Methods, apparatus, and machine-readable media related to transmitting and reconstructing data streams using data replication

Abstract

The present disclosure provides, inter alia, a method performed by a wireless receiving node for receiving a data stream from one or more wireless transmitting nodes, the data stream comprising a sequence of data items. The method comprises: receiving an indication of an algorithm from a wireless transmitting node of the one or more wireless transmitting nodes; receiving a plurality of data packets from the one or more wireless transmitting nodes, each data packet comprising a respective replica of a data item belonging to the data stream; and using the algorithm to select one or more of the replicas of the data item for each position in the sequence for use in reconstructing the data stream based on the respective time at which the data packets were received.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, and in particular to transmitting and reconstructing data streams using data replication. Background Art

[0002] In general, all terms used in this article should be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and / or implied from the context in which it is used. All references to one / one / the element, device, part, means, step, etc. should be interpreted as referring to at least one instance of the element, device, part, means, step, etc., unless otherwise clearly stated. The steps of any method disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as after or before another step, and / or it is implied that a step must be after or before another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein can be applied to any other embodiment as appropriate. Similarly, any advantage of any of the embodiments can be applied to any other embodiment, and vice versa. Other goals, features and advantages of the attached embodiments can be seen from the following description.

[0003] The Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications (URLLC) requirements specified by 3GPP for New Radio (NR) are designed to handle a wide range of new and demanding wireless use cases. Such use cases arise in many technology areas, including automotive safety, factory automation, and for augmented and virtual reality capabilities with haptic feedback. The performance requirements have also been enhanced relative to 4G mobile broadband capacity / spectral efficiency requirements to also include stringent requirements for round-trip latency and reliability. Typically, latency requirements may be as low as sub-millisecond values, and reliability requirements are for packet loss probabilities as low as 10 -6 Up to 10 -4 .

[0004] Figure 1 The table in summarizes the current delay and reliability requirements for URLLC services in 3GPP.

[0005] One of the most important 5G use cases is the so-called critical machine-type communication (C-MTC) use case. Typical applications in this category include haptic feedback for virtual reality applications that allow users to perceive remote objects, safety-critical automotive safety applications (such as automatic braking and smart fleets), and industrial robot control, where manufacturing flexibility is gained by replacing wired feedback control loops with wireless feedback control loops. Further details are given in the paper by RH Middleton et al. (“Feedback control applications in new radio-exploring delay control and alignment”, IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 70-77, June 2019).

[0006] These applications all have in common the requirement to meet both reliability requirements in terms of lost packets, and delay and jitter requirements simultaneously. Packet loss is defined as packets that are lost or received at the application layer reception point with a delay longer than the required delay budget. In this context, it is very important to understand that the properties of the control loop are the requirement for real-time feedback. In particular, a late control or feedback signal is effectively a piece of lost data. This is so because feedback control actions need to be based on the current system state. Delayed actions or measurements give information about the past, and it is well known (see, for example, the paper mentioned above or many other control texts) that delays in feedback control systems can easily lead to instabilities.

[0007] As a result, the possibility of excessively delayed packets needs to be taken into account when evaluating the reliability of C-MTC and URLLC applications.

[0008] While focusing on reliability requirements, it is noted that mobile broadband transmission systems are optimized to operate at a block error rate of 1%-10%, which means that the error rate without retransmission may be as high as 10%. -2 It is impractical to improve this value because measuring statistics to achieve, for example, 10 -6 The block error rate will need to be in k(10 -6 ) -1 =k×10 6 The data is collected over 100 transmission time intervals (TTIs), where k may be of the order of 100. With a TTI of 1 ms, this is equivalent to 30 hours, which is obviously not feasible compared to the radio channel variation rate.

[0009] To solve this problem, we can write, for example, 10 -6 =(10 -2 ) 3This relationship suggests a solution, which is to transmit URLLC data over three independent radio interfaces, each with a conventional block error rate of 10 -2 Therefore, the specified reliability requirements can be met by transmitting the same data multiple times (ie, replicated data).

[0010] As suggested above, URLLC reliability requires the provision of multiple mechanisms (such as independently attenuated radio interfaces) through which multiple replicas of each data item are transmitted. This is true in both the downlink (e.g., for C-MTC plant control signals) and uplink (e.g., for C-MTC plant feedback and plant feedforward signals).

[0011] Figure 2 A general block diagram of a C-MTC networking control system running on an NR radio interface is shown. Data segmentation at the so-called Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer is indicated here.

[0012] The system includes the following logical nodes: a controller node 210, one or more gNBs 220, and a plant node 230. The controller node 210 includes one or more plant controllers 212, which send control signals to a plant module 232 implemented in the plant node 230 and receive feedback and feedforward signals from the plant module 232. Both the plant controller 212 and the plant module 232 operate in the application layer. The delay control function is performed by an outer loop round trip delay offset controller 214 and one or more inner loop round trip delay controllers 216 in the controller node 210, one or more transmission data queues 222 in the gNB 220, and a user equipment (UE) interface 234 in the plant node 230. Figure 2 An architecture is depicted, where data splitting is performed at the so-called PDCP layer, similar to the previously standardized dual connectivity functionality.

[0013] Previously, it has been realized that due to the independent attenuation of the radio interfaces, the data rate scheduled on each radio interface also varies independently. Therefore, the transmission buffer of each radio interface also varies independently in terms of data volume. Finally, Figure 2 The network interfaces may also have varying delay characteristics. In summary, it is therefore well known that the delays on each application data path (plant control signals, plant feedback signals, and plant feedforward signals) are different. To alleviate this problem, delay alignment control methods have been developed that aim to reduce the delay and delay deviation variations between data paths. Further details are provided in the Middleton paper mentioned above. However, these methods cannot handle the remaining high-bandwidth random fluctuations that are caused by the inherent round-trip delay and randomness of wireless interface attenuation.

[0014] exist Figure 2In a wireless network, there is a point at which an incoming data stream is split into multiple, usually duplicated, data streams for transmission over separate radio interfaces. One possibility for this split is at the so-called Medium Access Control (MAC) layer, where a scheduler algorithm schedules the data read from the Radio Link Control (RLC) buffer. In the present context, this allows the use of carrier aggregation to create multiple data streams. This setup is similar to Figure 2 The UE is different because there is only one network interface, one delay control loop and one transmission buffer (RLC buffer). The scheduler then feeds the application data to the different radio interfaces by scheduling the application data to each of the carriers associated with one radio interface respectively. A similar functionality is used for uplink application data transmission from the UE.

[0015] The potential advantage of carrier aggregation is that the round-trip delay on the radio interface is very low and predictable, so the delay variation between data paths will be very small. However, the absolute delay variation now depends on a single delay control loop and a single RLC queue, which means that the absolute delay variation may still be large.

[0016] Delay control and delay alignment control algorithms are discussed in the Middleton paper mentioned above and the references therein. Such algorithms typically utilize application data buffering and some measure of round trip time. Existing algorithms include so-called adaptive queue management algorithms (AQM) that may deliberately drop packets when the transmit queue delay becomes too high (see Middleton's paper), causing the Internet Transport Control Protocol to reduce the incoming data rate. Modern variants of these AQM algorithms, such as the bottleneck bandwidth and round trip propagation time (BBR) algorithm, use techniques to estimate the available transmission bandwidth with buffering minimized. In principle, multiple parallel instances of such algorithms can provide delay control and delay alignment control. Recently, so-called delay deviation control algorithms have been developed based on solid feedback control theory, further information is provided in Middleton's paper. It is worth noting that these methods have been shown to provide high performance delay and delay alignment assuming PDCP segmentation. These algorithms have also been shown to be globally stable, with some schemes being globally stable regardless of the actual delay.

[0017] However, none of the above schemes are capable of compensating for the remaining random delay variations, which are caused by the actual floor delay of the entire connection together with the random attenuation of the wireless channel.

[0018] Existing scheduling and link adaptation algorithms are optimized for enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) type services, with the goal of maximizing spectral efficiency (bits / Hz). Typically, BLERtarget = 10% is used as the hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) operating point for link adaptation. For other services, such as VoIP, a BLERtarget of 1% is also used.

[0019] To support URLLC services, the only existing solution is to use more robust link adaptation. For example, to support a packet error rate (PER = 1e -6 ), existing solutions would need to use HARQ with extremely low operating point (BLER target = 1e -6 ) and very short transmission intervals. This is because the retransmission schemes in different layers will consume time domain resources, which is not possible under very low packet delay budgets. In order to obtain accurate performance at this very low HARQ operating point, it will lead to extremely high computational complexity and a very large amount of statistical data for existing link adaptation algorithms to converge. This is not suitable for URLLC services with very low latency and high reliability requirements.

[0020] Therefore, there are some challenges. When multiple radio interfaces are used in NR to enhance the reliability of URLLC and C-MTC applications, where plant control signals (downlink), plant feedback signals (uplink) and plant feedforward signals (uplink) are sent on the radio interface, the residual high bandwidth delay variation of the prior art algorithms is still too large. Associated issues include:

[0021] Increased percentage of latency and, therefore, packet loss.

[0022] Additional back-off is required, which is obtained by using a round trip delay set point for the delay control and delay alignment algorithms that is several times lower than the URLLC / C-MTC delay requirement.

[0023] In case of fallback, the reduced delay controls the sampling period, which increases the overhead and thus reduces the ability to support URLLC / C-MTC of NR wireless systems.

[0024] The factor by which latency may increase may typically be on the order of 2-5.

[0025] Figure 3The typical residual delay variation after downlink delay deviation control is shown. The desired delay is set to 1 ms. However, in order to avoid delayed packets, an application delay of at least 3 ms needs to be assumed. Therefore, a back-off of at least 3 times is required in this example. Summary of the invention

[0026] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and its embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. For example, embodiments of the present disclosure may address the above problems by using new data processing algorithms and signaling means that process at least a subset of multiple redundant transmissions of the same application data over different independently attenuated wireless interfaces. Various solutions have been proposed, including using

[0027] The first application data to be received, resulting in the smallest round-trip delay.

[0028] Application data representing median latency, resulting in (close to) median round-trip latency.

[0029] The kth received application data out of n sent data results in a percentile round trip delay.

[0030] By making simulation results public, the advantages and disadvantages of alternatives are outlined.

[0031] The embodiments of the present disclosure also disclose the application of the above algorithm in UE (downlink) and gNB (uplink). Also disclosed is an alternative solution for splitting data (i.e., performing data replication) at the PDCP layer or MAC layer.

[0032] In a further embodiment, information about the number of simultaneous replicated transmission paths may be introduced into the scheduler and link adaptation algorithm, so that reliability (e.g., packet error rate) requirements may be achieved on separate transmission paths using existing link adaptation algorithms without introducing extremely low HARQ operating points (BLER targets).

[0033] Finally, the present disclosure also provides for signaling of configuration of a specific algorithm to be used at the receiver.

[0034] Various embodiments are presented herein that address one or more of the problems disclosed herein. In one aspect, for example, a method for receiving a data stream from one or more wireless transmitting nodes performed by a wireless receiving node is provided. The data stream includes a sequence of data items. The method includes: receiving an indication of an algorithm from a wireless transmitting node in one or more wireless transmitting nodes; receiving a plurality of data packets from the one or more wireless transmitting nodes, each data packet including a corresponding replica of a data item belonging to the data stream; and utilizing the algorithm to select one or more of the replicas of the data item for each position in the sequence for reconstructing the data stream based on the corresponding time at which the data packet was received.

[0035] Also provided is an apparatus and a machine-readable medium for performing the above method. For example, the apparatus can be implemented in a wireless device (e.g., UE) operating in a downlink or a radio access network node (e.g., a base station, gNB, etc.) operating in an uplink.

