MBMS transmission reliability enhancement

Abstract

Apparatus, system and method for enhancing MBMS transmission reliability. A UE may receive a PDCP PDU from a network via a PTM link. The UE may determine, for example, at least in part based on the occurrence of a triggering event, to provide feedback regarding the reception of the PDCP PDU. The triggering event may be configured by the network and may include: the UE receiving a feedback request from the network, the UE determining that at least one PDCP PDU is lost, the UE determining that the number of lost PDCP PDUs exceeds a threshold, and / or the UE determining that the PDCP reordering window is changing based on the expiration of a PDCP reordering timer. The UE may transmit feedback associated with the reception of the PDCP PDU. The feedback may include an indication of the lost PDCP PDU, such as an indication of a sequence number associated with the lost PDCP PDU.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to wireless communications, and more particularly to an apparatus, system and method for enhancing MBMS transmission reliability, for example in a 5G NR system. Background Art

[0002] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting phone calls, many mobile devices now also provide access to the Internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the Global Positioning System (GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications that utilize these functions.

[0003] Long Term Evolution (LTE) is currently the technology of choice for most wireless network operators around the world to provide mobile broadband data and high-speed Internet access to their user base. LTE was first proposed in 2004 and first standardized in 2008. Then, as the use of wireless communication systems grew exponentially, the requirements for wireless network operators rose to support higher capacity for higher densities of mobile broadband users. As a result, research on new radio access technologies began in 2015, and in 2017, the first release of the fifth generation new radio (5G NR) was standardized.

[0004] 5G-NR, also referred to as NR for short, provides higher capacity for a higher density of mobile broadband users compared to LTE, while also supporting ultra-reliable and massive machine-type communications from device to device, 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 underway to take advantage of the higher throughput possible at higher frequencies in the ongoing development of 5G-NR. Summary of the invention

[0005] Embodiments relate to wireless communications, and more particularly to apparatus, systems, and methods for enhancing MBMS transmission reliability, such as in 5G NR systems.

[0006] For example, in some embodiments, a user equipment device (UE) such as UE 106 may be configured to receive a PDCP PDU (e.g., one or more PDCP PDUs) from a network via a PTM link. The UE may be configured to determine, for example, at least in part based on the occurrence of at least one condition (e.g., at least one triggering event) to provide feedback on the reception of the PDCP PDU. The at least one condition may include any one of the following, any combination thereof, and / or all thereof: the UE receives a feedback request from the network, the UE determines that at least one PDCP PDU in one or more PDCP PDUs is lost, the UE determines that the number of lost PDCP PDUs of one or more PDCP PDUs exceeds a threshold, and / or the UE determines that the PDCP reordering window is changing based on the expiration of a PDCP reordering timer. In some embodiments, the at least one condition may occur during a time period configured by the network because a previous feedback associated with a previous reception of a PDCP PDU via PTM is transmitted. In such cases, the transmission of feedback associated with the reception of one or more PDCP PDUs may occur when the time period expires. In addition, the UE may be configured to transmit feedback associated with the reception of the PDCP PDU to the network. The feedback may include an indication of a lost PDCP PDU. Additionally, the feedback may include an indication of a sequence number associated with the at least one missing PDCP PDU.

[0007] As another example, in some embodiments, a network entity such as a base station 102 may be configured to transmit a PDCP PDU (e.g., one or more PDCP PDUs) to a UE such as a UE 106 via a PTM link. The network entity may be configured to receive feedback associated with the reception of a PDCP PDU from the UE. The feedback may include an indication of a lost PDCP PDU. In addition, the feedback may include an indication of a sequence number associated with at least one lost PDCP PDU. In some embodiments, the feedback associated with the reception of a PDCP PDU may be in response to the UE detecting the occurrence of at least one condition (e.g., at least one triggering event). At least one condition may include any one of the following, any combination thereof, and / or all thereof: the network entity transmits a feedback request to the UE, the UE determines that at least one PDCP PDU in one or more PDCP PDUs is lost, the UE determines that the number of lost PDCP PDUs of one or more PDCP PDUs exceeds a threshold, and / or the UE determines that the PDCP reordering window is changing based on the expiration of a PDCP reordering timer. In some embodiments, the at least one condition may occur during a network-configured time period because a previous feedback associated with a previous reception of a PDCP PDU via PTM is transmitted. In such instances, UE transmission of feedback associated with the receipt of one or more PDCP PDUs may occur upon expiration of the time period. In some embodiments, the threshold may be based on the number of PDCP PDUs transmitted. In some embodiments, the threshold may be configured by the network.

[0008] The techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used with a plurality of different types of devices, including, but not limited to, any of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned aerial controllers (UACs), UTM servers, base stations, access points, cellular telephones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, and a variety of other computing devices.

[0009] This disclosure is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the topics described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or essence of the topics described herein in any way. Other features, aspects and advantages of the topics described herein will become apparent through the following detailed description, drawings and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] A better understanding of the present subject matter may be obtained when the following detailed description of various embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0011] Figure 1AAn exemplary wireless communication system is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0012] Figure 1B Examples of base stations and access points in communication with user equipment (UE) devices are shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0013] Figure 2 An exemplary block diagram of a base station according to some embodiments is shown.

[0014] Figure 3 An exemplary block diagram of a server according to some embodiments is shown.

[0015] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments is shown.

[0016] Figure 5 An exemplary block diagram of cellular communication circuitry according to some embodiments is shown.

[0017] Fig. 6A An example of a 5G network architecture according to some embodiments is shown, which combines 3GPP (e.g., cellular) and non-3GPP (e.g., non-cellular) access in the 5G CN.

[0018] Figure 6B An example of a 5G network architecture according to some embodiments is shown, which combines dual 3GPP (e.g., LTE and 5G NR) access and non-3GPP access in the 5G CN.

[0019] Figure 7 An example of a baseband processor architecture for a UE according to some embodiments is shown.

[0020] Fig. 8A Examples of signaling for PDCP feedback and retransmissions for PTM transmissions according to some embodiments are shown.

[0021] Figure 8B and Figure 8C shows that according to some embodiments, Fig.9A An example of a L2 architecture of a UE used in conjunction with signaling.

[0022] Fig.9A Examples of signaling for PDCP feedback and retransmissions for PTM transmissions according to some embodiments are shown.

[0023] Fig. 9B and Fig. 9C shows that according to some embodiments, Fig.9A An example of a L2 architecture of a UE used in conjunction with signaling.

[0024] Fig. 10AAn example of signaling of PDCP feedback for triggering PTM transmission upon detection of lost PDUs according to some embodiments is shown.

[0025] Fig. 10B An example of signaling of PDCP feedback for triggering PTM transmission according to some embodiments is shown, where the triggering condition is configured via RRC signaling.

[0026] Fig. 10C An example of signaling for PDCP feedback for triggering PTM transmission according to some embodiments is shown, where the triggering conditions and feedback periodicity are configured via RRC signaling.

[0027] Fig.11A An example of signaling for PTM link failure using RRC reconfiguration according to some embodiments is shown.

[0028] Fig. 11B An example of signaling for a PTM link failure with a switch to a PTP link is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0029] Fig. 12A An example of signaling of PDCP feedback for PTM transmissions for UEs in idle and / or inactive states via RRC signaling according to some embodiments is shown.

[0030] Fig. 12B An example of signaling of PDCP feedback for PTM transmissions via RACH / PUSCH for UEs in idle and / or inactive states according to some embodiments is shown.

[0031] Fig.13 and Fig.14 A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for a UE to provide feedback to a network for a PTM link according to some embodiments.

[0032] Although the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to limit this document to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the purpose is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives that fall within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] Acronyms

[0034] Various acronyms are used throughout this disclosure. The definitions of the most prominent acronyms used that may appear throughout this disclosure are as follows:

[0035] 3GPP: Third Generation Partnership Project

[0036] UE: User Equipment

[0037] RF: Radio Frequency

[0038] BS: Base Station

[0039] DL: Downlink

[0040] UL: Uplink

[0041] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0042] NR: New Radio

[0043] 5GS: 5G system

[0044] 5GMM: 5GS Mobility Management

[0045] 5GC / 5GCN: 5G core network

[0046] IE: Information Element

[0047] CE: Control Element

[0048] MAC: Media Access Control

[0049] SSB: Synchronous Signal Block

[0050] CSI-RS: Channel State Information Reference Signal

[0051] PDCCH: Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0052] PDSCH: Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0053] RRC: Radio Resource Control

[0054] RRM: Radio Resource Management

[0055] CORESET: Control resource set

[0056] TCI: Transmission Configuration Indicator

[0057] DCI: Downlink Control Indicator

[0058] the term

[0059] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0060] Memory medium - any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media, for example, CD-ROM, floppy disk or tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, for example, hard disk drive or optical storage device; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of non-transitory memory or a combination thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in the first computer system executing the program, or may be located in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system 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 that may reside in different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., expressed as a computer program) that may be executed by one or more processors.

[0061] Carrier Medium—storage media as described above and physical transmission media such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission media that transmit signals such as electrical, electromagnetic or digital signals.

