Traffic aware periodic buffer status reporting

Abstract

Wireless communications techniques related to buffer status reporting (BSR) are provided. In some aspects, a method of wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) includes determining, based on a condition of an application, that a buffer status reporting (BSR) condition exists, determining that an uplink grant is unavailable to the UE for a time period to transmit data related to the application in a buffer of the UE, removing data from the buffer, resubmitting at least a portion of the data removed from the buffer to the buffer, and transmitting, to a base station (BS), at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) based at least in part on resubmitting the at least a portion of the data to the buffer. Other aspects and features are also claimed and described.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority and benefit to U.S. Patent Application No. 17 / 449,920, filed October 4, 2021, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 198,238, filed October 5, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The techniques described below generally relate to wireless communication systems, and more specifically, to buffer status reporting (BSR) techniques. Background Technology

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, and broadcasting. These systems may be able to support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Wireless multiple access communication systems may include multiple base stations (BSs), each supporting communication with multiple communication devices (which may otherwise be referred to as user equipment (UE)).

[0005] To meet the growing demand for extended mobile broadband connectivity, wireless communication technologies are evolving from Long Term Evolution (LTE) to Next Generation New Radio (NR), often referred to as fifth generation (5G). For example, NR is designed to provide lower latency, higher bandwidth or throughput, and greater reliability than LTE. NR is designed to operate across a wide range of spectrum bands, from low-frequency bands below approximately 1 GHz and mid-frequency bands from approximately 1 GHz to approximately 6 GHz, to high-frequency bands (e.g., millimeter wave (mmWave) bands). NR is also designed to operate across different spectrum types, from licensed spectrum to unlicensed and shared spectrum. Spectrum sharing allows operators to aggregate spectrum opportunistically to dynamically support high-bandwidth services. Spectrum sharing can extend the benefits of NR technology to operating entities that may not have access to licensed spectrum.

[0006] NR is also designed to support dual connectivity with LTE via a split bearer configuration. For example, a UE can simultaneously connect to both an NR BS and an LTE BS for uplink and / or downlink communication. Radio bearers are services provided by Layer 2 for transmitting user data packets and / or signaling data between the UE and the network. Radio bearers transmitting user data can be referred to as Data Radio Bearers (DRBs). Radio bearers transmitting signaling data can be referred to as Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs). A split bearer in dual connectivity refers to a radio bearer that transmits data between the UE and the network via two radio interface protocols on two wireless communication links (e.g., an NR link and an LTE link). Summary of the Invention

[0007] The following outlines some aspects of this disclosure to provide a basic understanding of the techniques discussed. This disclosure is not an exhaustive summary of all contemplated features of this disclosure, nor is it intended to identify key or essential elements of all aspects of this disclosure, nor to describe the scope of any or all aspects of this disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of this disclosure in a generalized form as a prelude to the more detailed description that follows.

[0008] In some aspects, a method for performing wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) includes: determining, based on the status of an application, that a buffer status report (BSR) status exists; determining that uplink grants are unavailable for the UE to transmit application-related data in the UE's buffer for a period of time; and, at least in part based on the existence of the BSR status and the unavailability of uplink grants for the UE to transmit data in the UE's buffer for a period of time, sending at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) to a base station (BS).

[0009] In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) includes: a processor configured to: determine, based on the status of an application, that a buffer status report (BSR) status exists; and determine that uplink grants are unavailable for the UE to transmit application-related data in the UE's buffer for a period of time; and a transceiver communicating with the processor, the transceiver being configured to: at least in part, based on the processor's determination that a BSR status exists and that uplink grants are unavailable for the UE to transmit data in the UE's buffer for the period of time, send at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) to a base station (BS).

[0010] In some aspects, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided having program code recorded thereon for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE). The program code may include: code for causing the UE to determine, based on the status of an application, that a buffer status report (BSR) status exists; code for causing the UE to determine that uplink grants are unavailable for the UE to transmit application-related data in the UE's buffer for a period of time; and code for causing the UE to transmit at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) to a base station (BS), at least in part, based on the existence of the BSR status and the unavailability of uplink grants for the UE to transmit data in the UE's buffer during that period of time.

