Method and apparatus for signaling suspension and resumption of network coding operations

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for wireless communication between a base station and a user equipment, wherein the method comprises: receiving a control element of network coding; and controlling activation or deactivation of network coding in response to receiving the control element.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for signaling network coding pause and resume of devices in a radio communication system and an associated control protocol for the pause / resume operation of network coding. More specifically, the present invention relates to data transmission robustness improvement for Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC). Background Art

[0002] Wireless communication systems are deployed in large numbers to address a wide range of applications ranging from mobile broadband, massive machine type communications, and ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC). Such systems allow multiple user equipment (UE) or mobile terminals (MT) to share a wireless medium to exchange several types of data content (e.g., video, voice, messaging, etc.) over a radio access network (RAN) through one or more base stations. Examples of such wireless multiple access communication systems include systems based on the third generation partnership project (3GPP) standard (such as the fourth generation (4G) long term evolution (LTE) or the recent fifth generation (5G) new air interface (NR) system, etc.) or systems based on the IEEE 802.11 standard (such as WiFi, etc.).

[0003] URLLC type of communication is particularly relevant in Industrial Internet of Things (I-IoT or IIOT or IIoT) environments where communication reliability and therefore communication service availability is crucial to prevent service interruptions, while low latency related to the end-to-end delay of the communication is required, for example to avoid introducing downtime of equipment or to ensure predictive deterministic data reception.

[0004] Several techniques can be considered to ensure communication reliability, such as Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) or on-demand retransmission schemes based on acknowledgement messaging, even if the low latency requirement is difficult to meet.

[0005] To reduce this problem, a packet duplication mechanism is provided, called Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) T-duplicate in 3GPP and described in specification TS 38.323, where packets are systematically sent and received on two different carrier frequencies instead of one. However, packet duplication is not optimal because it lacks coding diversity while doubling the bandwidth requirement.

[0006] The introduction of network coding for RAN communications leads to the consideration of appropriate signaling between the involved radio devices (i.e. UE and base station). Network coding is known to be an effective technique to achieve low packet error rate with minimal redundancy. Compared with the above techniques, it provides the same level of robustness while reducing bandwidth consumption.

[0007] In operation, however, the device should be able to react quickly to changes in conditions such as degradation or improvement in radio link quality, the need to free up bandwidth for priority traffic, or the need to reduce processing load (e.g., overheating). Therefore, network coding operations must be able to be interrupted and resumed quickly.

[0008] Several 3GPP specification documents (TS 38.300, TS 37.340, TS 38.323, TS 38.331 ...) provide specifications for multiple connections or PDCP duplication setup. Summary of the invention

[0009] The present invention has been designed to solve one or more of the aforementioned problems. A signaling method is provided for establishing a shared network coding (NC) configuration between 5G devices while describing an associated control protocol for suspending / resume operations.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, the network coding (NC) suspend / resume notification is established by means of a MAC CE (MAC Control Element) carried in the MAC subheader of the packet. In another aspect of the present invention, the network coding (NC) suspend / resume notification is established by means of a specific field added in an information element (IE) carried in one or more radio resource control (RRC) messages. In another embodiment of the present invention, the network coding (NC) suspend / resume command is embedded in a dedicated field of a coded data packet.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, the network coding (NC) configuration process and the network coding (NC) suspension / resumption process are controlled by the base station. In another embodiment of the present invention, the UE may send a suspension / resumption request by sharing the state information carried in the RRC message.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, protocol messages for both network coding (NC) configuration and network coding (NC) suspend / resume processing belong to a message set standardized by 3GPP.

[0013] Pause / resume operations differ from enable / disable in their short validity period and the fact that the device resumes network coding with the same configuration as used before suspension without using reconfiguration.

[0014] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method for wireless communication between a base station and a user equipment is provided, wherein the method comprises: receiving a control element for network coding; and controlling activation or deactivation of network coding in response to receiving the control element.

[0015] In an embodiment, the receiving step and the controlling step are performed by the base station, and the network coded control element is sent by the user equipment.

[0016] In an embodiment, the receiving step and the controlling step are performed by the user equipment, and the network coded control element is sent by the base station.

[0017] In an embodiment, the method further comprises: before the base station sends the control element for network coding, the user equipment sends a request for activation or deactivation of network coding to the base station.

[0018] In an embodiment, the method further comprises: in case of receiving the network coded control element, the user equipment sends a confirmation message to the base station to confirm the receipt of the network coded control element.

[0019] In an embodiment, the method further comprises: before the base station sends the network coded control element, the user equipment sends a status report to the base station.

[0020] In an embodiment, the network coded control element is embedded in the medium access control control element.

[0021] In an embodiment, the network coded control element is embedded in a header of a Packet Data Convergence Protocol message.

[0022] In an embodiment, the network coded control element is embedded in a radio resource control message.

[0023] In an embodiment, the method further comprises: before sending the control element for network coding, checking the need for activation or deactivation of network coding.

[0024] In an embodiment, checking for a need for network coding to be enabled or disabled is based at least on a processor condition.

[0025] In an embodiment, checking the need for network coding activation or deactivation is based at least on the battery status.

[0026] In an embodiment, checking the need for network coding activation or deactivation is based at least on a quality of service modification.

[0027] In an embodiment, checking the need for network coding activation or deactivation is based at least on channel quality modification detection.

[0028] In an embodiment, checking the need for network coding activation or deactivation is based at least on reception of a buffer status report.

[0029] In an embodiment, the step of controlling deactivation of network coding comprises suspending encoding of data packets according to a predefined network coding configuration.

[0030] In an embodiment, the step of controlling deactivation of network coding comprises suspending decoding of data packets according to a predefined network coding configuration.

[0031] In an embodiment, the step of controlling the enabling of network coding comprises resuming encoding of the data packets according to a predefined network coding configuration.

[0032] In an embodiment, the step of controlling the enabling of network coding comprises resuming decoding of the data packets according to a predefined network coding configuration.

[0033] In an embodiment, the method further comprises: storing in a local memory a network coding configuration for encoding or decoding the data packet.

[0034] In an embodiment, the predefined network coding configuration used to recover the encoding or decoding of the data packet is the last used network coding configuration.

[0035] In an embodiment, the request for network coding activation or deactivation is embedded in a medium access control control element.

[0036] In an embodiment, the request for network coding activation or deactivation is embedded in a header of a Packet Data Convergence Protocol message.

[0037] In an embodiment, the request for network coding activation or deactivation is embedded in a radio resource control message.

[0038] In an embodiment, the confirmation message is embedded in a medium access control control element.

[0039] In an embodiment, the acknowledgement message is embedded in a header of a Packet Data Convergence Protocol message.

[0040] In an embodiment, the confirmation message is embedded in a radio resource control message.

[0041] In an embodiment, after receiving the confirmation message, network coding activation is performed at the base station.

[0042] In an embodiment, after receiving the confirmation message, network coding deactivation is performed at the base station.

[0043] In an embodiment, the network coded control element comprises information about whether said network coded data radio bearer is to be activated or deactivated.

[0044] In an embodiment, the controlling step comprises: sending a notification of activation or deactivation of network coding to indicate when activation or deactivation of network coding takes effect.

[0045] In an embodiment, the activation or deactivation notification indicates the first data packet for which network coding is activated or deactivated.

[0046] In an embodiment, the notification of activation or deactivation of network coding includes information on data radio bearers for which network coding is to be activated or deactivated.

[0047] In an embodiment, the activation or deactivation notification of network coding is embedded in a header of a packet data convergence protocol message.

[0048] According to another aspect of the present invention, a computer program product for a programmable device is provided, the computer program product comprising an instruction sequence for implementing the method according to the present invention when the instruction sequence is loaded into and executed by the programmable device.

[0049] According to another aspect of the present invention, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores instructions of a computer program for implementing the method according to the present invention.

[0050] According to another aspect of the present invention, a computer program is provided which, when executed, causes the method according to the present invention to be performed.

[0051] According to another aspect of the present invention, a user equipment device for wireless communication with a base station is provided, wherein the user equipment device includes a processor, and the processor is configured to: receive a control element for network coding; and control activation or deactivation of network coding in response to receiving the control element.

[0052] According to another aspect of the present invention, a base station device for wireless communication with a user equipment is provided, wherein the base station device includes a processor, and the processor is configured to: receive a control element for network coding; and control activation or deactivation of network coding in response to receiving the control element.

[0053] At least part of the method according to the invention may be computer-implemented. Thus, the invention may take the form of a fully hardware embodiment, a fully software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects, which may all be generally referred to herein as "circuits," "modules," or "systems." Furthermore, the invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in any tangible medium of expression having a computer usable program code embodied in the medium.

[0054] Since the present invention can be implemented in software, the present invention can be embodied as computer readable code for providing to a programmable device on any suitable carrier medium. Tangible non-transitory carrier media may include storage media such as floppy disks, CD-ROMs, hard disk drives, magnetic tape devices, or solid-state memory devices. Transient carrier media may include signals such as electric signals, electronic signals, optical signals, acoustic signals, magnetic signals, or electromagnetic signals (e.g., microwave or RF signals). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0055] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, and with reference to the following drawings, in which:

[0056] Figure 1 A radio access network (RAN) topology utilizing carrier aggregation that enables operation of a network coding scheme is shown.

[0057] Figure 2 A Radio Access Network (RAN) topology utilizing dual connectivity enabling operation of a network coding scheme is shown.

[0058] Figure 3 An example of a network coding scheme utilizing operations on the transmitter side is shown.

[0059] Figure 4 Show the use of (in Figure 3 An example of a network coding scheme with operations on the receiver side following the encoding operations depicted in FIG.

[0060] Figure 5 A block diagram illustrating downlink or uplink transmission utilizing carrier aggregation is shown.

[0061] Figure 6 A block diagram illustrating downlink transmission with dual connectivity is shown.

[0062] Figure 7 A block diagram illustrating uplink transmission with dual connectivity is shown.

[0063] Figure 8 An example of a process flow supporting NC suspend and resume processing according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0064] Fig. 9 An example of a process flow supporting NC suspend and resume processing according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0065] Fig.10 An example of a processing flow supporting NC suspend and resume processing according to a third embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0066] Fig.11An example of a processing flow supporting NC suspend and resume processing according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0067] Fig.12 An example of a process flow supporting NC suspend and resume processing according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0068] Fig.13 An example of a process flow supporting NC suspend and resume processing according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0069] Fig.14 An example of a processing flow supporting synchronization of NC recovery according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0070] Fig.15 An example of a processing flow supporting synchronization of NC pause according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0071] Fig.16 A block diagram of a device supporting network coding according to the present invention is shown.

[0072] Fig.17 A first block diagram of a communication manager supporting network coding according to the present invention is shown.

[0073] Fig.18 A block diagram of a UE supporting network coding is shown.

[0074] Fig.19 A block diagram of a base station supporting network coding is shown.