[0062] Programmable hardware elements - include various hardware devices that include multiple programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), PLDs (programmable logic devices), FPOAs (field programmable object arrays), and CPLDs (complex PLDs). Programmable function blocks can vary from fine-grained (combinational logic units or lookup tables) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic units or processor cores). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic units."

[0063] Computer system (or computer) - any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), a mainframe computer system, a workstation, a network appliance, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a television system, a grid computing system, or other devices or combinations of devices. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0064] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") - any device of various types of computer system devices that is mobile or portable and performs wireless communication. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM, based on Android TM phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, other handheld devices, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (e.g., drones), UAV controllers (UACs), etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" may be broadly defined to cover any electronic, computing, and / or telecommunication device (or combination of devices) that is easily transportable by a user and capable of wireless communication.

[0065] Base Station - The term "base station" has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0066] Processing element (or processor) - refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing functions in a device such as user equipment or cellular network equipment. Processing elements may include, for example: 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 of the above various combinations.

[0067] Channel - a medium used to transmit information from a sender (transmitter) to a receiver. It should be noted that since the characteristics of the term "channel" may vary according to different wireless protocols, the term "channel" used in the present invention may be considered to be used in a manner that conforms to the standards of the type of device to which the term is used. In some standards, the channel width may be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, frequency band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths of 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, a WLAN channel may be 22 MHz wide, while a Bluetooth channel may be 1 MHz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. In addition, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, such as different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data, control information, etc.

[0068] Frequency band - The term "frequency band" has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a segment of the spectrum (eg, radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.

[0069] Wi-Fi—The term "Wi-Fi" (or WiFi) has the full scope of its usual meaning and includes at least wireless communication networks, or RATs, that are served by wireless LAN (WLAN) access points and provide connectivity to the Internet through these access points. Most modern Wi-Fi networks (or WLAN networks) are based on the IEEE 802.11 standard and are marketed under the name "Wi-Fi". Wi-Fi (WLAN) networks are distinct from cellular networks. 3GPP access—refers to 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.

[0070] Non-3GPP access - refers to any access (e.g., radio access technology) not specified by the 3GPP standards. These accesses include, but are not limited to, WiMAX, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, WLAN, and / or fixed networks. Non-3GPP accesses can be divided into two categories, "trusted" and "untrusted": trusted non-3GPP accesses can interact directly 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 Evolved Packet Data Gateways and / or 5G NR Gateways). In general, non-3GPP access refers to various types of non-cellular access technologies.

[0071] Automatic—refers to an action or operation being performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., a circuit, a programmable hardware element, an ASIC, etc.) without the action or operation being directly specified or performed by a user input. Thus, the term "automatically" is in contrast to an operation being manually performed or specified by a user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic process may be initiated by input provided by a user, but subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user, i.e., are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing in information, selecting checkboxes, radio selections, etc.) is manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user action. The form may be automatically filled out by a computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills out the form without any user input specifying the answers to the fields. As indicated above, a user may invoke automatic filling out of a form, but not participate in the actual filling out of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields but rather they are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by a user.

[0072] Approximately - refers to a value that is close to a correct or exact value. For example, approximately can refer to a value that is within 1% to 10% of an exact (or desired) value. However, it should be noted that the actual threshold value (or tolerance) may depend on the application. For example, in some embodiments, "approximately" may mean within 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various other embodiments, the threshold value may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, etc., depending on the expectations or requirements of a particular application.

[0073] Concurrency - refers to parallel execution or implementation, where tasks, processes, or programs are executed in an at least partially overlapping manner. For example, concurrency can be achieved using "strong" or strict parallelism, where tasks are executed (at least partially) in parallel on respective computing elements, or using "weak parallelism," where tasks are executed in an interleaved manner (e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads).

[0074] Various components may be described as being "configured to" perform one or more tasks. In such environments, "configured to" is a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, even when the component is not currently performing the task, the component can be configured to perform the task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, "configured to" can be a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, even when the component is not currently turned on, the component can be configured to perform the task. Typically, the circuitry that forms the structure corresponding to "configured to" may include hardware circuitry.

[0075] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". The description of a component being configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35 U.S.C. §112(f) interpretation of that component.

[0076] Figure 1A and Figure 1B :Communication System

[0077] Figure 1A A simplified exemplary wireless communication system according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 1A The system is merely one example of a possible system, and features of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of systems, as desired.

[0078] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102A, which communicates with one or more user equipment 106A, user equipment 106B to user equipment 106N, etc. through a transmission medium. Each user equipment may be referred to as a "user equipment" (UE) in this article. Therefore, user equipment 106 is referred to as UE or UE device.

[0079] The base station (BS) 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site ("cellular base station"), and may include hardware to enable wireless communications with the UEs 106A-106N.

[0080] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell". The base station 102A and the UE 106 may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), which are also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), 5G New Radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), and the like. Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0081] As shown, base station 102A may also be configured to communicate with network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, among other possibilities). Thus, base station 102A may facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. In particular, cellular base station 102A may provide UE 106 with various communication capabilities, such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0082] Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B...102N) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards can therefore be provided as a network of cells that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UE 106A-N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0083] Thus, while base station 102A may act as a "serving cell" for UEs 106A-N as shown in FIG. 1 , each UE 106 may also be able to receive signals from (and possibly be within communication range of) one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B-N and / or any other base stations), which may be referred to as "neighboring cells." Such cells may also be able to facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or cells of any various other granularity that provide service area sizes. For example, base stations 102A-B shown in FIG. 1 may be macro cells, while base station 102N may be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0084] In some embodiments, base station 102A may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station or "gNB". In some embodiments, a gNB may be connected to a legacy Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and / or to a New Radio Communications Core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more Transition and Reception Points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0085] It should be noted 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, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interface), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.), UE 106 can be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.). If desired, UE 106 can also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), and / or any other wireless communication protocol. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0086] Figure 1BA user equipment 106 (e.g., one of device 106A through device 106N) is shown in communication with a base station 102 and an access point 112 according to some embodiments. The UE 106 may be a device having cellular communication capabilities and non-cellular communication capabilities (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc.), such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a computer or tablet, or virtually any type of wireless device.

[0087] UE 106 may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. UE 106 may perform any of the method embodiments of the present invention by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) configured to perform any of the method embodiments of the present invention or any part of any of the method embodiments of the present invention.

[0088] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD), LTE / Advanced LTE, or 5G NR using a single shared radio component and / or GSM, LTE, Advanced LTE, or 5G NR using a single shared radio component. The shared radio may be coupled to a single antenna, or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communications. Typically, the radio component may include any combination of a baseband processor, an analog radio frequency (RF) signal processing circuit (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or a digital processing circuit (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio component may use the aforementioned hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains. For example, UE 106 may share one or more parts of a receive chain and / or transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0089] In some embodiments, UE 106 may include a separate transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol configured to communicate with it. As another possibility, UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radio components used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 may include a shared radio component for communicating using either LTE or 5GNR (or LTE or 1xRTT, or LTE or GSM), and a separate radio component for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0090] Figure 2 :Block diagram of base station

[0091] Figure 2 An exemplary block diagram of a base station 102 according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 3 The base station of is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor 204 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor 204 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 240 or other circuit or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 204 and convert those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 260 and read-only memory (ROM) 250).

[0092] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 270. Network port 270 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to the network as described above in FIG. Figure 2 Multiple devices of the telephone network described in, such as UE device 106.

[0093] The network port 270 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as the UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 270 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0094] In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or "gNB". In such embodiments, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) network. Furthermore, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Furthermore, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0095] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 234 and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna 234 may be configured to function as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with the UE device 106 via the radio 230. The antenna 234 communicates with the radio 230 via a communication chain 232. The communication chain 232 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. The radio 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.

[0096] Base station 102 may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, base station 102 may include multiple radios that enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for performing communications according to LTE and a 5G NR radio component for performing communications according to 5GNR. In this case, base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multimode radio component capable of performing communications according to any one of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5GNR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0097] As further described later herein, the base station 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting the implementation of the features described herein. The processor 204 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support implementing part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor 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, and 270, the processor 204 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support implementing part or all of the features described herein.

[0098] In addition, as described herein, processor 204 may be composed of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in processor 204. Therefore, 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 a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 204.

[0099] Additionally, as described herein, radio 230 may be comprised of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in radio 230. Thus, radio 230 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of radio 230. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio 230.

[0100] Figure 3 :Block diagram of the server

[0101] Figure 3 An exemplary block diagram of a server 104 according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 3 The server 104 is just one example of a possible server. As shown, the server 104 may include a processor 344 that can execute program instructions for the server 104. The processor 344 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 374 or other circuit or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 344 and convert these addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 364 and read-only memory (ROM) 354).

[0102] 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.

[0103] 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 legacy Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and / or to a NR Core (NRC) network.

[0104] As further described later herein, the server 104 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting the features described herein. The processor 344 of the server 104 may be configured to implement or support implementing part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor 344 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition thereto), in combination with one or more of the other components 354, 364, and / or 374, the processor 344 of the server 104 may be configured to implement or support implementing part or all of the features described herein.

[0105] In addition, as described herein, processor 344 may be composed of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in processor 344. Therefore, processor 344 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 344. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 344.

