Data forwarding using 5GC operations involving SN changes in MR-DC

Abstract

The present invention discloses an apparatus, system and method for interconnecting a network node with a first secondary node (SN) within a core network. The network node may be a primary node and may serve a UE. The first SN may be a source SN. The network node may initiate a change from the first SN to a second SN, and the second SN may be a target SN. The network node may determine data forwarding from the first SN to the second SN, and may request a data forwarding intention from the first SN before initiating a change from the first SN to the second SN. The network node may send data forwarding instructions to the first SN (e.g., based at least in part on the data forwarding intention of the first SN), and the data forwarding instructions may include a requirement for the first SN to follow the data forwarding instructions.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to wireless communications, and more particularly to apparatus, systems and methods for data forwarding in Multi-RAT Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) utilizing 5G Core Network (5GC) operations involving Secondary Node (SN) changes.

[0002] Related technical description

[0003] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting phone calls, many mobile devices now also provide access to the Internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the Global Positioning System (GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications that utilize these functions.

[0004] Long Term Evolution (LTE) has become the technology of choice for most wireless network operators around the world to provide mobile broadband data and high-speed Internet access to their user base. LTE defines a number of downlink (DL) physical channels classified as transport or control channels to carry information blocks received from the medium access control (MAC) and higher layers. LTE also defines the number of physical layer channels for the uplink (UL).

[0005] For example, LTE defines a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) as a DL transport channel. PDSCH is the primary data bearing channel allocated to users on a dynamic and opportunistic basis. PDSCH carries data in a transport block (TB) corresponding to a MAC protocol data unit (PDU), which is passed from the MAC layer to the physical (PHY) layer once per transmission time interval (TTI). PDSCH is also used to transmit broadcast information such as system information blocks (SIBs) and paging messages.

[0006] As another example, LTE defines the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) as a DL control channel that carries the resource allocation of the UE contained in the downlink control information (DCI) message. Multiple PDCCHs can be transmitted in the same subframe using control channel elements (CCEs), each of which is nine groups of four resource elements called resource element groups (REGs). PDCCH uses quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation, where four QPSK symbols are mapped to each REG. In addition, depending on the channel conditions, 1, 2, 4, or 8 CCEs can be used to ensure sufficient robustness.

[0007] In addition, LTE defines the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) as a UL channel shared by all devices (user equipment, UE) in a radio cell to transmit user data to the network. The scheduling of all UEs is under the control of the LTE base station (enhanced Node B or eNB). The eNB uses an uplink scheduling grant (DCI format 0) to inform the UE of the resource block (RB) allocation and the modulation and coding scheme to be used. PUSCH typically supports QPSK and orthogonal amplitude modulation (QAM). In addition to user data, PUSCH also carries any control information required to decode the information, such as a transport format indicator and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) parameters. The control data is multiplexed with the information data before the digital Fourier transform (DFT) is unfolded.

[0008] The next telecommunication standard proposed to go beyond the current International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced (IMT-Advanced) standard is called the 5th Generation Mobile Network or 5th Generation Wireless System, or 5G for short (also called 5G-NR for 5G New Radio, also referred to as NR for short). Compared to the current LTE standard, 5G-NR proposes higher capacity for a higher density of mobile broadband users, while supporting device-to-device ultra-reliable and massive machine communications, as well as lower latency and lower battery consumption. In addition, the 5G-NR standard may allow for less restrictive UE scheduling than the current LTE standard. Therefore, efforts are underway to take advantage of the higher throughput possible at higher frequencies in the ongoing development of 5G-NR. Summary of the invention

[0009] Embodiments relate to apparatus, systems, and methods for data forwarding in Multi-RAT Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) utilizing 5G Core Network (5GC) operations involving Secondary Node (SN) changes.

[0010] In some embodiments, a wireless device (e.g., a network node) may be configured to interconnect with a first secondary node within a core network (such as a 5G core network). The network node may be a primary node and may serve a user equipment device (UE). In some embodiments, the first secondary node may be a source secondary node. In addition, the network node may be configured to initiate a change from a first secondary node in the core network to a second secondary node. In some embodiments, the second secondary node may be a target secondary node. The network node may be configured to determine data forwarding from the first secondary node to the second secondary node. In some embodiments, the network node may request a data forwarding intention of the first secondary node from the first secondary node before initiating a change from the first secondary node to the second secondary node, and the data forwarding instruction may be based at least in part on the data forwarding intention of the first secondary node. The network node may be configured to send a data forwarding instruction to the first secondary node. In some embodiments, the data forwarding instruction may include a requirement that the first secondary node follows the data forwarding instruction. In some embodiments, the data forwarding instruction may include a data forwarding address.

[0011] The techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used with a number of different types of devices, including, but not limited to, any of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned aerial controllers (UACs), base stations, access points, cellular telephones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, automobiles and / or motor vehicles, and a variety of other computing devices.

[0012] This disclosure is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the topics described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or essence of the topics described herein in any way. Other features, aspects and advantages of the topics described herein will become apparent through the following detailed description, drawings and claims.

[0013] It should be noted that the following specific embodiments relate to the accompanying drawings. The same figure numbers may be used in different drawings to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, for the purpose of illustration rather than limitation, specific details, such as specific structures, architectures, interfaces, technologies, etc., are described to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of various embodiments. However, it is obvious to those skilled in the art who benefit from the present disclosure that various aspects of various embodiments can be practiced in other examples that deviate from these specific details. In some cases, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so that the descriptions of various embodiments are not obscured by unnecessary details. For the purposes of this document, the phrase "A or B" refers to (A), (B) or (A and B). Architecture includes, but is not limited to, network topology. Examples of architecture include, but are not limited to, networks, network topologies, and systems. Examples of networks include, but are not limited to, time-sensitive networks (TSNs), core networks (CNs), any other suitable networks known in the field of wireless communications, or any combination thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] A better understanding of the present subject matter may be obtained when the following detailed description of various embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0015] Figure 1A An exemplary wireless communication system is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0016] Figure 1B Examples of base stations (BSs) and access points in communication with user equipment (UE) devices are shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0017] Figure 2 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a WLAN access point (AP) is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0018] Figure 3 An example block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments is shown.

[0019] Figure 4 An example block diagram of a BS according to some embodiments is shown.

[0020] Figure 5 An example block diagram of cellular communication circuitry is shown according to some embodiments.

[0021] Fig. 6A An example of the connection between the EPC network, LTE base stations (eNBs), and 5G NR base stations (gNBs) is shown.

[0022] Figure 6B An example of a protocol stack for eNB and gNB is shown.

[0023] Fig. 7AAn example of a 5G network architecture according to some embodiments is shown, which combines 3GPP (e.g., cellular) and non-3GPP (e.g., non-cellular) access in the 5G CN.

[0024] Figure 7B An example of a 5G network architecture according to some embodiments is shown, which combines dual 3GPP (e.g., LTE and 5G NR) access and non-3GPP access in the 5G CN.

[0025] Figure 8 An example of a baseband processor architecture for a UE according to some embodiments is shown.

[0026] Fig. 9 An example of a signaling flow for a secondary node change initiated by a primary node is shown according to some embodiments.

[0027] Fig.10 An example of a signaling flow for a secondary node change initiated by a primary node with an inter-primary node handover is shown according to some embodiments.

[0028] Fig.11 An example of a method for secondary node changes initiated by a primary node according to some embodiments is shown.

[0029] Fig.12 An exemplary architecture of a system of networks according to some embodiments is shown.

[0030] Fig.13 An exemplary architecture of a system including a first CN according to some embodiments is shown.

[0031] Fig.14 The architecture of a system including a second CN according to some embodiments is shown.

[0032] Fig.15 Examples of infrastructure equipment are shown according to some embodiments.

[0033] Fig.16 An example of a platform according to some embodiments is shown.

[0034] Fig.17 Exemplary components of a baseband circuit and a radio front end module are shown according to some embodiments.

[0035] Fig.18 Various protocol functions that may be implemented in a wireless communication device according to some embodiments are shown.

[0036] Fig.19 Components of a core network are shown according to some embodiments.

[0037] Fig. 20 is a block diagram illustrating components of a NFV-enabled system according to some embodiments.

[0038] Fig.21 is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable medium or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, according to some embodiments.

[0039] Although the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to limit this document to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, their purpose is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives that fall within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] Acronyms

[0041] Various acronyms are used throughout this disclosure. The definitions of the most prominent acronyms used that may appear throughout this disclosure are as follows:

[0042] 3GPP: Third Generation Partnership Project

[0043] TS: Technical Specification

[0044] RAN: Radio Access Network

[0045] RAT: Radio Access Technology

[0046] UE: User Equipment

[0047] RF: Radio Frequency

[0048] BS: Base Station

[0049] DL: Downlink

[0050] UL: Uplink

[0051] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0052] NR: New Radio

[0053] 5GS: 5G system

[0054] 5GMM: 5GS Mobility Management

[0055] 5GC: 5G core network

[0056] IE: Information Element

[0057] DC: Dual Connectivity in E-UTRA

[0058] EN-DC: E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity

[0059] MCG: Master Cell Group

[0060] MN: Master Node

[0061] MR-DC: Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity

[0062] NE-DC: NR-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity

[0063] NGEN-DC: NG-RAN E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity

[0064] NR-DC: NR-NR dual connectivity

[0065] SCG: Secondary Cell Group

[0066] SN: Secondary Node

[0067] DRB: Dedicated Radio Bearer

[0068] SRB: Signaling Radio Bearer

[0069] the term

[0070] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0071] Memory medium - any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media, such as CD-ROM, floppy disk or tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, for example, hard disk drive or optical storage device; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of non-transitory memory or their combination. In addition, the memory medium may be located in the first computer system executing the program, or may be located in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system through a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, through a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., expressed as a computer program) that can be executed by one or more processors.

[0072] Carrier Medium—storage media as described above, and physical transmission media such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission media that transport signals such as electrical, electromagnetic or digital signals.

[0073] Programmable hardware element - includes various hardware devices that include multiple programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGA (field programmable gate array), PLD (programmable logic device), FPOA (field programmable object array), and CPLD (complex PLD). Programmable function blocks can vary from fine-grained (combinational logic unit or lookup table) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic unit or processor core). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic units".

[0074] Computer system (or computer)—any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), a mainframe computer system, a workstation, a network appliance, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a television system, a grid computing system, or other devices or combinations of devices. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0075] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") - any of various types of computer system devices that are mobile or portable and that perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM , based on Android TM phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, other handheld devices, automobiles and / or motor vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (e.g., drones), UAV controllers (UACs), etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" may be broadly defined to cover any electronic, computing, and / or telecommunication device (or combination of devices) that is easily transportable by (or with) a user and that is capable of wireless communication.

[0076] Base Station—The term “base station” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0077] Processing element (or processor) - refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing functions in a device such as user equipment or cellular network equipment. Processing elements may include, for example, processors and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, processor arrays, circuits such as ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), programmable hardware elements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any of the above various combinations.

[0078] Channel - a medium used to transmit information from a sender (transmitter) to a receiver. It should be noted that since the characteristics of the term "channel" may vary according to different wireless protocols, the term "channel" used in the present invention may be considered to be used in a manner that conforms to the standards of the type of device to which the term is used. In some standards, the channel width may be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, frequency band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths of 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, a WLAN channel may be 22 MHz wide, while a Bluetooth channel may be 1 MHz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. In addition, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, such as different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data, control information, etc.

[0079] Frequency band—The term “frequency band” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a segment of the spectrum (eg, radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.

[0080] Wi-Fi - The term "Wi-Fi" has the full scope of its usual meaning and includes at least wireless communication networks or RATs that are served by wireless LAN (WLAN) access points and provide connectivity to the Internet through these access points. Most modern Wi-Fi networks (or WLAN networks) are based on the IEEE 802.11 standard and are marketed under the name "Wi-Fi". Wi-Fi (WLAN) networks are different from cellular networks.

[0081] Automatic—refers to an action or operation performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., a circuit, a programmable hardware element, an ASIC, etc.) without the need for user input to directly specify or perform the action or operation. Thus, the term "automatic" is in contrast to a user manually performing or specifying an action, where the user provides input to directly perform the action. An automatic process may be initiated by input provided by a user, but subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user, i.e., are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing in information, selecting checkboxes, radio selections, etc.) is manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user action. The form may be automatically filled out by a computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills out the form without any user input specifying the answers to the fields. As indicated above, a user may invoke automatic filling out of a form, but not participate in the actual filling out of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields but rather they are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by a user.

[0082] Approximately - refers to a value that is close to a correct or exact value. For example, approximately can refer to a value that is within 1% to 10% of an exact (or desired) value. However, it should be noted that the actual threshold value (or tolerance) may depend on the application. For example, in some embodiments, "approximately" may mean within 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various other embodiments, the threshold value may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, etc., depending on the expectations or requirements of a particular application.

[0083] Concurrency - refers to parallel execution or implementation, where tasks, processes, or programs are executed in an at least partially overlapping manner. For example, concurrency can be achieved using "strong" or strict parallelism, where tasks are executed (at least partially) in parallel on respective computing elements, or using "weak parallelism", where tasks are executed in an interleaved manner (e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads).

[0084] Various components may be described as being "configured to" perform one or more tasks. In such environments, "configured to" is a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, even when the component is not currently performing the task, the component can be configured to perform the task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, "configured to" can be a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, even when the component is not currently turned on, the component can be configured to perform the task. Typically, the circuitry that forms the structure corresponding to "configured to" may include hardware circuitry.

[0085] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". The description of a component being configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35 U.S.C. §112(f) interpretation of that component.

[0086] Figure 1A and Figure 1B -Communication system

[0087] Figure 1A A simplified exemplary wireless communication system according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 1A The system is merely one example of a possible system, and features of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of systems, as desired.

[0088] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102A, which communicates with one or more user equipment 106A, user equipment 106B to user equipment 106N, etc. through a transmission medium. Each user equipment may be referred to as a "user equipment" (UE) in this article. Therefore, user equipment 106 is referred to as UE or UE device.

[0089] The base station (BS) 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site ("cellular base station") and may include hardware that enables wireless communications with the UEs 106A through 106N.

[0090] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell". The base station 102A and the UE 106 may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), which are also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), 5G New Radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), and the like. Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0091] As shown, base station 102A may also be configured to communicate with network 100 (e.g., a cellular service provider's core network, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, among other possibilities). Thus, base station 102A may facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. In particular, cellular base station 102A may provide UE 106 with various communication capabilities, such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0092] Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B...102N) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards can therefore be provided as a network of cells that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UE 106A-N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0093] Thus, while base station 102A may act as a "serving cell" for UEs 106A-N as shown in FIG. 1 , each UE 106 may also be able to receive signals from (and possibly be within communication range of) one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B-N and / or any other base stations), which may be referred to as "neighboring cells." Such cells may also be able to facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or cells of any various other granularity that provide service area sizes. For example, base stations 102A-B shown in FIG. 1 may be macro cells, while base station 102N may be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0094] In some embodiments, base station 102A may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or "gNB". In some embodiments, a gNB may be connected to a legacy Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and / or to a New Radio Communications Core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more Transition and Reception Points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0095] It should be noted that the UE 106 is capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interface), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.), the UE 106 can be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.). If desired, the UE 106 can also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), and / or any other wireless communication protocol. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0096] Figure 1B A user equipment 106 (e.g., one of device 106A through device 106N) is shown in communication with a base station 102 and an access point 112 according to some embodiments. The UE 106 may be a device having cellular communication capabilities and non-cellular communication capabilities (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc.), such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a computer or tablet, or virtually any type of wireless device.

[0097] UE 106 may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. UE 106 may perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein or any portion of any of the method embodiments described herein.

[0098] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD), LTE / Advanced LTE, or 5G NR using a single shared radio component and / or GSM, LTE, Advanced LTE, or 5G Nr using a single shared radio component. The shared radio may be coupled to a single antenna, or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communications. Typically, the radio component may include any combination of a baseband processor, an analog radio frequency (RF) signal processing circuit (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or a digital processing circuit (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio component may use the aforementioned hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains. For example, UE 106 may share one or more parts of a receive chain and / or transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0099] In some embodiments, UE 106 may include a separate transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol configured to communicate with it. As another possibility, UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radio components used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 may include a shared radio component for communicating using either LTE or 5GNR (or LTE or 1xRTT, or LTE or GSM), and a separate radio component for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0100] Figure 2 —Access Point Block Diagram

[0101] Figure 2 An exemplary block diagram of an access point (AP) 112 is shown. Note that Figure 2 The block diagram of the AP 112 is only one example of a possible system. As shown, the AP 112 may include a processor 204 that may execute program instructions for the AP 112. The processor 204 may also be coupled (directly or indirectly) to a memory management unit (MMU) 240 or other circuit or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 204 and convert these addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 260 and read-only memory (ROM) 250).

[0102] AP 112 may include at least one network port 270. Network port 270 may be configured to couple to a wired network and provide access to the Internet to multiple devices such as UE 106. For example, network port 270 (or an additional network port) may be configured to couple to a local network, such as a home network or an enterprise network. For example, port 270 may be an Ethernet port. The local network may provide a connection to an additional network such as the Internet.

[0103] The AP 112 may include at least one antenna 234, which may be configured to function as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with the UE 106 via the wireless communication circuit 230. The antenna 234 communicates with the wireless communication circuit 230 via a communication chain 232. The communication chain 232 may include one or more receive chains, one or more transmit chains, or both. The wireless communication circuit 230 may be configured to communicate via Wi-Fi or WLAN (e.g., 802.11). For example, when the AP is co-located with a base station in the case of a small cell, or in other cases where it may be desirable for the AP 112 to communicate via a variety of different wireless communication technologies, the wireless communication circuit 230 may also or alternatively be configured to communicate via various other wireless communication technologies, including, but not limited to, 5G NR, Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Global System for Mobile (GSM), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), CDMA2000, etc.

[0104] In some embodiments, as further described below, AP 112 may be configured to perform a method for data forwarding utilizing 5G core network (5GC) operations involving secondary node (SN) changes in multi-RAT dual connectivity (MR-DC), as further described herein.

[0105] Figure 3 —UE block diagram

[0106] Figure 3 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 3The block diagram of the communication device is only an example of a possible communication device. According to the embodiment, the communication device 106 can be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or a mobile station, a wireless device or a wireless station, a desktop computer or a computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, a notebook or a portable computing device), a tablet computer, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a UAV controller (UAC) and / or a combination of devices and other devices. As shown in the figure, the communication device 106 may include a group of components 300 configured to perform core functions. For example, the group of components may be implemented as a system on a chip (SOC), which may include parts for various purposes. Alternatively, the group of components 300 may be implemented as a separate component or a group of components for various purposes. This group of components 300 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to various other circuits of the communication device 106.

[0107] For example, the communication device 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), input / output interfaces such as a connector I / F 320 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; a docking station; a charging station; an input device such as a microphone, a camera, a keyboard; an output device such as a speaker; etc.), a display 360 that may be integrated with the communication device 106 or external to the communication device 106, and cellular communication circuits 330 such as for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc., and short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuits 329 (e.g., Bluetooth TM In some embodiments, the communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as, for example, a network interface card for Ethernet.

[0108] Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335 and 336 as shown. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may also be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 337 and 338 as shown. Alternatively, short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to antennas 335 and 336 in addition to or in lieu of being (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to antennas 337 and 338. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 and / or cellular communication circuitry 330 may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) configuration.

[0109] In some embodiments, as further described below, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include dedicated receive chains (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G-NR). In addition, in some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a single transmit chain that can switch between radio components dedicated to specific RATs. For example, a first radio component may be dedicated to a first RAT, such as LTE, and may communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with an additional radio component, such as a second radio component that may be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and may communicate with the dedicated receive chain and the shared transmit chain.

[0110] The communication device 106 may also include and / or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include various elements such as a display 360 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or speakers, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of a variety of other elements capable of providing information to a user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0111] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 345 with SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC cards (one or more Universal Integrated Circuit Cards) 345. Note that the term "SIM" or "SIM entity" is intended to include any of various types of SIM implementations or SIM functionality, such as one or more UICC cards 345, one or more eUICCs, one or more eSIMs, removable or embedded, etc. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may include at least two SIMs. Each SIM may execute one or more SIM applications and / or implement SIM functionality in other ways. Thus, each SIM may be a single smart card that may be embedded, for example, soldered to a circuit board in the UE 106, or each SIM 310 may be implemented as a removable smart card. Thus, the SIM may be one or more removable smart cards (such as a UICC card, sometimes referred to as a "SIM card"), and / or the SIM 310 may be one or more embedded cards (such as an embedded UICC (eUICC), sometimes referred to as an "eSIM" or "eSIM card"). In some embodiments (such as when the SIM includes an eUICC), one or more of the SIMs may implement embedded SIM (eSIM) functionality; in such embodiments, a single SIM of the SIM may execute multiple SIM applications. Each SIM may include components such as a processor and / or a memory; instructions for performing SIM / eSIM functionality may be stored in the memory and executed by the processor. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may include a combination of removable smart cards and fixed / non-removable smart cards (such as one or more eUICC cards that implement eSIM functionality) as needed. For example, the UE 106 may include two embedded SIMs, two removable SIMs, or a combination of one embedded SIM and one removable SIM. Various other SIM configurations are also contemplated.