[0036] In another aspect, a method for transmitting a data stream to a wireless receiving node is provided. The data stream includes a sequence of data items. The method includes: causing one or more wireless transmitting nodes including the first wireless transmitting node to transmit a plurality of data packets to the wireless receiving node, each data packet including a respective replica of a data item belonging to the data stream; and causing an indication of an algorithm to be used by the wireless receiving node to be transmitted to the wireless receiving node to select one or more of the replicas of the data item for each position in the sequence for reconstructing the data stream based on respective times at which the data packets are received.

[0037] Also provided is an apparatus and a machine-readable medium for performing the above method. For example, the apparatus can be implemented in a wireless device (e.g., UE) operating in an uplink or a radio access network node (e.g., a base station, gNB, etc.) operating in a downlink.

[0038] Certain embodiments may provide one or more technical advantages. For example, absolute delay and jitter in round-trip time may be significantly reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] Figure 1 The delay and reliability requirements of URLLC services are shown;

[0040] Figure 2 shows a C-MTC networking control system;

[0041] Figure 3 shows the typical residual delay variation after the downlink delay is out of control;

[0042] Figure 4A system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0043] Figure 5 shows a simulation of the round trip time achieved by an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the first received replica is selected;

[0044] Figure 6 shows a simulation of the round trip time achieved by an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein a replica received in the middle is selected;

[0045] Figure 7 shows a performance simulation according to the number of data paths implemented by an embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the first received replica is selected;

[0046] Figures 8 to 10 A system according to a further embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0047] Fig.11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a wireless network according to some embodiments;

[0048] Fig.12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a user equipment according to some embodiments;

[0049] Fig.13 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualized environment according to some embodiments;

[0050] Fig.14 illustrates a telecommunications network connected to a host computer via an intermediate network according to some embodiments;

[0051] Fig.15 illustrates a host computer communicating with a user device over a partially wireless connection via a base station in accordance with some embodiments;

[0052] Figures 16 to 19 is a flow chart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to one embodiment;

[0053] Fig. 20 Methods according to particular embodiments of the present disclosure are described;

[0054] Fig.21 A schematic block diagram of an apparatus in a wireless network is illustrated;

[0055] Fig. 22 Methods according to particular embodiments of the present disclosure are described; and

[0056] Fig.23 A schematic block diagram of an apparatus in a wireless network is illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0057] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, other embodiments are included within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, and the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0058] Embodiments of the present disclosure solve the problems associated with the prior art (as described above) by introducing a method for processing a plurality of received data packets, the data packets comprising duplicate copies of data items belonging to a data stream. A receiving node utilizes an algorithm to select one or more of the duplicate copies of the data items for use in reconstructing the data stream based on the respective times at which the data packets are received and for each position in the data stream sequence.

[0059] The algorithm may reduce or minimize the one-way delay plus jitter, thereby reducing the impact of jitter. A variety of different algorithms may be used. For example, the algorithm may include selecting the first received replica for use in reconstructing the data stream. More generally, the algorithm may include selecting the kth received replica, where k is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0060] The receiving node may receive an indication of the algorithm to be used, for example from one of the wireless transmitting nodes. For example, such an indication may be sent together with an indication or instruction to start using the algorithm.

[0061] The brief description above has mentioned wireless transmission nodes and wireless receiving nodes. Embodiments of the present disclosure are relevant in both uplink and downlink. Therefore, the methods described herein may be performed by both a wireless device (or UE) and a radio access network node (such as a base station, etc.). In the downlink, one or more wireless transmission nodes are radio access network nodes, and the wireless receiving nodes are wireless devices; in the uplink, the wireless transmission nodes are wireless devices, and the wireless receiving nodes are radio access network nodes.

[0062] Furthermore, it will be apparent that embodiments of the present disclosure rely on the generation of replicated copies of data items that belong to a data stream (e.g., a sequence of data items). It should be noted here that the use of the term "replication" does not mean that there is only one replication of each data item (referring to a total of two replications of each data item). Rather, embodiments of the present disclosure contemplate the creation of any number of replications of a data item to create multiple replicated copies of each data item in a data stream.

[0063] Such duplication can occur in a number of different places within the processing architecture of one or more sending nodes. Two examples of such places are duplication in the PDCP layer and duplication in the MAC layer. In the former example, the PDCP service data unit (SDU) or protocol data unit (PDU) is duplicated; in the latter example, the MAC SDU or PDU is duplicated. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that such duplicate data items may be packaged with different data, control headers, etc., and therefore the data packets ultimately sent to the receiving node are not duplicates of each other. However, these data packets include duplicate copies of the data items.

[0064] In the following, four examples are described in detail: Downlink communication, where data replication occurs in PDCP ( Figure 4 ) and MAC( Figure 8 ) layer; Uplink communication, where data replication occurs in the PDCP ( Fig. 9 ) and MAC( Fig.10 ) layer. In each example, the data sent to the receiving node includes control signals, such as for machinery or processing equipment in a factory or manufacturing plant. Figures 4 to 10 The "control signal" mentioned in the description relates to data.

[0065] UE processing - gNB PDCP split

[0066] Figure 4 The architecture of a system 400 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, where downlink data is segmented at the PDCP layer.

[0067] The system 400 includes a first network node or gNB 402 (labeled gNB a), two or more second network nodes or gNBs 404 (labeled gNB b through gNB n), and a wireless device or UE 406. Control signals enter the network architecture into the first network node 402 at the top of the figure. Application control signal data ultimately enters a PDCP queue 402a, where a data multiplier creates multiple instances of each data item. One instance (e.g., one replica) of each data item is then sent to each of a plurality of RLC queues 404a that act as a transmission buffer. The RLC queues 404a are depicted as being implemented in different second gNBs 404. However, this is not a physical requirement, as one skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the base stations gNB b through gNB n 404 may be logical gNBs and / or may form part of the gNBa 402. Each RLC queue is managed by a scheduler 404b, which schedules each application data item (control signal) for transmission over a separate radio interface. The wireless interface in one embodiment is a NR wireless interface. However, it can also be a long-term evolution (LTE) or 4G interface, a WIFI interface, or any other suitable wireless radio frequency interface. The control signal data of each wireless interface is received in UE 406. Here, a UE 406 is depicted, but there are also several UE entities that can collaborate to receive data. The data received from the wireless interface is sent to a data processing algorithm 406a, which selects data for alleviating the round-trip delay problem mentioned above. The control signals are then sent to the factory, where they are applied for feedback control purposes.

[0068] One goal of the data processing algorithm executed in the receiving node (UE) 406 is to reduce the (positive) variation in the round trip delay experienced by the feedback control application. The algorithm operates by selecting or combining a subset of received identical application control signal data items, each of which is valid for a certain period of time and each of which is sent on a separate independent data path. The algorithm is described by the following example. However, alternative examples other than those listed may be implemented and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The round trip delay associated with using the i-th received data item is denoted by t i express.

[0069] Use the first received application control signal data item

[0070] In one embodiment, for each position in the data stream, the algorithm uses the first received application control signal data item, i.e., the replica data item received before any other data item for that particular position. This embodiment corresponds to using the minimum round trip time, i.e.

[0071]

[0072] Using the intermediate received application control signal data item

[0073] In this embodiment, for each position in the data stream, the algorithm uses the received application control signal data item corresponding (approximately) to the median of the round trip times of all replica copies of the particular data item, i.e.

[0074] RTT = median i (t i )

[0075] Using the kth received application control signal data item

[0076] In this embodiment, for each position in the data stream, the algorithm uses the received application control signal data item corresponding to the kth received replica of all received replicas for a particular data item (or all replicas received within a particular time frame, e.g., before the delay budget for the data item expires). This means that the algorithm implements

[0077] RTT = t k .

[0078] Embodiments disclosed herein also provide for signaling of configuration information, according to which a wireless receiving node (in this example, a UE) may be configured with an algorithm to be used to select a replica for data reconstruction. For example, such configuration may be sent via radio resource control (RRC) signaling or L1 / L2 signaling (e.g., by one of the one or more wireless transmitting nodes, or a base station in this example). The configuration information may be sent in one or more information elements, carrying one or more indications of:

[0079] UE identity

[0080] The total number of configured data paths

[0081] - Which algorithm to use, including the number k when the algorithm includes selecting the kth received replica.

[0082] Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide replication path-aware scheduling and link adaptation.

[0083] In general, the packet error rate requirement (PER) at the application layer is related to the HARQ operating point (BLER target, α) and the total number of duplicate transmissions (N) as shown in the following equation, assuming that the packet error loss in the core network (CN) and the transport network (TN) is zero:

[0084] α N =PER

[0085] in

[0086] • PER is the packet error rate specified in the QoS requirement for a particular service / application.

[0087] α is the link adaptation HARQ operation point (BLER target) for the first data transmission.

[0088] N is the total number of independent replicated transmissions supported by the packet delay budget (PDB) of the service (e.g., specified in the QoS requirements). And,

[0089] N=N sim +N time

[0090] The replica can be in the time domain (N time ), the time domain includes retransmissions / repetitions in different protocol layers, such as HARQ retransmissions, RLC retransmissions or other layers. Alternatively or additionally, the duplicate transmissions may be in different resource domains such as frequency (e.g. carrier aggregation), and / or in different data paths (dual connectivity with PDCP layer split), or / and simultaneous transmissions in the spatial domain (multiple antenna transmission / reception points in the physical layer) (N sim ), the transmission does not use combined reception or joint transmission.

[0091] For time-domain replication, the total time to deliver a packet to the application layer (including retransmissions / repetitions and duplicate transmissions in different layers) should be within the service PDB. For extremely high reliability and low latency services (e.g. PDB = 1 ms, PER = 1e -6 ), in the case of single path transmission (N=1), retransmission / repetition may not be possible for a period of time, because the link adaptation operation point (BLER target, α) is required to be equal to the PER requirement α=1e -6 To achieve accurate performance at this very low HARQ operating point, extremely high computational complexity is required, and sufficient statistics for existing link adaptation algorithms to converge in time becomes excessive.

[0092] Therefore, for services with extremely high reliability and low latency requirements where retransmission is not possible, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of simultaneous replica transmission paths is introduced into the scheduling and link adaptation algorithms, and the HARQ operating point (BLER target) is determined based on the following formula:

[0093] α=f(logPER / N sim )

[0094] α is the BLER target for link adaptation of the individual data transmission paths.

[0095] ·Nsim : The number of simultaneous transmission data paths, such as PDCP data replication via dual connectivity or multiple connectivity, and / or MAC layer data replication transmission via carrier aggregation, and / or spatial replication transmission via different physical transmission points.

[0096] With the proposed solution, for extremely high reliability and low latency services (PER=1e -6 , PDB=1ms), assuming that N transmission paths are transmitted simultaneously sim =3, the BLER target for individual link adaptation is set to α=log1e(-6 / 3)=1%.

[0097] To demonstrate the performance gains of the above mentioned approach, a delay skew control simulation of nine data paths was performed. The target round trip time chosen for the simulation was 1ms.

[0098] The first data path of the simulation (i.e. without using multiple replicas) implements the above Figure 3 Indicates the single data path round trip time performance. Figure 5 The round-trip time performance of the data processing algorithm for selecting the first received replica is shown in Figure 6 The round-trip time performance of the data processing algorithm that selects the median received replica is shown in FIG.

[0099] We note that both algorithms improve the situation substantially. In particular, the minimum-based data processing algorithm meets 1ms for all samples within a 5% error tolerance. The median-based data processing algorithm does not fare as well, but stays below 1.5ms within a 5% error tolerance, which reduces the required backoff from 3x to 1.5x. The median-based algorithm also achieves an average round-trip latency closer to 1ms than the minimum algorithm.

[0100] In summary, both schemes significantly mitigate the problems pointed out above. The minimum-based algorithm does this almost perfectly.

[0101] To investigate how many independent data paths should be used, new simulations of much longer duration and slightly lower set points were performed for 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 data paths based on an algorithm that selects the first received replica. The results are shown in Figure 7The mean is shown as a solid line; the mean with one standard deviation added is shown as a dashed-dotted line; and the mean of the maximum positive deviation is shown as a dashed line. According to these results, the further reduction in latency is relatively low when using more than three data paths. However, the maximum error of the simulation algorithm tends to occur for negative errors, so these results may be misleading. It can be seen that three, or certainly four data paths should be sufficient to meet the very low latency requirements of the system. Furthermore, it can be noted that the gain compared to using a single data path is very significant.