[0106] Figure 4 :UE block diagram

[0107] Figure 4 1 shows an exemplary simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 according to some embodiments. Note that Figure 4The block diagram of the communication device is only an example of a possible communication device. According to the embodiment, the communication device 106 can be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or a mobile station, a wireless device or a wireless station, a desktop computer or a computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, a notebook or a portable computing device), a tablet computer, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a UAV controller (UAC) and / or a combination of devices and other devices. As shown in the figure, the communication device 106 may include a group of components 400 configured to perform core functions. For example, the group of components may be implemented as a system on a chip (SOC), which may include parts for various purposes. Alternatively, the group of components 400 may be implemented as a separate component or a group of components for various purposes. This group of components 400 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to various other circuits of the communication device 106.

[0108] For example, the communication device 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 410), input / output interfaces such as a connector I / F 420 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; a docking station; a charging station; an input device such as a microphone, a camera, a keyboard; an output device such as a speaker; etc.), a display 460 that may be integrated with the communication device 106 or external to the communication device 106, and cellular communication circuits 430 such as for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc., and short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuits 429 (e.g., Bluetooth TM In some embodiments, the communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as, for example, a network interface card for Ethernet.

[0109] Cellular communication circuitry 430 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 435 and 436 as shown. 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 antennas 437 and 438 as shown. Alternatively, short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 429 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to antennas 435 and 436 in addition to or in lieu of being (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to antennas 437 and 438. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 429 and / or 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.

[0110] In some embodiments, as further described below, the cellular communication circuit 430 may include dedicated receive chains (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G-NR). In addition, in some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 430 may include a single transmit chain that can switch between radio components dedicated to specific RATs. For example, a first radio component may be dedicated to a first RAT, such as LTE, and may communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with an additional radio component, such as a second radio component that may be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and may communicate with the dedicated receive chain and the shared transmit chain.

[0111] The communication device 106 may also include and / or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include various elements such as a display 460 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or speakers, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of a variety of other elements capable of providing information to a user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0112] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 445 with 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 various types of SIM implementations or SIM functionality, such as one or more UICC cards 445, one or more eUICCs, one or more eSIMs, removable or embedded, etc. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may include at least two SIMs. Each SIM may execute one or more SIM applications and / or implement SIM functionality in other ways. Thus, each SIM may be a single smart card that may be embedded, for example, soldered to a circuit board in the UE 106, or each SIM 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 UICCs (eUICCs), sometimes referred to as "eSIMs" or "eSIM cards"). In some embodiments (such as when the SIM includes an eUICC), one or more of the SIMs may implement embedded SIM (eSIM) functionality; in such embodiments, a single SIM of the SIM may execute multiple SIM applications. Each SIM may include components such as a processor and / or a memory; instructions for performing SIM / eSIM functionality may be stored in the memory and executed by the processor. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may include a combination of removable smart cards and fixed / non-removable smart cards (such as one or more eUICC cards that implement eSIM functionality) as needed. For example, the UE 106 may include two embedded SIMs, two removable SIMs, or a combination of one embedded SIM and one removable SIM. Various other SIM configurations are also contemplated.

[0113] As described above, in some embodiments, UE 106 may include two or more SIMs. Including two or more SIMs in UE 106 may allow UE 106 to support two different phone numbers, and may allow UE 106 to communicate on corresponding two or more corresponding networks. For example, the first SIM may support a first RAT such as LTE, and the second SIM 410 may support a second RAT such as 5G NR. Of course, other implementations and RATs are also possible. In some embodiments, when UE 106 includes two SIMs, UE 106 may support dual card dual communication (DSDA) functionality. The DSDA functionality may allow UE 106 to be connected to two networks (and use two different RATs) at the same time, or allow two connections supported by two different SIMs using the same or different RATs to be maintained on the same or different networks at the same time. The DSDA functionality may also allow UE 106 to receive voice calls or data traffic on any phone number at the same time. In some embodiments, voice calls may be packet-switched communications. In other words, voice calls may be received using voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology and / or voice over NR (VoNR) technology. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may support dual SIM dual standby (DSDS) functionality. The DSDS functionality may allow either of the two SIMs in the UE 106 to standby for a voice call and / or data connection. In DSDS, when a call / data is established on one SIM, the other SIM is no longer active. In some embodiments, the DSDx functionality (DSDA or DSDS functionality) may be implemented using a single SIM (e.g., eUICC) that executes multiple SIM applications for different carriers and / or RATs.

[0114] As shown, SOC 400 may include a processor 402 that may execute program instructions for communication device 106 and a display circuit 404 that may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to display 460. Processor 402 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 (which may be configured to receive addresses from processor 402 and convert those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 406, read-only memory (ROM) 450, NAND flash memory 410)) and / or 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). MMU 440 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, MMU 440 may be included as part of processor 402.

[0115] As described above, the communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuits. The communication device 106 may be configured to perform the method for enhancing MBMS transmission reliability as further described herein, for example, in 5G NR systems and higher.

[0116] As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing the above-described features of the communication device 106 to send a scheduling profile for power saving to the network. The processor 402 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 402 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 402 of the communication device 106 in combination with one or more of the other components 400, 404, 406, 410, 420, 429, 430, 440, 445, 450, 460 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein.

[0117] Furthermore, as described herein, processor 402 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 402 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 402. Furthermore, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 402.

[0118] Further, as described herein, the cellular communication circuit 430 and the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 429 may each include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in the cellular communication circuit 430, and similarly, one or more processing elements may be included in the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 429. Therefore, the cellular communication circuit 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 430. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 430. Similarly, the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 429 may include one or more ICs configured to perform the functions of the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 429. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 429.

[0119] Figure 5 : Block diagram of a cellular communication circuit

[0120] Figure 5An exemplary simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 5 The block diagram of the cellular communication circuit of is only one example of one possible cellular communication circuit. According to an embodiment, the cellular communication circuit 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, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices, among other devices.

[0121] Cellular communication circuitry 530 may be (eg, communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as ( Figure 4 In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 530 may include dedicated receive chains (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G-NR). For example, Figure 5 As shown, cellular communication circuitry 530 may include modem 510 and modem 520. Modem 510 may be configured for communication according to a first RAT, such as, for example, LTE or LTE-A, and modem 520 may be configured for communication according to a second RAT, such as, for example, 5G NR.

[0122] As shown, the modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 in communication with the processor 512. The modem 510 may communicate with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530. The RF front end 530 may include circuits for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 530 may include a receiving circuit (RX) 532 and a transmitting circuit (TX) 534. In some embodiments, the receiving circuit 532 may communicate with a downlink (DL) front end 550, which may include circuits for receiving radio signals via an antenna 335a.

[0123] Similarly, the modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 in communication with the processor 522. The modem 520 may communicate with the RF front end 540. The RF front end 540 may include circuits for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 540 may include a receiving circuit 542 and a transmitting circuit 544. In some embodiments, the receiving circuit 542 may communicate with the DL front end 560, which may include circuits for receiving radio signals via the antenna 335b.

[0124] In some embodiments, the switch 570 may couple the transmit circuit 534 to an uplink (UL) front end 572. In addition, the switch 570 may couple the transmit circuit 544 to the UL front end 572. The UL front end 572 may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via the antenna 336. Thus, when the cellular communication circuit 530 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572) supported by the modem 510, the switch 570 may be switched to a first state that allows the modem 510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572). Similarly, when the cellular communication circuit 530 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572) supported by the modem 520, the switch 570 may be switched to a second state that allows the modem 520 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572).

[0125] In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 530 may be configured to perform a method for enhancing MBMS transmission reliability as further described herein, for example, in 5G NR systems and beyond.

[0126] As described herein, the modem 510 may include hardware and software components for implementing the above-described features or for time-division multiplexing UL data for NSA NR operations and various other techniques described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processor 512 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein. Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 512 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 530, 532, 534, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processor 512 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein.

[0127] In addition, as described herein, processor 512 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 512 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 512. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 512.

[0128] As described herein, the modem 520 may include hardware and software components intended to implement the above-described features for transmitting a power-saving scheduling profile to a network, as well as various other techniques described herein. The processor 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 522 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or additionally), in combination with one or more of the other components 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processor 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein.

[0129] In addition, as described herein, processor 522 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 522. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 522.

[0130] Fig. 6A , Figure 6B and Figure 7 : 5G core network architecture—interworking with Wi-Fi

[0131] In some embodiments, the 5G core network (CN) can be accessed via (or through) a cellular connection / interface (e.g., via a 3GPP communication architecture / protocol) and a non-cellular connection / interface (e.g., a non-3GPP access architecture / protocol such as a Wi-Fi connection). Fig. 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 in 5G CN. As shown, a user equipment device (e.g., UE 106) can access 5G CN through both a radio access network (RAN, such as gNB 604, which can be a base station 102) and an access point such as AP 612. AP 612 may include a connection to the Internet 600 and a connection to a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) 603 network entity. N3IWF may include a connection to a core access and mobility management function (AMF) 605 of 5G CN. AMF 605 may include an instance of a 5G mobility management (5G MM) function associated with UE 106. In addition, RAN (e.g., gNB 604) may also have a connection with AMF 605. Therefore, 5G CN can support unified authentication on two connections and allow UE 106 access to be registered simultaneously via gNB 604 and AP 612. As shown, the AMF 605 may include one or more functional entities associated with the 5G CN (e.g., a network slice selection function (NSSF) 620, a short message service function (SMSF) 622, an application function (AF) 624, a unified data management (UDM) 626, a policy control function (PCF) 628, and / or an authentication server function (AUSF) 630). Note that these functional entities may also be supported by the session management function (SMF) 606a and SMF 606b of the 5G CN. The AMF 605 may be connected to (or communicate with) the SMF 606a. In addition, the gNB 604 may communicate with (or be connected to) a user plane function (UPF) 608a, which may also communicate with the SMF 606a. Similarly, the N3IWF 603 may communicate with the UPF 608b, which may also communicate with the SMF 606b. Both UPFs may communicate with a data network (eg, DNs 610a and 610b) and / or the Internet 600 and an Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem / IP Multimedia Core Subsystem (IMS) Core Network 610.

