Reflection QoS Enhancement

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to reflection QoS enhancement. Apparatuses, systems, and methods for reflection Quality of Service (RQoS) enhancement are disclosed. The method can include enhancing both UE behavior and network function behavior. The network function behavior can include enhancing UPF behavior and SPF behavior. The enhancement to RQoS can include methods for resetting the RQoS Indicator (RQI) bit for downlink packets of a flow destined for a UE, methods for generating a flow ID to be included in the SDAP header for a flow destined for a UE, methods for using the flow ID to limit L3 and L4 header parsing, methods for sending / receiving feedback on the handling of the RQI bit, methods for maintaining a QFI mapping table, methods for skipping the parsing of SDAP header fields, methods for specifying a QoS Flow Identifier (QFI) range and signaling the QFI range to the UE, methods for limiting downlink header parsing, methods for updating the QFI, and methods for performing efficient RQoS processing.

Description

[0001] Priority Data

[0002] This patent application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63 / 107,397, filed Oct. 29, 2020, entitled "Reflective QoS Enhancements", which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fully and completely set forth herein. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to wireless communication and, more particularly, to apparatus, systems, and methods for reflective QoS enhancements. Background of the Invention

[0004] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting telephone calls, many mobile devices now also provide access to the Internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the Global Positioning System (GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications that utilize these features.

[0005] Long Term Evolution (LTE) is the preferred technology for most wireless network operators globally, providing mobile broadband data and high-speed Internet access to their subscriber bases. LTE was first proposed in 2004 and first standardized in 2008. Since then, as the use of wireless communication systems has grown exponentially, the demand on wireless network operators has increased to support higher capacities for higher densities of mobile broadband users. Therefore, in 2015, research began on new radio access technologies, and in 2017, the first version of 5th Generation New Radio (5G NR) was standardized.

[0006] 5G-NR (also simply referred to as NR) provides higher capacity for higher densities of mobile broadband users compared to LTE, while also supporting device-to-device ultra-reliable and massive machine type communications, as well as lower latency and / or lower battery consumption. In addition, NR may allow for more flexible UE scheduling compared to current LTE. Therefore, efforts are being made to take advantage of the potentially higher throughput at higher frequencies in the continued development of 5G-NR. Summary of the Invention

[0007] Embodiments relate to wireless communication and, more particularly, to apparatus, systems, and methods for reflective QoS enhancements. The method can include enhancing both UE behavior and network function behavior. Network function behavior can include enhancements to UPF behavior and SPF behavior.

[0008] For example, to reset the reflected Quality of Service (QoS) Indicator (RQI) bit for the downlink packets of a flow destined for a UE, the UPF of the core network can be configured to determine that the reflected QoS (RQoS) for the flow destined for the UE is enabled, determine that the QoS Flow Identifier (QFI) value of the flow needs to be updated and / or installed, and start a backoff timer before resetting the RQI bit for the downlink packets of the flow destined for the UE to the value 1. For example, the value of the backoff timer can be provided to the UPF by the SMF of the core network. Additionally, the value of the backoff timer can be less than the value of the RQoS Inactivity Timer (RQ Timer). For example, the value of the backoff timer can be determined as RQ Timer / k, where k can be greater than or equal to two. Another example is that the value of the backoff timer can be determined as MAX{X, MIN{RQ Timer / 2, Y}}, where X can be specified in seconds and Y can be specified in minutes.

[0009] As another example of RQoS enhancement, to reset the RQI bit for the downlink packets of a flow destined for a UE, the UPF of the core network can be configured to determine that the RQoS for the flow destined for the UE is enabled, determine that the QFI value of the flow needs to be updated and / or installed, and set the RQI bit to 1 for the first N packets of the flow sent to the UE. Note that the value of N can be greater than or equal to 1. Additionally, note that the value of N can be provided by the SMF of the core network.

[0010] As yet another example of RQoS enhancement, to reset the RQI bit for the downlink packets of a flow destined for a UE, the UPF of the core network can be configured to determine that the RQoS for the flow destined for the UE is enabled, determine that the QFI value of the flow needs to be updated and / or installed, set the RQI bit to 1 for the first N packets of the flow sent to the UE, and start a backoff timer before resetting the RQI bit for the downlink packets of the flow destined for the UE to the value 1. Note that the value of N can be greater than or equal to 1. Additionally, note that the value of N can be provided by the SMF of the core network. For example, the value of the backoff timer can be provided to the UPF by the SMF of the core network. Additionally, the value of the backoff timer can be less than the value of the RQoS Inactivity Timer (RQ Timer). For example, the value of the backoff timer can be determined as RQ Timer / k, where k can be greater than or equal to two. Another example is that the value of the backoff timer can be determined as MAX{X, MIN{RQ Timer / 2, Y}}, where X can be specified in seconds and Y can be specified in minutes.

[0011] As another example of RQoS enhancement, to generate a flow identifier (ID) to be included in the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) header for the UE, the UPF of the core network can be configured to determine that RQoS for the flow to the UE is enabled, generate a flow ID for the UE, where the flow ID is per protocol data unit (PDU) session, and include the flow ID in the N3 encapsulation header of the downlink packet for the flow for which the QFI needs to be updated or installed and destined for the UE.

[0012] In addition, to use the flow ID to restrict the parsing of the layer 3 (L3) and layer 4 (L4) headers of the SDAP header associated with the RQoS characteristics of the network, the UE can be configured to maintain a flow ID to QFI mapping table in each PDU session with the network, receive a downlink packet with the RQI bit set to value 1, where the downlink packet includes the flow ID in the SDAP header, determine whether the flow ID included in the downlink packet is in the QFI mapping table, in response to determining that the flow ID is in the QFI mapping table, determine whether there is a change in the QFI field of the SDAP header, and in response to determining that there is a change in the QFI field of the SDAP header, update the flow ID to the QFI mapping.

[0013] As yet another example of RQoS enhancement, to send feedback on the handling of the RQI bit associated with the RQoS characteristics of the network, the UE can be configured to receive a downlink packet with the RQI bit set to value 1, process the downlink packet to derive one or more RQoS rules for uplink transmission to the network, and transmit an indication and / or feedback on the handling of the RQI bit on the uplink connection to the network.

[0014] In addition, to receive feedback on the handling of the RQI bit associated with the RQoS characteristics of the network, the UPF of the network can be configured to transmit a downlink packet with the RQI bit set to value 1, receive an indication and / or feedback on the handling of the RQI bit, and stop the RQI bit for subsequent packets of the flow on the downlink after confirming that the L3 and L4 header fields and the QFI value included in the SDAP header feedback match the uplink packet data report received from the SMF of the network for the flow associated with the downlink packet.

[0015] As yet another example of RQoS enhancement, to maintain a QFI mapping table for downlink packets associated with RQoS, the UE can be configured to receive a downlink packet with the RQI bit set to value 1, compare the QFI value included in the downlink packet with the locally maintained QFI mapping table, confirm whether the QFI value included in the downlink packet exists in the QFI mapping table, and in response to determining that the QFI value is included in the QFI mapping table, skip the parsing of the L3 and L4 header fields included in the downlink packet.

[0016] As another example of RQoS enhancement, to skip parsing of the SDAP header fields associated with the RQoS features of the network, the UE may be configured to determine that the throughput of the downlink packets associated with the RQoS feature and / or the total aggregated downlink throughput across all flows exceeds a threshold, and in response to determining that one of these throughputs exceeds the threshold, parse the SDAP header fields of every Nth downlink packet of the flows with the received RQI bit set to value 1.

[0017] As yet another example of RQoS enhancement, to specify a QFI range and signal the QFI range to the UE, the SMF of the core network may be configured to reserve a QFI range with the same 5G standardized QoS identifier (5QI) value and signal the mapping between the QFI value and the 5QI without associating with Internet Protocol (IP) flows.

[0018] As another example of RQoS enhancement, to limit the downlink header parsing associated with RQoS, the UE may be configured to determine that the processor utilization associated with the parsing of the downlink packet headers associated with RQoS has exceeded a threshold, in response to the processor utilization exceeding the threshold, start a backoff timer, and ignore additional RQI updates received in the downlink packets until the backoff timer expires.

[0019] As another example of RQoS enhancement, to limit the downlink header parsing associated with RQoS, the UE may be configured to determine that the processor utilization associated with the parsing of the downlink packet headers associated with RQoS has exceeded a threshold, in response to the processor utilization exceeding the threshold, trigger a PDU session modification procedure, and as part of the PDU session modification procedure, indicate that RQoS is not supported.

[0020] As yet another example of RQoS enhancement, to update the QFI, the network entity may be configured to determine that the SDF will continue to exceed a specified duration and apply an updated QFI mapping for the flow via NAS control plane signaling with the UE.

[0021] As yet another example of RQosS enhancement, to perform efficient RQoS processing, the UE may be configured to receive a downlink packet with the RQI bit set to value 1, determine whether the last received downlink packet in the flow has the RQI bit set to value 1, and in response to determining that the last received downlink packet in the flow has the RQI bit set to value 1, skip the full parsing of the SDAP header included in the downlink packet.

[0022] As another example of RQosS enhancement, to perform efficient RQoS processing, a UE may be configured to receive a downlink packet with the RQI bit set to value 0, determine whether the last received downlink packet in a flow has the RQI bit set to value 0, and in response to determining that the last received downlink packet in the flow has the RQI bit set to value 0, parse the SDAP header included in the downlink packet.

[0023] The techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used with a variety of different types of devices, including but not limited to any of a drone (UAV), a drone controller (UAC), a UTM server, a base station, an access point, a cellular phone, a tablet computer, a wearable computing device, a portable media player, and various other computing devices.

[0024] This Summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subject matter described in this document. Accordingly, it should be understood that the above features are merely examples and should not be construed in any way as narrowing the scope or essence of the subject matter described herein. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following Detailed Description, Drawings, and Claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] A better understanding of the subject matter may be obtained when the following detailed description of various embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0026] Figure 1A An exemplary wireless communication system is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0027] Figure 1B An example of a base station and an access point communicating with a user equipment (UE) device is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0028] Figure 2 An exemplary block diagram of a base station is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0029] Figure 3 An exemplary block diagram of a server is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0030] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a UE is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0031] Figure 5 An example block diagram of a cellular communication circuit is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0032] Figure 6AShows an example of a 5G network architecture according to some embodiments, which combines 3GPP (e.g., cellular) and non-3GPP (e.g., non-cellular) access to a 5G CN.

[0033] Figure 6B Shows an example of a 5G network architecture according to some embodiments, which combines dual 3GPP (e.g., LTE and 5G NR) access and non-3GPP access to a 5G CN.

[0034] Figure 7 Shows an example of a baseband processor architecture for a UE according to some embodiments.

[0035] Figure 8 Shows a block diagram of an example of a method for resetting RQI bits for packets of a flow destined for a UE using a backoff timer according to some embodiments.

[0036] Figure 9 Shows a block diagram of an example of a method for resetting RQI bits for packets of a flow destined for a UE using a counter-based approach according to some embodiments.

[0037] Figure 10 Shows a block diagram of an example of a method for resetting RQI bits for packets of a flow destined for a UE using a backoff timer in combination with a counter according to some embodiments.

[0038] Figure 11 Shows a block diagram of an example of a method for generating a flow ID to be included in an SDAP header for packets destined for a UE according to some embodiments.

[0039] Figure 12 Shows a block diagram of an example of a method for using a flow ID to limit the parsing of L3 / L4 headers associated with RQoS according to some embodiments.

[0040] Figure 13 Shows a block diagram of an example of a method for a UE to send feedback on the handling of RQI bits to limit the UE's parsing of DL packets associated with RQoS according to some embodiments.

[0041] Figure 14 Shows a block diagram of an example of a method for a UPF to receive feedback on the handling of RQI bits to limit the UE's parsing of DL packets associated with RQoS according to some embodiments.

[0042] Figure 15 Shows a block diagram of an example of a method for a UE to maintain a QFI mapping table to limit the UE's parsing of downlink packets associated with RQoS according to some embodiments.

[0043] Figure 16 A block diagram showing an example of a method for a UE to randomly skip parsing L3 / L4 headers when the downlink throughput exceeds a threshold according to some embodiments.

[0044] Figure 17 A block diagram showing an example of a method for a UPF to specify a QFI range and signal the QFI range to a UE according to some embodiments.

[0045] Figure 18 A block diagram showing an example of a method for a UE to limit downlink header parsing associated with RQoS based on processor utilization according to some embodiments.

[0046] Figure 19 A block diagram showing another example of a method for a UE to limit downlink header parsing associated with RQoS based on processor utilization according to some embodiments.

[0047] Figure 20 A block diagram showing an example of a method for updating QFI mapping for a flow via NAS signaling according to some embodiments.

[0048] Figure 21 A block diagram showing an example of a method for a UE to indicate the maximum number of concurrent flows that the UE can handle when the RQoS feature is enabled according to some embodiments.

[0049] Figure 22 A block diagram showing an example of a method for a UE to indicate the maximum downlink throughput that the UE can support when the RQoS feature is enabled according to some embodiments.

[0050] Figure 23 A block diagram showing an example of a method for performing HERQ processing when the received downlink packet has an RQI bit set to value 1 according to some embodiments.