[0011] In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) includes: a unit for determining whether a buffer status report (BSR) status exists based on the status of an application; a unit for determining that uplink grants are not available for the UE to transmit application-related data in the UE's buffer for a period of time; and a unit for transmitting at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) to a base station (BS) based at least in part on the fact that a BSR status exists and that uplink grants are not available for the UE to transmit data in the UE's buffer for that period of time.

[0012] Other aspects, features, and embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the specific exemplary embodiments described below. While features may be discussed with respect to certain embodiments and figures below, all embodiments may include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein. In other words, although one or more embodiments may be discussed as features with certain advantages, one or more such features may also be used according to the various embodiments discussed herein. Similarly, while exemplary embodiments may be discussed below as devices, systems, or methods, it should be understood that such exemplary embodiments may be implemented in a variety of devices, systems, and methods. Attached Figure Description

[0013] Figure 1 A wireless communication network according to some aspects of this disclosure is shown.

[0014] Figure 2 A wireless communication network according to some aspects of this disclosure is shown.

[0015] Figure 3 This is a signaling diagram illustrating some aspects of BSR technology according to this disclosure.

[0016] Figure 4 This is a signaling diagram illustrating some aspects of BSR technology according to this disclosure.

[0017] Figure 5 This is a signaling diagram illustrating some aspects of BSR technology according to this disclosure.

[0018] Figure 6 This is a signaling diagram illustrating some aspects of BSR technology according to this disclosure.

[0019] Figure 7 This is a flowchart of a wireless communication method based on some aspects of this disclosure.

[0020] Figure 8 This is a block diagram of a user equipment (UE) based on some aspects of this disclosure.

[0021] Figure 9 This is a block diagram of an exemplary base station (BS) based on some aspects of this disclosure.

[0022] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of a wireless communication method based on some aspects of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The detailed description set forth below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and not as representing only the configurations in which the concepts described herein can be implemented. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts can be implemented without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in the form of block diagrams to avoid obscuring such concepts.

[0024] In summary, this disclosure relates to wireless communication systems, also known as wireless communication networks. In various embodiments, these technologies and apparatuses can be used in wireless communication networks such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, Single Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, LTE networks, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks, 5G or New Radio (NR) networks, and other communication networks. As described herein, the terms "network" and "system" are used interchangeably.

[0025] OFDMA networks can implement radio technologies such as Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, and Flash OFDM. UTRA, E-UTRA, and GSM are part of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). Specifically, Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a version of UMTS that uses E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS, and LTE are described in documents from an organization called the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), and cdma2000 is described in documents from an organization called 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2). These various radio technologies and standards are known or under development. For example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations that aims to define globally applicable third-generation (3G) mobile phone specifications. 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a 3GPP project aimed at improving the UMTS mobile phone standard. 3GPP defines specifications for next-generation mobile networks, mobile systems, and mobile devices. This disclosure relates to the evolution of wireless technologies from LTE, 4G, 5G, NR, and beyond, which use new and different sets of radio access technologies or radio air interfaces to share access to the radio spectrum between networks.

[0026] 5G networks envision using a unified OFDM-based air interface to enable different deployments, different spectrums, and different services and devices. To achieve these goals, in addition to developing new radio technologies for 5G NR networks, further enhancements to LTE and LTE-A are considered. 5G NR will be able to extend to provide coverage (1) to ultra-high densities (e.g., ~1M nodes / km). 2 (1) A massive Internet of Things (IoT) with ultra-low complexity (e.g., ~ tens of bits / second), ultra-low power consumption (e.g., ~ decades of battery life) and deep coverage capable of reaching challenging locations; (2) A massive Internet of Things (IoT) with robust security for protecting sensitive personal, financial or confidential information, ultra-high reliability (e.g., ~99.9999% reliability), ultra-low latency (e.g., ~1ms) and mission-critical control for users with a wide range of mobility or lack of mobility; and (3) Enhanced mobile broadband, including extremely high capacity (e.g., ~10Tbps / km). 2 Extremely high data rates (e.g., multi-Gbps rates, 100+Mbps user experience rates), and deep awareness with advanced discovery and optimization.