[0132] 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 and non-3GPP access in 5G CN. As shown, a user equipment device (e.g., UE 106) can access 5G CN through a radio access network (RAN, such as gNB 604 or eNB 602, which can be a base station 102) and an access point such as AP 612. AP 612 may include a connection to the Internet 600 and a connection to the N3IWF 603 network entity. N3IWF may include a connection to AMF 605 of 5G CN. AMF 605 may include an instance of a 5G MM function associated with UE 106. In addition, RAN (e.g., gNB 604) may also have a connection with AMF 605. Therefore, 5G CN can support unified authentication on two connections and allow UE 106 access to be registered simultaneously via gNB 604 and AP 612. In addition, the 5G CN may support dual registration of UEs on both a traditional network (e.g., LTE via eNB 602) and a 5G network (e.g., via gNB 604). As shown, the eNB 602 may have connections to a mobility management entity (MME) 642 and a serving gateway (SGW) 644. The MME 642 may have connections to both the SGW 644 and the AMF 605. In addition, the SGW 644 may have connections to both the SMF 606a and the UPF 608a. As shown, the AMF 605 may 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). It should be noted that the UDM 626 may also include a home subscriber server (HSS) function, and the PCF may also include a policy and charging rules function (PCRF). It should also be noted that these functional entities can also be supported by SMF 606a and SMF 606b of 5G CN. AMF 606 can be connected to (or communicate with) SMF 606a. In addition, 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.

[0133] Note that in various embodiments, one or more of the above-described network entities may be configured to perform methods for improving security checks in 5G NR networks, including, for example, mechanisms for enhancing MBMS transmission reliability as further described herein, e.g., in 5G NR systems and higher.

[0134] Figure 7 An example of a baseband processor architecture for a UE (e.g., UE 106) according to some embodiments is shown. As described above, Figure 7 The baseband processor architecture 700 described in the figure 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 layer 710 may include a 5G NAS 720 and a traditional NAS 750. The traditional NAS 750 may include a communication connection with a traditional access layer (AS) 770. The 5G NAS 720 may include a communication connection with a 5G AS 740 and a non-3GPP AS 730 and a Wi-Fi AS 732. The 5G NAS 720 may include functional entities associated with two access layers. Therefore, the 5G NAS 720 may include multiple 5G MM entities 726 and 728 and 5G session management (SM) entities 722 and 724. The traditional NAS 750 may 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. In addition, the traditional AS 770 may include functional entities such as an LTE AS 772, a UMTS AS 774, and / or a GSM / GPRS 776.

[0135] 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, the 5G MM can maintain a separate connection management and registration management state machine for each connection. In addition, a device (e.g., UE 106) can register to a single PLMN (e.g., 5G CN) using 5G cellular access as well as non-cellular access. In addition, a device can be in a connected state in one access and in an idle state in another access, or vice versa. Finally, there may be common 5G-MM procedures (e.g., registration, deregistration, identification, authentication, etc.) for both accesses.

[0136] It should be noted that in various embodiments, one or more of the above-mentioned functional entities of the 5G NAS and / or 5G AS may be configured to perform, for example, methods for enhancing MBMS transmission reliability as further described herein, for example, in 5G NR systems and higher versions.

[0137] MBMS transmission reliability enhancement

[0138] Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) is a point-to-multipoint interface specification for existing and upcoming 3GPP cellular networks. MBMS is designed to provide efficient delivery of broadcast and multicast services within a cell and within the core network. MBMS defines transmissions for broadcasting transmissions across multiple cells via a single frequency network configuration. When the transmission is delivered over an LTE (Long Term Evolution) network, the specification is called evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS), also known as LTE Broadcast. Target applications of MBMS include mobile TV, radio broadcasting, real-time streaming video services, as well as file delivery and emergency alerts.

[0139] MBMS is divided into MBMS bearer services and MBMS user services, and has been defined to be provided over UTRAN (i.e., WCDMA, TD-CDMA, and TD-SCDMA) and LTE (where LTE is often referred to as eMBMS). MBMS bearer services are defined by 3GPP TS 22.146, 23.246 25.346, 25.992, 36.300, 36.440, and 43.246 and 4GPP TR 25.803. MBMS user services are defined by 3GPP 22.246, 26.346, 33.246, and 32.273 and 3GPP TR 26.946.

[0140] In addition to MBMS, 3GPP also specifies a single-cell point-to-multipoint (SC-PTM) transmission scheme. SC-PTM uses the eMBMS system architecture to provide enhancements in the air interface to improve radio efficiency and reduce latency. SC-PTM also supports broadcast / multicast services on a single cell, and the broadcast / multicast area can be dynamically adjusted cell by cell based on user distribution. According to the specification, SC-PTM uses a downlink shared channel (e.g., PDSCH) to transmit broadcast / multicast services, and a common RNTI (e.g., group RNTI) is used to schedule the service for a group of users. SC-PTM scheduling is considered to be agile, and radio resources can be dynamically allocated by PDCCH in the time domain and frequency domain based on the real-time traffic load TTI divided by transmission time interval (TTI). Specifically, SC-PTM is applicable to scenarios in which broadcast / multicast services are expected to be delivered to a limited number of cells due to user interest and the cells can be dynamically changed due to user movement. SC-PTM defined by at least 3GPP TS 22.468, 22.179 and 23.468 and 3GPP TR 36.890.

[0141] However, as defined by the standards, in both SC-PTM and MBMS, there is no retransmission or feedback scheme to ensure transmission reliability. For example, the current layer 2 (L2) architecture does not support packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer feedback or retransmission for SC-PTM or MBMS. Similarly, the current MAC layer does not support hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback or retransmission for SC-PTM or MBMS. In addition, the current radio link control (RLC) layer does not support feedback (e.g., RLC ARQ) or retransmission.

[0142] The embodiments described herein provide systems, methods, and mechanisms for enhancing MBMS transmission reliability, for example, in 5G NR systems and higher versions. In some embodiments, a UE such as UE 106 may provide feedback of a point-to-multipoint (PTM) link to the network, for example, to help and / or assist the network in adjusting the transmission scheme of a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS). Feedback of a PTM link may include one or more types. For example, a first type (e.g., type 1 feedback) may include an MBMS reception status, a second type (e.g., type 2 feedback) may include a radio quality of a PTM link, and a third type (e.g., type 3 feedback) may include a UE preference on MBMS transmission via PTM or point-to-point (PTP) transmission. For type 1 feedback, the UE may provide an RLC status report to the network, for example, if the PTM transmission is configured via an RLC acknowledgement mode (RLC-AM), a PDCP status report of an MBMS-specific dedicated radio bearer (DRB) (e.g., a multipoint radio bearer (MRB)), and / or a MACHARQ feedback of an MBMS-specific transmission. For type 2 feedback, the UE may provide layer 3 (L3) radio resource management (RRM) measurements, e.g., where the network may configure PTM-specific measurement configurations and objects, and / or layer 1 (L1) channel state information (CSI) reports, e.g., where the network may configure measurements on PTM-specific resources. For type 3 feedback, the UE may perform internal feedback evaluations to provide the network with a preference between MBMS transmission via PTM or PTP transmission. In some embodiments, based on feedback from the UE, the network (e.g., a base station of the network, such as base station 102 and / or another network entity as described herein) may adjust the PTM scheduling and / or adjust the number of physical resource blocks (PRBs) allocated and / or the modulation and coding scheme (MCS). In addition, based on feedback from the UE, if a packet is lost, the network may perform a retransmission. Furthermore, based on feedback from the UE, for example, if the PTM transmission quality is worse than the PTP transmission quality, the network may switch the transmission to the PTP transmission. In some embodiments, in order to detect a PTM link failure, a radio link failure (RLF) and RLC-AM may be introduced for the PTM transmission. Therefore, upon detecting a PTM link failure, the UE may report failure information, and the network may perform link switching and / or reconfigure PTM link resources.

[0143] In some embodiments, a UE (such as UE 106) may provide feedback via the UE's PDCP layer for the MBMS reception status of each MBMS specific dedicated resource bearer (DRB) (e.g., for each multipoint resource bearer (MRB)) that is configured by the network for point-to-multipoint (PTM) transmission to the UE. In other words, the UE PDCP layer may provide MBMS reception status feedback for each MRB. The feedback may include reordering window conditions (e.g., low edge, high edge, and / or gap), including lost PDCP sequence numbers and / or counts. The UE may also indicate the cause of the lost PDU for the lost PDU, such as not being received or a security check failure.