[0051] Figure 24 A block diagram showing an example of a method for performing HERQ processing when the received downlink packet has an RQI bit set to value 0 according to some embodiments.

[0052] Figure 25 A block diagram showing an example of a method for determining an RQI bit for HERQ processing according to some embodiments.

[0053] Figure 26 A block diagram showing an example of multiple SDFs in an RQoS flow (e.g., multiple SDFs associated with a specific QFI value) when using HERQ processing according to some embodiments.

[0054] Figure 27 Shows an example of packet loss when using HERQ processing according to some embodiments.

[0055] Figure 28 Shows an example of out-of-order packet reception when using HERQ processing according to some embodiments.

[0056] Figure 29 Shows an example of RQoS timer reset when using HERQ processing according to some embodiments.

[0057] Although the features described herein may be subject to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and the detailed description thereof are not intended to limit the present disclosure to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. Detailed Description

[0058] Acronyms

[0059] Various acronyms are used throughout this disclosure. The definitions of the most prominent acronyms that may appear throughout this disclosure are as follows:

[0060] · 3GPP: Third Generation Partnership Project

[0061] · UE: User Equipment

[0062] · RF: Radio Frequency

[0063] · BS: Base Station

[0064] · DL: Downlink

[0065] · UL: Uplink

[0066] · LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0067] · NR: New Radio

[0068] · 5GS: 5G System

[0069] · 5GMM: 5GS Mobility Management

[0070] · 5GC / 5GCN: 5G Core Network

[0071] · IE: Information Element

[0072] · CE: Control Element

[0073] ·MAC: Medium Access Control

[0074] ·SSB: Synchronization Signal Block

[0075] ·CSI-RS: Channel State Information Reference Signal

[0076] ·PDCCH: Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0077] ·PDSCH: Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0078] ·RRC: Radio Resource Control

[0079] ·RRM: Radio Resource Management

[0080] ·CORESET: Control Resource Set

[0081] ·TCI: Transmission Configuration Indicator

[0082] ·DCI: Downlink Control Indicator

[0083] Terms

[0084] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0085] Memory medium - any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media such as CD-ROMs, floppy disks, or tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media such as hard disk drives or optical storage devices; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of non-transitory memory or combinations thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a first computer system that executes a program, or may be located in a different second computer system that is connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media located at different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as a computer program) executable by one or more processors.

[0086] Carrier medium - the memory medium as described above, as well as physical transmission media such as buses, networks, and / or other physical transmission media that convey signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals.

[0087] Programmable hardware elements - include various hardware devices, which include a plurality of programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), PLD (Programmable Logic Device), FPOA (Field Programmable Object Array), and CPLD (Complex PLD). The programmable function blocks can vary from fine-grained (combinational logic components or look-up tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements can also be referred to as "configurable logic components".

[0088] Computer system (or computer) - any of various types of computing or processing systems, including personal computer systems (PCs), mainframe computer systems, workstations, network appliances, Internet appliances, personal digital assistants (PDAs), television systems, grid computing systems, or other devices or combinations of devices. Generally speaking, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to cover any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0089] User equipment (UE) (or "UE device") - any of various types of computer system devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communication. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smartphones (e.g., iPhone TM , Android TM -based phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM , Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), laptop computers, wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, other handheld devices, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (e.g., drones), UAV controllers (UACs), etc. Generally speaking, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to cover any electronic, computing, and / or telecommunications device (or combination of devices) that is easily transportable by a user and capable of wireless communication.

[0090] Base station - The term "base station" has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used for communication as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0091] Processing element (or processor) - refers to various elements or combinations of elements that can perform functions in a device such as a user equipment or a cellular network device. Processing elements can include, for example: a processor and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, processor arrays, circuits such as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), programmable hardware elements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any combination of the above.

[0092] Channel - the medium used to convey information from a transmitter to a receiver. It should be noted that since the characteristics of the term "channel" can vary according to different wireless protocols, the term "channel" as used in the present invention can be considered to be used in a manner that conforms to the standards of the type of device to which the term usage refers. In some standards, the channel width can be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, frequency band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE can support scalable channel bandwidths from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, WLAN channels can be 22 MHz wide, while Bluetooth channels can be 1 MHz wide. Other protocols and standards can include different definitions of channels. Additionally, some standards can define and use multiple types of channels, such as different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data, control information, etc.

[0093] Band - the term "band" has the full range of its ordinary meaning and at least includes a segment of the spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.

[0094] Wi-Fi - the term "Wi-Fi" (or WiFi) has the full range of its usual meaning and at least includes a wireless communication network or RAT that is served by wireless LAN (WLAN) access points and provides connectivity to the Internet through these access points. Most modern Wi-Fi networks (or WLAN networks) are based on the IEEE 802.11 standard and are marketed under the name "Wi-Fi". Wi-Fi (WLAN) networks are different from cellular networks.

[0095] 3GPP access - refers to the access (e.g., radio access technology) specified by 3GPP standards. These accesses include, but are not limited to, GSM / GPRS, LTE, LTE-A, and / or 5G NR. Generally speaking, 3GPP access refers to various types of cellular access technologies.

[0096] Non-3GPP access - refers to any access (e.g., radio access technology) not specified by 3GPP standards. These accesses include, but are not limited to, WiMAX, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, WLAN, and / or fixed networks. Non-3GPP access can be classified into two categories, "trusted" and "untrusted": Trusted non-3GPP access can directly interact with the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and / or 5G Core (5GC), while untrusted non-3GPP interoperates with the EPC / 5GC via network entities such as the Evolved Packet Data Gateway and / or 5G NR Gateway. Generally speaking, non-3GPP access refers to various types of non-cellular access technologies.

[0097] Automatic - refers to an action or operation performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., circuitry, programmable hardware element, ASIC, etc.) without the need for user input that directly specifies or performs the action or operation. Thus, the term "automatically" is contrary to an operation being performed or specified manually by a user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic process can be initiated by input provided by the user, but the subsequent actions that are "automatically" performed are not specified by the user, i.e., they are not performed "manually", where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out a spreadsheet by selecting each field and providing input to specify information (e.g., by typing information, selecting checkboxes, radio selections, etc.) is a manual filling of the spreadsheet, even though the computer system must update the spreadsheet in response to the user's actions. The spreadsheet can be filled out automatically by the computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the spreadsheet and fills out the spreadsheet without any user input specifying the answers to the fields. As indicated above, the user can initiate the automatic filling of the spreadsheet but does not participate in the actual filling of the spreadsheet (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields but they are completed automatically). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by the user.

[0098] About - refers to a value that is close to the correct or precise value. For example, about can refer to a value within 1% to 10% of the precise (or desired) value. However, it should be noted that the actual threshold (or tolerance) can depend on the application. For example, in some embodiments, "about" can mean within 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various other embodiments, depending on the expectations or requirements of the particular application, the threshold can be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, etc.

[0099] Concurrency - refers to parallel execution or implementation, where tasks, processes, or programs are executed in at least a partially overlapping manner. For example, "strong" or strict parallelism can be used to achieve concurrency, where tasks are executed (at least partially) in parallel on corresponding computing elements; or "weak parallelism" can be used to achieve concurrency, where tasks are executed in an interleaved manner (e.g., through time multiplexing of execution threads).

[0100] Various components can be described as "configured to" perform one or more tasks. In such an environment, "configured to" is a broad expression generally meaning "having" the "structure" to perform one or more tasks during operation. Thus, even when the component is not currently performing a task, the component can be configured to perform the task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect a module to another module, even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, "configured to" can be a broad expression generally meaning "having" the "circuit" structure to perform one or more tasks during operation. Thus, even when the component is not currently powered on, the component can be configured to perform the task. Generally, the circuit forming the structure corresponding to "configured to" may include hardware circuits.

[0101] For ease of description, various components can be described as performing one or more tasks. Such a description should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". A component configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke the interpretation of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) for that component.

[0102] Figure 1A and Figure 1B : Communication system

[0103] Figure 1A A simplified exemplary wireless communication system according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 1A the system is merely an example of possible systems, and the features of the present disclosure can be implemented in any of the various systems as needed.

[0104] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102A that communicates with one or more user devices 106A, user devices 106B to user devices 106N, etc. via a transmission medium. Each user device may be referred to herein as a "user equipment" (UE). Thus, the user device 106 is referred to as a UE or a UE device.

[0105] The base station (BS) 102A can be a transceiver base station (BTS) or a cell site ("cellular base station"), and may include hardware that enables wireless communication with UEs 106A to 106N.

[0106] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station can be referred to as a "cell". Base station 102A and UE 106 can be configured to communicate via a transmission medium using any one of various radio access technologies (RATs), which are also known as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 5G New Radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), and so on. Note that if base station 102A is implemented in an LTE environment, it may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". Note that if base station 102A is implemented in a 5G NR environment, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0107] As shown in the figure, base station 102A can also be equipped to communicate with network 100 (e.g., among various possibilities, the core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunication network such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and / or the Internet). Thus, base station 102A can facilitate communication between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. In particular, cellular base station 102A can provide UE 106 with various communication capabilities such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0108] Base station 102A and other similar base stations operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards (such as base stations 102B... 102N) can thus be provided as a network of cells, which can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping services to UE 106A-N and similar devices over a geographical area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0109] Thus, although base station 102A can act as the "serving cell" of UE 106A-N as shown in Figure 1A , each UE 106 may also be capable of receiving signals (and potentially being within its communication range) from one or more other cells (which can be provided by base stations 102B-N and / or any other base stations), and these one or more other cells can be referred to as "adjacent cells". Such cells may also be capable of facilitating communication between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. Such cells can include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or any various other granularities of cells providing service area sizes. For example, base stations 102A-B shown in Figure 1A can be macro cells, while base station 102N can be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0110] In some embodiments, base station 102A may be a next-generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or a "gNB". In some embodiments, the gNB may be connected to a traditional evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or connected to a new radio communication core (NRC) network. Additionally, a gNB cell may include one or more transmission and reception points (TRPs). Further, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0111] Note that UE 106 is capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, e.g., WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.), UE 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.). If desired, UE 106 may also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), and / or any other wireless communication protocol. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0112] Figure 1B Shown is a user equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A to 106N) communicating with base station 102 and access point 112 according to some embodiments. UE 106 may be a device having cellular communication capabilities and non-cellular communication capabilities (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc.), such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a computer or a tablet, or almost any type of wireless device.

[0113] UE 106 may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. UE 106 may perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, UE 106 may include programmable hardware elements, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein or any part of any of the method embodiments described herein.

[0114] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD), LTE / Advanced LTE, or 5G NR and / or GSM, LTE, Advanced LTE, or 5G Nr using a single shared radio component. The shared radio may be coupled to a single antenna or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communication. Generally, the radio component may include any combination of a baseband processor, analog radio frequency (RF) signal processing circuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.) or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio component may implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains using the foregoing hardware. For example, UE 106 may share one or more portions of a receive chain and / or a transmit chain among multiple wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0115] In some embodiments, UE 106 may include separate transmit chains and / or receive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol it is configured to communicate with. As another possibility, UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared among multiple wireless communication protocols and one or more radio components uniquely used by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 may include a shared radio component for communicating using either LTE or 5G NR (or LTE or 1xRTT, or LTE or GSM) and separate radio components for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are possible.

[0116] Figure 2 : Block diagram of the base station

[0117] Figure 2 An exemplary block diagram of base station 102 is shown in accordance with some embodiments. Note that the Figure 3 base station is merely an example of a possible base station. As shown, base station 102 may include a processor 204 that may execute program instructions for base station 102. Processor 204 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 240 or other circuitry or device that may be configured to receive addresses from processor 204 and translate those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 260 and read-only memory (ROM) 250).

[0118] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 270. The network port 270 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to a plurality of devices (such as UE device 106) to the telephone network as described above in Figure 1B and Figure 2 as described.

[0119] The network port 270 (or an additional network port) may also be configured or alternatively configured to couple to a cellular network, such as the core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to a plurality of devices such as UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 270 may be coupled to the telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide the telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0120] In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next-generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or a "gNB". In such embodiments, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and / or connected to an NR Core (NRC) network. Additionally, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more Transmission and Reception Points (TRPs). Additionally, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0121] Base station 102 may include at least one antenna 234 and possibly a plurality of antennas. The at least one antenna 234 may be configured to act as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with UE device 106 via radio component 230. Antenna 234 communicates with radio component 230 via communication link 232. Communication link 232 may be a receive link, a transmit link, or both. Radio component 230 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0122] Base station 102 may be configured to perform wireless communication using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, base station 102 may include multiple radios that enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for performing communication according to LTE and a 5G NR radio component for performing communication according to 5G NR. In this case, base station 102 may be capable of operating as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multi-mode radio component capable of performing communication according to any one of multiple wireless communication technologies (such as 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0123] As further described subsequently herein, base station 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting the implementation of the features described herein. The processor 204 of base station 102 may be configured to implement or support the implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (such as a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, processor 204 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 230, 232, 234, 240, 250, 260, 270, the processor 204 of base station 102 may be configured to implement or support the implementation of part or all of the features described herein.

[0124] Furthermore, as described herein, processor 204 may consist of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in processor 204. Thus, processor 204 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 204. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (such as a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform one or more of the functions of processor 204.