[0112] As described above, in some embodiments, UE 106 may include two or more SIMs. Including two or more SIMs in UE 106 may allow UE 106 to support two different phone numbers, and may allow UE 106 to communicate on corresponding two or more corresponding networks. For example, a first SIM may support a first RAT such as LTE, and a second SIM 310 may support a second RAT such as 5G NR. Of course, other implementations and RATs are also possible. In some embodiments, when UE 106 includes two SIMs, UE 106 may support a dual card dual communication (DSDA) function. The DSDA function may allow UE 106 to be connected to two networks (and use two different RATs) at the same time, or allow two connections supported by two different SIMs using the same or different RATs to be maintained on the same or different networks at the same time. The DSDA function may also allow UE 106 to receive voice calls or data traffic on any phone number at the same time. In some embodiments, voice calls may be packet-switched communications. In other words, voice calls may be received using voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology and / or voice over NR (VoNR) technology. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may support dual SIM dual standby (DSDS) functionality. The DSDS functionality may allow either of the two SIMs in the UE 106 to standby for a voice call and / or data connection. In DSDS, when a call / data is established on one SIM, the other SIM is no longer active. In some embodiments, the DSDx functionality (DSDA or DSDS functionality) may be implemented using a single SIM (e.g., eUICC) that executes multiple SIM applications for different carriers and / or RATs.

[0113] As shown, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 that may execute program instructions for the communication device 106 and a display circuit 304 that may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 360. The one or more processors 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 (which may be configured to receive addresses from the one or more processors 302 and convert those addresses to locations in a memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310)) and / or to other circuits or devices (such as display circuit 304, short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 329, cellular communication circuit 330, connector I / F 320, and / or display 360). The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor 302.

[0114] As described above, the communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuits. The communication device 106 may be configured to perform a method for data forwarding using a 5G core network (5GC) operation involving a secondary node (SN) change in multi-RAT dual connectivity (MR-DC), as further described herein.

[0115] As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing the above-described features of the communication device 106 to send a scheduling profile for power saving to the network. The processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described in the present invention, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 329, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, the processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described in the present invention.

[0116] In addition, as described in the present invention, processor 302 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processor 302 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 302. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., first circuits, second circuits, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 302.

[0117] Further, as described herein, the cellular communication circuit 330 and the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 329 may each include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in the cellular communication circuit 330, and similarly, one or more processing elements may be included in the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 329. Thus, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 330. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 330. Similarly, the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 329 may include one or more ICs configured to perform the functions of the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 329. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 329.

[0118] Figure 4 —Block diagram of a base station

[0119] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a base station 102 according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 4 The base station of is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor 404 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuit or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 404 and convert these addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0120] The base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. The network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to the telephone network described above in FIG. Figure 2 Multiple devices of the telephone network described in, such as UE device 106.

[0121] The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as the UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0122] In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or "gNB". In such embodiments, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) network. Furthermore, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Furthermore, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0123] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured to function as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with the UE device 106 via the radio component 430. The antenna 434 communicates with the radio component 430 via a communication chain 432. The communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. The radio component 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0124] Base station 102 may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, base station 102 may include multiple radios that enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for performing communications according to LTE and a 5GNR radio component for performing communications according to 5GNR. In this case, base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multimode radio component capable of performing communications according to any one of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0125] As further described later herein, the base station 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting the implementation of the features described herein. The processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support a portion or all of the implementation of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition thereto), in combination with one or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470, the processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support a portion or all of the implementation of the features described herein.

[0126] In addition, as described herein, processor 404 may be composed of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in processor 404. Therefore, processor 404 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 404. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., first circuits, second circuits, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 404.

[0127] Additionally, as described herein, radio 430 may be comprised of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in radio 430. Thus, radio 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of radio 430. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio 430.

[0128] Figure 5 : Block diagram of a cellular communication circuit

[0129] Figure 5 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 5 The block diagram of the cellular communication circuit of is only one example of one possible cellular communication circuit. According to an embodiment, the cellular communication circuit 330 may be included in a communication device such as the communication device 106 described above. As described above, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices, among other devices.

[0130] Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be (eg, communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as ( Figure 3 In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include dedicated receive chains (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G-NR). For example, Figure 5 As shown, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include modem 510 and modem 520. Modem 510 may be configured for communication according to a first RAT, such as, for example, LTE or LTE-A, and modem 520 may be configured for communication according to a second RAT, such as, for example, 5G NR.

[0131] As shown, the modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 in communication with the processor 512. The modem 510 may communicate with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530. The RF front end 530 may include circuits for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 530 may include a receiving circuit (RX) 532 and a transmitting circuit (TX) 534. In some embodiments, the receiving circuit 532 may communicate with a downlink (DL) front end 550, which may include circuits for receiving radio signals via an antenna 335a.

[0132] Similarly, the modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 in communication with the processor 522. The modem 520 may communicate with the RF front end 540. The RF front end 540 may include circuits for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 540 may include a receiving circuit 542 and a transmitting circuit 544. In some embodiments, the receiving circuit 542 may communicate with the DL front end 560, which may include circuits for receiving radio signals via the antenna 335b.

[0133] In some embodiments, the switch 570 may couple the transmit circuit 534 to an uplink (UL) front end 572. In addition, the switch 570 may couple the transmit circuit 544 to the UL front end 572. The UL front end 572 may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via the antenna 336. Thus, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572) supported by the modem 510, the switch 570 may be switched to a first state that allows the modem 510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572). Similarly, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572) supported by the modem 520, the switch 570 may be switched to a second state that allows the modem 520 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572).

[0134] In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may be configured to perform a method for data forwarding utilizing 5G core network (5GC) operations involving secondary node (SN) changes in multi-RAT dual connectivity (MR-DC), as further described herein.

[0135] As described herein, the modem 510 may include hardware and software components for implementing the above-described features or for time-division multiplexing UL data for NSA NR operations and various other techniques described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processor 512 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein. Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 512 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 530, 532, 534, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processor 512 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein.

[0136] In addition, as described herein, processor 512 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 512 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 512. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 512.

[0137] As described herein, the modem 520 may include hardware and software components intended to implement the above-described features for transmitting a power-saving scheduling profile to a network, as well as various other techniques described herein. The processor 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 522 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or additionally), in combination with one or more of the other components 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processor 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein.

[0138] In addition, as described herein, processor 522 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 522. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 522.

[0139] 5G NR architecture with LTE

[0140] In some implementations, fifth generation (5G) wireless communications will initially be deployed concurrently with current wireless communications standards (e.g., LTE). For example, dual connectivity between LTE and 5G New Radio (5G NR or NR) has been specified as part of the initial deployment of NR. Figure 6A-6B As shown, the evolved packet core (EPC) network 600 may continue to communicate with the current LTE base station (e.g., eNB 602). In addition, the eNB 602 may communicate with the 5G NR base station (e.g., gNB 604), and data may be transferred between the core network 600 and the gNB 604. Thus, the EPC network 600 may be used (or reused), and the gNB 604 may serve as additional capacity for the user equipment, for example, to provide increased downlink throughput for the UE. In other words, LTE may be used for control plane signaling, and NR may be used for user plane signaling. Thus, LTE may be used to establish a connection with the network, and NR may be used for data services.

[0141] Figure 6B The proposed protocol stack for the eNB 602 and the gNB 604 is shown. As shown, the eNB 602 may include a medium access control (MAC) layer 632 that interfaces with the radio link control (RLC) layers 622a-622b. The RLC layer 622a may also interface with the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer 612a, and the RLC layer 622b may interface with the PDCP layer 612b. Similar to the dual connectivity specified in LTE-Advanced Release 12, the PDCP layer 612a may interface with the EPC network 600 via a master cell group (MCG) bearer, while the PDCP layer 612b may interface with the EPC network 600 via a separate bearer.

[0142] In addition, as shown, the gNB 604 may include a MAC layer 634 that interfaces with the RLC layers 624a-624b. The RLC layer 624a may interface with the PDCP layer 612b of the eNB 602 via an X2 interface for information exchange and / or coordination (e.g., scheduling UEs) between the eNB 602 and the gNB 604. In addition, the RLC layer 624b may interface with the PDCP layer 614. Similar to the dual connectivity specified in Advanced LTE Release 12, the PDCP layer 614 may interface with the EPC network 600 via a secondary cell group (SCG) bearer. Therefore, the eNB 602 may be considered a master node (MeNB) and the gNB 604 may be considered a secondary node (SgNB). In some cases, the UE may be required to maintain a connection with both the MeNB and the SgNB. In such a scenario, the MeNB may be used to maintain a radio resource control (RRC) connection with the EPC, while the SgNB may be used for capacity (e.g., additional downlink and / or uplink throughput).

[0143] 5G Core Network Architecture—Interworking with Wi-Fi

[0144] In some embodiments, the 5G core network (CN) can be accessed via (or through) a cellular connection / interface (e.g., via a 3GPP communication architecture / protocol) and a non-cellular connection / interface (e.g., a non-3GPP access architecture / protocol such as a Wi-Fi connection). Fig. 7AAn example of a 5G network architecture according to some embodiments is shown, which combines 3GPP (e.g., cellular) and non-3GPP (e.g., non-cellular) access in 5G CN. As shown, a user equipment device (e.g., UE 106) can access 5G CN through both a radio access network (RAN, such as a gNB or base station 604) and an access point such as AP 112. AP 112 may include a connection to the Internet 700 and a connection to a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) 702 network entity. N3IWF may include a connection to a core access and mobility management function (AMF) 704 of 5G CN. AMF 704 may include an instance of a 5G mobility management (5G MM) function associated with UE 106. In addition, RAN (e.g., gNB 604) may also have a connection to AMF 704. Therefore, 5G CN can support unified authentication on two connections and allow UE 106 access to be registered simultaneously via gNB 604 and AP 112. As shown, the AMF 704 may include one or more functional entities associated with the 5G CN (e.g., a network slice selection function (NSSF) 720, a short message service function (SMSF) 722, an application function (AF) 724, a unified data management (UDM) 726, a policy control function (PCF) 728, and / or an authentication server function (AUSF) 730). Note that these functional entities may also be supported by the session management function (SMF) 706a and SMF 706b of the 5G CN. The AMF 706 may be connected to (or communicate with) the SMF 706a. In addition, the gNB 604 may communicate with (or be connected to) a user plane function (UPF) 708a, which may also communicate with the SMF 706a. Similarly, the N3IWF 702 may communicate with the UPF 708b, which may also communicate with the SMF 706b. Both UPFs may communicate with data networks (eg, DNs 710a and 710b) and / or the Internet 700 and the IMS core network 710.

[0145] Figure 7BAn example of a 5G network architecture according to some embodiments is shown, which combines dual 3GPP (e.g., LTE and 5G NR) access and non-3GPP access in 5G CN. As shown, a user equipment device (e.g., UE 106) can access 5GCN through a radio access network (RAN, such as gNB or base station 604 or eNB or base station 602) and an access point such as AP 112. AP 112 may include a connection to the Internet 700 and a connection to the N3IWF 702 network entity. N3IWF may include a connection to the AMF 704 of the 5G CN. AMF 704 may include an instance of a 5G MM function associated with UE 106. In addition, the RAN (e.g., gNB 604) may also have a connection to AMF 704. Therefore, 5G CN can support unified authentication on two connections and allow UE 106 access to be registered simultaneously via gNB 604 and AP 112. In addition, the 5G CN may support dual registration of UEs on both a traditional network (e.g., LTE via base station 602) and a 5G network (e.g., via base station 604). As shown, the base station 602 may have connections to a mobility management entity (MME) 742 and a serving gateway (SGW) 744. The MME 742 may have connections to both the SGW 744 and the AMF 704. In addition, the SGW 744 may have connections to both the SMF 706a and the UPF 708a. As shown, the AMF 704 may include one or more functional entities associated with the 5G CN (e.g., NSSF 720, SMSF 722, AF 724, UDM 726, PCF 728, and / or AUSF 730). It should be noted that the UDM 726 may also include a home subscriber server (HSS) function, and the PCF may also include a policy and charging rules function (PCRF). It should also be noted that these functional entities can also be supported by SMF 706a and SMF 706b of 5G CN. AMF 706 can be connected to (or communicate with) SMF 706a. In addition, gNB 604 can communicate with (or be connected to) UPF 708a, which can also communicate with SMF 706a. Similarly, N3IWF702 can communicate with UPF 708b, which can also communicate with SMF 706b. Both UPFs can communicate with data networks (e.g., DN710a and 710b) and / or the Internet 700 and the IMS core network 710.

[0146] It should be noted that in various embodiments, one or more of the above-mentioned network entities may be configured to perform methods for improving security checks in 5G NR networks, including, for example, mechanisms for data forwarding utilizing 5G core network (5GC) operations involving secondary node (SN) changes in multi-RAT dual connectivity (MR-DC) as further described herein.

[0147] Figure 8 An example of a baseband processor architecture for a UE (e.g., UE 106) according to some embodiments is shown. As described above, Figure 8 The baseband processor architecture 800 described in the figure can be implemented on one or more radio components (e.g., the radio components 329 and / or 330 described above) or modems (e.g., modems 510 and / or 520) as described above. As shown in the figure, the non-access layer 810 may include a 5G NAS 820 and a traditional NAS 850. The traditional NAS 850 may include a communication connection with a traditional access layer (AS) 870. The 5G NAS 820 may include a communication connection with a 5G AS 840 and a non-3GPP AS 830 and a Wi-Fi AS 832. The 5G NAS 820 may include functional entities associated with two access layers. Therefore, the 5G NAS820 may include multiple 5G MM entities 826 and 828 and 5G session management (SM) entities 822 and 824. The traditional NAS 850 may include functional entities such as a short message service (SMS) entity 852, an evolved packet system (EPS) session management (ESM) entity 854, a session management (SM) entity 856, an EPS mobility management (EMM) entity 858, and a mobility management (MM) / GPRS mobility management (GMM) entity 860. In addition, the traditional AS 870 may include functional entities such as an LTE AS 872, a UMTS AS 874, and / or a GSM / GPRS 876.

[0148] Thus, the baseband processor architecture 800 allows for a common 5G-NAS for both 5G cellular and non-cellular (e.g., non-3GPP access). Note that, as shown, 5G MM can maintain a separate connection management and registration management state machine for each connection. In addition, a device (e.g., UE 106) can register to a single PLMN (e.g., 5G CN) using 5G cellular access as well as non-cellular access. In addition, a device can be in a connected state in one access and in an idle state in another access, or vice versa. Finally, there may be common 5G-MM procedures (e.g., registration, deregistration, identification, authentication, etc.) for both accesses.

[0149] It should be noted that in various embodiments, one or more of the above-mentioned functional entities of the 5G NAS and / or 5G AS may be configured to perform a method for data forwarding using a 5G core network (5GC) operation involving a secondary node (SN) change in multi-RAT dual connectivity (MR-DC).

[0150] Data forwarding in MR-DC

[0151] In a specific implementation of E-UTRAN New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC), for any scenario involving a secondary node (SN) change (e.g., SN change, master node handover (MN HO), master node (MN) to eNB / gNB change, MN or SN initiated, for example, as defined in 3GPP TS 37.340 version 15.4.0), data forwarding of any bearer terminated in the (source) SN is not proposed by the bearer hosting node itself. The (source) MN decides on the forwarding proposal for any bearer hosted by the (source) SN. This design is acceptable because the SN cannot establish a dedicated radio bearer (DRB) by itself in EN-DC (it must be requested by the MN), which means that the MN knows the characteristics of the exact bearers hosted by the SN, so it is acceptable for the MN to replace the SN's forwarding proposal instead.

[0152] In the specific implementation of MR-DC using the 5G Core Network (5GC), the same principles as those implemented in EN-DC are adopted, but with the following differences. As defined by 3GPP TS 37.340 V15.4.0 Fig.10 As defined in .5.2-1 (SN Change Procedure—MN Initiated), the MN may reflect the forwarding proposal from the source secondary node (S-SN) during the secondary node (SN) release procedure, and then it provides the forwarding address to the S-SN via the Xn-U address indication. However, MR-DC using 5GC scenarios involving SN changes may still face the following problems:

[0153] (1) The S-SN's forwarding intention occurs after the MN negotiates data forwarding with the target SN; and

[0154] (2) For bearers terminated by the source SN using only SCG resources that are decided to be served by the target SN, DRB level continuity is not possible.

[0155] For example, when the S-SN's forwarding intention occurs after the MN negotiates data forwarding with the target SN, if the S-SN later decides not to forward the data addressed to the target SN, the established forwarding transport network layer (TNL) (e.g., proposed by the MN and accepted by the target SN) may be useless. For example, consider a packet data unit (PDU) session hosted by a source SN. Assume that the MN proposes a downlink (DL) forwarding to the target SN for all quality of service (QoS) flows within the PDU session, and the target SN accepts them. The target SN then provides the corresponding PDU session forwarding TNL to the MN. In the current specific implementation, the TNL can be forwarded to the source SN only after the source SN proposes its forwarding intention. Therefore, if the source SN determines not to forward those QoS flows of the PDU session (e.g., because there are no available resources for forwarding), then,

[0156] (a) If the MN reflects the forwarding intention of the source SN and does not forward the TNL, no information (including the end marker from the UPF) shall be forwarded; or

[0157] (b) If the MN does send the TNL to the source SN, but the source SN does not forward any QoS flows until the path is switched, then no QoS flows will be forwarded except for the end marker from the UPF.

[0158] Such mechanism may induce packet loss and service interruption (more serious for the first case) since the target SN will wait for forwarding over the TNL for in-order delivery (due to the MN's forwarding proposal) with nothing (or only an end marker) being forwarded at the end.

[0159] As another example, DRB level continuity is not possible for source SN terminated bearers using only SCG resources that are decided to be served by the target SN. In MR-DC utilizing 5GC, the MN cannot propose DRB level forwarding to the target SN for any bearer that is completely served by the source SN, because the SN decides its own flow to DRB mapping and the MN is not aware of the mapping unless the SN bearer is using MCG resources. Therefore, the proposal that the MN can propose to the target SN for such source SN terminated bearers using only SCG resources is at most the level of each QoS flow mapped onto it. Therefore, enhancements are needed to overcome the above issues.

[0160] The embodiments described herein provide systems, methods and mechanisms for solving these problems of MR-DC using 5GC operations involving SN changes. In some embodiments, the source SN may be required to follow the data forwarding provided by the MN. In some embodiments, when a forwarding address addressed to the target SN is provided, the MN may ignore the forwarding proposal from the source SN. In some embodiments, even for bearers terminated by SNs using only secondary cell group (SCG) resources, the source SN may be required to report to the MN the flow mapped to the DRB. Such methods may require significant changes to the Xn interface application protocol (XnAP) (e.g., as currently defined by 3GPP TS 38.423 V15.1.0), and may also violate the principle that the hosting node decides on the forwarding proposal in MR-DC using 5GC.

[0161] In some embodiments, the MN may request the forwarding intention of the source SN before negotiating data forwarding with the target SN: In some embodiments, the MN may propose data forwarding to the target SN based on the forwarding intention of the source SN. In some embodiments, the source SN may need additional XnAP signaling before the MN contacts the target SN, however, for MR-DC utilizing 5GC scenarios involving SN changes, such additional signaling may already exist because the MN typically queries the current SCG configuration from the source SN in advance. In some embodiments, the XnAP SN release request message may be enhanced because the MN may already know the forwarding intention of the source SN, so the MN can provide the source SN with a forwarding address earlier than the current Xn-U address indication process (which may occur after the source SN is released).

[0162] For example, Fig. 9 An example of a signaling flow for a secondary node change initiated by a primary node according to some embodiments is shown. Fig. 9 The method shown can also be used together with any one of the systems, methods or devices shown in the figure. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown can be performed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or can be omitted. Additional method elements can also be performed as required. As shown in the figure, the method can be operated as follows.

[0163] As shown, a UE such as UE 106 may be attached to a first network via a master node (MN) such as MN 902a. The UE may be operated in a dual connectivity mode and may be additionally attached to a second network via a source secondary node such as S-SN 902b. Note that each of MN 902a and S-SN 902b may be a base station 102. In some embodiments, the first network and the second network may be different, for example, the UE may operate in EN-DC. In some embodiments, the first network and the second network may be the same, for example, the UE may operate in MR-DC. MN 902a may initiate an SN change by requesting a target SN (T-SN) 902c, which may also be a base station 102, via an SN add request message 904 to allocate resources to the UE via an SN add procedure. MN 902a may include measurement results related to T-SN 902c. In response, if / when data forwarding is required, T-SN 902c may provide a data forwarding address to MN 902a via an SN add request confirmation (ACK) message 906. In some embodiments, the T-SN 902c may include an indication of a complete or incremental radio resource control (RRC) configuration.