[0144] In some embodiments, the transmission of PDCP feedback may be performed via an uplink dedicated link. It is noted that for an MRB configured with PTM-RLC Unacknowledged Mode (UM), the network may configure a peer PTM-RLC UM entity for PDCP feedback transmission. It is also noted that for an MRB configured with PTM-RLC AM, PDCP feedback may be transmitted via PTM-RLC AM (e.g., PTM-RLC AM may support both uplink and downlink). It is also noted that if the MRB is configured with both PTM-RLC and PTP-RLC and / or when the MRB is configured with both PTM-RLC and PTP-RLC, PDCP feedback may be transmitted via a PTP-RLC entity.

[0145] In some embodiments, upon receiving PDCP feedback (e.g., PDCP status report), the network may retransmit the lost PDUs (e.g., as indicated in the PDCP feedback) to the UE via PTM and / or PTP links. Note that for retransmissions via PTP links, the PTM and PTP links may be linked with the same MRB PDCP entity. Additionally, on the UE side, the PDCP reordering window and PDCP sequence number allocation may be common for both PTP and PTM links.

[0146] In some embodiments, PDCP feedback (e.g., PDCP status report) may be triggered based on network explicit request, network configured conditions, and / or UE detection of PTM link failure. Network configured conditions may include: UE detection of lost PDCP protocol data units (PDUs), UE detection of lost PDCP protocol data units (PDUs) exceeding a threshold (e.g., N lost PDCP PDUs, where N may be network configurable), UE detection that the PDCP reordering window may be moving, e.g., due to expiration of a reordering timer, and / or moving periodically based on a network configured periodic timer.

[0147] Fig. 8AExamples of signaling for PDCP feedback and retransmissions for PTM transmissions according to some embodiments are shown. Among other devices, Fig. 8A The signaling shown in can also be used with any of the systems, methods or devices shown in the figure. Specifically, Figure 8B and Figure 8C shows that according to some embodiments, Fig. 8A 106. In various embodiments, some of the signaling shown may be performed concurrently in an order different from that shown, or may be omitted. Additional signaling may also be performed as needed. As shown, the signaling may take the following process.

[0148] Go to Fig. 8A , at 802, a UE such as UE 106 may receive a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU) PTM transmission from a base station (e.g., from a network via the base station) such as base station 102. The PDCP PDU PTM transmission may include PDU#1-#9. However, the UE may not receive PDU#4-#6, as shown. Therefore, at 804, the UE may provide feedback to the base station via PTM with an indication that PDU#4-#6 was not received. At 806, in response to the feedback, the UE may receive a PDCP PDU PTM retransmission from the base station, wherein the PDCP PDU PTM retransmission includes PDU#4-#6.

[0149] like Figure 8B As shown, in some embodiments, the L2 architecture of a UE such as UE 106 may include a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) entity 810, a PDCP entity 812, a radio link control (RLC) UM entity 814a for downlink, an RLC UM entity 814b for uplink, and a MAC entity 816. In such an architecture, the UE may receive the PDCP PDU PTM transmission 802 at the PDCP entity 812 via the RLC UM entity 814a and the MAC entity 816, and pass the PDCP PDU PTM transmission to the SDAP entity 810. Similarly, the UE may transmit feedback via the RLC UM entity 814b and the MAC entity 816 via the PTM originating from the PDCP entity 812. Thus, as shown, the L2 architecture of the UE may include RLC UM entities (e.g., peer RLC UM entities) for uplink and downlink to support PTM feedback.

[0150] Alternatively, if Figure 8CAs shown, in some embodiments, the L2 architecture of a UE (such as UE 106) may include an SDAP entity 810, a PDCP entity 812, an RLC AM entity 815 supporting both uplink and downlink, and a MAC entity 816. In such an architecture, the UE may receive the PDCP PDU PTM transmission 802 at the PDCP entity 812 via the RLC AM entity 815 and the MAC entity 816, and pass the PDCP PDU PTM transmission to the SDAP entity 810. Similarly, the UE may transmit feedback from the PDCP entity 812 via the RLC AM entity 815 and the MAC entity 816 via PTM. Therefore, as shown, the L2 architecture of the UE may include an RLC AM entity (e.g., a peer RLC AM entity) supporting both uplink and downlink in order to support PTM feedback.

[0151] Fig.9A Another example of signaling for PDCP feedback and retransmission for PTM transmission according to some embodiments is shown. Among other devices, Fig. 8A The signaling shown in can also be used with any of the systems, methods or devices shown in the figure. Specifically, Fig. 9B and Fig. 9C shows that according to some embodiments, Fig.9A 106. In various embodiments, some of the signaling shown may be performed concurrently in an order different from that shown, or may be omitted. Additional signaling may also be performed as needed. As shown, the signaling may take the following process.

[0152] Go to Fig.9A , at 902, a UE such as UE 106 may receive a PDCP protocol data unit (PDU) PTM transmission from a base station (e.g., from a network via the base station) such as base station 102. The PDCP PDU PTM transmission may include PDU#1-#9. However, the UE may not receive PDU#4-#6, as shown. Therefore, at 904, the UE may provide feedback to the base station via PTM with an indication that PDU#4-#6 was not received. At 906, in response to the feedback, the UE may receive a PDCP PDU PTP retransmission from the base station (e.g., via point-to-point transmission instead of PTM transmission), wherein the PDCP PDU PTM retransmission includes PDU#4-#6.

[0153] like Fig. 9BAs shown, in some embodiments, the L2 architecture of a UE such as UE 106 may include an SDAP entity 910, a PDCP entity 912, a multilink radio link control (M-RLC) UM entity 914a for a PTM downlink, a dedicated RLC UM entity 914b for an uplink, a dedicated RLC UM entity 914c for a PTP downlink, and a MAC entity 916. In such an architecture, the UE may receive the PDCP PDU PTM transmission 902 at the PDCP entity 912 via the M-RLC UM entity 914a and the MAC entity 916, and pass the PDCP PDU PTM transmission to the SDAP entity 910. Similarly, the UE may transmit feedback originating from the PDCP entity 912 via the dedicated RLC UM entity 914c and the MAC entity 916 via PTM. Therefore, as shown in the figure, the L2 architecture of the UE may include an M-RLC UM entity for downlink PTM, and dedicated RLC UM entities (e.g., peer RLC UM entities) for uplink and downlink to support PTM feedback through PTP retransmission.

[0154] Alternatively, if Fig. 9C As shown, in some embodiments, the L2 architecture of a UE (such as UE 106) may include an SDAP entity 910, a PDCP entity 912, an RLC AM entity 915a supporting both uplink and downlink PTM, an RLC AM entity 915b supporting uplink and downlink PTP, and a MAC entity 916. In such an architecture, the UE may receive the PDCP PDU PTM transmission 902 at the PDCP entity 912 via the RLC AM entity 915a and the MAC entity 916, and pass the PDCP PDU PTM transmission to the SDAP entity 910. Similarly, the UE may transmit feedback from the PDCP entity 912 via the RLC AM entity 915a and the MAC entity 916 via PTM. Therefore, as shown, the L2 architecture of the UE may include an RLC AM entity supporting both uplink and downlink (e.g., peer RLC AM entity) PTM and an RLC AM supporting uplink and downlink PTP, so as to support PTM feedback with PTP retransmission.

[0155] FIG. 10A to FIG. 10C An example of signaling for PDCP feedback for triggering PTM transmission according to some embodiments is shown. Among other devices, FIG. 10A to FIG. 10C The signaling shown in can also be used with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figure. Specifically, Fig. 10A shows an example of signaling for PDCP feedback based on network request triggering PTM transmission according to some embodiments, Fig. 10BAn example of signaling for PDCP feedback for triggering PTM transmission according to some embodiments is shown, wherein the triggering condition is configured via RRC signaling, and Fig. 10C An example of signaling for PDCP feedback for triggering PTM transmission according to some embodiments is shown, wherein the triggering condition and feedback periodicity are configured via RRC signaling. In various embodiments, some of the signaling shown may be performed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or may be omitted. Additional signaling may also be performed as needed. As shown, the signaling may adopt the following process.

[0156] Go to Fig. 10A At 1002, a UE such as UE 106 may receive a request for PDCP feedback for an MRB from a base station such as base station 102. The request may include an indication of the MRB and / or may be associated with a specific PDCP PDU transmission via PTM. At 1004, the UE may transmit PDCP feedback for the indicated MRB and / or for the specific PDCP PDU transmission to the base station via PTM. The PDCP feedback may include an indication of received and / or lost PDUs from the specific PDCP PDU transmission.

