Timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service

By receiving and utilizing the periodic and offset information of multiple traffic flows in the wireless communication system, the problem of distinguishing different QoS flows is solved, scheduling and network capacity are optimized, and network performance and reliability are improved.

CN112823498BActive Publication Date: 2025-01-17QUALCOMM INC
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN201980066559.5
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2019-10-10
Filing Date
2019-10-11
Publication Date
2025-01-17
Estimated Expiration
2039-10-11

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

In wireless communication systems, the lack of packet filters that vary from stream to stream makes it impossible to distinguish different traffic flows mapped to a specific QoS stream, resulting in degradation of network performance, increasing scheduling overhead and limiting network capacity.

Method used

By receiving and utilizing the period and offset information of multiple traffic flows associated with the data flow, scheduling in RAN is optimized, downlink control channel resources are reduced, network capacity is improved, and TSN traffic transmission is limited to non-URLLCs The impact of transmission.

Benefits of technology

Improve network performance, reduce signaling overhead, optimize scheduling, enhance time synchronization and reliability for TSN traffic, and avoid transmission interruptions or perforations.

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Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus for wireless communications are described. A wireless device, such as a base station, may receive a request to establish a data flow with a user equipment (UE), the data flow being associated with a quality of service (QoS) class, wherein the UE supports a plurality of traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data flow, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and a first node of a RAN. In some cases, the base station may receive timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, wherein the timing information is based at least in part on the plurality of traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data flow, and establish the data flow based at least in part on the timing information.
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Description

[0001] Cross-references

[0002] This patent application claims priority to U.S. patent application No. 16 / 598,570, entitled “TIMING INFORMATION FOR MULTIPLE PERIODIC TRAFFIC STREAMS SHARING A SAME QUALITY OF SERVICE,” filed by PRAKASH et al. on October 10, 2019, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 745,546, entitled “TIMING INFORMATION FOR MULTIPLE PERIODIC TRAFFIC STREAMS SHARING A SAME QUALITY OF SERVICE,” filed by PRAKASH et al. on October 15, 2018; each of which is assigned to the assignee of this application.

[0003] background

[0004] The following relates generally to wireless communications and, more particularly, to timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service.

[0005] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcasting, etc. These systems may be able to support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems (such as long term evolution (LTE) systems, advanced LTE (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems), and fifth generation (5G) systems, which may be referred to as new radio (NR) systems. These systems may use various technologies, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple access communication system may include several base stations or network access nodes, each of which simultaneously supports the communication of multiple communication devices, which may be referred to as user equipment (UE).

[0006] A wireless multiple access communication system may include several base stations and / or network access nodes, each of which simultaneously supports communication for multiple communication devices, which may be otherwise referred to as user equipment (UE). In some cases, various applications (e.g., motion control, discrete manufacturing, etc.) may utilize strict timing between two endpoints for command and control communications. For example, time sensitive networking (TSN) may specify that each TSN endpoint within a TSN network may have synchronized timing so that the execution of each function (e.g., an industrial controller provides commands to a manufacturing robot) is synchronized between the endpoints. In the case of transmitting all or part of the data stream supporting the TSN endpoints via a wireless multiple access system, a technique for maintaining time synchronization between the TSN endpoints is required.

[0007] Overview

[0008] The described technology relates to improved methods, systems, devices, and apparatuses for supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service. In general, the described technology provides for using timing information for data flows, wherein the data flows are to be established between time-sensitive network (TSN) endpoints in a radio access network (RAN) via a user equipment (UE) and a RAN node (such as a base station) so that admission control and scheduling in the network are optimized. In some cases, a data flow may be associated with a quality of service (QoS) or a traffic class, and the UE may communicate with a set of downstream endpoints via one or more traffic flows, wherein each traffic flow may be characterized by a period and / or an offset. In some environments, for example, due to the lack of flow-specific packet filters, there may be no mechanism to distinguish different traffic flows mapped to a specific QoS flow, which may result in degraded network performance. In some cases, due to the lack of period / offset information, the RAN may need to utilize dynamic grants to schedule the transmission of one or more TSN traffic packets, which may increase overhead (i.e., the amount of PDCCH resources required) and limit the capacity of the network (i.e., the number of supported UEs or TSN endpoints).

[0009] Therefore, the technology for utilizing the knowledge of the period / offset of different TSN traffic flows as described herein can allow improved communication. In some cases, the received timing information may include multiple time offset indications, and one or more other parameters (such as traffic periodicity, traffic direction, packet size parameter, burst size parameter, etc.) associated with multiple traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data stream. In some aspects, the knowledge of the period and / or offset can be used to optimize the scheduling in the RAN by reducing the amount of downlink control channels (e.g., physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)) resources required for scheduling. In some other cases, the existence of period / offset information for multiple traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data stream can limit the impact of TSN traffic transmission on non-URLLC transmission (e.g., by perforation). For example, in some cases, TSN traffic may interrupt or perforate transmissions with lower waiting time requirements. Using the period and offset information known to the RAN (e.g., a node in the RAN), the interruption or perforation of transmissions with lower waiting time requirements than TSN traffic transmission can be limited or avoided.

[0010] A method for wireless communication at a first node of a radio access network (RAN) is described. The method may include: receiving a request to establish a data flow with a UE, the data flow being associated with a QoS class, wherein the UE supports multiple traffic flows, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and the first node of the RAN; receiving timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, wherein the timing information is based on the multiple traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data flow; and establishing the data flow based on the timing information.

[0011] An apparatus for wireless communication at a first node of a RAN is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive a request to establish a data flow with a UE, the data flow being associated with a QoS class, wherein the UE supports multiple traffic flows, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and the first node of the RAN; receive timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, wherein the timing information is based on the multiple traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data flow; and establish the data flow based on the timing information.

[0012] Another apparatus for wireless communications at a first node of a RAN is described. The apparatus may include means for: receiving a request to establish a data flow with a UE, the data flow being associated with a QoS class, wherein the UE supports multiple traffic flows, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and the first node of the RAN; receiving timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, wherein the timing information is based on the multiple traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data flow; and establishing the data flow based on the timing information.

[0013] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a first node of a RAN is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor for the following operations: receiving a request to establish a data flow with a UE, the data flow being associated with a QoS class, wherein the UE supports multiple traffic flows, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and the first node of the RAN; receiving timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, wherein the timing information is based on the multiple traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data flow; and establishing the data flow based on the timing information.

[0014] In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving timing information for a data flow may include operations, features, apparatus, or instructions for the following actions: receiving timing information that can be based on a period and offset for each traffic flow in a set of traffic flows associated with a QoS class for the data flow.

[0015] In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving timing information for a data stream may include operations, features, apparatus, or instructions for the following actions: receiving a set of time offset indications associated with communicating with a set of downstream endpoints, where the downstream endpoints may be TSN endpoints.

[0016] In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving timing information for a data flow may further include operations, features, apparatus, or instructions for receiving one or more of traffic periodicity, traffic direction, bit rate parameters, packet data budget (PDB) parameters, packet error loss rate (PER) parameters, burst size parameters, or one or more packet size parameters associated with one or more traffic flows associated with a QoS class of the data flow.

[0017] In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving timing information for a data stream may further include operations, features, apparatus, or instructions for receiving one or more of an uplink time offset, a downlink time offset, or a time offset associated with a first downstream endpoint in a set of downstream endpoints for one or more traffic flows of a plurality of traffic flows associated with a QoS class for the data stream.

[0018] In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving timing information for a data stream may further include operations, features, apparatus, or instructions for determining one or more of a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configuration, a configured scheduling (CS) configuration, or an indication of establishing a data stream, accepting a data stream change, or a combination thereof.

[0019] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, each time offset indication in a set of time offset indications includes one or more of: a time offset start indication, a time offset end indication, a time offset duration indication, or a packet delivery deadline indication.

[0020] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for applying each time offset indication in a set of time offset indications relative to a TSN time reference, and wherein the TSN time reference may be one of a set of TSN time references associated with the RAN.

[0021] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, a set of traffic flows associated with a QoS class of a data flow includes non-periodic traffic flows, periodic traffic flows, or a combination thereof.

[0022] In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, establishing a data flow may include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for the following actions: configuring one or more of semi-persistent scheduling (SPS), configured scheduling (CS), admission control, or a combination thereof for the data flow.

[0023] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving timing information for a data stream may include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for receiving one or more of a TSN adaptation function, an access and mobility management function (AMF), a user plane function (UPF), a session management function (SMF), a policy control function (PCF), an application function, or any combination thereof.

[0024] In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, one or more system messages include: a first system message from a TSN adaptation function to a PCF, a second system message from a PCF to a SMF, a third system message from a SMF to an AMF, and a fourth system message from an AMF to a RAN.

[0025] In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, one or more system messages include: a first system message from the TSN adaptation function to the PCF, a second system message from the PCF to the AMF, and a third system message from the AMF to the RAN.

[0026] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, establishing a data flow may include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for the following actions: receiving a switching message from a second node in the RAN, wherein the switching message indicates that the data flow can be switched from the second node to the first node.

[0027] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first node of the RAN may be a base station or a user plane function (UPF) associated with the RAN. In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the UE communicates with a set of downstream endpoints via multiple traffic flows.

[0028] Some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatus or instructions for the following actions: applying timing information based on a timing configuration for a data flow, wherein the timing information may be provided by one or more of the following: subscription information associated with the UE stored in one or more of a unified data repository (UDR), an authentication server function (AUSF), or a home subscriber server (HSS); or, and pre-configuration information provided by a network function or a RAN node.

[0029] A method of wireless communication at a network entity is described. The method may include: establishing a data flow between a UE and a first node associated with a RAN, the data flow being associated with a QoS class, wherein the UE supports multiple traffic flows, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and the first node of the RAN; receiving timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, the timing information being associated with a TSN associated with the RAN and at least one TSN adaptation function associated with the RAN, and wherein the timing information is based on a set of traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data flow; and relaying the timing information to one or more other nodes associated with the RAN.

[0030] An apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity is described. The apparatus may include a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and instructions stored in the memory. The instructions are executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: establish a data flow between a UE and a first node associated with a RAN, the data flow being associated with a QoS class, wherein the UE supports multiple traffic flows, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and the first node of the RAN; receive timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, the timing information being associated with a TSN associated with the RAN and at least one TSN adaptation function associated with the RAN, and wherein the timing information is based on multiple traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data flow; and relay the timing information to one or more other nodes associated with the RAN.

[0031] Another apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity is described. The apparatus may include means for: establishing a data flow between a UE and a first node associated with a RAN, the data flow being associated with a QoS class, wherein the UE supports multiple traffic flows, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and the first node of the RAN; receiving timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, the timing information being associated with a TSN associated with the RAN and at least one TSN adaptation function associated with the RAN, and wherein the timing information is based on a set of traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data flow; and relaying the timing information to one or more other nodes associated with the RAN.

[0032] A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a network entity is described. The code may include instructions executable by a processor for the following operations: establishing a data flow between a UE and a first node associated with a RAN, the data flow being associated with a QoS class, wherein the UE supports multiple traffic flows, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and the first node of the RAN; receiving timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, the timing information being associated with a TSN associated with the RAN and at least one TSN adaptation function associated with the RAN, and wherein the timing information is based on a traffic flow set associated with the QoS class of the data flow; and relaying the timing information to one or more other nodes associated with the RAN.

[0033] In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving timing information for a data flow may include operations, features, apparatus, or instructions for the following actions: receiving timing information that can be based on a period and offset for each traffic flow in a set of traffic flows associated with a QoS class for the data flow.

[0034] In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving timing information for a data stream may include operations, features, apparatus, or instructions for the following actions: receiving a set of time offset indications associated with communications between a set of downlink endpoints and a corresponding set of uplink endpoints.

[0035] In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving timing information for a data flow may include operations, features, apparatus, or instructions for the following actions: receiving one or more of traffic periodicity, traffic direction, bit rate parameters, PDB parameters, PER parameters, burst size parameters, or one or more packet size parameters associated with one or more traffic flows associated with a QoS class of the data flow.

[0036] In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving timing information for a data flow may include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for the following actions: receiving one or more of an uplink time offset, a downlink time offset, or a time offset associated with a first downlink endpoint in a downlink endpoint set for one or more traffic flows in a traffic flow set associated with a QoS class for the data flow.