[0125] In addition, as described herein, radio component 230 may consist of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in radio component 230. Thus, radio component 230 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of radio component 230. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (such as a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio component 230.

[0126] Figure 3 : Block diagram of the server

[0127] Figure 3 An exemplary block diagram of server 104 in accordance with some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 3 the server is merely an example of a possible server. As shown, server 104 may include a processor 344 that can execute program instructions for server 104. The processor 344 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 374, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 344 and translate these addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 364 and read-only memory (ROM) 354) or to other circuits or devices.

[0128] Server 104 may be configured to provide access network functionality to a plurality of devices (such as base station 102, UE device 106, and / or UTM 108), for example, as further described herein.

[0129] In some embodiments, server 104 may be part of a radio access network, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) access network. In some embodiments, server 104 may be connected to a traditional evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or connected to an NR core (NRC) network.

[0130] As further described subsequently herein, server 104 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting the implementation of the features described herein. The processor 344 of server 104 may be configured to implement or support the implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium). Alternatively, the processor 344 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or configured as an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 354, 364, and / or 374, the processor 344 of server 104 may be configured to implement or support the implementation of part or all of the features described herein.

[0131] Furthermore, as described herein, the processor 344 may be composed of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in the processor 344. Thus, the processor 344 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processor 344. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processor 344.

[0132] Figure 4 : Block diagram of the UE

[0133] Figure 4FIG. 0 shows an exemplary simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 according to some embodiments. Note that Figure 4 the block diagram of the communication device is merely an example of a possible communication device. According to an embodiment, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook or portable computing device), a tablet, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a UAV controller (UAC), and / or a combination of devices, and other devices. As shown, the communication device 106 may include a set of components 400 configured to perform core functions. For example, the set of components may be implemented as a system on a chip (SOC), which may include portions for various purposes. Alternatively, the set of components 400 may be implemented as separate components or groups of components for various purposes. The set of components 400 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to various other circuits of the communication device 106.

[0134] For example, the communication device 106 may include various types of memories (e.g., including NAND flash memory 410), input / output interfaces such as connector I / F 420 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; a docking station; a charging station; input devices such as a microphone, a camera, a keyboard; output devices such as a speaker; etc.), a display 460 that may be integrated with or external to the communication device 106, and cellular communication circuitry 430 such as for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc., and short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 429 (e.g., Bluetooth TM and WLAN circuitry). In some embodiments, the communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as a network interface card for Ethernet, for example.

[0135] The cellular communication circuitry 430 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as the antennas 435 and 436 shown. The short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 429 may also be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as the antennas 437 and 438 shown. Alternatively, the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 429, in addition to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) being coupled to the antennas 437 and 438 or as an alternative, may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to the antennas 435 and 436. The short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 429 and / or the cellular communication circuitry 430 may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input - multiple-output (MIMO) configuration.

[0136] In some embodiments, as further described below, the cellular communication circuitry 430 may include dedicated receive chains for multiple RATs (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G-NR). Additionally, in some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 430 may include a single transmit chain that may switch between radio components dedicated to a particular RAT. For example, a first radio component may be dedicated to a first RAT, such as LTE, and may communicate with the dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with additional radio components, such as a second radio component that may be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and may communicate with the dedicated receive chain and the shared transmit chain.

[0137] The communication device 106 may also include one or more user interface elements and / or be configured to be used with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include various elements such as a display 460 (which may be a touchscreen display), a keyboard (which may be a discrete keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touchscreen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or a speaker, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of various other elements capable of providing information to a user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0138] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 445 having SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC cards (one or more Universal Integrated Circuit Cards) 445. Note that the term "SIM" or "SIM entity" is intended to include any of a variety of types of SIM implementations or SIM functionality, such as one or more UICC cards 445, one or more eUICC, one or more eSIM, removable or embedded, etc. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may include at least two SIMs. Each SIM may execute one or more SIM applications and / or otherwise implement SIM functionality. Thus, each SIM may be a single smart card that may be embedded, e.g., soldered onto a circuit board within the UE 106, or each SIM 410 may be implemented as a removable smart card. Thus, the SIM may be one or more removable smart cards (such as UICC cards sometimes referred to as "SIM cards"), and / or the SIM 410 may be one or more embedded cards (such as embedded UICC (eUICC) sometimes referred to as "eSIM" or "eSIM card"). In some embodiments (such as when the SIM includes an eUICC), one or more of the SIMs in the SIM may implement embedded SIM (eSIM) functionality; in such embodiments, a single SIM in the SIM may execute multiple SIM applications. Each SIM may include components such as a processor and / or memory; instructions for performing SIM / eSIM functionality may be stored in the memory and executed by the processor. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may include a combination of removable smart cards and fixed / non-removable smart cards (such as one or more eUICC cards implementing eSIM functionality) as needed. For example, the UE 106 may include two embedded SIMs, two removable SIMs, or a combination of one embedded SIM and one removable SIM. Various other SIM configurations are also contemplated.

[0139] As described above, in some embodiments, the UE 106 may include two or more SIMs. The inclusion of two or more SIMs in the UE 106 may allow the UE 106 to support two different telephone numbers and may allow the UE 106 to communicate on two corresponding two or more respective networks. For example, the first SIM may support a first RAT such as LTE, and the second SIM 410 supports a second RAT such as 5G NR. Of course, other implementations and RATs are possible. In some embodiments, when the UE 106 includes two SIMs, the UE 106 may support the Dual SIM Dual Active (DSDA) function. The DSDA function may allow the UE 106 to be simultaneously connected to two networks (and use two different RATs), or allow two connections supported by two different SIMs using the same or different RATs to be simultaneously maintained on the same or different networks. The DSDA function may also allow the UE 106 to simultaneously receive voice calls or data traffic on either telephone number. In certain embodiments, the voice call may be a packet switched communication. In other words, Voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology and / or Voice over NR (VoNR) technology may be used to receive voice calls. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may support the Dual SIM Dual Standby (DSDS) function. The DSDS function may allow either of the two SIMs in the UE 106 to standby waiting for a voice call and / or a data connection. In DSDS, when a call / data is established on one SIM, the other SIM is no longer active. In some embodiments, the DSDx function (DSDA or DSDS function) may be implemented using a single SIM (e.g., eUICC) that executes multiple SIM applications for different carriers and / or RATs.

[0140] As shown, the SOC 400 may include a processor 402 and a display circuit 404. The processor may execute program instructions for the communication device 106, and the display circuit may perform graphics processing and provide a display signal to the display 460. The processor 402 may also be coupled to a Memory Management Unit (MMU) 440 (the MMU may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 402 and translate those addresses into locations in a memory (e.g., memory 406, Read Only Memory (ROM) 450, NAND flash memory 410)) and / or coupled to other circuits or devices (such as, display circuit 404, short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 429, cellular communication circuit 430, connector I / F 420, and / or display 460). The MMU 440 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 440 may be included as part of the processor 402.

[0141] As described above, the communication device 106 can be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuitry. The communication device 106 can be configured to perform methods for QoS enhancement, as further described herein.

[0142] As described herein, the communication device 106 can include hardware and software components for implementing the above-described features of the communication device 106 to send a scheduling profile for power savings to the network. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processor 402 of the communication device 106 can be configured to implement some or all of the features described in the present invention. Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 402 can be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more other components among the other components 400, 404, 406, 410, 420, 429, 430, 440, 445, 450, 460, the processor 402 of the communication device 106 can be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein.

[0143] Furthermore, as described in the present invention, the processor 402 can include one or more processing elements. Thus, the processor 402 can include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processor 402. In addition, each integrated circuit can include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processor 402.

[0144] Further, as described herein, the cellular communication circuitry 430 and the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 429 can each include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements can be included in the cellular communication circuitry 430, and similarly, one or more processing elements can be included in the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 429. Thus, the cellular communication circuitry 430 can include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuitry 430. In addition, each integrated circuit can include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuitry 430. Similarly, the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 429 can include one or more ICs configured to perform the functions of the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 429. In addition, each integrated circuit can include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 429.

[0145] Figure 5 : Block diagram of a cellular communication circuit

[0146] Figure 5 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit is shown. Note thatFigure 5 The block diagram of the cellular communication circuit is merely an example of one possible cellular communication circuit. According to an embodiment, the cellular communication circuit 530 (which may be the cellular communication circuit 430) may be included in a communication device such as the communication device 106 described above. As described above, in addition to other devices, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices.

[0147] The cellular communication circuit 530 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as the antennas 435a - 435b and 436 shown in Figure 4 . In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 530 may include dedicated receive chains for multiple RATs (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G - NR). For example, as shown in Figure 5 , the cellular communication circuit 530 may include a modem 510 and a modem 520. The modem 510 may be configured for communication according to a first RAT, such as LTE or LTE - A, and the modem 520 may be configured for communication according to a second RAT, such as 5G NR.

[0148] As shown, the modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 communicatively coupled to the processors 512. The modem 510 may communicate with a radio frequency (RF) front - end 530. The RF front - end 530 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front - end 530 may include a receive circuit (RX) 532 and a transmit circuit (TX) 534. In some embodiments, the receive circuit 532 may communicate with a downlink (DL) front - end 550, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via the antenna 335a.

[0149] Similarly, the modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 communicatively coupled to the processors 522. The modem 520 may communicate with an RF front - end 540. The RF front - end 540 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front - end 540 may include a receive circuit 542 and a transmit circuit 544. In some embodiments, the receive circuit 542 may communicate with a DL front - end 560, which may include circuitry for receiving radio signals via the antenna 335b.

[0150] In some embodiments, switch 570 may couple transmit circuit 534 to uplink (UL) front end 572. Additionally, switch 570 may couple transmit circuit 544 to UL front end 572. UL front end 572 may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via antenna 336. Thus, when cellular communication circuit 530 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., supported via modem 510), switch 570 may be switched to a first state that permits modem 510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including transmit circuit 534 and UL front end 572). Similarly, when cellular communication circuit 530 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., supported via modem 520), switch 570 may be switched to a second state that permits modem 520 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including transmit circuit 544 and UL front end 572).

[0151] In some embodiments, cellular communication circuit 530 may be configured to perform methods for reflection QoS enhancement, as further described herein.

[0152] As described herein, modem 510 may include hardware and software components for implementing the above features or for time division multiplexing UL data for NSA NR operation and various other techniques described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), processor 512 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein. Alternatively (or in addition), processor 512 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 530, 532, 534, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, processor 512 may be configured to implement some or all of the feature portions described herein.

[0153] Furthermore, as described herein, processor 512 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 512 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 512. Additionally, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 512.

[0154] As described herein, the modem 520 may include hardware and software components designed to implement the above-described features for transmitting a power-saving scheduling profile to the network, as well as various other techniques described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processor 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein. Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 522 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or additionally), in combination with one or more of the other components 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processor 522 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein.

[0155] In addition, as described herein, the processor 522 may include one or more processing elements. Accordingly, the processor 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processor 522. Further, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processor 522.

[0156] Figure 6A , Figure 6B and Figure 7 : 5G Core Network Architecture - Interworking with Wi-Fi

[0157] In some embodiments, access to a 5G core network (CN) may be via (or through) a cellular connection / interface (e.g., via a 3GPP communication architecture / protocol) and a non-cellular connection / interface (e.g., a non-3GPP access architecture / protocol such as a Wi-Fi connection). Figure 6AAn example of a 5G network architecture according to some embodiments is shown, which combines 3GPP (e.g., cellular) and non-3GPP (e.g., non-cellular) access to a 5G CN. As shown, a user equipment device (e.g., such as UE 106) can access the 5G CN through both a radio access network (RAN, e.g., such as gNB 604, which can be a base station 102) and an access point (such as AP 612). AP 612 can include a connection to the Internet 600 and a connection to a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) 603 network entity. N3IWF can include a connection to the core access and mobility management function (AMF) 605 of the 5G CN. AMF 605 can include an instance of a 5G mobility management (5GMM) function associated with UE 106. Additionally, the RAN (e.g., gNB 604) can also have a connection to AMF 605. Thus, the 5G CN can support unified authentication on both connections and allow UE 106 to register for access simultaneously via gNB 604 and AP 612. As shown, AMF 605 can include one or more functional entities associated with the 5G CN (e.g., network slice selection function (NSSF) 620, short message service function (SMSF) 622, application function (AF) 624, unified data management (UDM) 626, policy control function (PCF) 628, and / or authentication server function (AUSF) 630). Note that these functional entities can also be supported by the session management function (SMF) 606a and SMF 606b of the 5G CN. AMF 605 can be connected to (or communicate with) SMF 606a. In addition, gNB 604 can communicate with (or be connected to) a user plane function (UPF) 608a, which can also communicate with SMF 606a. Similarly, N3IWF 603 can communicate with a UPF 608b, which can also communicate with SMF 606b. Both UPFs can communicate with data networks (e.g., DN 610a and 610b) and / or the Internet 600 and the Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem / IP Multimedia Core Network Subsystem (IMS) core network 610.