[0102] UE Processing - gNB MAC Split

[0103] Figure 8 The architecture of a system 800 is shown according to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein downlink data is segmented at the MAC layer.

[0104] The system 800 includes a first network node or gNB 802 (labeled gNB a), two or more second network nodes or gNBs 804 (labeled gNBb through gNBn), and a wireless device or UE 806. Control signals enter the architecture at the top of the figure into the first radio access node 802 (labeled gNB a). Application control signal data eventually enters the PDCP queue 802a, from where it is fed into the RLC queue 802b, which acts as a transmission buffer. The scheduler 802c distributes and replicates the data so that the same control signal data is sent via different carriers. The carrier queues 804a are depicted as being implemented in different gNBs 804. However, unlike the Figure 4 Again, this is not physically necessary, and again one skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the gNBs 804 may be logical nodes, and / or combined with the gNBa 802.

[0105] The rest of this example is the same as above Figure 4 The aspects described are similar.

[0106] gNb processing - gNB PDCP splitting

[0107] Fig. 9 The architecture of a system 900 according to a further embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, wherein uplink data is segmented at the PDCP layer.

[0108] The architecture is similar to the system 400 described above, except that the application control data arriving at the UE 902 for transmission consists of feedback and feedforward signals. In addition, the UE 902 performs data replication and manages transmissions over the radio interface. At the receiving end, the gNb 906 typically performs data processing algorithms in association with the PDCP layer. Another difference is that uplink delay and delay alignment control are not used.

[0109] The rest of this example is the same as above Figure 4 The aspects described are similar.

[0110] gNb processing - gNb MAC segmentation

[0111] Fig.10 The architecture of the system 1000 according to a further embodiment of the present disclosure is shown, wherein uplink data is segmented at the MAC layer.

[0112] This architecture is similar to the above Figure 8 The architecture described above is different in that the application control data arriving at the UE 1002 for transmission includes feedback and feedforward signals. In addition, the UE 1002 performs segmentation and manages the transmission on the radio interface. At the receiving end, the gNb 1006 typically performs data processing algorithms in association with the PDCP layer. Another difference is that no uplink delay and delay alignment control is used.

[0113] Although the subject matter described herein can be implemented in any suitable type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described with respect to wireless networks, such as Fig.11 For simplicity, Fig.11 The wireless network of FIG. 1 depicts only network 1106, network nodes 1160 and 1160b, and WD 1110, 1110b, and 1110c. In practice, the wireless network may further include any additional elements suitable for supporting communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device (such as a fixed telephone, a service provider, or any other network node or terminal device). In the illustrated components, network node 1160 and wireless device (WD) 1110 are depicted in more detail. The wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate wireless devices to access and / or use services provided by or via the wireless network.

[0114] A wireless network may include, and / or interface with, any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular and / or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, a wireless network may be configured to operate according to a particular standard or other type of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, particular embodiments of a wireless network may implement communication standards such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards; wireless local area network (WLAN) standards such as IEEE 802.11 standards; and / or any other suitable wireless communication standards such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, and / or ZigBee standards.

[0115] The network 1106 may include one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTN), packet data networks, optical networks, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communication between devices.

[0116] The network node 1160 and the WD 1110 include various components described in more detail below. These components work together to provide network node and / or wireless device functions, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments, the wireless network may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals via wired or wireless connections.

[0117] As used herein, a network node refers to a device that is capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and / or with other network nodes or devices in a wireless network to enable and / or provide wireless access to the wireless device and / or other functions (e.g., management) performed in the wireless network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), and NR NodeBs (gNBs)). Base stations can be classified based on the amount of coverage they provide (or in other words, their transmit power levels), and may also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). Such a remote radio unit may be integrated with an antenna as an antenna-integrated radio, or may not be integrated with an antenna. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). However, further examples of network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment (such as an MSR BS), a network controller (such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC)), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmission node, a multi-cell / multicast cooperation entity (MCE), a core network node (e.g., MSC, MME), an O&M node, an OSS node, a SON node, a positioning node (e.g., E-SMLC), and / or an MDT. As another example, a network node may be a virtual network node as described in more detail below. However, more generally, a network node may represent any suitable device (or group of devices) that is capable of, configured, arranged, and / or operable to enable and / or provide access to a wireless network to a wireless device, or to provide some services to a wireless device that has access to a wireless network.

[0118] exist Fig.11 In the embodiment, the network node 1160 includes a processing circuit system 1170, a device readable medium 1180, an interface 1190, an auxiliary device 1184, a power supply 1186, a power supply circuit system 1187, and an antenna 1162. Fig.11The network node 1160 illustrated in the example wireless network of can represent a device including the hardware component combination shown, but other embodiments can include network nodes with different component combinations. It should be understood that the network node includes any suitable hardware and / or software combination required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. In addition, although the components of the network node 1160 are depicted as a single box located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in reality, the network node can include multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component (for example, the device readable medium 1180 can include multiple separate hard drives and multiple RAM modules).

[0119] Similarly, the network node 1160 may be composed of multiple physically separated components (e.g., NodeB components and RNC components, or BTS components and BSC components, etc.), each of which may have its own components. In certain scenarios where the network node 1160 includes multiple separated components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separated components may be shared between several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may be considered as a single separate network node in some cases. In some embodiments, the network node 1160 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be replicated (e.g., separate device-readable media 1180 for different RATs), and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 1162 may be shared by RATs). The network node 1160 may also include multiple groups of various illustrated components for different wireless technologies (such as, for example, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies) integrated into the network node 1160. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within network node 1160 .

[0120] The processing circuit system 1170 is configured to perform any determination, calculation, or similar operation described herein as being provided by the network node (e.g., certain acquisition operations). These operations performed by the processing circuit system 1170 may include processing information acquired by the processing circuit system 1170, for example, by converting the acquired information to other information, comparing the acquired information or the converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired information or the converted information and making a determination as a result of the processing.

[0121] The processing circuit system 1170 may include a combination of one or more of the following: a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic, which is operable to provide network node 1160 functionality alone or in conjunction with other network node 1160 components such as device readable medium 1180. For example, the processing circuit system 1170 may execute instructions stored in the device readable medium 1180 or in a memory within the processing circuit system 1170. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, the processing circuit system 1170 may include a system on a chip (SOC).

[0122] In some embodiments, processing circuit system 1170 may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit system 1172 and baseband processing circuit system 1174. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit system 1172 and baseband processing circuit system 1174 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units, such as on a radio unit and a digital unit. In another embodiment, part or all of radio frequency transceiver circuit system 1172 and baseband processing circuit system 1174 may be on the same chip or chipset, board, or unit.

[0123] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functions provided by a network node, base station, eNB or other such network device described herein may be performed by processing circuit system 1170 by executing instructions stored on device-readable medium 1180 or memory within processing circuit system 1170. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functions may be provided by processing circuit system 1170 without executing instructions stored on separate or discrete device-readable media, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those embodiments, whether or not instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium are executed, processing circuit system 1170 may be configured to perform the described functions. The benefits provided by such functions are not limited to separate processing circuit system 1170 or other components of network node 1160, but are generally enjoyed by network node 1160 as a whole, and / or by end users and wireless networks.

[0124] Device-readable medium 1180 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including, but not limited to, persistent storage devices, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact disc (CD), or digital video disc (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable storage device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that can be used by processing circuit system 1170. Device-readable medium 1180 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including computer programs, software, applications (including one or more of logic, rules, codes, tables, etc.), and / or other instructions that can be executed by processing circuit system 1170 and utilized by network node 1160. Device-readable medium 1180 may be used to store any computations performed by processing circuit system 1170 and / or any data received via interface 1190. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1170 and device readable medium 1180 may be considered to be integrated.

[0125] Interface 1190 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network node 1160, network 1106 and / or WD 1110. As shown, interface 1190 includes (one or more) ports / terminals 1194 to send and receive data, such as sending data to network 1106 on a wired connection and receiving data from network 1106. Interface 1190 also includes radio front-end circuit system 1192, which can be coupled to antenna 1162, or in some embodiments is part of the antenna. Radio front-end circuit system 1192 includes filter 1198 and amplifier 1196. Radio front-end circuit system 1192 can be connected to antenna 1162 and processing circuit system 1170. The radio front-end circuit can be configured to adjust the signal communicated between antenna 1162 and processing circuit system 1170. Radio front-end circuit system 1192 can receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 1192 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1198 and / or amplifiers 1196. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 1162. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1162 may collect the radio signal, which may then be converted to digital data by radio front end circuitry 1192. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 1170. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0126] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1160 may not include a separate radio front end circuitry 1192, and instead the processing circuitry 1170 may include the radio front end circuitry and may be connected to the antenna 1162 without the separate radio front end circuitry 1192. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or part of the RF transceiver circuitry 1172 may be considered part of the interface 1190. In other embodiments, the interface 1190 may include one or more ports or terminals 1194, the radio front end circuitry 1192, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1172 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the interface 1190 may communicate with the baseband processing circuitry 1174, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0127] Antenna 1162 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 1162 may be coupled to radio front-end circuit system 1190 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly sending and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 1162 may include one or more omnidirectional, sector or flat panel antennas operable to send / receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. Omnidirectional antennas may be used to send / receive radio signals in any direction, sector antennas may be used to send / receive radio signals from devices within a particular area, and flat panel antennas may be line of sight antennas for sending / receiving radio signals in a relatively straight line. In some cases, the use of more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In some embodiments, antenna 1162 may be separated from network node 1160 and may be connected to network node 1160 via an interface or port.

[0128] Antenna 1162, interface 1190 and / or processing circuit system 1170 can be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or certain acquisition operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signal can be received from a wireless device, another network node and / or any other network device. Similarly, antenna 1162, interface 1190 and / or processing circuit system 1170 can be configured to perform any sending operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signal can be sent to a wireless device, another network node and / or any other network device.

[0129] The power circuit system 1187 may include or be coupled to a power management circuit system and is configured to provide power to the components of the network node 1160 for performing the functions described herein. The power circuit system 1187 may receive power from the power supply 1186. The power supply 1186 and / or the power circuit system 1187 may be configured to provide power to the components of the network node 1160 in a form suitable for the corresponding components (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each corresponding component). The power supply 1186 may be included in the power circuit system 1187 and / or the network node 1160, or may be external. For example, the network node 1160 may be connected to an external power source (e.g., a power outlet) via an input circuit system or interface (such as a cable), whereby the external power source supplies power to the power circuit system 1187. As a further example, the power supply 1186 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack, which is connected to the power circuit system 1187 or integrated in the power circuit system. If the external power source fails, the battery can provide backup power. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used.

[0130] Alternative embodiments of network node 1160 may include Fig.11 Additional components other than those shown may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the network node functionality, including any of the functionality described herein, and / or any functionality required to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1160 may include a user interface device to allow input of information to the network node 1160 and output of information from the network node 1160. This may allow a user to perform diagnostics, maintenance, repair, and other management functions for the network node 1160.

[0131] As used herein, a wireless device (WD) refers to a device that is capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with a network node and / or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise specified, the term WD is used interchangeably with a user equipment (UE) in this article. Wireless communication may involve the use of electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through the air to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. In some embodiments, a WD may be configured to send and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, a WD may be designed to send information to the network according to a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the network. Examples of WD include, but are not limited to, smart phones, mobile phones, cell phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, rechargeable devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless terminals, mobile stations, tablet computers, laptop computers, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless client equipment (CPEs), wireless terminal devices installed in vehicles, etc. WDs can support device-to-device (D2D) communications, such as by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communications, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), and vehicle-to-everything (V2X), and in this case can be referred to as D2D communication devices. As another specific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a WD can represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement, and sends the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another WD and / or network node. In this case, a WD can be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which can be referred to as an MTC device in a 3GPP context. As a particular example, a WD may be a UE that implements the 3GPP Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) standard. Particular examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices (such as power meters), industrial machinery or household or personal appliances (such as refrigerators, televisions, etc.), personal wearable devices (such as watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, a WD may represent a vehicle or other device that can monitor and / or report its operating status or other functions associated with its operation. The WD described above may represent an endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. In addition, the WD described above may be mobile, in which case it may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal.