[0037] In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving timing information for a data stream may include operations, features, apparatus, or instructions for determining one or more of an SPS configuration, a CS configuration, or an indication of establishing a data stream, accepting a data stream change, or a combination thereof.

[0038] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, each time offset indication in a set of time offset indications includes one or more of: a time offset start indication, a time offset end indication, a time offset duration indication, and a packet delivery deadline indication.

[0039] Some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for the following actions: determining each time offset indication in a set of time offset indications relative to a TSN time reference, wherein the TSN time reference may be one of the TSN time references in a set of TSN time references associated with the RAN.

[0040] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, a set of traffic flows associated with a QoS class of a data flow includes non-periodic traffic flows, periodic traffic flows, or a combination thereof.

[0041] Some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatus, or instructions for the following actions: including timing information with configuration information for a data flow, wherein the configuration information may be included in one or more of the following: a QoS profile associated with the data flow, one or more QoS rules associated with the data flow, or one or more PDRs associated with the data flow.

[0042] Some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatus, or instructions for providing at least a portion of a data stream based on timing information via communication between a set of downlink endpoints and a corresponding set of uplink endpoints.

[0043] In some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, receiving timing information for a data stream may further include operations, features, apparatus, or instructions for: receiving a first system message from a network function associated with a first node; or receiving a second system message from a different node in the RAN; or and a combination thereof.

[0044] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses, and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, establishing a data flow may include operations, features, apparatuses, or instructions for: receiving a switching message from a second node in the RAN, wherein the switching message indicates that the data flow may be switched from the second node to the first node; or, and receiving a switching message from a network function associated with the RAN that aspects related to the data flow may be switched from the network function to a different network function.

[0045] In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the first node of the RAN may be a base station or a UPF associated with the RAN. In some examples of the methods, apparatuses (devices), and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein, the UE communicates with a set of downstream endpoints via multiple traffic flows.

[0046] Some examples of the methods, apparatus (devices) and non-transitory computer-readable media described herein may further include operations, features, apparatuses or instructions for the following actions: determining timing information based on a timing configuration for a data stream, wherein the timing information may be provided by one or more of the following: subscription information associated with the UE stored in one or more of the UDR, AUSF or HSS, and pre-configuration information provided by a network function or RAN node. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0048] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0049] Figure 2 An example of a portion of a wireless communication system that supports signaling timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0050] Figure 3

[0013] An example of a wireless communication system that supports signaling timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0051] Figure 4 Examples of data flows in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0052] Figure 5A and 5B

[0013] An example of admission control for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0053] Figure 6An example of a process flow that supports timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0054] Figure 7 An example of a process flow that supports timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0055] Figure 8 and 9 A block diagram of an apparatus supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0056] Fig.10 A block diagram of a communications manager supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0057] Fig.11 A diagram of a system including a device supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0058] Fig.12 and 13 A block diagram of an apparatus supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0059] Fig.14 A block diagram of a communications manager supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0060] Fig.15 A diagram of a system including a device supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0061] Fig.16 and 17 A flow chart illustrating a method of supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown.

[0062] Detailed Description

[0063] Some wireless communication systems may be used to facilitate communications in networks that rely on relatively strict timing synchronization of network components, sometimes referred to as time-sensitive networking (TSN) systems. Such systems may be used to support, for example, factory automation. Some TSN systems specify relatively strict quality of service (QoS) parameters, such as latency, jitter, and reliability requirements for data traffic (e.g., latency of less than 1 ms and reliability of 10 ms). -6Packet loss rate or stricter). In some cases, such data traffic may be supported in a wireless communication system using a high reliability service, such as an Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) service.

[0064] Various aspects of the present disclosure provide timing synchronization between a set of TSN endpoints via a wireless communication network. In some cases, a data flow may be established via a wireless communication network, wherein one or more system messages associated with the data flow may provide timing information for the data flow. In some cases, a first node within the wireless communication network (e.g., a base station or gNB, a central unit, or a user plane function (UPF) associated with the wireless communication network) may receive a request for establishing such a data flow with a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE may provide communication with a set of downstream TSN endpoint nodes via the first node. In some cases, a data flow may be associated with a traffic or QoS class, and the UE may communicate with a set of downstream endpoints via a corresponding traffic flow. In some cases, each traffic flow may be between downstream and upstream endpoints via a first node of the UE and the RAN. In some cases, each TSN traffic flow that forms TSN traffic for a specific QoS flow may be characterized by a period and an offset. Therefore, in some aspects, one or more TSN traffic flows (e.g., periodic or non-periodic traffic flows) may be mapped to the same QoS flow.

[0065] In some environments, there may be no mechanism to distinguish different traffic flows for a particular QoS flow, for example, due to the lack of flow-specific packet filters. Therefore, in some cases, there may be a transient traffic mode for a QoS flow. In one example, for a wireless communication system (e.g., a 5G system (5GS)) that establishes a QoS flow based on an IEEE 802.1Qbv configuration (e.g., a centralized network configuration from a TSN system), the configuration may be sent using the IEEE 8011-ST-MIB. In this example, the configuration may be associated with a traffic class (e.g., traffic class 5), which may include multiple TSN traffic flows with different periodicities. Therefore, in some aspects, a QoS flow associated with TSN traffic may include one or more periodic components.

[0066] In some cases, the first node may receive timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, and establish the data flow based at least in part on the timing information. In some cases, the timing information may be provided by one or more of the following: a TSN adaptation function, an access and mobility management function (AMF), a user plane function (UPF), a session management function (SMF), a policy control function (PCF), an application function, or any combination thereof. In some cases, the timing information may be included with configuration information for the data flow, and the configuration information may be included in one or more of the following: a quality of service (QoS) profile associated with the data flow; one or more QoS rules associated with the data flow; or one or more packet detection rules (PDRs) associated with the data flow.

[0067] In some cases, the first node or the first network function may establish the data flow based on receiving a switching message from a different node or network function (indicating that the data flow will be switched from a different node to the first node or the first network function). In some cases, the first node or the first network function may receive a switching message from a different node or network function indicating that aspects related to the data flow are switched from the first node or the first network function to another node or network function. In some cases, the aspects related to the data flow may include one or more of the following: communicating the data flow (e.g., communicating TSN data associated with the data flow based on the switching message), communicating control or configuration information related to the data flow (e.g., communicating one or more system messages with control or configuration information), or communicating status information related to the data flow.

[0068] In some aspects, a network function associated with a wireless communication system may perform various timing-related functions associated with a data flow of a TSN system. In some cases, the data flow may be established in part via a first node associated with a radio access network (RAN), and the network function may receive timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow. Such timing information may be associated with a TSN associated with the RAN and at least one TSN adaptation function associated with the RAN. The network function may relay the timing information to one or more other nodes associated with the RAN to provide at least a portion of the data flow, thereby facilitating communication between a set of TSN endpoints.

[0069] In some cases, the QoS for a QoS flow may include a QoS parameter set component for traffic mapped to the QoS flow, wherein the QoS parameter set for the periodic component may include traffic direction (i.e., uplink or downlink), periodicity, offset, bit rate, or a combination thereof. In some cases, receiving timing information or a QoS parameter set for a periodic component may also include receiving a packet data budget (PDB) parameter, a packet error loss rate (PER) parameter, or one or more packet size parameters associated with one or more traffic flows associated with a QoS class of a data flow. In some cases, the QoS parameters associated with the periodic component may be used by the RAN to determine one or more of an SPS configuration or a configured scheduling (CS) configuration for the UE. Additionally or alternatively, the QoS parameter set may be used by the RAN to determine whether to establish a QoS flow or accept a change to a QoS flow. In some other cases, the QoS parameter set may be used by the UPF to determine whether to establish or change a QoS flow.

[0070] Such techniques may provide timing information in a TSN system and may allow time-aware scheduling for communications within a wireless communication system and with different TSN endpoints (e.g., upstream and / or downstream endpoints). Thus, for a given TSN flow, the wireless communication network may perform scheduling for the TSN flow (e.g., scheduling for uplink and downlink transmissions for UEs coupled to the TSN endpoints) based on the timing characteristics of the TSN flow. For example, this may be used to configure semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) or configured scheduling (CS) for one or more UEs.

[0071] Certain aspects of the subject matter described herein can be implemented to achieve one or more advantages. The described techniques can support improvements for maintaining time synchronization between TSN endpoints, reducing signaling overhead, and improving reliability, among other advantages. Thus, the supported techniques can include improved network operation, and in some examples, can improve the efficiency of the network, among other benefits.

[0072] Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context of wireless communication systems. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustrated and described by and with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams, and flow diagrams related to signaling timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service.

[0073] Figure 1An example of a wireless communication system 100 supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service according to various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 includes a base station 105, a UE 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may be a long term evolution (LTE) network, an advanced LTE (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, or a new radio (NR) network. In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission-critical) communications, low latency communications, or communications with low-cost and low-complexity devices.

[0074] The base station 105 may communicate wirelessly with the UE 115 via one or more base station antennas. The base station 105 described herein may include or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNB), a next generation Node B, or a Gigabit Node B (any of which may be referred to as a gNB), a home Node B, a home evolved Node B, or some other suitable terminology. The wireless communication system 100 may include different types of base stations 105 (e.g., macro cell base stations or small cell base stations). The UE 115 described herein may be able to communicate with various types of base stations 105 and network equipment (including macro eNBs, small cell eNBs, gNBs, relay base stations, etc.).

[0075] Each base station 105 may be associated with a particular geographic coverage area 110 in which it supports communications with various UEs 115. Each base station 105 may provide communications coverage for the respective geographic coverage area 110 via a communication link 125, and the communication link 125 between the base station 105 and the UE 115 may utilize one or more carriers. The communication link 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include an uplink transmission from the UE 115 to the base station 105, or a downlink transmission from the base station 105 to the UE 115. Downlink transmissions may also be referred to as forward link transmissions, and uplink transmissions may also be referred to as reverse link transmissions.

[0076] The geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105 may be divided into sectors that constitute a portion of the geographic coverage area 110, and each sector may be associated with a cell. For example, each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, a hotspot, or other types of cells, or various combinations thereof. In some examples, the base station 105 may be mobile and thus provide communication coverage for a mobile geographic coverage area 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, and overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by the same base station 105 or different base stations 105. The wireless communication system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous LTE / LTE-A / LTE-A Pro or NR network, in which different types of base stations 105 provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110.

[0077] The term "cell" refers to a logical communication entity for communicating with base station 105 (e.g., on a carrier), and may be associated with an identifier to distinguish adjacent cells operating via the same or different carriers (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCID), virtual cell identifier (VCID)). In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types that may provide access to different types of devices (e.g., machine type communication (MTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), or others). In some cases, the term "cell" may refer to a portion of a geographic coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) on which the logical entity operates.

[0078] Each UE 115 can be dispersed throughout the wireless communication system 100, and each UE 115 can be stationary or mobile. UE 115 can also be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriber device, or some other suitable term, wherein "device" can also be referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client. UE 115 can also be a personal electronic device, such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personal computer. In some examples, UE 115 can also refer to a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or an MTC device, etc., which can be implemented in various items (such as electrical appliances, vehicles, meters, etc.).

[0079] Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low-cost or low-complexity devices and may provide automated communication between machines (e.g., via machine-to-machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication technology that allows devices to communicate with each other or with a base station 105 without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay the information to a central server or application, which may utilize the information or present the information to a person interacting with the program or application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or implement automated behavior of machines. Examples of applications for MTC devices include: smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, health care monitoring, field survival monitoring, weather and geographic event monitoring, queue management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based commercial charging.

[0080] Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ a reduced power consumption mode of operation, such as half-duplex communication (e.g., a mode that supports unidirectional communication via transmission or reception but not simultaneous transmission and reception). In some examples, half-duplex communication may be performed with a reduced peak rate. Other power saving techniques for UE 115 include entering a power saving "deep sleep" mode when not engaged in active communications, or operating over a limited bandwidth (e.g., in accordance with narrowband communications). In some cases, UE 115 may be designed to support critical functions (e.g., mission critical functions), and the wireless communication system 100 may be configured to provide ultra-reliable communications for these functions.