[0164] Upon successful allocation of T-SN 902c resources, MN 902a may initiate release of S-SN 902b's resources via SN Release Request message 908, which may include a reason indicating secondary cell group (SCG) mobility. S-SN 902b may accept or reject the release request. Upon accepting the release request, S-SN 902b may acknowledge the release request via SN Release Request ACK message 910. MN 902a may provide a data forwarding address to S-SN 902b via Xn_U Address Indication message 912. For example, if / when direct data forwarding is used for SN terminated bearers, MN 902a may provide the data forwarding address received from T-SN 902c to S-SN 902b. In some embodiments, when direct data forwarding is used, MN 902a may not reflect the forwarding intent of S-SN 902b to T-SN 902c, and may require S-SN 902b to follow the data forwarding received from MN 902a. It should be noted that the receipt of the SN release request message 908 may trigger the S-SN 902b to stop providing user data to the UE 106 and to start data forwarding.

[0165] MN 902a may then trigger UE 106 to apply the new RRC configuration via RRC connection reconfiguration message 914. RRC connection reconfiguration message 914 may include a T-SN RRC configuration message. If necessary, UE 106 may apply the new configuration and may send RRC reconfiguration complete message 916 to MN 902a, including a coded SN RRC response message for T-SN 902c. If received from UE 106, MN 902a may then notify T-SN 902c of the RRC reconfiguration via SN reconfiguration complete message 918 with a coded SN RRC response message for T-SN. UE 106 may then perform a random access channel (RACH) procedure 920 to attach to T-SN 902c. In addition, for secondary node terminated bearers, S-SN 902b may send SN status transfer message 922 to MN 902a, and MN 902a may forward the SN status transfer message to T-SN 902c. In some cases, as shown, data forwarding 926 may occur (e.g., from UPF 708 to T-SN 902c via S-SN 902b and MN 902a). Note that data forwarding may be initiated as early as when S-SN 902b receives SN Release Request message 908 from MN 902a.

[0166] In addition, the S-SN 902b may send a secondary RAT data volume report message 928 to the MN 902a and include the amount of data delivered to the UE 106 for the relevant quality of service (QoS) flow. Note that the S-SN 902b may send the secondary RAT data volume report message 928 before, during, and / or after performing the data forwarding 926.

[0167] MN 902a may send a PDU Session Resource Modification Identifier message 930 to AMF 704, and AMF 704 may perform a bearer modification procedure 932 with UPF 708. UPF 708 may send an end marker packet 934 to T-SN 902c via S-SN 902b and MN 902a. In addition, UPF 708 may establish a new path 936 to T-SN 902c. MN 902a may confirm the PDU session resource modification with AMF 704 via a PDU Session Resource Modification Confirm message 938, and may send a UE Context Release message 940 to S-SN 902b. Upon receiving the UE Context Release message, S-SN 902b may release the radio and control plane related resources associated with the UE context, and any ongoing data forwarding may continue.

[0168] Another example: Fig.10An example of a signaling flow for a secondary node change initiated by a primary node with an inter-primary node handover according to some embodiments is shown. Among other devices, Fig.10 The signaling shown in the figure can also be used with any of the systems, methods or devices shown in the figure. In various embodiments, some of the signaling shown can be executed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or can be omitted. Additional signaling can also be performed as needed.

[0169] As shown, a UE such as UE 106 may be attached to a first network via a source master node (S-MN) such as S-MN 1002a. The UE may be operated in a dual connectivity mode and may be additionally attached to a second network via a source secondary node such as S-SN 1002b. Note that each of S-MN 1002a and S-SN 1002b may be a base station 102. In some embodiments, the first network and the second network may be different, for example, the UE may operate in EN-DC. In some embodiments, the first network and the second network may be the same, for example, the UE may operate in MR-DC. S-MN 1002a may initiate a handover process to a target MN (T-MN) 1002d (which may also be a base station 102) by initiating an Xn handover preparation process including both a master cell group (MCG) and a secondary cell group (SCG) configuration. Therefore, S-MN 1002b may include the source SN UE XnAP ID, SN ID, and UE context in the source SN (S-SN) in the handover request message 1004 sent to T-MN 1002d. As shown, since T-MN 1002d determines to change from S-SN 1002b to target SN (T-SN) 1002c (which may also be base station 102), T-MN 1002d may send an SN add request message to T-SN 1002c, which may include the SN UE XnAP ID as a reference to the UE context in S-SN 1002b established by S-MN 1002a. T-SN 1002c may reply to T-MN 1002d with an SN add request ACK message 1008, and may include an indication of a complete or incremental RRC configuration.

[0170] The T-MN 1002d may include a transparent container to be sent as an RRC message to the UE 106 to perform the handover in the HO request ACK message 1010. Additionally, the T-MN 1002d may provide a forwarding address to the S-MN 1002a.

[0171] The S-MN 1002a may then send an SN Release Request message 1012 to the S-SN 1002b, which may include a reason indicating MCG mobility. The S-SN 1002b may acknowledge the release request via an SN Release Request ACK message 1014. In some embodiments, the S-MN 1002a may send an XN-U Address Indication message 1016 to the S-SN 1002b to transmit data forwarding information. In some embodiments, more than one data forwarding address may be provided if / when the PDU session is divided in the T-MN 1002d. In some embodiments, in the case of direct data forwarding to the T-MN 1002d or T-SN 1002c, the S-MN 1002a may not reflect the forwarding intent from the S-SN 1002b, and the S-SN 1002b may always follow the data forwarding received from the S-MN 1002a.

[0172] The S-MN 1002a may then trigger the UE 106 to perform a handover to the T-MN 1002d and apply the new RRC configuration via an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message 1018. The UE 106 may then synchronize to the T-MN 1002d via a RACH procedure 1020 and may reply to the T-MN 1002d with an RRC Connection Reconfiguration Complete message 1022. Additionally, the UE 106 may synchronize to the T-SN 1002c via a RACH procedure 1024 and the T-MN 1002d may inform the T-SN 1002c of the successful RRC connection reconfiguration via an SN Reconfiguration Complete message 1026.

[0173] In addition, the S-SN 1002b may send a secondary RAT data volume report message 1028 to the S-MN 1002a and include the amount of data delivered to the UE 106 for the relevant quality of service (QoS) flow. The S-MN 1002a may send an SN RAT data volume report message 1030 to the AMF 704 and may include the amount of data delivered to the UE 106 for the relevant QoS flow. In addition, for bearers using RLC AM, the S-SN 1002b may send an SN status transfer message 1032 to the T-SN 1002c via the S-MN 1002a and the T-MN 1002d. In some cases, as shown, data forwarding 1034 may occur (e.g., from the UPF 708 to the T-SN 1002c via the S-MN 1002a). It is noted that data forwarding may be initiated as early as when the S-SN 1002b receives the SN release request message 1012 from the S-MN 1002a. Note that the S-SN 1002b may send the secondary RAT data volume report message 1028 before, during, and / or after performing the data forwarding 1034 .

[0174] Then, the T-MN 1002d may initiate a path switch procedure with the AMF 704 via a path switch request message 1036. The AMF 704 may perform a bearer modification procedure 1038 with the UPF 708, and the UPF 708 may inform the T-MN 1002d and the T-SN 1002c of the new path via new path messages 1040 and 1042. In addition, the AMF 704 may send a path switch request ACK message 1044 to the T-MN 1002d to confirm the completion of the path switch. The T-MN 1002d may send a UE context release message 1046 to the S-MN 1002a, and the S-MN 1002a may forward the UE context release to the S-SN 1002b via a UE context release message 1048. Upon receiving the UE context release message 1048, the S-SN 1002b may release the control plane related resources associated with the UE context, and any ongoing data forwarding may continue.

[0175] Note that in some embodiments, similar modifications may also be made to the process as currently defined by 3GPP TS 37.340 V15.4.0 Section 10.8. For example, the source MN may send an XN-U address indication message (e.g., similar to XN-U address indication message 1016) to the source SN to convey data forwarding information. Additionally, in some embodiments, more than one data forwarding address may be provided if / when the PDU session is partitioned in the target master node. Note that in the case of forwarding data directly to the target MN or target SN, the source MN may not reflect the forwarding intent from the source SN, and the source SN may always follow the data forwarding received from the source MN.

[0176] In some embodiments, even for secondary node terminated bearers that use only secondary cell group (SCG) resources, it may be required (e.g., forced) for the source secondary node to report flows mapped to dedicated radio bearers (DRBs) to the primary node. In some embodiments, this may be achieved via user plane (UP) or control plane (CP) signaling (e.g., new or existing). For example, in some embodiments, the PDU Session Resource Setup Response Message—SN Terminated Information Element (IE) as defined by 3GPP TS 38.423 V15.2.0 Section 9.2.1.6 may be modified so that the SN UL PDCP UP TNL Information IE (and / or Group Name) may become optional (e.g., rather than mandatory). Note that the PDU Session Resource Setup Response Message—SN Terminated IE may include the results of adding S-NG-RAN node resources associated with a PDU session for a DRB configured with an SN terminated bearer option. Similarly, in some embodiments, the PDU Session Resource Modification Response Message—SN Terminated IE as defined by Section 9.2.1.10 of 3GPP TS 38.423 V15.2.0 may be modified such that the SN UL PDCP UP TNL Information IE (and / or group name) may become optional (e.g., instead of mandatory). Note that the PDU Session Resource Modification Response Message—SN Terminated IE may include results related to a PDU session resource request initiated by the M-NG-RAN node to modify a DRB configured with an SN terminated bearer option. In some embodiments, the PDU Session Modification Request Message—SN Terminated IE as defined by Section 9.2.1.20 of 3GPP TS 38.423 V15.2.0 may be modified such that the SN UL PDCP UP TNL Information IE (and / or group name) may become optional (e.g., instead of mandatory). Note that the SN UL PDCP UP TNL Information IE may contain PDU session resource information for a modification request initiated by an S-NG-RAN node for a DRB configured with an SN terminated bearer option. Note that in some embodiments, such modification to the IE may be in accordance with Fig. 9 and Fig.10 The signaling flow described is implemented in the

[0177] In some embodiments, the primary node may request the forwarding intent of the source secondary node before negotiating data forwarding with the target secondary node. For example, in some embodiments, before executing (and / or initiating) the forwarding intent as defined by 3GPP TS 37.340 V15.4.0 Section 10.5.2 ( Fig.10Before the primary node initiates the secondary node change procedure defined in 3GPP TS 37.340 V15.4.0 Section 10.7.2 ( Fig.10 Before the inter-master node handover of the master node initiated secondary node change procedure defined in 3GPP TS 37.340 V15.4.0, Section 10.8, the source master node may send an SN modification request message to the source secondary node to request the current SCG configuration and / or request a data forwarding proposal from the source secondary node. It should be noted that in some embodiments, similar modifications may also be made to the procedure currently defined by 3GPP TS 37.340 V15.4.0 Section 10.8. For example, the source master node may be in the master node to eNB change procedure (such as Fig.10 .8.1-1) to the source SN to request the current SCG configuration and / or request a data forwarding proposal from the source secondary node. Similarly, the source primary node may send an SgNB modification request message to the source SN before the MN to ng-eNB / gNB change process (such as Fig.10 .8.2-1) before sending an SN modification request message to the source SN to request the current SCG configuration and / or request a data forwarding proposal from the source slave node.

[0178] In some embodiments, the PDU Session Resource Modification Information—SN Terminated IE as defined by 3GPP TS 38.423 V15.2.0 Section 9.2.1.9 may be modified to include the Data Forwarding and Offload Information Query IE (and / or Group Name). In some embodiments, such fields may be optional. In some embodiments, such fields (and / or) IEs may be enumerated type fields. Note that the PDU Session Resource Modification Information—SN Terminated IE may contain information related to the PDU session resources for a request initiated by the M-NG-RAN node to modify a DRB configured with the SN terminated bearer option.

[0179] In some embodiments, the PDU Session Resource Modification Resource Information—SN Terminated IE as defined by 3GPP TS 38.423 V15.2.0 Section 9.2.1.10 may be modified to include the Data Forwarding and Offload Information Query IE (and / or Group Name). In some embodiments, such fields may be optional. In some embodiments, such fields (and / or) IEs may be defined by 3GPP TS 38.423 V15.2.0 Section 9.2.1.17. Note that the PDU Session Resource Modification Response Information—SN Terminated IE may contain the results related to the PDU Session Resource Modification Response Information—SN Terminated IE initiated by the M-NG-RAN node to modify the DRB configured with the SN terminated bearer option.

[0180] In some embodiments, the S-NG-RAN node modification preparation procedure initiated by the M-NG-RAN node as defined by Section 8.8.3 of TS 38.423 V15.2.0 may be modified such that when / if the secondary node modification request message contains the data forwarding and offload information query IE set to true for the PDU session resources to be modified configured with the SN terminated bearer option, the S-NG-RAN node may provide the requested data forwarding and offload information within that PDU session in the secondary node modification request confirmation message.

[0181] In some embodiments, the Secondary Node Modification Request message as defined by 3GPP TS 38.423 V15.2.0 Section 9.1.2.5 may be modified to include the requested Data Forwarding and Offload Information Query IE (and / or Group Name). In some embodiments, such IEs may be enumerated. In some embodiments, such fields may be optional. Note that the M-NG-RAN node may send such a message to the S-NG-RAN node to request preparation to modify S-NG-RAN node resources for a particular UE, to query the current SCG configuration, or to provide S-RLF related information to the S-NG-RAN node.

[0182] In some embodiments, the Secondary Node Modification Request Confirmation message as defined by 3GPP TS 38.423 V15.2.0 Section 9.1.2.6 may be modified to include the requested Data Forwarding and Offload Information Query IE (and / or Group Name). In some embodiments, such fields may be optional. In some embodiments, such IE may include a list of PDU sessions with data forwarding request information, for example, as defined by 3GPP TS 38.423 V15.2.0 Section 9.2.1.24. Note that such a message may be sent by the S-NR-RAN node to confirm a request by the M-NG-RAN node to modify the S-NG-RAN node resources for a particular UE.

[0183] In some embodiments, the Secondary Node Release Request message as defined by 3GPP TS 38.423 V15.2.0 Section 9.1.2.14 may be modified to include the Data Forwarding Information from Target NG-RAN Node IE (and / or Group Name). In some embodiments, such fields may be optional. In some embodiments, such IE may be defined by 3GPP TS 38.423 V15.2.0 Section 9.2.1.16. Note that the M-NG-RAN node may send such a message to the S-NG-RAN node to request the release of resources.

[0184] Fig.11 An example of a method for a secondary node change initiated by a primary node according to some embodiments is shown. Among other devices, Fig.11 The method shown in can also be used together with any one of the system, method or device shown in the figure. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown can be performed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or can be omitted. Additional method elements can also be performed as required. As shown in the figure, the method can be operated as follows.

[0185] At 1102, a network node, such as a base station 102, may be interconnected with a first secondary node, such as another base station 102, within a core network, such as a 5G core network. The network node may be a primary node and may serve a user equipment device (UE), such as UE 106. In some embodiments, the first secondary node may be a source secondary node.

[0186] At 1104, the network node may initiate a change from a first secondary node to a second secondary node in the core network. In some embodiments, the second secondary node may be a target secondary node. In some embodiments, to initiate the change from the first secondary node to the second secondary node, the network node may initiate a handover process to another primary node in the core network. Thus, the network node may be considered a source primary node, and the other primary node may be considered a target primary node.

[0187] At 1106, the network node may determine data forwarding from the first secondary node to the second secondary node. In some embodiments, the network node may request a data forwarding intent of the first secondary node from the first secondary node before initiating a change from the first secondary node to the second secondary node. The network node may receive the data forwarding intent of the first secondary node from the first secondary node. In such embodiments, the data forwarding instruction may be based at least in part on the data forwarding intent of the first secondary node. In some embodiments, the data forwarding intent of the first secondary node may be received via one of control plane signaling or user plane signaling between the base station and the first secondary node.

[0188] At 1108, the network node may send a data forwarding instruction to the first secondary node. In some embodiments, the data forwarding instruction may include a requirement for the first secondary node to comply with the data forwarding instruction. In some embodiments, the data forwarding instruction may include a data forwarding address.

[0189] In some embodiments, the network node may receive a report of a dedicated radio bearer (DRB) mapping for a bearer terminated by the first secondary node from the first secondary node using the secondary cell group resources. In some embodiments, the report of the DRB mapping may be received via one of control plane signaling or user plane signaling between the base station and the first secondary node.

[0190] In some embodiments, the network node may generate a protocol data unit (PDU) session resource modification information element (IE) to modify a dedicated resource bearer (DRB) configured with a secondary node terminated bearer option. In some embodiments, the session resource modification information IE may include data forwarding and offload information query parameters. The network node may send the PDU session resource modification information IE to a core access and mobility management function (AMF) of the core network.

[0191] Exemplary Embodiments

[0192] A first embodiment may include an apparatus for serving as an eNodeB or a next generation NodeB (e.g., a primary node) interconnecting eNodeBs or next generation NodeBs (e.g., a secondary node) via an Xn interface in a 5G core network (5GC), including mechanisms for supporting MR-DC utilizing 5GC operations involving secondary node (SN) changes for a particular UE (e.g., SN changes, inter-MN handovers, MN to eNB / gNB changes, e.g., as defined in TS37.340).

[0193] A second embodiment may include a secondary node (SN) or some other embodiments of the present invention, wherein flows mapped to dedicated radio bearers (DRBs) are reported to a primary node (MN) of the first embodiment even for SN-terminated bearers that only use secondary cell group (SCG) resources during the SN addition and / or modification process and / or via new control plane (CP) and / or user plane (UP) signaling.

[0194] The third example may include a secondary node of the first embodiment, or some other embodiment herein, wherein the secondary node is to perform data forwarding regardless of its forwarding intent and regardless of what is received from the primary node of the first example.

[0195] A fourth embodiment may include the master node of the first embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein the master node requests a forwarding intent from the slave node of the first embodiment before contacting a target node of the MR-DC using a 5GC operation involving an SN change.

[0196] The fifth embodiment may include the secondary node of the fourth embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein the secondary node responds with a request for its forwarding intent from the primary node of the fourth embodiment during the SN modification procedure or via new CP and / or UP signaling.

[0197] A sixth embodiment may include a master node of the first embodiment or some other embodiments of the present invention, wherein during an XnAP SN release process that is earlier than a current XnAP Xn-U address indication process, the master node provides a data forwarding address to a slave node of the first embodiment of an MR-DC utilizing a 5GC operation involving an SN change.

[0198] A seventh embodiment may include a method comprising forcing a source SN to follow data forwarding provided by a master node or report flows to the master node mapped to DRBs even for bearers terminated by SNs using only SCG resources.

[0199] The eighth embodiment may include the method of the seventh embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein the forcing of the source SN may include UP or CP signaling to the source SN.

[0200] The ninth embodiment may include the method of the eighth embodiment or some other embodiments herein, wherein the UP or CP signaling includes CP signaling during an SN addition or modification procedure.

[0201] A tenth embodiment may include a method of operating a primary node, the method including requesting a forwarding intent of a source secondary node before negotiating data forwarding with a target secondary node.

[0202] An eleventh embodiment may include a method comprising generating a PDU session resource modification information element to modify a DRB configured with an SN terminated bearer option, the information element comprising a data forwarding and offload information query parameter; and sending the PDU session resource modification information element.

[0203] A twelfth embodiment may include a method comprising: generating a PDU session resource modification response information element, the information element including a PDU session resource related to a result of a request initiated by an M-NG-RAN node to modify a DRB configured with an SN terminated bearer option, the information element including requested data forwarding and offload information parameters; and sending a PDU session resource modification response information element.

[0204] A thirteenth embodiment may include a method comprising: receiving a secondary node modification request message including a PDU session resource to be modified, the PDU session resource being configured with an SN terminated bearer option; and setting a data forwarding and offload information query IE to true based on the reception.

[0205] The fourteenth embodiment may include the method of the thirteenth embodiment or some other embodiments herein, and further include providing requested data forwarding and offloading information within the PDU session in a secondary node modification request confirmation message.

[0206] A fifteenth embodiment may include a method of operating an M-NG-RAN node, the method comprising: generating a secondary node modification request including data forwarding and offload information query parameters; and sending the secondary node modification request to an S-NG-RAN node.

[0207] A sixteenth embodiment may include a method of operating an S-NG-RAN node, the method comprising: generating a secondary node modification request ACK message including requested data forwarding and offloading information parameters; and sending a secondary node modification request ACK to an M-NG-RAN node.

[0208] The seventeenth embodiment may include a method for operating an M-NG-RAN node, the method comprising: generating a secondary node release request, the secondary node release request comprising: Xn-U address information of each PDU session resource list; Xn-U address information of each PDU session resource item; PDU session ID; or data forwarding information from a target NG-RAN node; and sending the secondary node release request to an S-NG-RAN node.

[0209] Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings or may be acquired from the practice of the various embodiments.