[0132] As shown, wireless device 1110 includes antenna 1111, interface 1114, processing circuitry 1120, device-readable medium 1130, user interface device 1132, auxiliary device 1134, power supply 1136, and power supply circuitry 1137. WD 1110 may include multiple groups of one or more illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by WD 1110 (e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, to name a few). These wireless technologies may be integrated in the same or different chips or chipsets as other components within WD 1110.

[0133] Antenna 1111 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals and connected to interface 1114. In some alternative embodiments, antenna 1111 may be separated from WD 1110 and may be connected to WD 1110 via an interface or port. Antenna 1111, interface 1114 and / or processing circuit system 1120 may be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operation described herein as being performed by WD. Any information, data and / or signal may be received from a network node and / or another WD. In some embodiments, radio front end circuit system and / or antenna 1111 may be considered as an interface.

[0134] As shown, the interface 1114 includes a radio front-end circuit system 1112 and an antenna 1111. The radio front-end circuit system 1112 includes one or more filters 1118 and an amplifier 1116. The radio front-end circuit system 1114 is connected to the antenna 1111 and the processing circuit system 1120, and is configured to adjust the signals communicated between the antenna 1111 and the processing circuit system 1120. The radio front-end circuit system 1112 may be coupled to the antenna 1111 or be a part thereof. In some embodiments, the WD 1110 may not include a separate radio front-end circuit system 1112; instead, the processing circuit system 1120 may include the radio front-end circuit system and may be connected to the antenna 1111. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuit system 1122 may be considered as part of the interface 1114. The radio front-end circuit system 1112 may receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. Radio front end circuitry 1112 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1118 and / or amplifiers 1116. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 1111. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 1111 may collect the radio signal, which is then converted into digital data by radio front end circuitry 1112. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 1120. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0135] Processing circuit system 1120 may include a combination of one or more of the following: a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic, which is operable to provide WD 1110 functionality alone or in conjunction with other WD 1110 components such as device readable medium 1130. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, processing circuit system 1120 may execute instructions stored in device readable medium 1130 or in a memory within processing circuit system 1120 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

[0136] As shown, the processing circuit system 1120 includes one or more of the RF transceiver circuit system 1122, the baseband processing circuit system 1124, and the application processing circuit system 1126. In other embodiments, the processing circuit may include different components and / or different combinations of components. In some embodiments, the processing circuit system 1120 of the WD 1110 may include a SOC. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuit system 1122, the baseband processing circuit system 1124, and the application processing circuit system 1126 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In an alternative embodiment, part or all of the baseband processing circuit system 1124 and the application processing circuit system 1126 may be combined into one chip or chipset, and the RF transceiver circuit system 1122 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In an alternative embodiment, part or all of the RF transceiver circuit system 1122 and the baseband processing circuit system 1124 may be on the same chip or chipset, and the application processing circuit system 1126 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In yet other alternative embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuit system 1122, baseband processing circuit system 1124, and application processing circuit system 1126 may be combined in the same chip or chipset. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuit system 1122 may be part of interface 1114. RF transceiver circuit system 1122 may condition RF signals for processing circuit system 1120.

[0137] In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein as being performed by the WD may be provided by the processing circuit system 1120 executing instructions stored on a device-readable medium 1130, which may be a computer-readable storage medium in some embodiments. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functions may be provided by the processing circuit system 1120 without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, the processing circuit system 1120 may be configured to perform the described functions regardless of whether instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to separate processing circuit systems 1120 or other components of WD 1110, but are generally enjoyed by WD 1110 as a whole, and / or by end users and wireless networks.

[0138] Processing circuit system 1120 may be configured to perform any determination, calculation, or similar operation (e.g., certain acquisition operations) described herein as being performed by the WD. Such operations performed by processing circuit system 1120 may include processing information acquired by processing circuit system 1120, for example, by converting the acquired information into other information, comparing the acquired information or the converted information with information stored by WD 1110, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired information or the converted information and making a determination as a result of the processing.

[0139] Device-readable medium 1130 is operable to store computer programs, software, including applications of one or more of logic, rules, codes, tables, etc., and / or other instructions executable by processing circuitry 1120. Device-readable medium 1130 may include computer memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., compact disc (CD) or digital video disc (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by processing circuitry 1120. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 1120 and device-readable medium 1130 may be considered integrated.

[0140] The user interface device 1132 may provide a component that allows a human user to interact with the WD 1110. Such interaction may have a variety of forms, such as visual, auditory, tactile, etc. The user interface device 1132 is operable to generate output to the user and allow the user to provide input to the WD 1110. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface device 1132 installed in the WD 1110. For example, if the WD 1110 is a smart phone, the interaction may be via a touch screen; if the WD 1110 is a smart meter, the interaction may be through a screen that provides usage (e.g., the number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alarm (e.g., if smoke is detected). The user interface device 1132 may include an input interface, device, and circuit, as well as an output interface, device, and circuit. The user interface device 1132 is configured to allow information to be input to the WD 1110, and is connected to the processing circuit system 1120 to allow the processing circuit system 1120 to process the input information. User interface device 1132 may include, for example, a microphone, proximity or other sensor, key / button, touch display, one or more cameras, USB port or other input circuitry. User interface device 1132 is also configured to allow information to be output from WD 1110, and allows processing circuitry 1120 to output information from WD 1110. User interface device 1132 may include, for example, a speaker, display, vibration circuitry, USB port, headphone jack or other output circuitry. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices and circuits of user interface device 1132, WD 1110 may communicate with end users and / or wireless networks, and allow them to benefit from the functions described herein.

[0141] Auxiliary device 1134 is operable to provide more specific functions that may not normally be performed by a WD. This may include specialized sensors for taking measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communications (such as wired communications, etc.). The inclusion and type of components of auxiliary device 1134 may vary depending on the embodiment and / or scenario.

[0142] In some embodiments, the power supply 1136 may be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power supplies may also be used, such as an external power supply (e.g., a power outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a power battery. The WD 1110 may further include a power supply circuit system 1137 for delivering power from the power supply 1136 to various parts of the WD 1110, which need to obtain power from the power supply 1136 to perform any function described or indicated herein. The power supply circuit system 1137 may include a power management circuit system in some embodiments. The power supply circuit system 1137 may be additionally or alternatively operable to receive power from an external power source; in this case, the WD 1110 may be connected to an external power source (such as a power outlet) via an input circuit system or an interface such as a power cable. The power supply circuit system 1137 may also be operable in some embodiments to deliver power from an external power source to the power supply 1136. This may be, for example, for charging the power supply 1136. The power circuitry 1137 may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification of the power from the power source 1136 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the WD 1110 to which the power is supplied.

[0143] Fig.12 An embodiment of a UE according to the various aspects described herein is illustrated. As used herein, a user equipment or UE does not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated device. Rather, a UE may represent a device that is intended to be sold to or operated by a human user, but the device may not be or may not initially be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended to be sold to or operated by an end user, but the device may be associated with a user or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart meter). UE1200 may be any UE identified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a NB-IoT UE, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. As Fig.12 As shown, UE 1200 is an example of a WD configured to communicate according to one or more communication standards promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as 3GPP's GSM, UMTS, LTE and / or 5G standards. As previously mentioned, the terms WD and UE can be used interchangeably. Therefore, although Fig.12 It is a UE, but the components discussed in this article are equally applicable to WD and vice versa.

[0144] exist Fig.12In the embodiment, UE 1200 includes a processing circuit system 1201, which is operably coupled to an input / output interface 1205, a radio frequency (RF) interface 1209, a network connection interface 1211, a memory 1215 (which includes a random access memory (RAM) 1217, a read-only memory (ROM) 1219, and a storage medium 1221, etc.), a communication subsystem 1231, a power supply 1233, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof. The storage medium 1221 includes an operating system 1223, an application 1225, and data 1227. In other embodiments, the storage medium 1221 may include other similar types of information. Some UEs may utilize Fig.12 All components shown may be used, or only a subset of the components may be used. The degree of integration between components may vary from UE to UE. In addition, some UEs may include multiple instances of components, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0145] exist Fig.12 , processing circuit system 1201 may be configured to process computer instructions and data. Processing circuit system 1201 may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute machine instructions stored in memory as a machine-readable computer program, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored-program, general-purpose processors such as microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, processing circuit system 1201 may include two central processing units (CPUs). Data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

[0146] In the depicted embodiment, the input / output interface 1205 may be configured to provide a communication interface with an input device, an output device, or an input and output device. The UE 1200 may be configured to use an output device via the input / output interface 1205. The output device may use the same type of interface port as the input device. For example, a USB port may be used to provide input to and output from the UE 1200. The output device may be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, a transmitter, a smart card, another output device, or any combination thereof. The UE 1200 may be configured to use an input device via the input / output interface 1205 to allow a user to capture information to the UE 1200. The input device may include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a steering wheel, a touchpad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, etc. A presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. The sensor can be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another similar sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device can be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and an optical sensor.

[0147] exist Fig.12 In the embodiment of the present invention, the RF interface 1209 can be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as a transmitter, a receiver, and an antenna. The network connection interface 1211 can be configured to provide a communication interface to the network 1243a. The network 1243a can include a wired and / or wireless network, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 1243a can include a Wi-Fi network. The network connection interface 1211 can be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface, which is used to communicate with one or more other devices on a communication network according to one or more communication protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP / IP, SONET, ATM, etc. The network connection interface 1211 can implement receiver and transmitter functions suitable for communication network links (e.g., optical, electrical, etc.). The transmitter and receiver functions can share circuit components, software, or firmware, or can alternatively be implemented separately.

[0148] RAM 1217 may be configured to interface with processing circuit system 1201 via bus 1202 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during execution of software programs such as operating systems, applications, and device drivers. ROM 1219 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuit system 1201. For example, ROM 1219 may be configured to store unchanged low-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basic input and output (I / O), initiating or receiving keystrokes from a keyboard, which are stored in non-volatile memory. Storage medium 1221 may be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disk, optical disk, floppy disk, hard disk, removable box, or flash drive. In one example, storage medium 1221 may be configured to include operating system 1223, application 1225 such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine, or another application, and data file 1227. The storage medium 1221 may store any of a variety of different operating systems or combinations of operating systems for use by the UE 1200 .

[0149] The storage medium 1221 may be configured to include multiple physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a floppy disk drive, a flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high-density digital versatile disk (HD-DVD) optical drive, an internal hard drive. A Blu-ray optical drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical drive, an external micro dual-in-line memory module (DIMM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), an external micro DIMM SDRAM, a smart card memory (such as a subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM / RUIM) module), other memory, or any combination thereof. The storage medium 1221 may allow the UE 1200 to access computer executable instructions, applications, etc. stored on a temporary or non-temporary storage medium to unload data or upload data. An article of manufacture, such as an article of manufacture utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied in the storage medium 1221, which may include a device-readable medium.

[0150] exist Fig.12In the embodiment, the processing circuit system 1201 can be configured to communicate with the network 1243b using the communication subsystem 1231. The network 1243a and the network 1243b can be the same one or more networks or different one or more networks. The communication subsystem 1231 can be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with the network 1243b. For example, the communication subsystem 1231 can be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with the network 1243b according to one or more communication protocols, such as IEEE802.11, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, etc., and one or more remote transceivers of another device (such as another WD, UE or base station of a radio access network (RAN)) capable of wireless communication. Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1233 and / or a receiver 1235 to respectively implement a transmitter or receiver function (such as frequency allocation, etc.) suitable for a RAN link. In addition, the transmitter 1233 and the receiver 1235 of each transceiver may share components, software or firmware, or may alternatively be implemented separately.