[0081] In some cases, UE 115 may also be able to communicate directly with other UE 115 (e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) or device-to-device (D2D) protocol). One or more UEs in a group of UEs 115 utilizing D2D communication may be within the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105. Other UEs 115 in this group may be outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105, or may not be able to receive transmissions from the base station 105 for other reasons. In some cases, each group of UEs 115 communicating via D2D communication may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system, in which each UE 115 transmits to each other UE 115 in the group. In some cases, the base station 105 facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication is performed between UEs 115 without involving the base station 105.

[0082] The base stations 105 may communicate with the core network 130 and with each other. For example, the base stations 105 may interface with the core network 130 via a backhaul link 132 (e.g., via S1, N2, N3, or other interfaces). The base stations 105 may communicate with each other directly (e.g., directly between the base stations 105) or indirectly (e.g., via the core network 130) on a backhaul link 134 (e.g., via X2, Xn, or other interfaces).

[0083] The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC), which may include at least one mobility management entity (MME), at least one serving gateway (S-GW), and at least one packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW). The MME may manage non-access layer (e.g., control plane) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management of UEs 115 served by base stations 105 associated with the EPC. User IP packets may be delivered through the S-GW, which itself may be connected to the P-GW. The P-GW may provide IP address allocation and other functions. The P-GW may be connected to network operator IP services. Operator IP services may include access to the Internet, an intranet, an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), or packet switched (PS) streaming services.

[0084] At least some network devices (such as base stations 105) may include subcomponents, such as access network entities, which may be examples of access node controllers (ANCs). Each access network entity may communicate with each UE 115 through a number of other access network transport entities, which may be referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmission / reception points (TRPs). In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and access network controllers) or merged into a single network device (e.g., base station 105).

[0085] The wireless communication system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands (e.g., in the range of 300 MHz to 300 GHz). In general, the 300 MHz to 3 GHz region is referred to as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths range from about 1 decimeter to 1 meter long. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features. However, these waves may penetrate various structures sufficiently for macro cells to provide service to UEs 115 located indoors. Transmissions using UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100 km) compared to transmissions using smaller frequencies and longer waves in the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

[0086] The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the Super High Frequency (SHF) region using a frequency band from 3 GHz to 30 GHz, also known as the centimeter band. The SHF region includes frequency bands that may be opportunistically used by devices that can tolerate interference from other users, such as the 5 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) band.

[0087] The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the extremely high frequency (EHF) division of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz), which is also referred to as the millimeter band. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support millimeter wave (mmW) communications between the UE 115 and the base station 105, and the EHF antenna of the corresponding device may be even smaller and more closely spaced than the UHF antenna. In some cases, this may facilitate the use of antenna arrays within the UE 115. However, the propagation of EHF transmissions may be subject to even greater atmospheric attenuation and shorter range than SHF or UHF transmissions. The technology disclosed herein may be adopted across transmissions using one or more different frequency divisions, and the use of frequency bands specified across these frequency divisions may differ by country or regulatory agency.

[0088] In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may adopt license assisted access (LAA), LTE unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band (such as a 5GHz ISM band). When operating in an unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band, wireless devices (such as base stations 105 and UE 115) may adopt a listen-before-talk (LBT) procedure to ensure that the frequency channel is clear before transmitting data. In some cases, operations in unlicensed bands may be based on CA configurations (e.g., LAA) in coordination with CCs operating in licensed bands. Operations in unlicensed spectrum may include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, peer-to-peer transmissions, or a combination of these. Duplexing in unlicensed spectrum may be based on frequency division duplexing (FDD), time division duplexing (TDD), or a combination of the two.

[0089] In some examples, the base station 105 or the UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas, which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication, or beamforming. For example, the wireless communication system 100 may use a transmission scheme between a transmitting device (e.g., the base station 105) and a receiving device (e.g., the UE 115), wherein the transmitting device is equipped with multiple antennas and the receiving device is equipped with one or more antennas. MIMO communication may employ multipath signal propagation to increase spectral efficiency by transmitting or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers, which may be referred to as spatial multiplexing. For example, the transmitting device may transmit multiple signals via different antennas or different antenna combinations. Similarly, the receiving device may receive multiple signals via different antennas or different antenna combinations. Each of these multiple signals may be referred to as a separate spatial stream and may carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams. Different spatial layers may be associated with different antenna ports for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO technology includes single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO), in which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiving device, and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), in which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to multiple devices.

[0090] Beamforming (which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception) is a signal processing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a base station 105 or a UE 115) to shape or direct an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam or a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming may be achieved by combining signals communicated via antenna elements of an antenna array so that signals propagating at a particular orientation relative to the antenna array experience constructive interference, while other signals experience destructive interference. Adjustments to signals communicated via antenna elements may include the transmitting device or the receiving device applying amplitude and phase shifts to signals carried via each antenna element associated with the device. Adjustments associated with each antenna element may be defined by a set of beamforming weights associated with a particular orientation (e.g., relative to the antenna array of the transmitting device or the receiving device, or relative to some other orientation).

[0091] In one example, the base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays to perform beamforming operations for directional communication with the UE 115. For example, some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) may be transmitted multiple times by the base station 105 in different directions, which may include a signal being transmitted according to different beamforming weight sets associated with different transmission directions. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify (e.g., by the base station 105 or a receiving device, such as the UE 115) a beam direction for subsequent transmission and / or reception by the base station 105. Some signals (such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device) may be transmitted by the base station 105 in a single beam direction (e.g., a direction associated with a receiving device (such as the UE 115)). In some examples, the beam direction associated with transmissions along a single beam direction may be determined based at least in part on signals transmitted in different beam directions. For example, UE 115 may receive one or more signals transmitted by base station 105 in different directions, and UE 115 may report indications of the signals it received with the highest signal quality or other acceptable signal quality to base station 105. Although these techniques are described with reference to signals transmitted by base station 105 in one or more directions, UE 115 may use similar techniques for transmitting signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., for identifying a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by UE 115) or for transmitting signals in a single direction (e.g., for transmitting data to a recipient device).

[0092] A receiving device (e.g., UE 115, which may be an example of a mmW receiving device) may try multiple receive beams when receiving various signals (such as synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) from base station 105. For example, the receiving device may try multiple receive directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, processing received signals according to different antenna subarrays, receiving according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or processing received signals according to different receive beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, any of which may be referred to as "listening" according to different receive beams or receive directions. In some examples, the receiving device may use a single receive beam to receive along a single beam direction (e.g., when receiving a data signal). The single receive beam may be aligned on a beam direction determined at least in part based on listening according to different receive beam directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have the highest signal strength, highest signal-to-noise ratio, or other acceptable signal quality based at least in part on listening according to multiple beam directions).

[0093] In some cases, the antennas of a base station 105 or a UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays that may support MIMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some cases, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with a base station 105 may be located at different geographic locations. A base station 105 may have an antenna array having several rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 may use to support beamforming for communications with a UE 115. Likewise, a UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations.

[0094] In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 can be a packet-based network that operates according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, the communication of the bearer or packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer can be based on IP. In some cases, the radio link control (RLC) layer can perform packet segmentation and reorganization to communicate on the logical channel. The media access control (MAC) layer can perform priority handling and multiplex the logical channel into the transport channel. The MAC layer can also use hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) to provide retransmission of the MAC layer, thereby improving link efficiency. In the control plane, the radio resource control (RRC) protocol layer can provide the establishment, configuration and maintenance of the RRC connection of the radio bearer supporting user plane data between the UE 115 and the base station 105 or the core network 130. In the physical (PHY) layer, the transport channel can be mapped to the physical channel.

[0095] In some cases, UE 115 and base station 105 may support retransmission of data to increase the likelihood that the data is successfully received. HARQ feedback is a technique that increases the likelihood of correctly receiving data on communication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ can improve the throughput of the MAC layer in poor radio conditions (e.g., signal-to-noise ratio conditions). In some cases, a wireless device may support simultaneous slot HARQ feedback, where the device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific time slot for data received in a previous symbol in the time slot. In other cases, the device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent time slot or according to some other time interval.

[0096] The time interval in LTE or NR can be represented by a basic time unit (which may refer to a sampling period T, for example). s =1 / 30,720,000 seconds). The time intervals of the communication resources may be organized according to radio frames each having a duration of 10 milliseconds (ms), where the frame period may be expressed as T f =307,200Ts . A radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) ranging from 0 to 1023. Each frame may include 10 subframes numbered from 0 to 9, and each subframe may have a duration of 1 ms. A subframe may be further divided into 2 slots, each slot having a duration of 0.5 ms, and each slot may contain 6 or 7 modulation symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of a cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period). Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may contain 2048 sampling periods. In some cases, a subframe may be the minimum scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In other cases, the minimum scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 may be shorter than a subframe or may be dynamically selected (e.g., in a burst of a shortened TTI (sTTI) or in a selected component carrier using sTTI).

[0097] In some wireless communication systems, a time slot may be further divided into a plurality of mini-slots containing one or more symbols. In some instances, a symbol of a mini-slot or a mini-slot may be the minimum scheduling unit. For example, each symbol may vary in duration depending on the subcarrier spacing or the operating frequency band. Further, some wireless communication systems may implement time slot aggregation, wherein a plurality of time slots or mini-slots are aggregated together and used for communication between UE 115 and base station 105.

[0098] The term "carrier" refers to a set of radio frequency spectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting communications on the communication link 125. For example, a carrier of the communication link 125 may include a portion of a radio frequency spectrum band that operates according to a physical layer channel for a given radio access technology. Each physical layer channel may carry user data, control information, or other signaling. A carrier may be associated with a predefined frequency channel (e.g., an E-UTRA Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (EARFCN)) and may be located according to a channel grid for discovery by a UE 115. A carrier may be downlink or uplink (e.g., in FDD mode), or may be configured to carry downlink communications and uplink communications (e.g., in TDD mode). In some examples, a signal waveform transmitted on a carrier may include multiple subcarriers (e.g., using a multi-carrier modulation (MCM) technique such as OFDM or DFT-s-OFDM).

[0099] The organization structure of the carrier may be different for different radio access technologies (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, etc.). For example, communications on a carrier may be organized according to TTIs or time slots, each of which may include user data and control information or signaling to support decoding of the user data. A carrier may also include dedicated acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals or system information, etc.) and control signaling to coordinate carrier operations. In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling to coordinate the operations of other carriers.

[0100] Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according to various techniques. Physical control channels and physical data channels may be multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example, using a time division multiplexing (TDM) technique, a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) technique, or a hybrid TDM-FDM technique. In some examples, control information transmitted in a physical control channel may be distributed in a cascaded manner between different control regions (e.g., between a common control region or a common search space and one or more UE-specific control regions or UE-specific search spaces).

[0101] A carrier may be associated with a particular bandwidth of the radio frequency spectrum, and in some examples, the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as the "system bandwidth" of the carrier or wireless communication system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of several predetermined bandwidths of a carrier for a particular radio access technology (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 MHz). In some examples, each served UE 115 may be configured to operate on part or all of the carrier bandwidth. In other examples, some UEs 115 may be configured to operate using a narrowband protocol type associated with a predefined portion or range (e.g., a set of subcarriers or RBs) within a carrier (e.g., an "in-band" deployment of a narrowband protocol type).

[0102] In a system using MCM technology, a resource element may include a symbol period (e.g., the duration of a modulation symbol) and a subcarrier, where the symbol period and the subcarrier spacing are inversely related. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme). Thus, the more resource elements received by UE 115 and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate of UE 115 can be. In a MIMO system, wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of radio frequency spectrum resources, time resources, and space resources (e.g., space layers), and the use of multiple space layers may further increase the data rate of communication with UE 115.

[0103] A device (e.g., base station 105 or UE 115) of wireless communication system 100 may have a hardware configuration that supports communication on a particular carrier bandwidth, or may be configurable to support communication on one carrier bandwidth in a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, wireless communication system 100 may include base stations 105 and / or UEs 115 that may support simultaneous communication via carriers associated with more than one different carrier bandwidths.

[0104] The wireless communication system 100 may support communication with a UE 115 on multiple cells or carriers, a feature that may be referred to as carrier aggregation (CA) or multi-carrier operation. The UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink CCs and one or more uplink CCs according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrier aggregation may be used with both FDD and TDD component carriers.