[0210] System and implementation

[0211] Fig.12 An exemplary architecture of a system 1200 of a network according to various embodiments is shown. The following description is provided for an example system 1200 operating in conjunction with LTE system standards and 5G or NR system standards provided by 3GPP technical specifications. However, the exemplary embodiments are not limited in this regard, and the embodiments may be applied to other networks that benefit from the principles described herein, such as future 3GPP systems (e.g., sixth generation (6G)) systems, IEEE 802.16 protocols (e.g., WMAN, WiMAX, etc.), and the like.

[0212] like Fig.12As shown, system 1200 includes UE 1201a and UE 1201b (collectively referred to as "multiple UEs 1201" or "UE 1201"). In this example, multiple UEs 1201 are shown as smart phones (e.g., handheld touch screen mobile computing devices that can connect to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing devices, such as consumer electronic devices, mobile phones, smart phones, feature phones, tablet computers, wearable computer devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, wireless handheld devices, desktop computers, laptop computers, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), in-vehicle entertainment (ICE) devices, instrument panels (ICs), head-up display (HUD) devices, on-board diagnostic (OBD) devices, dashtop mobile equipment (DME), mobile data terminals (MDTs), electronic engine management systems (EEMS), electronic / engine electronic control units (ECUs), electronic / engine electronic control modules (ECMs), embedded systems, microcontrollers, control modules, engine management systems (EMS), networked or "smart" appliances, MTC devices, M2M, IoT devices, etc.

[0213] In some embodiments, any of the plurality of UEs 1201 may be an IoT UE, which may include a network access layer designed for low-power IoT applications utilizing short-term UE connections. The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as M2M or MTC to exchange data with an MTC server or device via PLMN, ProSe or D2D communications, sensor networks, or IoT networks. M2M or MTC data exchanges may be machine-initiated data exchanges. The IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. The IoT UE may execute background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity to the IoT network.

[0214] Multiple UEs 1201 may be configured, for example, to be communicatively coupled to a RAN 1210. In an embodiment, the RAN 1210 may be an NG RAN or a 5G RAN, an E-UTRAN, or a legacy RAN, such as a UTRAN or a GERAN. As used herein, the term "NG RAN" or the like may refer to a RAN 1210 operating in an NR or 5G system 1200, while the term "E-UTRAN" or the like may refer to a RAN 1210 operating in an LTE or 4G system 1200. Multiple UEs 1201 utilize connections (or channels) 1203 and 1204, respectively, each connection comprising a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in further detail below).

[0215] In this example, connections 1203 and 1204 are shown as air interfaces to achieve communication coupling, and may be consistent with a cellular communication protocol, such as a GSM protocol, a CDMA network protocol, a PTT protocol, a POC protocol, a UMTS protocol, a 3GPP LTE protocol, a 5G protocol, a NR protocol, and / or any other communication protocol discussed herein. In an embodiment, multiple UEs 1201 may directly exchange communication data via a ProSe interface 1205. The ProSe interface 1205 may alternatively be referred to as a SL interface 1205, and may include one or more logical channels, including but not limited to PSCCH, PSSCH, PSDCH, and PSBCH.

[0216] UE 1201b is shown as being configured to access AP 1206 (also referred to as "WLAN node 1206," "WLAN 1206," "WLAN terminal 1206," "WT 1206," etc.) via connection 1207. Connection 1207 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, where AP 1206 would include Wireless Fidelity. router. In this example, AP 1206 is shown connected to the Internet without being connected to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below). In various embodiments, UE 1201b, RAN 1210, and AP 1206 may be configured to utilize LWA operation and / or LWIP operation. LWA operation may involve UE 1201b in an RRC_CONNECTED state configured by RAN nodes 1211a-b to utilize radio resources of LTE and WLAN. LWIP operation may involve UE 1201b using WLAN radio resources (e.g., connection 1207) via an IPsec protocol tunnel to authenticate and encrypt packets (e.g., IP packets) sent over connection 1207. IPsec tunneling may include encapsulating the entire original IP packet and adding a new packet header, thereby protecting the original header of the IP packet.

[0217] The RAN 1210 may include one or more AN nodes or RAN nodes 1211a and 1211b (collectively referred to as "multiple RAN nodes 1211" or "RAN node 1211") that enable connections 1203 and 1204. As used herein, the terms "access node", "access point", etc. may describe equipment that provides radio baseband functions for data and / or voice connections between a network and one or more users. These access nodes may be referred to as BS, gNB, RAN node, eNB, NodeB, RSU, TRxP or TRP, etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). As used herein, the terms "NG RAN node" and the like may refer to RNA nodes 1211 (e.g., gNBs) operating in NR or 5G systems 1200, while the terms "E-UTRAN nodes" and the like may refer to RAN nodes 1211 (e.g., eNBs) operating in LTE or 4G systems 1200. According to various embodiments, the plurality of RAN nodes 1211 may be implemented as one or more of dedicated physical devices such as macrocell base stations and / or low power (LP) base stations for providing femtocells, picocells or other similar cells having smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity or higher bandwidth than macrocells.

[0218] In some embodiments, all or part of the multiple RAN nodes 1211 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network that may be referred to as a CRAN and / or a virtual baseband unit pool (vBBUP). In these embodiments, the CRAN or vBBUP may implement RAN functional splitting, such as PDCP splitting, where the RRC and PDCP layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP, while other L2 protocol entities are operated by individual RAN nodes 1211; MAC / PHY splitting, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, and MAC layers are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP, while the PHY layer is operated by individual RAN nodes 1211; or "lower PHY" splitting, where the RRC, PDCP, RLC, MAC layer, and upper portions of the PHY layer are operated by the CRAN / vBBUP, while the lower portions of the PHY layer are operated by individual RAN nodes 1211. This virtualization framework allows idle processor cores of the multiple RAN nodes 1211 to execute other virtualized applications. In some specific implementations, separate RAN nodes 1211 may represent a single RAN node 1211 connected to the network via separate F1 interfaces ( Fig.12 In these embodiments, the gNB-DU may include one or more remote radio heads or RFEMs (see, e.g., Fig.15), and the gNB-CU may be operated by a server (not shown) located in the RAN 1210 or by a server pool in a manner similar to CRAN / vBBUP. In addition or alternatively, one or more of the multiple RAN nodes 1211 may be a next generation eNB (ng-eNB), which is a next generation eNB that provides E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminals to multiple UEs 1201 and is connected to the 5GC (e.g., via an NG interface (discussed below)). Fig.14 CN1420) RAN node.

[0219] In a V2X scenario, one or more of the multiple RAN nodes 1211 may be an RSU or act as an RSU. The term "roadside unit" or "RSU" may refer to any traffic infrastructure entity used for V2X communication. The RSU may be implemented in or by a suitable RAN node or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE, wherein an RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a "UE-type RSU", an RSU implemented in or by an eNB may be referred to as an "eNB-type RSU", an RSU implemented in or by a gNB may be referred to as a "gNB-type RSU", and so on. In one example, the RSU is a computing device coupled to a radio frequency circuit located on the road side that provides connectivity support to a passing vehicle UE 1201 (vUE 1201). The RSU may also include internal data storage circuitry for storing intersection map geometry, traffic statistics, media, and applications / software for sensing and controlling ongoing vehicle and pedestrian traffic. The RSU may operate on the 5.9 GHz Direct Short Range Communication (DSRC) band to provide extremely low latency communications required for high-speed events, such as collision avoidance, traffic warnings, etc. In addition or alternatively, the RSU may operate on the cellular V2X band to provide the aforementioned low latency communications as well as other cellular communication services. In addition or alternatively, the RSU may operate as a Wi-Fi hotspot (2.4 GHz band) and / or provide connectivity to one or more cellular networks to provide uplink and downlink communications. Some or all of the computing device and the RSU's RF circuitry may be packaged in a weather-resistant enclosure suitable for outdoor installation, and may include a network interface controller to provide a wired connection (e.g., Ethernet) to a traffic signal controller and / or backhaul network.

[0220] Any of the multiple RAN nodes 1211 may serve as the endpoint of the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for multiple UEs 1201. In some embodiments, any of the multiple RAN nodes 1211 may perform various logical functions of the RAN 1210, including but not limited to the functions of a radio network controller (RNC), such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0221] In an embodiment, multiple UEs 1201 may be configured to communicate with each other or with any of multiple RAN nodes 1211 using OFDM communication signals over a multi-carrier communication channel according to various communication techniques, such as but not limited to OFDMA communication techniques (e.g., for downlink communication) or SC-FDMA communication techniques (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communication), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0222] In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from any of a plurality of RAN nodes 1211 to a plurality of UEs 1201, while uplink transmissions may utilize similar techniques. The grid may be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or a time-frequency resource grid, which is a physical resource in the downlink in each time slot. For OFDM systems, such a time-frequency plane representation is common practice, which makes wireless resource allocation intuitive. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to a time slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is represented as a resource element. Each resource grid includes a plurality of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block includes a set of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent the minimum amount of resources that can currently be allocated. Such resource blocks are used to transmit several different physical downlink channels.

[0223] According to various embodiments, multiple UEs 1201 and multiple RAN nodes 1211 communicate data (e.g., send data and receive data) through a licensed medium (also referred to as a "licensed spectrum" and / or a "licensed frequency band") and an unlicensed shared medium (also referred to as an "unlicensed spectrum" and / or an "unlicensed frequency band"). The licensed spectrum may include channels operating in a frequency range of approximately 400 MHz to approximately 3.8 GHz, and the unlicensed spectrum may include a 5 GHz frequency band.

[0224] To operate in the unlicensed spectrum, the plurality of UEs 1201 and the plurality of RAN nodes 1211 may operate using LAA, eLAA, and / or feLAA mechanisms. In these implementations, the plurality of UEs 1201 and the plurality of RAN nodes 1211 may perform one or more known medium sensing operations and / or carrier sensing operations to determine whether one or more channels in the unlicensed spectrum are unavailable or otherwise occupied prior to transmitting in the unlicensed spectrum. The medium / carrier sensing operations may be performed in accordance with a listen-before-talk (LBT) protocol.

[0225] LBT is a mechanism by which equipment (e.g., multiple UEs 1201, multiple RAN nodes 1211, etc.) senses the medium (e.g., a channel or carrier frequency) and transmits when the medium is sensed to be idle (or when a particular channel in the medium is sensed to be unoccupied). The medium sensing operation may include a CCA that utilizes at least an ED to determine whether other signals are present on the channel in order to determine whether the channel is occupied or idle. The LBT mechanism allows cellular / LAA networks to coexist with existing systems in unlicensed spectrum and with other LAA networks. ED may include sensing RF energy over a period of time on an expected transmission band and comparing the sensed RF energy to a predefined or configured threshold.

[0226] Typically, existing systems in the 5 GHz band are WLANs based on IEEE 802.11 technology. WLANs use a contention-based channel access mechanism called CSMA / CA. Here, when a WLAN node (e.g., a mobile station (MS) such as UE 1201, AP 1206, etc.) intends to send, the WLAN node may first perform CCA before sending. In addition, in the case where more than one WLAN node senses the channel as idle and transmits at the same time, a backoff mechanism is used to avoid conflicts. The backoff mechanism may be a counter randomly introduced within the CWS that increases exponentially when a conflict occurs and is reset to a minimum value when the transmission is successful. The LBT mechanism designed for LAA is somewhat similar to the CSMA / CA of WLAN. In some specific implementations, the LBT process for a DL or UL transmission burst (including PDSCH or PUSCH transmission) may have a LAA contention window of variable length between X and Y ECCA slots, where X and Y are the minimum and maximum values ​​of the CWS of LAA. In one example, the minimum CWS for LAA transmissions may be 9 microseconds (μs); however, the size of the CWS and MCOT (eg, transmission burst) may be based on government regulatory requirements.

[0227] The LAA mechanism is built on the CA technology of the LTE-Advanced system. In CA, each aggregated carrier is called a CC. A CC may have a bandwidth of 1.4MHz, 3MHz, 5MHz, 10MHz, 15MHz, or 20MHz, and up to five CCs may be aggregated, so the maximum aggregated bandwidth is 100MHz. In an FDD system, the number of aggregated carriers may be different for DL ​​and UL, where the number of UL CCs is equal to or lower than the number of DL component carriers. In some cases, each CC may have a different bandwidth from other CCs. In a TDD system, the number of CCs and the bandwidth of each CC are typically the same for DL ​​and UL.

[0228] CA also includes individual serving cells to provide individual CCs. The coverage of the serving cells may be different, for example, because CCs on different frequency bands will experience different path losses. The primary serving cell or PCell may provide the PCC for both UL and DL, and may handle activities related to RRC and NAS. Other serving cells are called SCells, and each SCell may provide individual SCCs for both UL and DL. SCCs may be added and removed as needed, and changing PCCs may require UE 1201 to undergo switching. In LAA, eLAA, and feLAA, some or all of the SCells may operate in an unlicensed spectrum (referred to as "LAA SCells"), and the LAA SCells are assisted by the PCells operating in the licensed spectrum. When a UE is configured with more than one LAA SCell, the UE may receive UL grants on the configured LAA SCells, indicating different PUSCH start positions within the same subframe.

[0229] The PDSCH carries user data and higher layer signaling to multiple UEs 1201. The PDCCH carries, among other information, information about the transport format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel. It can also inform multiple UEs 1201 about the transport format, resource allocation, and HARQ information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (allocation of control and shared channel resource blocks to UEs 1201b within a cell) can be performed on any of the multiple RAN nodes 1211 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the multiple UEs 1201. Downlink resource allocation information may be sent on the PDCCH for (e.g., allocated to) each of the multiple UEs 1201.

[0230] PDCCH uses CCE to transmit control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols can first be organized into quadruplets, which can then be arranged using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. One or more of these CCEs can be used to transmit each PDCCH, where each CCE can correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements, respectively, called REGs. Four quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. Depending on the size of the DCI and channel conditions, one or more CCEs can be used to transmit the PDCCH. There may be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels, L=1, 2, 4, or 8).

[0231] Some embodiments may use the concept of resource allocation for control channel information, which is an extension of the above concept. For example, some embodiments may utilize EPDCCH that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. One or more ECCEs may be used to transmit EPDCCH. Similar to the above, each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements, referred to as EREG. In some cases, ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs.

[0232] Multiple RAN nodes 1211 may be configured to communicate with each other via interface 1212. In an embodiment where system 1200 is an LTE system (eg, when CN 1220 is Fig.13 1320 in the EPC 1200), the interface 1212 may be an X2 interface 1212. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more RAN nodes 1211 (e.g., two or more eNBs, etc.) connected to the EPC 1220, and / or between two eNBs connected to the EPC 1220. In some specific implementations, the X2 interface may include an X2 user plane interface (X2-U) and an X2 control plane interface (X2-C). The X2-U may provide a flow control mechanism for user packets transmitted over the X2 interface, and may be used to transmit information about the delivery of user data between eNBs. For example, the X2-U may provide specific sequence number information about user data transmitted from the MeNB to the SeNB; information about the successful in-sequence delivery of PDCP PDUs from the SeNB to the UE 1201 for user data; information about PDCP PDUs that were not delivered to the UE 1201; information about the current minimum expected buffer size at the SeNB for transmitting user data to the UE; and the like. X2-C can provide intra-LTE access mobility functions, including context transfer from source eNB to target eNB, user plane transmission control, etc.; load management functions; and inter-cell interference coordination functions.

[0233] When system 1200 is a 5G or NR system (e.g., when CN 1220 is Fig.14In an implementation scheme of the 5GC 1420 in the 5GC 1220, the interface 1212 may be an Xn interface 1212. The Xn interface is defined between two or more RAN nodes 1211 (e.g., two or more gNBs, etc.) connected to the 5GC 1220, between a RAN node 1211 (e.g., a gNB) and an eNB connected to the 5GC 1220, and / or between two eNBs connected to the 5GC 1220. In some specific implementations, the Xn interface may include an Xn user plane (Xn-U) interface and an Xn control plane (Xn-C) interface. The Xn-U may provide non-guaranteed delivery of user plane PDUs and support / provide data forwarding and flow control functions. The Xn-C may provide management and error handling functions for managing the functions of the Xn-C interface; mobility support for the UE 1201 in a connected mode (e.g., a CM connection) includes functions for managing UE mobility in a connected mode between one or more RAN nodes 1211. The mobility support may include context transfer from the old (source) serving RAN node 1211 to the new (target) serving RAN node 1211; and control of the user plane tunnel between the old (source) serving RAN node 1211 and the new (target) serving RAN node 1211. The protocol stack of Xn-U may include a transport network layer built on an Internet Protocol (IP) transport layer, and a GTP-U layer on top of a UDP and / or IP layer for carrying user plane PDUs. The Xn-C protocol stack may include an application layer signaling protocol (referred to as the Xn Application Protocol (Xn-AP)) and a transport network layer built on SCTP. SCTP may be on top of the IP layer and may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages. In the transport IP layer, point-to-point transport is used to deliver signaling PDUs. In other specific implementations, the Xn-U protocol stack and / or the Xn-C protocol stack may be the same or similar to the user plane and / or control plane protocol stacks shown and described herein.

[0234] RAN 1210 is shown as being communicatively coupled to a core network—in this embodiment, communicatively coupled to a core network (CN) 1220. CN 1220 may include a plurality of network elements 1222 configured to provide various data and telecommunication services to customers / users (e.g., users of UE 1201) connected to CN 1220 via RAN 1210. The components of CN 1220 may be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes, including components for reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium). In some embodiments, NFV may be used to virtualize any or all of the above-mentioned network node functions via executable instructions stored in one or more computer-readable storage media (described in further detail below). A logical instance of CN 1220 may be referred to as a network slice, and a logical instance of a portion of CN 1220 may be referred to as a network sub-slice. NFV architecture and infrastructure may be used to virtualize one or more network functions onto physical resources comprising a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storage hardware, or switches (alternatively performed by proprietary hardware). In other words, the NFV system may be used to perform a virtual or reconfigurable implementation of one or more EPC components / functions.

[0235] Generally speaking, the application server 1230 may be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS PS domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). The application server 1230 may also be configured to support one or more communication services for the UE 1201 via the EPC 1220 (e.g., VoIP sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social network services, etc.).

[0236] In an embodiment, CN 1220 may be a 5GC (referred to as "5GC 1220" or the like), and RAN 1210 may be connected to CN 1220 via an NG interface 1213. In an embodiment, NG interface 1213 may be divided into two parts: an NG user plane (NG-U) interface 1214, which carries traffic data between RAN node 1211 and UPF; and an S1 control plane (NG-C) interface 1215, which is a signaling interface between multiple RAN nodes 1211 and multiple AMFs. Fig.14 CN 1220 is discussed in more detail as an implementation of 5GC1220.

[0237] In an embodiment, CN 1220 may be a 5G CN (referred to as "5GC 1220", etc.), while in other embodiments, CN 1220 may be an EPC. In the case where CN 1220 is an EPC (referred to as "EPC 1220", etc.), RAN 1210 may be connected to CN 1220 via an S1 interface 1213. In an embodiment, S1 interface 1213 may be divided into two parts: an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface 1214, which carries traffic data between RAN node 1211 and S-GW; and an S1-MME interface 1215, which is a signaling interface between multiple RAN nodes 1211 and multiple MMEs.

[0238] Fig.13 FIG. 1 shows an exemplary architecture of a system 1300 including a first CN 1320 according to various embodiments. In this example, the system 1300 may implement the LTE standard, wherein the CN 1320 is a Fig.12 In addition, UE 1301 may communicate with Fig.12 The multiple UEs 1201 are the same or similar, and the E-UTRAN 1310 may be Fig.12 The CN 1320 may be a RAN that is the same as or similar to the RAN 1210 of the mobile station, and may include the plurality of RAN nodes 1211 discussed previously. The CN 1320 may include an MME 1321 , an S-GW 1322 , a P-GW 1323 , an HSS 1324 , and an SGSN 1325 .

[0239] The MME 1321 may be similar in function to the control plane of a traditional SGSN, and may implement MM functions to keep track of the current location of the UE 1301. The MME 1321 may perform various MM procedures to manage mobility aspects in access, such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. MM (also referred to as "EPS MM" or "EMM" in an E-UTRAN system) may refer to all applicable procedures, methods, data stores, etc. for maintaining knowledge of the current location of the UE 1301, providing user identity confidentiality to users / subscribers, and / or performing other similar services. Each UE 1301 and MME 1321 may include an MM or EMM sublayer, and when the attachment procedure is successfully completed, an MM context may be established in the UE 1301 and the MME 1321. The MM context may be a data structure or database object that stores MM-related information of the UE 1301. The MME 1321 may be coupled to the HSS 1324 via an S6a reference point, to the SGSN 1325 via an S3 reference point, and to the S-GW 1322 via an S11 reference point.