[0151] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the communication subsystem 1231 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as using a global positioning system (GPS) to determine location, another similar communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, the communication subsystem 1231 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. The network 1243b may include a wired and / or wireless network, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 1243b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and / or a near-field network. The power supply 1213 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to the components of the UE 1200.

[0152] The features, benefits and / or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of UE 1200, or may be divided across multiple components of UE 1200. In addition, the features, benefits and / or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software or firmware. In one example, the communication subsystem 1231 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. In addition, the processing circuit system 1201 may be configured to communicate with any of such components on the bus 1202. In another example, any of such components may be represented by a program instruction stored in a memory, which, when executed by the processing circuit system 1201, performs the corresponding function described herein. In another example, the function of any of such components may be divided between the processing circuit system 1201 and the communication subsystem 1231. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware, and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0153] Fig.13 1300 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualized environment 1300 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of an apparatus or device, which may include a virtualized hardware platform, storage devices, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization may be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device, or any other type of communication device) or a component thereof, and relates to an embodiment in which at least a portion of the functions are implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines, or containers executed on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

[0154] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtual environments 1300 hosted by one or more of the hardware nodes 1330. Furthermore, in embodiments where the virtual node is not a radio access node or does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node), then the network node may be fully virtualized.

[0155] Functionality may be implemented by one or more applications 1320 (which may alternatively be referred to as software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.), which are operable to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. The applications 1320 run in a virtualized environment 1300, which provides hardware 1330 including a processing circuit system 1360 and a memory 1390. The memory 1390 contains instructions 1395 executable by the processing circuit system 1360, whereby the applications 1320 are operable to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and / or functions disclosed herein.

[0156] The virtualized environment 1300 includes a general or special purpose network hardware device 1330, which includes a collection of one or more processors or processing circuit systems 1360, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, specialized application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuit system, including digital or analog hardware components or special-purpose processors. Each hardware device may include a memory 1390-1, which may be a non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 1395 or software executed by the processing circuit system 1360. Each hardware device may include one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 1370, also known as network interface cards, which include a physical network interface 1380. Each hardware device may also include a non-transitory, persistent, machine-readable storage medium 1390-2, in which software 1395 and / or instructions executable by the processing circuit system 1360 are stored. The software 1395 may include any type of software, including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers 1350 (also referred to as a hypervisor), software for executing virtual machines 1340, and software that enables them to perform functions, features and / or benefits associated with some of the embodiments described herein.

[0157] The virtual machine 1340 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1350 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of instances of the virtual appliance 1320 may be implemented on one or more of the virtual machines 1340 and may be implemented in different ways.

[0158] During operation, processing circuitry 1360 executes software 1395 to instantiate a hypervisor or virtualization layer 1350, which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer 1350 may present to virtual machines 1340 a virtual operating platform that appears to be networked hardware.

[0159] like Fig.13As shown, hardware 1330 can be an independent network node with common or specific components. Hardware 1330 may include antenna 13225, and some functions may be implemented via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1330 may be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., such as in a data center or customer premise equipment (CPE)), where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration (MANO) 13100, which oversees, among other things, lifecycle management of application 1320.

[0160] Virtualization of hardware is referred to in some contexts as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV can be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry-standard high-capacity server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers as well as customer premises equipment.

[0161] In the context of NFV, a virtual machine 1340 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executed on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the virtual machines 1340 and the portion of the hardware 1330 on which it executes, whether dedicated to that virtual machine and / or hardware shared by that virtual machine with other virtual machines 1340, forms a separate virtual network element (VNE).

[0162] Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function (VNF) is responsible for handling operations in one or more virtual machines 1340 on top of the hardware networking infrastructure 1330 and corresponds to Fig.13 Specific network functions of application 1320 in.

[0163] In some embodiments, one or more radio units 13200, each including one or more transmitters 13220 and one or more receivers 13210, may be coupled to one or more antennas 13225. The radio units 13200 may communicate directly with the hardware nodes 1330 via one or more appropriate network interfaces, and may be used in combination with virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or base station.

[0164] In some embodiments, some signaling may be accomplished using a control system 13230 , which may alternatively be used for communications between the hardware node 1330 and the radio unit 13200 .

[0165] refer to Fig.14According to an embodiment, the communication system includes a telecommunication network 1410, such as a 3GPP type cellular network, which includes an access network 1411 (such as a radio access network) and a core network 1414. The access network 1411 includes a plurality of base stations 1412a, 1412b, 1412c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each of which defines a corresponding coverage area 1413a, 1413b, 1413c. Each base station 1412a, 1412b, 1412c may be connected to the core network 1414 via a wired or wireless connection 1415. A first UE 1491 located in the coverage area 1413c is configured to be wirelessly connected to or paged by the corresponding base station 1412c. A second UE 1492 in the coverage area 1413a may be wirelessly connected to the corresponding base station 1412a. Although multiple UEs 1491 , 1492 are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to situations where only a UE is in the coverage area or only a UE is connected to the corresponding base station 1412 .

[0166] The telecommunications network 1410 itself is connected to a host computer 1430, which may be implemented in hardware and / or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as a processing resource in a server farm. The host computer 1430 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. The connections 1421 and 1422 between the telecommunications network 1410 and the host computer 1430 may extend directly from the core network 1414 to the host computer 1430, or may pass through an optional intermediate network 1420. The intermediate network 1420 may be one of a public network, a private network, or a managed network, or a combination of more than one; the intermediate network 1420, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network 1420 may include two or more sub-networks (not shown).

[0167] Fig.14The communication system as a whole implements a connection between connected UEs 1491, 1492 and a host computer 1430. The connection may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1450. The host computer 1430 and the connected UEs 1491, 1492 are configured to communicate data and / or signaling via the OTT connection 1450 using the access network 1411, the core network 1414, any intermediate networks 1420, and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 1450 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 1450 passes are unaware of the routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 1412 may not or need not be informed of the past routing of incoming downlink communications with data originating from the host computer 1430 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected UE 1491. Similarly, the base station 1412 does not need to know the future routing of outgoing uplink communications originating from the UE 1491 to the host computer 1430.

[0168] Now refer to Fig.15 Describe the example implementation of the UE, base station and host computer discussed in the previous paragraph according to the embodiment. In the communication system 1500, the host computer 1510 includes hardware 1515, which includes a communication interface 1516 configured to establish and maintain a wired or wireless connection with the interface of different communication devices of the communication system 1500. The host computer 1510 further includes a processing circuit system 1518 that may have storage and / or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuit system 1518 may include one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The host computer 1510 further includes software 1511, which is stored in the host computer 1510 or can be accessed by the host computer and can be executed by the processing circuit system 1518. The software 1511 includes a host application 1512. The host application 1512 is operable to provide services to remote users, such as UE 1530 connected via an OTT connection 1550 terminated at the UE 1530 and the host computer 1510. When providing services to remote users, the host application 1512 may provide user data sent using the OTT connection 1550 .

[0169] The communication system 1500 further includes a base station 1520, which is arranged in the telecommunication system and includes hardware 1525 that enables it to communicate with the host computer 1510 and the UE 1530. The hardware 1525 may include a communication interface 1526 for establishing and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with different communication devices of the communication system 1500, and a communication interface 1526 for establishing and maintaining a connection with at least a network located in the coverage area (in the coverage area) served by the base station 1520. Fig.151520. The communication interface 1526 may be configured to facilitate a connection 1560 to the host computer 1510. The connection 1560 may be direct, or it may pass through a core network of the telecommunications system (in Fig.15 1520) and / or through one or more intermediate networks outside the telecommunications system. In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 1525 of the base station 1520 further includes a processing circuit system 1528, which may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The base station 1520 further has software 1521 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0170] The communication system 1500 further includes the UE 1530 already mentioned. Its hardware 1535 may include a radio interface 1537, which is configured to establish and maintain a wireless connection 1570 with a base station serving the coverage area where the UE 1530 is currently located. The hardware 1535 of the UE 1530 further includes a processing circuit system 1538, which may include one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The UE 1530 further includes software 1531, which is stored in the UE 1530 or can be accessed by the UE 1530 and can be executed by the processing circuit system 1538. The software 1531 includes a client application 1532. The client application 1532 is operable to provide services to human or non-human users via the UE 1530 with the support of the host computer 1510. In the host computer 1510, the executed host application 1512 can communicate with the executed client application 1532 via the OTT connection 1550 terminated at the UE 1530 and the host computer 1510. When providing services to the user, the client application 1532 can receive request data from the host application 1512 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1550 can send both the request data and the user data. The client application 1532 can interact with the user to generate the user data it provides.

[0171] Please note that Fig.15 The host computer 1510, base station 1520 and UE 1530 shown in the figure can be respectively Fig.14 The host computer 1430, one of the base stations 1412a, 1412b, 1412c and one of the UEs 1491, 1492 may be similar or identical. That is, the internal workings of these entities may be similar to Fig.15 shown, and independently, the surrounding network topology can be Fig.14 network topology.

[0172] exist Fig.15 15, OTT connection 1550 has been abstractly drawn to illustrate communication between host computer 1510 and UE 1530 via base station 1520, without explicit reference to any intermediate devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. The network infrastructure can determine the routing, which can be configured to be hidden from UE 1530 or from the service provider operating host computer 1510, or from both. While OTT connection 1550 is active, the network infrastructure can further take decisions by which the routing is dynamically changed (e.g., based on load balancing considerations or reconfiguration of the network).

[0173] The wireless connection 1570 between the UE 1530 and the base station 1520 is consistent with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improves the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1530 using the OTT connection 1550, where the wireless connection 1570 forms the last segment. More specifically, the teachings of these embodiments can improve the latency and reliability of data transmission, and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time and better responsiveness.

[0174] A measurement process may be provided for monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors improved by one or more embodiments. There may be further optional network functions for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1550 between the host computer 1510 and the UE 1530 in response to changes in the measurement results. The measurement process and / or the network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1550 may be implemented in the software 1511 and hardware 1515 of the host computer 1510, or in the software 1531 and hardware 1535 of the UE 1530, or both. In an embodiment, a sensor (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with a communication device through which the OTT connection 1550 passes; the sensor may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying the values ​​of the monitored quantities exemplified above or supplying the values ​​of other physical quantities, and the software 1511, 1531 may calculate or estimate the monitored quantities from the values ​​of these physical quantities. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 1550 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routes, etc.; the reconfiguration does not need to affect the base station 1520, and it may not be known or perceived by the base station 1520. Such processes and functions may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates host computer 1510 to measure throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. The measurements may be implemented in the following manner: Software 1511 and 1531 use OTT connection 1550 to cause messages to be sent, particularly empty or "dummy" messages, while the OTT connection monitors propagation time, errors, etc.

[0175] Fig.16is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Fig.14 and Fig.15 To simplify this disclosure, this section will only include Fig.16 . In step 1610, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 1611 of step 1610 (which may be optional), the host computer provides user data by executing a host application. In step 1620, the host computer initiates a transmission to the UE that carries the user data. In step 1630 (which may be optional), the base station sends the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host computer to the UE in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1640 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0176] Fig.17 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Fig.14 and Fig.15 To simplify this disclosure, this section will only include Fig.17 . In step 1710 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 1720, the host computer initiates a transmission to the UE carrying the user data. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the transmission may pass through a base station. In step 1730 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0177] Fig.18 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Fig.14 and Fig.15 To simplify this disclosure, this section will only include Fig.18. In step 1810 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. In addition or alternatively, in step 1820, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 1821 of step 1820 (which may be optional), the UE provides user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 1811 of step 1810 (which may be optional), the UE executes a client application, which provides user data in response to received input data provided by the host computer. When providing user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data is provided, the UE initiates the transmission of the user data to the host computer in sub-step 1830 (which may be optional). In step 1840 of the method, according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the host computer receives user data sent from the UE.