[0105] In some cases, the wireless communication system 100 may utilize an enhanced component carrier (eCC). An eCC may be characterized by one or more features including a wider carrier or frequency channel bandwidth, a shorter symbol duration, a shorter TTI duration, or a modified control channel configuration. In some cases, an eCC may be associated with a carrier aggregation configuration or a dual connectivity configuration (e.g., when multiple serving cells have suboptimal or non-ideal backhaul links). An eCC may also be configured for use in an unlicensed spectrum or a shared spectrum (e.g., where more than one operator is allowed to use the spectrum). An eCC characterized by a wide carrier bandwidth may include one or more segments that may be utilized by a UE 115 that is not capable of monitoring the entire carrier bandwidth or is otherwise configured to use a limited carrier bandwidth (e.g., to save power).

[0106] In some cases, an eCC may utilize a different symbol duration than other CCs, which may include using a reduced symbol duration compared to the symbol duration of other CCs. A shorter symbol duration may be associated with an increased spacing between adjacent subcarriers. A device utilizing an eCC (such as a UE 115 or a base station 105) may transmit a wideband signal (e.g., according to a frequency channel or carrier bandwidth of 20, 40, 60, 80 MHz, etc.) with a reduced symbol duration (e.g., 16.67 microseconds). A TTI in an eCC may include one or more symbol periods. In some cases, the TTI duration (i.e., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable.

[0107] Wireless communication systems (such as NR systems) can utilize any combination of licensed, shared, and unlicensed spectrum bands, etc. The flexibility of eCC symbol duration and subcarrier spacing can allow eCC to be used across multiple spectrums. In some examples, NR shared spectrum can improve spectrum utilization and spectrum efficiency, especially through dynamic vertical (e.g., across frequency domain) and horizontal (e.g., across time domain) sharing of resources.

[0108] In some aspects of the present disclosure, one or more UEs 115 or other network devices may be coupled to one or more TSN endpoints (e.g., upstream and / or downstream TSN endpoints). Timing synchronization between a set of TSN endpoints communicating with each other via the wireless communication network 100 may be provided by establishing a QoS flow via a portion of the wireless communication network 100 that carries TSN data. In some cases, timing information for a QoS flow associated with a TSN flow carried via the UE 115 may be sent from a TSN adaptation function associated with the wireless communication system 100 to one of a RAN node associated with the UE 115, the UE 115, or a UPF associated with the UE 115 using one or more system messages associated with the QoS flow. Such techniques may provide timing information in a TSN system and may allow time-aware scheduling for communications between two or more nodes within the wireless communication system 100 and with different TSN endpoints. The RAN node may be a base station, a gNB, a cellular cell, an ng-eNB, an eNB, a CU, or a DU. The RAN node may be a node of a RAN that includes one or more of a plurality of base stations, a plurality of gNBs, a plurality of cells, a plurality of ng-eNBs, a plurality of eNBs, a plurality of CUs, or a plurality of DUs.

[0109] In some cases, one or more of the base stations 105 may be a first node in the wireless communication system 100, and may include a communication manager 101, the first node may receive a request to establish a data flow with the UE 115, wherein the UE 115 may provide communication with a set of TSN endpoints via the first node. In some cases, the TSN endpoint may be upstream (i.e., upstream of the first node or UE 115) or downstream from the UE 115. The first node may receive timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, and establish the data flow based at least in part on the timing information. In some cases, the timing information may be provided by one or more of the following: a TSN adaptation function, an access and mobility management function (AMF), a user plane function (UPF), a session management function (SMF), a policy control function (PCF), an application function, or any combination thereof. In some cases, the timing information may be included with configuration information for the data flow, and the configuration information may be included in one or more of: a QoS profile associated with the data flow; one or more QoS rules associated with the data flow; or one or more PDRs associated with the data flow.

[0110] In some cases, one or more devices within the wireless communication system 100 may include the network function 102. Figure 1In the example of , the network function 102 is illustrated as being associated with the core network 130, and such network function 102 may be part of the core network 130 or a separate device associated with the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., a programmable logic controller (PLC) running a TSN adaptation function). The network function 102 may perform various timing-related functions associated with a data flow of the TSN system. In some cases, a data flow may be established via a first node (e.g., a base station 105), and the network function 102 may receive timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow. Such timing information may be associated with a TSN associated with the wireless communication network 100 and at least one TSN adaptation function associated with the wireless communication network 100. The network function 102 may relay the timing information to one or more other nodes to provide at least a portion of the data flow, thereby facilitating communication between a set of TSN endpoints.

[0111] In some cases, the timing information may be based at least in part on a plurality of traffic flows associated with a QoS class (i.e., a traffic class) of a data flow. It should be noted that the timing information may be based on a period and offset of each of the traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data flow. In some aspects, knowledge of the period and / or offset may be used to optimize the configuration of the SPS and CS, since the RAN may resort to utilizing dynamic grants to schedule the transmission of one or more TSN traffic packets due to a lack of period / offset information. In some cases, this may result in an increase in overhead (e.g., the amount of PDCCH resources required) and limit the capacity of the network (i.e., the number of supported UEs or TSN endpoints). Therefore, utilizing timing information based on one or more time offsets and periods may limit the amount of downlink control channel (e.g., physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)) resources required for scheduling in the RAN, and may also facilitate communication between upstream and downstream TSN endpoint sets.

[0112] Figure 2An example of a portion of a wireless communication system 200 that supports signaling timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In some examples, the wireless communication system 200 may implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100. In the wireless communication system 200, a network function 205 (e.g., a grand master TSN function, a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), a node within the core network 130, a TSN adaptation function, etc.) may facilitate the exchange of timing information associated with a QoS flow that provides a TSN data flow between two or more devices within the wireless communication system 200. In some cases, the two or more devices may include a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint. Further, the TSN data flow may be associated with a QoS class, and the UE 115 may communicate with a set of downstream endpoints via a corresponding traffic flow, the traffic flow being between the downstream and upstream endpoints via both the UE and the RAN node. In some cases, the wireless communication system 200 may be located in an industrial environment, and each of the UEs 115 may be associated with a piece of equipment that may be a TSN endpoint in the industrial environment, but the techniques provided herein may be used in any or several other deployment scenarios. In some cases, several different network functions 205 may be provided on several different nodes within the wireless communication system 200.

[0113] exist Figure 2 In the example of , several coverage areas 225 may each include multiple TRPs 105 capable of communicating with one or more UEs 115 within the coverage area 225. The TRP 105 may be any one of a base station, an eNB, a gNB, an IoT gateway, a cellular cell, etc. The TRP 105 may communicate with a management system (e.g., a network function 205) via a link 210. The management system may include, for example, an industrial PC that may provide controller programming for TSN endpoints that may be associated with different UEs 115, software and security management of the wireless communication system 200, long-term key performance indicator (KPI) monitoring, and other functions. In some cases, the management system may include a TSN fully controlled clock for synchronizing one or more network nodes or TSN endpoints.

[0114] exist Figure 2 In the example of FIG. 1 , TRP 105 may also communicate with human machine interface (HMI) 230 via communication link 215, and HMI 230 may communicate with network function 205 (or other management system) via link 220. HMI 230 may include, for example, a tablet computer, a control panel, a wearable device, a control computer, etc., which may provide control for different equipment within the system (e.g., start / stop control, mode change control, augmented or virtual reality control, etc. for equipment pieces that may include TSN endpoints and UE 115).

[0115] In some cases, one or more programmable logic controllers (PLCs) may be associated with one or more TRPs 105 and may issue a series of commands (e.g., motion commands for a piece of equipment), receive sensor inputs (e.g., the position of a robotic arm of a piece of equipment), and coordinate with other PLCs. In such cases, wireless communications between the TRPs 105, UEs 115, HMIs 230, network functions 205, and / or one or more other network functions or nodes may provide near real-time information as part of TSN. In some cases, the wireless communication system 200 may provide TSN data streams and timing synchronization between a set of TSN endpoints.

[0116] In some cases, a data flow may be established via the wireless communication system 200, wherein one or more system messages associated with the data flow may provide timing information for the data flow. Such a data flow may include or be associated with, for example, one or more QoS flows, one or more protocol data units (PDUs), one or more radio bearers, one or more radio link control (RLC) channels, one or more logical channels, one or more transport channels, or any combination thereof. Additionally, the one or more system messages may include one or more network access stratum (NAS) messages, one or more access stratum (AS) messages, one or more messages exchanged between two network functions in the wireless communication system 200, one or more messages exchanged between two entities in the wireless communication system 200, or any combination thereof.

[0117] Figure 3 An example of a wireless communication system 300 that supports signaling timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In some examples, the wireless communication system 300 can implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100 or 200. In this example, the TSN system 305 can include a fully controlled clock 310 and can be coupled with a RAN 315 (e.g., a 5G or NR RAN) that can include several network functions and network nodes.

[0118] exist Figure 3In the example of , the RAN 315 may include a TSN adaptation function 320, which may provide an interface between the RAN 315 and the TSN system 305 (e.g., via a TSN link (eth0)). The TSN adaptation function 320 may include a data network (DN) function 330 and an application function (AF) 335. The RAN 315 may also include a core network 337, a number of base stations 105-e to 105-n, and one or more UEs 115-e. In this example, the core network 337 may include a user plane function (UPF) 340, a policy control function (PCF) 345, an access and mobility management function (AMF) 350, and a session management function (SMF) 355. In this example, the DN function 330 and the UPF 340 may exchange user plane data via interface N6, and the AF 335 and the PCF 345 may exchange control plane data via interface N5. One or more of the base stations 105 may include a central unit (CU) 360 and multiple distributed units (DUs) 365. Backhaul links N1, N2, and N3 may connect the CU 360 with the SMF 355 and the AMF 350. In some cases, the UE 115-e may have a wireless link Uu 325 with the DU 365 and may have a UE TSN adaptation function 370 that provides an interface with one or more TSN endpoints 380 via a TSN link.

[0119] In some cases, the upstream TSN endpoint 380-a may communicate with the downstream TSN endpoint 380-b using one or more SPS streams 390 (e.g., SPS stream 390-a, SPS stream 390-b, and SPS stream 390-c). In some cases, the periodic transmission performed according to the SPS stream 390 may be referred to as an SPS transmission set. Each of the SPS streams 390 may be transmitted from the TSN endpoint 380-a to the TSN endpoint 380-b via a base station 105 (e.g., base station 105-e) and UE 115-e. In some cases, the base station 105 may receive the transmission of the SPS stream from the TSN endpoint 380-a via connection 310, and may further transmit the downlink transmission of the SPS stream to the UE 115 via a wireless link 325. Further, the UE 115-e may further transmit the downlink transmission of the SPS stream 390 to the TSN endpoint 380-b via another connection (i.e., a TSN link) that may be wired or wireless.

[0120] In this example, one or more of the base stations 105 may receive timing information from the fully controlled clock 310, which may be provided by, for example, one or more system messages between the TSN adaptation function 320 and the CU 360. In some cases, the UE 115-e may receive timing information from the base station 105-e, and may establish a boundary clock 375 synchronized with the servo clock 385 at the TSN endpoint 380-b. In some cases, the UE 115-e may be incorporated as part of the TSN endpoint 380-b. In other cases, the UE 115-e may not be incorporated as part of the TSN endpoint, and may carry data between two TSN endpoints (i.e., TSN endpoints 380-a and 380-b). Therefore, a data flow may be established in the RAN 315 between the TSN system 305 and the TSN endpoint 380-b (e.g., a sensor / actuator (S / A) device). In some cases, the TSN system 305 may include a controller, such as a PLC, such that data flow is provided between two TSN endpoints, for example, a PLC, such as TSN endpoint 380 - a , and a S / A, such as TSN endpoint 380 - b .

[0121] In some environments, data flows may be associated with QoS classes, wherein the UE 115-e may communicate with the downstream endpoint 380-b via a corresponding traffic flow (i.e., SPS flow 390). As illustrated, the SPS traffic flow 320 may be between upstream and downstream TSN endpoints via both the UE 115-e and the base station 105-e (e.g., the first node of the RAN).

[0122] In some cases, the timing information associated with the data flow may provide synchronization of the boundary clock 375, the servo clock 385, and the global control clock 310. As discussed above, such timing information may be provided via one or more system messages. In some cases, the system message may include one or more messages among the first set of network functions, one or more messages between the second set of network functions and the RAN, or one or messages between the third set of network functions and the UE 115. In some cases, the first, second, and third sets of network functions may include one or more of the following: multiple AMFs 350, multiple UPFs 340, multiple SMFs 355, multiple PCFs 345, multiple AFs 335, or any combination thereof. For example, the system message may include a message from the AF 335 to the PCF 345, a message from the PCF 345 to the SMF 355, a message from the SMF 355 to the AMF 350, and a message from the AMF 350 to the base station 105-e (and / or one or more other base stations 105) or the RAN. In other examples, system messages may include messages from AF 335 to PCF 345, messages from PCF 345 to AMF 350, and messages from AMF 350 to UE 115-e (via base station 105 or RAN).