[0158] Figure 6BAn example of a 5G network architecture according to some embodiments is shown, which combines dual 3GPP (e.g., LTE and 5G NR) access to the 5G CN and non-3GPP access. As shown, a user equipment device (e.g., such as UE 106) can access the 5G CN through both a radio access network (RAN, e.g., such as gNB 604 or eNB 602, which can be a base station 102) and an access point (such as AP 612). AP 612 can include a connection to the Internet 600 and a connection to the N3IWF 603 network entity. N3IWF can include a connection to the AMF 605 of the 5G CN. AMF 605 can include an instance of the 5G MM function associated with UE 106. Additionally, the RAN (e.g., gNB 604) can also have a connection to AMF 605. Thus, the 5G CN can support unified authentication on both connections and allow UE 106 to register for access simultaneously via gNB 604 and AP 612. Additionally, the 5G CN can support dual registration of the UE on both a traditional network (e.g., LTE via eNB 602) and a 5G network (e.g., via gNB 604). As shown, eNB 602 can have connections to a mobility management entity (MME) 642 and a serving gateway (SGW) 644. MME 642 can have connections to both SGW 644 and AMF 605. Additionally, SGW 644 can have connections to both SMF 606a and UPF 608a. As shown, AMF 605 can include one or more functional entities associated with the 5G CN (e.g., NSSF 620, SMSF 622, AF 624, UDM 626, PCF 628, and / or AUSF 630). Note that UDM 626 can also include a home subscriber server (HSS) function, and PCF can also include a policy and charging rules function (PCRF). Also note that these functional entities can also be supported by SMF 606a and SMF 606b of the 5G CN. AMF 606 can be connected to (or communicate with) SMF 606a. Additionally, gNB 604 can communicate with (or be connected to) UPF 608a, which can also communicate with SMF 606a. Similarly, N3IWF 603 can communicate with UPF 608b, which can also communicate with SMF 606b. Both UPFs can communicate with data networks (e.g., DN 610a and 610b) and / or the Internet 600 and the IMS core network 610.

[0159] Note that in various embodiments, one or more of the above network entities can be configured to perform methods for improving security checks in a 5G NR network, including mechanisms for reflecting QoS enhancements, e.g., as further described herein.

[0160] Figure 7 Shows an example of a baseband processor architecture for a UE (e.g., such as UE 106) according to some embodiments. Figure 7 The baseband processor architecture 700 described in can be implemented on one or more radio components (e.g., the radio components 429 and / or 430 described above) or modems (e.g., modems 510 and / or 520) as described above. As shown, the non-access stratum (NAS) 710 can include a 5G NAS 720 and a legacy NAS 750. The legacy NAS 750 can include a communication connection with a legacy access stratum (AS) 770. The 5G NAS 720 can include communication connections with a 5G AS 740, a non-3GPP AS 730, and a Wi-Fi AS 732. The 5G NAS 720 can include functional entities associated with both access strata. Thus, the 5G NAS 720 can include multiple 5G MM entities 726 and 728 and 5G session management (SM) entities 722 and 724. The legacy NAS 750 can include functional entities such as a short message service (SMS) entity 752, an evolved packet system (EPS) session management (ESM) entity 754, a session management (SM) entity 756, an EPS mobility management (EMM) entity 758, and a mobility management (MM) / GPRS mobility management (GMM) entity 760. Additionally, the legacy AS 770 can include functional entities such as an LTE AS 772, a UMTS AS 774, and / or a GSM / GPRS AS 776.

[0161] Thus, the baseband processor architecture 700 allows for a common 5G-NAS for both 5G cellular and non-cellular (e.g., non-3GPP access). Note that, as shown, 5G MM can maintain separate connection management and registration management state machines for each connection. Additionally, a device (e.g., UE 106) can register to a single PLMN (e.g., 5G CN) using 5G cellular access as well as non-cellular access. Furthermore, a device can be in a connected state in one access and in an idle state in another access, and vice versa. Finally, there can be common 5G-MM procedures (e.g., registration, deregistration, identification, authentication, etc.) for both accesses.

[0162] Note that in various embodiments, one or more of the above-described functional entities of the 5G NAS and / or 5G AS can be configured to perform methods for reflecting QoS enhancements, e.g., as further described herein.

[0163] Reflective QoS Enhancement

[0164] The current specifications of 5G cellular communication systems introduce the concept of reflected Quality of Service (QoS), which is a mechanism for performing QoS in the uplink, where the signaling between the UE and the network is reduced (e.g., compared to 4G QoS mechanisms). For example, with reflected QoS, the UE first indicates support for reflected QoS during the establishment or modification of a PDU session with the network. Then, when the User Plane Function (UPF) receives an indication from the Session Management Function (SMF) to use reflected QoS for a specific QoS flow, the UPF includes a Reflected QoS Indicator (RQI) field in the encapsulation header of the packet sent to the base station via the N3 interface. Additionally, when the base station receives the RQI and the QoS Flow Identifier (QFI) from the UPF, the base station indicates the RQI and QFI to the UE as part of the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) header. Thus, the UE will monitor the SDAP header, and once the RQI is set, the UE will apply the same QoS in the downlink to all uplink packet transmissions of the same Service Data Flow (SDF) without specific signaling to inform the UE which QoS will be used in the uplink. In this way, the downlink QoS is reflected to the uplink QoS of the same SDF.

[0165] Additionally, the current specifications of 5G cellular communication systems use a flow-based concept of QoS. Therefore, packets are classified and marked using the QFI, and 5G QoS flows are mapped to Data Radio Bearers (DRBs) in the access network. Additionally, 5G QoS supports Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR QoS flows), Non-Guaranteed Bit Rate (Non-GBR QoS flows), and Mission-Critical Guaranteed Bit Rate (Latency-Critical QoS flows).

[0166] In fact, from the perspective of the UE, when the RQI bit is set (e.g., to value 1) in the downlink (DL) SDAP header, the UE needs to parse the 5-tuple (e.g., source IP address / port number, destination IP address / port number, and the protocol in use) from the DL transport control protocol (TCP) / user datagram protocol (UDP) / encapsulating security payload (ESP) packet, flip the source and destination attributes (e.g., source and destination IP addresses and port numbers), install the derived UL filtering rules (e.g., reflected QoS), and map the UL IP flow to the QFI included in the SDAP header of the DL TCP / UDP / ESP packet. Additionally, the UE needs to run a reflected QoS (RQoS) inactivity timer (e.g., RQ timer), and if and / or when the timer expires and no further packets of the same IP flow are received on the DL where the RQI bit is set, then delete the UL filtering rules. Note that the RQ timer can be provided to the UE by the network as part of the PDU session establishment process. Also note that since 5G uses a flow-based concept of QoS, multiple unique flows can have the RQI bit set in the SDAP header and can be mapped to the same or different QFI values on the same DRB.

[0167] Furthermore, when the reflected QoS to DRB identifier (RDI) bit is set in the DL SDAP header (e.g., indicating whether the QoS flow for the DRB mapping rule should be updated), packets with the same QFI on the UL are steered to the DRB on which the DL packet was received. Additionally, the UE needs to send an end marker control PDU on the old DRB, thereby indicating to the network that no further packets belonging to the QFI will be sent through the old DRB from that point on.

[0168] However, such requirements for the UE may pose processing problems for the UE. For example, due to a large number of back-to-back SDAP packets with the RQI bit set and the necessity to parse the TCP / UDP / IP headers, the UE software may not be able to meet the performance requirements. Additionally, the requirement to route the payload back-to-back packets to the modem DDR memory can make the system DRAM bandwidth very high. Also, some networks may set the RDI bit to 1 for back-to-back packets, resulting in further processing and bandwidth issues. Therefore, for the effective UE and network handling of RQoS, improvements are needed in this area.

[0169] The embodiments described herein provide systems, methods, and mechanisms for enhanced User Equipment (UE) and network for Reflective Quality of Service (RQoS). For example, in some embodiments, when RQoS is enabled for a flow and there is a need to update and / or install a QoS Flow Identifier (QFI) value for a new flow, the User Plane Function (UPF) may apply a backoff timer before resetting the RQI bit to 1 for the packets of the flow and sending them to the UE that has already received the flow. In some embodiments, the UPF may set the RQI bit to 1 only for the first "n" packets of the flow of a specific UE for which RQoS is enabled and there is a need to update and / or install a QFI. As another example, in some embodiments, the UPF / Session Management Function (SMF) may generate a unique flow ID per PDU session per UE and use this flow ID to indicate the flow for which there is a need to update and / or install a QFI.

[0170] In some embodiments, the UE may use an "end marker" to trigger the UPF to apply a backoff timer to the flow as described herein and / or apply a counter to the flow as described herein after processing the first packet with the RQI bit set for the flow. As another example, in some embodiments, the UE may introduce a QFI mapping table and compare the received Downlink (DL) packets with the RQI bits set to the QFIs in the mapping table to determine whether to parse the quintuple included in the DL packet. In some embodiments, the SMF may not allocate a single (e.g., the same) QFI value to multiple flows. In some embodiments, when the UE processing threshold exceeds a specified percentage (e.g., 70%-90% depending on the power state), the UE may ignore further RQI updates for the specified backoff timer and / or disable the RQoS feature via the PDU session module procedure.

[0171] In some embodiments, when it is known that a specific flow will last for more than a specified period (e.g., more than one or two minutes), the QFI mapping for the specific flow may be updated via Network Access Stratum (NAS) control plane signaling (e.g., via a network-triggered PDU session modification procedure) instead of user-plane-based RQoS. In some embodiments, as part of the PDU session establishment procedure, the UE may include the maximum number of synchronous flows (e.g., 32) that the UE can handle when all flows have enabled RQoS features and / or indicate the maximum throughput that the UE can support on the DL with the RQoS feature enabled.

[0172] In some embodiments, the UE may implement a method for High-Efficiency RQoS (HERQ) handling. In some embodiments, HERQ handling may be used for RQoS rule updates in an established RQoS flow. For example, a change in the RQI value (from 1 to 0 or from 0 to 1) may be used to indicate that a new Service Data Flow (SDF) has been added to the RQoS rule. Thus, when the RQI value changes, the UE may parse the downlink header; otherwise, the UE may skip parsing the downlink header. On the network side, when a new SDF is added to the QFI in packet N (e.g., QFI k, an existing RQoS flow), the UPF may set the RQI bit in packet N to the value 0 on the N3 interface and then set the RQI bits in subsequent packets (e.g., N+1, N+2, N+3, etc.) to the value 1 for the QFI (e.g., for QFI k).

[0173] For example, for an existing RQoS flow (e.g., QFI k), when the RQI bit changes from 1 to 0, e.g., to indicate that a new QoS rule may be carried in the downlink packet, the UE may inspect the packet to retrieve the new QoS rule. When inspecting (e.g., parsing) the downlink packet, if no new Service Data Flow (SDF) (e.g., flow) is included, the UE may follow the current 3GPP TS 24.501 procedure for an RQI bit set to "0". For example, if the RQoS timer has expired, the UE may delete the associated RQoS rule. However, if a new SDF is carried in the downlink packet, the UE may add the SDF as a new RQoS rule for the QoS flow (e.g., labeled with QFI = k, for example) and place it in a "pending" state (e.g., the pending SDF for QFI = k). Additionally, when the RQI bit changes from 0 to 1, if the SDF included in the associated downlink packet matches the "pending" SDF for the QFI, the SDF changes from pending to an active (and / or active) RQoS rule. Further, the UE may restart and / or reset the RQoS timer associated with the RQoS rule. Alternatively, if the SDF included in the associated downlink packet does not match the "pending" SDF, the SDF is considered a new RQoS rule, and the UE may follow the current 3GPP TS 24.501 procedure for an RQI bit set to "1". For example, the UE may parse the associated downlink packet, determine whether a new RQoS rule exists, and either create a new RQoS rule at the UE or reset the RQoS timer associated with the new RQoS rule.

[0174] Therefore, with HERQ processing, when there is an indication of an RQoS rule update (e.g., a change in the RQI bit value), the UE may only need to retrieve the RQoS rule from the downlink packet. In other words, with HERQ processing, the UE does not need to examine each downlink packet of the flow (e.g., parse packet by packet), thereby enhancing UE performance and saving baseband processor resources and power. Additionally, since the RQoS rule is used for uplink transmission, there is no impact on the KPI (Key Performance Indicator) if and / or when the RQoS rule is created prior to uplink packet transmission.

[0175] Figures 8 to 22 A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for QoS enhancement by reflection according to some embodiments is shown. For example, Figure 8 、 Figure 9 and Figure 10 A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for using a backoff timer and / or counter to limit the reset of the RQI bit for a flow to the UE is shown. Additionally, Figure 11 and Figure 12 A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for using a flow ID to limit the UE's parsing of DL packets with the RQI bit set to 1 is shown. Furthermore, Figure 13 and Figure 14 A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for using feedback on UE processing of the RQI bit to limit the UE's parsing of DL packets associated with RQoS is shown. Additionally, Figure 15 A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for the UE to maintain a QFI mapping table to limit the UE's parsing of DL packets associated with RQoS is shown. Figure 16 A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for the UE to randomly skip parsing of L3 / L4 headers when the downlink throughput exceeds a threshold is shown. Figure 17 、 Figure 18 、 Figure 19 、 Figure 20 、 Figure 21 and Figure 22 A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for using NAS signaling to update and / or specify features associated with RQoS is shown. Note that, among other devices, Figures 8 to 22 the methods shown in

[0176] can also be used in combination with each other along with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures. Figure 8 A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for using a backoff timer to reset the RQI bit of packets of a flow to the UE is shown. As described, among other devices, Figure 8The method shown can also be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as needed. As shown in the figure, the method operates as follows.

