Small data transmission method and related equipment

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for a user equipment (UE) to perform a small data transmission (SDT). The method includes receiving a radio resource control (RRC) release message containing an SDT configuration from a base station (BS) when the UE is in an RRC_CONNECTED state; when the UE receives the RRC release message, the UE switches from the RRC_CONNECTED state to the RRC_INACTIVE state; when the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state, the UE initiates an SDT process based on the SDT configuration; obtains a default configuration pre-configured for the UE and containing a power headroom report (PHR) configuration; and when the UE initiates the SDT process, applies the default configuration.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This disclosure claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63 / 185,913, filed on May 7, 2021, and entitled “SMALL DATA AND CONTROL ELEMENTHANDLING,” the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety into this disclosure. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications and, more particularly, to methods of small data transmission and related devices configured to employ the methods. Background Art

[0004] With the huge growth in the number of connected devices and the rapid increase in user / network traffic, various efforts have been made to improve various aspects of wireless communication in next-generation wireless communication systems, such as the fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) system, by improving data rate, latency, reliability and mobility.

[0005] The 5G NR system is designed to provide flexibility and configurability to optimize network services and types and adapt to different use cases such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine-type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC).

[0006] However, as the demand for radio access continues to increase, there is a need to further improve wireless communications in next generation wireless communication systems.

[0007] Abbreviations used in this disclosure include:

[0008] Abbreviation

[0009] 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project

[0010] 5G 5th generation

[0011] ACK Acknowledgement

[0012] AS Access Stratum

[0013] BS Base Station

[0014] BSR Buffer Status Report

[0015] BWP Bandwidth Part

[0016] CA Carrier Aggregation

[0017] CBRA Contention Based Random Access

[0018] CCCH Common Control Channel

[0019] CE Control Element

[0020] CFRA Contention Free Random Access

[0021] CG Configured Grant

[0022] CN Core Network

[0023] CORESET Control Resource Set

[0024] CP Control Plane

[0025] C-RNTI Cell-Radio Network TemporaryIdentifier

[0026] CSI Channel State Information

[0027] CS-RNTI Configured Scheduling RNTI

[0028] CSS Common Search Space

[0029] DC Dual Connectivity

[0030] DCI Downlink Control Information

[0031] DFI Downlink Feedback Information

[0032] DG Dynamic Grant

[0033] DL Downlink

[0034] DRX Discontinuous Reception

[0035] DRB Data Radio Bearer

[0036] eNB Evolved Node B

[0037] E-UTRA Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access

[0038] E-UTRAN Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network

[0039] FR Frequency Range

[0040] gNB Next-Generation Node B

[0041] HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

[0042] IE Information Element

[0043] LCP Logical Channel Prioritization

[0044] LCG Logical Channel Group

[0045] LCH Logical Channel

[0046] LTE Long Term Evolution

[0047] MAC Medium Access Control

[0048] MCG Master Cell Group

[0049] MPE Maximum Permissible Exposure

[0050] MSG Message

[0051] NACK Negative Acknowledgement

[0052] NAS Non-Access Stratum

[0053] NG-RAN Next Generation Radio Access Network

[0054] NUL Normal Uplink

[0055] NW Network

[0056] PCell Primary Cell

[0057] PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0058] PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol

[0059] PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0060] PHR Power Headroom Report

[0061] PDU Protocol Data Unit

[0062] PHY Physical layer

[0063] PSCell Primary Cell

[0064] PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel

[0065] PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

[0066] PRACH Physical Random Access Channel

[0067] RA Random Access

[0068] RACH Random Access Channel

[0069] RAR Random Access Response

[0070] RB Radio Bearer

[0071] Rel version (Release)

[0072] RLC Radio Link Control

[0073] RNA RAN notification area

[0074] RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier

[0075] RRC Radio Resource Control

[0076] RO RACH Occasion

[0077] RS Reference Signal

[0078] RSRP Reference Signal Received Power

[0079] Rx Reception

[0080] SCell Secondary Cell

[0081] SCG Secondary Cell Group

[0082] SCS Subcarrier Spacing

[0083] SDAP Service Data Adaptation Protocol

[0084] SDT Small Data Transmission

[0085] SDU Service Data Unit

[0086] SI System Information

[0087] SIB System Information Block

[0088] SLIV Start and Length Indicator

[0089] SR Value)

[0090] Scheduling Request

[0091] SRB Signaling Radio Bearer

[0092] SRS Sounding Reference Signal

[0093] SS Search Space

[0094] SSB SS / PBCH Block (SS / PBCH Block)

[0095] SS-RSRP Synchronization Signal-RSRP

[0096] SpCell Special Cell

[0097] SUL Supplementary Uplink

[0098] TA Timing Advance

[0099] TAU Tracking Area Update

[0100] TAT Timing Alignment Timer

[0101] TS Technical Specification

[0102] Tx Transmission

[0103] TBS Transport Block Size

[0104] TRP Transmission / Reception Point

[0105] UE User Equipment

[0106] UL Uplink

[0107] UL-SCH Uplink Shared Channel

[0108] UP User Plane Summary of the invention

[0109] The present disclosure provides a small data transmission (SDT) method and related devices.

[0110] According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for a user equipment (UE) to perform a small data transmission (SDT) is provided. The method comprises: when the UE is in an RRC_CONNECTED state, receiving a radio resource control (RRC) release message including an SDT configuration from a base station (BS); when the UE receives the RRC release message, switching from the RRC_CONNECTED state to the RRC_INACTIVE state; when the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state, initiating an SDT process based on the SDT configuration; obtaining a default configuration pre-configured for the UE and including a power headroom report (PHR) configuration; and when the UE initiates the SDT process, applying the default configuration.

[0111] According to another aspect of the present invention, a UE for performing small data transmission (SDT) is provided. The UE comprises: at least one processor and at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one memory storing computer executable instructions, and the computer executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, enable the UE to perform the method for performing the SDT disclosed above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0112] When combined with Figure 1 The aspects of the present disclosure can be best understood from the following detailed disclosure when read together. Various features are not drawn to scale. The size of various features may be arbitrarily increased or decreased for clarity of discussion.

[0113] Figure 1 is a flowchart illustrating an SDT process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0114] Figure 2 is a communication diagram illustrating an RA-based SDT process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0115] Figure 3 is a communication diagram illustrating a CG-based SDT process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0116] Figure 4 is a timing diagram illustrating a subsequent transmission period (or subsequent transmission phase) of an SDT procedure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0117] Figure 5 is a hierarchical diagram illustrating an RB mapping structure in layer 2 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0118] Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method / process for SDT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0119] Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating a node for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0120] The following disclosure contains specific information related to exemplary embodiments in the present disclosure. The drawings in the present disclosure and the detailed disclosure attached thereto are directed to exemplary embodiments. However, the present disclosure is not limited to these exemplary embodiments. Other variations and embodiments of the present disclosure will occur to those skilled in the art. Unless otherwise indicated, the same or corresponding elements in the drawings may be represented by the same or corresponding reference numerals. In addition, the drawings and descriptions are generally not to scale and are not intended to correspond to actual relative sizes.

[0121] For the purpose of consistency and ease of understanding, similar features are identified by reference designators in the exemplary drawings (but not shown in some examples). However, features in different embodiments may differ in other aspects and should not be narrowly limited to what is shown in the drawings.

[0122] The phrases "in one embodiment" and "in some embodiments" may each refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments. The term "coupled" is defined as connected, whether directly or indirectly through intermediate components, and is not necessarily limited to physical connections. The term "comprising" may mean "including but not necessarily limited to"; it specifically indicates open inclusion or membership in the disclosed combinations, groups, series, and equivalents.

[0123] The term "and / or" herein is only used to describe the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there may be three possible relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. "A and / or B and / or C" can mean that at least one of A, B, and C exists, A and B exist at the same time, A and C exist at the same time, B and C exist at the same time, and A, B, and C exist at the same time. Further, the character " / " used here generally indicates that the previous associated object and the next associated object are in an "or" relationship.

[0124] UE may be referred to as PHY / MAC / RLC / PDCP / SDAP / RRC / AS / NAS layer / entity. PHY / MAC / RLC / PDCP / SDAP / RRC / AS / NAS layer / entity may be referred to as UE.

[0125] NW can be a network node, TRP, cell (e.g., SpCell, PCell, PSCell and / or SCell), eNB, gNB and / or base station.

[0126] Serving cell: PCell, PSCell or SCell (Secondary Cell). A serving cell may be an activated or deactivated serving cell.

[0127] SpCell: For dual connectivity operation, the term special cell refers to the PCell of the MCG or the PSCell of the SCG, depending on whether the MAC entity is associated to the MCG or SCG, respectively. Otherwise, the term special cell refers to the PCell.

[0128] The terms “initiate,” “trigger,” “apply,” “store,” and “start” may be used interchangeably in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0129] The terms "terminate," "stop," "release," "pause," "abandon," "end," "complete," "suspend," and "cancel" may be used interchangeably in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0130] The terms “period”, “process”, “stage” and “duration” may be used interchangeably in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0131] The terms “resource” and “opportunity” may be used interchangeably in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0132] The terms "in progress", "running", and "pending" may be used interchangeably in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0133] The terms “mechanism,” “scheme,” and “function” may be used interchangeably in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0134] In addition, any two or more of the following disclosures can be logically and reasonably appropriately combined: paragraphs, (sub) item numbers, points, actions, behaviors, terms, alternatives, examples, or claims to form a specific method. Any sentence, paragraph, (sub) item number, point, action, behavior, term, or claim in the disclosure can be implemented independently and separately to form a specific method. Dependence in the disclosure, for example, "based on", "more specifically", "preferably", "in one embodiment", "in one embodiment", "in an alternative" can refer to only one possible example that will not limit a specific method.

[0135] For the purpose of explanation and non-limitation, specific details such as functional entities, technologies, protocols, standards, etc. are set forth to provide an understanding of the described technology. In other examples, detailed disclosure of well-known methods, technologies, systems, and architectures is omitted to avoid making the disclosure unclear with unnecessary details.

[0136] Those skilled in the art will recognize that any disclosed network function or algorithm can be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware. The described functions may correspond to modules, which may be software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. Software implementations may include computer executable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium such as a memory or other type of storage device. For example, one or more microprocessors or general-purpose computers with communication processing capabilities may be programmed using corresponding executable instructions and perform the described network functions or algorithms. These microprocessors or general-purpose computers may be formed by application specific integrated circuits (ASIC: Applications Specific Integrated Circuitry), programmable logic arrays, and / or using one or more digital signal processors (DSP: Digital Signal Processor). Although several disclosed embodiments are for software installed and executed on computer hardware, alternative embodiments as firmware or hardware or a combination of hardware and software are also fully within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0137] Computer-readable media include but are not limited to random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), cassettes, magnetic tapes, disk storage, or any other equivalent medium capable of storing computer-readable instructions.

[0138] The radio communication network architecture (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, LTE-Advanced Pro system, or New Radio (NR) system) generally includes at least one base station (BS), at least one UE, and one or more optional network elements that provide connection to the network. The UE can communicate with the network (e.g., Core Network (CN), Evolved Packet Core (EPC), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), Next-Generation Core (NGC), 5G Core (5GC), or the Internet) through a radio access network (RAN) established by one or more BSs.

[0139] According to the present disclosure, a UE may include, but is not limited to, a mobile station, a mobile terminal or device, or a user communication radio terminal. For example, a UE may be a portable radio device, including, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wearable device, a sensor, or a personal digital assistant (PDA) with wireless communication capabilities. A UE may be configured to receive signals over an air interface and transmit signals to one or more cells in a RAN.

[0140] The BS may include, but is not limited to, a Node B (NB) in a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), an evolved Node B (eNB) in LTE-A, a Radio Network Controller (RNC) in UMTS, a Base Station Controller (BSC) in a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) / Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), a next generation eNB (ng-eNB) in an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) BS connected to a 5GC, a next generation Node B (gNB) in a 5G-RAN (or 5G Access Network (5G-AN)), and any other device capable of controlling radio communications and managing radio resources within a cell. The BS may be connected via a radio interface to serve one or more UEs.

[0141] The BS may be configured to provide communication services according to at least one of the following radio access technologies (RATs): Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), GSM (commonly referred to as 2G), GERAN, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), UMTS based on basic wideband-Code Division Multiple Access (W-CDMA) (commonly referred to as 3G), High-Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), LTE, LTE-A, Evolved LTE (eLTE), New Radio (NR, commonly referred to as 5G) and / or LTE-A Pro. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to these protocols.

[0142] The BS is operable to provide radio coverage to a specific geographic area using multiple cells forming a RAN. The BS can support the operation of the cells. Each cell is operable to provide services to at least one UE within its radio coverage. More specifically, each cell (usually referred to as a serving cell) can provide services to one or more UEs within its radio coverage (e.g., each cell schedules downlink (DL) and optional UL resources to at least one UE within its radio coverage for downlink and optional uplink packet transmission). The BS can communicate with one or more UEs in a radio communication system through multiple cells.

[0143] The cell can allocate sidelink (SL) resources to support proximity service (ProSe: ProximityService), LTE SL service and LTE / NR vehicle to everything (V2X: Vehicle to Everything) service. Each cell may have a coverage area overlapping with other cells. In the case of multi-RAT dual connectivity (MR-DC: Multi-RAT Dual Connectivity), the main cell of the main cell group (MCG: Master Cell Group) or the secondary cell group (SCG: Secondary Cell Group) may be called a special cell (SpCell: Special Cell). The main cell (PCell: Primary Cell) may refer to the SpCell of the MCG. The primary SCG cell (PSCell: Primary SCG Cell) may refer to the SpCell of the SCG. MCG may refer to a service cell group associated with a master node (MN), including SpCell and optionally one or more secondary cells (SCell). SCG may refer to a service cell group associated with a secondary node (SN), including SpCell and optionally one or more Scells.

[0144] As previously described, the frame structure for NR supports flexible configuration to accommodate various next-generation (e.g., 5G) communication requirements, such as eMBB, mMTC, and URLLC, while meeting high reliability, high data rate, and low latency requirements. Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technology as agreed in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) can be used as a baseline for the NR waveform. Scalable OFDM parameter sets, such as adaptive subcarrier spacing, channel bandwidth, and cyclic prefix (CP) can also be used. In addition, two coding schemes are applied in NR: (1) Low Density Parity Check Code (LDPC) code and (2) polar code. Coding scheme adaptation can be configured based on channel conditions and / or service applications.

[0145] In addition, in the transmission time interval of a single NR frame, at least DL transmission data, protection period and UL transmission data should be included. The various parts of DL transmission data, protection period and UL transmission data should also be configurable, for example, dynamically configured based on the NR network. SL resources can also be provided via NR frames to support ProSe services or V2X services.

[0146] Small Data Transfer (SDT)

[0147] NR supports UEs with infrequent (e.g., periodic and / or aperiodic) data transmission in the RRC_INACTIVE state. Until 3GPP Rel-16, a UE in the RRC_INACTIVE state could not perform data transmission. Therefore, the UE must resume the connection (e.g., transition to the RRC_CONTED state) to perform DL data reception and / or UL data transmission. In other words, for each data transmission, no matter how small the data packet is and how rarely it occurs, the connection establishment and subsequent connection release to the RRC_INACTIVE state must occur, which results in unnecessary power consumption and signaling overhead.

[0148] The signaling overhead caused by UEs in RRC_INACTION state performing small data packet transmissions is a common problem and will become a critical issue not only for network performance and efficiency, but also for UE battery performance as the number of UEs in NR increases. In general, any device that has intermittent small data packets in RRC_INACTIVE state will benefit from being able to perform small data transmissions in RRC_INACTION state.