[0075] Fig. 20 A flowchart illustrating a method for supporting network coding pause / resume operation through configuration messages at a base station level according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0076] Fig.21 A flowchart illustrating a method for supporting network coding pause / resume operation through a configuration message at a UE level according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0077] Fig. 22 A flowchart illustrating a method for supporting network coding pause / resume operation through a MAC subheader at a base station level according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0078] Fig.23 A flowchart illustrating a method for supporting network coding suspend / resume operation through a MAC subheader at a UE level according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0079] Fig.24 A method for supporting network coding suspend / resume operation with optional execution confirmation through a MAC subheader at a base station level according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0080] Fig.25 A flowchart illustrating a method for supporting a network coding recovery operation with optional execution confirmation at a UE level through a MAC subheader or a configuration message according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0081] Fig.26 A flowchart illustrating a method for supporting a network coding recovery operation through a MAC subheader after a UE power saving mode at a base station level according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0082] Fig. 27 A flowchart illustrating a method for supporting a network coding resumption operation through a MAC subheader or a configuration message at a UE level after its power saving mode according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0083] Fig.28 A flowchart illustrating a method for supporting a network coding pause operation through a header indication at any device (BS or UE) according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0084] Fig.29 A flowchart illustrating another method for indicating support for a network coding pause operation through a header at another device (UE or BS) according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0085] Fig.30 A flowchart illustrating a method for supporting a network coding recovery operation through a header indication or a MAC CE at a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0086] Fig.31 A flowchart illustrating another method for supporting a network coding recovery operation at a UE through a header indication or a MAC CE according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0087] Fig.32 A flowchart illustrating a method for supporting a network coding suspension operation through a header indication or a MAC CE at a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0088] Fig.33 A flowchart illustrating another method for supporting a network coding suspension operation through a MAC CE or a header indication at a UE according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0089] Fig.34 The format of a PDCP packet according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0090] Fig.35 The format of the MAC control element header according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0091] Figure 1A radio access network (RAN) topology with carrier aggregation that enables operation of a network coding scheme is shown.

[0092] An example of a wireless communication system 100 is presented, such as a 5G NR (New Radio) network that can benefit from the present invention. The wireless communication system includes a user equipment (UE) 101 and a base station 102, which can communicate wirelessly with the UE. Several other UEs and other base stations not shown in the figure may also be part of the system. The wireless communication system may be a New Radio (NR) network, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, or an Advanced LTE (LTE-A) network. A base station may refer to, but is not limited to, a radio transceiver, an eNodeB (eNB), or a next generation Node B (gNB). UE 101 is able to communicate with any type of base station or a limited type of base stations through a radio access network (RAN).

[0093] The base station 102 is connected to a core network 103, which may be, for example, a 5G core (5GC) or an evolved packet core (EPC). The connection between the base station and the core network entity may be wired or wireless.

[0094] A carrier aggregation (CA) mechanism may be implemented allowing UE 101 and base station 102 to communicate simultaneously on two different component carrier frequencies denoted as f1 and f2. The radio cell defined by the coverage area of ​​f1 is called a primary cell, while f2 defines a secondary cell.

[0095] Carrier aggregation has been introduced in the 4G / LTE standard and enhanced in 5G NR. Other wireless communication standards (such as the latest WiFi generations) also rely on this mechanism. The first purpose of carrier aggregation is to increase the data rate per user by sending different data on multiple frequency blocks (also called component carriers). Carrier aggregation can be applied to downlink (DL) transmissions from the base station to the UE and uplink (UL) transmissions from the UE to the base station.

[0096] Another benefit of carrier aggregation is providing both time and frequency diversity to error correction schemes (such as packet replication or network coding).

[0097] According to the PDCP duplication method described in TS 38.323, data from the core network 103 is sent by the base station 102 to the UE 101 in the form of protocol data units (PDUs) on one component carrier frequency f1, and copies of these PDUs are sent to the UE 101 on different component carrier frequencies f2 at the same time or at different times.

[0098] In the context of network coding, according to some embodiments of the present invention, a first set of linear combinations may be sent on f1, and a second set of linear combinations may be sent on f2. In some embodiments of the present invention, the transmission of the linear combinations does not rely on carrier aggregation, i.e., the linear combinations are sent on the same frequency, but not optimally, because the system loses frequency diversity.

[0099] Figure 2 A Radio Access Network (RAN) topology with dual connectivity enabling operation of a network coding scheme is shown.

[0100] The figure presents a wireless communication system 200, such as a 5G NR (New Radio) network, that can benefit from the present invention. The wireless communication system includes a user equipment (UE) 201 and two base stations 202-a and 202-b that can communicate wirelessly with the UE. Several other UEs not shown in the figure may also be part of the system. The wireless communication system may be a New Radio (NR) network, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, or an Advanced LTE (LTE-A) network. Each base station may refer to, but is not limited to, a radio transceiver, an eNodeB (eNB), or a next generation Node B (gNB). UE 102 is capable of communicating with any type of base station or with a limited type of base stations.

[0101] Base stations 202-a and 202-b are connected to a core network 203, which may be, for example, a 5G core (5GC) or an evolved packet core (EPC). The connection between the base station and the core network entity and the connection between the two base stations may be wired or wireless.

[0102] A dual connection (DC) mechanism may be implemented, where UE 201 and base station 202-a communicate directly using the f1 frequency band, and where UE 201 also communicates with base station 202-a via base station 202-b using the f2 frequency band. In this particular configuration, base station 202-a is referred to as a master node (MN), and the f1 frequency band defines a master cell group (MCG). Base station 202-b is referred to as a secondary node (SN), and the f2 frequency band defines a secondary cell group (SCG).

[0103] In some embodiments, the f1 frequency and the f2 frequency are the same.

[0104] Similar to carrier aggregation (CA), 3GPP has introduced dual connectivity (DC) in the 4G / LTE standard and enhanced it in 5G NR with the goal of increasing user throughput, providing mobility robustness, and supporting load balancing between base stations. This applies to both downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmissions.

[0105] Another benefit of DC is that it provides not only time and frequency diversity for error correction schemes (such as packet duplication or network coding), but also space diversity.

[0106] According to the PDCP duplication method described in TS 38.323, data from the core network 203 is sent directly to the UE 201 in the form of protocol data units (PDUs) by the base station 202-a via the MCG, and copies of these PDUs are sent by the base station 202-a to the base station 202-b, which forwards these PDUs to the UE 201 via the SCG. At the protocol level, it can be considered that each PDU is sent via a split data radio bearer (DRB) or a split bearer, where the same DRB is used on both the MCG and the SCG (actually split between the MCG and the SCG).

[0107] Similarly, in the context of network coding, according to some embodiments of the present invention, a first set of linear combinations of PDUs are sent directly to UE 201 by base station 202-a, while a second set of linear combinations are sent to UE 201 by base station 202-a via base station 202-b.

[0108] Figure 1 and Figure 2 Two possible communication channels (also called branches) between a base station and a UE are shown. However, those skilled in the art know that the 5G NR specification does not limit CA and DC to two branches. More branches can be obtained by adding other component carriers in CA, or by adding secondary base stations in DC. As a generalization, a multi-connection scheme involving multiple additional base stations can be established between the UE and the base station. Details on carrier aggregation (CA) and dual connectivity (DC) are available in specification documents TS 38.300 and TS 37.340.

[0109] Figure 3 An example of a network coding scheme with transmitter-side operation is shown.

[0110] An example of a network coding scheme focusing on the encoding aspects of network coding to be performed by the NC encoder module 300 is presented. An incoming PDU is first processed by a padding function 310. If the length of the incoming PDU is odd, one byte of dummy data (e.g., all zeros) is appended to the PDU, and a padding indication is set to the input of a transmission buffer 308 that is also responsible for header processing. The PDU is then processed by a PDU splitter 301, which splits the PDU into two parts.

[0111] The splitting can be done in many different ways. One way to do the splitting action is to split the PDU into two parts of equal size: (PDU_length / 2) The first byte is placed in the so-called even packet (also called EVEN PDU or EVEN), while the following bytes are gathered in the so-called odd packet (also called ODD PDU or ODD). As an example of other implementations, 1 byte of every 2 bytes can be ordered and placed in the EVEN PDU and the ODD PDU. Those skilled in the art can consider other splitting schemes.

[0112] The two parts are stored in buffer 302 for EVEN PDU and in buffer 303 for ODD PDU. Splitting the PDU into two parts is beneficial because reducing the length of the transmitted packet reduces the probability that a bit is damaged during transmission. Therefore, this also reduces the need for retransmissions due to receiving damaged packets.

[0113] Via the transmission buffer 308, four PDUs will be output: EVEN, ODD, and two PDUs resulting from the combination of EVEN and ODD. The first combined packet, referred to as COMB1 and stored in the buffer 306, is a sum (performed by the multiplication and addition unit 304) of two different coefficients α with the bytes in ODD and EVEN. 11 and α 12 The second combined packet, referred to as COMB2 and stored in buffer 307, is a sum (performed by multiplication and addition unit 305) of two different coefficients α with the bytes in ODD and EVEN. 21 and α 22 The result of the byte-to-byte multiplication is produced by the byte-to-byte addition.

[0114] In some (but not limiting) embodiments of the present invention, operations are performed in a Galois Field GF256. Not all sets of 4 coefficients in GF 256 can be used. Multiple 1s and 0s must be excluded because they will leave the original data unchanged, and (α 11 ×α 12 ) should not be equal to (α 21 ×α 22 ), otherwise the linear combinations will be identical.

[0115] Sequence numbers may also be allocated in the transmission buffer 308. Such sequence numbers may be in the format of (4n+t), where t belongs to {0, 1, 2, 3}. For example, the sequence number of any ODD PDU will be in the form of 4n(t=0), the sequence number of any EVEN PDU will be in the form of (4n+1), the sequence number of any COMB1 PDU will be in the form of (4n+2), and the sequence number of any COMB2 PDU will be in the form of (4n+3).

[0116] Finally, four coded PDUs (ie, ODD, EVEN, COMB1 and COMB2) are sent on different branches (see also Figure 1 and Figure 2 ). For example, ODD and COMB1 are sent on the first branch, while EVEN and COMB2 are sent on the second branch.

[0117] Figure 4 Shown with Figure 3 The encoding operations depicted in the figure correspond to an example of a network coding scheme for operations on the receiver side.

[0118] This example focuses on the decoding aspects of network coding to be performed by the NC decoder module 400 .

[0119] Each received coded PDU (ODD, EVEN, COMB1 or COMB2) enters the receive buffer 411. The padding indication associated with the received PDU can be extracted and passed to the padding removal function 409. In the receive buffer 411, the received PDUs can be reordered according to their sequence numbers. Any sequence number divided by 4 produces a quotient n and a remainder r. Any two PDUs sharing the same quotient n (i.e., any two of EVEN, ODD, COMB1 and COMB2) are sufficient to reconstruct the original PDU. Based on the remainders calculated in modules 401 and 402 of any two received PDUs, a specific set of 4 coefficients (b 11 , b 12 , b 21 and b 22 ) to reconstruct the packet. Example: If ODD and EVEN are received, the coefficients will be the identity matrix (b 11 =1, b 12 =0, b 21 = 0 and b 22 =1).