[0027] 5G NR communication systems can be implemented using optimized OFDM-based waveforms with scalable digital schemes and transmission time intervals (TTI). Additional features may include a common, flexible framework for efficient multiplexing of services and features in dynamic, low-latency Time Division Duplex (TDD) / Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) designs; and the use of advanced wireless technologies such as massive MIMO, robust millimeter-wave (mmWave) transmission, advanced channel coding, and device-centric mobility. The scalability of the digital scheme in 5G NR, along with the scaling of subcarrier spacing, effectively addresses the operation of various services across different spectrums and deployments. For example, in various outdoor and macro coverage deployments implemented with FDD / TDD below 3 GHz, subcarrier spacing may occur at 15 kHz, for example, over bandwidths (BW) of 5, 10, 20 MHz, etc. For other various outdoor and small cell coverage deployments with TDD above 3 GHz, subcarrier spacing may occur at 30 kHz over an 80 / 100 MHz BW. For various other indoor broadband implementations using TDD in the unlicensed portion of the 5 GHz band, subcarrier spacing can occur at 60 kHz over a 160 MHz BW. Finally, for various deployments transmitting with millimeter-wave components at 28 GHz TDD, subcarrier spacing can occur at 120 kHz over a 500 MHz BW.

[0028] 5G NR's scalable digital schemes facilitate scalable TTIs for varying latency and Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. For example, shorter TTIs can be used for low latency and high reliability, while longer TTIs can be used for higher spectral efficiency. Effective multiplexing of long and short TTIs allows transmissions to begin at symbol boundaries. 5G NR also envisions self-contained integrated subframe designs, where UL / downlink schedules information, data, and acknowledgments within the same subframe. Self-contained integrated subframes support communication in adaptive UL / downlink systems that can be flexibly configured per cell to dynamically switch between UL and downlink to meet current service demands, even in unlicensed or contention-based shared spectrum.

[0029] The various aspects and features of this disclosure are further described below. It should be apparent that the teachings herein can be embodied in a wide variety of forms, and any particular structure, function, or both disclosed herein are merely representative and not limiting. Based on the teachings herein, those skilled in the art will understand that the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented independently of any other aspects, and two or more of these aspects can be combined in various ways. For example, an apparatus or a method can be implemented using any number of the aspects set forth herein. Furthermore, such an apparatus or such a method can be implemented using other structures, functions, or structures and functions other than one or more of the aspects set forth herein, or structures and functions different from one or more of the aspects set forth herein. For example, a method can be implemented as part of a system, device, apparatus, and / or as instructions stored on a computer-readable medium for execution on a processor or computer. Furthermore, an aspect may include at least one element of the claims.

[0030] Figure 1 A wireless communication network 100 according to some aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. Network 100 may be a 5G network. Network 100 includes multiple base stations (BS) 105 (labeled 105a, 105b, 105c, 105d, 105e, and 105f, respectively) and other network entities. BS 105 may be a station communicating with UE 115 and may also be referred to as an evolved Node B (eNB), a next-generation eNB (gNB), an access point, etc. BS 105 may be terrestrial (e.g., connected to a tower, building, vehicle, or other structure or part thereof on Earth) or non-terrestrial (e.g., connected to a satellite, balloon, or other device or part thereof independent of Earth). BS 105 may provide access to terrestrial radio access technologies (RAT) (e.g., NR, LTE, 3G, etc.) or non-terrestrial RATs (e.g., satellite-based RATs). Each BS 105 may provide communication coverage for a specific geographic area. In 3GPP, depending on the context in which the term is used, the term “cell” can refer to that particular geographic coverage area of ​​BS 105 and / or the BS subsystem serving that coverage area.

[0031] BS 105 can provide communication coverage for macrocells or small cells (such as picocells or femtocells) and / or other types of cells. Macrocells typically cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and can allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions to a network provider. Small cells (such as picocells) will typically cover a relatively small geographic area and can allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions to a network provider. Small cells (such as femtocells) will also typically cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., residential areas) and, in addition to unrestricted access, can provide restricted access by UEs associated with the femtocell (e.g., UEs in a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG), UEs of users in a home, etc.). A BS for a macrocell can be referred to as a macro BS. A BS for a small cell can be referred to as a small cell BS, pico BS, femtocell BS, or home BS. Figure 1 In the examples shown, BS 105d and 105e can be conventional macro BSs, while BS 105a-105c can be macro BSs with one of three-dimensional (3D), full-dimensional (FD), or massive MIMO enabled. BS 105a-105c can leverage their higher-dimensional MIMO capabilities to employ 3D beamforming in elevation and azimuth beamforming to increase coverage and capacity. BS 105f can be a small cell BS, which can be a home node or a portable access point. BS 105 can support one or more (e.g., two, three, four, etc.) cells.