[0123] As indicated above, the timing information provided by the system messages may allow for timing synchronization between the TSN endpoints 380. In some cases, the timing information for the data flow includes receiving a plurality of time offset indications associated with communicating with one or more downstream TSN endpoints. Additionally, in some cases, the timing information may include one or more of a traffic periodicity, a traffic direction (e.g., upstream or downstream), a packet data budget parameter (PDB) parameter, a packet error loss rate parameter (PER), a burst size parameter, or one or more packet size parameters associated with one or more traffic flows associated with a QoS class of the data flow. The traffic periodicity may be, for example, the periodicity of packet generation by a different TSN endpoint within the TSN system 305 and / or by the TSN endpoint 380. In some cases, the time offset information may include one or more time offset pairs, which may correspond to paired direction parameters (e.g., uplink / downlink, PLC to S / A or S / A to PLC, etc.). In some cases, the received timing information for the data flow may include a time offset associated with the TSN endpoint 380-b for one or more traffic flows (e.g., SPS flow 390-a) among multiple SPS flows 390 associated with the QoS class of the data flow.

[0124] In some cases, the time offset information may include one or more of the following: a time offset start indication (e.g., a timestamp), a time offset end indication (e.g., a timestamp), a time offset duration indication (e.g., a time duration), or a packet delivery deadline indication. In some examples, the packet delivery deadline may indicate a deadline time before which packets associated with the data flow are to be sent by the UE or delivered to the UE. In some examples, for an integer n, the packet delivery deadline may be determined based on the following formula:

[0125] n*periodicity+offset+wait time_tolerance,

[0126] For an integer n, the parameters periodicity, offset and latency_tolerance may be provided in one or more system information messages. In some cases, the time offset information may have a granularity of milliseconds, microseconds or nanoseconds.

[0127] In some cases, the time offset indication may be determined relative to a TSN time reference (e.g., relative to global clock 310, boundary clock 375, or servo clock 385). For example, the time offset indication may specify that packet 'n' arrived at time t=n*periodicity+offset, where the reference for time 't' is the TSN time reference. In some examples, there may be multiple TSN time references associated with the RAN.

[0128] In some cases, the timing information may be included in the configuration information of the QoS flow contained in the system message. For example, the configuration information may be included in one or more of the following: a QoS profile associated with the QoS flow (e.g., a modified version of the profile defined in 3GPP TS 23.501), one or more QoS rules (e.g., a modified version of the QoS rules defined in 3GPP TS 23.501), one or more uplink or downlink packet detection rules (PDRs), or any combination thereof. In some cases, the timing information may be provided by one or more of the following: the TSN adaptation function 320; subscription information associated with the UE 115-e stored in one or more of a unified data repository (UDR), an authentication server function (AUSF), or a home subscriber server (HSS); or pre-configured information provided by a network function or RAN node (e.g., information such as the backhaul capacity of various wired links in the RAN 315, which may be used to determine the time it takes for a data packet to travel from the TSN adaptation function 320 to the base station 105). In some cases, the timing information received from the TSN adaptation function 320 may be used at the base station 105, the core network 337, or both to determine a scheduling mode for the UE 115-e and one or more other UEs (e.g., using SPS / CS). Additionally or alternatively, the timing information may be used to provide admission control for the RAN or the UE 115-e (among other UEs).

[0129] Figure 4 An example of a data flow 400 supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In some examples, the data flow 400 can implement aspects of the wireless communication systems 100, 200, and / or 300. Figure 4 In the example of , data stream 400 includes QoS streams 1 and 2. Further, TSN streams R, G, and B may be periodic in nature (i.e., period 405-a, period 405-b, and period 405-c, respectively), and may include packets associated with traffic classes (e.g., traffic classes 415 or 420). As illustrated, periodic TSN stream R may therefore be mapped to QoS stream 1, while periodic streams G and B may be mapped to QoS stream 2. Thus, in some aspects, TSN traffic communicated between a downstream TSN endpoint and an upstream TSN endpoint via a UE, a RAN node (such as a base station or UPF or both) may include multiple periodic TSN traffic flows. In some cases, one or more of the multiple periodic TSN traffic flows (e.g., TSN streams G or B) may be characterized by a period and an offset. As illustrated, offsets 410-a and offsets 410-b for TSN streams G and B, respectively, may refer to TSN stream R and may be the same or different.

[0130] In some environments, it may be difficult to distinguish different traffic flows (e.g., TSN flows G and B) for a particular QoS flow (i.e., QoS flow 2) due to, for example, the lack of flow-specific packet filters. Therefore, in some cases, there may be a transient traffic pattern for QoS flow 2. In one example, for example, for a wireless communication system (e.g., 5GS) that establishes QoS flows based on an IEEE 802.1Qbv configuration from a centralized network configuration of a TSN system, the configuration may be sent using the IEEE8021-ST-MIB. In such cases, the configuration (including multiple traffic flows) may be associated with a single traffic or QoS class (e.g., traffic class 420).

[0131] In some aspects, knowledge of the period and / or offset associated with different traffic flows of a QoS flow can be used to optimize SPS and CS configurations by the RAN (e.g., by limiting the amount of downlink control channel resources required in the RAN). In some cases, due to the lack of period / offset information, the RAN may need to utilize dynamic grants to schedule the transmission of one or more TSN traffic packets associated with a QoS class, which may affect the number of UEs or TSN endpoints supported by the network, as well as result in increased overhead (e.g., the amount of PDCCH resources required). In some other cases, the presence of period / offset information for multiple traffic flows associated with a QoS class of a data stream can limit the impact of TSN traffic transmission on non-URLLC transmissions (e.g., by perforation). For example, in some cases, TSN traffic may interrupt or perforate transmissions with lower latency requirements, which can be limited or avoided based on period and offset information.

[0132] Figure 5A and 5B Illustrated are examples of admission control 501 and 502 for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, admission control 500 can implement aspects of wireless communication systems 100, 200, and / or 300.

[0133] In some cases, periodicity and / or offset information may be used to optimize admission control in the RAN. In some cases, admission control in a wireless network may be defined as optimizing radio resource usage while maintaining QoS for existing users. Therefore, admission control may be widely deployed to limit network congestion. In some cases, admission control decisions may be based on worst-case assumptions about traffic offsets, which may be more conservative than required to maintain the required QoS. In some cases, RAN resources may be available periodically, as illustrated by available RAN resources 505-a. In some cases, admission control for a new periodic component of a QoS flow (i.e., illustrated by the required resources of the QoS flow 510) may be based on RAN resource availability. In some environments, for example, due to lack of knowledge about the offset, the traffic of the new periodic component (as illustrated by the assumed traffic pattern 515) may be incorrectly assumed to arrive when the resource availability in the RAN is low (i.e., below a threshold). In this case, due to the incorrect assumption, the new periodic component associated with the required resources of the QoS flow 510 may not be admitted by the RAN, even though such admission may be possible based on the available RAN resources 505-a.

[0134] Thus, in some cases, a low resource availability estimate at a certain time may be based on one or more underlying assumptions, such as the configuration of uplink resources during that time, or the resource requirements of previously admitted TSN traffic, as described in reference to Figure 5B Further described.

[0135] like Figure 5B As illustrated, each of the available RAN resources 505-b and the existing traffic pattern 520 may be characterized by the same or different periods. Further, as illustrated by the estimated RAN resources 530, the RAN resource requirements for the new periodic component of the QoS flow may fall within the available RAN resources 505-b. However, in some cases, due to lack of knowledge of the period / offset, an incorrect estimate of resource availability (i.e., the estimated RAN resources 525) may result in the new periodic component not being admitted by the RAN. Therefore, knowledge of the period / offset of different traffic flows for QoS classes may be used to optimize admission control at the RAN and / or UE.

[0136] Figure 6 An example of a process flow 600 for supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In some examples, the process flow 600 can implement aspects of the wireless communication system 100, 200, or 300. As shown, the process flow 600 can be implemented by the AF 605, the PCF 610, the SMF 615, the AMF 620, and the RAN 625, each of which can be an example of a corresponding function or device described herein.

[0137] In this example, the AF 605 (e.g., TSN Adaptation Function) may transmit a first system message 630 to the PCF 610. Such a system message 630 may provide timing information related to the QoS flow 650 to be established. In some cases, the timing information in the first system message 630 may be provided using a policy authorization service (e.g., using a modified version of the 'Npcf_PolicyAuthorization' service such as defined in Rel-15 3GPP TS 29.514). In some cases, the timing information in the first system message 630 may be provided in a data type (e.g., using a modified version of the 'AppSessionContextReqData' data type or the 'AppSessionContextUpdateData' data type as defined in Rel-15 3GPP TS 29.514). In some cases, the timing information in the first system message 630 may be provided using an information element (IE) in the data field (e.g., in an IE defined to provide timing information within 'medComponents' as defined in Rel-15 3GPP TS 29.514). In other cases, the timing information in the first system message 630 may be provided using an attribute value pair (AVP) (e.g., such as a 'Media-Component-Description' AVP or a 'Media-Sub-Component' AVP defined in Rel-15 3GPP TS 29.514, or a modified version of another AVP sent using a receive reference point).

[0138] continue Figure 6 According to process flow 600, PCF 610 may receive the first system message and format the timing information into a second system message 635 provided to SMF 615. In some cases, the second system message 635 may use an application programming interface (API) that includes one or more rules that define the timing information. For example, the second system message 635 SMF may use a modified form of the Npcf_SMPolicyControl API defined in Rel-15 3GPP TS 29.512, which may include a policy and charging control (PCC) rule that includes the timing information (e.g., the timing information may be included in a modified form of the QoSData data structure within the "refQosData" attribute as defined in Rel-15 3GPP TS 29.512).

[0139] The SMF 615 may receive the second system message 635 and format the timing information into a third system message 640 provided to the AMF 620. In some cases, the third system message 640 may use one or more service operations or QoS profile attributes of the session service to provide the timing information. For example, the third message 640 may use a modified form of the Nsmf_PDUSession service defined in Rel-15 3GPP TS 29.502 and a modified form of one or more of the 'Create SMContext', 'Update SM Context', 'Create' or 'Update' service operations defined in Rel-15 3GPP TS 29.502 to indicate the timing information. In some cases, the third message may use a modified form of the service operation associated with the Namf_PDUSession service discussed in Rel-15 3GPP TS 23.502. Additionally or alternatively, the third system message 640 may indicate the timing information using a defined QosFlowProfile attribute included in a QosFlowSetupItem or a QosFlowAddModifyRequestItem.

[0140] The AMF 620 may receive the third system message 640 and format the timing information into a fourth system message 645, which is provided to the RAN 625 (e.g., base station and UE) to provide timing information for the QoS flow 650. In some cases, the fourth system message 445 may be a modified form of a 'PDU Session Resource Setup Request' for a PDU session associated with the QoS flow (e.g., a modified form of the request as defined in 3GPP TS 38.413). In some cases, the timing information may be included in a defined 'QoS Flow Level QoS Parameters' IE associated with the QoS flow contained in the 'PDU Session Resource Setup Request Transfer'. In some cases, the fourth system message 645 may be a modified form of a 'PDU Session Resouece Modify Request Transfer' for a PDU session associated with the QoS flow (e.g., a modified form of a request as defined in 3GPP TS 38.413). In some cases, the timing information may be included in a defined 'QoS Flow Level QoS Parameters' IE associated with the QoS flow contained in the 'PDU Session Resource Setup Request Transfer'. The timing information of the fourth system message 645 may be used, for example, by the UE to establish a boundary clock for time-aware scheduling. In some cases, the AF 605, PCF 610, SMF 615, or AMF 615 may not carry any data regarding communications between the TSN endpoints (i.e., downstream and upstream TSN endpoints) associated with the QoS flow 650, but may carry one or more of control information, configuration information, or status information associated with the QoS flow 450.