[0240] SGSN 1325 may be a node that serves UE 1301 by tracking the location of individual UE 1301 and performing security functions. In addition, SGSN 1325 may perform inter-EPC node signaling for mobility between 2G / 3G and E-UTRAN 3GPP access networks; PDN and S-GW selection as specified by MME 1321; handling of UE 1301 time zone functions as specified by MME 1321; and MME selection for handover to E-UTRAN 3GPP access network. The S3 reference point between MME 1321 and SGSN 1325 may enable user and bearer information exchange for inter-3GPP access network mobility in an idle state and / or an active state.

[0241] The HSS 1324 may include a database for network users, which includes subscription-related information for supporting network entities in handling communication sessions. The EPC 1320 may include one or several HSSs 1324, depending on the number of mobile users, the capacity of the devices, the organization of the network, etc. For example, the HSS 1324 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / address resolution, location dependency, etc. The S6a reference point between the HSS 1324 and the MME 1321 may enable the transmission of subscription data and authentication data for authenticating / authorizing user access to the EPC 1320 between the HSS 1324 and the MME 1321.

[0242] The S-GW 1322 may terminate the S1 interface 1213 toward the RAN 1310 ( Fig.13 1321) and routes data packets between RAN 1310 and EPC 1320. In addition, S-GW 1322 can be a local mobility anchor for inter-RAN node handover and can also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful interception, charging, and enforcement of certain policies. The S11 reference point between S-GW 1322 and MME 1321 can provide a control plane between MME 1321 and S-GW 1322. S-GW 1322 can be coupled to P-GW 1323 via an S5 reference point.

[0243] The P-GW 1323 may terminate the SGi interface toward the PDN 1330. The P-GW 1323 may communicate with the PDN 1330 via the IP interface 1225 (see, e.g., Fig.12 ) routes data packets between EPC 1320 and external networks such as a network including application server 1230 (alternatively referred to as "AF"). In an embodiment, P-GW 1323 can communicate with the network via IP communication interface 1225 (see, e.g., Fig.12 ) is communicatively coupled to an application server ( Fig.12Application server 1230 or Fig.13 The S5 reference point between the P-GW 1323 and the S-GW 1322 may provide user plane tunneling and tunnel management between the P-GW 1323 and the S-GW 1322. The S5 reference point may also be used for S-GW 1322 relocation due to the mobility of the UE 1301 and whether the S-GW 1322 needs to be connected to a non-colocated P-GW 1323 for the required PDN connectivity. The P-GW 1323 may also include nodes for policy implementation and charging data collection, such as a PCEF (not shown). In addition, the SGi reference point between the P-GW 1323 and the packet data network (PDN) 1330 may be an operator-external public, private PDN, or an internal operator packet data network, such as for providing IMS services. The P-GW 1323 may be coupled to the PCRF 1326 via a Gx reference point.

[0244] PCRF 1326 is a policy and charging control element of EPC 1320. In a non-roaming scenario, there may be a single PCRF 1326 in a domestic public land mobile network (HPLMN) associated with an Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session of UE 1301. In a roaming scenario with local traffic breakout, there may be two PCRFs associated with the IP-CAN session of UE 1301: a domestic PCRF (H-PCRF) in the HPLMN and a visited PCRF (V-PCRF) in a visited public land mobile network (VPLMN). PCRF 1326 may be communicatively coupled to application server 1330 via P-GW 1323. Application server 1330 may signal PCRF 1326 to indicate a new service flow and select appropriate QoS and charging parameters. PCRF 1326 may configure the rule to a PCEF (not shown) with the appropriate TFT and QCI, which initiates QoS and charging specified by application server 1330. The Gx reference point between PCRF 1326 and P-GW 1323 may allow QoS policies and charging rules to be transferred from PCRF 1326 to the PCEF in P-GW 1323. The Rx reference point may reside between PDN 1330 (or "AF 1330") and PCRF 1326.

[0245] Fig.14The architecture of a system 1400 including a second CN 1420 according to various embodiments is shown. The system 1400 is shown to include a UE 1401, which may be the same or similar to the plurality of UEs 1201 and UE 1301 discussed previously; a (R) AN 1410, which may be the same or similar to the RAN 1210 and RAN 1310 discussed previously, and which may include the RAN node 1211 discussed previously; and a DN 1403, which may be, for example, an operator service, Internet access, or a 3rd party service; and a 5GC 1420. The 5GC 1420 may include an AUSF 1422; an AMF 1421; an SMF 1424; an NEF 1423; a PCF 1426; an NRF 1425; an UDM 1427; an AF 1428; an UPF 1402; and an NSSF 1429.

[0246] The UPF 1402 may act as an anchor point for intra-RAT and inter-RAT mobility, an external PDU session point interconnected with the DN 1403, and a branch point to support multi-host PDU sessions. The UPF 1402 may also perform packet routing and forwarding, perform packet inspection, perform the user plane portion of policy rules, lawful interception of packets (UP collection), perform traffic usage reporting, perform QoS processing on the user plane (e.g., packet filtering, gating, UL / DL rate enforcement), perform uplink traffic verification (e.g., SDF to QoS flow mapping), transport level packet marking in uplink and downlink, and perform downlink packet buffering and downlink data notification triggering. The UPF 1402 may include an uplink classifier for supporting routing of traffic to a data network. The DN 1403 may represent various network operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. The DN 1403 may include or be similar to the application server 1230 discussed previously. UPF 1402 may interact with SMF 1424 via the N4 reference point between SMF 1424 and UPF 1402.

[0247] AUSF 1422 may store data for authentication of UE 1401 and handle authentication-related functions. AUSF 1422 may facilitate a common authentication framework for various access types. AUSF 1422 may communicate with AMF 1421 via the N12 reference point between AMF 1421 and AUSF 1422; and may communicate with UDM 1427 via the N13 reference point between UDM 1427 and AUSF 1422. In addition, AUSF 1422 may present an interface based on Nausf services.

[0248] AMF 1421 may be responsible for registration management (e.g., responsible for registering UE 1401, etc.), connection management, reachability management, mobility management, and lawful interception of AMF-related events, and access authentication and authorization. AMF 1421 may be the termination point of the N11 reference point between AMF 1421 and SMF 1424. AMF 1421 may provide transport for SM messages between UE 1401 and SMF 1424, and act as a transparent proxy for routing SM messages. AMF 1421 may also provide a transport for UE 1401 and SMSF ( Fig.14 401). The AMF 1421 may provide transport for SMS messages between the (R)AN 1410 and the AMF 1421 (not shown). The AMF 1421 may act as a SEAF, which may include interaction with the AUSF 1422 and the UE 1401, receiving intermediate keys established as a result of the UE 1401 authentication process. In the case of using USIM-based authentication, the AMF 1421 may retrieve security material from the AUSF 1422. The AMF 1421 may also include an SCM function that receives keys from the SEA for deriving access network-specific keys. In addition, the AMF 1421 may be a termination point for the RAN CP interface, which may include or be an N2 reference point between the (R)AN 1410 and the AMF 1421; and the AMF 1421 may be a termination point for NAS (N1) signaling, and perform NAS encryption and integrity protection.

[0249] The AMF 1421 may also support NAS signaling with the UE 1401 over the N3 IWF interface. The N3IWF may be used to provide access to untrusted entities. The N3IWF may be the termination point for the N2 interface between the (R)AN 1410 and the AMF 1421 for the control plane, and may be the termination point for the N3 reference point between the (R)AN 1410 and the UPF 1402 for the user plane. Thus, the AMF 1421 may process N2 signaling for PDU sessions and QoS from the SMF 1424 and the AMF 1421, encapsulate / decapsulate packets for IPSec and N3 tunnels, mark N3 user plane packets in the uplink, and perform QoS corresponding to N3 packet markings, taking into account QoS requirements associated with such markings received over N2. The N3IWF may also relay uplink and downlink control plane NAS signaling between the UE 1401 and the AMF 1421 via the N1 reference point between the UE 1401 and the AMF 1421, and relay uplink and downlink user plane packets between the UE 1401 and the UPF 1402. The N3IWF also provides a mechanism for establishing an IPsec tunnel with the UE 1401. The AMF 1421 may present an interface based on the Namf service and may be an N14 reference point between the two AMFs 1421 and the AMF 1421 and the 5G-EIR ( Fig.14 The termination point of the N17 reference point between the two (not shown).

[0250] UE 1401 may need to register with AMF 1421 in order to receive network services. RM is used to register UE 1401 with the network (e.g., AMF 1421) or deregister the UE, and establish a UE context in the network (e.g., AMF 1421). UE 1401 may operate in the RM-REGISTERED state or the RM-DEREGISTERED state. In the RM-DEREGISTERED state, UE 1401 is not registered with the network, and the UE context in AMF 1421 does not maintain valid location or routing information for UE 1401, so UE 1401 is not accessible by AMF 1421. In the RM-REGISTERED state, UE 1401 is registered with the network, and the UE context in AMF 1421 may maintain valid location or routing information for UE 1401, so AMF 1421 can reach UE 1401. In the RM-REGISTERED state, UE 1401 can perform a mobility registration update procedure, perform a periodic registration update procedure triggered by the expiration of a periodic update timer (for example, to notify the network that UE 1401 is still active), and perform a registration update procedure to update UE capability information or renegotiate protocol parameters with the network, etc.

[0251] AMF 1421 may store one or more RM contexts for UE 1401, each RM context being associated with a specific access to the network. An RM context may be a data structure, a database object, or the like, which indicates or stores, among other things, a registration status and a periodic update timer for each access type. AMF 1421 may also store a 5GC MM context which may be the same or similar to the (E)MM context discussed previously. In various embodiments, AMF 1421 may store CE mode B restriction parameters for UE 1401 in an associated MM context or RM context. AMF 1421 may also derive values ​​from usage setting parameters of the UE already stored in the UE context (and / or MM / RM context) when necessary.

[0252] The CM may be used to establish and release a signaling connection between the UE 1401 and the AMF 1421 through the N1 interface. The signaling connection is used to implement NAS signaling exchanges between the UE 1401 and the CN 1420, and includes both a signaling connection between the UE and the AN (e.g., an RRC connection or a UE-N3IWF connection for non-3GPP access) and an N2 connection of the UE 1401 between the AN (e.g., the RAN 1410) and the AMF 1421. The UE 1401 may operate in one of two CM states (CM-IDLE mode or CM-CONNECTED mode). When the UE 1401 is operating in the CM-IDLE state / mode, the UE 1401 may not have a NAS signaling connection established with the AMF 1421 through the N1 interface, and there may be a (R) AN 1410 signaling connection (e.g., N2 and / or N3 connection) for the UE 1401. When the UE 1401 operates in the CM-CONNECTED state / mode, the UE 1401 may have a NAS signaling connection established with the AMF 1421 through the N1 interface, and there may be a (R) AN 1410 signaling connection (e.g., N2 and / or N3 connection) for the UE 1401. The establishment of the N2 connection between the (R) AN 1410 and the AMF 1421 may cause the UE 1401 to transition from the CM-IDLE mode to the CM-CONNECTED mode, and when the N2 signaling between the (R) AN 1410 and the AMF 1421 is released, the UE 1401 may transition from the CM-CONNECTED mode to the CM-IDLE mode.

[0253] SMF 1424 may be responsible for SM (e.g., session establishment, modification, and release, including tunnel maintenance between UPF and AN nodes); UE IP address allocation and management (including optional authorization); selection and control of UP functions; configuring UPF's traffic steering to route traffic to the correct destination; terminating the interface toward the policy control function; control portion of policy enforcement and QoS; lawful interception (for SM events and interface with LI system); terminating the SM portion of NAS messages; downlink data notification; initiating AN-specific SM information sent to AN via AMF over N2; and determining the SSC mode for the session. SM may refer to the management of a PDU session, and a PDU session or "session" may refer to a PDU connectivity service that provides or enables the exchange of PDUs between a UE 1401 and a data network (DN) 1403 identified by a data network name (DNN). The PDU session may be established upon request by UE 1401, modified upon request by UE 1401 and 5GC 1420, and released upon request by UE 1401 and 5GC 1420 using NAS SM signaling exchanged over the N1 reference point between UE 1401 and SMF 1424. Upon request from an application server, 5GC 1420 may trigger a specific application in UE 1401. In response to receiving the trigger message, UE 1401 may deliver the trigger message (or relevant parts / information of the trigger message) to one or more identified applications in UE 1401. The identified application in UE 1401 may establish a PDU session to a specific DNN. SMF 1424 may check whether the UE 1401 request complies with user subscription information associated with UE 1401. In this regard, SMF 1424 may retrieve and / or request to receive update notifications about SMF 1424 level subscription data from UDM 1427.

[0254] SMF 1424 may include the following roaming functions: handling local execution to apply QoS SLA (VPLMN); charging data collection and charging interface (VPLMN); lawful interception (for SM events and interface with LI system, in VPLMN); and support interaction with external DN to transmit signaling for PDU session authorization / authentication through external DN. In a roaming scenario, an N16 reference point between two SMFs 1424 may be included in the system 1400, which may be located between an SMF 1424 in a visited network and another SMF 1424 in a home network. In addition, SMF 1424 may present an interface based on Nsmf services.

[0255] NEF 1423 may provide a device for securely exposing services and capabilities provided by 3GPP network functions for third parties, internal exposure / re-exposure, application functions (e.g., AF 1428), edge computing or fog computing systems, etc. In such embodiments, NEF 1423 may authenticate, authorize and / or restrict AF. NEF 1423 may also convert information exchanged with AF 1428 and information exchanged with internal network functions. For example, NEF 1423 may convert between AF service identifiers and internal 5GC information. NEF 1423 may also receive information from other network functions (NFs) based on their exposure capabilities. The information may be stored at NEF 1423 as structured data or at a data storage NF using a standardized interface. The stored information may then be re-exposed to other NFs and AFs by NEF 1423 and / or used for other purposes such as analysis. In addition, NEF 1423 may present an interface based on Nnef services.

[0256] NRF 1425 may support service discovery functionality, receive NF discovery requests from NF instances, and provide information of discovered NF instances to NF instances. NRF 1425 also maintains information of available NF instances and the services they support. As used herein, the term "instantiation" and the like may refer to the creation of an instance, and "instance" may refer to the specific occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of a program code. In addition, NRF 1425 may present an interface based on Nnrf services.

[0257] The PCF 1426 may provide for control plane functions to enforce their policy rules, and may also support a unified policy framework for managing network behavior. The PCF 1426 may also implement FEs to access subscription information related to policy decisions in the UDR of the UDM 1427. The PCF 1426 may communicate with the AMF 1421 via the N15 reference point between the PCF 1426 and the AMF 1421, which may include the PCF 1426 in the visited network and the AMF 1421 in the case of a roaming scenario. The PCF 1426 may communicate with the AF 1428 via the N5 reference point between the PCF 1426 and the AF 1428; and communicate with the SMF 1424 via the N7 reference point between the PCF 1426 and the SMF 1424. The system 1400 and / or the CN 1420 may also include an N24 reference point between the PCF 1426 (in the home network) and the PCF 1426 in the visited network. Additionally, PCF 1426 may present an interface based on Npcf services.

[0258] UDM 1427 may process subscription-related information to support the handling of communication sessions by network entities, and may store subscription data of UE 1401. For example, subscription data may be transmitted between UDM 1427 and AMF via an N8 reference point between UDM 1427 and AMF 1421. UDM 1427 may include two parts: application FE and UDR ( Fig.14 FE and UDR are not shown). UDR can store subscription data and policy data of UDM 1427 and PCF 1426, and / or structured data for exposure and application data of NEF 1423 (including PFD for application detection, application request information of multiple UEs 1401). Nudr service-based interfaces can be presented by UDR 221 to allow UDM 1427, PCF 1426 and NEF 1423 to access specific sets of stored data, as well as read, update (e.g., add, modify), delete and subscribe to notifications of related data changes in UDR. UDM may include UDM-FE, which is responsible for handling credentials, location management, subscription management, etc. In different transactions, several different front ends may serve the same user. UDM-FE accesses subscription information stored in UDR, and performs authentication credential processing, user identification processing, access authorization, registration / mobility management and subscription management. UDR can interact with SMF 1424 via the N10 reference point between UDM 1427 and SMF 1424. UDM 1427 may also support SMS management, where SMS-FE implements similar application logic as described above. In addition, UDM 1427 may present an interface based on Nudm services.

[0259] AF 1428 can provide the influence of applications on traffic routing, provide access to NCE, and interact with the policy framework for policy control. NCE can be a mechanism that allows 5GC 1420 and AF1428 to provide information to each other via NEF 1423, which can be used for edge computing implementation. In such implementations, network operators and third-party services can be hosted near the UE 1401 access point of the attachment to achieve effective service delivery through reduced end-to-end delay and load on the transmission network. For edge computing implementation, 5GC can select UPF 1402 near UE 1401 and perform traffic steering from UPF 1402 to DN 1403 via the N6 interface. This can be based on UE subscription data, UE location and information provided by AF 1428. In this way, AF 1428 can affect UPF (re) selection and traffic routing. Based on operator deployment, when AF 1428 is considered a trusted entity, the network operator can allow AF 1428 to interact directly with the relevant NF. In addition, AF 1428 can present an interface based on Naf services.

[0260] NSSF 1429 may select a set of network slice instances to serve UE 1401. If necessary, NSSF 1429 may also determine the allowed NSSAI and the mapping to the subscribed S-NSSAI. NSSF 1429 may also determine a set of AMFs to serve UE 1401, or a list of candidate AMFs 1421, based on appropriate configuration and possibly by querying NRF 1425. The selection of a set of network slice instances for UE 1401 may be triggered by AMF 1421, where UE 1401 registers by interacting with NSSF 1429, which may result in changes to AMF 1421. NSSF 1429 may interact with AMF 1421 via the N22 reference point between AMF 1421 and NSSF 1429; and may communicate via the N31 reference point ( Fig.14 The NSSF 1429 may communicate with another NSSF 1429 in the visited network (not shown). In addition, the NSSF 1429 may present an interface based on the Nnssf service.

[0261] As previously described, CN 1420 may include SMSF, which may be responsible for SMS subscription checking and verification, and relaying SM messages to / from other entities, such as SMS-GMSC / IWMSC / SMS-Router, to / from UE 1401. SMS may also interact with AMF 1421 and UDM 1427 for notification procedures so that UE 1401 is available for SMS transmission (e.g., setting a UE unreachable flag and notifying UDM 1427 when UE 1401 is available for SMS).

[0262] CN 120 may also include Fig.14 Other elements not shown, such as data storage system / architecture, 5G-EIR, SEPP, etc. The data storage system may include SDSF, UDSF, etc. Any NF may communicate with any NF and UDSF ( Fig.14 The N18 reference point between the NF and the NF (not shown) stores or retrieves unstructured data in or from the UDSF (e.g., UE context). Individual NFs may share a UDSF for storing their respective unstructured data, or individual NFs may each have their own UDSF located at or near a single NF. In addition, the UDSF may present an interface based on the Nudsf service ( Fig.14 (not shown). The 5G-EIR may be a NF that checks the status of the PEI to determine whether to blacklist a specific equipment / entity from the network; and the SEPP may be a non-transparent proxy that performs topology hiding, message filtering, and policing on the inter-PLMN control plane interface.

[0263] Additionally, there may be more reference points and / or service-based interfaces between NF services in a NF; however, for clarity, Fig.14 These interfaces and reference points are omitted. In one embodiment, CN 1420 may include an Nx interface, which is an inter-CN interface between an MME (e.g., MME 1321) and an AMF 1421, so as to achieve intercommunication between CN 1420 and CN 1320. Other exemplary interfaces / reference points may include an interface based on N5g-EIR services presented by 5G-EIR, an N27 reference point between an NRF in a visited network and an NRF in a home network; and an N31 reference point between an NSSF in a visited network and an NSSF in a home network.

[0264] Fig.15 An example of infrastructure equipment 1500 according to various embodiments is shown. Infrastructure equipment 1500 (or "system 1500") can be implemented as a base station, a radio head, a RAN node (such as the RAN node 1211 and / or AP 1206 shown and described previously), an application server 1230, and / or any other element / device discussed herein. In other examples, system 1500 can be implemented in or by a UE.

[0265] System 1500 includes: application circuit 1505, baseband circuit 1510, one or more radio front end modules (RFEM) 1515, memory circuit 1520, power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 1525, power tee circuit 1530, network controller circuit 1535, network interface connector 1540, satellite positioning circuit 1545 and user interface 1550. In some embodiments, device 1500 may include additional elements, such as, for example, memory / storage, display, camera, sensor, or input / output (I / O) interface. In other embodiments, the following components may be included in more than one device. For example, the circuit may be included separately in more than one device for CRAN, vBBU or other similar implementations.