[0149] SDT in NR may include a 2-step or 4-step RACH procedure or a configured grant (CG) type-1 configuration / procedure to implement SDT in the RRC_INACTIVE state for NR. As described above, SDT may be an UL data transmission performed by a UE in the RRC_INACTION state. The packet size (or amount of data) of the UL data may be below a threshold. The UL data for SDT may be transmitted during the SDT procedure. The UL data for SDT may be transmitted via MSG3 (e.g., based on a 4-step RA procedure), via MSGA (e.g., based on a 2-step RA procedure), or via CG resources (e.g., CG type 1). When the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state, the UL data for SDT may be transmitted based on dynamic scheduling and / or semi-persistent scheduling.

[0150] RA-based and CG-based SDT

[0151] SDT can be supported by either an RA-based SDT scheme or a CG-based SDT scheme.

[0152] The "configuration" stored in the UE context can be used for RLC bearer configuration.

[0153] A 2-step RACH procedure or a 4-step RACH procedure may be applied to RA-based SDT in the RRC_INACTIVE state.

[0154] Uplink small data may be sent in MSGA of a 2-step RACH procedure and / or MSG3 of a 4-step RACH procedure.

[0155] SDT may be configured by the network on a per-DRB basis.

[0156] The data amount threshold may be used by the UE to determine whether to perform an SDT process or a non-SDT process.

[0157] UL / DL transmission after UL SDT may be supported without the UE transitioning to / entering the RRC_CONNECTED state (eg, from the RRC_INACTIVE state).

[0158] When the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state, the UE may transmit multiple UL and DL packets as part of the same SDT procedure via a dedicated grant without transitioning to / entering the RRC_CONNECTED state (eg, the UE remains in the RRC_INACTIVE state).

[0159] When a UE receives an RRC release message (e.g., RRCRelease information element (IE)) with a suspension configuration, the UE may perform the following actions:

[0160] -The MAC entity of the UE can be reset and the default MAC cell group configuration can be released;

[0161] - the RLC entity (of the UE) for SRB1 may be reestablished; and

[0162] -SRBs and DRBs can be suspended, except SRB0.

[0163] When the UE initiates the SDT procedure (eg, for the first transmission of small data), the UE may at least re-establish the PDCP entity (for SDT) and restore the DRB (for SDT) (eg, together with SRB1).

[0164] The first UL message (e.g., MSG3 for a 4-step RACH procedure, MSGA for a 2-step RACH procedure and CG transmission) may contain at least the following, depending on the size of the message:

[0165] -CCCH Information

[0166] The LCP can be used to prioritize the following:

[0167] -DRB data from one or more DRBs configured by the network for SDT;

[0168] -MAC CE (e.g., BSR); and

[0169] -Padding bits.

[0170] The CCCH message may contain a ResumeMAC-I generated using stored security keys for RRC integrity protection.

[0171] A new key may be generated using the stored security context and the NCC value received in the previous RRCRelease message. The new key may be used to generate data for the DRB configured for the SDT.

[0172] For CG-based SDT, the CG configuration of the SDT process can be included in the RRCRelease message.

[0173] For CG-based SDT, a new TA timer for TA maintenance specified for CG-based SDT process in RRC_INACTIVE state may be disclosed. The TA timer may be configured along with the CG configuration in the RRCRelease message.

[0174] For CG-based SDT, the CG configuration of the SDT process may be valid only in the same service cell.

[0175] For CG-based SDT, the UE may perform the CG-based SDT procedure if at least the following criteria are met: (1) The user data is less than the data volume threshold; (2) The CG resources are configured and valid; (3) The UE has a valid TA.

[0176] For CG-based SDT, the CG-based SDT may require an association between CG resources and SSBs.

[0177] For CG-based SDT, an SS-RSRP threshold may be configured for SSBs. The UE selects one of the SSBs with an SS-RSRP higher than the threshold and selects the associated CG resources for UL data transmission.

[0178] For CG-based SDT, the CG-SDT resource configuration may be provided to the UE in the RRC_CONNCECTD state via an RRCRelease message.

[0179] For CG-based SDT, the CG-PUSCH resources may be configured separately for NUL and SUL.

[0180] For CG-based SDT, when the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state, an RRCRelease message may be used to reconfigure or release the CG-SDT resources.

[0181] For CG-based SDT, subsequent data transmissions may use CG resources or DGs (e.g., dynamic grants addressed to the UE's C-RNTI). The C-RNTI may be the same as the previous C-RNTI or may be explicitly configured by the network.

[0182] For CG-based SDT, the Time Alignment Timer (TAT) may be started when the UE receives the TA configuration from the gNB via an RRCRelease message, and the timer may be (re)started when the UE receives a command.

[0183] For CG-based SDT, the UE may release the CG resources when the TAT expires in the RRC_INACTIVE state.

[0184] For RA-based SDT, the network may configure up to two preamble groups (corresponding to two different payload sizes for MSGA / MSG3).

[0185] If a RACH procedure is initiated for SDT (e.g., an RA-based SDT procedure), the UE first performs the RACH type selection specified in the MAC (e.g., as specified in 3GPP Rel-16).

[0186] For RA-based SDT, after successful completion of contention resolution, the UE may monitor the C-RNTI.

[0187] For RA-based SDT, RACH resources (eg, RO, preamble, and a combination thereof) may be different between an SDT procedure and a non-SDT procedure (eg, an RRC connection recovery procedure).

[0188] - If the RO for SDT and non-SDT is different, there is no need to divide the preamble between SDT and non-SDT.

[0189] - If the RO used for SDT process and non-SDT process is the same, preamble code division is required.

[0190] For RA-based SDT, up to two preamble groups (corresponding to two different payload sizes of MSGA / MSG3) may be configured by the network.

[0191] For RA-based SDT, an RRCRelease message may be transmitted at the end to terminate the SDT process (from the perspective of RRC). The RRCRelease message transmitted at the end of the SDT may contain CG resources.

[0192] The RSRP threshold may be used for selection between an SDT procedure and a non-SDT procedure (eg, an RRC connection recovery procedure).

[0193] For SDT, the UE performs UL carrier selection (eg, UL and SUL selection).

[0194] If CG-SDT resources are configured on the selected UL carrier and the CG-SDT resources are valid, the UE selects CG-based SDT to perform the CG-based SDT process. Otherwise,

[0195] - If 2-step RA resources (for SDT) are configured on the UL carrier and the criteria for selecting 2-step RA (for SDT) are met, the UE selects 2-step RA (for SDT);

[0196] - If 4-step RA resources (for SDT) are configured on the UL carrier and the criteria for selecting 4-step RA (for SDT) are met, the UE selects 4-step RA (for SDT);

[0197] - The UE does not perform the SDT procedure (eg, the UE performs the RRC connection recovery procedure); and

[0198] - If 2-step RA resources (for SDT) and 4-step RA resources (for SDT) are configured on the UL carrier, RA type selection (eg, 2-step and 4-step RA type selection) is performed based on the RSRP threshold.

[0199] SRB1 and SRB2 may be configured for SDT (eg, for carrying RRC messages and / or NAS messages).

[0200] When the UE initiates an SDT procedure and / or an RRC recovery procedure for SDT initiation (e.g., for the first SDT transmission), the UE may also recover SRBs (e.g., SRB1, SRB2, and / or SRB3) configured for SDT (e.g., in addition to the SDT DRBs configured for SDT).

[0201] After successful completion of the RACH procedure during RA-based SDT, a specific search space may be supported for monitoring the PDCCH addressed to the C-RNTI.

[0202] If configured (RSRP refers to the same RSRP measured for carrier selection), the RSRP threshold may be used for selection between the SDT procedure and the non-SDT procedure.

[0203] The RSRP threshold for selecting between the SDT process and the non-SDT process can be used for CG-based SDT and RA-based SDT. For CG-based SDT and RA-based SDT, the RSRP threshold for selecting between the SDT process and the non-SDT process can be the same. The RSRP threshold for carrier selection can be specific to SDT (e.g., configured separately for SDT).

[0204] The RSRP threshold used for RA type selection may be specific to SDT (eg, configured separately for SDT).

[0205] The data volume threshold may be the same for CG-based SDT and RA-based SDT.

[0206] Switching / falling back from the SDT process to the non-SDT process (eg, RRC connection recovery process) may be supported.

[0207] Switching / fallback from CG-based SDT to RA-based SDT can be supported.

[0208] The UE may switch from the SDT procedure to a non-SDT procedure (e.g., an RRC connection recovery procedure) in the following cases:

[0209] - Case 1: The UE receives an indication from the network to switch to a non-SDT process. For example, the network transmits an RRC Resume message to the UE, and / or transmits an indication to the UE in a RAR / fallback RAR / DCI to switch the UE to a non-SDT process.

[0210] - Case 2: The number of initial UL transmissions (in MSGA / MSG3 / CG resources) failures reaches the configured number.

[0211] When the UE initiates the SDT procedure, the UE may perform PDCP re-establishment implicitly (eg, without explicit indication of PDCP re-establishment).

[0212] PHR functionality / configuration may be supported for the SDT procedure.

[0213] For the SDT procedure, scheduling request (SR) resources (eg, PUCCH resources for SR) may not be configured. When a BSR is triggered by the SDT procedure, the UE may trigger a RA procedure because SR resources are not available.

[0214] When the UE initiates the SDT process, an SDT failure detection timer (eg, T319a) may be started.

[0215] When the SDT failure detection timer (eg, T319a) expires, the UE may transition to or enter an idle state and / or perform an RRC connection establishment.

[0216] CG resources for SDT may be configured on both NUL and SUL.

[0217] The UE may start a timer / window after an UL transmission (e.g., for CG-based SDT).

[0218] CG resources for SDT may be configured on a BWP other than the initial BWP.

[0219] The CG resources of each CG configuration are associated with a set of SSBs configured through explicit signaling.

[0220] Figure 1 is a flow chart illustrating an SDT process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. It should be noted that although the actions in the figures of the present disclosure are illustrated as separate actions represented by separate boxes, these separately depicted actions should not be interpreted as necessarily relying on order. The order of the actions performed by the UE is not intended to be interpreted as limiting, and any number of the disclosed boxes can be combined in any order to implement the method or alternative method. Moreover, in some embodiments, one or more actions can be omitted.

[0221] UE 100 may be in RRC_INACTIVE state and may be configured with SDT configuration. SDT configuration may be configured via RRC release message (containing suspension configuration). SDT configuration may include at least one of RACH configuration, CG configuration, SRB / DRB configuration for SDT.

[0222] In action 102, UL data may arrive from upper layers for transmission. The UL data may be associated with a specific DRB / SRB / LCH. A specific DRB / SRB / LCH may be configured for SDT.

[0223] In action 104, for UL data transmission, the UE may determine whether to initiate / trigger an SDT process (e.g., action 106) or initiate / trigger an RRC connection recovery process (e.g., initiating transmission of RRCResumeRequest) (e.g., action 116). Specifically, the UE may determine whether to initiate / trigger an SDT process (e.g., action 106) or an RRC connection recovery process (e.g., action 116) based on one or more criteria (e.g., DRB / SRB, data volume, and / or RSRP).

[0224] In some embodiments, the UE may initiate an SDT procedure when / after at least one LCH / DRB / SRB is configured for an SDT with pending data. For example, pending data may be transmitted only for those LCH / DRB / SRBs for which SDT is enabled. When the UE initiates the SDT procedure, the LCH / DRB / SRB configured for the SDT may be restored / reestablished. Optionally, the UE may initiate an RRC connection recovery procedure when / after at least one LCH / DRB / SRB is not configured for an SDT with pending data.

[0225] In some embodiments, if the amount of data used for (e.g., SDT) transmission is lower than the threshold configured for SDT, the UE may initiate an SDT procedure. The amount of data may only count the (total) amount of LCH / DRB / SRB configured for SDT. Alternatively, if the amount of data used for (e.g., SDT) transmission is higher than the threshold configured for SDT, the UE may initiate an RRC connection recovery procedure.

[0226] In some embodiments, if the RSRP is greater than the RSRP threshold configured for SDT, the UE may initiate an SDT procedure. Alternatively, if the RSRP is lower than the RSRP threshold configured for SDT, the UE may initiate an RRC connection recovery procedure.

[0227] In action 106, two types of SDT procedures are disclosed. One procedure is based on a RA procedure (e.g., a 2-step RA procedure or a 4-step RA procedure), hereinafter referred to as RA-based SDT (e.g., action 112). The other procedure is based on a CG (e.g., type 1 CG), hereinafter referred to as CG-based SDT (e.g., action 114). The UE may transmit UL data (e.g., small data) via MSG3, MSGA, CG resources, and / or PUSCH resources during the SDT procedure.

[0228] In action 108, the UE may perform UL carrier selection (eg, if SUL is configured in the cell, the UE may select a UL carrier based on an RSRP threshold). After UL carrier selection, the UE may perform an SDT procedure on the selected UL carrier (eg, UL or SUL).

[0229] In action 110, the UE may determine whether the CG resources / configuration is valid (during the SDT procedure) based on one or more of the following criteria:

[0230] In some embodiments, the UE may determine whether the CG resource / configuration is valid based on whether the associated beam is valid. Specifically, the UE may determine whether the associated beam is valid based on the RSRP threshold. The RSRP threshold may be configured in the RRCRelease message or the CG configuration.

[0231] In some examples, if the RSRP of one beam is greater than the RSRP threshold, the UE can determine that the CG resource / configuration is valid. If the RSRP of the beam is not greater than the RSRP threshold, the UE can determine that the CG resource / configuration is invalid.

[0232] In some embodiments, the UE may determine whether the CG resource / configuration is valid based on whether the TA is valid. When the TA is valid, the UE may determine that the CG resource / configuration is valid. If the TA is not valid, the UE may determine that the CG resource / configuration is not valid.

[0233] In some embodiments, the UE may determine whether the TA is valid based on the TA timer. For example, when the TA timer is running, the UE may determine that the TA is valid. When the TA timer is not running, the UE may determine that the TA is invalid. The TA timer (parameters) may be configured in the RRCRelease message or the CG configuration.

[0234] In some examples, the UE may determine whether the TA is valid based on the RSRP change amount. For example, when the RSRP change amount is higher than a threshold, the UE may determine that the TA is not valid. The threshold (of RSRP change) may be configured in the RRCRelease message or the CG configuration.

[0235] In some embodiments, the UE may determine whether the CG resources / configuration is valid based on whether the CG configuration is valid.

[0236] In some examples, when the CG resource configuration is (re)initialized, the UE can determine that the CG resource configuration is valid.

[0237] In some examples, when the CG resource configuration is released / suspended, the UE may determine that the CG resource configuration is invalid.

[0238] In some examples, the CG resource configuration can be configured in the RRCRelease message.

[0239] In some embodiments, the UE may determine whether CG resources / configuration is valid based on whether data can be transmitted only for those DRBs / SRBs / LCHs for which SDT is enabled.

[0240] In some examples, the UE may be configured with one or more DRB / SRB / LCHs dedicated to SDT.

[0241] In some embodiments, the UE may determine whether the CG resource / configuration is valid based on RSRP being greater than an RSRP threshold configured for SDT. The RSRP threshold may be configured in the RRCRelease message and / or the CG configuration.

[0242] In some embodiments, the UE may determine whether the CG resources / configuration is valid based on whether the amount of data used for transmission is below a threshold configured for the SDT. The configured threshold may be configured in the RRCRelease message and / or the CG configuration.

[0243] In some embodiments, the UE may determine whether the CG resources / configuration is valid based on (explicit) indications received from the NW.

[0244] In some examples, the indication may indicate whether the CG (associated with the beam) is valid or invalid. The indication may indicate whether the beam associated with the CG is valid.