[0141] Figure 7An example of a process flow 700 for supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service according to various aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. In some examples, the process flow 700 can implement various aspects of the wireless communication system 100, 200, or 300. As shown, the process flow 700 can be implemented by the AF 705, the PCF 710, the AMF 715, and the RAN 720, each of which can be an example of a corresponding function or device described herein. In some cases, the AF 705, the PCF 710, or the AMF 715 may not carry any data about the communication between the TSN endpoints associated with the QoS flow 740, but may carry one or more of the control information, configuration information, or state information associated with the QoS flow 740. In some cases, the QoS flow 740 may also be referred to as a data flow associated with a QoS class. Further, multiple traffic flows may be associated with the QoS flow 740, wherein the multiple traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data flow may be aperiodic, periodic, or a combination. Further, each traffic flow may be characterized by a period and an offset.In some aspects, each traffic flow may be communicated between a downstream TSN endpoint and an upstream TSN endpoint via a UE and a node of the RAN 720, such as a base station.

[0142] In this example, AF 705 (e.g., TSN Adaptation Function) may transmit a first system message 725 to PCF 710. Such first system message 725 may provide timing information related to the QoS flow 740 to be established. In some cases, a policy authorization service may be used to provide the timing information in the first system message 725, similar to the above with reference to Figure 4 discussed.

[0143] PCF 710 may receive first system message 725 and format the timing information into a second system message 730 provided to AMF 715. In some cases, second system message 730 may use an API including one or more rules defining timing information, similar to the API described above with reference to Figure 4 discussed.

[0144] The AMF 715 may receive the second system message 730 and format the timing information into a third system message 735 provided to the RAN 720 (or a node in the RAN). The AMF 715 may provide the third system message 735 to the RAN 720, for example, via a logical channel established between the AMF 715 and the RAN 720. The timing information of the third system message 735 may be used, for example, to establish a boundary clock for time-aware scheduling.

[0145] Figure 8A block diagram 800 of a device 805 supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 805 can be an example of aspects of a base station 105 as described herein. The device 805 may include a receiver 810, a communication manager 815, and a transmitter 820. The device 805 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0146] The receiver 810 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service, etc.). The information may be passed to other components of the device 805. The receiver 810 may be a reference Fig.11 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1120 are described. The receiver 810 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas.

[0147] The communication manager 815 may receive a request to establish a data flow with a UE, the data flow being associated with a QoS class, wherein the UE supports multiple traffic flows. In some cases, the UE communicates with a set of downstream endpoints via multiple traffic flows, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and a first node of the RAN; and receiving timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, wherein the timing information is based on multiple traffic flows associated with a QoS class of the data flow; and establishing the data flow based on the timing information. In some cases, the timing information may be included in a QoS parameter set received by the communication manager 815 of the device 805. In some cases, the timing information may include a first periodicity parameter and a first timing offset indication parameter for a first traffic flow, and a second periodicity parameter and a second timing offset indication parameter for a second traffic flow, wherein the first traffic flow and the second traffic flow are traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data flow in the multiple traffic flows. In some cases, the second timing offset indication parameter has an offset value different from the offset value of the first timing offset indication parameter. Communications manager 815 may be an example of aspects of communications manager 1110 described herein.

[0148] The communication manager 815 or its subcomponents may be implemented in hardware, in code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 815 or its subcomponents may be performed by a general purpose processor, a DSP, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device designed to perform the functions described in the present disclosure, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof.

[0149] The communication manager 815 or its subcomponents may be physically located at various locations, including being distributed such that portions of functionality are implemented by one or more physical components at different physical locations. In some examples, according to various aspects of the present disclosure, the communication manager 815 or its subcomponents may be separate and distinct components. In some examples, according to various aspects of the present disclosure, the communication manager 815 or its subcomponents may be combined with one or more other hardware components (including, but not limited to, input / output (I / O) components, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof).

[0150] The transmitter 820 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 805. In some examples, the transmitter 820 may be co-located with the receiver 810 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 820 may be a reference Fig.11 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1120 are described. The transmitter 820 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas.

[0151] In some examples, the communication manager 815 may be implemented as an integrated circuit or chipset for a mobile device modem for the device 805, and the receiver 810 and the transmitter 820 may be implemented as analog components (e.g., amplifiers, filters, antennas) coupled to the mobile device modem to enable wireless transmission and reception on one or more frequency bands.

[0152] The communication manager 815 as described herein may be implemented to achieve one or more potential advantages. One implementation may allow the device 805 to maintain time synchronization between TSN endpoints. This synchronization between TSN endpoints may improve reliability and reduce latency during transmission.

[0153] Based on the techniques described herein for supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service, one or more processors of UE 115 (e.g., for controlling receiver 810, transmitter 820, or as described in reference to Fig.11 The one or more processors of the described transceiver 1120) can improve reliability and reduce signaling overhead in communications because the UE 115 can avoid going through unnecessary configuration procedures during transmission.

[0154] Fig. 9A block diagram 900 of a device 905 supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 905 may be an example of aspects of the device 805 or base station 105 as described herein. The device 905 may include a receiver 910, a communication manager 915, and a transmitter 930. The device 905 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0155] The receiver 910 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service, etc.). The information may be passed to other components of the device 905. The receiver 910 may be a reference Fig.11 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1120 are described. The receiver 910 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas.

[0156] The communication manager 915 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 815 as described herein. The communication manager 915 may include a flow establishment component 920 and a timing information component 925. The communication manager 915 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1110 as described herein.

[0157] The flow establishment component 920 can receive a request to establish a data flow with the UE, the data flow being associated with a QoS class, wherein the UE supports multiple traffic flows, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and a first node of the RAN; and establish the data flow based on the timing information.

[0158] Timing information component 925 can receive timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, wherein the timing information is based on a set of traffic flows associated with a QoS class for the data flow.

[0159] The transmitter 930 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 905. In some examples, the transmitter 930 may be co-located with the receiver 910 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 930 may be a reference Fig.11 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1120 are described. The transmitter 930 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas.

[0160] In some examples, the communication manager 915 may be implemented as an integrated circuit or chipset for a mobile device modem for the device 905, and the receiver 910 and the transmitter 930 may be implemented as analog components (e.g., amplifiers, filters, antennas) coupled to the mobile device modem to enable wireless transmission and reception on one or more frequency bands.

[0161] The communication manager 915 as described herein may be implemented to achieve one or more potential advantages. One implementation may allow the device 905 to maintain time synchronization between TSN endpoints. This synchronization between TSN endpoints may improve reliability and reduce latency during transmission.

[0162] Based on the techniques described herein for supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service, one or more processors of UE 115 (e.g., for controlling receiver 910, transmitter 930, or as described in reference to Fig.11 The one or more processors of the described transceiver 1120) can improve reliability and reduce signaling overhead in communications because the UE 115 can avoid going through unnecessary configuration procedures during transmission.

[0163] Fig.10 A block diagram 1000 of a communication manager 1005 supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service is shown in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager 1005 can be an example of aspects of the communication manager 815, the communication manager 915, or the communication manager 1110 described herein. The communication manager 1005 can include a flow establishment component 1010, a timing information component 1015, a time offset component 1020, a scheduling configuration component 1025, a network function component 1030, a system message component 1035, and a switching component 1040. Each of these modules can communicate directly or indirectly with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0164] The flow establishment component 1010 can receive a request to establish a data flow with a UE, the data flow being associated with a QoS class, wherein the UE supports multiple traffic flows, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and a first node of the RAN.

[0165] In some examples, flow establishment component 1010 can establish a data flow based on timing information.

[0166] In some cases, the set of traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data flow includes aperiodic traffic flows, periodic traffic flows, or a combination thereof.

[0167] In some cases, the first node of the RAN is a base station or a UPF associated with the RAN.

[0168] The timing information component 1015 can receive timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, wherein the timing information is based on a set of traffic flows associated with a QoS class for the data flow.

[0169] In some examples, the timing information component 1015 can receive timing information based on a period and an offset for each traffic flow in a set of traffic flows associated with a QoS class for the data flow.

[0170] In some examples, the timing information component 1015 may receive one or more of traffic periodicity, traffic direction, bit rate parameters, PDB parameters, PER parameters, burst size parameters, or one or more packet size parameters associated with one or more traffic flows associated with a QoS class for the data flow.

[0171] The time offset component 1020 can receive a set of time offset indications associated with communicating with a set of downstream endpoints, where the downstream endpoints are TSN endpoints.

[0172] In some examples, time offset component 1020 may receive one or more of an uplink time offset for one or more traffic flows in a traffic flow set associated with a QoS class for a data flow, a downlink time offset, or a time offset associated with a first downstream endpoint in a downstream endpoint set.

[0173] In some examples, the time offset component 1020 can apply each time offset indication in the set of time offset indications relative to a TSN time reference, where the TSN time reference is one of the set of TSN time references associated with the RAN.

[0174] In some cases, each time offset indication in the set of time offset indications includes one or more of: a time offset start indication, a time offset end indication, a time offset duration indication, or a packet delivery deadline indication.

[0175] Scheduling configuration component 1025 can determine one or more of an SPS configuration, a CS configuration, or an indication to establish a data flow, accept a data flow change, or a combination thereof.

[0176] In some examples, scheduling configuration component 1025 can configure one or more of SPS, CS, admission control, or a combination thereof for a data flow.

[0177] The network function component 1020 may receive one or more of a TSN adaptation function, an AMF, a UPF, a SMF, a PCF, an application function, or any combination thereof.

[0178] In some examples, network functional component 1030 may apply timing information based on a timing configuration for a data flow, where the timing information is provided by one or more of: a TSN adaptation function, subscription information associated with the UE stored in one or more of a UDR, AUSF, or HSS.

[0179] In some examples, network function component 1030 may apply timing information based on a timing configuration for a data flow, where the timing information is provided by pre-configuration information, which in turn may be provided by a network function or RAN node.

[0180] In some cases, the timing information component may receive timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, the system messages provided by the system component 1035. In some cases, the one or more system messages include: a first system message from the TSN adaptation function to the PCF, a second system message from the PCF to the SMF, a third system message from the SMF to the AMF, and a fourth system message from the AMF to the RAN.

[0181] In some cases, the one or more system messages include: a first system message from the TSN adaptation function to the PCF, a second system message from the PCF to the AMF, and a third system message from the AMF to the RAN.

[0182] The switching component 1040 can receive a switching message from a second node in the RAN, wherein the switching message indicates that a data flow is to be switched from the second node to the first node.

[0183] Fig.11 A diagram of a system 1100 including a device 1105 supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 1105 may be an example of a device 805, a device 905, or a base station 105 as described herein or include components of the above devices. The device 1105 may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a communication manager 1110, a network communication manager 1115, a transceiver 1120, an antenna 1125, a memory 1130, a processor 1140, and an inter-station communication manager 1145. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1150).

[0184] The communication manager 1110 may receive a request to establish a data flow with a UE, the data flow being associated with a QoS class, wherein the UE supports multiple traffic flows, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and a first node of the RAN; establish the data flow based on the timing information; and receive timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, wherein the timing information is based on the multiple traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data flow.

[0185] The network communications manager 1115 may manage communications with the core network (eg, via one or more wired backhaul links). For example, the network communications manager 1115 may manage the delivery of data communications for client devices, such as one or more UEs 115.

[0186] The transceiver 1120 may communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links, as described herein. For example, the transceiver 1120 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1120 may also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to an antenna for transmission, and demodulate packets received from an antenna.

[0187] In some cases, a wireless device may include a single antenna 1125. However, in some cases, the device may have more than one antenna 1125, which may be capable of transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions concurrently.

[0188] The memory 1130 may include RAM, ROM, or a combination thereof. The memory 1130 may store computer readable code 1135 including instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., processor 1140), cause the device to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 1130 may contain basic input / basic output (BIOS), etc., which may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0189] Processor 1140 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, processor 1140 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some cases, the memory controller may be integrated into processor 1140. Processor 1140 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1130) to cause device 1105 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks to support timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service).

[0190] The inter-site communication manager 1145 may manage communications with other base stations 105 and may include a controller or scheduler for controlling communications with UE 115 in cooperation with other base stations 105. For example, the inter-site communication manager 1145 may coordinate the scheduling of transmissions to UE 115 for various interference mitigation techniques, such as beamforming or joint transmission. In some examples, the inter-site communication manager 1145 may provide an X2 interface within an LTE / LTE-A wireless communication network technology to provide communications between base stations 105.