[0266] The application circuit 1505 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of the following: a low dropout regulator (LDO), an interrupt controller, a serial interface such as SPI, I2C or a general programmable serial interface module, a real-time clock (RTC), a timer-counter including an interval timer and a watchdog timer, a general input / output (I / O or IO), a memory card controller such as a secure digital (SD) multimedia card (MMC) or similar product, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI) interface, and a joint test access group (JTAG) test access port. The processor (or core) of the application circuit 1505 may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage element, and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage element to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the system 1500. In some embodiments, the memory / storage element can be an on-chip memory circuit that may include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory, and / or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

[0267] The processor of the application circuit 1505 may include, for example, one or more processor cores (CPUs), one or more application processors, one or more graphics processing units (GPUs), one or more reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, one or more Acorn RISC Machine (ARM) processors, one or more complex instruction set computing (CISC) processors, one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuit 1505 may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operating in accordance with various embodiments herein. As an example, the processor of the application circuit 1505 may include one or more Apple processors, Intel processors, or other processors. or Processor: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processor, Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) or processors; ARM-based processors licensed by ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A series processors provided by Cavium(TM), Inc. and MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the MIPSWarrior P-class processor; etc. In some embodiments, system 1500 may not utilize application circuit 1505, and instead may include a dedicated processor / controller to process IP data received, for example, from an EPC or 5GC.

[0268] In some implementations, the application circuit 1505 may include one or more hardware accelerators, which may be microprocessors, programmable processing devices, and the like. The one or more hardware accelerators may include, for example, computer vision (CV) and / or deep learning (DL) accelerators. For example, the programmable processing device may be one or more field programmable devices (FPDs), such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and the like; programmable logic devices (PLDs), such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), and the like; ASICs, such as structured ASICs, and the like; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); and the like. In such embodiments, the circuitry of the application circuit 1505 may include logic blocks or logic architectures, as well as other interconnected resources that may be programmed to perform various functions, such as the processes, methods, functions, and the like of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such an embodiment, the circuitry of application circuit 1505 may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), anti-fuse, etc.)) for storing logic blocks, logic architectures, data, etc. in a look-up table (LUT), etc.

[0269] Baseband circuit 1510 may be implemented, for example, as a solder-in substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. Fig.17 The various hardware electronic components of baseband circuit 1510 are discussed.

[0270] User interface circuitry 1550 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable a user to interact with system 1500 or a peripheral component interface designed to enable a peripheral component to interact with system 1500. The user interface may include, but is not limited to, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), one or more indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)), a physical keyboard or keypad, a mouse, a touch pad, a touch screen, a speaker or other audio transmitting device, a microphone, a printer, a scanner, a headset, a display screen or display device, etc. The peripheral component interface may include, but is not limited to, a non-volatile memory port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power interface, etc.

[0271] The radio front end module (RFEM) 1515 may include a millimeter wave (mmWave) RFEM and one or more sub-millimeter wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-millimeter wave RFICs may be physically separated from the mmWave RFEM. The RFIC may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays (see, e.g., below). Fig.17 Antenna array 17111), and RFEM can be connected to multiple antennas. In an alternative implementation, both millimeter wave and sub-millimeter wave radio functions can be implemented in the same physical RFEM 1515 combining both millimeter wave antennas and sub-millimeter waves.

[0272] The memory circuit 1520 may include one or more of the following: a volatile memory including a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and / or a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a non-volatile memory (NVM) including a high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as a "flash memory"), a phase change random access memory (PRAM), a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc., and may be combined with a memory device obtained from and The memory circuit 1520 may be implemented as one or more of: a solder-in package integrated circuit, a socket memory module, and a plug-in memory card.

[0273] The PMIC 1525 may include a voltage regulator, a surge protector, a power alarm detection circuit, and one or more backup power sources, such as a battery or capacitor. The power alarm detection circuit may detect one or more of a brownout (undervoltage) and a surge (overvoltage) condition. The power tee circuit 1530 may provide power extracted from a network cable to provide both power and data connections for the infrastructure equipment 1500 using a single cable.

[0274] The network controller circuit 1535 may provide connectivity to the network using a standard network interface protocol such as Ethernet, Ethernet based on a GRE tunnel, Ethernet based on a multi-protocol label switching (MPLS), or some other suitable protocol. A physical connection may be used to provide a network connection to / from the infrastructure equipment 1500 via a network interface connector 1540, which may be an electrical connection (commonly referred to as a "copper interconnect"), an optical connection, or a wireless connection. The network controller circuit 1535 may include one or more dedicated processors and / or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the network controller circuit 1535 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0275] The positioning circuit 1545 includes a circuit for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcasted by a positioning network of a global satellite navigation system (or GNSS). Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) include the United States' Global Positioning System (GPS), Russia's Global Navigation System (GLONASS), the European Union's Galileo system, China's Beidou Navigation Satellite System, regional navigation systems or GNSS augmentation systems (e.g., using the Indian constellation (NAVIC), Japan's Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), France's Doppler Orbit Chart and Satellite Integrated Radio Positioning (DORIS), etc. for navigation), etc. The positioning circuit 1545 may include various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devices such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, etc. for facilitating OTA communications) to communicate with components of the positioning network such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, the positioning circuit 1545 may include a micro technology (micro PNT) IC for positioning, navigation, and timing that uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking / estimation without GNSS assistance. The positioning circuit 1545 may also be part of or interact with the baseband circuit 1510 and / or RFEM 1515 to communicate with nodes and components of the positioning network. The positioning circuit 1545 may also provide location data and / or time data to the application circuit 1505, which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructure (e.g., RAN node 1211, etc.), etc.

[0276] Fig.15 The components shown can communicate with each other using interface circuits that can include any number of bus and / or interconnect (IX) technologies, such as industry standard architecture (ISA), extended ISA (EISA), peripheral component interconnect (PCI), peripheral component interconnect extended (PCIx), PCI express (PCIe), or any number of other technologies. The bus / IX can be a proprietary bus, for example, used in a SoC-based system. Other bus / IX systems can be included, such as an I2C interface, an SPI interface, a point-to-point interface, and a power bus, etc.

[0277] Fig.16 An example of a platform 1600 (or "device 1600") according to various embodiments is shown. In an embodiment, the computer platform 1600 may be suitable for use as a UE 1201, 1301, 1401, an application server 1230, and / or any other element / device discussed herein. The platform 1600 may include any combination of components shown in the example. The components of the platform 1600 may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC), part of an IC, a discrete electronic device, or other modules, logic, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof adapted in the computer platform 1600, or as components otherwise incorporated within a chassis of a larger system. Fig.16The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of the components of computer platform 1600. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other implementations.

[0278] The application circuit 1605 includes circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more processors (or processor cores), cache memory, and one or more of an LDO, an interrupt controller, a serial interface (such as SPI), I2C or a general programmable serial interface module, an RTC, a timer (including an interval timer and a watchdog timer), a general I / O, a memory card controller (such as an SD MMC or similar controller), a USB interface, a MIPI interface, and a JTAG test access port. The processor (or core) of the application circuit 1605 may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage element and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage element to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the system 1600. In some embodiments, the memory / storage element may be an on-chip memory circuit that may include any suitable volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as DRAM, SRAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory, and / or any other type of memory device technology, such as those discussed herein.

[0279] The processor of the application circuit 1505 may include, for example, one or more processor cores, one or more application processors, one or more GPUs, one or more RISC processors, one or more ARM processors, one or more CISC processors, one or more DSPs, one or more FPGAs, one or more PLDs, one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors or controllers, multi-threaded processors, ultra-low voltage processors, embedded processors, some other known processing elements, or any suitable combination thereof. In some embodiments, the application circuit 1505 may include or may be a dedicated processor / controller for operating according to various embodiments herein.

[0280] As an example, the processor of the application circuit 1605 may include Inc's A series processors, based on Architecture TM Processors such as Quark TM 、Atom TM , i3, i5, i7 or MCU class processors, or available from Santa Clara, CA The processor of application circuit 1605 may also be one or more of the following: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Processor or Accelerated Processing Unit (APU); from Snapdragon by Technologies, Inc. TM Processor, Texas Instruments, Open Multimedia Applications Platform(OMAP) TM processors; MIPS-based designs from MIPS Technologies, Inc., such as the MIPS Warrior M-class, Warrior I-class, and Warrior P-class processors; ARM-based designs licensed from ARM Holdings, Ltd., such as the ARM Cortex-A, Cortex-R, and Cortex-M series processors; etc. In some implementations, the application circuit 1605 can be part of a system on a chip (SoC), in which the application circuit 1605 and other components are formed as a single integrated circuit or a single package, such as company( Edison Corporation TM or Galileo TM SoC board.

[0281] Additionally or alternatively, the application circuit 1605 may include circuits such as, but not limited to, one or more field programmable devices (FPDs) such as FPGAs, etc.; programmable logic devices (PLDs) such as complex PLDs (CPLDs), high capacity PLDs (HCPLDs), etc.; ASICs such as structured ASICs, etc.; programmable SoCs (PSoCs); etc. In such embodiments, the circuits of the application circuit 1605 may include logic blocks or logic structures, and other interconnected resources that may be programmed to perform various functions such as the processes, methods, functions, etc. of the various embodiments discussed herein. In such embodiments, the circuits of the application circuit 1605 may include memory cells (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, static memory (e.g., static random access memory (SRAM), anti-fuse, etc.)) for storing logic blocks, logic structures, data, etc. in a lookup table (LUT), etc.

[0282] Baseband circuit 1610 may be implemented, for example, as a solder-in substrate including one or more integrated circuits, a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more integrated circuits. Fig.17 The various hardware electronic components of baseband circuit 1610 are discussed.

[0283] The RFEM 1615 may include a millimeter wave (mm Wave) RFEM and one or more sub-millimeter wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs). In some implementations, the one or more sub-millimeter wave RFICs may be physically separated from the mm Wave RFEM. The RFIC may include connections to one or more antennas or antenna arrays (see, e.g., below). Fig.17 Antenna array 17111), and RFEM can be connected to multiple antennas. In an alternative implementation, both millimeter wave and sub-millimeter wave radio functions can be implemented in the same physical RFEM 1615 combining both millimeter wave antennas and sub-millimeter waves.

[0284] The memory circuit 1620 may include any number and type of memory devices for providing a quantitative system memory. For example, the memory circuit 1620 may include one or more of the following: volatile memory, including random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM) and / or synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM); and non-volatile memory (NVM), including high-speed electrically erasable memory (commonly referred to as flash memory), phase change random access memory (PRAM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), etc. The memory circuit 1620 may be developed according to the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) based low power double data rate (LPDDR) design such as LPDDR2, LPDDR3, LPDDR4, etc. The memory circuit 1620 may be implemented as one or more of a solder-in package integrated circuit, a single die package (SDP), a dual die package (DDP), or a quad die package (Q17P), a socketed memory module, a dual in-line memory module (DIMM) including a micro DIMM or a mini DIMM, and / or soldered to a motherboard via a ball grid array (BGA). In a low-power implementation, the memory circuit 1620 may be an on-chip memory or register associated with the application circuit 1605. In order to provide persistent storage of information such as data, applications, operating systems, etc., the memory circuit 1620 may include one or more mass storage devices, which may include, among others, a solid state disk drive (SSDD), a hard disk drive (HDD), a micro HDD, a resistive change memory, a phase change memory, a holographic memory, or a chemical memory. For example, the computer platform 1600 may be combined with a computer system obtained from and Three-dimensional (3D) cross-point (XPOINT) memory.

[0285] Removable memory circuitry 1623 may include devices, circuitry, housings / casings, ports or receptacles, etc., for coupling portable data storage devices to platform 1600. These portable data storage devices may be used for mass storage, and may include, for example, flash memory cards (e.g., Secure Digital (SD) cards, micro SD cards, xD picture cards, etc.), as well as USB flash drives, optical disks, external HDDs, etc.

[0286] The platform 1600 may further include an interface circuit (not shown) for connecting external devices to the platform 1600. External devices connected to the platform 1600 via the interface circuit include a sensor circuit 1621 and an electromechanical component (EMC) 1622, and a removable memory device coupled to a removable memory circuit 1623.

[0287] Sensor circuitry 1621 comprises a device, module, or subsystem that is intended to detect events or changes in its environment, and to send information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, among others: an inertial measurement unit (IMU) including an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and / or a magnetometer; a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) or a nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) including a three-axis accelerometer, a three-axis gyroscope, and / or a magnetometer; a level sensor; a flow sensor; a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor); a pressure sensor; a barometric pressure sensor; a gravity meter; an altimeter; an image capture device (e.g., a camera or a lensless aperture); a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor; a proximity sensor (e.g., an infrared radiation detector, etc.), a depth sensor, an ambient light sensor, an ultrasonic transceiver; a microphone or other similar audio capture device; etc.

[0288] EMC 1622 includes devices, modules or subsystems that are intended to enable platform 1600 to change its state, position and / or orientation or to move or control mechanisms or (sub) systems. In addition, EMC 1622 can be configured to generate messages / signaling and send messages / signaling to other components of platform 1600 to indicate the current state of EMC 1622. EMC 1622 includes one or more power switches, relays (including electromechanical relays (EMR) and / or solid-state relays (SSR)), actuators (e.g., valve actuators, etc.), audible sound generators, visual warning devices, motors (e.g., DC motors, stepper motors, etc.), wheels, thrusters, propellers, claws, clamps, hooks and / or other similar electromechanical components. In an embodiment, platform 1600 is configured to operate one or more EMC 1622 based on one or more capture events and / or instructions or control signals received from service providers and / or various clients.

[0289] In some specific implementations, the interface circuit may connect the platform 1600 to the positioning circuit 1645. The positioning circuit 1645 includes a circuit for receiving and decoding signals transmitted / broadcasted by a positioning network of a GNSS. Examples of navigation satellite constellations (or GNSS) may include the United States' GPS, Russia's GLONASS, the European Union's Galileo system, China's Beidou navigation satellite system, regional navigation systems or GNSS augmentation systems (e.g., NAVIC, Japan's QZSS, France's DORIS, etc.), etc. The positioning circuit 1645 may include various hardware elements (e.g., including hardware devices such as switches, filters, amplifiers, antenna elements, etc. for facilitating OTA communications) to communicate with components of the positioning network such as navigation satellite constellation nodes. In some embodiments, the positioning circuit 1645 may include a micro PNT IC that uses a master timing clock to perform position tracking / estimation without GNSS assistance. The positioning circuit 1645 may also be part of or interact with the baseband circuit 1510 and / or RFEM 1615 to communicate with nodes and components of the positioning network. Positioning circuitry 1645 may also provide position data and / or time data to application circuitry 1605, which may use the data to synchronize operations with various infrastructure (e.g., radio base stations) for use in turn-by-turn navigation applications, etc.

[0290] In some implementations, the interface circuit may connect the platform 1600 with a near field communication (NFC) circuit 1640. The NFC circuit 1640 is configured to provide contactless short-range communication based on the radio frequency identification (RFID) standard, where a magnetic field is sensed to enable communication between the NFC circuit 1640 and an NFC-enabled device (e.g., an "NFC touch point") external to the platform 1600. The NFC circuit 1640 includes an NFC controller coupled to an antenna element and a processor coupled to the NFC controller. The NFC controller may be a chip / IC that provides NFC functionality to the NFC circuit 1640 by executing an NFC controller firmware and an NFC stack. The NFC stack may be executed by the processor to control the NFC controller, and the NFC controller firmware may be executed by the NFC controller to control the antenna element to transmit a short-range RF signal. The RF signal may power a passive NFC tag (e.g., a microchip embedded in a sticker or wristband) to send stored data to the NFC circuit 1640, or initiate data transmission between the NFC circuit 1640 and another active NFC device (e.g., a smartphone or an NFC-enabled POS terminal) proximate to the platform 1600.

[0291] The driver circuit 1646 may include software and hardware elements for controlling specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the platform 1600. The driver circuit 1646 may include various drivers to allow other components of the platform 1600 to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in or connected to the platform 1600. For example, the driver circuit 1646 may include: a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touch screen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touch screen interface of the platform 1600, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings of the sensor circuit 1621 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor circuit 1621, an EMC driver for obtaining an actuator position of the EMC 1622 and / or controlling and allowing access to the EMC 1622, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0292] A power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 1625 (also referred to as “power management circuit 1625”) may manage power provided to various components of the platform 1600. Specifically, the PMIC 1625 may control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion relative to the baseband circuit 1610. When the platform 1600 is capable of being powered by a battery 1630, for example, when the device is included in UE 1201, 1301, 1401, the PMIC 1625 may be generally included.

[0293] In some embodiments, the PMIC 1625 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of the platform 1600. For example, if the platform 1600 is in the RRC_Connected state, in which the platform is still connected to the RAN node because it expects to receive traffic soon, then after a period of inactivity, the platform may enter a state known as discontinuous reception mode (DRX). During this state, the platform 1600 may be powered off for short time intervals, thereby saving power. If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time, the platform 1600 may transition to the RRC_Idle state, in which the device is disconnected from the network and no operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. are performed. The platform 1600 enters a very low power state and performs paging, in which the device wakes up again periodically to listen to the network and then powers off again. The platform 1600 may not receive data in this state; in order to receive data, the platform must transition back to the RRC_Connected state. Additional power saving modes may prevent the device from using the network for longer than the paging interval (ranging from a few seconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is completely unable to connect to the network and can be completely powered off. Any data sent during this time will be significantly delayed, and it is assumed that the delay is acceptable.

[0294] The battery 1630 can power the platform 1600, but in some examples, the platform 1600 can be mounted in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to a power grid. The battery 1630 can be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some implementations, such as in V2X applications, the battery 1630 can be a typical lead-acid car battery.

[0295] In some implementations, the battery 1630 may be a "smart battery" that includes or is coupled to a battery management system (BMS) or a battery monitoring integrated circuit. The BMS may be included in the platform 1600 to track the state of charge (SoCh) of the battery 1630. The BMS may be used to monitor other parameters of the battery 1630, such as the state of health (SoH) and state of function (SoF) of the battery 1630 to provide fault prediction. The BMS may transmit information about the battery 1630 to the application circuit 1605 or other components of the platform 1600. The BMS may also include an analog-to-digital (ADC) converter that allows the application circuit 1605 to directly monitor the voltage of the battery 1630 or the current from the battery 1630. The battery parameters may be used to determine actions that the platform 1600 may perform, such as transmission frequency, network operation, sensing frequency, etc.

[0296] A power block or other power source coupled to the grid can be coupled to the BMS to charge the battery 1630. In some examples, the power block XS30 can be replaced with a wireless power receiver to obtain power wirelessly, for example, through a loop antenna in the computer platform 1600. In these examples, a wireless battery charging circuit can be included in the BMS. The specific charging circuit selected can depend on the size of the battery 1630 and therefore the current required. Charging can be performed using the aviation fuel standard published by the Aviation Fuel Alliance, the Qi wireless charging standard published by the Wireless Power Alliance, or the Rezence charging standard published by the Wireless Power Alliance.

[0297] The user interface circuit 1650 includes various input / output (I / O) devices present in or connected to the platform 1600, and includes one or more user interfaces designed to implement user interaction with the platform 1600 and / or a peripheral component interface designed to implement interaction with the peripheral components of the platform 1600. The user interface circuit 1650 includes input device circuits and output device circuits. The input device circuit includes any physical or virtual means for accepting input, including, in particular, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touchpad, a touch screen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, etc. The output device circuit includes any physical or virtual means for displaying information or otherwise conveying information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). The output device circuitry may include any number and / or combination of audio or visual displays, including, in particular, one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary status indicators (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)) and multi-character visual outputs, or more complex outputs, such as display devices or touch screens (e.g., liquid crystal displays (LCDs), LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), where outputs of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc. are generated or produced by the operation of platform 1600. The output device circuitry may also include speakers or other audio emitting devices, printers, etc. In some embodiments, sensor circuitry 1621 may be used as an input device circuit (e.g., an image capture device, a motion capture device, etc.) and one or more EMCs may be used as output device circuits (e.g., actuators for providing tactile feedback, etc.). In another example, an NFC circuit may be included to read an electronic tag and / or connect to another NFC-enabled device, the NFC circuitry including an NFC controller and a processing device coupled to an antenna element. Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, non-volatile memory ports, USB ports, audio jacks, power interfaces, etc.

[0298] Although not shown, the components of platform 1600 can communicate with each other using a suitable bus or interconnect (IX) technology, which can include any number of technologies, including ISA, EISA, PCI, PCIx, PCIe, time-triggered protocol (TTP) systems, FlexRay systems, or any number of other technologies. The bus / IX can be a proprietary bus / IX, for example, used in a SoC-based system. Other bus / IX systems can be included, such as an I2C interface, an SPI interface, a point-to-point interface, and a power bus, etc.

[0299] Fig.17 Exemplary components of a baseband circuit 17110 and a radio front end module (RFEM) 17115 are shown according to various embodiments. The baseband circuit 17110 corresponds to Fig.15 The baseband circuit 1510 and Fig.16 Baseband circuit 1610. RFEM17115 corresponds to Fig.15 RFEM 1515 and Fig.16 RFEM 1615. As shown, RFEM 17115 may include radio frequency (RF) circuit 17106, front end module (FEM) circuit 17108, and antenna array 17111 coupled together at least as shown.