[0177] At 802, a user plane function (UPF) of the core network, such as UPF 608, may determine that reflected QoS (RQoS) for a flow (e.g., an IP flow) destined for a UE (such as UE 106) is enabled.

[0178] At 804, the UPF may determine that the QFI value of the flow needs to be updated and / or installed.

[0179] At 806, the UPF may start a backoff timer before resetting the RQI bit to "1" for packets of a flow destined for the UE. In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer (e.g., the duration of the backoff timer) may be provided by a session management function (SMF) of the core network, such as SMF 606. Thus, the UPF may receive the value of the backoff timer from the SMF. In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer may be less than the value of a reflected QoS (RQoS) inactivity timer (e.g., an RQ timer). Note that the RQ timer may be provided to the UE by the network as part of PDU session establishment. For example, the backoff timer may be selected (and / or determined) as "RQ timer / k", where k may be greater than or equal to two. Thus, the loss of a single packet marked with an RQI will not cause an unexpected expiration of the RQ timer. Additionally, the value of the backoff timer may be greater than "a few seconds", which may implicitly set a lower bound for the RQ timer. For example, assume the core network desires the value of the backoff timer to be 5 seconds. Then, the minimum value of the RQ timer will be 10 seconds. In some embodiments, an example value of the backoff timer may be determined as MAX{X sec, MIN{RQ Timer / 2, Y min}}. For example, at least in some embodiments, X may be 5 and Y may be 1.

[0180] Go to Figure 9 , a block diagram illustrating an example of a method for using a counter-based reset of the RQI bit for packets of a flow destined for a UE according to some embodiments is shown. As described, among other devices, Figure 9 The method shown can also be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as needed. As shown in the figure, the method operates as follows.

[0181] At 902, a user plane function (UPF) of a core network, such as UPF 608, may determine that reflected QoS (RQoS) for a flow (e.g., an IP flow) destined for a UE (such as UE 106) is enabled.

[0182] At 904, the UPF may determine that the QFI value of the flow needs to be updated and / or installed.

[0183] At 906, the UPF may set the RQI bit to 1 for the first N packets of the flow sent to the UE. In some embodiments, the value of N may be greater than or equal to 1. In some embodiments, the value of N may be provided by a session management function (SMF) of the core network, such as SMF 606. Thus, the UPF may receive the value of N from the SMF. In some embodiments, among other values, the value of N may not exceed a network-specified value, such as 10 or 20. In some embodiments, such a mechanism may be implemented with a backoff timer as described herein. For example, after the backoff timer expires, the UPF may set the RQI bit to 1 for the first N packets.

[0184] For example, Figure 10 A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for resetting the RQI bit of packets for a flow destined for a UE using a backoff timer in conjunction with a counter is shown. As described, among other devices, Figure 10 The method shown may also be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed concurrently in an order different from that shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be executed as needed. As shown, the method may operate as follows.

[0185] At 1002, a user plane function (UPF) of a core network, such as UPF 608, may determine that reflected QoS (RQoS) for a flow (e.g., an IP flow) destined for a UE (such as UE 106) is enabled.

[0186] At 1004, the UPF may determine that the QFI value of the flow needs to be updated and / or installed.

[0187] At 1006, the UPF may set the RQI bit to 1 for the first N packets of the flow sent to the UE. In some embodiments, the value of N may be greater than or equal to 1. In some embodiments, the value of N may be provided by a session management function (SMF) of the core network, such as SMF 606. Thus, the UPF may receive the value of N from the SMF. In some embodiments, among other values, the value of N may not exceed a network-specified value, such as 10 or 20.

[0188] At 1008, the UPF may start a backoff timer after resetting the RQI bit to "1" for the first N packets of the flow destined for the UE. In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer (e.g., the duration of the backoff timer) may be provided by a session management function (SMF) of the core network, such as SMF 606. Thus, the UPF may receive the value of the backoff timer from the SMF. In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer may be less than the value of the reflected QoS (RQoS) inactivity timer (e.g., the RQ timer). Note that the RQ timer may be provided to the UE by the network as part of PDU session establishment. For example, the backoff timer may be selected (and / or determined) to be "RQ timer / k", where k may be greater than or equal to two. Thus, losing a single packet marked with RQI will not cause an unexpected expiration of the RQ timer. Additionally, the value of the backoff timer may be greater than "a few seconds", which may implicitly set a lower bound for the RQ timer. For example, assume the core network desires the value of the backoff timer to be 5 seconds. Then, the minimum value of the RQ timer will be 10 seconds. In some embodiments, an example value of the backoff timer may be determined as MAX{X sec, MIN{RQTimer / 2, Y min}}. For example, at least in some embodiments, X may be 5 and Y may be 1.

[0189] At 1010, upon expiration of the backoff timer, the UPF may set the RQI bit to "1" for the next N packets of the flow destined for the UE.

[0190] Go to Figure 11 and Figure 12 , Figure 11 shows a block diagram of an example of a method for generating a flow ID to include in an SDAP header destined for a UE. As described, among other devices, Figure 11 the method shown in may also be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed concurrently in a different order than shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be executed as needed. As shown, the method may operate as follows.

[0191] At 1102, a user plane function (UPF) of the core network, such as UPF 608, may determine that reflected QoS (RQoS) for a flow (e.g., an IP flow) destined for a UE (such as UE 106) is enabled.

[0192] At 1104, the UPF may generate a flow ID per PDU session per UE based on the 5-tuple of the TCP / UDP packet (e.g., source and destination IP addresses, source and destination port numbers, and the next_header field in the IP header) or the 4-tuple of the ESP packet (e.g., source and destination IP addresses, next_header, and security parameter index (SPI) field). In at least some embodiments, the flow ID field may be limited to 8 bits. Note that in such embodiments, such a limitation will allow up to 255 active flows per UE.

[0193] At 1106, the UPF may include the flow ID in the N3 encapsulation header of the packet going to the UE for the flow for which the QFI needs to be updated or installed. Thus, the flow ID to the UE can then be added (e.g., by another entity of the network, such as a base station such as base station 102) to the SDAP header on the downlink. In some embodiments, the size of the SDAP header may be increased to 2 bytes to accommodate the flow ID.

[0194] Go to Figure 12 , a block diagram of an example of a method for using a flow ID to limit the parsing of L3 / L4 headers associated with RQoS is shown according to some embodiments. As described, among other devices, Figure 12 The method shown in can also be used with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figure. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be executed as needed. As shown, the method may operate as follows.

[0195] At 1202, a UE (such as UE 106) may maintain a flow ID to QFI mapping table per PDU session. Note that the flow ID may be generated by a UPF such as UPF 608, as referenced Figure 11 as described. Thus, the flow ID can be per PDU session per UE and may be based on the 5-tuple of the TCP / UDP packet (e.g., source and destination IP addresses, source and destination port numbers, and next_header) or the 4-tuple of the ESP packet received by the UE (e.g., source and destination IP addresses, next_header, and SPI field). In at least some embodiments, the flow ID field may be limited to 8 bits. Note that in such embodiments, such a limitation will allow up to 255 active flows per UE.

[0196] At 1204, the UE may receive a downlink packet with the RQI bit set to 1. The downlink packet may include the flow ID.

[0197] At 1206, the UE may determine whether the flow ID included in the downlink packet is in the QFI mapping table. In other words, the UE may search for the flow ID included in the downlink packet in the QFI mapping table.

[0198] At 1208, in response to determining that the flow ID is not in the QFI mapping table, the UE may add the flow ID to the QFI mapping table. Additionally, at 1210, the UE may parse the layer 4 (L4) header field and the layer 3 (L3) header field of the downlink packet. Note that the L4 header field may be a TCP / UDP / ESP header, and the L3 header field may be an IP header field.

[0199] Alternatively, at 1212, in response to determining that the flow ID is in the QFI mapping table, the UE may determine whether there is a change in the QFI field of the SDAP header of the downlink packet. At 1214, in response to determining that there is a change in the QFI field of the SDAP header of the downlink packet, the UE may update the flow ID to the QFI mapping, and at 1216, the UE may ignore the parsing of the L3 / L4 header fields of the downlink packet. Alternatively, in response to determining that there is no change in the QFI field of the SDAP header of the downlink packet, the UE may ignore the parsing of the L3 / L4 header fields of the downlink packet at 1216.

[0200] In some embodiments, to ensure that the UE does not maintain old (e.g., stale and / or expired) flow IDs, when the RQ timer expires, the UE may delete the flow ID from the QFI mapping table. In addition and / or alternatively, in some embodiments, to ensure that the UE does not maintain old (e.g., stale and / or expired) flow IDs, the UE may delete the flow ID from the QFI mapping table at the end of the radio resource control (RRC) connection (e.g., when the UE transitions from the RRC connected state to the RRC idle state).

[0201] Go to Figure 13 and Figure 14 , Figure 13 shows a block diagram of an example of a method for a UE to send feedback on the processing of RQI bits to limit the UE's parsing of DL packets associated with RQoS. As described, among other devices, Figure 13 the method shown in may also be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be executed as needed. As shown, the method may operate as follows.

[0202] At 1302, a UE such as UE 106 may receive a downlink packet with the RQI bit set to value 1.

[0203] At 1304, the UE may process the downlink packet to derive one or more RQoS rules for uplink transmission.

[0204] At 1306, the UE may transmit an indication and / or feedback regarding the processing of the RQI bit, e.g., to indicate the derivation of the one or more RQoS rules for uplink transmission. In some embodiments, the feedback may be an end marker PDU on the uplink. The end marker PDU may include a zero payload length packet referencing an L3 / L4 header. An example of the zero payload length packet may be a TCP acknowledgement (ACK) packet. The L3 / L4 header may match the derived RQoS rule on the uplink. The UE may include an SDAP header and signal the SDAP header as a control PDU. The control PDU may include the QFI received on the downlink for the flow associated with the received downlink packet.

[0205] Go to Figure 14 , a block diagram illustrating an example of a method for a UPF to receive feedback regarding the processing of an RQI bit to limit the UE's parsing of DL packets associated with RQoS is shown. As described, among other devices, Figure 14 the method shown in may also be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed concurrently in a different order than shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be executed as needed. As shown, the method may operate as follows.

[0206] At 1402, a UPF such as UPF 608 may transmit a downlink packet with the RQI bit set to a value of 1.

[0207] At 1404, the UPF may receive an indication and / or feedback regarding the processing of the RQI bit, e.g., to indicate the derivation of the one or more RQoS rules for uplink transmission. In some embodiments, the feedback may be an end marker PDU on the uplink. The end marker PDU may include a zero payload length packet referencing an L3 / L4 header. The L3 / L4 header may match the derived RQoS rule on the uplink. The UE may include an SDAP header and signal the SDAP header as a control PDU. The control PDU may include the QFI received on the downlink for the flow associated with the received downlink packet.

[0208] At 1406, after verifying that the L3 / L4 header and QFI value match for a flow associated with a downlink packet (e.g., a service data flow (SDF)) in an uplink packet data report received from an SMF such as SMF606 (e.g., to verify that the UE has applied one or more RQoS rules for the uplink), the UPF may stop the RQI bit for subsequent packets of the flow on the downlink. In some embodiments, the UPF may transparently forward the packets on the uplink to the destination IP address indicated in the IP header field of the SDAP header. In some embodiments, the UPF may also implement the backoff timer and / or counter described above with reference to Figure 8 , Figure 9 and Figure 10 the backoff timer and / or counter.

[0209] Go to Figure 15 , which shows a block diagram of an example of a method for a UE to maintain a QFI mapping table to limit the UE's parsing of downlink packets associated with RQoS. As described, among other devices, Figure 15 the method shown in may also be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed concurrently in a different order than shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be executed as needed. As shown, the method may operate as follows.

[0210] At 1502, a UE such as UE 106 may receive a downlink packet with the RQI bit set to a value of 1.

[0211] At 1504, the UE may compare the QFI value included in the downlink packet with a locally maintained QFI mapping table.

[0212] At 1506, the UE may verify whether the QFI value included in the downlink packet exists in the QFI mapping table. Note that in this method, each PDU session may map no more than one IP flow to a QFI value.

[0213] At 1508, in response to determining that the QFI value is included in the QFI mapping table, the UE may skip parsing the L3 / L4 header included in the downlink packet.

[0214] Alternatively, at 1510, in response to determining that the QFI value is not included in the QFI mapping table, the UE may parse the L3 / L4 header included in the downlink packet. Additionally, at 1512, the UE may derive one or more RQoS rules for uplink transmission. Additionally, at 1514, the UE may add the QFI value to the QFI mapping table.

[0215] In some embodiments, when consecutive downlink packets on a specific dedicated radio bearer (DRB) have the RDI bit set, the UE may ignore sending an RDI end marker control PDU on the uplink as long as the QFI is part of the QFI mapping table.

[0216] Go to Figure 16 , which shows a block diagram of an example of a method for a UE to randomly skip parsing L3 / L4 headers when the downlink throughput exceeds a threshold according to some embodiments. As described, among other devices, Figure 16 The method shown in can also be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be executed as needed. As shown, the method may operate as follows.