[0120] Therefore, the remainder of module 401 (also referred to as Rem(SN1)) and the remainder of module 402 (also referred to as Rem(SN2)) of any pair of received PDUs are inputs to the lookup table 403.

[0121] Description in lookup table 403:

[0122] The bytes of the two received coded PDUs (byte (SN1, x) and byte (SN2, x) respectively) will form the vector x indicates the position of the byte in the packet. This vector will be multiplied by the matrix M, and the result is the 2 parts corresponding to the original PDU. Usually 6 cases occur:

[0123] - Case 1) EVEN is received, ODD is received. Rem(SN1)=0 and Rem(SN2)=3. Therefore, the matrix M is the identity matrix;

[0124] - Case 2) EVEN is received, COMB1 is received. Rem(SN1)=0 and Rem(SN2)=1, the matrix M is The inverse of α 1,1 and α 1,2 are the coefficients used by the encoding engine 303 of the transmitter, such as Figure 3 as described in;

[0125] -Case 3) EVEN is received, COMB2 is received. Rem(SN1)=0 and Rem(SN2)=2, the matrix M is The inverse of α 2,1 and α 2,2 are the coefficients used by the encoding engine 303;

[0126] -Case 4) ODD is received, COMB1 is received. Rem(SN1)=1 and Rem(SN2)=3, the matrix M is The inverse of α 1,1 and α 1,2 are the coefficients used by the encoding engine 303;

[0127] - Fifth case) ODD is received, COMB2 is received. Rem(SN1)=2 and Rem(SN2)=3, the matrix M is The inverse of α 2,1 and α 2,2 are the coefficients used by the encoding engine 303;

[0128] -Sixth case) COMB1 is received, COMB2 is received. Rem(SN1)=1 and Rem(SN2)=2, the matrix M is The inverse of α 1,1 , α 1,2 , α 2,1 and α2,2 are the coefficients used by the encoding engine 303 .

[0129] Although the probability of subsequent events is very low, it may happen that only one of the 4 possible coded PDUs is received. In this case, the process will not retrieve the missing original PDU (or may request a retransmission).

[0130] The matrix is ​​given as a preferred choice because the decoding complexity is reduced due to the use of coefficients belonging to the set {0,1}. However, any choice of 4 pairs of linearly independent vectors is acceptable. The matrix operations are performed by "multiplication and addition" units 404 and 405. The results are stored in buffers 406 and 407 before being appended by module 408 to reconstruct the original PDU. The extra padding can be removed in module 409. Finally, module 410 removes duplicated PDUs because it may happen that more than 2 coded PDUs sharing the same quotient are received.

[0131] Figure 5 A block diagram illustrating a protocol stack used in downlink or uplink transmission with carrier aggregation is shown.

[0132] A wireless communication system may be a packet-oriented network that operates using one protocol layer stacked on top of another. In the case of the present invention, the protocols for exchanging control packets and data packets are independent, which means that there is a control plane independent of the user data plane. The two planes use the same layers but different stacks. The user data plane may consist of an SDAP layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, and a MAC layer. The control data plane may consist of an RRC layer, a PDCP layer, an RLC layer, and a MAC layer. Figure 5 Represents the protocol stack responsible for user data packets. The stack consists of the SDAP layer 511, PDCP layer 512, RLC layers 513 and 514, MAC layer 515, and PHY layer 516 on the transmitter side 510. On the receiver side 520, the same stack is found to handle incoming data packets in reverse order. First comes the PHY layer 526, then the MAC layer 525, RLC layers 523 and 524, PCDP layer 522, and finally the SDAP layer 521. The PHY layer 516 at the transmitter side provides an electrical interface to the transmission medium (air) by converting the information stream into a physical modulated signal, modulating the carrier frequency, and performs the opposite operation at the receiver side 526, providing an interface from the medium to the electrical signal by demodulating and down-shifting. The PHY layer is described in TS 38.201, TS 38.211, TS 38.212, TS 38.213, TS 38.214.

[0133] The MAC (Medium Access Channel) 516 protocol is responsible for selecting an available transport format for user data and for mapping logical channels to transport channels. The MAC also handles part of the hybrid automatic repeat request scheme. The MAC layer is described in TS 38.321. The MAC encapsulates data packets sent from the RLC layers 513 and 514. The MAC adds a header that carries the information required for the MAC functionality.

[0134] The MAC on the receiver side 525 receives the data from the PHY layer 526 and removes the MAC header. The MAC passes the data to the RLC layer.

[0135] The RLC (Radio Link Control) layer 513 or 514 is responsible for segmenting the user data packets sent from the PDCP layer so that they are suitable for the transmission format selected by the MAC. The RLC layer can add headers that carry information required for the RLC function. If a mode other than the transparent transmission mode is selected, the RLC layer is also responsible for requesting retransmission of lost packets. It must be noted that these requests are made through ACK / NACK signaling and the buffer status request (BSR) sent backward. The ACK / NACK indicates which packets have been received or not received, and the buffer status in the response to the BSR indicates which packets will still be successfully sent and received. The RLC layer is described in TS38.322. There are as many RLC layer instantiations as carrier frequencies (also called component carriers). In carrier aggregation, the RLC layer delivers or receives their egress / ingress packets to only one MAC entity.

[0136] The RLC layers 523 and 524 on the receiver side receive data from the MAC layer. The RLC layer manages the creation of ACK / NACK packets required for retransmissions. Due to different propagation, the carrier frequencies can present different transmission qualities, so it is necessary to have multiple RLCs because the modulation and retransmissions may be different. The RLC on the receiver side also handles segmentation and recreates the PDCP PDU before passing it to the PDCP layer.

[0137] The Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer 512 (Tx) / 522 (Rx) handles IP header compression / decompression, encryption / decryption, and integrity of user data packets as control packets pass through, but enforces packet numbering on the transmitter side and reordering of received packets on the receiver side. The PDCP layer is described in TS 38.323. PDCP encapsulates (when placed on the transmission path) / decapsulates (when placed on the reception path) user data packets sent from or to the above SDAP layer or control packets sent from the RRC layer. Adds / removes headers that carry information required for PDCP functions, including sequence numbers, control / data identification bits, and PDU type information when the control bit is set. PDCP can deliver or receive its egress / ingress packets to multiple RLC entities in multi-connection mode (carrier aggregation / multiple connections with up to four branches).

[0138] The SDAP (Service Data Adaptation Protocol) layer 511 or 521 handles quality of service. The SDAP layer is described in TS 38.324. This layer is present only in the user data plane of 5G NR. QoS in 5G NR is flow-based. Packets are classified and marked with QoS flow identifiers (QFI). 5G QoS flows are mapped to data radio bearers (DRBs) in the RAN. In 5G NR, a radio bearer or data radio bearer corresponds to the use of resources of the implementation protocol (PDCP, RLC, MAC) and PHY layers. A data radio bearer can carry several data flows if the data flows belong to the same QoS class. The role of the SDAP layer is to attribute radio bearers to one or more QoS flows.

[0139] In carrier aggregation, user data is sent on 2 or more component carriers, represented here by 540 and 541. The component carriers have different frequencies and may have different bandwidths, different propagation, and thus different throughputs. As mentioned above, managing these differences requires several RLC layers. However, the same MAC layer handles the transport streams.

[0140] Figure 6 A block diagram illustrating a protocol stack for downlink transmission with dual connectivity is shown.

[0141] A first base station 610 (primary) including an SDAP layer 611, a PDCP layer 612, an RLC layer 613, a MAC layer 615, and a PHY layer 616 operates a first protocol stack in transmission. The base station may belong to a 4G / LTE network or a 5G NR network. A second base station 630 (secondary) belonging to a 5G NR network includes an RLC layer 633, a MAC layer 635, and a PHY layer 636. The RLC layers 613 and 633 obtain their PDUs from the same PDCP layer 613, thereby forming a so-called split bearer.

[0142] In UE 620, handling received packets requires duplication of some functions, so 2 separate partial stacks are used. The first partial stack includes PHY layer 628, MAC layer 627 and RLC layer 623. The second partial stack includes PHY layer 626, MAC layer 625 and RLC layer 624. The 2 RLC layers 623 and 624 pass their PDUs to the same PDCP layer 622. The PDCP layer 622 will be responsible for removing duplicate packets before passing them to SDAP layer 621.

[0143] In case more than two branches are used (multiple connection mode), there are as many partial stacks (PHY, MAC, RLC) as the number of branches.

[0144] Figure 7 A block diagram illustrating a protocol stack for uplink transmission with dual connectivity is shown.

[0145] The first base station 710 including the SDAP layer 711, the PDCP layer 712, the RLC layer 713, the MAC layer 715 and the PHY layer 716 operates the first protocol stack in reception. The base station may belong to a 4G / LTE network or a 5GNR network. The second base station 730 belonging to the 5G NR network includes an RLC layer 733, a MAC layer 735 and a PHY layer 736. The RLC layers 713 and 733 send their PDUs to the same PDCP layer 712. The PDCP layer 712 will be responsible for removing duplicate packets before passing the duplicate packets to the SDAP layer 711.

[0146] In UE 720, handling packets to be sent requires duplication of some functions, so 2 separate partial stacks are used. The first partial stack includes PHY layer 728, MAC layer 727 and RLC layer 723. The second partial stack includes PHY layer 726, MAC layer 725 and RLC layer 724. The 2 RLC layers 723 and 724 receive their PDUs from the same PDCP layer 722, thus forming a so-called split bearer.

[0147] In case more than two legs are used (multiple connection mode), there are as many partial stacks (PHY, MAC, RLC) as the number of legs.

[0148] Figure 8 An example of a process flow 800 for supporting NC suspension and resumption processing according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown. The suspension of network coding corresponds to the deactivation of network coding, and the resumption of network coding corresponds to the activation of network coding. It is assumed that UE 801 is in an RRC connected state as defined in TS 38.331, which means that UE 801 is connected to base station 802 (which is a gNB in ​​a 5GNR network).

[0149] UE 801 also registers at a core network entity (e.g., 5G Core) not represented.

[0150] According to one embodiment of the present invention, UE 801 refers to Figure 1 UE 101 or Figure 2 UE 201, and base station 802 refers to Figure 1 Base station 102 or Figure 2 base station 202-a or 202-b.

[0151] The base station 802 checks the need for network coding suspension or network coding resumption based on the previous state. Suspension or resumption may be triggered by a change in channel quality or a change in base station load indicated by a measurement report 803. The base station checks the need to modify NC usage 804. An improvement in channel quality may be an indication for network coding suspension, while a degradation may indicate a need to resume network coding.

[0152] The base station then prepares an NC suspend / resume command message 805, which contains an instruction to suspend or resume the network coding operation.

[0153] Upon receiving the message, the UE sends a message NC Suspend / Resume Complete 806 to the base station, and suspends or resumes the network coding operation at 807. Similarly, upon receiving the message 806, the base station suspends or resumes the network coding operation at 807.

[0154] An example of the NC Suspend / Resume Command message 805 may be the RRCReconfiguration message described in TS 38.331 (version 16.0.0), which is modified to carry network coding parameters. The modification is as follows.