[0245] In some embodiments, the UE may determine whether the CG resources / configuration is valid based on whether a timer (e.g., T319 or an SDT failure detection timer (e.g., T319a) is running. The timer may be configured in the RRCRelease message and / or the CG configuration.

[0246] In some examples, when the timer is running, the UE can determine that the CG resources / configuration is valid. When the timer is not running or the timer expires, the UE can determine that the CG resources / configuration is not valid. The timer can be used to detect failures of SDT. When the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state, the timer can be (re)started when transmitting UL data. The timer can be (re)started when transmitting small data. The timer can be (re)started when transmitting an RRC recovery request. The timer can be stopped when receiving RRCResume, RRCSetup, RRCRelease, RRCRelease with suspendConfig or RRCReject message, cell reselection, and when the upper layer terminates the connection establishment. When the timer expires, the UE can transition to or enter the RRC_IDLE state (for example, for specific RRC recovery reasons).

[0247] In action 112, if the UE determines that the CG resources / configuration is not valid (e.g., one of the criteria for CG validity is not met), the UE may perform RA-based SDT. For example, the UE may initiate a RA procedure. Based on the UE's selection (e.g., based on an RSRP threshold), the RA procedure may be a 2-step RA procedure or a 4-step RA procedure. The UE may perform transmission of a RA preamble (e.g., via a preamble / RA resources / PRACH resources configured for SDT). The UE may perform UL transmission (e.g., for SDT) via MSG3 / MSGA.

[0248] In action 114, if the UE determines that the CG is valid (e.g., all criteria for CG validity are met), the UE may perform a CG-based SDT. For example, the UE may perform an UL transmission (for SDT) via CG resources.

[0249] In action 116, if the criteria for initiating the SDT procedure (eg, DRB / SRB, data volume and / or RSRP) are not met, the UE may initiate an RRC connection recovery procedure. (eg, the UE may initiate transmission of an RRCResumeRequest).

[0250] In action 118, the SDT process may be terminated / stopped / completed by an indication from the NW (e.g., via an RRCRelease message), by a timer (e.g., an SDT failure detection timer (e.g., T319a) and / or T319), and / or due to a specific event.

[0251] In action 120, the UE performing the SDT process may fall back / switch to the RRC connection recovery process. For example, when the UE receives an indication (e.g., an RRC recovery / RRC release message) from the NW, the UE may stop / terminate / complete the SDT process, and then may initiate the RRC connection recovery process. For another example, if the initial UL transmission (e.g., in MSGA / MSG3 / CG resources) fails for a configured number of times, the UE may stop / terminate / complete the SDT process, and then may initiate the RRC connection recovery process.

[0252] RA-based SDT

[0253] Figure 2 is a communication diagram illustrating an RA-based SDT process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0254] Step 1: When the UE 22 in the RRC_INACTIVE state has UL data available for transmission and has initiated an SDT process, the UE 22 may (for example, when the UE 22 determines that the CG is invalid) initiate an RA-based SDT process for transmitting UL data. The UE 22 may select a 4-step RA type process or a 2-step RA type process. Moreover, the RA preamble / PRACH resource used for the RA-based SDT process (for example, an RA preamble / PRACH resource with a small data indication) and the RA preamble / PRACH resource used for the conventional RA process (for example, an RA preamble without a small data indication) may be different. In this case, the UE 22 may select the RA preamble / PRACH resource used for the RA-based SDT process and may transmit the selected RA preamble / PRACH resource to the NW 24.

[0255] Step 2: After UE 22 transmits RA preamble / PRACH resources to NW 24, UE 22 may transmit RRC message, MAC CE and / or UL data via MSG3 (when 4-step RA type procedure is selected) or MSGA (when 2-step RA type procedure is selected). The RRC message may be an RRCResumeRequest message. In addition to the RRC message, MAC CE (e.g., BSR) and UL data (e.g., data associated with DRB for SDT) may also be included in MSG3 / MSGA.

[0256] Step 3: When NW 24 transmits MSG4 / MSGB to UE 22, UE 22 may monitor MSG4 / MSGB that may carry a contention resolution ID for (temporary C-RNTI) / C-RNTI / RA-RNTI / MSGB-RNTI. In addition, NW 24 may transmit an RRC message to UE 22 via MSG4 / MSGB. The RRC message may be an RRCRelease message (with suspendConfig IE) or an RRCResume message. If UE 22 receives the RRCRelease message (with suspendConfig IE), UE 22 may remain in the RRC_INACTIVE state, or if UE 22 receives the RRCResume message, it may transition to or enter the RRC_CONNECTED state.

[0257] Step 4: When the RA procedure for SDT is successfully completed (e.g., UE 22 receives MSG4 / MSGB from NW 24), UE 22 may monitor a specific RNTI (e.g., C-RNTI) on a specific search space for subsequent data transmission. Subsequent data transmission may be the transmission of multiple UL and / or DL ​​data packets as part of the SDT procedure without transitioning to or entering the RRC_CONNECTED state (e.g., UE 22 is still in the RRC_INACTIVE state). UE 22 may monitor the PDCCH with a specific RNTI (e.g., C-RNTI) to receive dynamic scheduling for UL and / or DL ​​new transmissions and / or corresponding retransmissions. UE 22 may monitor the PDCCH with a UE-related RNTI (e.g., C-RNTI) to receive dynamic scheduling for retransmitting UL transmissions via CG resources.

[0258] Step 5: NW 24 may send a RRCRelease message (with suspendConfig IE) to keep UE 22 in the RRC_INACTIVE state or transition UE 22 to the RRC_IDLE state. Alternatively, NW 24 may send a RRCResume message to transition UE 22 to the RRC_CONNECTED state. When UE 22 receives the RRCRelease message (with suspendConfig IE) from NW 24, UE 22 may terminate the SDT process based on the RRCRelease message, stop monitoring C-RNTI, and stay in the RRC_INACTIVE state.

[0259] CG-based SDT

[0260] Figure 3is a communication diagram illustrating a CG-based SDT process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0261] Step 1: When UE 32 is in RRC_CONNECTED state or RRC_INACTIVE state, UE 32 may transmit a CG configuration request to NW 34 to indicate its preference for CG configuration for SDT.

[0262] Step 2: NW 34 may decide to transition UE 32 to the RRC_INACTIVE state by transmitting an RRCRelease message (e.g., including a suspendConfigIE) to UE 32. The RRCRelease message may include at least a CG configuration to configure CG resources for UE 32. The CG configuration may include, but is not limited to, the following information: CG cycle, TBS, the number of implicit releases of CG resources, CG timer, retransmission timer, the number of HARQ processes reserved for CG in SDT, RSRP threshold selected by SSB and the association between SSB and CG resources, TA-related parameters (e.g., TA timer), and the like.

[0263] Step 3: UE 32 may perform an SDT procedure based on CG resources (in RRC_INACTIVE state) according to the CG configuration (eg, configured in step 2). For example, UE 32 may transmit UL data (eg, small data) via CG resources (during the SDT procedure).

[0264] Step 4: Subsequent data transmission may be the transmission of multiple UL or DL ​​packets as part of the SDT process without the UE 32 transitioning to or entering the RRC_CONNECTED state (e.g., the UE 32 is still in the RRC_INACTIVE state). The UE 32 may monitor a PDCCH with a specific RNTI (e.g., C-RNTI, CS-RNTI, and / or specific RNTI) on a search space (e.g., configured by a CG configuration) to receive dynamic scheduling of new transmissions and / or corresponding retransmissions for the UL or DL. The UE 32 may monitor a PDCCH with a UE-related RNTI (e.g., C-RNTI) to receive dynamic scheduling of CG retransmissions. The UE may perform subsequent data transmission via CG resources according to the CG configuration (e.g., configured in step 2).

[0265] Step 5: NW 34 may transmit a first message (with suspendConfig IE) to keep UE 32 in the RRC_INACTIVE state or transition UE 32 to the RRC_IDLE state. Alternatively, NW 34 may transmit a RRCResume message to transition UE 32 to the RRC_CONNECTED state. When UE 32 receives the RRCRelease message (with suspendConfig IE) from NW 34, UE 32 may terminate the SDT process based on the RRCRelease message, stop monitoring C-RNTI, and stay in the RRC_INACTIVE state.

[0266] Subsequent transmission period

[0267] Figure 4 1 is a timing diagram illustrating a subsequent transmission period (or subsequent transmission phase) of an SDT process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The duration of the subsequent transmission period is disclosed as follows:

[0268] In some embodiments, the subsequent transmission period may be determined as a time period during the SDT process (RA-based or CG-based). In some examples, the subsequent transmission period may be a time period during which the SDT process is ongoing. In some examples, the subsequent transmission period may be a time period when / after the CG configuration is configured / initiated and the CG configuration is not released.

[0269] In some implementations, the UE may determine that a subsequent transmission period starts when / after the UE initiates the SDT procedure.

[0270] In some embodiments, the UE may determine that a subsequent transmission period starts when / after the UE determines that contention resolution of the RA procedure is successful and / or after the UE determines that the RA procedure is successfully completed. The RA procedure may be based on or initiated for SDT of the RA.

[0271] In some embodiments, when / after the UE is configured with a CG configuration or (re)initiation of a CG configuration, the UE may determine that a subsequent transmission period begins. In some examples, the CG configuration may include parameters for indicating SDT scheduling.

[0272] In some embodiments, the UE may determine that a subsequent transmission period begins when / after the CG configuration is valid.

[0273] In some implementations, the UE may determine that a subsequent transmission period begins when / after the UE transmits a UL message.

[0274] In some examples, UL messages may be transmitted (during the SDT process) via MSG1 / MSG3 / MSGA / CG resources / UL resources scheduled by MSG2 / MSGB / MSG4 or on UL resources (pre-)configured as part of the SDT configuration.

[0275] In some examples, the UL message may include an RRC recovery request message (e.g., RRCResumeRequest, RRCResumeRequest1, and CCCH messages for SDT).

[0276] In some examples, the UL message may include small data (e.g., UL data associated with a specific SRB / DRB / LCH of the SDT).

[0277] In some examples, the UL message may include a MAC CE (eg, a BSR MAC CE).

[0278] In some implementations, the UE may determine that a subsequent transmission period begins when / after the UE receives a response from the NW.

[0279] In some examples, the response can be MSG2 / MSG4 / MSGB and / or a response to a UL transmission via CG resources.

[0280] In some examples, the response may be used for contention resolution of the RA process.

[0281] In some examples, the response may include a (HARQ / RRC) ACK / NACK message and / or a DFI (e.g., for UL transmissions via CG resources).

[0282] In some examples, the response may include an UL grant / DL allocation for a new transmission / retransmission.The response may be a PDCCH addressed to an RNTI (e.g., C-RNTI, CS-RNTI, dedicated RNTI, RNTI for SDT, and RNTI for CG).

[0283] In some examples, the response may indicate a UL grant for a new transmission of a HARQ process for an UL transmission (eg, a UL message) transmitting small data.

[0284] In some examples, the response may include a specific command (eg, a TA Command MAC CE).

[0285] In some examples, the response may include RRCResume, RRCSetup, RRCRelease, RRCRelease with SuspendConfig, RRCReestablishment, RRCReconfiguration and / or RRCReject, etc.

[0286] In some embodiments, the UE may determine that a subsequent transmission period starts when / after the UE receives an indication from the NW.

[0287] In some examples, the indication (having a specific value (e.g., TRUE or FALSE)) can be included in broadcast system information (e.g., SIB) to indicate that CG transmission in the RRC_INACTIVE state is supported in the cell.

[0288] In some embodiments, when / after the SDT process is terminated, the UE may determine that a subsequent transmission period (and / or SDT process) is terminated / stopped.

[0289] In some embodiments, when / after the CG configuration is released / suspended / cleared, the UE may determine that a subsequent transmission period (and / or SDT process) is terminated / stopped.

[0290] In some embodiments, when / after the CG configuration is invalid, the UE may determine that a subsequent transmission period (and / or SDT process) is terminated / stopped.

[0291] In some embodiments, when / after the UE receives the indication from the NW, the UE may determine that the subsequent transmission period (and / or SDT process) is terminated / stopped.

[0292] In some examples, the indication may include RRCResume, RRCSetup, RRCRelease, RRCRelease with SuspendConfig, RRCReestablishment and / or RRCReject, etc. The indication may be a PDCCH addressed to an RNTI (e.g., C-RNTI, CS-RNTI, dedicated RNTI, RNTI for SDT, and RNTI for CG). The indication may indicate to the UE (e.g., based on a field of the indication) to terminate the SDT process and / or a subsequent transmission period. The indication may indicate to the UE to initiate an RRC process (e.g., an RRC connection recovery process, an RRC establishment process, and / or an RC reconstruction process). The indication may indicate to the UE to switch / fall back to a type of SDT process (e.g., RA-based SDT, CG-based SDT, 2-step RA, or 4-step RA). An indication with a specific value (e.g., TRUE or FALSE) may be included in system information (e.g., SIB) to indicate that CG transmission in the RRC_INACTIVE state is no longer supported in the cell. For example, when the UE receives an indication with a specific value (e.g., TRUE or FALSE), the UE may release / suspend the CG configuration.

[0293] In some embodiments, when / after the timer / window expires, the UE may determine that the subsequent transmission period (and / or SDT process) is terminated / stopped.

[0294] Specifically, the timer / window may be an SDT failure / problem detection timer.

[0295] Specifically, the timer / window may be configured specifically for SDT. The value of the timer / window may be configured through an RRCRelease message. The value of the timer / window may be configured through an RRCRelease message with a nearby pause configuration. The value of the timer / window may be configured through the configuration of SDT. The value of the timer / window may be configured through the RACH configuration of SDT. The value of the timer / window may be configured through the CG configuration of SDT. The value of the timer / window may be configured through the UE-TimersAndConstants IE. The value of the timer / window may be configured through system information (e.g., SIB).

[0296] Specifically, the timer / window can be a TA timer, ra-ResponseWindow, msgB-ResponseWindow, ra-ContentionResolutionTimer, configuredGrantTimer, cg-RetranssionTimer, drx-onDurationTimer, drx-InactivityTimer, DRX-RetranssiontimerDL, DRX-RetranssiontimerUL, T300, T301, T302, T304, T310, T311, T312, T316, T319, T320, T321, T322, T325, T330, T331, T342, T345 and / or a new timer (e.g., T319a).

[0297] Specifically, the timer / window may be used to monitor a response (eg, monitor ACK / NACK). The timer / window may be a response window.

[0298] Specifically, the timer / window may be used to receive a PDCCH / scheduling (eg, for a new transmission or a retransmission) from the NW.

[0299] In some embodiments, when / after the UE transitions to or enters the RRC_IDLE state or the RRC_CONNECTED state (eg, from the RRC_INACTIVE state), the UE may determine that the subsequent transmission period is terminated / stopped.

[0300] In some embodiments, upon / after UE cell selection / reselection, the UE may determine that a subsequent transmission period is terminated / stopped / released.

[0301] In some implementations, when upper layers of the UE abort the connection establishment, the UE may determine that a subsequent transmission period is terminated / stopped.

[0302] In some implementations, when the UE performs a RAN Notification Area (RNA) update, the UE may determine that a subsequent transmission period is terminated / stopped.

[0303] In some embodiments, when / after the UE establishes / resumes an RRC connection on a cell different from the cell providing the CG configuration, the UE may determine that a subsequent transmission period is terminated / stopped.

[0304] In some embodiments, when / after the UE initiates the RRC reestablishment process, the UE may determine that the subsequent transmission period is terminated / stopped. For example, after the UE transmits an RRCReestablishmentRequest request to the network, the subsequent transmission period may be terminated / stopped.