[0157] Go to Fig. 10B , at 1012, a UE such as UE 106 may receive a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message from a base station such as base station 102. The RRC reconfiguration message may include one or more conditions for triggering PDCP feedback for an MRB. In addition, the RRC reconfiguration message may include an indication of an MRB. The one or more conditions may include any one of the following, any combination thereof, and / or all thereof: the UE detects a lost PDCP PDU, the UE detects that the lost PDCP PDU exceeds a threshold amount of lost PDCP PDUs, and / or the UE detects that the PDCP reordering window moves due to expiration of a reordering timer. As shown, at 1014, the UE may, for example, based on receiving an RRC reconfiguration message, provide the base station with initial PDCP feedback for the indicated MRB and / or for a specific PDCP PDU transmission via a PTM. The PDCP feedback may include an indication of a received and / or lost PDU from a specific PDCP PDU transmission. In addition, at 1016, the UE may detect a PDCP feedback triggering event for an MRB. In response, at 1018, the UE may provide PDCP feedback to the base station for the indicated MRB and / or for a specific PDCP PDU transmission via PTM, e.g., based on detecting the triggering event at 1016. The PDCP feedback may include an indication of received and / or lost PDUs from a specific PDCP PDU transmission.

[0158] Go to Fig. 10CAt 1022, a UE such as UE 106 may receive a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message from a base station such as base station 102. The RRC reconfiguration message may include one or more conditions for triggering PDCP feedback for an MRB and an indication of the periodicity of the periodic PDCP feedback. In addition, the RRC reconfiguration message may include an indication of the MRB. The one or more conditions may include any one of the following, any combination thereof, and / or all thereof: the UE detects a lost PDCP PDU, the UE detects that the lost PDCP PDU exceeds a threshold amount of lost PDCP PDUs, and / or the UE detects that the PDCP reordering window moves due to expiration of a reordering timer. As shown, at 1024, the UE may detect a PDCP feedback triggering event for an MRB. In response, at 1026, the UE may provide, for example, based on detecting a triggering event at 1024, to the base station PDCP feedback for the indicated MRB and / or for a specific PDCP PDU transmitted via a PTM. In addition, the UE may start a timer based on the periodicity of the periodic PDCP feedback included and / or indicated in the RRC reconfiguration message. PDCP feedback may include an indication of a received and / or lost PDU from a specific PDCP PDU transmission. In addition, at 1028, the UE may detect another PDCP feedback triggering event for an MRB. However, since the triggering event occurs during a timer, the UE may cache the triggering event. Then, at 1030, the UE may provide PDCP feedback based on the expiration of the timer, including PDCP feedback associated with the triggering event at 1028. PDCP feedback may include an indication of a received and / or lost PDU from a specific PDCP PDU transmission. In addition, the UE may restart the timer. In addition, as shown in the figure, if there is no triggering event started at 1030 when the timer expires, the UE may not provide PDCP feedback when the timer expires. In addition, when a triggering event 1032 is detected, the UE may, for example, provide PDCP feedback for the indicated MRB and / or for a specific PDCP PDU transmission via PTM to the base station based on the detection of the triggering event at 1032. In addition, the UE may then restart the timer when providing PDCP feedback 1034.

[0159] Therefore, if Fig. 10C As shown, in some embodiments, the PDCP feedback report may be event driven until a triggering event is detected. The UE may then cache additional triggering events until the timer expires. In addition, if PDCP feedback is reported when the timer expires (e.g., at least one triggering event occurs before the timer expires), the UE may restart the timer. However, if PDCP feedback is not reported when the timer expires (e.g., there is no triggering event before the timer expires), the UE may revert back to event driven PDCP feedback.

[0160] In some embodiments, a UE such as UE 106 may provide a base station such as base station 102 with layer 3 (L3) based radio quality feedback for PTM transmissions. For example, for L3 radio resource management (RRM) measurements, a base station (e.g., a network) may configure PTM-specific measurement configurations and / or objects. Additionally, for layer 1 (L1) channel state information (CSI) reporting, a base station may configure measurements on PTM-specific resources. In some embodiments, for L3 RRM measurements, a UE may have different behaviors and / or configurations depending on whether the UE's network connection is in a connected state (e.g., connected mode) or in an idle / inactive state (e.g., idle / inactive mode).

[0161] For example, when the UE is in a connected state, the base station (e.g., the network) may configure the UE for MBMS purposes via a measurement object and / or a measurement configuration and / or a measurement report (e.g., via RRC signaling). In response to the configuration, the UE may include measurement results on resources configured for MBMS purposes in an RRC message. The RRC message may include an RRC measurement report and secondary cell group (SCG) failure information and / or primary cell group (MCG) failure information. The network may then select a serving cell and a bandwidth part (BWP) for the UE based on the MBMS measurement results together with the serving cell measurement results.

[0162] As another example, when the UE is in an idle / inactive state, the base station (e.g., the network) may configure the UE for MBMS purposes via a measurement configuration, for example, via an RRC release message and / or via a system information message. In some embodiments, if and / or when the UE receives MBMS services in an idle / inactive state, and / or if / when the UE is interested in MBMS services in a serving cell, the UE may perform RRM measurements according to the MBMS specific measurement configuration. Then, when the UE enters a connected state, the UE may report available MBMS specific measurement results to the network via an idle / inactive state measurement reporting procedure. The network may then select a serving cell and bandwidth part (BWP) for the UE based on the MBMS measurement results together with the serving cell measurement results.

[0163] In some embodiments, PTM link failure detection may be based on the occurrence of one or more events. For example, PTM link failure detection may be based on RLC failure, for example, when the number of transmissions (e.g., retransmissions) reaches and / or exceeds a configured threshold, at least in the case of PTM transmission via an RLC AM entity. As another example, PTM link failure detection may be based on radio link failure (RLF) detection, for example, if the radio link monitoring mechanism on the PTM link indicates that the measurement result drops below a threshold. In some embodiments, the UE may report fault information and / or fault indication via a PTP link. For example, if the UE is configured with both a PTP link and a PTM link for MBMS service reception, when a PTM link failure is detected, the UE may autonomously switch to the PTP link to wait for MBMS service reception. Note that if and / or when the UE is in a DRX-off state for PTP transmission, the UE may directly enter a DRX-on state and monitor a UE-specific PDCCH. In addition, upon receiving a fault report from the UE, the network may attempt to reconfigure the PTM link and / or provide MBMS services via the PTP link.

[0164] FIG. 11A to FIG. 11B An example of signaling for a PTM link failure according to some embodiments is shown. Among other devices, FIG. 11A to FIG. 11B The signaling shown in can also be used with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figure. Specifically, Fig.11A shows an example of signaling for PTM link failure using RRC reconfiguration according to some embodiments, and Fig. 11B An example of signaling for a PTM link failure utilizing a switch to a PTP link according to some embodiments is shown. In various embodiments, some of the signaling shown may be performed concurrently in a different order than that shown, or may be omitted. Additional signaling may also be performed as needed. As shown, the signaling may employ the following process.

[0165] Go to Fig.11A At 1102, a UE such as UE 106 may receive one or more PTM transmissions from a base station such as base station 102 via a PTM link. At 1104, the UE may detect a link failure, e.g., as described above. Then, in response to detecting the link failure, the UE may send failure information (and / or a failure indication) to the base station. At 1108, the UE may receive an RRC reconfiguration message that moves the MBMS transmission from the PTM link to the PTP link.

[0166] Go to Fig. 11BAt 1112, a UE such as UE 106 may receive one or more PTM transmissions from a base station such as base station 102 via a PTM link. At 1114, the UE may detect a link failure, e.g., as described above. Then, in response to detecting the link failure, the UE may switch the PTM link to a PTP link, e.g., assuming that the UE has been configured with both PTP and PTM for MBMS service reception. Then, at 1116, the UE may transmit an indication of the switch to the base station. At 1118, the UE may receive MBMS transmissions from the base station via the PTP link.

[0167] In some embodiments, a UE in an idle / inactive state may provide MBMS feedback to PTM via one or more mechanisms. For example, when entering a connected state (e.g., connected mode), the UE may report a log of MBMS reception and radio quality when the UE is in an idle / inactive state. For another example, the UE may remain in an idle / inactive state and may provide MBMS feedback to PTM via a random access channel (RACH) process. As another example, the UE may remain in an idle / inactive state and may provide MBMS feedback to PTM via pre-configured PUSCH resources. In some embodiments, for idle / inactive state MBMS feedback, the network may provide MBMS feedback resources when the UE enters an idle / inactive state. MBMS feedback resources may be dedicated to each MBMS service and / or may be shared for multiple UEs. MBMS feedback may include a simple excellent / well / poor indication together with an MBMS service ID (MRB ID or TMGI). In some embodiments, for idle / inactive state MBMS feedback, the network may control the reporting frequency via trigger conditions and / or timers. The trigger conditions may be based on radio quality and / or the number of subsequent reception failures.

[0168] FIG. 12A to FIG. 12B An example of signaling for PDCP feedback of PTM transmissions for UEs in idle and / or inactive states according to some embodiments is shown. Among other devices, FIG. 12A to FIG. 12B The signaling shown in can also be used with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the figure. Specifically, Fig. 12A shows an example of signaling of PDCP feedback for PTM transmissions for UEs in idle and / or inactive states via RRC signaling according to some embodiments, and Fig. 12B An example of signaling of PDCP feedback for PTM transmission of UEs in idle and / or inactive states via RACH / PUSCH according to some embodiments is shown. In various embodiments, some of the signaling shown may be performed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or may be omitted. Additional signaling may also be performed as needed. As shown, the signaling may adopt the following process.