[0155] The following is the Figure 8 Message 805 and Fig.13 1307. NC activation and configuration information (shown in bold below) can be added to an information element called RadioBearerConfig carried in the RRC messages RRCReconfiguration and RRCResume. As defined in TS 38.331 (version 16.0.0).

[0156]

[0157]

[0158]

[0159] In this example, the NC enable, suspend, and configuration information parameters consist of the following:

[0160] -nc-Activation: Boolean value indicating whether NC should be enabled;

[0161] -nc-Suspension: Boolean value indicating whether NC should be deactivated;

[0162] -nc-Config collects the following NC parameters:

[0163] on-Mode: a value among multiple possible values ​​indicating the transmission mode (carrier aggregation or multi-connectivity);

[0164] onc-NumChannel: an integer representing the number of RLC channels used for NC;

[0165] onc-Scheme: A value among multiple possible values ​​indicating the NC scheme to be applied. This format assumes that both the base station and the UE share the same understanding of which NC scheme corresponds to each possible value. In particular, the NC scheme may identify the number of PDUs to be combined together in each linear combination;

[0166] οnc-CoeffList: List of coefficient values ​​nc-CoeffValue (e.g., 8 bits each in Galois field 256). The maximum number of coefficients is a constant (e.g., 32). As an example, assuming that no more than 4 different PDUs can be combined together in various NC schemes, the first linear combination uses coefficients belonging to the first set (coefficients from 1 until 4), the second linear combination uses coefficients belonging to the second set (coefficients from 5 until 8), and so on...;

[0167] nc-CoeffMapping: A list of RLC channels sorted in increasing order of logical channel identity. The number of elements of this list is indicated by the parameter nc-NUMChannel. The value is a bit string where each bit (boolean value) is associated with a linear combination (i.e., a set of coefficients). If the value is true, the linear combination is sent on this channel.

[0168] This is a non-limiting example, and other formats and combinations of parameters are possible.

[0169] An example of the NC suspend / resume complete message 806 may be an RRCReconfigurationComplete message described in TS 38.331 (version 16.0.0).

[0170] As shown in TS 38.331, the following situation may occur: some data packets are waiting to be sent in the buffer. They are inconsistent with the state that the command has created. TS 38.331 indicates that these packets must be flushed. The retransmission mechanism can cause these packets to be retransmitted according to the newly adapted scheme. In one embodiment of the present invention, the application Fig.14 and Fig.15 A method that does not require refreshing the data packet.

[0171] The information carried by the NC Suspend / Resume Command and NC Suspend / Resume Complete may be global (applicable to all existing DRBs between the base station and the UE) or per DRB.

[0172] Fig. 9 An example of a process flow 900 for supporting NC suspension and resumption processing according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown. It is assumed that UE 901 is in an RRC connected state as defined in TS 38.331, which means that UE 901 is connected to base station 902 (which is a gNB in ​​a 5G NR network). UE 901 is also registered at a core network entity (e.g., 5G core) that is not represented.

[0173] According to one embodiment of the present invention, UE 901 refers to Figure 1 UE 101 or Figure 2 UE 201, and base station 902 refers to Figure 1 Base station 102 or Figure 2 base station 202-a or 202-b.

[0174] The base station 902 checks the need to suspend or resume network coding (step 904). The suspension or resumption may be triggered by a change in the channel quality indicated by the measurement report 903 or by a change in the load of the base station. An improvement in the channel quality may be an indication for suspension of network coding, while a degradation may indicate a need to resume network coding.

[0175] Once it is decided to suspend or resume the network coding operation 905, the base station prepares and sends an NC suspend / resume command message 906, which contains an instruction to suspend or resume the network coding operation. Upon receiving the message, the UE suspends or resumes the network coding operation 907.

[0176] In one embodiment of the present invention, UE 901 sends a message NC Suspend / Resume Complete 908 to the base station. In another embodiment of the present invention, UE 901 does not send a message NC Suspend / Resume Complete 908 to the base station.

[0177] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the NC suspend / resume command message 906 may be carried by a MAC control element, and the NC suspend / resume complete message 908 may be carried by another MAC control element. Further details on the format of the MAC CE element are provided in Fig.35 The formats of these MAC CE elements may be the same or different. They may carry information for any data radio bearer (DRB), for uplink and / or downlink and / or for several DRBs simultaneously.

[0178] In one embodiment of the present invention, at the base station level, the activation or deactivation of network coding resulting from the decision to resume or suspend the network coding operation at step 905 may take effect at step 905 before the NC suspend / resume command message 906 is sent.

[0179] In another embodiment of the present invention, at the base station level, the activation or deactivation of network coding resulting from the decision to resume or suspend the network coding operation at step 905 may take effect after receiving the NC suspend / resume completion message 908 .

[0180] In one embodiment of the present invention, at the UE level, the activation or deactivation of network coding resulting from the decision to resume or suspend the network coding operation at step 907 may take effect at step 907 before the NC suspend / resume complete message 908 is sent.

[0181] In another embodiment of the present invention, at the base station level, the activation or deactivation of network coding resulting from the decision to resume or suspend the network coding operation at step 905 may take effect after the NC suspend / resume complete message 908 is transmitted.

[0182] The information carried by NC Suspend / Resume Command 906 and NC Suspend / Resume Complete 908 may be global (to apply to all existing DRBs between the base station and the UE) or per DRB.

[0183] Fig.10 An example of a process flow 1000 for supporting NC suspension and resumption processing according to the third embodiment of the present invention is shown. It is assumed that UE 1001 is in an RRC connected state as defined in TS 38.331, which means that UE 1001 is connected to base station 1002 (which is a gNB in ​​a 5G NR network). UE 1001 is also registered at a core network entity (e.g., 5G core) that is not represented.

[0184] According to one embodiment of the present invention, UE 1001 refers to Figure 1 UE 101 or Figure 2 UE 201, and base station 1002 refers to Figure 1 Base station 102 or Figure 2 base station 202-a or 202-b.

[0185] UE 1001 sends an NC suspend / resume request message 1003 to base station 1002. In one embodiment of the present invention, the decision of UE to send NC suspend / resume request message 1003 may be triggered by the load of UE. According to one embodiment of the present invention, NC suspend / resume request message 1003 may be carried by a MAC control element. Fig.35 Further details on the format of this MAC CE element are provided in.

[0186] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the NC suspend / resume request message 1003 may be carried by an RRC message, such as Figure 8 shown.

[0187] According to another embodiment of the present invention, nc-Suspension equal to "1" represents an NC suspend request, and nc-Suspension equal to "0" represents an NC resume request.

[0188] According to another embodiment of the present invention, nc-Activation equal to "1" represents an NC resume request, and nc-Activation equal to "0" represents an NC suspend request.

[0189] Upon receiving the NC suspend / resume request message 1003, the base station 1002 checks the need for network coding suspension or resumption at step 1004. For example, the base station may deem the request unnecessary in view of the scheduler queue or other parameters that are not accessible to the UE.

[0190] Upon deciding to suspend or resume network coding operation 1005 , the base station prepares and sends an NC suspend / resume command message 1006 , which contains an indication to suspend or resume network coding mode. Upon receiving message 1006 , the UE suspends or resumes network coding operation at step 1007 .

[0191] In one embodiment of the present invention, UE 1001 sends a message NC Suspend / Resume Complete 1008 to the base station. In another embodiment of the present invention, UE 1001 does not send a message NC Suspend / Resume Complete 1008 to the base station.

[0192] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the NC suspend / resume command message 1006 may be carried by a MAC control element, and the NC suspend / resume complete message 1008 may be carried by another MAC control element. The formats of these MAC CE elements may be the same or different, such as Fig.35 These MAC CE elements may carry information for uplink, downlink, or both.

[0193] In one embodiment of the present invention, at the base station level, the activation or deactivation of network coding resulting from the decision to resume or suspend the network coding operation at step 1005 may take effect at step 1005 before the NC suspend / resume command message 1006 is sent.

[0194] In another embodiment of the present invention, at the base station level, the activation or deactivation of network coding resulting from the decision to resume or suspend the network coding operation at step 1005 may take effect after receiving the NC suspend / resume completion message 1008 .

[0195] In one embodiment of the present invention, at the UE level, the activation or deactivation of network coding resulting from the decision to resume or suspend the network coding operation at step 1007 may take effect at step 1007 before the NC suspend / resume complete message 1008 is sent.

[0196] In another embodiment of the present invention, at the base station level, the activation or deactivation of network coding resulting from the decision to resume or suspend the network coding operation at step 1005 may take effect after the NC suspend / resume complete message 1008 is transmitted.

[0197] The information carried by the NC Suspend / Resume Command 1006 and NC Suspend / Resume Complete 1008 notifications may be global (to apply to all existing DRBs between the base station and the UE) or per DRB.

[0198] Fig.11 An example of a process flow 1100 for supporting NC suspension and resumption processing according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention is shown. Assume that UE 1101 is in an RRC connected state as defined in TS 38.331, which means that UE 1101 is connected to base station 1102 (which is a gNB in ​​a 5G NR network).

[0199] According to one embodiment of the present invention, UE 1101 refers to Figure 1 UE 101 or Figure 2 UE 201, and base station 1102 refers to Figure 1 Base station 102 or Figure 2 base station 202-a or 202-b.

[0200] UE 1101 also registers at a core network entity (e.g., 5G core) not shown. At step 1104, base station 1102 checks the need for network coding suspension or resumption. For example, the suspension or resumption may be triggered by a change in channel quality indicated by measurement report 1103 or a change in base station load. Once a decision is made to suspend or resume network coding operation at step 1105, the base station prepares and sends an NC Suspend / Resume Notification 1106 containing an indication to suspend or resume network coding mode. Upon receiving the message, the UE suspends or resumes network coding operation at step 1007.

[0201] In one embodiment of the present invention, the NC suspend / resume notification may be carried by the PDCP header of one or more packets that are no longer NC-encoded (in the case of NC suspend) or by the PDCP header of one or more packets that are NC-encoded (in the case of NC resume).

[0202] Fig.12 An example of a process flow 1200 for supporting NC suspension and resumption processing according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown. It is assumed that UE 1201 is in an RRC connected state as defined in TS 38.331, which means that UE 1201 is connected to base station 1202 (which is a gNB in ​​a 5G NR network). UE 1201 is also registered at a core network entity (e.g., 5G core) that is not represented.

[0203] According to one embodiment of the present invention, UE 1201 refers to Figure 1 UE 101 or Figure 2 UE 201, and base station 1202 refers to Figure 1 Base station 102 or Figure 2 base station 202-a or 202-b.

[0204] The UE continuously checks the feasibility of the network coding scheme (step 1203), and may decide to suspend or resume the network coding accordingly (step 1204).

[0205] In one embodiment of the present invention, the NC suspend / resume notification 1205 may be carried by the PDCP header of one or more packets that are no longer NC encoded (in the case of NC suspend), or by the PDCP header of one or more packets that are NC encoded (in the case of NC resume).