[0217] At 1602, a UE such as UE 106 may determine that the throughput of downlink packets associated with RQoS exceeds a threshold. In other words, the UE may determine that the throughput of downlink packets of a flow with the RQI bit set to a value of 1 exceeds the threshold. In some embodiments, the threshold may be in the range of 200 megabytes per second to 1000 megabytes per second. In some embodiments, the threshold may depend at least in part on the power state of the UE and / or the power level of the battery powering the UE. In some embodiments, the threshold may depend at least in part on the thermal load of the UE.

[0218] At 1604, in response to determining that the throughput exceeds the threshold, the UE may parse the L3 / L4 headers of every Nth downlink packet of a flow with the received RQI bit set to a value of 1. Thus, the UE may parse the L3 / L4 headers of downlink packets of a flow with the RQI bit set to a value of 1 and then skip parsing the next N - 1 downlink packets of the flow with the RQI bit set to a value of 1. In some embodiments, N may be a number in the range between 10 and 100, for example, depending on factors such as the value of the threshold. For example, the value of N may increase as the value of the threshold increases, and / or the value of N may decrease as the value of the threshold decreases.

[0219] As described above, Figure 17 、 Figure 18 、 Figure 19 、 Figure 20 、 Figure 21 and Figure 22 show a block diagram of an example of a method for updating and / or specifying features associated with RQoS using network access layer (NAS) signaling. Go to Figure 17, a block diagram showing an example for a UPF to specify a QFI range and signal the QFI range to a UE is presented. As described, among other devices, Figure 17 the method shown in may also be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be executed as needed. As shown, the method operates as follows.

[0220] At 1702, a SMF such as SMF 606 may reserve a QFI range having the same 5G standardized QoS identifier (5QI). In some embodiments, when it is necessary to enable RQoS for multiple flows for a UE (such as UE 106), and at the same time for a PDU session, the SMF may ensure that the QFI assigned to each concurrent IP flow is a unique QFI. In other words, for a UE, two concurrent IP flows may not have overlapping QFI values. In some embodiments, the SMF may reserve up to sixteen QFI ranges that may have exactly the same QoS characteristics, for example, the same 5QI value. Thus, even if multiple IP flows have different QFI values, the network may allow the multiple IP flows to have the same QoS profile.

[0221] At 1704, the SMF may signal the mapping between the QFI value and the 5QI to the UE (such as UE 106) without associating it with an IP flow. In other words, the mapping may include QoS flow description information elements without associated QoS rules. In some embodiments, the SMF may signal the mapping via NAS signaling during the PDU session establishment process. Note that in the case where there are more than 16 active flows for the same UE with RQoS, a UPF such as UPF 608 may trigger additional optimizations, for example, as described above with reference to Figure 8 , Figure 9 and Figure 10 described.

[0222] Go to Figure 18 , a block diagram showing an example of a method for a UE to limit downlink header parsing associated with RQoS based on processor utilization is presented. As described, among other devices, Figure 18 the method shown in may also be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be executed as needed. As shown, the method operates as follows.

[0223] At 1802, a UE such as UE 106 may determine that the processor utilization associated with parsing a downlink packet header associated with RQoS has exceeded a threshold. In some embodiments, the threshold may be in the range between 50% and 90% processor utilization. In some embodiments, the threshold may depend at least in part on the power state of the UE and / or the power level of the battery powering the UE. In some embodiments, the threshold may depend at least in part on the thermal load of the UE.

[0224] At 1804, the UE may initiate a backoff timer, for example in response to the processor utilization exceeding the threshold. In some embodiments, the backoff timer may depend at least in part on the power state of the UE and / or the power level of the battery powering the UE. In some embodiments, the backoff timer may depend at least in part on the thermal load of the UE.

[0225] At 1806, the UE may ignore additional RQI updates received in the downlink packet until the backoff timer expires. In other words, the UE may skip parsing the downlink packet associated with RQoS until the backoff timer expires.

[0226] Go to Figure 19 , which shows a block diagram of another example of a method for a UE to limit downlink header parsing associated with RQoS based on processor utilization according to some embodiments. As described, among other devices, Figure 19 the method shown in may also be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be executed as needed. As shown, the method may operate as follows.

[0227] At 1902, a UE such as UE 106 may determine that the processor utilization associated with parsing a downlink packet header associated with RQoS has exceeded a threshold. In some embodiments, the threshold may be in the range between 50% and 90% processor utilization. In some embodiments, the threshold may depend at least in part on the power state of the UE and / or the power level of the battery powering the UE. In some embodiments, the threshold may depend at least in part on the thermal load of the UE.

[0228] At 1904, the UE may trigger a PDU session modification procedure, for example in response to the processor utilization exceeding the threshold.

[0229] At 1906, as part of the PDU session modification procedure, the UE may indicate that it does not support the RQoS feature. In some embodiments, when disabling the RQoS feature via the PDU session modification procedure, the UE may include a set of packet filters configured via RQoS, e.g., as part of an uplink PDU session modification request message. In some embodiments, when the SMF, such as SMF 608, receives these packet filters, the SMF may continue to configure the UPF for the downlink, such as UPF 606, and the UE for the uplink via the PDU session modification procedure on the downlink, e.g., to ensure that the set of packet filters is associated with the same QFI requested by the UE, thereby ensuring that the user experience is not degraded in any way due to the revocation of RQoS.

[0230] Go to Figure 20 , a block diagram illustrating an example of a method for updating the QFI mapping for a flow via NAS signaling according to some embodiments is shown. As described, among other devices, Figure 20 The method shown in may also be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be executed as needed. As shown, the method may operate as follows.

[0231] At 2020, the network entity may determine that the flow will continue for more than a specified duration. In some embodiments, the specified duration may be on the order of a few minutes. In some embodiments, the duration of the flow may be determined based on the Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) / Type of Service (TOS) markings of the incoming IP packets. In some embodiments, the duration of the flow may be determined based on the 5QI value of the incoming IP packets.

[0232] At 2022, the network entity may apply an updated QFI mapping for the flow via NAS control plane signaling with the UE (such as UE 106). In some embodiments, the NAS control plane signaling may be triggered by the PDU session modification procedure.

[0233] Go to Figure 21 and Figure 22 , a block diagram illustrating an example of a method for the UE to indicate its capabilities associated with the RQoS feature according to some embodiments is shown. For example, Figure 21 A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for the UE to indicate the maximum number of concurrent flows that the UE can handle when the RQoS feature is enabled is shown. As described, among other devices, Figure 21The method shown can also be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as needed. As shown in the figure, the method operates as follows.

[0234] At 2102, when all flows have RQoS enabled, the SMF, such as SMF 606, may receive an indication from the UE, such as UE 106, of the maximum number of synchronous flows (e.g., IP flows) that the UE can handle. In some embodiments, the indication may be received during the PDU session establishment process.

[0235] At 2104, when all flows have RQoS enabled, the SMF may determine that the number of concurrent flows has exceeded the maximum number of concurrent flows that the UE can handle.

[0236] At 2106, the SMF may update the RQoS rules, for example, via NAS signaling with the UE. In other words, the SMF may use NAS signaling to indicate and / or update the RQoS rules at the UE.

[0237] Go to Figure 22 , Figure 22 A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for a UE to indicate the maximum downlink throughput that the UE can support when the RQoS feature is enabled is shown. As described, among other devices, Figure 22 The method shown can also be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as needed. As shown in the figure, the method operates as follows.

[0238] At 2102, when all flows have RQoS enabled, the SMF, such as SMF 606, may receive an indication from the UE, such as UE 106, of the maximum downlink throughput that the UE can support. In some embodiments, the indication may be received during the PDU session establishment process.

[0239] At 2104, when all flows have RQoS enabled, the SMF may determine that the UE's downlink throughput has exceeded the maximum downlink throughput that the UE can support.

[0240] At 2106, the SMF may update one or more QFI mappings for the flows to the UE, for example, via NAS signaling with the UE. In other words, the SMF may use NAS signaling to indicate and / or update one or more QFI mappings at the UE.

[0241] Figure 23 ,Figure 24 FIG. 25 shows a block diagram of an example of a method for HERQ processing according to some embodiments. Specifically, Figure 23 and Figure 24 FIG. 26 shows a block diagram of an example of a method for UE-side HERQ processing according to some embodiments, and Figure 25 FIG. 27 shows a block diagram of an example of a method for network-side HERQ processing according to some embodiments. Note that, among other devices, Figures 23 to 25 the methods shown in FIGS. 25-27 can also be used in combination with each other with any one of the methods described above with reference to Figures 8 to 22 FIGS. 1-24 and any one of the other systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures.

[0242] Turning to Figure 23 FIG. 28, a block diagram of an example of a method for HERQ processing when the received downlink packet has an RQI bit set to a value of 1 is shown. As described, among other devices, Figure 23 the methods shown in FIG. 28 can also be used with any one of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be executed as needed. As shown in the figure, the method operates as follows.

[0243] At 2302, a UE such as UE 106 may receive a downlink packet with an RQI bit set to a value of 1. The downlink packet may be associated with a flow (e.g., an SDF / IP flow associated with a specific QFI value).

[0244] At 2304, the UE may determine whether the last received downlink packet in the flow has an RQI bit set to a value of 1.

[0245] At 2306, in response to determining that the last received downlink packet in the flow has an RQI bit set to a value of 1, the UE may skip a full parsing of the SDAP header included in the downlink packet. Additionally, at 2308, an RQoS timer associated with the flow (e.g., associated with a specific QFI value included in the SDAP header) may continue.

[0246] Alternatively, at 2310, in response to determining that the last received downlink packet in the flow does not have an RQI bit set to a value of 1 (e.g., indicating a change in the RQI bit value from 0 to 1), the UE may parse the L3 / L4 header of the downlink packet (e.g., parse the SDAP header). Additionally, at 2312, the UE may derive the uplink RQoS rule included in the L3 / L4 header, and at 2314, determine that the RQoS rule is pending (e.g., previously derived but inactive). Then, at 2316, the UE may move the derived RQoS rule from pending (e.g., from pending and / or inactive state) to active (e.g., move to active and / or used state), and start an RQoS timer associated with the flow (e.g., associated with a specific QFI value).

[0247] Go to Figure 24 , which shows a block diagram of an example of a method for performing HERQ processing when a received downlink packet has an RQI bit set to a value of 0. As described, among other devices, Figure 24 the method shown in can also be used with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be executed as needed. As shown, the method may operate as follows.

[0248] At 2402, a UE such as UE 106 may receive a downlink packet with an RQI bit set to a value of 0. The downlink packet may be associated with a flow (e.g., with an SDF / IP flow associated with a specific QFI value).

[0249] At 2404, the UE may determine whether the last received downlink packet in the flow has an RQI bit set to a value of 1.

[0250] At 2406, in response to determining that the last received downlink packet in the flow does not have an RQI bit set to a value of 1 (e.g., indicating a change in the RQI bit value from 1 to 0), the UE may parse the L3 / L4 header of the downlink packet (e.g., parse the SDAP header). Additionally, at 2408, the UE may derive the uplink RQoS rule included in the L3 / L4 header, and at 2410, the UE may set the state of the RQoS rule to pending (e.g., previously derived but inactive).

[0251] Alternatively, at 2412, in response to determining that the last received downlink packet in the stream does not have the RQI bit set to the value 1, the UE may skip a full parse of the SDAP header included in the downlink packet. Additionally, at 2414, the RQoS timer associated with the stream (e.g., associated with a specific QFI value included in the SDAP header) may continue.

[0252] Go to Figure 25 , which shows a block diagram of an example of a method for determining an RQI bit for HERQ processing according to some embodiments. As described, among other devices, Figure 25 The method shown in can also be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figures. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be executed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be executed as needed. As shown, the method may operate as follows.

[0253] At 2502, a UPF such as UPF 608 may receive an indication of a stream for which RQoS is activated (e.g., for an SDF and / or IP flow). The stream may be associated with a specific QFI value and destined for a UE such as UE 106.

[0254] At 2504, the UPF may determine whether there is an RQoS rule update associated with the stream (e.g., associated with a specific QFI value).

[0255] At 2506, in response to determining that there is an RQoS rule update associated with the stream, the UPF may set the RQI bit to the value 0 for the current packet of the stream (e.g., packet N), and then set the RQI bit to the value 1 for the next packet of the stream (e.g., packet N+1).

[0256] Alternatively, at 2508, if there is no RQoS rule update, the UPF determines the RQI bit value based on the previous packet. For example, if the RQI bit value of the previous packet is 0, the UPF may set the RQI bit value of the current packet to 0, e.g., to indicate that the RQoS rule has not changed. Similarly, if the RQI bit value of the previous packet is 1, the UPF may set the RQI bit value of the current packet to 1, e.g., to indicate that the RQoS rule has not changed.

[0257] Figure 26 , Figure 27 , Figure 28 and Figure 29 show various examples of use cases for HERQ processing. For example, Figure 26 shows an example of multiple SDFs in an RQoS stream (e.g., multiple SDFs associated with a specific QFI value) when using HERQ processing. Additionally,Figure 27 Illustrates an example of packet loss during HERQ processing according to some embodiments. Additionally, Figure 28 Illustrates an example of out-of-order packet reception during HERQ processing according to some embodiments. Additionally, Figure 29 Illustrates an example of RQoS timer reset during HERQ processing according to some embodiments.