[0300] The baseband circuit 17110 includes circuits and / or control logic components configured to execute various radio / network protocols and radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuit 17106. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuit of the baseband circuit 17110 may include a fast Fourier transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping function. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuit of the baseband circuit 17110 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. The implementation of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions is not limited to these examples, and may include other suitable functions in other embodiments. The baseband circuit 17110 is configured to process the baseband signal received from the receiving signal path of the RF circuit 17106 and generate a baseband signal for the transmitting signal path of the RF circuit 17106. The baseband circuit 17110 is configured to communicate with the application circuit 1505 / 1605 (see Fig.15 and Fig.16 ) are connected to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of RF circuit 17106. Baseband circuit 17110 can handle various radio control functions.

[0301] The aforementioned circuits and / or control logic components of the baseband circuit 17110 may include one or more single-core or multi-core processors. For example, the one or more processors may include a 3G baseband processor 17104A, a 4G / LTE baseband processor 17104B, a 5G / NR baseband processor 17104C, or some other baseband processors 17104D for other existing generations, generations under development, or generations to be developed in the future (e.g., the sixth generation (6G), etc.). In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the baseband processors 17104A-D may be included in a module stored in the memory 17104G and may be executed via a central processing unit (CPU) 17104E. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the baseband processors 17104A-D may be provided as a hardware accelerator (e.g., FPGA, ASIC, etc.) loaded with an appropriate bitstream or logic block stored in a corresponding memory unit. In various embodiments, the memory 17104G may store program code of a real-time OS (RTOS), which, when executed by the CPU 17104E (or other baseband processor), will enable the CPU 17104E (or other baseband processor) to manage resources of the baseband circuit 17110, schedule tasks, etc. Examples of RTOS may include a Operating System Embedded (OSE) TM , by Mentor Nucleus RTOS provided TM , by Mentor Versatile Real-Time Executive (VRTX) provided by Express Provided by ThreadX TM ,Depend on FreeRTOS and REX OS provided by Open Kernel (OK) OKL4 provided, or any other suitable RTOS, such as those discussed herein. In addition, the baseband circuit 17110 includes one or more audio digital signal processors (DSPs) 17104F. The audio DSP 17104F includes elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments.

[0302] In some embodiments, each of processors 17104A-17104E includes a corresponding memory interface to send data to / receive data from memory 17104G. Baseband circuit 17110 may also include one or more interfaces for communicatively coupling to other circuits / devices, such as an interface for sending data to / receiving data from a memory external to baseband circuit 17110; an interface for sending data to / receiving data from a memory external to the baseband circuit; Figures 15 to 17 An application circuit interface for sending data to / receiving data from the application circuit 1505 / 1605; Fig.17 RF circuit 17106 to send data / receive data from the RF circuit RF circuit interface; for receiving data from one or more wireless hardware elements (e.g., near field communication (NFC) components, Low power consumption components, components, etc.) to send data / receive data from these wireless hardware elements; and a power management interface for sending power or control signals to / receiving power or control signals from the PMIC 1625.

[0303] In an alternative embodiment (which can be combined with the above embodiment), the baseband circuit 17110 includes one or more digital baseband systems, which are coupled to each other and to the CPU subsystem, the audio subsystem and the interface subsystem via an interconnect subsystem. The digital baseband subsystem can also be coupled to the digital baseband interface and the mixed signal baseband subsystem via another interconnect subsystem. Each of the interconnect subsystems may include a bus system, a point-to-point connector, a network on chip (NOC) structure and / or some other suitable bus or interconnect technology, such as those discussed herein. The audio subsystem may include a DSP circuit, a buffer memory, a program memory, a voice processing accelerator circuit, a data converter circuit such as an analog-to-digital converter circuit and a digital-to-analog converter circuit, an analog circuit including one or more of an amplifier and a filter, and / or other similar components. In one aspect of the present disclosure, the baseband circuit 17110 may include a protocol processing circuit with one or more control circuit instances (not shown) to provide control functions for the digital baseband circuit and / or the radio frequency circuit (e.g., the radio front end module 17115).

[0304] although Fig.17Not shown, but in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 17110 includes various processing devices (e.g., "multi-protocol baseband processor" or "protocol processing circuit") to operate one or more wireless communication protocols and various processing devices to implement PHY layer functions. In these embodiments, the PHY layer functions include the aforementioned radio control functions. In these embodiments, the protocol processing circuit operates or implements various protocol layers / entities of one or more wireless communication protocols. In a first example, when the baseband circuit 17110 and / or the RF circuit 17106 are part of a millimeter wave communication circuit or some other suitable cellular communication circuit, the protocol processing circuit may operate LTE protocol entities and / or 5G / NR protocol entities. In a first example, the protocol processing circuit will operate MAC, RLC, PDCP, SDAP, RRC, and NAS functions. In a second example, when the baseband circuit 17110 and / or the RF circuit 17106 are part of a Wi-Fi communication system, the protocol processing circuit may operate one or more IEEE-based protocols. In a second example, the protocol processing circuit will operate Wi-Fi MAC and logical link control (LLC) functions. The protocol processing circuit may include one or more memory structures (e.g., 17104G) for storing program code and data for operating protocol functions, and one or more processing cores for executing program code and performing various operations using data. The baseband circuit 17110 may also support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol.

[0305] The various hardware elements of the baseband circuit 17110 discussed herein may be implemented as, for example, a solder-in substrate, which includes one or more integrated circuits (ICs), a single packaged integrated circuit soldered to a main circuit board, or a multi-chip module containing two or more ICs. In one example, the components of the baseband circuit 17110 may be appropriately combined in a single chip or a single chipset, or arranged on the same circuit board. In another example, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit 17110 and the RF circuit 17106 may be implemented together, such as, for example, a system on a chip (SOC) or a system-level package (SiP). In another example, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit 17110 may be implemented as a separate SoC coupled to the RF circuit 17106 (or multiple instances of the RF circuit 17106) in communication. In yet another example, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit 17110 and the application circuit 1505 / 1605 may be implemented together as a separate SoC (e.g., a "multi-chip package") mounted to the same circuit board.

[0306] In some embodiments, baseband circuit 17110 may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, baseband circuit 17110 may support communications with E-UTRAN or other WMAN, WLAN, WPAN. Embodiments in which baseband circuit 17110 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuits.

[0307] RF circuit 17106 may enable communication with a wireless network through a non-solid medium using modulated electromagnetic radiation. In various embodiments, RF circuit 17106 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate communication with a wireless network. RF circuit 17106 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuits for down-converting RF signals received from FEM circuit 17108 and providing baseband signals to baseband circuit 17110. RF circuit 17106 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuits for up-converting baseband signals provided by baseband circuit 17110 and providing RF output signals for transmission to FEM circuit 17108.

[0308] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuit 17106 may include a mixer circuit 17106a, an amplifier circuit 17106b, and a filter circuit 17106c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 17106 may include a filter circuit 17106c and a mixer circuit 17106a. The RF circuit 17106 may also include a synthesizer circuit 17106d for synthesizing a frequency used by the mixer circuit 17106a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 17106a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from the FEM circuit 17108 based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 17106d. The amplifier circuit 17106b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and the filter circuit 17106c may be a low pass filter (LPF) or a band pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to baseband circuit 17110 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero frequency baseband signal, although this is not required. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 17106a of the receive signal path may include a passive mixer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this regard.

[0309] In some embodiments, mixer circuit 17106a of the transmit signal path may be configured to upconvert an input baseband signal based on a synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuit 17106d to generate an RF output signal for FEM circuit 17108. The baseband signal may be provided by baseband circuit 17110 and may be filtered by filter circuit 17106c.

[0310] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 17106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 17106a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature down-conversion and up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 17106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 17106a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image suppression (e.g., Hartley image suppression). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 17106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 17106a of the transmit signal path may be arranged for direct down-conversion and direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 17106a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 17106a of the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0311] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the RF circuit 17106 may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit, and the baseband circuit 17110 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuit 17106.

[0312] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate radio IC circuits may be provided to process signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0313] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 17106d can be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers may also be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 17106d can be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0314] Synthesizer circuit 17106d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on a frequency input and a divider control input for use by mixer circuit 17106a of RF circuit 17106. In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 17106d may be a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0315] In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO), but this is not required. The divider control input may be provided by baseband circuit 17110 or application circuit 1505 / 1605 according to the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by application circuit 1505 / 1605.

[0316] The synthesizer circuit 17106d of the RF circuit 17106 may include a frequency divider, a delay locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the frequency divider may be a dual-mode frequency divider (DMD), and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a cascaded, tunable, delay element, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a set of D-type flip-flops. In these embodiments, the delay element may be configured to divide the VCO cycle into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0317] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 17106d can be configured to generate a carrier frequency as an output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency can be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and can be used with a quadrature generator and divider circuit to generate multiple signals with multiple different phases relative to each other at the carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the output frequency can be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuit 17106 can include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0318] The FEM circuitry 17108 may include a receive signal path that may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from the antenna array 17111, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to the RF circuitry 17106 for further processing. The FEM circuitry 17108 may also include a transmit signal path that may include circuitry configured to amplify transmit signals provided by the RF circuitry 17106 for transmission by one or more antenna elements in the antenna array 17111. In various embodiments, amplification by the transmit or receive signal path may be accomplished only in the RF circuitry 17106, only in the FEM circuitry 17108, or in both the RF circuitry 17106 and the FEM circuitry 17108.

[0319] In some embodiments, the FEM circuit 17108 may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEM circuit 17108 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit 17108 may include an LNA to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuit 17106). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 17108 may include a power amplifier (PA) for amplifying the input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuit 17106), and one or more filters for generating an RF signal for subsequent transmission by one or more antenna elements of the antenna array 17111.

[0320] The antenna array 17111 includes one or more antenna elements, each of which is configured to convert an electrical signal into a radio wave to travel through the air and convert the received radio wave into an electrical signal. For example, a digital baseband signal provided by the baseband circuit 17110 is converted into an analog RF signal (e.g., a modulated waveform), which is amplified and transmitted via the antenna elements of the antenna array 17111 including one or more antenna elements (not shown). The antenna elements may be omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof. The antenna elements may be formed into a variety of arrangements as known and / or discussed herein. The antenna array 17111 may include a microstrip antenna or a printed antenna fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards. The antenna array 17111 may be formed into a patch of metal foil of various shapes (e.g., a patch antenna) and may be coupled to the RF circuit 17106 and / or the FEM circuit 17108 using a metal transmission line or the like.

[0321] The processor of the application circuit 1505 / 1605 and the processor of the baseband circuit 17110 can be used to execute elements of one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of the baseband circuit 17110 can be used alone or in combination to perform layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, and the processor of the application circuit 1505 / 1605 can use the data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further perform layer 4 functions (e.g., TCP and UDP layers). As mentioned herein, layer 3 may include an RRC layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 2 may include a MAC layer, an RLC layer, and a PDCP layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 1 may include a PHY layer of a UE / RAN node, which will be described in further detail below.

[0322] Fig.18 Various protocol functions that can be implemented in a wireless communication device according to various embodiments are shown. Specifically, Fig.18An arrangement 1800 is included to show the interconnection between various protocol layers / entities. Various protocol layers / entities operating in conjunction with 5G / NR system standards and LTE system standards are provided. Fig.18 The following description, but Fig.18 Some or all aspects of the invention may also be applicable to other wireless communication network systems.

[0323] In addition to other higher layer functions not shown, the protocol layers of arrangement 1800 may also include one or more of PHY 1810, MAC 1820, RLC 1830, PDCP 1840, SDAP 1847, RRC 1855, and NAS layer 1857. These protocol layers may include one or more service access points (e.g., Fig.18 Items 1859, 1856, 1850, 1849, 1845, 1835, 1825 and 1815).

[0324] PHY 1810 can send and receive physical layer signals 1805, which can be received or sent from one or more other communication devices to one or more other communication devices. Physical layer signals 1805 may include one or more physical channels, such as those discussed herein. PHY 1810 may also perform link adaptation or adaptive modulation and coding (AMC), power control, cell search (e.g., for initial synchronization and switching purposes) and other measurements used by higher layers (e.g., RRC1855). PHY 1810 may also further perform error detection on transmission channels, forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding of transmission channels, modulation / demodulation of physical channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping to physical channels and MIMO antenna processing. In an embodiment, an instance of PHY 1810 may process a request from an instance of MAC1820 via one or more PHY-SAP 1815 and provide an indication thereto. According to some embodiments, the request and indication transmitted via PHY-SAP 1815 may include one or more transmission channels.

[0325] An instance of MAC 1820 may process requests from and provide indications to an instance of RLC 1830 via one or more MAC-SAPs 1825. These requests and indications transmitted via MAC-SAP 1825 may include one or more logical channels. MAC 1820 may perform mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs from one or more logical channels onto TBs to be delivered to PHY 1810 via transport channels, demultiplexing MAC SDUs from TBs delivered from PHY 1810 via transport channels to one or more logical channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs onto TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, and logical channel prioritization.

[0326] An instance of RLC 1830 may process requests from an instance of PDCP 1840 and provide indications thereto via one or more radio link control service access points (RLC-SAPs) 1835. These requests and indications transmitted via RLC-SAPs 1835 may include one or more logical channels. RLC 1830 may operate in a variety of operating modes, including: transparent mode (TM), unacknowledged mode (UM), and acknowledged mode (AM). RLC 1830 may perform transmission of upper layer protocol data units (PDUs), error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ) for AM data transmission, and concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transmission. RLC 1830 may also perform resegmentation of RLC data PDUs for AM data transmission, reorder RLC data PDUs for UM and AM data transmission, detect duplicate data for UM and AM data transmission, discard RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transmission, detect protocol errors for AM data transmission, and perform RLC re-establishment.

[0327] An instance of PDCP 1840 may process requests from an instance of RRC 1855 and / or an instance of SDAP 1847 via one or more Packet Data Convergence Protocol Service Points (PDCP-SAP) 1845 and provide indications thereto. These requests and indications transmitted via PDCP-SAP 1845 may include one or more radio bearers. PDCP 1840 may perform header compression and decompression of IP data, maintain PDCP sequence numbers (SNs), perform in-order delivery of upper layer PDUs when lower layers are reestablished, eliminate duplication of lower layer SDUs when lower layers are reestablished for radio bearers mapped on RLC AM, encrypt and decrypt control plane data, perform integrity protection and integrity verification on control plane data, control timer-based data discard, and perform security operations (e.g., encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification, etc.).

[0328] An instance of SDAP 1847 may process requests from one or more higher layer protocol entities and provide indications thereto via one or more SDAP-SAPs 1849. These requests and indications transmitted via SDAP-SAPs 1849 may include one or more QoS flows. SDAP 1847 may map QoS flows to DRBs and vice versa, and may also mark QFIs in DL and UL packets. A single SDAP entity 1847 may be configured for a separate PDU session. In the UL direction, NG-RAN 1210 may control the mapping of QoS flows to DRBs in two different ways (reflective mapping or explicit mapping). For reflective mapping, SDAP 1847 of UE 1201 may monitor the QFI of the DL packets of each DRB, and may apply the same mapping to packets flowing in the UL direction. For DRBs, SDAP 1847 of UE 1201 may map UL packets belonging to a QoS flow corresponding to the QoS flow ID and PDU session observed in the DL packets of the DRB. To implement reflective mapping, NG-RAN 1410 may mark DL packets with a QoS flow ID over the Uu interface. Explicit mapping may involve RRC 1855 configuring SDAP 1847 with explicit mapping rules for QoS flows to DRBs, which may be stored and followed by SDAP 1847. In an embodiment, SDAP 1847 may be used only in NR implementations and may not be used in LTE implementations.

[0329] The RRC 1855 may configure aspects of one or more protocol layers, which may include one or more instances of PHY 1810, MAC 1820, RLC 1830, PDCP 1840, and SDAP 1847, via one or more Management Service Access Points (M-SAPs). In an embodiment, an instance of the RRC 1855 may process requests from one or more NAS entities 1857 and provide instructions thereto via one or more RRC-SAPs 1856. The main services and functions of the RRC 1855 may include broadcasting of system information (e.g., included in a MIB or SIB related to NAS), broadcasting of system information related to the access stratum (AS), paging, establishment, maintenance, and release of an RRC connection between the UE 1201 and the RAN 1210 (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection release), establishment, configuration, maintenance, and release of point-to-point radio bearers, security functions including key management, inter-RAT mobility, and measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting. These MIBs and SIBs may include one or more IEs, each of which may include a separate data field or data structure.

[0330] NAS 1857 may form the highest layer of the control plane between UE 1201 and AMF 1421. NAS 1857 may support mobility and session management procedures for multiple UEs 1201 to establish and maintain an IP connection between UE 1201 and P-GW in the LTE system.

[0331] According to various embodiments, one or more protocol entities of arrangement 1800 may be implemented in UE 1201, RAN node 1211, AMF 1421 in NR implementation or MME 1321 in LTE implementation, UPF 1402 in NR implementation or S-GW 1322 and P-GW 1323 in LTE implementation, etc., for control plane or user plane communication protocol stacks between the aforementioned devices. In such embodiments, one or more protocol entities that may be implemented in one or more of UE 1201, gNB 1211, AMF 1421, etc. may communicate with corresponding peer protocol entities that may be implemented in or on another device (using services of corresponding lower layer protocol entities to perform such communication). In some embodiments, the gNB-CU of gNB 1211 may host the gNB's RRC 1855, SDAP 1847, and PDCP 1840 that control operations of one or more gNB-DUs, and the gNB-DUs of gNB 1211 may each host the RLC 1830, MAC 1820, and PHY 1810 of gNB 1211.

[0332] In a first example, the control plane protocol stack may include, in order from the highest layer to the lowest layer, NAS 1857, RRC 1855, PDCP 1840, RLC 1830, MAC 1820, and PHY 1810. In this example, an upper layer 1860 may be built on top of NAS 1857, which includes an IP layer 1861, SCTP 1862, and an application layer signaling protocol (AP) 1863.

[0333] In a NR specific implementation, AP 1863 can be an NG application protocol layer (NGAP or NG-AP) 1863 for the NG interface 1213 defined between the NG-RAN node 1211 and the AMF 1421, or AP 1863 can be an Xn application protocol layer (XnAP or Xn-AP) 1863 for the Xn interface 1212 defined between two or more RAN nodes 1211.

[0334] The NG-AP 1863 may support the functionality of the NG interface 1213 and may include an elementary procedure (EP). The NG-AP EP may be an interaction unit between the NG-RAN node 1211 and the AMF 1421. The NG-AP 1863 services may include two groups: UE-associated services (e.g., services related to the UE 1201) and non-UE-associated services (e.g., services related to the entire NG interface instance between the NG-RAN node 1211 and the AMF 1421). These services may include functions including, but not limited to: a paging function for sending a paging request to the NG-RAN node 1211 involved in a specific paging area; a UE context management function for allowing the AMF 1421 to establish, modify and / or release the UE context in the AMF 1421 and the NG-RAN node 1211; a mobility function for the UE 1201 in ECM-CONNECTED mode, for intra-system HO to support mobility within the NG-RAN, and for inter-system HO to support mobility from / to the EPS system; a NAS signaling transport function for transmitting or rerouting NAS messages between the UE 1201 and the AMF 1421; a NAS signaling transport function for determining whether the AMF 1421 and the UE 1201 have a NAS signaling message; and a NAS signaling transport function for determining whether the AMF 1421 and the UE 1201 have a NAS signaling message. 1201; an NG interface management function for setting up an NG interface and monitoring errors through the NG interface; a warning message sending function for providing a means for transmitting a warning message via the NG interface or cancelling an ongoing warning message broadcast; a configuration transmission function for requesting and transmitting RAN configuration information (e.g., SON information, performance measurement (PM) data, etc.) between two RAN nodes 1211 via CN1220; and / or other similar functions.

[0335] XnAP 1863 may support the functions of Xn interface 1212 and may include XnAP basic mobility procedures and XnAP global procedures. XnAP basic mobility procedures may include procedures for handling UE mobility within NG RAN 1211 (or E-UTRAN 1310), such as handover preparation and cancellation procedures, SN state transfer procedures, UE context retrieval and UE context release procedures, RAN paging procedures, procedures related to dual connectivity, etc. XnAP global procedures may include procedures unrelated to a specific UE 1201, such as Xn interface setup and reset procedures, NG-RAN update procedures, cell activation procedures, etc.

[0336] In an LTE specific implementation, AP 1863 can be an S1 application protocol layer (S1-AP) 1863 for an S1 interface 1213 defined between an E-UTRAN node 1211 and an MME, or AP 1863 can be an X2 application protocol layer (X2AP or X2-AP) 1863 for an X2 interface 1212 defined between two or more E-UTRAN nodes 1211.

[0337] The S1 application protocol layer (S1-AP) 1863 may support the functionality of the S1 interface, and similar to the NG-AP discussed previously, the S1-AP may include an S1-AP EP. The S1-AP EP may be an interaction unit between the E-UTRAN node 1211 and the MME 1321 within the LTE CN 1220. The S1-AP 1863 services may include two groups: UE-associated services and non-UE-associated services. The functions performed by these services include, but are not limited to: E-UTRAN Radio Access Bearer (E-RAB) management, UE capability indication, mobility, NAS signaling transmission, RAN Information Management (RIM), and configuration transmission.