[0032] Network 100 can support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, BSs can have similar frame timings, and transmissions from different BSs can be approximately time-aligned. For asynchronous operation, BSs can have different frame timings, and transmissions from different BSs can be time-disaligned.

[0033] UE 115 is distributed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE 115 can be fixed or mobile. UE 115 can also be referred to as a terminal, mobile station, user unit, station, etc. UE 115 can be a cellular phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless modem, wireless communication device, handheld device, tablet computer, laptop computer, cordless phone, wireless local loop (WLL) station, etc. In one aspect, UE 115 can be a device including a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC). In another aspect, UE can be a device without a UICC. In some aspects, UE 115 without a UICC can also be referred to as an IoT device or Internet of Things (IoE) device. UE 115a-115d are examples of mobile smartphone-type devices accessing network 100. UE 115 can also be a machine specifically configured for connecting communications, including Machine Type Communication (MTC), Enhanced MTC (eMTC), Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), etc. UE 115e-115h are examples of various machines configured for accessing communications on network 100. UE 115i-115k are examples of vehicles equipped with wireless communication devices configured for accessing communications on network 100. UE 115 may include one or more sensors (e.g., temperature sensor, motion sensor, accelerometer, pressure sensor, speed / rate sensor, etc.). UE 115 may be coupled to and / or communicate with one or more external sensors (e.g., temperature sensor, motion sensor, accelerometer, pressure sensor, speed / rate sensor, etc.).

[0034] UE 115 can communicate with any type of BS, whether it's a macro BS, a small cell, or something similar. Furthermore, UE 115 can communicate with terrestrial BSs or non-terrestrial BSs. Figure 1 In this context, the lightning ball (e.g., a communication link) indicates radio transmissions between UE 115 and serving BS 105 (which is a BS designated to serve UE 115 on the downlink (DL) and / or uplink (UL), desired transmissions between BS 105, backhaul transmissions between BS 105, or sidelink transmissions between UE 115.

[0035] In operation, BS 105a-105c can use 3D beamforming and cooperative spatial technologies such as Cooperative Multipoint (CoMP) or Multi-Connection to serve UE 115a and 115b. Macro BS 105d can perform backhaul communication with BS 105a-105c and the small cell BS 105f. Macro BS 105d can also transmit multicast services subscribed to and received by UE 115c and 115d. Such multicast services may include mobile TV or streaming video, or other services for providing community information, such as weather emergencies or alerts, such as Amber Alerts or Grey Alerts.

[0036] BS 105 can also communicate with the core network. The core network can provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. At least some of the BS 105s (e.g., examples of gNBs or Access Node Controllers (ANCs)) can interface with the core network via backhaul links (e.g., NG-C, NG-U, etc.) and can perform radio configuration and scheduling for communication with UE 115. In various examples, BS 105s can communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via the core network) via backhaul links (e.g., X1, X2, etc.), which can be wired or wireless communication links.

[0037] Network 100 can also utilize ultra-reliable and redundant links for mission-critical devices, such as UE 115e, which may be a drone, to support mission-critical communications. Redundant communication links with UE 115e may include links from macro BSs 105d and 105e, and links from small cell BS 105f. Other machine-type devices, such as UE 115f (e.g., a thermometer), UE 115g (e.g., a smart meter), and UE 115h (e.g., a wearable device), can communicate directly with BSs (such as small cell BS 105f and macro BS 105e) via network 100, or, in a multi-step configuration, via another user device relaying its information to the network (e.g., UE 115f transmitting temperature measurement information to smart meter UE 115g, and then reporting the temperature measurement information to the network via small cell BS 105f). Network 100 can also provide additional network efficiency through dynamic, low-latency TDD / FDD communication, such as V2V, V2X, C-V2X communication between UE 115i, UE 115j, or UE 115k and other UE 115, and / or vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication between UE 115i, UE 115j, or UE 115k and BS 105.

[0038] In some implementations, network 100 utilizes OFDM-based waveforms for communication. OFDM-based systems can divide the system BW into multiple (K) orthogonal subcarriers, which are also commonly referred to as subcarriers, tones, frequency bands, etc. Data can be used to modulate each subcarrier. In some instances, the subcarrier spacing between adjacent subcarriers can be fixed, and the total number of subcarriers (K) can depend on the system BW. The system BW can also be divided into subbands. In other instances, the subcarrier spacing and / or the duration of the time interval (TTI) can be scalable.