[0206] Upon receiving the notification, the base station suspends or resumes its network coding operation at step 1206 .

[0207] Fig.13An example of a process flow 1300 for supporting NC suspension and resumption processing according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown. It is assumed that UE 1301 is in an RRC connected state as defined in TS 38.331, which means that UE 1301 is connected to base station 1302, which is a gNB in ​​a 5G NR network in the context of the figure. It is also assumed that at least one uplink or downlink data radio bearer (DRB) with an active NC scheme has been established between base station 1302 and UE 1301.

[0208] According to one embodiment of the present invention, UE 1301 refers to Figure 1 UE 101 or Figure 2 UE 201, and base station 1302 refers to Figure 1 Base station 102 or Figure 2 base station 202-a or 202-b.

[0209] After a certain period of inactivity (no transmission or reception of data) of UE 1301, base station 1302 may send an RRC message 1303 called RRCRelease to UE 1301 with a suspension configuration as described in TS 38.331. The purpose is to reduce power consumption in UE 1301 and save some radio bandwidth. Upon receiving this message 1303, UE 1301 stores the current configuration and transitions to an RRC state called RRC inactive. Base station 1302 also stores the current configuration.

[0210] At some point, the base station 1302 may have new data to send to the UE 1301, and the base station 1302 initiates a paging procedure to inform the UE (message not shown in the figure). Alternatively, the UE 1301 may have new data to send, and therefore must request the base station 1302 to restore the connection. In both cases, the UE 1301 sends an RRC message 1304 called RRCResumeRequest as defined in TS 38.331.

[0211] Upon receiving message 1304, base station 1302 will restore the connection. In this case, base station 1302 may consider restoring the network coding previously applied to the DRB for the data stream. To this end, steps 1305 and 1306 are performed, which are related to Figure 8 Steps 805 and 806 in are the same, which means that the base station resumes network coding operation by configuring its NC coding engine (for downlink transmission) or NC decoding engine (for uplink transmission) to resume NC operation of the relevant DRB.

[0212] The base station 1302 then sends an RRC message 1307, called RRCResume and defined in TS 38.331, to the UE 1301. The message may include the new configuration of the radio bearer. The RRCResume message 1307 is modified with the information element of the resume NC. In particular, the NC enable information and the NC resume information must be set to enabled. Other parameters may be optional.

[0213] Upon receiving message 1307, UE 1301 returns to state RRC CONNECTED. Furthermore, at step 1308, UE 1301 configures its NC encoding engine (for uplink transmission) or NC decoding engine (for downlink transmission) to resume NC operation of the relevant DRB by first considering the NC parameters (if they are present in message RRCResume). If the parameters are not present, the UE loads the last NC parameters that had been stored when entering the suspended mode. In other words, in this particular case, the UE ignores its previously stored state for enabling.

[0214] The notification of NC suspension / resumption may be global (to apply to all existing DRBs between the base station and the UE), or there may be one notification per DRB.

[0215] Fig.14 FIG. 14 shows an example of a processing flow 1400 for supporting synchronization of NC recovery according to an embodiment of the present invention. UE 1401 may be a UE that executes Figure 8 , Fig. 9 , Fig.10 , Fig.11 , Fig.12 , Fig.13 UE 801, 901, 1001, 1101, 1201, 1301 after the processing flow for NC recovery described in . Base station 1402 may be respectively executed Figure 8 , Fig. 9 , Fig.10 , Fig.11 , Fig.12 , Fig.13 Base stations 802, 902, 1002, 1102, 1202, 1302 following the processing flow for NC recovery described in .

[0216] When NC recovery is performed for an existing radio bearer with data streams already transmitted, data packets will become NC coded packets. The receiver of these packets needs to understand when the packets actually become NC coded. Although the receiver knows that NC will be applied, some packets may still be received that are not yet network code packets, because these packets were already in the transmission queue of the sender when the decision to apply network coding was made. In order to synchronize the recovery of NC between the transmitter and the receiver, an indication is inserted in the header of one or more of the transmitted data packets as to whether NC is actually applied to the current and subsequent packets.

[0217] In one embodiment of the invention, the indication is inserted into a header handled by the layer doing NC encoding and NC decoding.

[0218] In one embodiment of the present invention, the indication is embedded in the PDCP header of one or more data packets (1413 or 1423).

[0219] In another embodiment of the present invention, the indication is inserted into the MAC CE.

[0220] Therefore, for uplink transmission, when UE 1401 recovers NC in step 1411, UE 1401 will start encoding the packet in which the NC notification is inserted in the header or MAC CE. The uplink data packet 1413 is sent to the base station 1402, where the base station 1402 parses the header or MAC CE. When the packet is identified as a network code packet, the base station 1402 recovers the NC decoding operation in step 1412.

[0221] For downlink transmission, when the base station 1402 recovers the NC in step 1422, the base station 1402 will start encoding the packet in which the NC notification is inserted in the header or MAC CE. The downlink data packet 1423 is sent to the UE 1401, where the UE 1401 parses the header or MAC CE. When the packet is identified as a network code packet, the UE 1401 recovers the NC decoding operation in step 1421.

[0222] Fig.15 FIG. 15 shows an example of a processing flow 1500 for supporting synchronization of NC suspension according to an embodiment of the present invention. UE 1501 may be a UE that executes Figure 8 , Fig. 9 , Fig.10 , Fig.11 , Fig.12 , Fig.13 UE 801, 901, 1001, 1101, 1201, 1301 after the processing flow for NC suspension described in . Base station 1302 may be respectively executed Figure 8 , Fig. 9 , Fig.10 , Fig.11 , Fig.12 , Fig.13 Base stations 802, 902, 1002, 1102, 1202, 1302 following the processing flow for NC suspension described in FIG.

[0223] When NC is suspended for an existing radio bearer with a data stream being sent, the data packets will no longer be network code packets. The receiver of these packets needs to understand when the packets are no longer network code packets. Although the receiver knows that NC will be stopped, some packets can still be received as network code packets because these packets were already in the transmission queue of the sender when the decision to stop network coding was made. In order to synchronize the stopping of NC between the transmitter and the receiver, an indication of whether NC is applied is inserted in the header of the sent packet.

[0224] In one embodiment of the invention, the indication is inserted into a header handled by the layer doing NC encoding and NC decoding.

[0225] In one embodiment of the present invention, the indication is embedded in the PDCP header of one or more data packets (1513 or 1523).

[0226] In another embodiment of the present invention, the indication is inserted into the MAC CE.

[0227] Therefore, for uplink transmission, when UE 1501 deactivates NC in step 1511, UE 1501 will stop encoding packets in which NC deactivation notification is inserted into the header or suspension information is inserted into the MAC CE. The uplink data packet 1313 is sent to the base station 1502, where the base station 1502 parses the header or MAC CE. When the packet is identified as not a network code packet, the base station 1502 suspends the NC decoding operation in step 1312.

[0228] For downlink transmission, when the base station 1502 suspends NC in step 1522, the base station 1502 will stop encoding the packet in which the NC deactivation notification stops being inserted into the header or MAC CE. The downlink data packet 1523 is sent to the UE 1501, where the UE 1501 parses the header or MAC CE. When the packet is identified as not a network code packet, the UE 1301 suspends the NC decoding operation in step 1521.

[0229] Fig.16 A block diagram 1600 of an apparatus 1605 supporting network coding according to the present invention is shown. The apparatus 1605 may be Figure 1 The relevant UE 101 or base station 102 or Figure 2The apparatus 1605 includes a receiver 1610, a communication manager 1620, and a transmitter 1630. Each of these elements can communicate with each other via one or more electronic buses.

[0230] The receiver 1610 receives both user and control breads, but may also receive synchronization signals. The receiver 1610 may also receive specific signals for connection establishment purposes. The receiver 1610 may receive signals for measurement or paging purposes.

[0231] The receiver 1610 may refer to Fig.18 1835 or as described in Fig.19 All or part of the description of 1935.

[0232] In one embodiment of the present invention, the receiver 1605 can receive the Figure 3 and Figure 4 Packets encoded with the relevant network coding scheme.

[0233] The communication manager 1620 is responsible for the establishment, control and release of communications. The functionality of the communication manager 1620 may be distributed and not necessarily reside in the same physical location.

[0234] In one embodiment of the present invention, the communication manager 1620 manages Figures 8 to 15 Related network coding configurations and enabling embodiments, in whole or in part.

[0235] The transmitter 1630 transmits both the user bread and the control bread, as well as synchronization signals, measurement signals, paging signals, and signals specific to initiating a connection.

[0236] The transmitter 1630 may refer to Fig.18 1835 or as described in Fig.19 All or part of that described in 1935.

[0237] In one embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter 1630 may send Figure 3 and Figure 4 Packets encoded with the relevant network coding scheme.

[0238] The elements of device 1605 can be implemented using hardware, software and firmware. The hardware here includes CPU, FPGA, ASIC and DSP, GPU and discrete component electronic device (logic or simulation) or any combination of these parts. When the element is virtualized, that is, when the function is implemented by executing the programming code, such code can be executed in a single or parallel thread on the CPU, DSP or GPU or even on a remote general-purpose server. Communication between elements can be carried out through wires, buses or even optical fibers, or if the element is virtualized, it can be carried out through a memory buffer. Elements can be located together or distributed in various places, even remote.

[0239] Fig.17 A first block diagram 1700 of a communication manager 1720 supporting network coding according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. This is a non-limiting example of a communication manager 1620. The communication manager operates several protocols common to both ends of wireless communication.

[0240] The communication manager 1720 includes an RRC manager 1721, a multi-connection manager 1722, a bearer manager 1723, a network coding engine 1724, a network decoding engine 1725, a PDCP duplication manager 1726, a PDCP entity manager 1727, a carrier aggregation manager 1728, a network coding manager 1729, a parameter manager 1730, an RLC manager 1731, and a MAC manager 1732. Each of these elements can communicate with each other. The network decoding engine 1725 implements Figure 4 The network coding engine 1724 implements the functions described in Figure 3 The network coding manager 1729 is responsible for the setup and release of the network decoding engine 1725 and the network coding engine 1724.

[0241] The carrier aggregation manager 1728 establishes or releases the use of more than one bandwidth portion between the base station and the UE. The carrier aggregation manager has actions on the RLC layer and enables both the primary RLC and the secondary RLC if carrier aggregation is enabled. In operation without network coding or without PDCP duplication, the carrier aggregation manager behaves like a switch and enables the first RLC layer and the second RLC layer alternately.

[0242] The multi-connection manager 1722 establishes or releases the use of more than one bandwidth portion between two base stations and the UE. The multi-connection manager 1722 has actions on the RLC layer. For user data, if multi-connection is enabled, both the primary RLC and the secondary RLC are enabled, or if multi-connection is not enabled, only the primary RLC is enabled.

[0243] The RRC manager 1721 handles the RRC protocol engine. The RRC protocol engine decodes the received message according to the ASN1 specification. In the UE, the RRC manager 1721 extracts the network-coded parameters received from the base station and passes the parameters to the parameter manager 1730, while in the base station, the RRC manager 1721 uses the parameters stored in the parameter manager and pilots the RRC protocol engine so that the latter encodes the parameters according to the ASN.1 specification before sending the parameters.