[0191] The code 1135 may include instructions for implementing various aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions for supporting wireless communications. The code 1135 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code 1135 may not be directly executed by the processor 1140, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein.

[0192] Fig.12 A block diagram 1200 of a device 1205 supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 1205 may be an example of aspects of a network entity as described herein. The device 1205 may include a receiver 1210, a communication manager 1215, and a transmitter 1220. The device 1205 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0193] The receiver 1210 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service, etc.). The information may be passed to other components of the device 1205. The receiver 1210 may be a reference Fig.15 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1520 are described. The receiver 1210 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas.

[0194] The communication manager 1215 may establish a data flow between a UE and a first node associated with a radio access network (RAN), the data flow being associated with a QoS class, wherein the UE supports multiple traffic flows, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and the first node of the RAN; receive timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, the timing information being associated with a TSN associated with the RAN and at least one TSN adaptation function associated with the RAN, and wherein the timing information is based on the multiple traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data flow; and relay the timing information to one or more other nodes associated with the RAN. The communication manager 1215 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1510 described herein.

[0195] The communication manager 1215 or its subcomponents may be implemented in hardware, in code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by a processor, the functions of the communication manager 1215 or its subcomponents may be performed by a general purpose processor, a DSP, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an FPGA or other programmable logic device designed to perform the functions described in the present disclosure, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof.

[0196] The communication manager 1215 or its subcomponents may be physically located at various locations, including being distributed such that portions of functionality are implemented by one or more physical components at different physical locations. In some examples, according to various aspects of the present disclosure, the communication manager 1215 or its subcomponents may be separate and distinct components. In some examples, according to various aspects of the present disclosure, the communication manager 1215 or its subcomponents may be combined with one or more other hardware components (including, but not limited to, input / output (I / O) components, a transceiver, a network server, another computing device, one or more other components described in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof).

[0197] The transmitter 1220 may transmit signals generated by other components of the device 1205. In some examples, the transmitter 1220 may be co-located with the receiver 1210 in a transceiver module. For example, the transmitter 1220 may be a reference Fig.15 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1520 are described. The transmitter 1220 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas.

[0198] Fig.13A block diagram 1300 of a device 1305 supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 1305 may be an example of aspects of the device 1205 or a network entity (e.g., UE 115) as described herein. The device 1305 may include a receiver 1310, a communication manager 1315, and a transmitter 1330. The device 1305 may also include a processor. Each of these components may be in communication with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0199] Receiver 1310 may receive information such as packets, user data, or control information associated with various information channels (e.g., control channels, data channels, and information related to timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service, etc.). The information may be passed to other components of device 1305. Receiver 1310 may be a reference Fig.15 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1520 are described. The receiver 1310 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas.

[0200] The communication manager 1315 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1215 as described herein. The communication manager 1315 may include a flow establishment component 1320 and a timing information component 1325. The communication manager 1315 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1510 as described herein.

[0201] The flow establishing component 1320 can establish a data flow between the UE and a first node associated with the RAN, the data flow being associated with a QoS class, wherein the UE supports multiple traffic flows, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and the first node of the RAN.

[0202] The timing information component 1325 may receive timing information for a data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, the timing information being associated with a TSN associated with the RAN and at least one TSN adaptation function associated with the RAN, wherein the timing information is based on a set of traffic flows associated with a QoS class of the data flow; and relay the timing information to one or more other nodes associated with the RAN.

[0203] Transmitter 1330 may transmit signals generated by other components of device 1305. In some examples, transmitter 1330 may be co-located with receiver 1310 in a transceiver module. For example, transmitter 1330 may be a reference Fig.15 Examples of various aspects of the transceiver 1520 are described. The transmitter 1330 may utilize a single antenna or a collection of antennas.

[0204] Fig.14A block diagram 1400 of a communication manager 1405 supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The communication manager 1405 can be an example of aspects of the communication manager 1215, the communication manager 1315, or the communication manager 1510 described herein. The communication manager 1405 can include a flow establishment component 1410, a timing information component 1415, a time offset component 1420, a scheduling configuration component 1425, a system message component 1430, a switching component 1435, and a network function component 1440. Each of these modules can communicate directly or indirectly with each other (e.g., via one or more buses).

[0205] The flow establishment component 1410 can establish a data flow between the UE and a first node associated with the RAN, the data flow being associated with a QoS class, wherein the UE communicates with a set of downstream endpoints via corresponding traffic flows, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and the first node of the RAN.

[0206] In some examples, the flow establishment component 1410 may include the timing information with configuration information for the data flow, where the configuration information is included in one or more of: a QoS profile associated with the data flow, one or more QoS rules associated with the data flow, or one or more PDRs associated with the data flow.

[0207] In some examples, flow establishment component 1410 may provide at least a portion of the data flow via communications between a set of downlink endpoints and a corresponding set of uplink endpoints based on timing information.

[0208] In some cases, the set of traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data flow includes aperiodic traffic flows, periodic traffic flows, or a combination thereof.

[0209] In some cases, the first node of the RAN is a base station or a UPF associated with the RAN.

[0210] The timing information component 1415 may receive timing information for a data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, the timing information being associated with a TSN associated with the RAN and at least one TSN adaptation function associated with the RAN, and wherein the timing information is based on a set of traffic flows associated with a QoS class of the data flow.

[0211] In some examples, timing information component 1415 may relay the timing information to one or more other nodes associated with the RAN.

[0212] In some examples, the timing information component 1415 can receive timing information based on a period and an offset for each traffic flow in a set of traffic flows associated with a QoS class for the data flow.

[0213] In some examples, the timing information component 1415 may receive one or more of traffic periodicity, traffic direction, bit rate parameters, PDB parameters, PER parameters, burst size parameters, or one or more packet size parameters associated with one or more traffic flows associated with a QoS class for the data flow.

[0214] Timing offset component 1420 can receive a set of time offset indications associated with communicating between a set of downlink endpoints and a corresponding set of uplink endpoints.

[0215] In some examples, the time offset component 1420 may receive one or more of an uplink time offset for one or more traffic flows in a traffic flow set associated with a QoS class for a data flow, a downlink time offset, or a time offset associated with a first downlink endpoint in a downlink endpoint set.

[0216] In some examples, the time offset component 1420 can determine each time offset indication in the set of time offset indications relative to a TSN time reference, where the TSN time reference is one of the set of TSN time references associated with the RAN.

[0217] In some cases, each time offset indication in the set of time offset indications includes one or more of: a time offset start indication, a time offset end indication, a time offset duration indication, and a packet delivery deadline indication.

[0218] The scheduling configuration component 1425 can determine one or more of an SPS configuration, a CS configuration, or an indication to establish a data flow, accept a data flow change, or a combination thereof.

[0219] The system message component 1430 can receive a first system message from a network function associated with the first node; or receive a second system message from a different node in the RAN; or a combination thereof.

[0220] The switching component 1435 may receive a switching message from a second node in the RAN, wherein the switching message indicates that a data flow is to be switched from the second node to the first node, or receive a switching message from a network function associated with the RAN that aspects related to the data flow are to be switched from the network function to a different network function.

[0221] Network functional component 1440 can determine timing information based on a timing configuration for a data flow, where the timing information is provided by one or more of the following.

[0222] In some examples, the timing information may be provided by network functional component 1440 (e.g., via subscription information associated with the UE stored in one or more of the UDR, AUSF, or HSS).

[0223] In some examples, the timing information provided by network function component 1440 can be pre-configured information provided by a network function or RAN node.

[0224] Fig.15 A diagram of a system 1500 including a device 1505 supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The device 1505 may be an example of or include a component of a device 1205, a device 1305, or a network entity as described herein. The device 1505 may include components for two-way voice and data communications, including components for transmitting and receiving communications, including a communication manager 1510, an I / O controller 1515, a transceiver 1520, an antenna 1525, a memory 1530, and a processor 1535. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1545).

[0225] The communication manager 1510 may establish a data flow between a UE and a first node associated with a RAN, the data flow being associated with a QoS class, wherein the UE supports multiple traffic flows, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and the first node of the RAN; receive timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, the timing information being associated with a TSN associated with the RAN and at least one TSN adaptation function associated with the RAN, and wherein the timing information is based on a set of traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data flow; and relay the timing information to one or more other nodes associated with the RAN.

[0226] I / O controller 1515 can manage input and output signals for device 1505. I / O controller 1515 can also manage peripheral devices that are not integrated into device 1505. In some cases, I / O controller 1515 can represent a physical connection or port to an external peripheral device. In some cases, I / O controller 1515 can utilize an operating system, such as Or another known operating system. In other cases, I / O controller 1515 may represent or interact with a modem, keyboard, mouse, touch screen, or similar device. In some cases, I / O controller 1515 may be implemented as part of a processor. In some cases, a user may interact with device 1505 via I / O controller 1515 or via hardware components controlled by I / O controller 1515.

[0227] The transceiver 1520 may communicate bidirectionally via one or more antennas, wired or wireless links, as described herein. For example, the transceiver 1520 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicate bidirectionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 1520 may also include a modem to modulate packets and provide the modulated packets to an antenna for transmission, and demodulate packets received from an antenna.

[0228] In some cases, a wireless device may include a single antenna 1525. However, in some cases, the device may have more than one antenna 1525, which may be capable of transmitting or receiving multiple wireless transmissions concurrently.

[0229] Memory 1530 may include random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). Memory 1530 may store computer-readable, computer-executable code 1540 including instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform the various functions described herein. In some cases, memory 1530 may include, among other things, a BIOS that may control basic hardware or software operations, such as interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0230] Processor 1535 may include an intelligent hardware device (e.g., a general purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic component, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof). In some cases, processor 1535 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In other cases, the memory controller may be integrated into processor 1535. Processor 1535 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., memory 1530) to cause device 1505 to perform various functions (e.g., functions or tasks to support timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service).

[0231] The code 1540 may include instructions for implementing various aspects of the present disclosure, including instructions for supporting wireless communications. The code 1540 may be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a system memory or other type of memory. In some cases, the code 1540 may not be directly executed by the processor 1535, but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform the functions described herein.

[0232] Fig.16 A flow chart illustrating a method 1600 for supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service according to aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 1600 may be implemented by a base station 105 or components thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1600 may be implemented by a base station 105 or components thereof as described herein. Figures 8 to 11 In some examples, a base station may execute an instruction set to control functional elements of the base station to perform the functions described herein. Additionally or alternatively, a base station may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the functions described herein.

[0233] At 1605, a first node of the RAN may receive a request to establish a data flow with a UE, the data flow being associated with a QoS class, wherein the UE supports multiple traffic flows, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and the first node of the RAN. In some cases, the first node of the RAN is a base station or UPF associated with the RAN. The operations of 1605 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1605 may be performed as described with reference to Figures 8 to 11 The described flow establishment components are executed.

[0234] At 1610, the base station may receive timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, wherein the timing information is based on a plurality of traffic flows associated with a QoS class for the data flow. In some aspects, the received timing information is based on a period and an offset for each traffic flow in a set of traffic flows associated with the QoS class for the data flow. The operations of 1610 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1610 may be performed as described with reference to Figures 8 to 11 The described timing information components are executed.

[0235] At 1615, the base station may establish a data stream based on the timing information. The operations of 1615 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1615 may be performed as described with reference to Figures 8 to 11 As described above, establishing a data flow may include configuring one or more of SPS, CS, admission control, or a combination thereof for the data flow by the base station. In some cases, the configuration may be performed by referring to Figures 8 to 11 The described scheduling configuration components are executed.

[0236] Fig.17 A flow chart illustrating a method 1700 for supporting timing information for multiple periodic traffic flows sharing the same quality of service according to various aspects of the present disclosure is shown. The operations of the method 1700 may be implemented by a network entity or component thereof as described herein. For example, the operations of the method 1700 may be implemented by a network entity or component thereof as described with reference to Figures 12 to 15 In some examples, a network entity may execute an instruction set to control functional elements of the network entity to perform the functions described herein. Additionally or alternatively, a network entity may use dedicated hardware to perform various aspects of the functions described herein.

[0237] At 1705, a network entity may establish a data flow between a UE and a first node associated with a RAN, the data flow being associated with a QoS class, wherein the UE supports a plurality of traffic flows, each traffic flow being between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and the first node of the RAN. The operations of 1705 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1705 may be performed as described with reference to Figures 12 to 15 The described flow establishment components are executed.