[0039] In some aspects, BS 105 can assign or schedule transmission resources (e.g., in the form of time-frequency resource blocks (RBs)) for downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmissions in network 100. DL refers to the transmission direction from BS 105 to UE 115, while UL refers to the transmission direction from UE 115 to BS 105. Communication can be in the form of radio frames. Radio frames can be divided into multiple (e.g., approximately 10) subframes or time slots. Each time slot can be further divided into micro-time slots. In FDD mode, simultaneous UL and DL transmissions can occur in different frequency bands. For example, each subframe includes UL subframes in the UL band and DL subframes in the DL band. In TDD mode, UL and DL transmissions use the same frequency band and occur at different time periods. For example, a subset of subframes in a radio frame (e.g., DL subframes) can be used for DL ​​transmissions, while another subset of subframes in a radio frame (e.g., UL subframes) can be used for UL transmissions.

[0040] DL subframes and UL subframes can be further divided into several regions. For example, each DL or UL subframe can have a predefined region for transmitting reference signals, control information, and data. Reference signals are predetermined signals that facilitate communication between BS 105 and UE 115. For example, reference signals can have a specific pilot pattern or structure, where pilot tones can span an operating BW or frequency band, and each pilot tone is located at a predefined time and predefined frequency. For example, BS 105 can transmit Cell-Specific Reference Signals (CRS) and / or Channel State Information-Reference Signals (CSI-RS) to enable UE 115 to estimate the DL channel. Similarly, UE 115 can transmit Sounding Reference Signals (SRS) to enable BS 105 to estimate the UL channel. Control information can include resource allocation and protocol control. Data can include protocol data and / or operational data. In some aspects, BS 105 and UE 115 can communicate using self-contained subframes. Self-contained subframes can include portions for DL ​​communication and portions for UL communication. Self-contained subframes can be either DL-centric or UL-centric. DL-centric subframes can include a longer duration for DL ​​communication than the duration used for UL communication. UL-centric subframes can include a longer duration for UL communication than the duration used for DL ​​communication.

[0041] In some aspects, network 100 may be an NR network deployed on licensed spectrum. BS 105 may transmit synchronization signals (e.g., including a primary synchronization signal (PSS) and a secondary synchronization signal (SSS)) within network 100 to facilitate synchronization. BS 105 may broadcast system information associated with network 100 (e.g., including a primary information block (MIB), residual system information (RMSI), and other system information (OSI)) to facilitate initial network access. In some instances, BS 105 may broadcast the PSS, SSS, and / or MIB in the form of a synchronization signal block (SSB) on the physical broadcast channel (PBCH), and may broadcast the RMSI and / or OSI on the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0042] In some respects, UE 115 attempting to access network 100 can perform an initial cell search by detecting the PSS from BS 105. The PSS can provide periodically timed synchronization and can indicate a physical layer identification value. UE 115 can then receive the SSS. The SSS can provide radio frame synchronization and can provide a cell identification value, which can be combined with a physical layer identification value to identify the cell. The PSS and SSS can be located in the center portion of the carrier or at any suitable frequency within the carrier.

[0043] After receiving the PSS and SSS, UE 115 can receive the MIB. The MIB may include system information for initial network access and scheduling information for RMSI and / or OSI. After decoding the MIB, UE 115 can receive the RMSI and / or OSI. The RMSI and / or OSI may include radio resource control (RRC) information related to the Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure, paging, control resource set (CORESET) for monitoring the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), Physical UL Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical UL Shared Channel (PUSCH), power control, and SRS.

[0044] After obtaining the MIB, RMSI, and / or OSI, UE 115 can perform a random access procedure to establish a connection with BS 105. In some examples, the random access procedure can be a four-step random access procedure. For example, UE 115 can send a random access preamble, and BS 105 can respond using a random access response. The random access response (RAR) may include a detected random access preamble identifier (ID) corresponding to the random access preamble, timing advance (TA) information, UL clearance, temporary cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI), and / or a backoff indicator. After receiving the random access response, UE 115 can send a connection request to BS 105, and BS 105 can respond using a connection response. The connection response may indicate a contention resolution. In some examples, the random access preamble, RAR, connection request, and connection response may be referred to as message 1 (MSG 1), message 2 (MSG 2), message 3 (MSG 3), and message 4 (MSG 4), respectively. In some examples, the random access procedure can be a two-step random access procedure, where UE 115 can send the random access preamble and connection request in a single transmission, and BS 105 can respond by sending the random access response and connection response in a single transmission.