[0169] Go to Fig. 12A At 1202, a UE such as UE 106 may transition from an idle / inactive mode to a connected mode by transmitting an RRC recovery request to a base station such as base station 102. Then, at 1204, the UE may receive an RRC recovery response. The UE may record (e.g., measure) MBMS reception conditions (e.g., RSRP, BLER, etc.). Then, at 1206, the UE may provide MBMS feedback via an MBMS log (e.g., an indication of MBMS reception conditions) included in an RRC recovery complete message.

[0170] Go to Fig. 12B At 1212, a UE (such as UE 106) may receive MBMS transmissions and / or monitor PTM links while in idle / inactive mode. Then, at 1214, the UE may provide MBMS feedback (e.g., PTM feedback) via a RACH procedure and / or via a preconfigured PUSCH resource (e.g., as described above).

[0171] Fig.13 and Fig.14 A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for a UE to provide feedback to a network for a PTM link according to some embodiments. Fig.13 and Fig.14 The method shown in the figure can be used in combination with another or any one of the systems, methods, signaling or devices shown in the figure. Specifically, Fig.13 A block diagram showing an example of a method in which a UE provides feedback for a PTM link to a network from the perspective of the UE, and Fig.14 A block diagram showing an example of a method for providing feedback for a PTM link from the perspective of the network to the network by a UE. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown may be performed concurrently in an order different from the order shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as needed. As shown, these methods may operate as follows.

[0172] Go to Fig.13 At 1302, a UE such as UE 106 may receive a PDCP PDU (e.g., one or more PDCP PDUs) from a network (e.g., from a network entity such as base station 102) via a PTM link.

[0173] At 1304, the UE may determine to provide feedback on the reception of the PDCP PDU. The determination may be based at least in part on the occurrence of at least one condition (e.g., at least one triggering event and / or at least one network-configured triggering event). The at least one condition may include any one of the following, any combination thereof, and / or all thereof: the UE receives a feedback request from the network, the UE determines that at least one PDCP PDU in one or more PDCP PDUs is lost, the UE determines that the number of lost PDCP PDUs of one or more PDCP PDUs exceeds a threshold, and / or the UE determines that the PDCP reordering window is changing based on the expiration of a PDCP reordering timer. In some embodiments, the at least one condition may occur during a network-configured time period because a previous feedback associated with a previous reception of a PDCP PDU via a PTM is transmitted. In such cases, the transmission of feedback associated with the reception of one or more PDCP PDUs may occur when the time period expires. In some embodiments, the threshold may be based on the number of transmitted PDCP PDUs. In some embodiments, the threshold may be configured by the network.

[0174] At 1306, the UE may transmit feedback associated with the reception of the PDCP PDU to the network. The feedback may include an indication of the missing PDCP PDU. In some embodiments, the feedback may include an indication of a sequence number associated with at least one missing PDCP PDU.

[0175] In some embodiments, the UE may receive PDCP PDU retransmissions from the network. The PDCP PDU retransmissions may include at least one PDCP PDU indicated as lost in the feedback.

[0176] In some embodiments, the PDCP PDU retransmission may be received via a PTM link. In such embodiments, the UE may include a protocol stack, and the protocol stack may include a PDCP layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and a radio link control (RLC) layer. The RLC layer may be configured to be in an unacknowledged mode (UM) and may include a first RLC-UM entity associated with a PTM link and a second RLC-UM entity associated with a point-to-point (PTP) link. In addition, feedback may be transmitted via a PTP link.

[0177] In some embodiments, the PDCP PDU retransmission may be received via a PTM link. In such embodiments, the UE may include a protocol stack, and the protocol stack may include a PDCP layer, a MAC layer, and an RLC layer. The RLC layer may be configured to be in an acknowledgement mode (AM) and may include an RLC-AM entity associated with a PTM link and a point-to-point (PTP) link. In addition, feedback may be transmitted via a PTP link.

[0178] In some embodiments, the PDCP PDU retransmission may be received via a PTP link. In such embodiments, the UE may include a protocol stack, and the protocol stack may include a PDCP layer, a MAC layer, and an RLC layer. The RLC layer may be configured to be in an unacknowledged mode (UM), and may include a multipoint RLC-UM entity associated with a PTM link, a first dedicated RLC-UM associated with an uplink point-to-point (PTP) link, and a second dedicated RLC-UM associated with a downlink PTP link. In addition, feedback may be transmitted via a PTP link.

[0179] In some embodiments, the PDCP PDU retransmission may be received via a PTP link. In such embodiments, the UE may include a protocol stack, and the protocol stack may include a PDCP layer, a MAC layer, and an RLC layer. The RLC layer may be configured to be in an acknowledgement mode (AM), and may include a first RLC-AM entity associated with a PTM link and an uplink PTP link and a second RLC-AM entity associated with a downlink PTP link. In addition, feedback may be transmitted via a PTP link.

[0180] In some embodiments, the UE may receive a feedback configuration message from the network. The feedback configuration message may include an indication of the at least one condition. In some embodiments, the feedback configuration message may be received via RRC signaling. In some embodiments, the feedback configuration message may be an RRC reconfiguration message. In addition, the indication of at least one condition may include a periodic timer configured by the network and / or a threshold value of lost PDCP PDUs.

[0181] In some embodiments, the UE may receive a PTM link measurement configuration and object from the network, and may perform layer 3 (L3) radio resource management (RRM) measurements based on the PTM link measurement configuration and object. In some embodiments, when the UE is in a connected state with the network, the UE may include L3 RRM measurement results in an RRC message of the network. In some embodiments, when the UE is in an idle state and / or an inactive state with the network, the UE may report L3 RRM measurement results to the network when the UE enters a connected state with the network.

[0182] In some embodiments, the UE may detect a PTM link failure and may transmit an indication of the PTM link failure to the network. Transmitting the indication of the PTM link failure may include the UE transmitting a report of the PTM link failure via the PTP link. In some embodiments, the UE may receive an RRC reconfiguration message from the network indicating that the PTP link continues to communicate.

[0183] In some embodiments, the UE may detect a PTM link failure and may transmit an indication of the PTM link failure to the network. Transmitting the indication of the PTM link failure may include the UE transmitting an indication of a switch from the PTM link to the PTP link. In some embodiments, the UE may receive a PDCP PDU from the network via the PTP link.

[0184] In some embodiments, the UE may receive the PDCP PDU while in an inactive state and / or an idle state with the network. In some embodiments, transmitting feedback associated with the reception of the PDCP PDU may be performed when the UE enters a connected state with the network. In some embodiments, the UE may transmit feedback associated with the reception of the PDCP PDU, for example, via a random access channel (RACH) procedure or via a pre-configured physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource before the UE enters a connected state with the network.

[0185] Go to Fig.14 At 1402, a network entity such as base station 102 may transmit a PDCP PDU (e.g., one or more PDCP PDUs) to a UE such as UE 106 via a PTM link.

[0186] At 1404, the network entity may receive feedback associated with the reception of a PDCP PDU from the UE. The feedback may include an indication of a lost PDCP PDU. In some embodiments, the feedback may include an indication of a sequence number associated with at least one lost PDCP PDU. In some embodiments, the feedback associated with the reception of a PDCP PDU may be in response to the UE detecting the occurrence of at least one condition (e.g., at least one triggering event and / or at least one network configured triggering event). The at least one condition may include any one of the following, any combination thereof, and / or all thereof: the network entity transmits a feedback request to the UE, the UE determines that at least one PDCP PDU in one or more PDCP PDUs is lost, the UE determines that the number of lost PDCP PDUs of one or more PDCP PDUs exceeds a threshold, and / or the UE determines that the PDCP reordering window is changing based on the expiration of a PDCP reordering timer. In some embodiments, the at least one condition may occur during a network configured time period because a previous feedback associated with a previous reception of a PDCP PDU via a PTM is transmitted. In such instances, the UE transmission of feedback associated with the reception of one or more PDCP PDUs may occur when the time period expires. In some embodiments, the threshold may be based on the number of PDCP PDUs transmitted. In some embodiments, the threshold may be configurable by the network.

[0187] In some embodiments, the network entity may transmit PDCP PDU retransmissions to the UE. The PDCP PDU retransmissions may include at least one PDCP PDU indicated as lost in the feedback.

[0188] In some embodiments, the PDCP PDU retransmission may be transmitted via a PTM link. In such embodiments, the UE may include a protocol stack, and the protocol stack may include a PDCP layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and a radio link control (RLC) layer. The RLC layer may be configured to be in an unacknowledged mode (UM) and may include a first RLC-UM entity associated with a PTM link and a second RLC-UM entity associated with a point-to-point (PTP) link. In addition, feedback may be received via a PTP link.

[0189] In some embodiments, PDCP PDU retransmissions may be transmitted via a PTM link. In such embodiments, the UE may include a protocol stack, and the protocol stack may include a PDCP layer, a MAC layer, and an RLC layer. The RLC layer may be configured to be in an acknowledgement mode (AM) and may include an RLC-AM entity associated with a PTM link and a point-to-point (PTP) link. In addition, feedback may be received via a PTP link.