[0178] Fig.19 is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Fig.14 and Fig.15 To simplify this disclosure, this section will only include Fig.19 In step 1910 (which may be optional), in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the base station receives user data from the UE. In step 1920 (which may be optional), the base station initiates a transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 1930 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0179] Fig. 20 A method according to a particular embodiment is depicted. The method may be performed by a wireless receiving node, such as a wireless device or UE operating in a downlink, or a radio access network node operating in an uplink. For example, the method may be performed by the above-mentioned wireless device 1110 or UE 1200 operating in a downlink, or by the above-mentioned network node 1160 (e.g., a base station) operating in an uplink. The method may be used to receive data with particularly stringent reliability requirements and / or low latency requirements. For example, the data may be ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) data or critical machine type communication (CMT) data. - MTC) data.

[0180] The method involves sending multiple copies of data items to be received and reconstructed by one or more wireless transmitting nodes. The copies of the data items can be sent via different mechanisms, such as via different wireless interfaces (for example, in this case, multiple wireless transmitting nodes can send copies), via different carriers configured with the same wireless transmitting node (for example, at different frequencies), and via different spatial streams (for example, sent by different transmission-reception points of the same network node or base station). Therefore, each data item belonging to the data to be sent is copied at least once (and possibly more than once) to provide multiple copies sent via independent transmission mechanisms. The copied data items can be, for example, PDCP PDUs or MAC PDUs. The wireless receiving node receives one or more of the copies sent, and for each data item, one or more of the copies must be selected for reconstruction of the data originally sent.

[0181] The method starts at step 2002, where a wireless receiving node receives an indication of an algorithm for selecting a replica of a data item to reconstruct data. The indication may be received from one or more of the one or more wireless transmitting nodes. For example, in the case where the one or more wireless transmitting nodes are radio access network nodes operating in a multi-connection scheme, the indication of the algorithm may be received from a master or primary radio access network node (e.g., a node providing a PCell or SpCell). For example, the indication may be received via RRC or MAC signaling. The indicated algorithm may be one of a plurality of possible algorithms. In this case, the indication may include an index that may be set to a plurality of values, each value being associated with a corresponding algorithm. The indication may be set to a value associated with the indicated algorithm. The association between the index value and the corresponding algorithm may be preconfigured in the wireless receiving node, for example, preconfigured via further signaling or programming of the node (e.g., for operating according to a particular wireless standard) at the time of manufacture.

[0182] In step 2004, the wireless receiving node receives an indication to begin utilizing the algorithm. The indication may include an indication that data replication is about to begin, wherein multiple replicas of the data item are to be sent by one or more wireless transmitting nodes. The indication may include an indication of the number of replicas to be sent and / or the location of the replicas, for example, an indication of the radio resources (e.g., which interface carrier, frequency, time, etc.) on which the replicas can be found. The indication in step 2004 may be included using the same or different message as the indication of the algorithm to be used received in step 2002. In the former case, for example, where only a single algorithm is implemented in the network, the indication received in step 2004 may implicitly indicate the algorithm to be used (i.e., the only implemented algorithm). Alternatively, the indication received in step 2002 may include an implicit instruction to begin utilizing the algorithm.

[0183] In step 2006, the wireless receiving node receives multiple data packets from one or more wireless transmitting nodes. As described above, the data packet includes a duplicate copy of the data item. Also as described above, those skilled in the art will understand that the data packet itself may not be a copy of each other, but includes a duplicate copy of the data item. Therefore, the data packet may include other different data and / or control signaling (e.g., control header). The duplicate copy of the data item can be sent via different mechanisms, such as via different wireless interfaces (e.g., in this case, multiple wireless transmitting nodes can send duplicate copies), via different carriers (e.g., at different frequencies) configured using the same wireless transmitting node, and via different spatial streams (e.g., sent by different transmission-receiving points of the same network node or base station). It will be further understood that multiple data packets can be received via multiple receiver mechanisms (such as via multiple wireless devices (UE)).

[0184] In step 2008, the wireless receiving node utilizes the algorithm indicated in step 2002 to select one or more of the replicas for reconstructing the data for each of the data items in the data to be reconstructed based on the respective time at which each of the plurality of data packets is received in step 2006. Various different algorithms may be utilized. For example, the algorithm may include the wireless receiving node selecting the kth received replica for reconstructing the data, where k is an integer greater than or equal to 1. The value of k may be specified in the indication received in step 2002. In a particular example, k is equal to 1, in which case the wireless receiving node utilizes the first received replica of each data item for reconstructing the data. Alternatively, when all received replicas are sorted according to the respective time at which they are received, the algorithm may include the wireless receiving node selecting the median received replica for reconstructing the data. Once reconstructed, the data may be used in any suitable manner. For example, in the case where the data includes control signals for a machine, those control signals may be forwarded to the machine; in the case where the data includes feedback signals from the machine, those control signals may be forwarded to a controller for the machine.

[0185] In step 2010, the wireless receiving node receives an instruction or command to stop or terminate the use of the algorithm. For example, the instruction may include an instruction to stop data replication. In response to receiving the instruction, the wireless receiving node stops selecting a replica for use in reconstructing data.

[0186] Fig.21 A wireless network (eg, Fig.112100 in a wireless network). The apparatus may be implemented in a wireless receiving node, such as a wireless device operating in a downlink or a network node operating in an uplink (e.g., Fig.11 The apparatus 2100 is operable to perform the reference Fig. 20 The example methods described herein, as well as any other possible processes or methods disclosed herein. It should also be understood that Fig. 20 The method is not necessarily performed only by the apparatus 2100. At least some operations of the method may be performed by one or more other entities.

[0187] The virtual device 2100 may include a processing circuit system, which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, and other digital hardware, which may include a digital signal processor (DSP), dedicated digital logic, etc. The processing circuit system may be configured to execute program code stored in a memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory, a cache memory, a flash memory device, an optical storage device, etc. In several embodiments, the program code stored in the memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols, and instructions for executing one or more of the techniques described herein. In several embodiments, the processing circuit system can be used to cause the receiving unit 2102 and the selecting unit 2104, as well as any other suitable units of the device 2100, to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0188] like Fig.21 As shown, the apparatus 2100 includes a receiving unit 2102 and a selecting unit 2104. The receiving unit 2102 is configured to receive a plurality of data packets from one or more wireless transmitting nodes, each data packet including a corresponding replica of a data item belonging to a data stream. The data stream includes a sequence of data items. The selecting unit 2104 is configured to utilize an algorithm to select one or more replicas of the data item for each position in the sequence for reconstructing the data stream based on the corresponding time at which the data packets are received.

[0189] In a particular embodiment of the present disclosure, the receiving unit 2102 may be configured to receive an indication of the algorithm from a wireless transmitting node in one or more wireless transmitting nodes. For example, when the replicas for each position are sorted according to the corresponding time at which the replicas (e.g., data packets including the replicas) are received, the indication may include an indication of the ordinal number of the replica to be selected for each position in the sequence. For example, the indication may indicate that the first received replica should be selected.

[0190] Fig. 22A method according to a particular embodiment is depicted. The method may be performed by a wireless transmitting node, such as a wireless device or UE operating in an uplink, or a radio access network node operating in a downlink. For example, the method may be performed by the above-mentioned wireless device 1110 or UE 1200 operating in an uplink, or by the above-mentioned network node 1160 (e.g., a base station) operating in a downlink. The method may be used to receive data with particularly stringent reliability requirements and / or low latency requirements. For example, the data may be ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) data or critical machine type communication (C-MTC) data.

[0191] The method involves sending, by one or more wireless transmitting nodes, multiple replicas of a data item to be received and reconstructed. In this scenario, executing Fig. 22 The wireless transmitting node of the method shown can be the first wireless transmitting node in one or more wireless transmitting nodes. For example, in the case where one or more wireless transmitting nodes are radio access network nodes operating in a multi-connection scheme, the first wireless transmitting node can be a master or primary radio access network node, such as a node providing a PCell or SpCell. The duplicate copies of the data item can be sent via different mechanisms, such as via different wireless interfaces (for example, in this case, multiple wireless transmitting nodes can send duplicate copies), via different carriers configured with the same wireless transmitting node (for example, at different frequencies), and via different spatial streams (for example, sent by different transmission-receiving points of the same network node or base station). Therefore, each data item belonging to the data to be sent is copied at least once (and possibly more than once) to provide multiple copies sent via an independent transmission mechanism. For example, the copied data item can be a PDCP PDU or a MAC PDU. The wireless receiving node receives one or more of the transmitted duplicate copies, and selects one or more of the duplicate copies for each data item for reconstruction of the original data.

[0192] The method starts at step 2202, where a wireless transmitting node causes an indication of an algorithm to be used to select a replica of a data item to reconstruct the data to be sent to one or more wireless receiving nodes. For example, the sending may be caused by the first wireless transmitting node itself performing the sending, or by instructing another node to perform the sending. For example, the indication may be sent via RRC or MAC signaling. The indicated algorithm may be one of a plurality of possible algorithms. In this case, the indication may include an index that may be set to a plurality of values, each value being associated with a respective algorithm. The indication may be set to a value associated with the indicated algorithm. The association between the index value and the corresponding algorithm may be preconfigured in one or more wireless receiving nodes, for example, preconfigured at the time of manufacture via further signaling or programming of the node (e.g., for operating according to a particular wireless standard).

[0193] In step 2204, the first wireless transmitting node causes an indication to be sent to one or more wireless receiving nodes to begin utilizing the algorithm. The indication may include an indication that data replication is about to begin, wherein multiple copies of the data item are to be sent by one or more wireless transmitting nodes. The indication may include an indication of the number of copies to be sent and / or the location of the copies, for example, an indication of the radio resources (e.g., which interface carrier, frequency, time, etc.) on which the copies can be found. The indication in step 2204 may be included in the same or different message as the indication of the algorithm to be used received in step 2202. In the former case, for example, where only a single algorithm is implemented in the network, the indication sent in step 2204 may implicitly indicate the algorithm to be used (i.e., the only implemented algorithm). Alternatively, the indication sent in step 2202 may include an implicit instruction to begin utilizing the algorithm.

[0194] In step 2206, the first wireless transmitting node causes multiple data packets to be sent from one or more wireless transmitting nodes to one or more wireless receiving nodes. As described above, the data packet includes a duplicate copy of the data item. For example, each data packet may include a corresponding duplicate copy so that a copy of each data item is sent in each data packet. And as described above, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the data packets themselves may not be duplicates of each other, but include duplicate copies of the data items. Therefore, the data packet may include other different data and / or control signaling (e.g., control header). The duplicate copies of the data items can be sent via different mechanisms, such as via different wireless interfaces (e.g., in this case, multiple wireless transmitting nodes can send duplicate copies), via different carriers configured using the same wireless transmitting node (e.g., at different frequencies), and via different spatial streams (e.g., sent by different transmission-receiving points of the same network node or base station). The first wireless transmitting node can send multiple data packets by itself. Alternatively, the first wireless transmission node can only send a subset (such as one or more) of multiple data packets to (one or more) wireless receiving nodes, and send instructions to one or more other wireless transmitting nodes to send other data packets. In another alternative, the first wireless transmitting node may not transmit any data packets itself, but may instruct one or more other wireless transmitting nodes to transmit data packets.

[0195] Step 2206 may include utilizing a scheduling and / or link adaptation algorithm in which the number of replicas is provided as an input. For example, in the case where the replicas are sent on separate transmission paths (e.g., different frequencies, carriers, TRPs, etc.), the HARQ operating point (e.g., BLER rate) for each transmission path may be set according to the following formula:

[0196] α=f(logPER / N sim )

[0197] α: BLER target for link adaptation of individual data transmission paths.

[0198] PER: The packet error rate of the data transmission as a whole (ie taking into account multiple transmission paths).