[0244] The PDCP duplication manager 1726 handles and releases the use of more than one RLC for a data flow. When duplication is enabled, the PDCP duplication manager 1726 behaves like a repeater when sending the same packet to multiple RLC layers.

[0245] The PDCP entity manager 1727 in the context of the present invention handles the PDCP layer. A packet may or may not require header compression, or encryption or integrity. The PDCP entity manager 1727 enables / disables these features. If network coding is enabled, a specific header corresponding to the network coding is selected.

[0246] The bearer manager 1723 handles the SDAP layer. If the packet belongs to the user data plane, the SDAP layer is enabled, and if the packet belongs to the control plane, the SDAP layer is disabled. Similarly, if the packet belongs to the user data plane, the network coding operation can be enabled, and if the packet belongs to the control plane, the network coding operation is disabled.

[0247] The network coding manager 1729 handles the network coding engine 1724 and the network decoding engine 1725. Sets network coding parameters when necessary. The parameters can be stored in the device or in the core network. The network coding manager 1729 enables / disables the network coding engine 1724 and / or the network decoding engine 1725 according to the selected transmission scheme.

[0248] The RLC manager 1731 handles (one or more than one) RLC layer. If the device is in carrier aggregation or multi-connectivity, more than one RLC layer may be enabled.

[0249] The MAC manager 1732 handles the MAC layer(s). If the device is in multi-connectivity and the device is a UE, more than one MAC layer may be enabled.

[0250] Fig.18A block diagram 1800 of a UE system 1805 supporting network coding according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown. The device includes components for sending and receiving communications, including a UE communication manager 1820, an I / O controller 1855, a transceiver 1835, one or more antennas 1845, a memory 1825, and a processor 1815. All of these elements may be in communication with each other.

[0251] The memory 1825 includes RAM, ROM, or a combination of both, or as a non-limiting example, a mass storage device such as a disk or solid state drive, etc. Basic Input Output System (BIOS) instructions may be stored in the memory.

[0252] The processor 1845 is configured to execute machine-readable instructions. The execution of these machine-readable instructions causes the device to perform various functions. These functions may involve transmission (and in particular network coding), or involve interaction with peripheral devices (such as keyboards, screens, mice, etc.). The processor may run an operating system such as, for example, iOS, Windows, Android, etc.

[0253] I / O controller 1855 enables these interactions with external peripheral devices by providing the required hardware and by managing the input and output signals.

[0254] The transceiver 1835 performs wireless two-way communications with other wireless devices. It provides the necessary modem and frequency shifter required to connect to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LTE, 5GNR, etc.

[0255] Communications are through a collection of one or more antennas adapted to the frequency spectrum of the frequency transposed signal emitted from the baseband modem. Each antenna group may be limited to one antenna, but preferably contains several antennas to provide beamforming capabilities.

[0256] The UE communication manager 1820 handles the communication establishment, control and release of the UE to the radio access network. In one embodiment of the present invention, the UE communication manager 1820 refers to the communication manager 1620 or 1720.

[0257] The UE receives from the base station an indication of the time slots available for its transmission. The UE then knows where in time and frequency it expects incoming data or must send its outgoing data, whether the data belongs to the control plane or the data plane. In particular, the UE may receive network coding parameters from the base station to apply to downlink or uplink transmissions. In one embodiment of the invention, this is based on Figures 8 to 15 The processing flow is realized.

[0258] Fig.19A block diagram 1900 of a base station 1905 supporting network coding in an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The apparatus includes components for sending and receiving communications, including a base station communication manager 1920, a core network communication manager 1955, a transceiver 1935, one or more antennas 1945, a memory 1925, a processor 1915, and an inter-station communication manager 1965. All of these elements may be in communication with each other.

[0259] The base station communication manager 1920 handles the communication with multiple UEs. The base station communication manager 1920 is responsible for the establishment, control and release of these communications. The base station communication manager 1920 includes a scheduler. The scheduler allocates time-frequency slots to different UE communications. Information about the occupancy schedule of these time slots is sent to all active UEs. In one embodiment of the present invention, the base station communication manager 1920 refers to the communication manager 1620 or 1720.

[0260] The core network communication manager 1955 manages the communication between the base station and the core network.

[0261] The transceiver 1935 performs wireless bidirectional communication with other wireless devices. These devices can be UEs, or even other base stations. The transceiver provides the necessary modems and frequency shifters to connect to a large number of UEs simultaneously using different frequency carriers in time division duplex (TDD) or frequency division duplex (FDD). The transceiver can provide MIMO coding. The transceiver is connected to an antenna.

[0262] The antenna set may be limited to one antenna, but preferably contains several antennas to provide beamforming capabilities.

[0263] Memory 1925 includes RAM, ROM, or a combination of both, or as non-limiting examples, a mass storage device such as a disk or solid-state drive, etc. BIOS instructions may be stored in the memory to support the operating system.

[0264] Processor 1915 executes computer-readable instructions that perform various functions, such as those related to network coding.

[0265] The inter-station communication manager 1965 manages communications with other base stations. The inter-station communication manager may provide a standardized Xn interface as defined by the 3GPP standard to support these communications.

[0266] Fig. 20 2000 is shown, which illustrates a method for supporting network coding pause / resume operation at the base station level through configuration messages according to an embodiment of the present invention. The operations within the method may be performed by the base station 1600, for example, at Fig.16 The communication manager 1620 is implemented in the communication manager 1620.

[0267] about Figure 8 , it is assumed that the UE is in connected mode and the UE exchanges control and user data with the base station.

[0268] As a background process, the base station follows the evolution of the network system.

[0269] The UE periodically sends an evaluation of the channel conditions or a reference signal known to the base station. According to an example, in 5G NR, these signals are either a channel side information reference signal (CSI-RS) calculated from the distortion of the reference signal sent by the base station, and a sounding reference signal (SRS) (a signal sent by the UE and known by the base station). The CSI RS allows the quality of the downlink to be determined, and the SRS allows the quality of the uplink to be determined.

[0270] First, the suspension of network coding operations is described:

[0271] At step 2001, the base station detects the need to suspend network coding on its connection with the UE. According to some embodiments of the present invention, this need may be caused by an improvement in transmission quality due to less interference from the UE environment or connections of other UEs or a higher load of the base station. These are of course non-limiting examples, and those skilled in the art may consider several other reasons for suspending network coding. The need may occur for any bearer (uplink and downlink) that may be established between the base station and the UE.

[0272] At step 2002, the base station stores the network coding configuration currently in use.

[0273] At step 2003, the base station sends a suspension command. The command is an example but not limiting RRCReconfiguration message as defined in TS 38.331 version 16, which is modified to carry a suspension indication.

[0274] At step 2004, the base station receives a confirmation message "Suspension Complete Message" sent by the UE. The message may be an RRCComplete message as defined in TS 38.331 version 16.

[0275] At step 2005, the base station suspends network coding by configuring its layer manager of block diagram 1700. It may happen as follows: some user data packets are inside the protocol stack, below the layer where network coding is calculated. The packets may be flushed and should be resent without network coding.

[0276] Next, the recovery network coding operation is described:

[0277] At step 2001, the base station detects the need to resume network coding on its connection with the UE. According to some embodiments of the present invention, this need may be caused by a degradation in transmission quality due to more interference from the UE environment or connections of other UEs or a smaller load of the base station. These are of course non-limiting examples, and those skilled in the art may consider several other reasons for resuming network coding. This need may occur for any bearer (uplink and downlink) that may be established between the base station and the UE.

[0278] At step 2002, the base station loads the currently paused network coding configuration.

[0279] At step 2003, the base station sends a resume command. The command is an example and not limited to an RRCReconfiguration message as defined in TS 38.331 version 16, which is modified to carry an indication of suspension. The reconfiguration message may also carry the retrieved network coding configuration retrieved at step 2402.

[0280] At step 2004, the base station receives a confirmation message "Resume Complete message" sent by the UE. The message may be an RRCComplete message as defined in TS 38.331 version 16.

[0281] At step 2005 , the base station recovers the network coding by configuring its layer manager of block diagram 1700 .

[0282] Fig.21 2100 is shown, which illustrates a method for supporting network coding pause / resume operation at UE level through configuration messages according to an embodiment of the present invention. The operations within the method may be performed by UE 1600, for example, at Fig.16 The communication manager 1620 is implemented in the communication manager 1620.

[0283] about Figure 8 , it is assumed that the UE is in connected mode and the UE is exchanging control and user data with the base station.

[0284] Description of pausing network coding operation:

[0285] At step 2101, the UE receives a message sent by the base station and indicating suspension of network coding. The message is an example but not limiting RRCReconfiguration message defined in TS 38.331 version 16, which is modified to carry an indication of suspension.

[0286] At step 2102, the UE stores the current network coding configuration. The network coding configuration may have been received with a message carrying the suspension, or may have been a configuration received with a previous configuration message.

[0287] At step 2103, the UE sends a suspension complete message. As described above, the message may be an RRCComplete message defined by TS 38.331 version 16.

[0288] At step 2104 , the UE suspends network coding by configuring its layer manager of block diagram 1700 .

[0289] Recover the description of the network coding operation:

[0290] At step 2101, the UE receives a message sent by the base station and indicating network coding resumption. The message is an example but not limiting RRCReconfiguration message as defined in TS 38.331 version 16, which is modified to carry an indication of resumption.

[0291] At step 2102, the UE loads the network coding configuration. The network coding configuration may have been received with the message carrying the pause, or may have been the configuration received with a previous configuration message.

[0292] At step 2103, the UE sends a recovery complete message. As described above, the message may be an RRCComplete message as defined in TS 38.331 version 16.

[0293] At step 2104 , the UE resumes network coding by configuring its layer manager of block diagram 1700 .

[0294] Fig. 22 2200 is shown, which illustrates a method for supporting network coding pause / resume operation through a MAC subheader at a base station level according to an embodiment of the present invention. The operations within the method may be performed by the base station 1600, for example, at Fig.16 The communication manager 1620 is implemented in the communication manager 1620.

[0295] about Fig. 9 , it is assumed that the UE is in connected mode and the UE exchanges control and user data with the base station.

[0296] As a background process, the base station follows the evolution of the network system.

[0297] The UE periodically sends an evaluation of the channel conditions or a reference signal known to the base station. In 5G NR, for example, these signals are the (CSI-RS) channel side information reference signal calculated from the distortion of the reference signal sent by the base station and the sounding reference signal (a signal sent by the UE and known to the base station). The CSI RS allows the quality of the downlink to be determined, and the SRS allows the quality of the uplink to be determined.

[0298] First, the suspension of network coding operations is described:

[0299] At step 2201, the base station detects the need to suspend network coding on its connection with the UE. According to some embodiments of the present invention, this need may be caused by an improvement in transmission quality due to less interference from the UE environment or connections of other UEs or a higher load of the base station. These are of course non-limiting examples, and those skilled in the art may consider several other reasons for suspending network coding. The need may occur for any bearer (uplink and downlink) that may be established between the base station and the UE.