[0305] In some embodiments, when / after the network instructs the UE to perform a carrier switch (eg, from NUL to SUL or vice versa), the UE may determine that a subsequent transmission period is terminated / stopped.

[0306] In some embodiments, when / after the network instructs the UE to perform (UL / DL) BWP switching, the UE may determine that a subsequent transmission period is terminated / stopped.

[0307] In subsequent transmission periods, the UE may monitor the PDCCH to receive possible (DL or UL) scheduling from the NW. The UE may monitor the PDCCH (during the SDT process and / or during subsequent transmission periods) based on the search space, CORESET and / or RNTI. For example, the UE may monitor the PDCCH addressed to the C-RNTI after successfully completing the RA process for SDT.

[0308] As mentioned before, the search space (SS) can be one or more of the following options:

[0309] Option 1: Public Search Space

[0310] - Common search space configured in PDCCH-ConfigCommon;

[0311] - Type-1 PDCCH CSS set configured via ra-SearchSpace;

[0312] - Type-3 PDCCH CSS set;

[0313] -Search space zero;

[0314] - A new common search space set configured via system information (e.g., SIB) or RRCRelease message; and

[0315] - The search space configured with the search space parameters in the initial BWP.

[0316] Option 2: UE-dependent search space set

[0317] -UE-related search space set configured via RRCRelease message;

[0318] -UE-related search space set configured by MSG4 / MSGB;

[0319] -UE-related search space set configured by PDCCH-Config;

[0320] - A UE-dependent search space set configured by the configuration for SDT;

[0321] -ID is not in the search space of 0-39; and

[0322] - A set of search spaces identified as a specific set for SDT.

[0323] As mentioned previously, CORESET can be one or more of the following options:

[0324] Option 1: Public CORESET

[0325] -CORESET 0; and

[0326] - A CORESET other than CORESET 0.

[0327] Option 2: UE-related CORESET configuration

[0328] -UE-related CORESET configured via RRCRelease message;

[0329] -UE-related CORESET configured via MSG4 / MSGB;

[0330] - the UE-associated CORESET configured by the configuration for SDT; and

[0331] - A CORESET whose ID is not 0-14.

[0332] As mentioned above, the RNTI can be C-RNTI, CS-RNTI, RNTI for SDT, RNTI for CG, or a new RNTI other than SI-RNTI, RA-RNTI, MsgB-RNTI, TC-RNTI, P-RNTI, INT-RNTI, SFI-RNTI, TPC-PUSCH-RNTI, TPC-PUCCH-RNTI, TPC-SRS-RNTI, CI-RNTI, C-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI, CS-RNTI, PS-RNTI, SL-RNTI, SL-CS-RNTI, or SL semi-persistent scheduling V-RNTI.

[0333] Power Headroom Report (PHR)

[0334] The PHR mechanism can provide support for power-aware packet scheduling. In NR, three types of reports can be supported: the first for PUSCH transmission, the second for PUSCH and PUCCH transmission in the LTE cell group in E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity (EN-DC), and the third for SRS transmission only on SCells configured with SRS. The PHR can be one or more of the following PHR types.

[0335] Type 1 power headroom: The difference between the nominal UE maximum transmit power and the estimated power used by each activated serving cell for uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) transmissions.

[0336] Type 2 power headroom: The difference between the nominal UE maximum transmit power and the estimated power for UL-SCH and PUCCH transmissions on the SpCell used for another MAC entity (e.g., E-UTRA MAC entity in EN-DC, NR-E-UTRA dual connectivity (NE-DC) and NG-RAN-E-UTRA dual connectivity (NGEN-DC) cases).

[0337] Type 3 power headroom: The difference between the nominal UE maximum transmit power and the estimated power used for SRS transmission in each activated serving cell.

[0338] In the CA scenario, the reference power can be used to provide virtual reporting when no transmission occurs on the activated SCell. To enable the network to detect UL power reduction, the PHR may contain Power Management Maximum Power Reduction (P-MPR) information, which is used by the UE to ensure that the UE complies with the Frequency Range 2 (FR2) Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) exposure regulations set to limit RF exposure.

[0339] The UE may transmit the PHR via MAC signaling (e.g., MAC CE). Two types of PHR MAC CEs (e.g., Single Entry PHR MAC CE and Multiple Entry PHR MAC CE) may be used. Details of the PHR MAC CE (e.g., information that should be included in the PHR MAC CE and / or the format / field of the PHR MAC CE) are specified in 3GPP TS 38.321 V16.4.0.

[0340] If the UE / MAC entity of the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission, then as a result of the LCP, the UE / MAC entity may determine whether the allocated UL resources can accommodate the PHR MAC CE and its subheader (which the UE / MAC entity is configured to transmit). If the allocated UL resources can accommodate the PHR MAC CE and the subheader, the UE / MAC entity of the UE may perform one or more of the following actions, but are not limited to:

[0341] - Obtain the value of Type 1 power headroom from the physical layer of the corresponding uplink carrier of the PCell;

[0342] - Get the corresponding PCMAX, f, c field values ​​from the physical layer;

[0343] - obtain the value of the corresponding MPE field from the physical layer; and

[0344] - Instructs the multiplexing and assembly process to generate and transmit the (Single Entry) PHRMAC CE based on the values ​​reported by the physical layer.

[0345] This PHR mechanism can be applied to SDT. That is, the UE can be configured with a specific PHR configuration and / or a default MAC cell group configuration containing a PHR configuration for SDT (e.g., when the UE is in the RR_INACTIVE state and / or when the UE is initiating / after the SDT process). Then, during the SDT process, the UE can apply the PHR configuration (e.g., PHR-config), the UE can trigger PHR, if the allocated UL resources can accommodate the PHR MAC CE, the UE can generate a PHR MAC CE, and / or transmit a PHR MAC CE to the NW (e.g., when the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state).

[0346] However, during the SDT process (when the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state), the allocated UL resources (e.g., PUSCH resources) scheduled by the NW to the UE via the DG or CG are used to transmit small data (e.g., using the UL resources to transmit UL data and / or CCCH data associated with a specific RB / LCH configured for SDT (e.g., RRC recovery request and / or a specific RRC message for SDT initialization)). According to the LCP process specified in 3GPP TS 38.321V16.4.0, the PHR MAC CE (e.g., Single Entry PHR MAC CE or Multiple Entry PHR MAC CE) has a higher priority than data from any logical channel, except data from the UL-CCCH. Therefore, if there are available UL resources for a new transmission and / or when the UE performs a new transmission, the UE can first determine whether the allocated UL resources can accommodate the PHR MAC CE. If the allocated UL resources can accommodate the PHR MAC CE, the UE may generate a PHR MAC CE and transmit the PHR MAC CE via the UL resources. Moreover, if any UL resources are left, the UE may further allocate UL resources for UL data associated with a specific RB / LCH available for transmission based on the configured priority of the LCH. In this case, the UL resources scheduled / configured during the SDT process may be occupied by the PHR MAC CE, which may affect the efficiency of the SDT process (e.g., the SDT may be delayed for transmission).

[0347] In order to improve the efficiency of SDT over PHR mechanism, some methods are described in the present disclosure. For example, it is disclosed when the UE should apply PHR configuration (and / or default MAC cell group configuration), when the UE should trigger PHR, when the UE should generate / transmit PHR, how to prohibit PHR triggering / transmission, when the UE should (re)start or stop PHR related timers, when the UE should release PHR configuration, and how to prioritize UL data associated with a specific RB / LCH over PHR MAC CE.

[0348] PHR Configuration

[0349] In some embodiments, the PHR configuration (e.g., PHR-config) may include one or more parameters (e.g., phr-PeriodicTimer, phr-ProhibitTimer, phr-Tx-PowerFactorChange, multiplePHR, dummy, phr-Type2OtherCell, phr-ModeOtherCG, mpe-Reporting-FR2, PHR valid timer, etc.).

[0350] In some embodiments, the PHR configuration may be included in the default MAC cell group configuration. The parameters of the PHR configuration included in the default MAC cell group configuration may be pre-configured using default values. For example, the value of phr-ProhibitTimer may be 10 subframes (e.g., sf10), the value of phr-ProhibitTimer may be 10 subframes (e.g., sf10), and the value of phr-Tx-PowerFactorChange may be 1 dB.

[0351] In some implementations, the NW may indicate the PHR configuration to the UE through a specific indication.

[0352] In some examples, the specific indication may be system information (eg, SIB).

[0353] In some examples, the particular indication may be used to configure an SDT configuration, to configure an RA configuration of an SDT, and / or to configure a CG configuration of an SDT.

[0354] In some examples, the specific indication may include RRCResume, RRCSetup, RRCRelease, RRCRelease with SuspendConfig, RRCReestablishment, RRCReconfiguration and / or RRCReject.

[0355] In some examples, the specific indication may be MSG2 / MSG4 / MSGB. In some examples, the specific indication may be used for contention resolution of the RA process.

[0356] In some examples, the specific indication may be a response to a UL transmission via a CG resource. The specific indication may include feedback information (e.g., ACK / NACK, DFI).

[0357] In some examples, the specific indication may be a PDCCH addressed to an RNTI (eg, C-RNTI, CS-RNTI, dedicated RNTI, RNTI for SDT, and RNTI for CG).

[0358] In some examples, the specific indication may contain the UL grant / DL allocation for the new transmission / retransmission.

[0359] In some embodiments, if the UE is configured with a PHR configuration indicated by the UE through a specific indication, the UE may apply / store the indicated PHR configuration and may not apply / store the default MAC cell group configuration of the PHR. More specifically, the UE may replace / use / apply / store the value of the parameter / IE of the PHR configured by the indicated PHR configuration and may not use / apply / store the value of the parameter / IE of the PHR configured by the default MAC cell group configuration. More specifically, if the UE is configured with a PHR configuration indicated by the NW through a specific indication, the UE may ignore or release the default MAC cell group configuration of the PHR.

[0360] In some embodiments, if the UE is not configured with a PHR configuration indicated by the NW through a specific indication, the UE may apply / store a default MAC cell group configuration for the PHR.

[0361] In some implementations, when upper layers of the UE receive configuration or reconfiguration of the PHR, the UE may trigger the PHR.

[0362] Apply / trigger PHR

[0363] In some embodiments, when the UE initiates an SDT process (and / or a recovery process for SDT), the UE may apply a PHR configuration (and / or apply a default MAC cell group configuration) and / or trigger a PHR. The SDT process may be an RA-based SDT process or a CG-based SDT process.

[0364] In some embodiments, a UE in RRC_INACTIVE state may initiate an SDT procedure (and / or a recovery procedure for SDT) when all of the following conditions are met:

[0365] - Upper layer request for resumption of RRC connection;

[0366] -SIB1 include sdt-ConfigCommon;

[0367] -sdt-Config is configured;

[0368] - All pending data in UL is mapped to radio bearers configured for SDT; and

[0369] - Lower layers indicate that the conditions for initiating SDT as specified in 3GPP TS 38.321 have been met.

[0370] In some examples, when UL data (associated with a specific RB / LCH configured for SDT) arrives for transmission, the UE may initiate an SDT process, and the UE may apply a PHR configuration (and / or apply a default MAC cell group configuration) and / or trigger a PHR.

[0371] In some examples, when the UE is configured or (re)initialized with a CG configuration / process (for SDT) and / or the UE determines that the CG configuration (for SDT) is valid, the UE may apply the PHR configuration (and / or apply the default MAC cell group configuration) and trigger the PHR.

[0372] In some examples, when the UE initiates a RA procedure (for SDT), the UE may apply a PHR configuration (and / or apply a default MAC cell group configuration) and trigger a PHR.

[0373] In some implementations, upon (or after) initiating transmission of a specific message, the UE may apply a PHR configuration (and / or apply a default MAC cell group configuration) and trigger a PHR.

[0374] The specific message may be a CCCH message (eg, RRCSetupRequest, RRCResumeRequest, RRCResumeRequest1, RRCReestablishmentRequest, RRCSystemInfoRequest and / or an RRC message for SDT).

[0375] In some embodiments, when the UE enters / starts the aforementioned subsequent transmission period of the SDT process, the UE may apply the PHR configuration (and / or apply the default MAC cell group configuration) and trigger the PHR.

[0376] In some examples, when the UE determines that contention resolution of the RA procedure (for SDT) is successful, the UE may apply the PHR configuration (and / or apply a default MAC cell group configuration) and trigger the PHR.

[0377] In some examples, when the UE determines that the RA procedure (for SDT) is successfully completed, the UE may apply the PHR configuration (and / or apply the default MAC cell group configuration) and trigger the PHR.

[0378] In some examples, when the UE transmits a UL message, the UE may apply a PHR configuration (and / or apply a default MAC cell group configuration) and trigger a PHR.

[0379] In some examples, UL messages may be transmitted (during the SDT process) via MSG1 / MSG3 / MSGA / CG resources / UL resources scheduled by MSG2 / MSGB / MSG4 or on UL resources (pre-)configured as part of the SDT configuration.

[0380] In some examples, the UL message may include an RRC recovery request message (e.g., RRCResumeRequest, RRCResumeRequest1, and CCCH messages for SDT).

[0381] In some examples, the UL message may include small data (e.g., UL data associated with a specific SRB / DRB / LCH of the SDT).

[0382] In some examples, the UL message may include a MAC CE (eg, a BSR MAC CE).

[0383] In some embodiments, when the UE receives an indication from the NW, the UE may apply the PHR configuration (and / or apply the default MAC cell group configuration) and trigger the PHR. More specifically, the indication may indicate to the UE whether the PHR configuration (and / or the default MAC cell group configuration) should be applied and / or the PHR should be triggered. More specifically, the indication may enable / disable the PHR configuration / function and / or the default MAC cell group configuration. For example, if the indication enables the PHR configuration / function, the UE may apply the PHR configuration (and / or apply the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or trigger the PHR.

[0384] In some examples, the indication may be an RRC configuration, a MAC CE, and / or a DCI.

[0385] In some examples, the indication may be MSG2 / MSG4 / MSGB and / or a response to a UL transmission via CG resources.

[0386] In some examples, this indication may be used for contention resolution in the RA process.

[0387] In some examples, the indication may include a (HARQ / RRC) ACK / NACK message and / or a DFI (e.g., for UL transmissions via CG resources).

[0388] In some examples, the indication may contain UL grant / DL allocation for new transmission / retransmission.The indication may be a PDCCH addressed to an RNTI (e.g., C-RNTI, CS-RNTI, dedicated RNTI, RNTI for SDT, and RNTI for CG).

[0389] In some examples, the indication may indicate a UL grant for a new transmission of a HARQ process for an UL transmission (eg, a UL message) transmitting small data.

[0390] In some examples, the indication may include a specific command (eg, a TA Command MAC CE).

[0391] In some examples, the indication may include RRCResume, RRCSetup, RRCRelease, RRCRelease with SuspendConfig, RRCReestablishment, RRCReconfiguration, and RRCReject, among others.

[0392] In some embodiments, when the UE initiates the RRC connection recovery procedure, the UE may apply the PHR configuration (and / or apply the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or trigger the PHR. For example, when the UE responds to RAN paging, triggers RNA update in the RRC_INACTIVE state, or when the UE initiates the SDT procedure, the UE's upper layer or AS requests to resume the suspended RRC connection.

[0393] In some embodiments, when the UE receives a PHR configuration (for example, the PHR configuration may be indicated by the NW through a specific indication), the UE may apply the PHR configuration (and / or apply a default MAC cell group configuration) and / or trigger a PHR.

[0394] In some embodiments, when the UE (re)selects a suitable cell, the UE may apply a PHR configuration (and / or apply a default MAC cell group configuration) and / or trigger a PHR.