[0190] In some embodiments, the PDCP PDU retransmission may be transmitted via a PTP link. In such embodiments, the UE may include a protocol stack, and the protocol stack may include a PDCP layer, a MAC layer, and an RLC layer. The RLC layer may be configured to be in an unacknowledged mode (UM), and may include a multi-point RLC-UM entity associated with a PTM link, a first dedicated RLC-UM associated with an uplink point-to-point (PTP) link, and a second dedicated RLC-UM associated with a downlink PTP link. In addition, feedback may be received via a PTP link.

[0191] In some embodiments, PDCP PDU retransmission may be transmitted via a PTP link. In such embodiments, the UE may include a protocol stack, and the protocol stack may include a PDCP layer, a MAC layer, and an RLC layer. The RLC layer may be configured to be in an acknowledgement mode (AM), and may include a first RLC-AM entity associated with a PTM link and an uplink PTP link and a second RLC-AM entity associated with a downlink PTP link. In addition, feedback may be received via a PTP link.

[0192] In some embodiments, the network entity may transmit a feedback configuration message to the UE. The feedback configuration message may include an indication of the at least one condition. In some embodiments, the feedback configuration message may be transmitted via RRC signaling. In some embodiments, the feedback configuration message may be an RRC reconfiguration message. In addition, the indication of at least one condition may include a network configured periodic timer and / or a threshold value for lost PDCP PDUs.

[0193] In some embodiments, the network entity may transmit a PTM link measurement configuration and object to the UE. The UE may perform layer 3 (L3) radio resource management (RRM) measurements based on the PTM link measurement configuration and object. In some embodiments, when the UE is in a connected state with the network, the network may receive L3 RRM measurement results from the UE via an RRC message. In some embodiments, when the UE is in an idle state and / or an inactive state with the network, the network entity may receive a report of L3 RRM measurement results from the UE when the UE enters a connected state with the network.

[0194] In some embodiments, the network entity may receive an indication of a PTM link failure from the UE, for example based on the UE detecting a PTM link failure. Receiving an indication of a PTM link failure may include the network entity receiving a report of the PTM link failure from the UE via a PTP link. In some embodiments, the network entity may transmit an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE indicating that the PTP link continues to communicate.

[0195] In some embodiments, the network entity may receive an indication of a PTM link failure from the UE, for example based on the UE detecting a PTM link failure. Receiving an indication of a PTM link failure may include the network entity receiving an indication of a switch from the PTM link to the PTP link from the UE. In some embodiments, the network entity may transmit the PDCP PDU to the UE via the PTP link.

[0196] In some embodiments, the network entity may transmit the PDCP PDU to the UE when the UE is in an inactive state and / or an idle state with the network. In some embodiments, feedback associated with the reception of the PDCP PDU may be received when the UE enters a connected state with the network. In some embodiments, the network entity may receive feedback associated with the reception of the PDCP PDU from the UE, for example, via a random access channel (RACH) procedure or via a pre-configured physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource before the UE enters a connected state with the network.

[0197] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0198] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0199] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system is caused to perform a method, such as any one of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein or any combination of such subsets.

[0200] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., UE 106) may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method implementations described herein (or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any of the method implementations described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of various forms.

[0201] By interpreting each message / signal X received by a user equipment (UE) in the downlink as a message / signal X transmitted by the base station, and interpreting each message / signal Y transmitted by the UE in the uplink as a message / signal Y received by the base station, any of the methods for operating a UE described herein may become the basis for the corresponding method for operating a base station.

[0202] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method for a user equipment device UE to provide feedback on a point-to-multipoint PTM link to a network, the method comprising: receiving one or more packet data convergence protocol PDCP protocol data units (PDUs) from the network via the PTM link as part of a multimedia broadcast multicast service MBMS; determining, based on occurrence of at least one condition, to provide feedback associated with receipt of the one or more PDCP PDUs via the PTM link as part of the MBMS; transmitting, to the network, feedback associated with receipt of the one or more PDCP PDUs; as well as The MBMS specific measurement information is received via a Radio Resource Control, RRC Release message, for use when receiving MBMS services while in an inactive state.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one condition further comprises one or more of the following: receiving a feedback request from the network; determining that at least one PDCP PDU of the one or more PDCP PDUs is lost; determining that a number of lost PDCP PDUs in the one or more PDCP PDUs exceeds a threshold; or A determination that the PDCP reordering window is changing is made based on expiration of a PDCP reordering timer.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one condition occurs during a network-configured time period starting from when a previous feedback associated with a previous reception of a PDCP PDU via the PTM was transmitted, and wherein transmitting to the network feedback associated with the reception of the one or more PDCP PDUs occurs upon expiration of the time period.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the feedback comprises at least one of an indication of a lost PDCP PDU or an indication of a sequence number associated with at least one lost PDCP PDU.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A PDCP PDU retransmission is received from the network, wherein the PDCP PDU retransmission includes at least one PDCP PDU indicated as lost in the feedback, and wherein the PDCP PDU retransmission is received via the PTM link or the point-to-point PTP link.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the UE comprises a protocol stack, wherein the protocol stack comprises a PDCP layer, a medium access control layer, and a radio link control RLC layer, wherein, When the RLC layer is configured to be in an unconfirmed mode (UM), the RLC layer includes a first RLC-UM entity associated with the PTM link and a second RLC-UM entity associated with the PTP link, and the feedback is transmitted via the PTP link, and wherein, when the RLC layer is configured to be in an confirmed mode (AM), the RLC layer includes an RLC-AM entity associated with the PTM link and the PTP link, and the feedback is transmitted via the PTP link.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A PDCP PDU retransmission is received from the network, wherein the PDCP PDU retransmission includes at least one PDCP PDU indicated as lost in the feedback, and wherein the PDCP PDU retransmission is received via a point-to-point (PTP) link.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the UE comprises a protocol stack, wherein the protocol stack comprises a PDCP layer, a medium access control layer, and a radio link control RLC layer, wherein, When the RLC layer is configured to be in an unconfirmed mode UM, the RLC layer includes a multi-point RLC-UM entity associated with the PTM link, a first dedicated RLC-UM associated with an uplink PTP link, and a second dedicated RLC-UM associated with a downlink PTP link, and the feedback is transmitted via the uplink PTP link, and when the RLC layer is configured to be in an confirmed mode AM, the RLC layer includes a first RLC-AM entity associated with the PTM link and the uplink PTP link and a second RLC-AM entity associated with the downlink PTP, and the feedback is transmitted via the uplink PTP link.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one condition comprises a triggering event of a network configuration, and wherein the method further comprises: A feedback configuration message is received from the network, wherein the feedback configuration message includes an indication of a triggering event configured by the network.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the feedback configuration message is received via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, and wherein the feedback configuration message is an RRC reconfiguration message.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the indication of a triggering event for the network configuration comprises at least one of: A network-configured periodic timer; or Threshold for lost PDCP PDUs.

12. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: receiving a PTM link measurement configuration and objects from the network; as well as Layer 3, i.e. L3, Radio Resource Management, RRM, measurements are performed based on the PTM link measurement configuration and objects.

13. The method according to claim 12, in, When the UE is in a connected state with the network, the method further includes: including the L3 RRM measurement results in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message to the network; and Wherein, when the UE and the network are in an idle state or an inactive state, the method further includes: and reporting L3 RRM measurement results to the network upon entering a connected state with the network.

14. A processor, comprising: Memory; and A processing circuit in communication with the memory and configured to perform a method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions executable by a processing circuit to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

16. A method for a user equipment device UE to provide feedback on a point-to-multipoint PTM link to a network, the method comprising: transmitting one or more packet data convergence protocol PDCP protocol data units (PDUs) to the UE via the PTM link as part of a multimedia broadcast multicast service MBMS; receiving feedback associated with reception of the one or more PDCP PDUs from the UE; as well as The MBMS specific measurement information is sent via a Radio Resource Control, RRC Release message, for use when receiving MBMS services while in an inactive state.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the feedback comprises at least one of an indication of a lost PDCP PDU or an indication of a sequence number associated with at least one lost PDCP PDU.

18. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: transmitting a PDCP PDU retransmission to the UE, wherein the PDCP PDU retransmission includes at least one PDCP PDU indicated as lost in the feedback, and wherein the PDCP PDU retransmission is transmitted via the PTM link or the point-to-point PTP link.

19. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: A PDCP PDU retransmission is transmitted to the UE, wherein the PDCP PDU retransmission includes at least one PDCP PDU indicated as lost in the feedback, and wherein the PDCP PDU retransmission is transmitted via a point-to-point PTP link.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising: A feedback configuration message is transmitted to the UE, wherein the feedback configuration message includes an indication of a triggering event configured by a network.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the feedback configuration message is transmitted via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, and wherein the feedback configuration message is an RRC reconfiguration message.

22. The method according to claim 20, The indication of the triggering event of the network configuration includes at least one of the following: A network-configured periodic timer; or Threshold for lost PDCP PDUs.

23. The method of claim 20, further comprising: The PTM link measurement configuration and object are transmitted to the UE.

24. A processor, comprising: Memory; and A processing circuit in communication with the memory and configured to perform a method according to any one of claims 16 to 23.

25. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions executable by a processing circuit to perform the method according to any one of claims 16 to 23.

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