[0199] ·N sim The number of simultaneous transmission data paths (eg, PDCP data replication via dual connectivity or multiple connectivity, and / or MAC layer data replication transmission via carrier aggregation, and / or spatial replication transmission via different physical transmission points).

[0200] Thereafter, the wireless receiving node utilizes the algorithm indicated in step 2202 to select one or more of the replicas for reconstructing the data for each data item in the data to be reconstructed based on the corresponding time at which each of the plurality of data packets sent in step 2006 was received. A variety of different algorithms may be utilized.

[0201] In step 2208, the first wireless transmitting node causes an indication or instruction to be sent to (one or more) wireless receiving nodes to stop or terminate the use of the algorithm. For example, the indication may include an indication to stop data replication. In response to receiving the indication, the wireless receiving node stops selecting a replica for use in reconstructing data.

[0202] Fig.23 A wireless network (eg, Fig.11 2300 in a wireless network). The apparatus may be implemented in a wireless transmitting node, such as a wireless device operating in an uplink or a network node operating in a downlink (e.g., Fig.11 The apparatus 2300 is operable to perform the reference Fig. 22 The example methods described herein, as well as any other possible processes or methods disclosed herein. It should also be understood that Fig. 22 The method is not necessarily performed only by the apparatus 2300. At least some operations of the method may be performed by one or more other entities.

[0203] The virtual device 2300 may include a processing circuit system, which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, and other digital hardware, which may include a digital signal processor (DSP), dedicated digital logic, etc. The processing circuit system may be configured to execute program code stored in a memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory, a cache memory, a flash memory device, an optical storage device, etc. In several embodiments, the program code stored in the memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols, and instructions for executing one or more of the techniques described herein. In some embodiments, the processing circuit may be used to cause the unit 2302, as well as any other suitable unit of the device 2300, to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0204] In the following, the apparatus 2300 is implemented in an entity referred to as a first wireless transmitting node. Fig.23As shown, the apparatus 2300 includes a causing unit 2302. The causing unit 2302 is configured to cause one or more wireless transmitting nodes including a first wireless transmitting node to send a plurality of data packets to a wireless receiving node. Each data packet includes a corresponding replica of a data item belonging to a data stream. The causing unit 2302 is further configured to cause an indication of an algorithm to be used by the wireless receiving node to be sent to the wireless receiving node to select one or more of the replicas of the data item for each position in the sequence for reconstructing the data stream based on the corresponding time at which the data packet is received.

[0205] In particular embodiments, when the replicas for each position are ordered according to the respective times at which the replicas (e.g., data packets including the replicas) were received, the indication may include an indication of the ordinal number of the replica to be selected for each position in the sequence. For example, the indication may indicate that the first received replica should be selected.

[0206] In a further embodiment, the causing unit 2302 may be further configured to cause an indication to be sent to the wireless receiving node to start utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data stream. The indication to start utilizing the algorithm may be sent in the same message as the indication of the algorithm, and in some embodiments may include the same indication. In the latter case, for example, the wireless receiving device may be pre-configured with the algorithm to be used (or only one algorithm may be defined in the wireless network), in which case the indication to start utilizing the algorithm is an implicit indication of the algorithm to be used.

[0207] The term unit may have the conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and / or electronic devices, and may include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuit systems, devices, modules, processors, memories, logical solid-state and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for performing corresponding tasks, procedures, calculations, output and / or display functions, etc., such as those described in this document.

[0208] For the avoidance of doubt, the following numbered statements set forth embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0209] Group A Embodiment

[0210] 1. A method for receiving a data stream from one or more wireless transmitting nodes, the data stream comprising a sequence of data items, the method comprising:

[0211] - receiving a plurality of data packets from one or more wireless transmitting nodes, each data packet comprising a respective replica of a data item belonging to a data flow; and

[0212] - utilizing an algorithm to select, for each position in the sequence, one or more of the replicated copies of the data item for use in reconstructing the data stream based on the respective times at which the data packets were received.

[0213] 2. The method according to embodiment 1 further includes: receiving an indication of the algorithm from a wireless transmitting node among the one or more wireless transmitting nodes.

[0214] 3. The method of embodiment 2, wherein the indication of the algorithm is received via radio resource control (RRC) or medium access control (MAC) signaling.

[0215] 4. A method according to embodiment 2 or 3, wherein the algorithm is one of a plurality of candidate algorithms, wherein the indication includes an index that can be set to a plurality of values ​​associated with the plurality of candidate algorithms, and wherein the index is set to a value associated with the algorithm.

[0216] 5. A method according to any one of embodiments 2 to 4, wherein when the replicas for each position are ordered according to the respective times at which the data packets are received, the indication includes an indication of the ordinal number of the replica to be selected for each position in the sequence.

[0217] 6. A method according to any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the step of utilizing the algorithm includes: when the replicas for each position are sorted according to the corresponding time at which the data packet is received, selecting a replica corresponding to the kth replica for each position in the sequence, where k is an integer.

[0218] 7. The method of embodiment 6, wherein k is equal to 1.

[0219] 8. A method according to any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the step of utilizing the algorithm comprises: when the replicas for each position are sorted according to the corresponding time at which the data packet is received, selecting a replica corresponding to the median replica for each position in the sequence.

[0220] 9. The method according to any one of the preceding embodiments further comprises: receiving an indication to start utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing a data stream.

[0221] 10. The method of embodiment 9, when directly or indirectly dependent upon embodiment 2, wherein the indication to begin utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data stream is included in the same message as the indication of the algorithm.

[0222] 11. The method of embodiment 10, wherein the indication to start utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data stream is the same indication as the indication of the algorithm.

[0223] 12. The method of any one of embodiments 9 to 11, wherein the indication to start utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data stream includes an indication of a plurality of carriers on which the plurality of data packets or duplicate copies of the data item are transmitted.

[0224] 13. The method of any one of embodiments 9 to 12, wherein the indication to start utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data stream includes an indication of a radio resource on which the plurality of data packets or the duplicate copies of the data item are sent.

[0225] 14. The method according to any one of the preceding embodiments further comprises: receiving an indication to stop utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data stream.

[0226] 15. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the data unit comprises a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocol data unit.

[0227] 16. The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 14, wherein the data unit comprises a media access control (MAC) protocol data unit.

[0228] 17. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the plurality of data packets are transmitted on respective ones of a plurality of carriers.

[0229] 18. The method of embodiment 17, wherein two or more of the plurality of carriers are configured between the wireless receiving node and a single wireless transmitting node.

[0230] 19. The method according to embodiment 17 or 18, wherein the multiple carriers include a first carrier configured between the wireless receiving node and the first wireless transmitting node, and a second carrier configured between the wireless receiving node and the second wireless transmitting node.

[0231] 20. The method of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the wireless receiving node is a wireless user equipment, and wherein one or more wireless transmitting nodes are wireless radio access network nodes.

[0232] 21. The method of any one of embodiments 1 to 19, wherein the wireless receiving node is a wireless radio access network node, and wherein the one or more wireless transmitting nodes include wireless user equipment.

[0233] 22. A method according to any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the data stream involves ultra-reliable low-latency communication.

[0234] 23. The method according to any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:

[0235] - obtaining user data from the reconstruction of the data stream; and

[0236] -Forward user data to the host computer.

[0237] Group B Example

[0238] 24. A method performed by a first wireless transmitting node for transmitting a data stream to a wireless receiving node, the data stream comprising a sequence of data items, the method comprising:

[0239] - causing a plurality of data packets to be sent by one or more wireless transmitting nodes including the first wireless transmitting node to the wireless receiving node, each data packet comprising a respective replica of a data item belonging to the data flow; and

[0240] - causing an indication of an algorithm to be sent to the wireless receiving node, the algorithm to be used by the wireless receiving node to select one or more of the replicated copies of the data item for each position in the sequence for use in reconstructing the data stream based on the respective times at which the data packets were received.

[0241] 25. The method of embodiment 24, wherein the indication of the algorithm is sent via radio resource control (RRC) or medium access control (MAC) signaling.

[0242] 26. A method according to embodiment 24 or 25, wherein the algorithm is one of a plurality of candidate algorithms, wherein the indication includes an index that can be set to a plurality of values ​​associated with the plurality of candidate algorithms, and wherein the index is set to a value associated with the algorithm.

[0243] 27. A method according to any one of embodiments 24 to 26, wherein the indication includes an indication of the ordinal number of the replica selected for each position in the sequence when the replicas for each position are sorted by the wireless receiving node according to the corresponding time when the data packet is received.

[0244] 28. A method according to any one of embodiments 24 to 27, wherein the algorithm to be used includes: when the replicas for each position are sorted according to the corresponding time when the data packet is received, the wireless receiving node selects a replica corresponding to the kth replica for each position in the sequence, where k is an integer.

[0245] 29. The method of embodiment 28, wherein k is equal to 1.

[0246] 30. A method according to any one of embodiments 24 to 29, wherein the algorithm to be used includes: when the replicas for each position are sorted according to the corresponding time when the data packet is received, the wireless receiving node selects a replica corresponding to the median replica for each position in the sequence.

[0247] 31. The method of any one of embodiments 24 to 30, further comprising causing an indication to be sent to a wireless receiving node to start utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing a data stream.

[0248] 32. The method of embodiment 31, wherein the indication to begin utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data stream is included in the same message as the indication of the algorithm.

[0249] 33. The method of embodiment 32, wherein the indication to start utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data stream is the same indication as the indication of the algorithm.

[0250] 34. The method of any one of embodiments 31 to 33, wherein the indication to begin utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data stream includes an indication of a plurality of carriers on which to transmit the replicated copies of the plurality of data packets or data items.

[0251] 35. The method of any one of embodiments 31 to 34, wherein the indication to start utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data stream includes an indication of radio resources on which to send the duplicate copies of the plurality of data packets or data items.

[0252] 36. The method of any one of embodiments 24 to 35, further comprising causing an indication to be sent to a wireless receiving node to stop utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing a data stream.

[0253] 37. The method of any one of embodiments 24 to 36, wherein the data unit comprises a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocol data unit.

[0254] 38. A method according to any one of embodiments 24 to 36, wherein the data unit includes a media access control (MAC) protocol data unit.

[0255] 39. The method of any one of embodiments 24 to 38, wherein the plurality of data packets are transmitted on respective carriers of the plurality of carriers.

[0256] 40. The method of embodiment 39, wherein two or more of the plurality of carriers are configured between the wireless receiving node and the first wireless transmitting node.

[0257] 41. A method according to embodiment 39 or 40, wherein the multiple carriers include a first carrier configured between the wireless receiving node and the first wireless transmitting node, and a second carrier configured between the wireless receiving node and the second wireless transmitting node.

[0258] 42. The method of any one of embodiments 24 to 41, wherein the wireless receiving node is a wireless user equipment, and wherein the one or more wireless transmitting nodes are wireless radio access network nodes.

[0259] 43. A method according to any one of embodiments 24 to 41, wherein the wireless receiving node is a wireless radio access network node, and wherein the one or more wireless transmitting nodes include wireless user equipment.

[0260] 44. A method according to any one of embodiments 24 to 43, wherein the data flow involves ultra-reliable low-latency communication.

[0261] 45. The method according to any of the previous embodiments, further comprising:

[0262] - provide user data; and

[0263] - Forwarding the user data to a host computer via transmission to the wireless receiving node.

[0264] Group C Example

[0265] 46. ​​A wireless receiving node, the wireless receiving node comprising:

[0266] - processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and

[0267] - A power circuit system configured to provide power to the wireless receiving node.

[0268] 47. A wireless transmitting node, the wireless transmitting node comprising:

[0269] - processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of Group B embodiments; and

[0270] - A power circuit system configured to provide power to the wireless transmitting node.

[0271] 48. A wireless device, the wireless device comprising:

[0272] - processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A or Group B embodiments; and

[0273] - A power circuit system configured to provide power to the wireless device.

[0274] 49. A base station, the base station comprising:

[0275] - a processing circuit system configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A or Group B embodiments;

[0276] - A power circuit system configured to supply power to the base station.