[0395] In some examples, if the UE performs a cell (re)selection process and establishes a connection with a new cell (e.g., when transmitting RRCSetupRequest, RRCResumeRequest, RRCResumeRequest1, RRCReestablishmentRequest, RRCSystemInfoRequest), the UE may apply a PHR configuration (and / or apply a default MAC cell group configuration) and / or trigger a PHR.

[0396] Release / Cancel PHR

[0397] In some embodiments, when the SDT process is terminated / completed / failed / stopped / released / suspended / canceled, the UE may release the PHR configuration (and / or release the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or cancel (all) triggered PHRs.

[0398] In some embodiments, when the UE performs a fallback from an SDT process to a non-SDT process (e.g., an RRC connection recovery process, an RRC establishment process, or an RRC reestablishment process), the UE may release the PHR configuration (and / or release the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or cancel (all) triggered PHRs.

[0399] More specifically, when the UE performs a fallback from the SDT process to the non-SDT process, the UE may terminate the SDT process and initiate a non-SDT process (eg, an RRC connection recovery process, an RRC establishment process, and / or an RC reestablishment process).

[0400] More specifically, when the UE receives an indication from the NW indicating a fallback during the SDT process (e.g., an RRC recovery / RRC release message), the UE may terminate the SDT process and initiate a non-SDT process (e.g., an RRC connection recovery process, an RRC establishment process, or an RC reconstruction process).

[0401] More specifically, in the event that the initial UL transmission (e.g., in MSGA / MSG3 / CG resources) fails for a configured number of times, the UE may terminate the SDT process and initiate a non-SDT process (e.g., an RRC connection recovery process, an RRC establishment process, or an RC reconstruction process).

[0402] In some embodiments, when the UE performs a fallback from a CG-based SDT process to a RA-based SDT process, the UE may release the PHR configuration (and / or release the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or cancel (all) triggered PHRs.

[0403] More specifically, when the UE performs fallback from a CG-based SDT process to an RA-based SDT process, the UE may release the CG configuration (used for SDT) during the SDT process.

[0404] More specifically, when the UE performs fallback from a CG-based SDT process to an RA-based SDT process, the UE may initiate a RA process (for SDT) during the SDT process.

[0405] In some examples, when the CG configuration (for SDT) is released / suspended / cleared, the UE may release the PHR configuration (and / or release the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or cancel (all) triggered PHRs.

[0406] In some examples, when the UE determines that the CG configuration is invalid (e.g., based on a TA timer, RSRP threshold, etc.), the UE may release the PHR configuration (and / or release the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or cancel (all) triggered PHRs.

[0407] In some embodiments, when the UE receives an indication from the NW, the UE may release the PHR configuration (and / or release the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or cancel (all) triggered PHRs. More specifically, the indication may indicate to the UE whether the PHR configuration and / or the default MAC cell group configuration should be applied / released. More specifically, the indication may enable / disable the PHR configuration and / or the default MAC cell group configuration. For example, if the indication disables the PHR configuration, the UE may release the PHR configuration (and / or release the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or cancel (all) triggered PHRs.

[0408] In some examples, the indication may be system information (eg, SIB).

[0409] In some examples, the indication may include RRCResume, RRCSetup, RRCRelease, RRCRelease with SuspendConfig, RRCReestablishment, RRCReject, etc. The indication may be a PDCCH addressed to an RNTI (e.g., C-RNTI, CS-RNTI, dedicated RNTI, RNTI for SDT, or RNTI for CG). In some examples, if the UE determines that the RRC release message includes the suspendConfig IE, the UE may release the PHR configuration (and / or release the default MAC cell group configuration).

[0410] In some examples, the indication may indicate to the UE (e.g., based on a field of the indication) to terminate the SDT process. The indication may indicate to the UE to fall back / initiate an RRC process (e.g., an RRC connection recovery process, an RRC establishment process / or an RC reestablishment process).

[0411] In some examples, the indication may indicate to the UE to switch / fall back to a type of SDT (e.g., RA-based SDT, CG-based SDT, 2-step RA, 4-step RA).

[0412] In some examples, an indication (with a specific value (e.g., TRUE or FALSE)) may be included in system information (e.g., SIB) to indicate that CG transmission in the RRC_INACTIVE state is no longer supported in the cell. For example, when the UE receives an indication with a specific value (e.g., TRUE or FALSE), the UE may release / suspend the CG configuration served.

[0413] In some examples, the indication may indicate to the UE to release the PHR configuration (e.g., release the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or cancel (all) triggered PHRs.

[0414] In some examples, the indication can be used to configure the SDT configuration, to configure the RA configuration of the SDT, or to configure the CG configuration of the SDT.

[0415] In some examples, the indication may be MSG2 / MSG4 / MSGB. In some examples, the specific indication may be used for contention resolution of the RA process.

[0416] In some examples, the indication may be a response to a UL transmission via CG resources. The specific indication may include feedback information (e.g., ACK / NACK, DFI).

[0417] In some examples, the indication can be a PDCCH addressed to an RNTI (e.g., a C-RNTI, a CS-RNTI, a dedicated RNTI, an RNTI for SDT, or an RNTI for CG).

[0418] In some examples, the indication may contain UL grant / DL allocation for new transmission / retransmission.

[0419] In some implementations, when the timer / window expires, the UE may release the PHR configuration (and / or release the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or cancel (all) triggered PHRs.

[0420] Specifically, the timer / window may be an SDT failure detection timer (eg, T319a).

[0421] Specifically, the timer / window may be configured specifically for SDT. The value of the timer / window may be configured through an RRCRelease message. The value of the timer / window may be configured through an RRCRelease message with a nearby pause configuration. The value of the timer / window may be configured through a configuration for SDT. The value of the timer / window may be configured through the RACH configuration of SDT. The value of the timer / window may be configured through the CG configuration of SDT. The value of the timer / window may be configured through the UE-TimersAndConstants IE. The value of the timer / window may be configured through system information (e.g., SIB).

[0422] Specifically, the timer / window can be a TA timer, ra-ResponseWindow, msgB-ResponseWindow, ra-ContentionResolutionTimer, configuredGrantTimer, cg-RetranssionTimer, drx-onDurationTimer, drx-InactivityTimer, DRX-RetranssiontimerDL, DRX-RetranssiontimerUL, T300, T301, T302, T304, T310, T311, T312, T316, T319, T320, T321, T322, T325, T330, T331, T342, T345, etc.

[0423] Specifically, the timer / window may be used by the UE to listen for a response (e.g., monitor ACK / NACK). The timer / window may be a response window. For example, when the UE performs UL / DL transmission (e.g., UL transmission via CG resources), the timer / window may be (re)started.

[0424] Specifically, the timer / window may be used by the UE to receive a PDCCH / scheduling (eg, for a new transmission or a retransmission) from the NW.

[0425] In some embodiments, when the UE transitions to or enters the RRC_IDLE state or the RRC_CONNECTED state (e.g., from the RRC_INACTIVE state), the UE may release the PHR configuration (and / or release the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or cancel (all) triggered PHRs.

[0426] In some embodiments, when the UE performs cell selection / reselection (eg, camps on another cell), the UE may release the PHR configuration (and / or release the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or cancel (all) triggered PHRs.

[0427] In some embodiments, when the upper layers of the UE abort the connection establishment, the UE may release the PHR configuration (and / or release the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or cancel (all) triggered PHRs.

[0428] In some embodiments, when the UE performs a RAN Notification Area (RNA) update, the UE may release the PHR configuration (and / or release the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or cancel (all) triggered PHR updates.

[0429] In some embodiments, when the UE establishes / resumes an RRC connection on a cell different from the cell where the CG configuration is provided, the UE may release the PHR configuration (and / or release the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or cancel (all) triggered PHRs.

[0430] In some embodiments, when the UE initiates the RRC reestablishment process (e.g., on a cell configured with SDT for the UE, or on an original resident cell, another cell, or a new resident cell), the UE may release the PHR configuration (and / or release the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or cancel (all) triggered PHRs. For example, when the UE sends an RRCReestablishmentRequest to the NW, the UE may release the PHR configuration (e.g., release the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or cancel (all) triggered PHRs.

[0431] In some embodiments, when the NW instructs the UE to perform a carrier switch (e.g., from NUL to SUL or vice versa), the UE may release the PHR configuration (and / or release the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or cancel (all) triggered PHRs.

[0432] In some embodiments, when the NW instructs the UE to perform a (UL / DL) BWP switch (e.g., from an initial BWP to another BWP or vice versa), the UE may release the PHR configuration (and / or release the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or cancel (all) triggered PHRs.

[0433] PHR Limitations

[0434] 1. Do not trigger PHR / cancel triggered PHR

[0435] It should be noted that when the upper layer of the UE applies the PHR configuration (e.g., enables the PHR function), the UE may trigger the PHR. However, in some cases, when the UE applies the (re) configuration of the PHR or the PHR configuration, the UE may not trigger the PHR and / or may cancel the triggered PHR.

[0436] In some embodiments, when the UE initiates the SDT process, the UE may apply the PHR configuration (and / or apply the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or trigger the PHR. Then, when the UE initiates the SDT process, the UE may not trigger the PHR and / or may cancel the triggered PHR.

[0437] In some examples, when the UE is configured with or (re)initializes the CG configuration / procedure (for SDT) and / or the UE determines that the CG configuration (for SDT) is valid, the UE may apply the PHR configuration (and / or apply the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or trigger the PHR. Then, when the UE is configured with or (re)initializes the CG configuration / procedure (for SDT) and / or when the UE determines that the CG configuration (for SDT) is valid, the UE may not trigger the PHR and / or may cancel the triggered PHR.

[0438] In some examples, when the UE initiates the RA procedure (for SDT), the UE may apply the PHR configuration (and / or apply the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or trigger the PHR. Then, when the UE initiates the RA procedure (for SDT), the UE may not trigger the PHR and / or may cancel the triggered PHR.

[0439] In some embodiments, when / after the UE initiates the transmission of a specific message, the UE may apply a PHR configuration (and / or apply a default MAC cell group configuration) and / or trigger a PHR. Then, when / after the UE initiates the transmission of a specific message, the UE may not trigger a PHR and / or may cancel the triggered PHR.

[0440] The specific message may be a CCCH message (eg, RRCSetupRequest, RRCResumeRequest, RRCResumeRequest1, RRCReestablishmentRequest, RRCSystemInfoRequest, and an RRC message for SDT).

[0441] In some embodiments, when the UE initiates the RRC connection recovery procedure, the UE may apply the PHR configuration (and / or apply the default MAC cell group configuration) and / or trigger the PHR. For example, when the UE responds to RAN paging, triggers RNA update in the RRC_INACTIVE state, or initiates the SDT procedure, the UE's upper layer or AS requests to resume the suspended RRC connection. Then, when the UE initiates the RRC connection recovery procedure, the UE may not trigger the PHR and / or may cancel the triggered PHR.

[0442] 2. Do not generate / transmit PHR MAC CE

[0443] When the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission and the allocated UL resources can accommodate a PHR MAC CE, the UE may generate a PHR MAC CE and transmit the PHR MAC CE via the UL resources. However, in some cases, even when the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission and the allocated UL resources can accommodate a PHR MAC CE, the UE may still not generate and / or transmit the PHR MAC CE via the UL resources and / or may cancel the PHR.

[0444] In some embodiments, when the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission and the allocated UL resources can accommodate a PHR MAC CE, the UE may determine whether to generate a PHR MAC CE and / or transmit the PHR MAC CE via the UL resources based on whether the UE has transmitted a specific message to the NW. More specifically, the specific message may be an RRC resume request message (e.g., RRCResumeRequest, RRCResumeRequest1, and CCCH SDU for SDT).

[0445] In some examples, when the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission and the allocated UL resources can accommodate a PHR MAC CE, if the UE has transmitted a specific message to the NW, the UE may generate a PHR MAC CE and transmit the PHR MAC CE via the UL resources.

[0446] In some examples, when the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission and the allocated UL resources can accommodate a PHR MAC CE, but the UE has not transmitted a specific message to the NW, the UE may not generate a PHR MAC CE and / or may not transmit the PHR MAC CE via the UL resources and / or may cancel the PHR.

[0447] In some examples, the specific message may be transmitted (during the SDT procedure) via MSG1 / MSG3 / MSGA / CG resources / UL resources scheduled by MSG2 / MSGB / MSG4 or on UL resources configured (in advance) as part of the SDT configuration.

[0448] In some embodiments, when the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission and the allocated UL resources can accommodate a PHR MAC CE (plus its sub-header), the UE may determine whether to generate a PHR MAC CE and transmit the PHR MAC CE via the UL resources based on whether the UE has multiplexed a specific message in the UL resources (e.g., based on LCP).

[0449] In some implementations, when the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission, the UE may determine whether to cancel the triggered PHR based on whether the UE has allocated UL resources that can accommodate the PHR MAC CE (plus its subheader).

[0450] In some embodiments, when the UL grant can accommodate all pending data available for transmission, but is insufficient to additionally accommodate a PHR MAC CE (plus its subheader), all triggered PHRs may be canceled (eg, during an SDT procedure).

[0451] In some examples, when the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission and the allocated UL resources can accommodate a PHR MAC CE (plus its subheader), if the UE multiplexes a specific message in the UL resources (e.g., based on LCP), the UE may generate a PHR MAC CE and transmit the PHR MAC CE via the UL resources.

[0452] In some examples, when the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission and the allocated UL resources cannot accommodate the PHR MAC CE (plus its subheader), the UE may cancel the PHR.

[0453] In some examples, when the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission and the allocated UL resources are capable of accommodating a PHR MAC CE (plus its subheader), but the UE does not multiplex a specific message in the UL resources (e.g., based on LCP), the UE may not generate a PHR MAC CE and / or may not transmit the PHR MAC CE via the UL resources and / or the UE may cancel the PHR.

[0454] In some examples, when the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission and the allocated UL resources can accommodate specific messages / data in the UL resources (e.g., based on the LCP) but cannot accommodate the PHR MAC CE (plus its subheader), the UE may cancel the PHR and / or the UE may not generate a PHR MAC CE and not transmit the PHR MAC CE via the UL resources.

[0455] More specifically, the specific message may include an RRC recovery request message (eg, RRCResumeRequest, RRCResumeRequest1, and CCCH SDU message for SSD).

[0456] More specifically, the specific message / data may be all pending data available for transmission.

[0457] More specifically, the UL resources may be CG resources / UL resources scheduled by MSG2 / MSGB / MSG4 (during the SDT process), or on UL resources (pre-)configured as part of the SDT configuration.

[0458] In some embodiments, when the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission and the allocated UL resources can accommodate a PHR MAC CE (plus its subheader), the UE may determine whether to generate a PHR MAC CE and / or transmit the PHR MAC CE via the UL resources based on whether the UE has received a specific indication from the NW.

[0459] In some examples, when the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission and the allocated UL resources can accommodate a PHR MAC CE (plus its subheader), if the UE has received a specific response from the NW, the UE may generate a PHR MAC CE and transmit the PHR MAC CE via the UL resources.

[0460] In some examples, when the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission and the allocated UL resources can accommodate the PHR MAC CE (plus its subheader), but the UE does not receive a specific response from the NW, the UE may not generate a PHR MAC CE and / or may not transmit the PHR MAC CE via the UL resources and / or the UE may cancel the PHR.

[0461] More specifically, the specific indication may be RRC configuration, MAC CE or DCI.

[0462] More specifically, the specific indication may be MSG2 / MSG4 / MSGB or a response to UL transmission via CG resources.

[0463] More specifically, the specific indication may be used for contention resolution in the RA process.