[0300] At step 2202, the base station stores the network coding configuration currently in use.

[0301] At step 2203 , the base station suspends network coding by configuring its layer manager of block diagram 1700 .

[0302] At step 2204, the base station sends a pause command. The command is carried by the MAC CE.

[0303] At step 2204, the base station receives a confirmation message "NC Suspension Complete" sent by the UE. The message is carried by the MAC CE.

[0304] Next, the recovery network coding operation is described:

[0305] At step 2201, the base station detects the need to resume network coding on its connection with the UE. According to some embodiments of the present invention, this need may be caused by a degradation in transmission quality due to more interference from the UE environment or connections of other UEs or a smaller load of the base station. These are of course non-limiting examples, and those skilled in the art may consider several other reasons for resuming network coding. This need may occur for any bearer (uplink and downlink) that may be established between the base station and the UE.

[0306] At step 2202, the base station loads the currently paused network coding configuration.

[0307] At step 2003 , the base station recovers the network coding by configuring its layer manager of block diagram 1700 .

[0308] At step 2204, the base station sends an NC recovery command. This message may be carried by MAC CE.

[0309] At step 2205, the base station receives a confirmation message "NC recovery complete" sent by the UE. This message may be carried by the MAC CE.

[0310] Fig.232300 is shown, which illustrates a method for supporting network coding pause / resume operation through a MAC subheader at the UE level according to an embodiment of the present invention. The operations within the method may be performed by the UE 1600, for example, at Fig.16 The communication manager 1620 is implemented in the communication manager 1620.

[0311] about Fig. 9 , it is assumed that the UE is in connected mode and the UE is exchanging control and user data with the base station.

[0312] Description of pausing network coding operation:

[0313] At step 2301, the UE receives a message sent by the base station and indicating that network coding is suspended. The message may be carried by the MAC CE.

[0314] At step 2302, the UE stores the current network coding configuration. The current network coding configuration may have been received with a message carrying the suspension, or may have been received with a previous configuration message.

[0315] At step 2304 , the UE suspends network coding by configuring its layer manager of block diagram 1700 .

[0316] At step 2304, the UE sends an NC Suspension Complete message. This message may be carried by the MAC CE.

[0317] Recover the description of the network coding operation:

[0318] At step 2302, the UE loads the network coding configuration. The network coding configuration may have been received with the message carrying the suspension, or may have been received with a previous configuration message.

[0319] At step 2303 , the UE resumes network coding by configuring its layer manager of block diagram 1700 .

[0320] At step 2304, the UE sends an NC recovery complete message. The message may be carried by the MAC CE.

[0321] Fig.24 A flowchart 2400 is shown illustrating a method for supporting network coding pause / resume operation with optional execution confirmation at the base station level through a MAC subheader according to an embodiment of the present invention. The operations within the method may be performed by the base station 1600, for example, at Fig.16 The communication manager 1620 is implemented in the communication manager 1620.

[0322] about Fig.10 , it is assumed that the UE is in connected mode and the UE is exchanging control and user data with the base station.

[0323] First, the suspension of network coding operations is described:

[0324] At step 2401, the base station receives an NC suspend request from the UE. The suspend request may be caused by an excessive load of the UE or, for example, an overheating condition. The message may be a MAC CE, but may also be a message similar to the RRC message FailureInformation also described in TS 38.331, or alternatively a message UEAssistanceInformation also described in TS 38.331.

[0325] The base station checks for the need to suspend network coding operations at step 2402. The base station may deem the request unnecessary in view of the scheduler queue or other parameters that are not accessible to the UE.

[0326] At step 2403, the base station stores the network coding configuration currently in use.

[0327] At step 2404, the base station suspends network coding by configuring its layer manager of block diagram 1700 and sends a suspension command. The command may be carried by MAC CE.

[0328] Optionally, at step 2405, the base station receives a confirmation message "NC Suspension Complete" sent by the UE. The message may be carried by the MAC CE.

[0329] Next, the recovery network coding operation is described:

[0330] At step 2401, the base station receives an NC recovery request from the UE. This may be caused by the UE system returning to a normal condition. The message may be carried by the MAC CE.

[0331] The base station checks the need to resume network coding operation at step 2402. The base station may deem the request impossible in view of the scheduler queue or other parameters that are not accessible to the UE.

[0332] At step 2403, the base station loads the currently suspended network coding configuration.

[0333] At step 2404, the base station recovers the network coding by configuring its layer manager of block diagram 1700 and sends an NC recovery command. This message may be carried by MAC CE.

[0334] Optionally, at step 2405, the base station receives a confirmation message "NC recovery complete" sent by the UE. The message may be carried by the MAC CE.

[0335] Fig.25A flowchart 2500 illustrating a method for supporting network coding recovery operation with optional execution confirmation at the UE level through a MAC subheader or configuration message according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The operations within the method can be performed by the base station 1600, for example, at Fig.16 The communication manager 1620 is implemented in the communication manager 1620.

[0336] about Fig.10 , it is assumed that the UE is in connected mode and the UE exchanges control and user data with the base station.

[0337] First, the suspension of network coding operations is described:

[0338] At step 2501, the UE sends a suspension request to the base station. The suspension request may be caused by an excessive load of the UE or, for example, by an overheating condition. The message may be carried by a MAC CE, but may also be a message similar to the RRC message FailureInformation also described in TS 38.331, or alternatively the message UEAssistanceInformation also described in TS 38.331.

[0339] At step 2502, the UE receives a suspend network coding command. This message may be carried by a MAC CE.

[0340] At step 2503, the UE stores the network coding configuration currently in use.

[0341] At step 2504, the UE suspends network coding by configuring its layer manager of block diagram 1700 and sends an NC suspend command. The command may be carried by a MAC CE.

[0342] Optionally, at step 2505, the UE sends a confirmation message "NC suspension completed" to the base station. The message may be carried by the MAC CE.

[0343] Next, the recovery network coding operation is described:

[0344] At step 2501, the UE sends a recovery request to the base station. The recovery request may be triggered by returning to a normal condition of the UE. The message may be carried by a MAC CE.

[0345] At step 2502, the UE receives an NC resume command from the base station. This message may be carried by the MAC CE.

[0346] At step 2503, the UE loads the currently suspended network coding configuration.

[0347] At step 2504 , the UE resumes network coding by configuring its layer manager of block diagram 1700 .

[0348] Optionally, at step 2505, the UE sends a confirmation message "NC recovery completed" to the base station. The message may be carried by the MAC CE.

[0349] Fig.26 2600 is shown, illustrating a method for supporting network coding recovery operation at the base station level through a MAC subheader after a UE power saving mode according to an embodiment of the present invention. The operations within the method may be performed by the base station 1600, for example, at Fig.16 The UE is implemented in the communication manager 1620 of the UE. The UE is in the connected mode at the beginning of the flowchart. Fig.13 ,This flow chart is specific to 5GNR and its power consumption control mechanism.

[0350] At step 2601, the base station sends an RRC release message. The first effect of this message is to suspend all message exchanges on the data bearer, so the network coding operation will be automatically terminated. However, the base station may decide to send an RRC release message with an indication to suspend network coding so as not to lose the current configuration.

[0351] At step 2602, the base station stores the network coding configuration used before release.

[0352] At step 2603, the base station receives an RRC resume request to resume the connection.

[0353] At step 2604, the base station checks whether the need for network coding operation is necessary using the same or different settings than previously used.

[0354] At step 2605, upon a positive check of step 2604, the base station reloads its stored network coding configuration.

[0355] At step 2606, the base station resumes network coding operation.

[0356] At step 2607, the base station sends an RRC Resume Command. It must be understood that the RRC Resume Command as defined in TS 38.331 contains all the parameters of the RRCReconfiguration Command also defined in TS 38.331. The base station may use this command to modify the network coding parameters if different settings are required, or may even omit the parameters but indicate that network coding is to be resumed.

[0357] At step 2608, the base station receives an RRC recovery complete message confirming the configuration execution on the UE side.

[0358] Fig. 272700 is shown, illustrating a method for supporting network coding recovery operation at the UE level after its power saving mode through a MAC subheader or configuration message according to an embodiment of the present invention. The operations within the method may be performed by the UE 1600, for example, at Fig.16 The UE is implemented in the communication manager 1620 of the embodiment. At the beginning of the flowchart, the UE is in the connected mode. Fig.13 ,This flow chart is specific to 5G NR and its power consumption control mechanism.

[0359] At step 2701 , the UE receives a RRCRelease message with a network coding suspension indication, which forces the UE to store the network coding configuration in a memory before entering a power saving mode at step 2702 .

[0360] At step 2703, because the UE has some messages to send, or has received a paging message, the UE needs to exit from the power saving mode to the communication mode. To achieve this, the UE sends a RRCResumeRequest message to the base station.

[0361] In response, at step 2704, the UE receives a RRCResume command. This message, described in TS 38.331 version 16, may optionally contain the entire network coding configuration. If it does contain the configuration, the UE will skip step 2705.

[0362] At step 2705, in case the network coding parameters are omitted, once the network coding configuration is stored at step 2702, the UE loads the network coding configuration from the memory.

[0363] At step 2706, the UE resumes network coding operation using the newly received parameters or using the stored parameters.

[0364] At step 2706, the UE sends a RRCResumeComplete message to the base station. This message is described in TS 38.331 version 16.

[0365] exist Figures 20 to 27 In the NC, the notification of NC suspension / resumption can be global, which means it will be applied to all existing DRBs between the base station and the UE, or there can be one notification for each DRB.

[0366] Fig.28 FIG. 1 shows an example of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig.11 and Fig.12A flowchart 2800 of a method for indicating support for network coding suspension operation via a header at any device (BS or UE) is provided. The operation is symmetrical, and letters A and B will represent user equipment and base station, or base station and user equipment. The operations within the method can be performed by a base station or a UE (both are depicted in the box of reference numeral 1600), for example, Fig.16 The communication manager 1620 is implemented in the communication manager 1620.

[0367] Flowchart related to suspension of network coding operations:

[0368] At step 2801, device A checks for network coding pause.

[0369] At step 2802, device A stores the network coding configuration before pausing at step 2803. Then, device A sends a pause network coding notification to device B (2804). The notification is carried by information in the header, more specifically, by the header of the protocol layer that implements the network coding calculation. In a non-limiting example, it can be a PDCP header.

[0370] Flowchart related to recovery network coding operation:

[0371] At step 2801, device A checks for network coding recovery.

[0372] At step 2802, device A loads the network coding configuration stored in the memory before the pause before resuming the network coding operation at step 2803. Then, device A sends a resume network coding notification to device B (2804). The notification is carried by information in the header, more specifically, by the header of the protocol layer that implements the network coding calculation. In a non-limiting example, it can be a PDCP header.

