subgrouping and device-identity-based subgrouping. In some example embodiments, the second apparatus is configured to determine the subgroup identity of the first apparatus by: determining the number of subgroups for core network-assigned subgrouping by subtracting, from the total number of subgroups, a sum of the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices and the number of subgroups for the non-predetermined type of devices; and determining the subgroup identity of the first apparatus based on the device identity of the first apparatus, the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices, and the number of subgroups for core network-assigned subgrouping.

In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing any of the method 400 (for example, the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 400. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for receiving a subgroup configuration from a second apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices; and means for monitoring a paging early indicator, PEI, based on the subgroup configuration.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting paging subgrouping assistance information of the first apparatus to the second apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for receiving a subgroup identity of the first apparatus from a core network entity; or means for determining a subgroup identity of the first apparatus based at least in part on a device identity of the first apparatus and the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices.

In some example embodiments, the means for monitoring the PEI comprises: means for, in accordance with a determination that a priority of core-network-assigned subgrouping is higher than a priority of device-identity-based subgrouping, monitoring the PEI based on the received subgroup identity; or means for, in accordance with a determination that the priority of core-network-assigned subgrouping is lower than the priority of device-identity-based subgrouping, monitoring the PEI based on the determined subgroup identity.

In some example embodiments, the subgroup configuration further indicates a total number of subgroups for both core network-assigned subgrouping and device-identity-based subgrouping. In some example embodiments, the means for determining the subgroup identity of the first apparatus comprises: means for determining the number of subgroups for core network-assigned subgrouping by subtracting, from the total number of subgroups, a sum of the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices and the number of subgroups for the non-predetermined type of devices; and means for determining the subgroup identity of the first apparatus based on the device identity of the first apparatus, the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices, and the number of subgroups for core network-assigned subgrouping.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device, and wherein the second apparatus comprises a network device.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 400 or the first apparatus 110. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the performance of the first apparatus.

In some example embodiments, a second apparatus capable of performing any of the method 500 (for example, the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 500. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The second apparatus may be implemented as or included in the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for transmitting a subgroup configuration to a first apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices; and means for transmitting a paging early indicator, PEI, to the first apparatus based on the subgroup configuration.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the first apparatus or from a core network entity, paging subgrouping assistance information of the first apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for, in accordance with a determination that the device type of the first apparatus is the predetermined type, transmitting the subgroup configuration to the first apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving a subgroup identity of the first apparatus from a core network entity; or means for determining the subgroup identity of the first apparatus based at least in part on a device identity of the first apparatus and the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices.

In some example embodiments, the means for transmitting the PEI comprises: means for, in accordance with a determination that a priority of core-network-assigned subgrouping is higher than a priority of device-identity-based subgrouping, transmitting the PEI to the first apparatus based on the received subgroup identity; or means for, in accordance with a determination that the priority of core-network-assigned subgrouping is lower than the priority of device-identity-based subgrouping, transmitting the PEI to the first apparatus based on the determined subgroup identity.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 500 or the second apparatus 120. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the performance of the second apparatus.

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

The communication module 640 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 640 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interfaces may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 640 may include at least one antenna. The communication interface may be hardware or software based interface. For example, the communication interface may be one or more transceivers. The one or more transceivers may be coupled to one or more antennas or antenna ports to wirelessly transmit and/or receive communication signals. The antennas or antenna ports may be the same or different types. The antennas or antenna ports may be located in different positions of an apparatus. The one or more transceivers allow the apparatus to communicate with other devices that may be wired and/or wireless. The transceiver may support one or more radio technologies. For example, the one or more transceivers may include a cellular subsystem, a WLAN subsystem, and/or a Bluetooth^TM subsystem. The one or more transceivers may include processors, controllers, radios, sockets, plugs, buffers, or the like circuits to form one or more communication channels to one or more radio frequency units.

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

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

A computer program 630 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 610. The instructions of the program 630 may include instructions for performing operations/acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 630 may be stored in the memory, e.g., the ROM 624. The processor 610 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 630 into the RAM 622.

The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 630 so that the device 600 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 5. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

In some example embodiments, the program 630 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 600 (such as in the memory 620) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 600. The device 600 may load the program 630 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 622 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer readable medium may include any types of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. The term “non-transitory, ” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM) .

FIG. 7 shows an example of the computer readable medium 700 which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 700 has the program 630 stored thereon.