[0464] More specifically, the specific indication may include a (HARQ / RRC) ACK / NACK message and / or a DFI (e.g., for UL transmission via CG resources).

[0465] More specifically, the specific indication may include UL grant / DL allocation for new transmission / retransmission.The indication may be a PDCCH addressed to an RNTI (eg, C-RNTI, CS-RNTI, dedicated RNTI, RNTI of SDT, and RNTI of CG).

[0466] More specifically, the specific indication may indicate a UL grant for a new transmission of a HARQ process for transmitting a UL transmission (eg, a UL message) of small data.

[0467] More specifically, the specific indication may include a specific command (eg, TA command MAC CE).

[0468] More specifically, the specific indication may include RRCResume, RRCSetup, RRCRelease, RRCRelease with SuspendConfig, RRCReestablishment, RRCReconfiguration and RRCReject, etc.

[0469] In some embodiments, when the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission and the allocated UL resources can accommodate a PHR MAC CE (plus its subheader), the UE may determine whether to generate a PHR MAC CE and transmit the PHR MAC CE via the UL resources based on whether the UE has completed the procedure.

[0470] In some examples, when the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission and the allocated UL resources can accommodate the PHR MAC CE (plus its subheader), if the UE has completed the RA process (for SDT) and / or the contention resolution of the RA process is successful, the UE can generate a PHR MAC CE and transmit the PHR MAC CE via the UL resources.

[0471] In some examples, when the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission and the allocated UL resources can accommodate the PHR MAC CE (plus its subheader), if the RA procedure performed by the UE for SDT is in progress or contention resolution of the RA procedure is unsuccessful, the UE may not generate a PHR MAC CE and may not transmit the PHR MAC CE via the UL resources.

[0472] In some embodiments, when the UE has UL resources allocated for new transmission and the allocated UL resources can accommodate the PHR MAC CE (plus its subheader), the UE can determine whether to generate a PHR MAC CE and transmit the PHR MAC CE via the UL resources based on the type of UL resources.

[0473] In some examples, when the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission and the allocated UL resources can accommodate a PHR MAC CE (plus its subheader), if the UL resources are MSGAPUSCH / first CG resources / UL resources scheduled by MSG2 / MSGB / MSG4 (during the SDT process), the UE may generate a PHR MAC CE and transmit the PHR MAC CE via the UL resources. More specifically, the first CG resource may be the first UL resource configured by the CG configuration after the UE initiates the CG configuration and / or SDT process.

[0474] LCP for PHR Mac CE

[0475] Whenever a new transmission is performed, the Logical Channel Prioritization (LCP) procedure may be applied. The RRC layer of the NW may control the LCP procedure by mapping the limits configured for each logical channel. When the UE performs a new transmission (for UL resources), the UE / MAC entity of the UE may allocate UL resources for MAC CE and / or data from the LCH.

[0476] Logical channels may be prioritized in the following order (eg, highest priority listed first):

[0477] - C-RNTI MAC CE or data from UL-CCCH;

[0478] -Configured authorization confirmation MAC CE or BSR MAC CE or multiple entries of configured authorization confirmation MAC CE;

[0479] - Authorization confirmation MAC CE for direct link configuration;

[0480] -LBT failed MAC CE;

[0481] - MAC CE of SL-BSR with priority set according to 3GPP TS 38.321;

[0482] -MAC CE of BSR, excluding BSR used for padding;

[0483] -Single Entry PHR MAC CE or Multiple Entry PHR MAC CE;

[0484] - MAC CE of the desired number of protection symbols;

[0485] -MAC CE of preemptive BSR;

[0486] - MAC CE of SL-BBSR, excluding SL-BSRs prioritized according to 3GPP TS 38.321 and SL-BSRs used for padding;

[0487] - Data from any logical channel, excluding data from UL-CCCH;

[0488] - MAC CE for proposed bit rate query;

[0489] - MAC CE for the padded BSR; and

[0490] -MAC CE for SL-BSR used for padding.

[0491] However, since the priority of PHR MAC CE is higher than data from any LCH (except data from UL-CCCH), the UL resources scheduled / configured during the SDT process may be occupied by the PHR MAC CE. Then, data from some LCHs may be delayed in transmission. Therefore, some methods are provided in the present disclosure to overcome this problem.

[0492] In some embodiments, in certain situations, for LCP, the UE may determine that data from a particular LCH (or any LCH) (e.g., all pending data available for transmission) has a higher priority than the PHR MAC CE (and / or other MAC CEs (e.g., BSR MAC CE)).

[0493] In some embodiments, when the UL grant can accommodate all pending data available for transmission, but is insufficient to additionally accommodate a PHR MAC CE (plus its subheader), all triggered PHRs may be canceled (eg, during an SDT procedure).

[0494] In some examples, during an SDT process (e.g., while an SDT process is in progress), the UE may determine that data from a particular LCH (or any LCH) (e.g., all pending data available for transmission) has a higher priority than a PHR MAC CE (and / or other MAC CEs (e.g., BSR MAC CE)).

[0495] In some examples, during a RA procedure (for SDT) (e.g., while a RA procedure is in progress), the UE may determine that the priority of data from a particular LCH (or any LCH) (e.g., all pending data available for transmission) is higher than the priority of a PHR MAC CE (and / or other MAC CEs (e.g., BSR MAC CE)).

[0496] In some examples, during the CG process (for SDT), the UE may determine that the priority of data from a particular LCH (or any LCH) (e.g., all pending data available for transmission) is higher than the priority of the PHR MAC CE (and / or other MAC CEs (e.g., BSR MAC CE)).

[0497] In some examples, when a particular timer (e.g., an SDT failure detection timer (e.g., T319a), a PHR prohibit timer, etc.) is running, the UE may determine that data from a particular LCH (or any LCH) (e.g., all pending data available for transmission) has a higher priority than the priority of the PHR MAC CE (and / or other MAC CEs (e.g., BSR MAC CE)).

[0498] In some examples, for transmission of an UL message, the UE may determine that data from a particular LCH (or any LCH) (e.g., all pending data available for transmission) has a higher priority than a PHR MAC CE (and / or other MAC CEs (e.g., BSR MAC CE)).

[0499] UL messages may be transmitted via MSG1 / MSG3 / MSGA / CG resources / UL resources scheduled by MSG2 / MSGB / MSG4 (during the SDT process) or on UL resources that are (pre-)configured as part of the SDT configuration.

[0500] The UL message may include an RRC recovery request message (eg, RRCResumeRequest, RRCResumeRequest1, and CCCH message for SDT).

[0501] The UL message may contain small data (eg, UL data associated with a specific SRB / DRB / LCH of the SDT).

[0502] The UL message may include a MAC CE (eg, a BSR MAC CE).

[0503] More specifically, a specific LCH may be configured for SDT and / or associated with an RB configured for SDT.

[0504] In some embodiments, the UE may determine, based on the configuration / indication / flag received from the NW, whether data from a particular LCH (or any LCH) (e.g., all pending data available for transmission) has a higher priority than the priority of the PHR MAC CE (and / or other MAC CEs (e.g., BSR MAC CE)).

[0505] In some examples, the configuration / indication / flag may be configured via a RRCRelease message (with a pause configuration).

[0506] In some examples, the configuration / indication / flag can be configured through the LCH configuration (e.g., IELogicalChannelConfig).

[0507] In some examples, the configuration / indication / flag may be configured by SDT configuration, RA configuration (for SDT), or CG configuration (for SDT).

[0508] PHR Timer

[0509] 1.PHR prohibit timer

[0510] In some implementations, the PHR prohibit timer may be used to restrict the UE from applying / triggering / generating / transmitting the PHR. For example, when the PHR prohibit timer is running, the UE may not be allowed to apply / trigger / generate / transmit the PHR. In some examples, if the PHR prohibit timer expires or is not running, the UE may be allowed to apply / trigger / generate / transmit the PHR.

[0511] In some examples, when the UE initiates the SDT procedure, the UE may (re)start the PHR prohibit timer.

[0512] In some examples, when the UE is configured or (re)initialized with a CG configuration / process (for SDT) and / or when the UE determines that the CG configuration (for SDT) is valid, the UE may (re)start the PHR prohibit timer.

[0513] In some examples, when the UE initiates a (2-step / 4-step) RA procedure (for SDT), the UE may (re)start the PHR prohibit timer.

[0514] In some examples, when the UE initiates the RRC connection recovery procedure, the UE may (re)start the PHR prohibit timer.

[0515] In some examples, when the UE receives a PHR configuration, the UE may (re)start the PHR prohibit timer.

[0516] In some examples, when the UE (re)selects a suitable cell, the UE may (re)start the PHR prohibit timer.

[0517] In some examples, when the SDT process is terminated / completed / failed / stopped / released / suspended, the UE may stop the PHR prohibit timer. In an alternative, when the SDT process is terminated / completed / failed / stopped / released / suspended by the UE, the UE may reset the MAC entity.

[0518] In some examples, when the UE performs a fallback from the SDT process to a non-SDT process (e.g., an RRC connection recovery process, an RRC establishment process, or an RC reestablishment process), the UE may stop the PHR prohibit timer. In an alternative, when the UE performs a fallback from the SDT process to the non-SDT process, the UE may reset the MAC entity.

[0519] In some examples, the UE may stop the PHR prohibit timer when / after the UE initiates transmission of a particular message.

[0520] The specific message may be a CCCH message (eg, RRCSetupRequest, RRCResumeRequest, RRCResumeRequest1, RRCReestablishmentRequest, RRCSystemInfoRequest, or an RRC message for SDT).

[0521] In some examples, when the UE enters / starts a subsequent transmission period of the SDT procedure, the UE may (re)start or stop the PHR prohibit timer.

[0522] In some examples, when the UE determines that contention resolution of the RA procedure (for SDT) is successful, the UE may stop the PHR prohibit timer.

[0523] In some examples, when the UE determines that the RA procedure (for SDT) is successfully completed, the UE may stop the PHR prohibit timer.

[0524] In some examples, when the UE transmits to the UL message, the UE may stop the PHR prohibit timer.

[0525] UL messages may be transmitted via MSG1 / MSG3 / MSGA / CG resources / UL resources scheduled by MSG2 / MSGB / MSG4 (during the SDT process) or on UL resources that are (pre-)configured as part of the SDT configuration.

[0526] The UL message may include an RRC recovery request message (eg, RRCResumeRequest, RRCResumeRequest1, and CCCH message for SDT).

[0527] The UL message may contain small data (eg, UL data associated with a specific SRB / DRB / LCH of the SDT).

[0528] The UL message may include a MAC CE (eg, a BSR MAC CE).

[0529] In some examples, when the UE receives an indication from the NW, the UE may (re)start or stop the PHR prohibit timer.

[0530] The indication may be an RRC configuration, a MAC CE and / or a DCI.

[0531] The indication may be a MSG2 / MSG4 / MSGB and / or a response to a UL transmission via a CG resource.

[0532] The indication may be used for contention resolution in the RA procedure.

[0533] The indication may include (HARQ / RRC) ACK / NACK messages and / or DFI (e.g., for UL transmission via a CG resource).

[0534] The indication may include a UL grant / DL allocation for a new transmission / retransmission. The indication may be a PDCCH addressed to an RNTI (e.g., C-RNTI, CS-RNTI, dedicated RNTI, RNTI for SDT, and RNTI for CG).

[0535] The indication may indicate a UL grant for a new transmission of a HARQ process for UL transmission of small data (e.g., UL message).

[0536] The indication may include a specific command (e.g., TA command MAC CE).

[0537] The indication may include RRCResume, RRCSetup, RRCRelease, RRCRelease with SuspendConfig, RRCReestablishment, RRCReconfiguration, and RRCReject, etc.

[0538] More specifically, the value of the first timer may be configured as infinity in the PHR configuration (for SDT).

[0539] 2. PHR validity timer

[0540] In some embodiments, a validity timer (e.g., PHR validity timer) may be used to indicate that the UE is able to apply / trigger / generate / transmit a PHR. For example, when the PHR validity timer is running, the UE may be allowed to apply / trigger / generate / transmit a PHR. In another example, if the PHR validity timer expires or is not running, the UE may not be allowed to apply / trigger / generate / transmit a PHR.

[0541] In some examples, when / after the UE initiates the transmission of a specific message, the UE may (re)start or stop the PHR validity timer.

[0542] The specific message may be a CCCH message (eg, RRCSetupRequest, RRCResumeRequest, RRCResumeRequest1, RRCReestablishmentRequest, RRCSystemInfoRequest, and an RRC message for SDT).

[0543] In some examples, when the UE enters / starts a subsequent transmission period of the SDT procedure, the UE may (re)start the PHR valid timer.

[0544] In some examples, when the UE determines that contention resolution of the RA procedure (for SDT) is successful, the UE may (re)start the PHR validity timer.

[0545] In some examples, when the UE determines that the RA procedure (for SDT) is successfully completed, the UE may (re)start the PHR validity timer.

[0546] In some examples, when the UE transmits a UL message, the UE may (re)start the PHR validity timer.

[0547] UL messages may be transmitted via MSG1 / MSG3 / MSGA / CG resources / UL resources scheduled by MSG2 / MSGB / MSG4 (during the SDT process) or on UL resources that are (pre-)configured as part of the SDT configuration.

[0548] The UL message may include an RRC recovery request message (eg, RRCResumeRequest, RRCResumeRequest1, and CCCH message for SDT).

[0549] The UL message may contain small data (eg, UL data associated with a specific SRB / DRB / LCH of the SDT).

[0550] The UL message may include a MAC CE (eg, a BSR MAC CE).

[0551] In some examples, when the SDT process is terminated / completed / failed / stopped / released / aborted, the UE may stop the PHR valid timer.

[0552] In some examples, when the UE performs a fallback from an SDT procedure to a non-SDT procedure, the UE may stop the PHR valid timer.

[0553] In some examples, when the UE receives an indication from the NW, the UE may (re)start or stop the PHR validity timer.

[0554] In some examples, the indication may be an RRC configuration, a MAC CE, and / or a DCI.

[0555] In some examples, the indication may be MSG2 / MSG4 / MSGB and / or a response to a UL transmission via CG resources.

[0556] In some examples, this indication may be used for contention resolution in the RA process.

[0557] In some examples, the indication may include a (HARQ / RRC) ACK / NACK message and / or a DFI (e.g., for UL transmissions via CG resources).

[0558] In some examples, the indication may contain UL grant / DL allocation for new transmission / retransmission.The indication may be a PDCCH addressed to an RNTI (e.g., C-RNTI, CS-RNTI, dedicated RNTI, RNTI for SDT, and RNTI for CG).

[0559] In some examples, the indication may indicate a UL grant for a new transmission of a HARQ process for an UL transmission (eg, a UL message) transmitting small data.

[0560] In some examples, the indication may include a specific command (eg, a TA Command MAC CE).

[0561] In some examples, the indication may include RRCResume, RRCSetup, RRCRelease, RRCRelease with SuspendConfig, RRCReestablishment, RRCReconfiguration, and RRCReject, among others.

[0562] More specifically, the value of the PHR valid timer may be configured to be infinite in the PHR configuration (for SDT).

[0563] 3.PHR periodic timer

[0564] If the UE has UL resources allocated for a new transmission and the UL resources are the first UL resources allocated for a new transmission since the last MAC reset, the UE may (re)start the PHR periodicity timer. Alternatively, if the UE determines that at least one PHR has been triggered and not cancelled, and if, as a result of the LCP, the allocated UL resources are able to accommodate the MAC CE and its subheaders of the PHR (which the UE / MAC entity is configured to transmit), the UE may (re)start the PHR periodicity timer. However, in some cases, in order to reduce the frequency of PHR triggering, the PHR periodicity timer may not always be needed.