[0338] The X2AP 1863 may support the functions of the X2 interface 1212 and may include an X2AP basic mobility procedure and an X2AP global procedure. The X2AP basic mobility procedure may include a procedure for handling UE mobility within the E-UTRAN 1220, such as a handover preparation and cancellation procedure, an SN state transfer procedure, a UE context retrieval and a UE context release procedure, a RAN paging procedure, a procedure related to dual connectivity, etc. The X2AP global procedure may include a procedure that is not related to a specific UE 1201, such as an X2 interface setup and reset procedure, a load indication procedure, an error indication procedure, a cell activation procedure, etc.

[0339] The SCTP layer (alternatively referred to as the SCTP / IP layer) 1862 may provide guaranteed delivery of application layer messages (e.g., NGAP or XnAP messages in NR implementations, or S1-AP or X2AP messages in LTE implementations). The SCTP 1862 may ensure reliable delivery of signaling messages between the RAN node 1211 and the AMF 1421 / MME 1321 based in part on the IP protocol supported by the IP 1861. The Internet Protocol layer (IP) 1861 may be used to perform packet addressing and routing functions. In some implementations, the IP layer 1861 may deliver and transmit PDUs using point-to-point transport. In this regard, the RAN node 1211 may include L2 and L1 layer communication links (e.g., wired or wireless) with the MME / AMF to exchange information.

[0340] In a second example, the user plane protocol stack may include SDAP 1847, PDCP 1840, RLC 1830, MAC 1820, and PHY 1810 in order from the highest layer to the lowest layer. The user plane protocol stack may be used for communication between UE 1201, RAN node 1211, and UPF 1402 in NR implementation, or communication between S-GW 1322 and P-GW 1323 in LTE implementation. In this example, the upper layer 1851 may be built on top of SDAP 1847 and may include a user datagram protocol (UDP) and IP security layer (UDP / IP) 1852, a general packet radio service (GPRS) tunneling protocol for a user plane layer (GTP-U) 1853, and a user plane PDU layer (UP PDU) 1863.

[0341] The transport network layer 1854 (also referred to as the "transport layer") may be built on top of the IP transport, and the GTP-U 1853 may be used on top of the UDP / IP layer 1852 (including the UDP layer and the IP layer) to carry the user plane PDU (UP-PDU). The IP layer (also referred to as the "Internet layer") may be used to perform packet addressing and routing functions. The IP layer may assign IP addresses to user data packets, for example, in any of the IPv4, IPv6, or PPP formats.

[0342] GTP-U 1853 may be used to carry user data within the GPRS core network and between the radio access network and the core network. For example, the transmitted user data may be packets in any of the IPv4, IPv6, or PPP formats. UDP / IP 1852 may provide checksums for data integrity, port numbers for addressing different functions at the source and destination, and encryption and authentication of selected data flows. The RAN node 1211 and the S-GW 1322 may utilize the S1-U interface to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack including an L1 layer (e.g., PHY 1810), an L2 layer (e.g., MAC 1820, RLC 1830, PDCP 1840, and / or SDAP 1847), a UDP / IP layer 1852, and GTP-U 1853. S-GW 1322 and P-GW 1323 may utilize an S5 / S8a interface to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack including an L1 layer, an L2 layer, a UDP / IP layer 1852, and a GTP-U 1853. As previously discussed, the NAS protocol may support the mobility and session management procedures of UE 1201 to establish and maintain an IP connection between UE 1201 and P-GW 1323.

[0343] In addition, despite Fig.18Not shown, but an application layer may exist above the AP 1863 and / or transport network layer 1854. The application layer may be a layer where a user of the UE 1201, RAN node 1211, or other network element interacts with a software application, for example, executed by the application circuit 1505 or the application circuit 1605, respectively. The application layer may also provide one or more interfaces for the software application to interact with the communication system (such as the baseband circuit 17110) of the UE 1201 or RAN node 1211. In some implementations, the IP layer and / or the application layer may provide the same or similar functionality as layers 5 to 7 of the open systems interconnection (OSI) model, or portions thereof (e.g., OSI layer 7—application layer, OSI layer 6—presentation layer, and OSI layer 5—session layer).

[0344] Fig.19 Components of a core network according to various embodiments are shown. The components of CN 1320 may be implemented in one physical node or in separate physical nodes, including components for reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium). In an embodiment, the components of CN 1420 may be implemented in the same or similar manner as discussed herein with respect to the components of CN1320. In some embodiments, NFV is used to virtualize any or all of the above-mentioned network node functions via executable instructions stored in one or more computer-readable storage media (described in further detail below). A logical instance of CN 1320 may be referred to as a network slice 1901, and each logical instance of CN1320 may provide specific network functions and network characteristics. A logical instance of a portion of CN 1320 may be referred to as a network sub-slice 1902 (e.g., a network sub-slice 1902 is shown as including a P-GW 1323 and a PCRF 1326).

[0345] As used herein, the terms "instantiation" and the like may refer to the creation of an instance, and "instance" may refer to the concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code. A network instance may refer to information identifying a domain, which may be used for traffic detection and routing in different IP domains or in the case of overlapping IP addresses. A network slice instance may refer to a set of network function (NF) instances and the resources (e.g., computing, storage, and network resources) required to deploy a network slice.

[0346] Regarding 5G systems (see e.g. Fig.14), a network slice always includes a RAN part and a CN part. Support for network slicing relies on the principle that traffic for different slices is handled by different PDU sessions. The network can implement different network slices by scheduling and also by providing different L1 / L2 configurations. If NAS has provided an RRC message, UE 1401 provides auxiliary information for network slice selection in an appropriate RRC message. Although the network can support a large number of slices, the UE does not need to support more than 8 slices at the same time.

[0347] The network slice may include the CN 1420 control plane and user plane NF, the NG-RAN 1410 in the serving PLMN, and the N3IWF function in the serving PLMN. Each network slice may have a different S-NSSAI and / or may have a different SST. The NSSAI includes one or more S-NSSAIs, and each network slice is uniquely identified by the S-NSSAI. The network slice may differ in terms of supported features and network function optimizations, and / or multiple network slice instances may deliver the same service / feature, but differ for different groups of UE 1401 (e.g., enterprise users). For example, each network slice may deliver different committed services and / or may be dedicated to a specific customer or enterprise. In this example, each network slice may have a different S-NSSAI with the same SST but with a different slice differentiator. In addition, a single UE may be served simultaneously by one or more network slice instances via a 5G AN and be associated with eight different S-NSSAIs. In addition, an AMF 1421 instance serving a single UE 1401 may belong to each network slice instance serving the UE.

[0348] Network slicing in NG-RAN 1410 involves RAN slice awareness. RAN slice awareness includes differentiated processing for traffic of different network slices that have been pre-configured. Slice awareness in NG-RAN 1410 is introduced at the PDU session level by indicating the S-NSSAI corresponding to the PDU session in all signaling including PDU session resource information. How NG-RAN 1410 supports enabling slices in terms of NG-RAN functions (e.g., a set of network functions including each slice) depends on the specific implementation. NG-RAN 1410 selects the RAN part of the network slice using auxiliary information provided by UE 1401 or 5GC 1420, which explicitly identifies one or more network slices in the pre-configured network slices in the PLMN. NG-RAN 1410 also supports resource management and policy enforcement between slices according to SRA. A single NG-RAN node can support multiple slices, and NG-RAN 1410 can also appropriately apply appropriate RRM policies for SLA to each supported slice. NG-RAN 1410 can also support QoS differentiation within a slice.

[0349] The NG-RAN 1410 may also use the UE assistance information to select an AMF 1421 during the initial attach, if available. The NG-RAN 1410 routes the initial NAS to the AMF 1421 using the assistance information. If the NG-RAN 1410 cannot select an AMF 1421 using the assistance information, or the UE 1401 does not provide any such information, the NG-RAN 1410 sends the NAS signaling to a default AMF 1421, which may be in the AMF 1421 pool. For subsequent access, the UE 1401 provides a temporary ID assigned to the UE 1401 by the 5GC 1420 to enable the NG-RAN 1410 to route the NAS message to the appropriate AMF 1421, as long as the temporary ID is valid. The NG-RAN 1410 is aware of and can reach the AMF 1421 associated with the temporary ID. Otherwise, the method for initial attach applies.

[0350] The NG-RAN 1410 supports resource isolation between slices. NG-RAN 1410 resource isolation can be achieved through RRM policies and protection mechanisms that should avoid starvation of shared resources in the case where one slice disrupts the service level agreement of another slice. In some implementations, NG-RAN 1410 resources can be fully assigned to a slice. How the NG-RAN 1410 supports resource isolation depends on the specific implementation.

[0351] Some slices may be only partially available in the network. The NG-RAN 1410 is aware of slices supported in its neighboring cells that may be beneficial for inter-frequency mobility in connected mode. Slice availability may not change within the UE's registration area. The NG-RAN 1410 and 5GC 1420 are responsible for handling service requests for slices that may or may not be available in a given area. Granting or denying access to a slice may depend on factors such as support for the slice, availability of resources, and support of the requested service by the NG-RAN 1410.

[0352] The UE 1401 may be associated with multiple network slices simultaneously. In the case where the UE 1401 is associated with multiple slices simultaneously, only one signaling connection is maintained and for intra-frequency cell reselection, the UE 1401 attempts to camp on the best cell. For inter-frequency cell reselection, dedicated priorities may be used to control the frequency that the UE 1401 camps on. The 5GC 1420 will verify that the UE 1401 has the right to access the network slice. Knowing the specific slice that the UE 1401 is requesting access to may allow the NG-RAN 1410 to apply some temporary / local policies before receiving the Initial Context Setup Request message. During the Initial Context Setup, the NG-RAN 1410 is informed of the slice whose resources are being requested.

[0353] The NFV architecture and infrastructure can be used to virtualize one or more NFs onto physical resources including a combination of industry-standard server hardware, storage hardware, or switches (alternatively performed by proprietary hardware). In other words, the NFV system can be used to perform a virtual or reconfigurable implementation of one or more EPC components / functions.

[0354] Fig. 20 2006, VNF 2008, EM 2010, NFVO 2012, and NM 2014.

[0355] VIM 2002 manages resources of NFVI 2004. NFVI 2004 may include physical or virtual resources and applications (including hypervisors) for executing system 2000. VIM 2002 may utilize NFVI 2004 to manage the lifecycle of virtual resources (e.g., creation, maintenance, and removal of VMs associated with one or more physical resources), track VM instances, track performance, failures, and security of VM instances and associated physical resources, and expose VM instances and associated physical resources to other management systems.

[0356] VNFM 2006 can manage VNF 2008. VNF 2008 can be used to perform EPC components / functions. VNFM 2006 can manage the life cycle of VNF 2008 and track the performance, failures, and security of VNF 2008 in virtual aspects. EM 2010 can track the performance, failures, and security of VNF 2008 in functional aspects. Tracking data from VNFM 2006 and EM 2010 can include, for example, PM data used by VIM 2002 or NFVI 2004. VNFM 2006 and EM 2010 can both scale up / down the number of VNFs of system 2000.

[0357] NFVO 2012 can coordinate, authorize, release, and engage resources of NFVI 2004 to provide requested services (e.g., execute EPC functions, components, or slices). NM 2014 can provide an end-user functional grouping responsible for network management, which may include network elements with VNFs, non-virtualized network functions, or both (management of VNFs can occur via EM 2010).

[0358] Fig.21 is a block diagram illustrating components capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable medium or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methods discussed herein, according to some exemplary embodiments. Specifically, Fig.21 A schematic diagram of hardware resources 2100 is shown, including one or more processors (or processor cores) 2110, one or more memory / storage devices 2120, and one or more communication resources 2130, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 2140. For embodiments in which node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 2102 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 2100.

[0359] Processor 2110 may include, for example, processor 2112 and processor 2114. Processor 2110 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a DSP such as a baseband processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor (including those discussed herein), or any suitable combination thereof.

[0360] The memory / storage device 2120 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 2120 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile or non-volatile memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state storage, etc.

[0361] The communication resources 2130 may include an interconnect or network interface component or other suitable device to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 2104 or one or more databases 2106 via the network 2108. For example, the communication resources 2130 may include a wired communication component (e.g., for coupling via USB), a cellular communication component, an NFC component, (or Low power consumption) components, components and other communication components.

[0362] The instructions 2150 may include software, programs, applications, applets, applications, or other executable code for causing at least any one of the processors 2110 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. The instructions 2150 may reside completely or partially in at least one of the processors 2110 (e.g., in a cache memory of the processor), the memory / storage device 2120, or any suitable combination thereof. In addition, any portion of the instructions 2150 may be transferred to the hardware resources 2100 from any combination of the peripheral device 2104 or the database 2106. Therefore, the memory of the processor 2110, the memory / storage device 2120, the peripheral device 2104, and the database 2106 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0363] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes and / or methods described in the following example section. For example, the baseband circuit described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the following embodiments. For another example, the circuits associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc. described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the embodiments shown in the example section below.

[0364] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0365] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0366] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system is caused to perform a method, such as any one of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein or any combination of such subsets.

[0367] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., UE 106) may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method implementations described herein (or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any of the method implementations described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of various forms.

[0368] By interpreting each message / signal X received by a user equipment (UE) in the downlink as a message / signal X transmitted by the base station, and interpreting each message / signal Y transmitted by the UE in the uplink as a message / signal Y received by the base station, any of the methods for operating a UE described herein may become the basis for the corresponding method for operating a base station.

[0369] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A base station, comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio component, wherein the at least one radio component is configured to perform cellular communications using at least one radio access technology, RAT; and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the one or more processors and the at least one radio are configured to perform voice and / or data communications; The one or more processors are configured to cause the base station to: As the master node in the core network, it serves the user equipment UE devices; interconnecting with a first secondary node in the core network; initiating a change from the first secondary node to a second secondary node in the core network; before initiating the change from the first secondary node to the second secondary node, requesting a data forwarding intention of the first secondary node from the first secondary node; receiving, from the first secondary node, a data forwarding intention of the first secondary node; determining data forwarding from the first secondary node to the second secondary node; as well as A data forwarding instruction is sent to the first secondary node, wherein the data forwarding instruction includes a requirement for the first secondary node to comply with the data forwarding instruction, wherein the data forwarding instruction is based at least in part on the data forwarding intention of the first secondary node.

2. The base station according to claim 1, in, To initiate the change from the first secondary node to the second secondary node, the one or more processors are further configured to cause the base station to: A handover process is initiated to another master node in the core network.

3. The base station according to claim 1, The one or more processors are further configured to cause the base station to: A report of dedicated radio bearer (DRB) mapping for first secondary node terminated bearers is received from the first secondary node using secondary cell group resources.

4. The base station according to claim 3, The report of the DRB mapping is received via one of control plane signaling or user plane signaling between the base station and the first secondary node. 5 . The base station according to claim 1 , wherein the data forwarding intention of the first secondary node is received via one of control plane signaling or user plane signaling between the base station and the first secondary node.

6. The base station according to claim 1, The data forwarding instruction includes a data forwarding address.

7. The base station according to claim 1, The one or more processors are further configured to cause the base station to: generating a protocol data unit (PDU) session resource modification information information element (IE) to modify a dedicated resource bearer (DRB) configured with a secondary node terminated bearer option, wherein the session resource modification information (IE) includes a data forwarding and offload information query parameter; and Send the PDU session resource modification information IE to the core access and mobility management function AMF of the core network.

8. An apparatus for communication, the apparatus comprising: Memory; and at least one processor in communication with the memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: interconnecting with a first secondary node in a core network, wherein the first secondary node serves a user equipment UE device attached to the core network; initiating a change from the first secondary node to a second secondary node in the core network; before initiating the change from the first secondary node to the second secondary node, requesting a data forwarding intention of the first secondary node from the first secondary node; receiving, from the first secondary node, a data forwarding intention of the first secondary node; determining data forwarding from the first secondary node to the second secondary node; as well as generating an instruction to send a data forwarding instruction to the first secondary node, wherein the data forwarding instruction includes a requirement that the first secondary node comply with the data forwarding instruction; The data forwarding instruction is at least partially based on the data forwarding intention of the first secondary node.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: A report of dedicated radio bearer (DRB) mapping for first secondary node terminated bearers is received from the first secondary node using secondary cell group resources, wherein the report of the DRB mapping is received via one of control plane signaling or user plane signaling.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the data forwarding intention of the first secondary node is received via one of control plane signaling or user plane signaling.

11. The device according to claim 8, The data forwarding instruction includes a data forwarding address.

12. The device according to claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: Generate a protocol data unit PDU session resource modification information information element IE to modify a dedicated resource bearer DRB configured with a secondary node terminated bearer option; and Send the PDU session resource modification information IE to the core access and mobility management function AMF of the core network.

13. The device according to claim 12, The session resource modification information IE includes data forwarding and uninstallation information query parameters.

14. A non-transitory memory medium storing program instructions executable by a processing circuit to cause a network node to: interconnecting with a first secondary node in a core network, wherein the first secondary node serves a user equipment UE device attached to the core network; initiating a change from the first secondary node to a second secondary node in the core network; before initiating the change from the first secondary node to the second secondary node, requesting a data forwarding intention of the first secondary node from the first secondary node; receiving, from the first secondary node, a data forwarding intention of the first secondary node; determining data forwarding from the first secondary node to the second secondary node; as well as sending a data forwarding instruction to the first secondary node, wherein the data forwarding instruction includes a requirement for the first secondary node to comply with the data forwarding instruction, and wherein the data forwarding instruction includes a data forwarding address; The data forwarding instruction is at least partially based on the data forwarding intention of the first secondary node.

15. The non-transitory memory medium according to claim 14, in, To initiate the change from the first secondary node to the second secondary node, the program instructions are further executable to cause the network node to: A handover process is initiated to another master node in the core network.

16. The non-transitory memory medium according to claim 14, The program instructions are further executable to cause the network node to: A report of dedicated radio bearer (DRB) mapping for first secondary node terminated bearers is received from the first secondary node using secondary cell group resources, wherein the report of the DRB mapping is received via one of control plane signaling or user plane signaling.

17. The non-transitory memory medium of claim 14, wherein the data forwarding intention of the first secondary node is received via one of control plane signaling or user plane signaling between the network node and the first secondary node.

18. The non-transitory memory medium according to claim 14, The program instructions are further executable to cause the network node to: Generate a protocol data unit PDU session resource modification information information element IE to modify a dedicated resource bearer DRB configured with a secondary node terminated bearer option; and Send the PDU session resource modification information IE to the core access and mobility management function AMF of the core network.

19. The non-transitory memory medium according to claim 18, The session resource modification information IE includes data forwarding and uninstallation information query parameters.

20. A method for communication, comprising: interconnecting with a first secondary node in a core network, wherein the first secondary node serves a user equipment UE device attached to the core network; initiating a change from the first secondary node to a second secondary node in the core network; before initiating the change from the first secondary node to the second secondary node, requesting a data forwarding intention of the first secondary node from the first secondary node; receiving, from the first secondary node, a data forwarding intention of the first secondary node; determining data forwarding from the first secondary node to the second secondary node; as well as sending a data forwarding instruction to the first secondary node, wherein the data forwarding instruction includes a requirement that the first secondary node comply with the data forwarding instruction, The data forwarding instruction is at least partially based on the data forwarding intention of the first secondary node.

21. The method according to claim 20, Wherein initiating the change from the first secondary node to the second secondary node comprises: A handover process is initiated to another master node in the core network.

22. The method according to claim 20, further comprising: A report of dedicated radio bearer (DRB) mapping for first secondary node terminated bearers is received from the first secondary node using secondary cell group resources, wherein the report of the DRB mapping is received via one of control plane signaling or user plane signaling.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the data forwarding intention of the first secondary node is received via one of control plane signaling or user plane signaling.

24. The method according to claim 20, The data forwarding instruction includes a data forwarding address.

25. The method of claim 20, further comprising: Generate a protocol data unit PDU session resource modification information information element IE to modify a dedicated resource bearer DRB configured with a secondary node terminated bearer option, wherein the session resource modification information IE includes a data forwarding and offload information query parameter; as well as Send the PDU session resource modification information IE to the core access and mobility management function AMF of the core network.

26. Each of claim 25, The session resource modification information IE includes data forwarding and uninstallation information query parameters.

27. An apparatus for communication, comprising: means for interconnecting with a first secondary node in a core network, wherein the first secondary node serves user equipment, UE, devices attached to the core network; means for initiating a change from said first secondary node to a second secondary node in said core network; means for requesting from said first secondary node a data forwarding intention of said first secondary node before initiating said change from said first secondary node to said second secondary node; means for receiving, from the first secondary node, a data forwarding intention of the first secondary node; means for determining data forwarding from the first secondary node to the second secondary node; as well as means for sending a data forwarding instruction to the first secondary node, wherein the data forwarding instruction comprises a requirement for the first secondary node to comply with the data forwarding instruction; The data forwarding instruction is at least partially based on the data forwarding intention of the first secondary node.

Images