[0277] 50. A user equipment (UE), the UE comprising:

[0278] - an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals;

[0279] - a radio front end circuitry connected to the antenna and the processing circuitry and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry;

[0280] - a processing circuit system configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A or Group B embodiments;

[0281] - an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow information to be input into the UE for processing by the processing circuitry;

[0282] - an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and

[0283] - A battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to provide power to the UE.

[0284] 51. A communication system comprising a host computer, the host computer comprising:

[0285] - processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and

[0286] - a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE),

[0287] - wherein the cellular network comprises a base station having a radio interface and a processing circuit system, the processing circuit system of the base station being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A or Group B embodiments.

[0288] 52. The communication system according to the previous embodiment, further comprising a base station.

[0289] 53. The communication system according to the previous two embodiments further comprises a UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

[0290] 54. The communication system according to any of the preceding 3 embodiments, wherein:

[0291] - the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application to provide user data; and

[0292] - The UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with a host application.

[0293] 55. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0294] - providing user data at the host computer; and

[0295] - Initiating, at the host computer, transmission of user data to the UE via a cellular network including the base station, wherein the base station performs any of the steps of any of the Group A or Group B embodiments.

[0296] 56. The method according to the previous embodiment, further comprising sending user data at the base station.

[0297] 57. The method of any of the previous two embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host computer by executing a host application, the method further comprising executing a client application associated with the host application at the UE.

[0298] 58. A user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a base station, the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to perform the three preceding embodiments.

[0299] 59. A communication system comprising a host computer, the host computer comprising:

[0300] - processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and

[0301] - a communication interface configured to forward user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE),

[0302] - wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and a processing circuit system, components of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A or Group B embodiments.

[0303] 60. The communication system according to the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further comprises a base station configured to communicate with the UE.

[0304] 61. The communication system of any of the previous two embodiments, wherein:

[0305] - the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application to provide user data; and

[0306] - The processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with a host application.

[0307] 62. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0308] - providing user data at the host computer; and

[0309] - initiating at the host computer a transmission of the user data to the UE via a cellular network including the base station, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A or Group B embodiments.

[0310] 63. The method according to the previous embodiment further includes receiving the user data from the base station at the UE.

[0311] 64. A communication system comprising a host computer, the host computer comprising:

[0312] - a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station,

[0313] - wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and a processing circuit system, and the processing circuit system of the UE is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A or Group B embodiments.

[0314] 65. The communication system according to the previous embodiment further includes the UE.

[0315] 66. The communication system according to the previous 2 embodiments further comprises a base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface configured to communicate with the UE, and a communication interface configured to forward user data transmitted by transmission from the UE to the base station to a host computer.

[0316] 67. The communication system according to any of the preceding 3 embodiments, wherein:

[0317] - the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; and

[0318] - The processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with a host application, thereby providing user data.

[0319] 68. The communication system of any of the preceding 4 embodiments, wherein:

[0320] - the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application to provide the requested data; and

[0321] - The processing circuitry of the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with a host application to provide the user data in response to the request data.

[0322] 69. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0323] - receiving at the host computer user data sent from the UE to a base station,

[0324] The UE executes any one of the steps of any one of the embodiments in Group A or Group B.

[0325] 70. The method according to the previous embodiment further comprises providing the user data to the base station at the UE.

[0326] 71. The method according to the previous two embodiments, further comprising:

[0327] - executing a client application at the UE, thereby providing user data to be transmitted; and

[0328] - executing a host application associated with the client application at the host computer.

[0329] 72. The method according to any of the previous three embodiments, further comprising:

[0330] - executing a client application at the UE; and

[0331] - receiving input data of a client application at the UE, the input data being provided at the host computer by executing a host application associated with the client application,

[0332] - wherein the user data to be sent is provided by the client application in response to the input data.

[0333] 73. A communication system comprising a host computer, the host computer comprising a communication interface, the communication interface being configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface and a processing circuit system, the processing circuit system of the base station being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments of Group A or Group B.

[0334] 74. The communication system according to the previous embodiment further comprises the base station.

[0335] 75. The communication system according to the previous two embodiments further includes the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

[0336] 76. The communication system according to any of the preceding 3 embodiments, wherein:

[0337] - the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application;

[0338] - The UE is configured to execute a client application associated with a host application, thereby providing user data to be received by the host computer.

[0339] 77. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0340] - receiving at the host computer from the base station user data originating from a transmission the base station has received from a UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A or Group B embodiments.

[0341] 78. The method according to the previous embodiment further includes receiving user data from the UE at the base station.

[0342] 79. The method of any of the previous two embodiments, further comprising initiating, at the base station, transmission of the received user data to the host computer.

Claims

1. A method for receiving a data stream from one or more wireless transmitting nodes, the data stream comprising a sequence of data items, the method comprising: - receiving an indication of an algorithm from a wireless transmitting node of the one or more wireless transmitting nodes; - receiving a plurality of data packets from said one or more wireless transmitting nodes, each data packet comprising a respective replica of a data item belonging to said data flow; as well as - utilizing the algorithm to select, for each position in the sequence, one or more of the replicated copies of data items for use in reconstructing the data stream based on respective times at which the data packets were received.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The algorithm is one of a plurality of candidate algorithms, wherein the indication comprises an index settable to a plurality of values ​​associated with the plurality of candidate algorithms, and wherein the index is set to a value associated with the algorithm.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: When the replicas for each position are ordered according to respective times at which the data packets were received, the indication comprises an indication of an ordinal number of the replica to be selected for each position in the sequence.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The step of utilizing the algorithm includes selecting a replica corresponding to a kth replica for each position in the sequence when the replicas for each position are ordered according to the respective times at which the data packets were received, wherein k is an integer. The method according to claim 4 , wherein k is equal to 1.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The step of utilizing the algorithm includes selecting a replica corresponding to a median replica for each position in the sequence when the replicas for each position are ordered according to the respective times at which the data packets were received.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: An indication is received to begin utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data stream.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The indication to start utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data stream comprises an indication of a number of carriers on which to transmit the plurality of data packets or replicated copies of the data items.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein: The indication to start utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data flow comprises an indication of radio resources on which to send the plurality of data packets or duplicate copies of the data items.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: An indication is received to stop utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data stream.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The plurality of data packets are transmitted on respective carriers of the plurality of carriers.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The plurality of data packets are received via a plurality of user equipments.

13. A method performed by a first wireless transmitting node for transmitting a data stream to a wireless receiving node, the data stream comprising a sequence of data items, the method comprising: - causing a plurality of data packets to be sent by one or more wireless sending nodes including the first wireless sending node to the wireless receiving node, each data packet comprising a respective replica of a data item belonging to the data flow; as well as - causing an indication of an algorithm to be sent to the wireless receiving node, the algorithm to be used by the wireless receiving node to select one or more of the replicated copies of the data item for each position in the sequence for use in reconstructing the data stream based on the respective times at which the data packets were received.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The algorithm is one of a plurality of candidate algorithms, wherein the indication comprises an index settable to a plurality of values ​​associated with the plurality of candidate algorithms, and wherein the index is set to a value associated with the algorithm.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein: When the replicas for each position are ordered by the wireless receiving node according to respective times at which the data packets were received, the indication comprises an indication of an ordinal number of a replica to be selected for each position in the sequence.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The algorithm to be used includes: when the replicas for each position are ordered according to the respective times at which the data packets were received, the wireless receiving node selects the replica corresponding to the kth replica for each position in the sequence, where k is an integer.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein: k is equal to 1.

18. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The algorithm to be used comprises: when the replicas for each position are ordered according to the respective times at which the data packets were received, the wireless receiving node selects the replica corresponding to the median replica for each position in the sequence.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising: Causing an indication to be sent to the wireless receiving node to begin utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data stream.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein: The indication to start utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data stream is included in the same message as the indication of the algorithm.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein: The instruction to start utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data stream is the same instruction as the instruction of the algorithm.

22. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein: The indication to start utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data stream comprises an indication of a number of carriers on which to transmit the plurality of data packets or replicated copies of the data items.

23. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein: The indication to start utilizing the algorithm for reconstructing the data flow comprises an indication of radio resources on which to send the plurality of data packets or duplicate copies of the data items.

24. The method according to claim 13, wherein: The plurality of data packets are transmitted on respective carriers of the plurality of carriers.

25. The method of claim 13, wherein: The wireless receiving node is a wireless user equipment, and wherein the one or more wireless transmitting nodes are wireless radio access network nodes, or the wireless receiving node is a wireless radio access network node, and wherein the one or more wireless transmitting nodes include wireless user equipment.

26. A wireless receiving node for receiving a data stream from one or more wireless transmitting nodes, the data stream comprising a sequence of data items, the wireless receiving node comprising: - a processing circuit system configured to cause the wireless receiving node to: receiving an indication of an algorithm from a wireless transmitting node of the one or more wireless transmitting nodes; receiving a plurality of data packets from the one or more wireless transmitting nodes, each data packet comprising a respective replicated copy of a data item belonging to the data flow; as well as utilizing the algorithm to select, for each position in the sequence, one or more of the replicated copies of the data item for use in reconstructing the data stream based on respective times at which the data packets were received; as well as - A power circuit system configured to provide power to the wireless receiving node.

27. The wireless receiving node according to claim 26, wherein: The algorithm is one of a plurality of candidate algorithms, wherein the indication comprises an index settable to a plurality of values ​​associated with the plurality of candidate algorithms, and wherein the index is set to a value associated with the algorithm.

28. The wireless receiving node according to claim 26 or 27, wherein: When the replicas for each position are ordered according to respective times at which the data packets were received, the indication comprises an indication of an ordinal number of the replica to be selected for each position in the sequence.

29. The wireless receiving node of claim 26, wherein: When the replicas for each position are ordered according to the respective times at which the data packets were received, the wireless receiving device is caused to select a replica corresponding to a kth replica for each position in the sequence, where k is an integer.

30. The wireless receiving node of claim 29, wherein: k is equal to 1.

31. The wireless receiving node of claim 26, wherein: When the replicas for each position are ordered according to the respective times at which the data packets were received, the wireless receiving device is caused to select the replica corresponding to the median replica for each position in the sequence.

32. A first wireless transmitting node for transmitting a data stream to a wireless receiving node, the data stream comprising a sequence of data items, the first wireless transmitting node comprising: - processing circuitry configured to cause the first wireless transmitting node to: causing one or more wireless transmitting nodes including the first wireless transmitting node to transmit a plurality of data packets to the wireless receiving node, each data packet including a respective replica of a data item belonging to the data flow; as well as causing an indication of an algorithm to be sent to the wireless receiving node, the algorithm to be used by the wireless receiving node to select, for each position in the sequence, one or more of the replicated copies of a data item for use in reconstructing the data stream based on respective times at which the data packets were received; as well as - A power circuit system configured to provide power to the wireless transmitting node.

33. The first wireless transmitting node according to claim 32, wherein: The algorithm is one of a plurality of candidate algorithms, wherein the indication comprises an index settable to a plurality of values ​​associated with the plurality of candidate algorithms, and wherein the index is set to a value associated with the algorithm.

34. The first wireless transmitting node according to claim 32 or 33, wherein: When the replicas for each position are ordered according to respective times at which the data packets were received, the indication comprises an indication of an ordinal number of the replica to be selected for each position in the sequence.

35. The first wireless transmitting node according to claim 32, wherein: The algorithm to be used includes: when the replicas for each position are ordered according to the respective times at which the data packets were received, the wireless receiving node selects the replica corresponding to the kth replica for each position in the sequence, where k is an integer.

36. The first wireless transmitting node according to claim 35, wherein: k is equal to 1.

37. The first wireless transmitting node according to claim 32, wherein: The algorithm to be used includes: when the replicas for each position are ordered according to the respective times at which the data packets were received, the wireless receiving node selects the replica corresponding to the median replica for each position in the sequence.

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