[0565] In some implementations, the PHR periodicity timer (for SDT) may not be configured for the UE in the PHR configuration.

[0566] In some implementations, the value of the PHR periodic timer may be configured as 0 in the PHR configuration (for SDT).

[0567] In some implementations, when an SDT procedure is ongoing, the UE may not (re)start the PHR periodicity timer during the SDT procedure.

[0568] In some embodiments, when a RA procedure is ongoing, the UE may not (re)start the PHR periodicity timer during the RA procedure (for SDT).

[0569] In some embodiments, the UE may not (re)start the PHR periodic timer during the CG procedure (for SDT).

[0570] In some implementations, the UE may not (re)start the PHR periodic timer when a specific timer (eg, SDT failure detection timer (eg, T319a)) is running.

[0571] In some implementations, the UE may not (re)start the PHR periodicity timer when the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state.

[0572] Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB)

[0573] In NR, radio bearers (RBs) can be categorized into two groups: data radio bearers (DRBs) for user plane (UP) data and signaling radio bearers (SRBs) for control plane (CP) data.

[0574] SRB can be used to carry RRC and / or NAS messages. Specifically, SRB can be used to transmit positioning measurement reports, tracking area updates (TAU), UL Information Transfer, DL Information Transfer, etc.

[0575] More specifically, the following SRBs may be defined:

[0576] -SRB0 is used for RRC messages using CCCH logical channel;

[0577] -SRB1 is used for RRC messages that may include piggybacked NAS messages, and for NAS messages before establishing SRB2, all of which use the DCCH logical channel;

[0578] -SRB2 is used for NAS messages and for RRC messages containing logged measurement information, all using the DCCH logical channel. SRB2 has a lower priority than SRB1 and can be configured by the network after AS security is activated;

[0579] -SRB3 is used for specific RRC messages when the UE is in (NG)EN-DC or NR-DC, all of which use the DCCH logical channel.

[0580] In SDT, excluding DRBs, when the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state, SRBs (eg, SRB1, SRB2, and / or SRB3) may also be configured for small data transmission.

[0581] When the UE initiates an SDT procedure (e.g., an RRC connection recovery procedure for SDT initiation (e.g., for the first SDT transmission)), in addition to the SDT DRBs configured for SDT, the UE can also recover the SRBs configured for SDT (e.g., SRB1, SRB2 and / or SRB3).

[0582] RB Configuration

[0583] For SDT, the UE may or may not be configured with a radio bearer configuration (e.g., via radioBearerConfig and / or radioBearerConfig2). If the UE is not configured with a radio bearer configuration, the UE may need to apply a default radio bearer configuration (e.g., a default SRB configuration). In the present disclosure, some embodiments of radio bearer configuration are disclosed.

[0584] In some embodiments, the radio bearer configuration (e.g., radioBearerConfig) may include one or more parameters / IEs (e.g., srb-ToAddModList, srb3-ToRelease, drb-ToAddModList, drb-ToReleaseList, securityConfig, etc.).

[0585] In some embodiments, the radio bearer configuration may be referred to as a default RB configuration (e.g., a default SRB configuration and / or a default DRB configuration). The default RB configuration may include some IEs (e.g., PDCP-config, ul-AM-RLC, dl-AM-RLC, logicalChannelIdentity, LogicalChannelConfig, priority, etc.).

[0586] In some implementations, the radio bearer configuration may be indicated by the NW through a specific indication.

[0587] The specific indication may be system information (eg, SIB).

[0588] This indication may be used to configure the SDT configuration, to configure the RA configuration of the SDT, or to configure the CG configuration of the SDT.

[0589] The specific indication may include RRCResume, RRCSetup, RRCRelease, RRCRelease with SuspendConfig, RRCReestablishment, RRCReconfiguration and / or RRCReject.

[0590] The specific indication may be MSG2 / MSG4 / MSGB. In some examples, the specific indication may be used for contention resolution of the RA process.

[0591] The indication may be a response to a UL transmission via CG resources. The specific indication may include feedback information (eg, ACK / NACK, DFI).

[0592] The specific indication may be a PDCCH transmission addressed to an RNTI (eg, C-RNTI, CS-RNTI, dedicated RNTI, RNTI for SDT, and RNTI for CG).

[0593] The specific indication may contain UL grant / DL allocation for new transmission / retransmission.

[0594] In some embodiments, if the UE is configured with a radio bearer configuration indicated by the UE through a specific indication, the UE may apply / store the indicated radio bearer configuration and may not apply / store the default radio bearer configuration. More specifically, the UE may replace / use / apply / store the value of the parameter / IE of the radio bearer configuration configured by the indicated radio bearer configuration and may not use / apply / store the value of the parameter / IE of the default radio bearer configuration. More specifically, if the UE is configured with a radio bearer configuration indicated by the NW through a specific indication, the UE may ignore or release the default radio bearer configuration.

[0595] In some embodiments, if the UE is not configured with a radio bearer configuration indicated by the NW through a specific indication, the UE may apply / store a default radio bearer configuration.

[0596] More specifically, a radio bearer configuration and / or a default radio bearer may be configured for SDT.

[0597] Apply RB Configuration

[0598] In some embodiments, when the UE receives an indication from the NW, the UE may apply the RB configuration (and / or apply the default radio bearer configuration). More specifically, the indication may indicate to the UE whether the RB configuration (and / or the default radio bearer configuration) should be applied. More specifically, the indication may enable / disable the RB configuration / function and / or the default radio bearer configuration. For example, if the indication enables the RB configuration / function, the UE may apply the RB configuration (and / or apply the default radio bearer configuration). More specifically, the UE may apply the RB configuration of SRB0, SRB1, SRB2, SRB3 and / or DRB. More specifically, the indication may indicate which RB configuration(s) should be applied.

[0599] In some examples, the indication may include RRCResume, RRCSetup, RRCRelease, RRCRelease with SuspendConfig, RRCReestablishment, RRCReconfiguration, and RRCReject, among others.

[0600] In some examples, the indication may be an RRC configuration, a MAC CE, and / or a DCI.

[0601] In some examples, the indication may be MSG2 / MSG4 / MSGB and / or a response to a UL transmission via CG resources.

[0602] In some examples, this indication may be used for contention resolution in the RA process.

[0603] In some examples, the indication may contain UL grant / DL allocation for new transmission / retransmission.The indication may be a PDCCH addressed to an RNTI (e.g., C-RNTI, CS-RNTI, dedicated RNTI, RNTI for SDT, and RNTI for CG).

[0604] In some implementations, when the UE initiates the SDT process, the UE may apply the RB configuration (and / or apply a default radio bearer configuration). The SDT process may be an RA-based SDT process or a CG-based SDT process.

[0605] In some examples, when UL data (associated with a specific RB / LCH configured for SDT) arrives at the UE for transmission, the UE may initiate an SDT process and the UE may apply the RB configuration (and / or apply a default radio bearer configuration).

[0606] In some examples, when the UE is configured or (re)initialized with a CG configuration / process (for SDT) and / or when the UE determines that the CG configuration (for SDT) is valid, the UE may apply the RB configuration (and / or apply a default radio bearer configuration).

[0607] In some examples, when the UE initiates a RA procedure (for SDT), the UE may apply the RB configuration (and / or apply a default radio bearer configuration).

[0608] In some embodiments, the UE may apply the RB configuration (and / or apply the default radio bearer configuration) to a specific RB (e.g., SRB0, SRB1, SRB2, SRB3, and / or DRB). More specifically, the specific RB may be configured for SDT. More specifically, the UE may not apply the RB configuration to RBs that are not configured for SDT.

[0609] In some embodiments, when the UE recovers the corresponding RB, the UE may apply the RB configuration (and / or apply the default radio bearer configuration). For example, when the UE recovers the RB (eg, when the UE initiates the SDT process), the UE may apply the RB configuration to the recovered RB.

[0610] In some implementations, when the UE initiates transmission of a specific message, the UE may apply the RB configuration (and / or apply a default radio bearer configuration).

[0611] The specific message may be a CCCH message (eg, RRCSetupRequest, RRCResumeRequest, RRCResumeRequest1, RRCReestablishmentRequest, RRCSystemInfoRequest, and an RRC message for SDT).

[0612] In some embodiments, when the UE enters / starts a subsequent transmission period of the SDT procedure, the UE may apply the RB configuration (and / or apply a default radio bearer configuration).

[0613] In some examples, when the UE determines that contention resolution of the RA procedure (for SDT) is successful, the UE may apply the RB configuration (and / or apply a default radio bearer configuration).

[0614] In some examples, when the UE determines that the RA procedure (for SDT) completes successfully, the UE may apply the RB configuration (and / or apply a default radio bearer configuration).

[0615] In some examples, when the UE transmits an UL message, the UE may apply the RB configuration (and / or apply a default radio bearer configuration).

[0616] UL messages may be transmitted via MSG1 / MSG3 / MSGA / CG resources / UL resources scheduled by MSG2 / MSGB / MSG4 (during the SDT process) or on UL resources that are (pre-)configured as part of the SDT configuration.

[0617] The UL message may include an RRC recovery request message (eg, RRCResumeRequest, RRCResumeRequest1, and CCCH message for SDT).

[0618] The UL message may contain small data (eg, UL data associated with a specific SRB / DRB / LCH of the SDT).

[0619] The UL message may include a MAC CE (eg, a BSR MAC CE).

[0620] In some embodiments, when the UE receives the RB configuration (eg, the RB configuration may be indicated by the NW through a specific indication), the UE may apply the RB configuration (and / or apply a default radio bearer configuration).

[0621] In some embodiments, when the UE (re)selects a suitable cell, the UE may apply the RB configuration (and / or apply a default radio bearer configuration).

[0622] In some examples, if the UE performs a cell (re)selection procedure and establishes a connection with a new cell (e.g., transmitting RRCSetupRequest, RRCResumeRequest, RRCResumeRequest1, RRCReestablishmentRequest, RRCSystemInfoRequest on the new cell), the UE may apply the RB configuration (and / or apply a default radio bearer configuration).

[0623] Priority of Radio Bearer / LCH

[0624] The LCP procedure may be applied whenever a new transmission is performed. The RRC layer of the NW may control the scheduling of uplink data by implementing signaling for each logical channel (each MAC entity) based on one or more of the following IEs:

[0625] -priority, where a higher priority value indicates a lower priority level;

[0626] -prioritisedBitRate, which sets the prioritized bit rate (PBR);

[0627] -bucketSizeDuration which sets the bucket size duration (BSD).

[0628] According to the LCP process, when the UE performs a new transmission (for UL resources indicated / configured by UL grant), the MAC entity of the UE can allocate UL resources to MAC CE and / or data from LCH. Then, the LCH selected for the UL resources is allocated to the UL resources in descending order of priority. For the priority of LCH, it should be noted that a higher priority value indicates a lower priority level. In other words, if the configured priority value of the first LCH is lower than that of the second LCH, the UL resources are allocated to the first LCH first and then to the second LCH, because the priority of the first LCH is higher than that of the second LCH.

[0629] Figure 5 is a hierarchical diagram illustrating the RB mapping structure in layer 2 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 5 As shown, an RB (e.g., an SRB and / or a DRB) can be mapped to (or associated with) an RLC channel, and an RLC channel can be mapped to an LCH. In other words, an RB can be mapped to an LCH. For example, an LCH identifier can be configured for an RB to indicate which LCH the RB is associated with.

[0630] In addition, the LCH priority of the associated LCH mapped to each RB configuration may be configured. For example, the UE may be configured with a default SRB configuration, which indicates the LCH configuration and indicates the LCH identifier and default LCH priority of the LCH of SRB1, the LCH of SRB2, and / or the LCH of SRB3.

[0631] In some examples, the LCH identification of SRB1 can be 1, and the default LCH priority value of SRB1 can be 1.

[0632] In some examples, the LCH identification of SRB2 may be 2, and the default LCH priority value of SRB1 may be 3.

[0633] In some examples, the LCH identifier of SRB3 can be 3, and the default LCH priority value of SRB1 can be 1.

[0634] Based on the default SRB configuration, the LCH priority of SRBs (e.g., SRB1, SRB2, and / or SRB3) may be higher than the LCH priority of DRBs (e.g., the LCH priority value configured for SRBs may be lower than the LCH priority value configured for DRBs). However, for the SDT process, UP data transmission (e.g., data from DRBs) may be more important than CP data transmission (e.g., data from SRB2, NAS messages, and / or RRC messages, which contain logged measurement information, positioning measurement reports, TAU, ULInformationTransfer, DLInformationTransfer, etc.). Therefore, some methods are provided to prioritize the transmission of DRBs over SRBs.

[0635] In some implementations, for SDT, the LCH priority value of the SRB (eg, the IE priority in logicalChannelConfig) may be configured to have a higher value than the LCH priority value of the DRB. In other words, the LCH priority of the DRB may be configured to be higher than that of the SRB.

[0636] As mentioned above, the LCH value priority value of the SRB and / or DRB may be configured in the radio bearer configuration and / or the default RB configuration.

[0637] In some embodiments, for SDT, the UE may apply a specific (default) RB configuration. The specific (default) RB configuration may be different from the default SRB configuration specified in 3GPP TS 38.331 V16.4.1. In the specific (default) RB configuration, the LCH priority value of SRB1 (e.g., the IE priority in logicalChannelConfig) may be configured to be higher than a specific value (e.g., 1). In the specific (default) RB configuration, the LCH priority value of SRB2 (e.g., the IE priority in logicalChannelConfig) may be configured to be higher than a specific value (e.g., 3). In the specific (default) RB configuration, the LCH priority value of SRB (e.g., the IE priority in logicalChannelConfig) may be configured to be higher than the LCH priority value of DRB (e.g., the IE priority in logicalChannelConfig).

[0638] More specifically, in the case where the UE applies a specific default RB configuration, the UE may not apply the default SRB configuration.

[0639] In some embodiments, a specific indication may be configured for the LCH of the SRB to indicate whether the LCH priority of the SRB is higher or lower than that of the LCH of the DRB. In some embodiments, a specific indication may be configured for the LCH of the DRB to indicate whether the LCH priority of the DRB is higher or lower than that of the LCH of the SRB.

[0640] More specifically, the specific indication may be a mapping restriction of the LCH.

[0641] More specifically, the specific indication may be configured in the logical channel configuration.

[0642] More specifically, the specific indication may be configured in the default RB configuration.

[0643] More specifically, the specific indication may be included in RRCResume, RRCSetup, RRCRelease, RRCRelease with SuspendConfig, RRCReestablishment, RRCReconfiguration, or RRCReject, etc.

[0644] More specifically, the specific indication may be an RRC configuration, a MAC CE, and / or a DCI.

[0645] In some embodiments, for the LCP process, when the UE performs a new transmission, with respect to the LCH of the SRB, the UE may preferentially allocate UL resources to the LCH of the DRB.

[0646] More specifically, when the UE performs a new transmission, the UE may first allocate resources to the LCH of the DRB, and then if there are remaining resources, the UE may allocate resources to the LCH of the SRB.

[0647] More specifically, the NW may configure which LCHs of the DRBs have a higher LCH priority than the LCH priority of the LCH of the SRB.

[0648] In some embodiments, the UE may determine that the LCH priority of the DRB is higher than the LCH priority of the SRB.

[0649] In some examples, when the UE performs the SDT process, the UE may determine that the LCH priority of the DRB is higher than the LCH priority of the SRB.

[0650] In some examples, when the UE enters / starts a subsequent transmission period of the SDT process, the UE may determine that the LCH priority of the DRB is higher than the LCH priority of the SRB.

[0651] In some examples, when the UE determines that contention resolution of the RA procedure (for SDT) is successful, the UE may determine that the LCH priority of the DRB is higher than the LCH priority of the SRB.