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

Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, to carry out any of the methods as described above. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code 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 code, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions/operations specified in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

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

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

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

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

Claims

A first apparatus comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more transceivers coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more transceivers are configured with the one or more processors to cause the first apparatus to:

receive a subgroup configuration from a second apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices; and

monitor a paging early indicator, PEI, based on the subgroup configuration.
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first apparatus is further configured to:

transmit paging subgrouping assistance information of the first apparatus to the second apparatus.
The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the paging subgrouping assistance information comprises at least a device type of the first apparatus.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first apparatus is further configured to:

receive a subgroup identity of the first apparatus from a core network entity; or

determine a subgroup identity of the first apparatus based at least in part on a device identity of the first apparatus and the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices.
The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first apparatus is configured to monitor the PEI by:

in accordance with a determination that a priority of core-network-assigned subgrouping is higher than a priority of device-identity-based subgrouping, monitoring the PEI based on the received subgroup identity; or

in accordance with a determination that the priority of core-network-assigned subgrouping is lower than the priority of device-identity-based subgrouping, monitoring the PEI based on the determined subgroup identity.
The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the subgroup configuration further indicates a total number of subgroups for both core network-assigned subgrouping and device-identity-based subgrouping, and

wherein the first apparatus is configured to determine the subgroup identity of the first apparatus by:

determining the number of subgroups for core network-assigned subgrouping by subtracting, from the total number of subgroups, a sum of the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices and the number of subgroups for the non-predetermined type of devices; and

determining the subgroup identity of the first apparatus based on the device identity of the first apparatus, the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices, and the number of subgroups for core network-assigned subgrouping.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the predetermined type of devices comprises low-power high-accuracy positioning, LPHAP, devices, and the non-predetermined type of devices comprises non-LPHAP devices.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first apparatus comprises a terminal device, and wherein the second apparatus comprises a network device.
A second apparatus comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more transceivers coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more transceivers are configured with the one or more processors to cause the second apparatus to:

transmit a subgroup configuration to a first apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices; and

transmit a paging early indicator, PEI, to the first apparatus based on the subgroup configuration.
The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the second apparatus is further caused to:

receive, from the first apparatus or from a core network entity, paging subgrouping assistance information of the first apparatus.
The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the paging subgrouping assistance information comprises at least a device type of the first apparatus.
The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the second apparatus is further caused to:

in accordance with a determination that the device type of the first apparatus is the predetermined type, transmit the subgroup configuration to the first apparatus.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the second apparatus is further configured to:

receive a subgroup identity of the first apparatus from a core network entity; or

determine the subgroup identity of the first apparatus based at least in part on a device identity of the first apparatus and the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices.
The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the second apparatus is configured to transmit the PEI by:

in accordance with a determination that a priority of core-network-assigned subgrouping is higher than a priority of device-identity-based subgrouping, transmitting the PEI to the first apparatus based on the received subgroup identity; or

in accordance with a determination that the priority of core-network-assigned subgrouping is lower than the priority of device-identity-based subgrouping, transmitting the PEI to the first apparatus based on the determined subgroup identity.
The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the subgroup configuration further indicates a total number of subgroups for both core network-assigned subgrouping and device-identity-based subgrouping, and

wherein the second apparatus is configured to determine the subgroup identity of the first apparatus by:

determining the number of subgroups for core network-assigned subgrouping by subtracting, from the total number of subgroups, a sum of the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices and the number of subgroups for the non-predetermined type of devices; and

determining the subgroup identity of the first apparatus based on the device identity of the first apparatus, the number of device-identity-based subgroups for the predetermined type of devices, and the number of subgroups for core network-assigned subgrouping.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 15, wherein the predetermined type of devices comprises low-power high-accuracy positioning, LPHAP, devices, and the non-predetermined type of devices comprises non-LPHAP devices.
A method comprising:

receiving, by a first apparatus and from a second apparatus, a subgroup configuration from a second apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices; and

monitoring, by the first apparatus, a paging early indicator, PEI, based on the subgroup configuration.
A method comprising:

transmitting, by a second apparatus, a subgroup configuration to a first apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices; and

transmitting a paging early indicator, PEI, to the first apparatus based on the subgroup configuration.
A first apparatus comprising:

means for receiving, from a second apparatus, a subgroup configuration from a second apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices; and

means for monitoring a paging early indicator, PEI, based on the subgroup configuration.
A second apparatus comprising:

means for transmitting a subgroup configuration to a first apparatus, wherein the subgroup configuration indicates at least one of the following: the number of device-identity-based subgroups for a predetermined type of devices, or the number of subgroups for a non-predetermined type of devices; and

means for transmitting a paging early indicator, PEI, the first apparatus based on the subgroup configuration.
A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus at least to perform the method of claim 17 or the method of claim 18.