[0238] At 1710, a network entity may receive timing information for a data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, the timing information being associated with a TSN associated with a RAN and at least one TSN adaptation function associated with the RAN, wherein the timing information is based on a plurality of traffic flows associated with a QoS class of the data flow. The operations of 1710 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1710 may be performed as described with reference to Figures 12 to 15 The described timing information components are executed.

[0239] In some cases, the timing information received by the network entity may be based on a period and an offset for each of a plurality of traffic flows associated with a QoS class of the data flow. The operations of 1710 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1710 may be performed as described with reference to Figures 12 to 15 The described timing information components are executed.

[0240] At 1715, the network entity may relay the timing information to one or more other nodes associated with the RAN. The operations of 1715 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1715 may be performed as described with reference to Figures 12 to 15 The described timing information components are executed.

[0241] It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possible implementations, and that the various operations and steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified and other implementations are possible. Furthermore, aspects from two or more methods may be combined.

[0242] The technology described herein can be used in various wireless communication systems, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) and other systems. CDMA systems can implement radio technologies such as CDMA2000, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA). CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95 and IS-856 standards. IS-2000 versions are generally referred to as CDMA2000 1X, 1X, etc. IS-856 (TIA-856) is generally referred to as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. TDMA systems can implement radio technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM).

[0243] OFDMA systems can implement radio technologies such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). LTE, LTE-A, and LTE-A Pro are versions of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR, and GSM are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project 2" (3GPP2). The techniques described herein may be used for systems and radio technologies mentioned herein as well as for other systems and radio technologies. Although aspects of LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR systems may be described for example purposes and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR terminology may be used in much of the description, the techniques described herein may also be applicable to applications other than LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR applications.

[0244] A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., an area of ​​several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 115 that have service subscriptions with a network provider. A small cell may be associated with a lower power base station 105 (compared to a macro cell), and the small cell may operate in the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed, etc.) frequency band as the macro cell. According to various examples, a small cell may include a pico cell, a femto cell, and a micro cell. A pico cell, for example, may cover a smaller geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 115 that have service subscriptions with a network provider. A femto cell may also cover a smaller geographic area (e.g., a residence) and may provide restricted access by UEs 115 associated with the femto cell (e.g., UEs 115 in a closed subscriber group (CSG), UEs 115 of users in a residence, etc.). An eNB for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro eNB. An eNB for a small cell may be referred to as a small cell eNB, a pico eNB, a femto eNB, or a home eNB. An eNB may support one or more (eg, two, three, four, etc.) cells and may also support communication using one or more component carriers.

[0245] One or more wireless communication systems 100 described herein may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may not be aligned in time. The techniques described herein may be used for synchronous or asynchronous operation.

[0246] The information and signals described herein may be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referred to throughout this description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0247] The various illustrative blocks and modules described in conjunction with the disclosure herein may be implemented or executed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an FPGA or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0248] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted by a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or codes. Other examples and implementations fall within the scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described herein may be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof. Features that implement the functions may also be physically located in various locations, including being distributed so that parts of the functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0249] Computer readable medium includes both non-transient computer storage medium and communication medium, and it includes any medium that facilitates computer program to transfer from one place to another place.Non-transient storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by general or special-purpose computer.As an example and not limitation, non-transient computer readable medium can include RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage device, or can be used to carry or store instruction or data structure form of desired program code means and can be accessed by general or special-purpose computer or general or special-purpose processor any other non-transient medium.Any connection is also properly referred to as computer readable medium.For example, if software is transmitted from website, server or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL) or wireless technology such as infrared, radio and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL or wireless technology such as infrared, radio and microwave are just included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc as used herein include CDs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0250] As used herein (including in the claims), "or" used in a list of items (e.g., a list of items with a phrase such as "at least one of" or "one or more of") indicates an inclusive list, so that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Similarly, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should not be interpreted as referring to a closed set of conditions. For example, an exemplary step described as "based on condition A" may be based on both condition A and condition B without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as used herein, the phrase "based on" should be interpreted in the same manner as the phrase "based at least in part on."

[0251] In the accompanying drawings, similar components or features may have the same reference number. In addition, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference number with a dash and a second reference number that distinguishes between similar components. If only the first reference number is used in the specification, the description may apply to any of the similar components having the same first reference number regardless of the second reference number, or other subsequent reference numbers.

[0252] The descriptions set forth herein in conjunction with the accompanying drawings describe example configurations and do not represent all examples that may be implemented or that fall within the scope of the claims. The term "exemplary" as used herein means "used as an example, instance, or illustration" and does not mean "better than" or "better than other examples." This detailed description includes specific details to provide an understanding of the described techniques. However, these techniques may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the concepts of the described examples.

[0253] The description herein is provided to enable those skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the universal principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be granted the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication at a first node of a radio access network (RAN), comprising: receiving a request to establish a data flow with a user equipment (UE), the data flow being associated with a quality of service (QoS) class, wherein the UE supports a plurality of traffic flows, each traffic flow being transmitted between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and a first node of the RAN; receiving timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, wherein the timing information comprises a first time offset and a second time offset different from the first time offset, the first time offset corresponding to a first traffic flow and the second time offset corresponding to a second traffic flow, and wherein the first traffic flow and the second traffic flow are traffic flows of the plurality of traffic flows and are associated with the QoS class of the data flow; as well as The data flow is established based at least in part on the timing information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the timing information comprises a first period and a second period different from the first period, the first period corresponding to the first traffic flow and the second period corresponding to the second traffic flow.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the timing information comprises a period corresponding to the first traffic flow and the second traffic flow, wherein the period, the first time offset, and the second time offset are associated with communicating with downstream endpoints corresponding to the first traffic flow and the second traffic flow, wherein each of the downstream endpoints is a time-sensitive network (TSN) endpoint.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: Receive information about the data flow, the information corresponding to one or more of: traffic direction, bit rate parameters, packet data budget (PDB) parameters, packet error loss rate (PER) parameters, burst size parameters, or one or more packet size parameters associated with the first traffic flow and the second traffic flow associated with a QoS class of the data flow.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein The first time offset is an uplink time offset or a downlink time offset associated with a first downstream endpoint of the first traffic flow associated with a QoS class of the data flow.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of the following: determining one or more of a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configuration or a configured scheduling (CS) configuration based at least in part on the timing information; or An indication to establish the data flow or an indication to accept a change to the data flow is received.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first time offset is an indication comprising one or more of: a time offset start indication, a time offset end indication, a time offset duration indication, or a packet delivery deadline indication.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: The first time offset and the second time offset are applied relative to a Time Sensitive Network (TSN) time reference, and wherein the TSN time reference is one of a plurality of TSN time references associated with the RAN.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of traffic flows associated with the QoS class of the data flow comprises at least one of aperiodic traffic flows or periodic traffic flows.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the data stream comprises: At least one of semi-persistent scheduling (SPS), configured scheduling (CS), or admission control is configured for the data flow.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving timing information for the data stream comprises: The timing information is received from at least one of a time sensitive network (TSN) adaptation function, an access and mobility management function (AMF), a user plane function (UPF), a session management function (SMF), a policy control function (PCF), and an application function.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more system messages include: A first system message from the TSN adaptation function to the PCF, a second system message from the PCF to the SMF, a third system message from the SMF to the AMF, and a fourth system message from the AMF to the RAN.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the one or more system messages include: A first system message from the TSN adaptation function to the PCF, a second system message from the PCF to the AMF, and a third system message from the AMF to the RAN.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the data stream comprises: A handover message is received from a second node in the RAN, wherein the handover message indicates that the data flow is to be handed over from the second node to the first node.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first node of the RAN is a base station or a user plane function (UPF) associated with the RAN.

16. A method for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising: establishing a data flow between a user equipment (UE) and a first node associated with a radio access network (RAN), the data flow being associated with a quality of service (QoS) class, wherein the UE supports a plurality of traffic flows, each traffic flow being transmitted between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and the first node of the RAN; receiving timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, the timing information being associated with a time sensitive network (TSN) associated with the RAN and at least one TSN adaptation function associated with the RAN, wherein the timing information comprises a first time offset and a second time offset different from the first time offset, the first time offset corresponding to a first traffic flow and the second time offset corresponding to a second traffic flow, and wherein the first traffic flow and the second traffic flow are traffic flows of the plurality of traffic flows and are associated with the QoS class of the data flow; as well as The timing information is relayed to one or more other nodes associated with the RAN.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the timing information comprises a first period and a second period different from the first period, the first period corresponding to the first traffic flow and the second period corresponding to the second traffic flow.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising: Receive information about the data flow, the information corresponding to one or more of: traffic direction, bit rate parameters, packet data budget (PDB) parameters, packet error loss rate (PER) parameters, burst size parameters, or one or more packet size parameters associated with the first traffic flow and the second traffic flow associated with a QoS class of the data flow.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the first time offset is an uplink time offset or a downlink time offset associated with a first downstream endpoint of the first traffic flow associated with a QoS class of the data flow.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising at least one of the following: determining a semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) configuration or a configured scheduling (CS) configuration based at least in part on the timing information; or An indication to establish the data flow or an indication to accept a change to the data flow is received.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the first time offset is an indication comprising one or more of: a time offset start indication, a time offset end indication, a time offset duration indication, and a packet delivery deadline indication.

22. The method of claim 16, further comprising: The first time offset and the second time offset are determined relative to a TSN time reference, wherein the TSN time reference is one TSN time reference among a plurality of TSN time references associated with the RAN.

23. The method of claim 16, further comprising: The timing information is included together with configuration information for the data flow, wherein the configuration information is included in one or more of the following: a quality of service (QoS) profile associated with the data flow; one or more QoS rules associated with the data flow; or one or more packet detection rules (PDRs) associated with the data flow.

24. The method of claim 16, further comprising: At least a portion of the data stream is provided via communications between a set of downlink endpoints and a corresponding set of uplink endpoints based at least in part on the timing information.

25. The method of claim 16, wherein receiving the timing information for the data stream comprises at least one of: receiving a first system message from a network function associated with the first node; or A second system message is received from a different node in the RAN.

26. The method of claim 16, wherein establishing the data flow comprises at least one of: receiving a handover message from a second node in the RAN, wherein the handover message indicates that the data flow is to be handed over from the second node to the first node; or A handover message is received from a network function associated with the RAN, the handover message indicating a handover from the network function to a different network function with respect to aspects related to the data flow.

27. The method of claim 16, wherein the first node of the RAN is a base station or a user plane function (UPF) associated with the RAN.

28. The method of claim 16, further comprising: The timing information is determined based at least in part on a timing configuration for the data flow, wherein the timing information is provided by one or more of: the TSN adaptation function, subscription information associated with the UE stored in one or more of a unified data repository (UDR), an authentication server function (AUSF), or a home subscriber server (HSS), or pre-configuration information provided by a network function or a RAN node.

29. An apparatus for wireless communication at a first node of a radio access network (RAN), comprising: means for receiving a request to establish a data flow with a user equipment (UE), the data flow being associated with a quality of service (QoS) class, wherein the UE supports a plurality of traffic flows, each traffic flow being communicated between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and a first node of the RAN; means for receiving timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, wherein the timing information comprises a first time offset and a second time offset different from the first time offset, the first time offset corresponding to a first traffic flow and the second time offset corresponding to a second traffic flow, and wherein the first traffic flow and the second traffic flow are traffic flows of the plurality of traffic flows and are associated with the QoS class of the data flow; as well as means for establishing the data flow based at least in part on the timing information.

30. An apparatus for wireless communication at a network entity, comprising: means for establishing a data flow between a user equipment (UE) and a first node associated with a radio access network (RAN), the data flow being associated with a quality of service (QoS) class, wherein the UE supports a plurality of traffic flows, each traffic flow being communicated between a downstream endpoint and an upstream endpoint via both the UE and the first node of the RAN; means for receiving timing information for the data flow via one or more system messages associated with the data flow, the timing information being associated with a time sensitive network (TSN) associated with the RAN and at least one TSN adaptation function associated with the RAN, and wherein the timing information comprises a first time offset and a second time offset different from the first time offset, the first time offset corresponding to a first traffic flow and the second time offset corresponding to a second traffic flow, and wherein the first traffic flow and the second traffic flow are traffic flows of the plurality of traffic flows and are associated with the QoS class of the data flow; as well as Means for relaying the timing information to one or more other nodes associated with the RAN.

Citation Information

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