[0373] Fig.29 FIG. 1 shows an example of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig.11 and Fig.12 A flowchart 2900 of another method for indicating support for network coding suspension operation via a header at another device (UE or BS) is related. The operations are symmetrical, and letters A and B will represent user equipment and base station, or base station and user equipment. The operations within the method can be performed by the base station or UE (both of which are described in the box of reference numeral 1600), for example, in Fig.16 The communication manager 1620 is implemented in the communication manager 1620.

[0374] Flowchart related to pausing network coding operations:

[0375] At step 2901, device B receives a network coding pause notification.

[0376] At step 2902, device B stores the network coding configuration before pausing at step 2903. The notification is carried by information in the header, more specifically, by the header of the protocol layer that implements the network coding calculation. In a non-limiting example, it can be a PDCP header.

[0377] Flowchart related to recovery network coding operation:

[0378] At step 2901, device B receives a network coding resumption notification.

[0379] At step 2902, device B loads the network coding configuration stored in the memory before the suspension before resuming the network coding operation at step 2903. The notification is carried by information in the header, more specifically, by the header of the protocol layer implementing the network coding calculation. In a non-limiting example, it can be a PDCP header.

[0380] exist Fig.28 and Fig.29 In the NC suspend / resume notification, the notification applies to the DRB used to send the (one or more) packets containing the notification.

[0381] Fig.30 FIG. 1 shows an example of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig.14 Flowchart 3000 of a method for supporting network coding recovery operation at a base station via header indication or MACCE. The operations within the method may be performed by base station 1600, for example, at Fig.16 The communication manager 1620 is implemented in the communication manager 1620.

[0382] At step 3001, the base station resumes the network coding scheme on the base station side according to the established predetermined network coding configuration, and then pauses. The base station has configured its protocol layer, and now the base station resumes the NC scheme. Because network coding is applied, changes occur in the PDUs carried by the bearer. For example, but not limitation, the PDCP header can be modified to indicate that the PDU belongs to the NC scheme.

[0383] At step 3002, the base station sends a data packet generated by the base station resuming the network coding operation to the UE.

[0384] Fig.31 FIG. 1 shows an example of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig.14 Flowchart 3100 of another method for supporting network coding recovery operation at a UE via header indication or MACCE. The operations within the method may be performed by UE 1600, for example, at Fig.16 The communication manager 1620 is implemented in the communication manager 1620.

[0385] At step 3101, the UE recovers the network coding information. Fig. 9As described in the description, the transmitted data packet embeds the payload data and the network coding information, and the network coding information indicates that the data packet is now network coded because the network coding operation is resumed.

[0386] The UE resumes network coding at step 3102. Since resuming network coding in this manner does not modify the carrier aggregation or dual connectivity mode, these modes will remain in operation if they were previously set.

[0387] Fig.32 FIG. 1 shows an example of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig.15 Flowchart 3200 of a method for supporting network coding suspension operation at a base station through header indication or MACCE. The operations within the method may be performed by base station 1600, for example, at Fig.16 The communication manager 1620 is implemented in the communication manager 1620.

[0388] At step 3201, the base station suspends the network coding scheme at the base station side. Since the network coding code is suspended, changes occur in the PDUs carried by the bearer. The transmitted data packets embed payload data and network coding information, which indicates that the data packets are now not network coded because the network coding operation is suspended.

[0389] At step 3202, the base station sends a data packet generated due to the base station suspension to the UE.

[0390] In flow charts 3200 and 3300, the pause / resume notification is carried by the same packet in which the notification is valid. This approach provides synchronization and avoids flushing packets that are waiting to be received when the notification is received.

[0391] Fig.33 The embodiment according to the present invention is shown Fig.15 A flowchart 3300 of another method for supporting network coding suspension operation at a UE via a header indication or a MAC CE is shown. The operations within the method may be performed by the UE 1600, for example, at Fig.16 The communication manager 1620 is implemented in the communication manager 1620.

[0392] At step 3301, the UE recovers the network coding information. Fig.32 As described in the description, the transmitted data packet embeds the payload data and the network coding information, and the network coding information indicates that the data packet is not network coded.

[0393] At step 3302, the UE suspends network coding.

[0394] Fig.34The format of a PDCP packet 3400 at the interface between the PDCP layer and the RLC layer according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown. This format reuses the PDCP format defined in the specification TS 38.323 issued by the 3GPP organization.

[0395] The first part 3401 is a PDCP header consisting of:

[0396] - a bit indicating whether the information embedded in the data portion 3403 is user data or control data,

[0397] -PDCP Sequence Number (SN),

[0398] - some reserved (R) bits,

[0399] - In one embodiment of the invention, the NC information 3405 bit is present in the header. In one embodiment of the invention, this additional bit (compared to the standardized header) indicates whether the packet is NC encoded. In another embodiment, this additional bit (compared to the standardized header) indicates the presence or absence of the NC header 3402. In another embodiment of the invention, this additional bit (compared to the standardized header) indicates whether an NC suspend or resume action should be performed.

[0400] When the packet contains user data and when the NC enable bit is set to "1", the second portion 3402 is the NC header.

[0401] In one embodiment of the present invention, field 3402 includes information on whether to perform an NC pause action (with Fig.11 , Fig.12 , Fig.14 or Fig.15 related).

[0402] In one embodiment of the present invention, field 3402 includes information on whether to perform NC recovery action (with Fig.11 , Fig.12 , Fig.14 or Fig.15 related).

[0403] In one embodiment of the present invention, field 3402 includes information about when the NC pause or resume action is to be performed (with Fig.11 , Fig.12 , Fig.14 or Fig.15 This may include an identifier of the first data packet to be NC-encoded (in the case of NC resume) or not to be NC-encoded (in the case of NC pause). In one embodiment of the invention, the identifier is a sequence number (SN) associated with the data packet.

[0404] The third portion 3403 contains the payload data.

[0405] The fourth part 3404 is the packet trailer, which embeds hash information required to verify data integrity.

[0406] Fig.35 The format of the MAC control element header 3500 according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown. The format reuses the MAC CE format defined in the specification TS 38.321 issued by the 3GPP organization as the subheader of the MAC encapsulation. The logical channel ID 3505 identifies the type of subheader and fixes the length of the subheader. R indicates a reserved bit, and F indicates whether the length L of the subheader is encoded on 8 bits or 16 bits. In one embodiment of the present invention, the length of field L 3506 is 8 bits.

[0407] In one embodiment of the present invention, the suspend / resume information field 3507 is not present. In this case, the information applies to all existing DRBs established between the UE and the base station. In this case, the LCID field 3508 indicates whether the message is a suspend / resume request (e.g., message 1003), a suspend / resume command, or a suspend / resume confirmation / acknowledgement.

[0408] In another embodiment of the present invention, field 3507 is 1 byte, in which each bit Di indicates the pause / resume state of the network coding for DRB i, where i is the ascending order of the DRB ID in the DRB configured with NC. The Di field can be set to 1 to indicate that the NC for DRB i should be resumed. The Di field can be set to 0 to indicate that the NC for DRB i should be suspended.

[0409] In another embodiment of the present invention, field 3507 is 1 or 2 bytes, LCID field 3508 only indicates that the message is related to the network coding pause / resume operation, and one of the bytes or a portion of the bytes indicates whether the message is a pause / resume request (e.g., message 1003), a pause / resume command, or a pause / resume confirmation / acknowledgement. Another byte or another portion of the byte contains several bits, each bit Di indicating the pause / resume state of the network coding for DRB i, where i is the ascending order of the DRB ID in the DRB configured with the NC. The Di field can be set to 1 to indicate that the NC for DRB i should be resumed. The Di field can be set to 0 to indicate that the NC for DRB i should be suspended. This is not restrictive, and any combination with a minimum number of bits can be used to carry the pause / resume operation.

[0410] Any step of the algorithm of the present invention may be implemented in software by executing an instruction set or program by a programmable computing machine (such as a PC ("personal computer"), a DSP ("digital signal processor") or a microcontroller); or in hardware by a machine or dedicated component (such as an FPGA ("field programmable gate array") or an ASIC ("application-specific integrated circuit")).

[0411] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to specific embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and modifications within the scope of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0412] Many further modifications and variations will occur to those skilled in the art when referring to the foregoing illustrative embodiments, which are given by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, which is determined solely by the appended claims. In particular, different features from different embodiments may be interchanged where appropriate.

[0413] The various embodiments of the present invention described above may be implemented individually or as a combination of multiple embodiments. In addition, features from different embodiments may be combined where necessary or where a combination of elements or features from various embodiments is beneficial in a single embodiment.

[0414] In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that different features are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these features cannot be used to advantage.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication between a base station and a user equipment, the method comprising: receiving a network coded control element; as well as In response to receiving the control element to control the activation or deactivation of network coding, The controlling includes determining an indication of when the activation or deactivation of the network coding takes effect, the indication being an identifier of a first data packet in which the network coding is activated or deactivated.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The receiving step and the controlling step are performed by the base station, and the network coded control element is sent by the user equipment.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The receiving step and the controlling step are performed by the user equipment, and the network coded control element is sent by the base station.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The method further comprises: Before the base station sends the control element for network coding, the user equipment sends a request for activation or deactivation of network coding to the base station.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The method further comprises: In case of receiving the network coded control element, the user equipment sends a confirmation message to the base station to confirm the receipt of the network coded control element.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The method further comprises: Before the base station sends the network coded control element, the user equipment sends a status report to the base station.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The network coding control element is embedded in the medium access control element.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The network coded control elements are embedded in the header of the packet data convergence protocol message.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The network coded control elements are embedded in the radio resource control messages.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The method further comprises: Before sending the control element for network coding, the need for activation or deactivation of network coding is checked.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The step of controlling deactivation of network coding comprises suspending encoding of data packets according to a predefined network coding configuration.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The step of controlling deactivation of network coding comprises suspending decoding of data packets according to a predefined network coding configuration.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The step of controlling the enabling of network coding includes resuming encoding of the data packets according to a predefined network coding configuration.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The step of controlling the enabling of network coding includes resuming decoding of the data packets according to a predefined network coding configuration.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The network coded control element comprises information on whether the network coded data radio bearer is to be activated or deactivated.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The indication includes information about whether network coded data radio bearers are to be activated or deactivated.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein: The indication is embedded in a header of a Packet Data Convergence Protocol message.

18. A computer program product for a programmable device, the computer program product comprising a sequence of instructions for implementing the method according to claim 1 when loaded into and executed by the programmable device.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions of a computer program for implementing the method according to claim 1.

20. A user equipment device for wireless communication with a base station, wherein: The user equipment device comprises a processor, the processor being configured to: receiving a network coded control element; and In response to receiving the control element to control the activation or deactivation of network coding, The controlling includes determining an indication of when the activation or deactivation of the network coding takes effect, the indication being an identifier of a first data packet in which the network coding is activated or deactivated.

21. A base station device for wireless communication with a user equipment, wherein: The base station device comprises a processor, wherein the processor is configured to: receiving a network coded control element; as well as In response to receiving the control element to control the activation or deactivation of network coding, The controlling includes determining an indication of when the activation or deactivation of the network coding takes effect, the indication being an identifier of a first data packet in which the network coding is activated or deactivated.

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