[0258] Go to Figure 26 , a UE such as UE 106 may receive downlink packets as shown. Specifically, downlink packet N may include an RQI bit set to 1, a QFI value of k, and may be associated with SDF flow F1. Similarly, downlink packet N+1 may include an RQI bit set to 1, a QFI value of k, and may be associated with SDF flow F2. Thus, according to HERQ processing, the UE may skip full parsing of the SDAP headers for these packets as well as packets N+3, N+4, N+6, N+7, and N+8, for example, because the RQI bit value has not changed. However, downlink packet N+2 may include an RQI bit set to 0, a QFI value of k, and may be associated with SDF flow F3. Since the RQI bit is set to 0, the UE may parse the SDAP header at 2610 and derive the RQoS rule associated with SDF flow F3. Additionally, according to HERQ processing, the UE may set the state of the derived RQoS rule associated with SDF flow F3 to "pending". In other words, the UE may not activate and / or use the derived RQoS rule for an uplink packet such as uplink packet M as shown. However, upon receiving downlink packet N+5 (which may include an RQI bit set to 1, a QFI value of k, and may be associated with SDF flow F3), the UE may activate the derived RQoS rule associated with SDF flow F3 at 2612. In other words, according to HERQ processing, based on the change of the RQI bit of SDF flow F3 from value 0 to value 1, the UE may activate the derived RQoS rule for an uplink packet (such as uplink packet M+1) as shown.

[0259] Go to Figure 27, a UE such as UE 106 may receive downlink packets as shown in the figure. Specifically, downlink packet N may include an RQI bit set to 1, a QFI value of k, and may be associated with SDF flow F1. Similarly, downlink packet N+1 may include an RQI bit set to 1, a QFI value of k, and may be associated with SDF flow F2. Therefore, according to HERQ processing, the UE may skip the complete parsing of the SDAP headers of these packets as well as packets N+3, N+4, N+6, N+7, and N+8. For example, because the RQI bit value has not changed. In addition, as shown in the figure, downlink packet N+2 may not be received (for example, it may be a discarded packet). Therefore, although downlink packet N+2 includes an RQI bit set to 0, a QFI value of k, and may be associated with SDF flow F3, since the UE does not receive downlink packet N+2, the UE does not derive the RQoS rule associated with SDF flow F3 at 2710. In addition, when receiving downlink packet N+5 (which may include an RQI bit set to 1, a QFI value of k, and may be associated with SDF flow F3), the UE may not detect a change in the RQI bit or need to parse the SDAP header of downlink packet N+5. Therefore, at 2712, the RQoS rule associated with SDF flow F3 is not derived. In other words, according to HERQ processing, based on the value of the RQI bit in downlink packet N+5 being set to 1, the UE may skip the parsing of the SDAP header. Therefore, when transmitting uplink packet M for SDF flow F3, the RQoS rule may not be applied as shown in the figure.

[0260] Go to Figure 28, a UE such as UE 106 may receive downlink packets as shown. Specifically, downlink packet N may include an RQI bit set to 1, a QFI value of k, and may be associated with SDF flow F1. Similarly, downlink packet N+1 may include an RQI bit set to 1, a QFI value of k, and may be associated with SDF flow F2. Thus, according to HERQ processing, the UE may skip a full parsing of the SDAP headers for these packets as well as packets N+3, N+4, N+6, N+7, and N+8, for example, because the RQI bit value has not changed. Additionally, as shown, downlink packet N+2 may not be received before downlink packet N+5 (e.g., downlink packets may be delivered out of order). Thus, when downlink packet N+5 is received (e.g., before downlink packet N+2 is received) (which may include an RQI bit set to 1, a QFI value of k, and may be associated with SDF flow F3), the UE may not detect a change in the RQI bit or need to parse the SDAP header of downlink packet N+5, and thus, at 2710, does not derive an RQoS rule associated with SDF flow F3. In other words, according to HERQ processing, based on the value of the RQI bit in downlink packet N+5 being set to 1, the UE may skip parsing the SDAP header. Then, when packet N+2 is received (e.g., after downlink packet N+5 is received) (which may include an RQI bit set to 0, a QFI value of k, and may be associated with SDF flow F3), the UE may parse the SDAP header and derive an RQoS rule associated with SDF flow F3 at 2812, for example, because the RQI bit is set to 0. Additionally, according to HERQ processing, the UE may set the status of the derived RQoS rule associated with SDF flow F3 to "pending". In other words, the UE may not activate and / or use the derived RQoS rule for an uplink packet such as uplink packet M as shown.

[0261] Go to Figure 29, a UE such as UE 106 may receive downlink packets as shown in the figure. Specifically, downlink packet N may include an RQI bit set to 1, a QFI value of k, and may be associated with SDF flow F1. Similarly, downlink packet N+1 may include an RQI bit set to 1, a QFI value of k, and may be associated with SDF flow F2. Thus, according to HERQ processing, the UE may skip a full parsing of the SDAP headers for these packets as well as packets N+3, N+4, N+6, N+7, and N+8, for example, because the RQI bit value has not changed. However, downlink packet N+2 may include an RQI bit set to 0, a QFI value of k, and may be associated with SDF flow F3. Since the RQI bit is set to 0, the UE may parse the SDAP header at 2910 and derive the RQoS rule associated with SDF flow F3. Additionally, according to HERQ processing, the UE may set the status of the derived RQoS rule associated with SDF flow F3 to "pending". In other words, the UE may not activate and / or use the derived RQoS rule for an uplink packet such as uplink packet M as shown in the figure. However, upon receiving downlink packet N+5 (which may include an RQI bit set to 1, a QFI value of k, and may be associated with SDF flow F3), the UE may activate the derived RQoS rule associated with SDF flow F3 at 2912. In other words, according to HERQ processing, based on the change of the RQI bit of SDF flow F3 from value 0 to value 1, the UE may activate the derived RQoS rule for an uplink packet (such as uplink packet M+1) as shown in the figure. Additionally, at 2914, when transmitting uplink packet M+1, the UE may start (and / or initiate) an RQoS timer associated with SDF flow F3 with QFI k.

[0262] Other Embodiments

[0263] In some embodiments, a method for using a backoff timer to reset a reflected quality of service (QoS) indicator (RQI) bit for a downlink packet for a flow to a user equipment device (UE) may include a user plane function (UPF) of a core network that determines that reflected QoS (RQoS) for a flow to the UE is enabled, determines that a QoS flow identifier (QFI) value of the flow needs to be updated and / or installed, and starts a backoff timer before resetting the RQI bit to value 1 for a downlink packet for the flow to the UE.

[0264] In some embodiments, a value of the backoff timer may be provided to the UPF by a session management function (SMF) of the core network.

[0265] In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer may be less than the value of the Reflective QoS (RQoS) Inactivity Timer (RQ Timer). In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer may be determined as the RQ Timer / k. In some embodiments, k may be greater than or equal to two. In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer may be determined as MAX{X, MIN{RQ Timer / 2, Y}}. In some embodiments, X may be specified in seconds and Y may be specified in minutes.

[0266] In some embodiments, a method for resetting a counter-based Reflective Quality of Service (QoS) Indicator (RQI) bit for downlink packets for a flow to a User Equipment (UE) device may include a User Plane Function (UPF) of a core network determining that Reflective QoS (RQoS) for a flow to the UE is enabled, determining that the QoS Flow Identifier (QFI) value of the flow needs to be updated and / or installed, and setting the RQI bit to 1 for the first N packets of the flow sent to the UE.

[0267] In some embodiments, the value of N may be greater than or equal to 1.

[0268] In some embodiments, the value of N may be provided by a Session Management Function (SMF) of the core network.

[0269] In some embodiments, the value of N may not exceed a network-specified value.

[0270] In some embodiments, the method may further include the UPF starting a backoff timer before resetting the RQI bit to the value 1 for downlink packets for a flow to the UE. In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer may be provided by a Session Management Function (SMF) of the core network to the UPF. In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer may be less than the value of the Reflective QoS (RQoS) Inactivity Timer (RQ Timer). In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer may be determined as the RQ Timer / k. In some embodiments, k may be greater than or equal to two. In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer may be determined as MAX{X, MIN{RQ Timer / 2, Y}}.

[0271] In some embodiments, a method for resetting a reflected Quality of Service (QoS) Indicator (RQI) bit for a downlink packet of a flow destined for a User Equipment (UE) using a backoff timer in combination with a counter may include a User Plane Function (UPF) of a core network that determines that reflected QoS (RQoS) for a flow destined for the UE is enabled, determines that the QoS Flow Identifier (QFI) value of the flow needs to be updated and / or installed, sets the RQI bit to 1 for the first N packets of the flow sent to the UE, and starts a backoff timer before resetting the RQI bit to a value of 1 for a downlink packet of the flow destined for the UE.

[0272] In some embodiments, the value of N may be greater than or equal to 1.

[0273] In some embodiments, the value of N may be provided by a Session Management Function (SMF) of the core network.

[0274] In some embodiments, the value of N may not exceed a network-specified value.

[0275] In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer may be provided by a Session Management Function (SMF) of the core network to the UPF.

[0276] In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer may be less than the value of a reflected QoS (RQoS) inactivity timer (RQ timer). In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer may be determined as the RQ timer / k. In some embodiments, k may be greater than or equal to two. In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer may be determined as MAX{X,MIN{RQ Timer / 2,Y}}. In some embodiments, X may be specified in seconds and Y may be specified in minutes.

[0277] In some embodiments, a method for generating a Flow Identifier (ID) to be included in a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) header for a User Equipment (UE) may include a User Plane Function (UPF) of a core network determining that reflected Quality of Service (QoS) for a flow destined for the UE is enabled, generating a flow ID for the UE, where the flow ID is per Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session, and including the flow ID in an N3 encapsulation header of a downlink packet destined for the UE for a flow for which the QoS Flow Identifier (QFI) needs to be updated or installed.

[0278] In some embodiments, the flow ID may be at least partially based on a five-tuple packet or a quadruple of a downlink packet. In some embodiments, the five-tuple may include a source Internet Protocol (IP) address, a destination IP address, a source port number, a destination port number, and / or a next_header field in an IP header field. In some embodiments, the five-tuple may be included in one of a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) downlink packet or a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) downlink packet. In some embodiments, the quadruple may include a source Internet Protocol (IP) address, a destination IP address, a next_header field in an IP header field, and / or a Security Parameter Index (SPI) field in an ESP header.

[0279] In some embodiments, the flow ID field may be restricted to 8 bits. In some embodiments, restricting the flow ID field to 8 bits may limit the total number of active flows of the UE to 255.

[0280] In some embodiments, the size of the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) header may be two bytes. In some embodiments, 1 byte may be reserved for the flow ID.

[0281] In some embodiments, a method for using a flow identifier (ID) to restrict the parsing of layer 3 (L3) and layer 4 (L4) headers of a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) header associated with a reflected Quality of Service (QoS) feature of a network may include a User Equipment (UE) maintaining a flow ID to QoS flow identifier (QFI) mapping table for each Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session with the network, receiving a downlink packet with a Reflected QoS Indicator (RQI) bit set to a value of 1, where the downlink packet includes a flow ID in the SDAP header, determining whether the flow ID included in the downlink packet is in the QFI mapping table in response to determining that the flow ID is in the QFI mapping table, determining whether there is a change in the QFI field of the SDAP header, and updating the flow ID to the QFI mapping in response to determining that there is a change in the QFI field of the SDAP header.

[0282] In some embodiments, the method may further include the UE adding the flow ID to the QFI mapping table in response to determining that the flow ID is not in the QFI mapping table. In some embodiments, the method may further include the UE parsing the SDAP header. In some embodiments, parsing the SDAP header may include parsing the L3 / L4 fields of the SDAP header.

[0283] In some embodiments, determining whether the flow ID included in the downlink packet is in the QFI mapping table may include the UE searching for the flow ID included in the downlink packet in the QFI mapping table.

[0284] In some embodiments, the flow ID may be at least partially based on the five-tuple packet or quadruple of the downlink packet. In some embodiments, the five-tuple includes a source Internet Protocol (IP) address, a destination IP address, a source port number, a destination port number, and / or a next_header field. In some embodiments, the five-tuple may be included in one of a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) downlink packet or a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) downlink packet. In some embodiments, the quadruple may include a source Internet Protocol (IP) address, a destination IP address, a next_header field, and / or a Security Parameter Index (SPI) field.

[0285] In some embodiments, the flow ID field may be limited to 8 bits. In some embodiments, limiting the flow ID field to 8 bits may limit the total number of active flows of the UE to 255.

[0286] In some embodiments, the size of the SDAP header may be two bytes. In some embodiments, 1 byte may be reserved for the flow ID.

[0287] In some embodiments, the method may further include the UE ignoring the parsing of the L3 / L4 header fields of the SDAP header.

[0288] In some embodiments, the method may further include the UE ignoring the parsing of the L3 / L4 header fields of the SDAP header in response to determining that there is no change in the QFI field of the SDAP header.

[0289] In some embodiments, the L3 header field may include a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) header field.

[0290] In some embodiments, the L4 header field may include a Submitted Internet Protocol (IP) header.

[0291] In some embodiments, the method may further include the UE deleting the flow ID from the QFI mapping table when reflecting a QoS timer (RQ).