[0652] In some examples, when the UE determines that the RA procedure (for SDT) is successfully completed, the UE may determine that the LCH priority of the DRB is higher than the LCH priority of the SRB.

[0653] In some examples, when the UE transmits a UL message, the UE may determine that the LCH priority of the DRB is higher than the LCH priority of the SRB.

[0654] UL messages may be transmitted via MSG1 / MSG3 / MSGA / CG resources / UL resources scheduled by MSG2 / MSGB / MSG4 (during the SDT process) or on UL resources that are (pre-)configured as part of the SDT configuration.

[0655] The UL message may include an RRC recovery request message (eg, RRCResumeRequest, RRCResumeRequest1, and CCCH message for SDT).

[0656] The UL message may contain small data (eg, UL data associated with a specific SRB / DRB / LCH of the SDT).

[0657] The UL message may include a MAC CE (eg, a BSR MAC CE).

[0658] In some implementations, the PrioritizedBitRate (PBR) of the LCH of the SRB may not be configured to be infinite.

[0659] In the current application, the RB may be associated with the LCH. The SRB / DRB, LCH and / or LCG may be configured (specifically) for SDT.

[0660] For example, the UE may receive a configuration (e.g., via an RRCRelease message) to indicate whether the RB, LCH, and / or LCH may be used for SDT. Specifically, when the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state, the RB / LCH configured for SDT may not be suspended. Specifically, when the UE initiates the SDT process, the RB / LCH configured for SDT may be resumed.

[0661] Random Access (RA) Procedure

[0662] Two types of RA procedures may be supported: a 4-step RA type with MSG1 and a 2-step RA type with MSGA. Both types of RA procedures support contention-based random access (CBRA) and contention-free random access (CFRA).

[0663] The UE can select the type of random access at the beginning of the random access procedure based on the network configuration:

[0664] In some examples, when CFRA resources are not configured, the UE may use the RSRP threshold to select between the 2-step RA type and the 4-step RA type.

[0665] In some examples, when CFRA resources for a 4-step RA type are configured, the UE may perform a RA procedure with a 4-step RA type.

[0666] In some examples, when CFRA resources for a 2-step RA type are configured, the UE may perform a RA procedure with a 2-step RA type.

[0667] The network does not configure CFRA resources of 4-step and 2-step RA types in one bandwidth part (BWP) at the same time. CFRA for 2-step RA type only supports the handover process.

[0668] MSG1 of the 4-step RA type consists of a preamble on the PRACH. After MSG1 transmission, the UE monitors the response from the network within the configured window. For CFRA, a dedicated preamble for MSG1 transmission is allocated by the network, and the UE ends the random access procedure when it receives a random access response from the network. For CBRA, when the UE receives a random access response, the UE sends MSG3 using the UL grant scheduled in the response and listens for contention resolution. If contention resolution is unsuccessful after MSG3 (re)transmission, the UE returns to MSG1 transmission.

[0669] The 2-step RA type MSGA contains a preamble on PRACH and a payload on PUSCH. After MSGA transmission, the UE monitors the response from the network within the configured window. For CFRA, dedicated preamble and PUSCH resources are configured for MSGA transmission, and when the UE receives a response from the network, the UE ends the RA procedure. For CBRA, if contention resolution is successful when the UE receives a response from the network, the UE ends the RA procedure. When the UE receives a fallback indication in MSGB, the UE performs MSG3 transmission using the UL grant scheduled in the fallback indication and listens for contention resolution. If contention resolution is unsuccessful after MSG3 (re)transmission, the UE returns to MSGA transmission.

[0670] If the RA procedure with the 2-step RA type is not completed after multiple MSGA transmissions, the UE may be configured to switch to CBRA with the 4-step RA type.

[0671] Configured Authorization (CG)

[0672] Through the configured grant, the gNB is able to allocate uplink resources for the UE's initial HARQ transmission. Two types of configured uplink grants are defined:

[0673] For Type 1 (e.g., CG Type 1), the RRC layer directly provides the configured uplink grant (including periodicity).

[0674] For type 2 (e.g., CG type 2), when the PDCCH addressed to the CS-RNTI can signal and activate the configured uplink grant, or when the configured uplink grant is revoked, the RRC layer defines the periodicity of the configured uplink grant (e.g., the PDCCH addressed to the CS-RNTI indicates that the uplink grant can be implicitly reused according to the periodicity defined by the RRC layer until it is revoked).

[0675] When CG type 1 is configured for the UE, the NW and / or RRC layer may configure the following parameters:

[0676] -cs-RNTI: CS-RNTI used for retransmission;

[0677] -Periodicity: The periodicity of the configured grant type 1;

[0678] -timeDomainOffset: the offset of the resource in the time domain relative to SFN=0;

[0679] -timeDomainAllocation: Allocation of the configured uplink grant in the time domain, which contains startSymbolAndLength (i.e., the start and length indication value (SLIV) in 3GPP TS 38.214);

[0680] -nrofHARQ-Processes: Number of HARQ processes used for the configured grant.

[0681] When the UE receives a CG type 1 configuration for the serving cell, the UE (or MAC entity) may:

[0682] - storing the uplink grant provided by the upper layers of the UE as the configured uplink grant (for the indicated serving cell);

[0683] - Initialization or reinitialization of a configured uplink grant starts in a symbol according to timeDomainOffset and S (start symbol index derived from SLIV as specified in 3GPP TS 38.214) and reoccurs periodically.

[0684] RRC connection recovery process

[0685] The purpose of the RRC connection recovery procedure is to recover a suspended RRC connection, including recovering SRBs and DRBs or performing RNA updates.

[0686] When the UE responds to RAN paging or triggers RNA update in the RRC_INACTIVE state, and the UE's upper layer or AS requests to resume the suspended RRC connection, the UE initiates the RRC connection recovery procedure.

[0687] The suspension of the RRC connection may be initiated by the network. When the RRC connection is suspended, the UE will restore the UE Inactive AS context and any configuration received from the network and transition to the RRC_INACTIVE state. Integrity protection and encryption may be performed on the RRC message that suspends the RRC connection.

[0688] The resumption of a suspended RRC connection may be initiated by the UE's upper layers when the UE transitions from the RRC_INACTIVE state to the RRC_CONNECTED state, or by the RRC layer performing an RNA update or by RAN paging from the NG-RAN. When the RRC connection is resumed, the network configures the UE according to the RRC connection resumption procedure based on the stored UE Inactive AS context and any RRC configuration received from the network. The RRC connection resumption procedure reactivates the AS security and reestablishes the SRBs and DRBs.

[0689] In response to the request to resume the RRC connection, the network may resume the suspended RRC connection and transition / switch the UE to the RRC_CONNECTED state, or reject the resumption request and transition / switch the UE to the RRC_INACTIVE state (with a waiting timer), or directly re-suspend the RRC connection and switch the UE to the RRC_INACTIVE state, or directly release the RRC connection and switch the UE to the RRC_IDLE state, or instruct the UE to initiate NAS-level resumption (in which case the network transmits an RRC setup message to the UE).

[0690] For details of the RRC connection recovery process, please refer to 3GPP TS 38.331 V16.4.1.

[0691] PHR Configuration

[0692] Table 1 shows the PHR-Config IE that may be used to configure parameters of the power headroom report.

[0693] Table 1

[0694]

[0695] Figure 6 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method / process 600 for SDT according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In action 602, when the UE is in the RRC_CONNECTED state, an RRC release message (e.g., an RRCRelease message) containing an SDT configuration is received from the BS. In action 604, when the UE receives the RRC release message, the UE transitions from the RRC_CONNECTED state to the RRC_INACTIVE state. In action 606, when the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state, the UE initiates an SDT process based on the SDT configuration. In action 608, the UE obtains a default configuration that is pre-configured for the UE and contains a PHR configuration. In some examples, the default configuration containing the PHR configuration may be pre-configured / pre-defined / stored in the UE. In action 610, when the UE initiates the SDT process, the UE applies the default configuration.

[0696] In some examples, when the UE applies this default configuration, the UE is able to trigger a PHR during the SDT process.

[0697] In some examples, after the UE triggers a PHR, the UE may receive UL resources from the BS during an SDT process, and also determine whether to generate a PHR MAC CE based on whether the UL resources can accommodate the PHR MAC CE.

[0698] In some examples, when the UE determines that the UL resources can accommodate the PHR MAC CE, the UE may generate a PHR MAC CE.

[0699] In some examples, after the UE generates the PHR MAC CE, the UE may transmit the PHR MAC CE to the BS via UL resources.

[0700] In some examples, when the UE determines that the UL resources can accommodate data but cannot accommodate the PHR MAC CE, the UE may cancel the PHR during the SDT process.

[0701] In some examples, this data includes all pending data available for transmission.

[0702] In some examples, after the UE triggers a PHR, the UE may cancel the PHR when the SDT process fails or completes.

[0703] In some examples, after the UE triggers the PHR, the UE may cancel the PHR when the SDT process is canceled.

[0704] In some examples, the default configuration includes a default MAC cell group configuration.

[0705] Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating a node 700 for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0706] like Figure 7 As shown, the node 700 may include a transceiver 720, a processor 728, a memory 734, one or more presentation components 738, and at least one antenna 736. The node 700 may also include a radio frequency (RF) spectrum band module, a base station communication module, a network communication module, a system communication management module, an input / output (I / O) port, an I / O component, or a power supply (in Figure 7 not shown).

[0707] Each of these components may communicate with each other directly or indirectly via one or more buses 740. Node 700 may be a processor executing on Figure 6 Various disclosed functions are shown in the UE or BS of examples / implementations of the present disclosure.

[0708] The transceiver 720 may have a transmitter 722 (having a transmitting circuit) and a receiver 724 (having a receiving circuit), and may be configured to transmit and / or receive time and / or frequency resource partitioning information. The transceiver 720 may be configured to transmit in different types of subframes and time slots, including but not limited to usable, unusable, and flexibly usable subframe and time slot formats. The transceiver 720 may be configured to receive data and control channels.

[0709] Node 700 may include a variety of computer-readable media. Computer-readable media may be any media that can be accessed by node 700, and include both volatile (and non-volatile) media, and removable (and non-removable) media. Computer-readable media may include computer storage media and communication media. Computer storage media include both volatile (and / or non-volatile) and removable (and / or non-removable) media, and can be implemented in any method or technology to store information such as computer-readable media.

[0710] Computer storage media include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory (or other storage technology), CD-ROM, Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) (or other optical disk storage device), magnetic tape cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices. Computer storage media do not include propagated data signals.

[0711] Communication media may typically embody computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and include any information transmission media. The term "modulated data signal" may refer to a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. Communication media include wired media

[0712] Computer-readable media may include any combination of wireless media (such as a wired network or direct-wired connection) and wireless media (such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media). Combinations of any disclosed media should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0713] The memory 734 may include computer storage media in the form of volatile and / or non-volatile memory. The memory 734 may be removable, non-removable, or a combination thereof. For example, the memory 734 may include solid-state memory, a hard drive, an optical drive, etc. Figure 7 As shown, the memory 734 may store computer-readable and / or computer-executable instructions 732 (e.g., software codes), which are configured to cause the processor 728 (e.g., processing circuit) to perform various disclosed functions when executed. Optionally, the instructions 732 may not be directly executed by the processor 728, but are configured to cause the node 700 (e.g., when compiled and executed) to perform various disclosed functions.

[0714] The processor 728 may include an intelligent hardware device: a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an ASIC, etc. The processor 728 may include a memory. The processor 728 may process data 730 and instructions 732 received from the memory 734, as well as information received through the transceiver 720, the baseband communication module, and / or the network communication module. The processor 728 may also process information sent to the transceiver 720 for transmission through the antenna 736, and / or information sent to the network communication module for transmission to the CN.

[0715] One or more presentation components 738 can present data to a person or other device. Presentation component 738 may include a display device, a speaker, a printing component, a vibration component, etc. According to the present disclosure, it is apparent that various technologies can be utilized to implement the concepts of the present disclosure without departing from the scope of these concepts. In addition, although concepts have been disclosed with specific reference to certain embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes can be made in form and detail without departing from the scope of those concepts. Therefore, the present disclosure should be considered illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. It should also be understood that although the present disclosure is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, many rearrangements, modifications, and substitutions are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for a user equipment UE to perform a small data transmission SDT, It is characterized in that The method comprises: When the UE is in an RRC connection RRC_CONNECTED state, receiving a radio resource control RRC release message including an SDT configuration and an SDT failure detection timer from a base station BS; After receiving the RRC release message, the RRC_CONNECTED state is changed to the RRC_INACTIVE state; When the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state, initiating an SDT process based on the SDT configuration; In response to initiating the SDT process, starting the SDT failure detection timer; Obtaining a default configuration pre-configured for the UE and including a power headroom report PHR configuration; After initiating the SDT process, applying the default configuration; After applying the default configuration, triggering a PHR during the SDT process; and When the SDT failure detection timer expires, it is determined that the SDT process has failed, and the PHR is cancelled.

2. The method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The method further comprises: receiving uplink (UL) resources from the BS during the SDT process; and Whether to generate the PHR media access control MAC control element CE is determined based on whether the UL resources can accommodate the PHR MAC control element CE.

3. The method according to claim 2, It is characterized in that The method further comprises: When the UL resources are determined to be able to accommodate the PHR MAC CE, the PHR MAC CE is generated.

4. The method according to claim 3, It is characterized in that The method further comprises: After generating the PHR MAC CE, the PHR MAC CE is transmitted to the BS via the UL resource.

5. The method according to claim 2, It is characterized in that The method further comprises: When the UL resources are determined to be able to accommodate data but cannot accommodate the PHR MAC CE, the PHR is cancelled during the SDT process.

6. The method according to claim 5, It is characterized in that The data includes all pending data available for transmission.

7. The method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The default configuration includes a default media access control MAC cell group configuration.

8. A user equipment UE for performing small data transmission SDT, It is characterized in that The UE includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory, the at least one memory being coupled to the at least one processor, the at least one memory storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the UE to: When the UE is in an RRC connection RRC_CONNECTED state, receiving a radio resource control RRC release message including an SDT configuration and an SDT failure detection timer from a base station BS; After receiving the RRC release message, the RRC_CONNECTED state is changed to the RRC_INACTIVE state; When the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state, initiating an SDT process based on the SDT configuration; In response to initiating the SDT process, starting the SDT failure detection timer; Obtaining a default configuration pre-configured for the UE and including a power headroom report PHR configuration; After initiating the SDT process, applying the default configuration; After applying the default configuration, triggering a PHR during the SDT process; and When the SDT failure detection timer expires, it is determined that the SDT process has failed, and the PHR is cancelled.

9. The UE according to claim 8, It is characterized in that The computer executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to: receiving UL resources from the BS during the SDT procedure; and Whether to generate the PHR media access control MAC control element CE is determined based on whether the UL resources can accommodate the PHR MAC control element CE.

10. The UE according to claim 9, It is characterized in that The computer executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to: When the UL resources are determined to be able to accommodate the PHR MAC CE, the PHR MAC CE is generated.

11. The UE according to claim 10, It is characterized in that The computer executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to: After generating the PHR MAC CE, the PHR MAC CE is transmitted to the BS via the UL resource.

12. The UE according to claim 9, It is characterized in that The computer executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the UE to: When the UL resources are determined to be able to accommodate data but cannot accommodate the PHR MAC CE, the PHR is cancelled during the SDT process.

13. The UE according to claim 12, It is characterized in that The data includes all pending data available for transmission.

14. The UE according to claim 8, It is characterized in that The default configuration includes a default media access control MAC cell group configuration.

Images