[0292] In some embodiments, the method may further include the UE deleting the flow ID from the QFI mapping table at the end of a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection. In some embodiments, the end of the RRC connection may correspond to the UE transitioning from the RRC connected state to the RRC idle state.

[0293] In some embodiments, a method for sending feedback on the processing of a reflected QoS indicator (RQI) bit associated with a reflected Quality of Service (QoS) (RQoS) characteristic of a network may include a User Equipment (UE) receiving a downlink packet with the RQI bit set to a value of 1, processing the downlink packet to derive one or more RQoS rules for uplink transmission to the network, and transmitting an indication and / or feedback on the processing of the RQI bit on the uplink connection to the network.

[0294] In some embodiments, the feedback may indicate the derivation of the one or more RQoS rules for uplink transmission.

[0295] In some embodiments, the feedback may include an end marker protocol data unit (PDU) on the uplink. In some embodiments, the end marker PDU may include a zero payload length packet and a reference to the layer 3 (L3) and layer 4 (L4) header fields of a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) header included in the downlink packet. In some embodiments, the L3 and / or L4 header fields may match the derived RQoS rules.

[0296] In some embodiments, the feedback may include a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) header signaled as a control protocol data unit (PDU). In some embodiments, the control PDU may include a QoS Flow Indicator (QFI) included in the downlink packet.

[0297] In some embodiments, a method for receiving feedback on the processing of a reflected QoS indicator (RQI) bit associated with a reflected Quality of Service (QoS) (RQoS) characteristic of a network may include a User Plane Function (UPF) of the network transmitting a downlink packet with the RQI bit set to a value of 1, receiving an indication and / or feedback on the processing of the RQI bit, and stopping the RQI bit for subsequent packets of the flow on the downlink after verifying that the layer 3 (L3) and layer 4 (L4) header fields of the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) header included in the feedback and the QoS Flow Indicator (QFI) value match an uplink packet data report received from a Session Management Function (SMF) of the network for the flow associated with the downlink packet.

[0298] In some embodiments, stopping the RQI bit for subsequent packets of the flow on the downlink may include the UPF of the network setting the value of the RQI bit for subsequent packets of the flow on the downlink to 0.

[0299] In some embodiments, the feedback may indicate the derivation of the one or more RQoS rules for uplink transmission.

[0300] In some embodiments, the feedback may include an end marker protocol data unit (PDU) on the uplink. In some embodiments, the end marker PDU may include a zero payload length packet and a reference to the L3 and L4 header fields of the SDAP header included in the downlink packet. In some embodiments, the L3 and / or L4 header fields may match the derived RQoS rules.

[0301] In some embodiments, the feedback may include an SDAP header signaled as a control protocol data unit (PDU). In some embodiments, the control PDU may include a QFI included in the downlink packet.

[0302] In some embodiments, the method may further include the UPF forwarding the packet received from the UE to the destination Internet Protocol (IP) address indicated in the SDAP header.

[0303] In some embodiments, the method may further include the UPF setting the RQI bit to 1 for the first N packets of a flow sent to the UE and starting a backoff timer before resetting the RQI bit to a value of 1 for a downlink packet of a flow destined for the UE. In some embodiments, the value of N may be greater than or equal to 1. In some embodiments, the value of N may be provided by the session management function (SMF) of the core network. In some embodiments, the value of N may not exceed a network-specified value. In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer may be provided by the session management function (SMF) of the core network to the UPF. In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer may be less than the value of the reflection QoS (RQoS) inactivity timer (RQ timer). In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer may be determined as RQ timer / k. In some embodiments, k may be greater than or equal to two. In some embodiments, the value of the backoff timer may be determined as MAX{X,MIN{RQ Timer / 2,Y}}. In some embodiments, X may be specified in seconds and Y may be specified in minutes.

[0304] In some embodiments, a method for maintaining a QoS flow identifier (QFI) mapping table associated with reflection quality of service (QoS) (RQoS) for downlink packets may include a user equipment device (UE) receiving a downlink packet with an RQoS indicator (RQI) bit set to a value of 1, comparing the QFI value included in the downlink packet with a locally maintained QFI mapping table, verifying whether the QFI value included in the downlink packet exists in the QFI mapping table, and in response to determining that the QFI value is included in the QFI mapping table, skipping the parsing of the layer 3 (L3) and layer 4 (L4) header fields included in the downlink packet.

[0305] In some embodiments, the method may further include the UE parsing the L3 and L4 header fields included in the downlink packet in response to determining that the QFI value is not included in the QFI mapping table, and deriving one or more RQoS rules for uplink transmission.

[0306] In some embodiments, the method may further include the UE adding the QFI value to the QFI mapping table.

[0307] In some embodiments, the method may further include the UE receiving consecutive downlink packets on a specific dedicated resource bearer (DRB) with the RDI bit value set to 1, determining that the QFI value indicated in the consecutive downlink packets is part of the QFI mapping table, and not sending an RDI end marker on the uplink.

[0308] In some embodiments, a method for skipping parsing of service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) header fields associated with a reflected quality of service (QoS) feature with a network may include a user equipment device (UE) determining that the throughput of a downlink packet associated with a reflected QoS (RQoS) feature exceeds a threshold, and in response to determining that the throughput exceeds the threshold, parsing the SDAP header fields of every Nth downlink packet of a flow with a received RQoS indicator (RQI) bit set to a value of 1.

[0309] In some embodiments, determining that the throughput of a downlink packet associated with an RQoS feature exceeds a threshold may include the UE determining that the throughput of downlink packets of a flow with the RQI bit set to a value of 1 exceeds the threshold.

[0310] In some embodiments, the threshold may be in the range of 200 megabytes per second to 1000 megabytes per second.

[0311] In some embodiments, the threshold may depend at least in part on the power state of the UE, the power level of the battery powering the UE, and / or the thermal load of the UE.

[0312] In some embodiments, N may be a number in the range between 10 and 100.

[0313] In some embodiments, the value of N may depend at least in part on the value of the threshold.

[0314] In some embodiments, a method for specifying a quality of service (QoS) flow indicator (QFI) range and signaling the QFI range to a user equipment device (UE) may include a service management function (SMF) of a core network reserving a QFI range with the same 5G standardized QoS identifier (5QI) value, and signaling the mapping between the QFI value and the 5QI to the UE without associating it with an Internet protocol (IP) flow.

[0315] In some embodiments, the reserved QFI range may include up to 16 QFI values for the SMF reserved corresponding to the same 5QI.

[0316] In some embodiments, the mapping may include QoS flow description information elements that do not have associated QoS rules.

[0317] In some embodiments, the mapping may be signaled via network access stratum (NAS) signaling during the protocol data unit (PDU) session establishment procedure.

[0318] In some embodiments, a method for restricting downlink header parsing associated with reflected quality of service (QoS) may include a user equipment device (UE) determining that the processor utilization associated with parsing a downlink packet header associated with reflected QoS (RQoS) has exceeded a threshold, in response to the processor utilization exceeding the threshold, starting a backoff timer, and ignoring additional RQoS indicator (RQI) updates received in the downlink packet until the backoff timer expires.

[0319] In some embodiments, the threshold may be in a range between 50% and 90% processor utilization.

[0320] In some embodiments, the threshold may depend at least in part on the power state of the UE, the power level of the battery powering the UE, and / or the thermal load of the UE.

[0321] In some embodiments, the backoff timer may depend at least in part on the power state of the UE, the power level of the battery powering the UE, and / or the thermal load of the UE.

[0322] In some embodiments, ignoring additional RQI updates received in the downlink packet until the backoff timer expires may include the UE skipping parsing of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) header of the downlink packet associated with RQoS until the backoff timer expires.

[0323] In some embodiments, a method for restricting downlink header parsing associated with reflected quality of service (QoS) may include a user equipment device (UE) determining that the processor utilization associated with parsing a downlink packet header associated with reflected QoS (RQoS) has exceeded a threshold, in response to the processor utilization exceeding the threshold, triggering a protocol data unit (PDU) session modification procedure, and indicating that RQoS is not supported as part of the PDU session modification procedure.

[0324] In some embodiments, the UE may indicate a set of packet filters configured via RQoS as part of a PDU session modification procedure. In some embodiments, the set of packet filters may be included in an uplink PDU session modification request message.

[0325] In some embodiments, the threshold may be in the range between 50% and 90% processor utilization.

[0326] In some embodiments, the threshold may depend at least in part on the power state of the UE, the power level of the battery powering the UE, and / or the thermal load of the UE.

[0327] In some embodiments, a method for updating a Quality of Service (QoS) Flow Identifier (QFI) may include a network entity determining that a Service Data Flow (SDF) will continue for more than a specified duration and applying an updated QFI mapping for the flow via network access stratum (NAS) control plane signaling with the UE.

[0328] In some embodiments, the specified duration may be on the order of a few minutes.

[0329] In some embodiments, the duration of a flow may be determined based on the Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) / Type of Service (TOS) markings of incoming packets.

[0330] In some embodiments, the duration of a flow may be determined based on the 5G standardized QoS Identifier (5QI) value of incoming IP packets.

[0331] In some embodiments, the NAS control plane signaling may be triggered by a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session modification procedure.

[0332] In some embodiments, a method for efficient reflection Quality of Service (QoS) handling may include a User Equipment (UE) receiving a downlink packet with a Reflection QoS (RQoS) Indicator (RQI) bit set to value 1, determining whether the last received downlink packet in the flow has the RQI bit set to value 1, and in response to determining that the last received downlink packet in the flow has the RQI bit set to value 1, skipping a full parsing of the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) header included in the downlink packet.

[0333] In some embodiments, the downlink packet may be associated with a flow, where the flow is associated with a particular Quality of Service Flow Identifier (QFI) value.

[0334] In some embodiments, the method may further include the UE allowing an RQoS timer associated with the flow to continue.

[0335] In some embodiments, the method may further include the UE parsing a field of the SDAP header of the downlink packet, deriving an uplink RQoS rule included in the field of the SDAP header, and setting the status of the derived RQoS rule to pending in response to determining that the last received downlink packet in the flow does not have an RQI bit set to a value of 1. In some embodiments, the method may further include the UE changing the status of the derived RQoS rule to active and starting an RQoS timer associated with the flow.

[0336] In some embodiments, a method for efficient reflection quality of service (QoS) handling may include a user equipment device (UE) receiving a downlink packet with a reflected QoS (RQoS) indicator (RQI) bit set to a value of 0, determining whether the last received downlink packet in the flow has an RQI bit set to a value of 0, and parsing a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) header included in the downlink packet in response to determining that the last received downlink packet in the flow has an RQI bit set to a value of 0.

[0337] In some embodiments, the method may further include the UE deriving an uplink RQoS rule included in the field of the SDAP header and setting the status of the derived RQoS rule to pending.

[0338] In some embodiments, the method may further include the UE skipping a full parse of the SDAP header included in the downlink packet in response to determining that the last received downlink packet in the flow does not have an RQI bit set to a value of 1. In some embodiments, the method may further include the UE allowing the RQoS timer associated with the flow to continue.

[0339] It is well known that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of inadvertent or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly explained to the user.

[0340] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or a computer system. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as an ASIC. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as an FPGA.

[0341] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system is caused to perform a method, such as any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0342] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., UE 106) may be configured to include a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, and wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any one of the various method embodiments described herein (or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any one of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of a variety of forms.

[0343] By interpreting each message / signal X received by a user equipment (UE) in the downlink as a message / signal X transmitted by a base station, and interpreting each message / signal Y transmitted by the UE in the uplink as a message / signal Y received by the base station, any of the methods for operating a UE described herein can form the basis for a corresponding method for operating a base station.

[0344] While the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully understood. The present disclosure is intended that the following claims be interpreted to cover all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method for resetting the reflection Quality of Service (RQoS) Indicator (RQI) bit in a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) header to a value of 1 for a downlink packet of a flow destined for a User Equipment (UE), the method comprises: a User Plane Function (UPF) of a core network, determining that RQoS for a flow destined for the UE is enabled; determining that a Quality of Service Flow Identifier (QFI) value for the flow needs to be updated or installed; and starting a backoff timer before resetting the RQI bit in the SDAP header to the value 1 for a downlink packet of the flow destined for the UE, wherein the backoff timer restricts the resetting of the RQI bit for the flow destined for the UE.

2. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprises: the UPF of the core network, receiving a value of the backoff timer from a Session Management Function (SMF) of the core network.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the value of the backoff timer is less than a value of an RQoS Inactivity Timer, i.e., an RQ Timer.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the value of the backoff timer is determined to be RQ Timer / k or is determined to be MAX{X, MIN{RQ Timer / 2, Y}}, where k is greater than or equal to two, where X is specified in seconds, and where Y is specified in minutes.

5. The method according to claim 1, 2 or 4, the method further comprises: the UPF of the core network, before starting the backoff timer, setting the RQI bit in the SDAP header to the value 1 for the first N packets of the flow destined for the UE, where the value of N is greater than or equal to 1.

6. The method according to claim 5, the method further comprises: the UPF of the core network, receiving the value of N from a Session Management Function (SMF) of the core network.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the value of N does not exceed a network-specified value.

8. A User Plane Function (UPF) of a core network, the UPF comprises: one or more processors; and a memory having instructions stored thereon, the instructions when executed by the one or more processors perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A computer program product comprising computer instructions, the computer instructions when executed by one or more processors perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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