[0045] After the connection is established, UE 115 and BS 105 can enter a normal operating state, in which they can exchange operational data. For example, BS 105 can schedule UE 115 to perform UL and / or DL ​​communication. BS 105 can send UL and / or DL ​​scheduling authorization to UE 115 via PDCCH. The scheduling authorization can be sent in the form of DL control information (DCI). BS 105 can send DL communication signals (e.g., carrying data) to UE 115 via PDSCH according to the DL scheduling authorization. UE 115 can send UL communication signals to BS 105 via PUSCH and / or PUCCH according to the UL scheduling authorization.

[0046] In some aspects, network 100 can operate on a system BW or a component carrier (CC) BW. Network 100 can divide the system BW into multiple BWPs (e.g., portions). BS 105 can dynamically assign UE 115 to operate on a particular BWP (e.g., a portion of the system BW). The assigned BWP can be referred to as the active BWP. UE 115 can monitor the active BWP to obtain signaling information from BS 105. BS 105 can schedule UE 115 to perform UL communication or DL ​​communication on the active BWP. In some aspects, BS 105 can assign a pair of BWPs within a CC to UE 115 for both UL and DL communication. For example, a BWP pair may include one BWP for UL communication and one BWP for DL ​​communication.

[0047] In some aspects, Network 100 can implement segmented bearers in an ETURA NR-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) configuration. Radio bearers are services provided by Layer 2 for transmitting user packets and / or signaling data between the UE and the network. Radio bearers transmitting user data can be referred to as Data Radio Bearers (DRBs). Radio bearers transmitting signaling data can be referred to as Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs). Segmented bearers can transmit data between UE 115 and Network 100 over two wireless communication links (e.g., an NR link and an LTE link) via two radio interface protocols. In the NR and LTE radio interface protocols, Layer 2 can include several sublayers, such as the PDCP sublayer, RLC sublayer, and MAC sublayer. The PDCP sublayer can receive data packets from upper layers (e.g., the Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP) layer) and transmit data packets via the RLC sublayer, MAC sublayer, and Physical (PHY) layer for over-the-air (OTA) transmissions. On the receiver side, data packets are received via the PHY layer, MAC sublayer, RLC sublayer, and PDCP layer, with the PDCP layer transmitting the data packets to the upper layers. In a split bearer configuration, data can be segmented after PDCP and sent to the peer side via different RLC / MAC / PHY layers, as described in more detail herein.

[0048] In some aspects, UE 115 may be a multi-subscriber identity module (multi-SIM) UE, such as a dual-SIM, dual-standby (DSDS) user equipment and / or a dual-SIM, dual-active (DSDA) user equipment. In this regard, UE 115 may be configured to use a first wireless communication link to communicate with a first network via a first subscription, and to use a different second wireless communication link to communicate with a second network via a different second subscription. UE 115 may receive voice service, data service, or both via the first subscription using the first wireless communication link. UE 115 may receive voice service, data service, or both via different second subscriptions using different second wireless communication links. In some cases, the first subscription and the different second subscriptions may be maintained by different radio carriers or mobile network operators. In some cases, the first subscription and the different second subscriptions may be maintained by the same radio carrier or mobile network operator.

[0049] Figure 2 A wireless communication network 200 according to some aspects of this disclosure is illustrated. This wireless communication network can operate in standalone mode and / or dual-connectivity or multi-connectivity modes. In this respect, although a dual-connectivity arrangement is illustrated, additional connectivity can be achieved. Network 200 may correspond to a portion of network 100. In particular, network 200 can configure a UE (e.g., UE 115) to implement a split bearer configuration for UL transmission, such as... Figure 2 As shown in the image. Figure 2 The diagram illustrates UE 215 communicatively coupled to network 250 via wireless communication links 204 and 206. In some aspects, communication link 204 is an LTE wireless communication link, and wireless communication link 206 is an NR wireless communication link. UE 215 may correspond to... Figure 1 UE 115 or Figure 8 The UE 800. As shown in the figure, UE 215 may include upper-layer entity 210, PDCP entity 220, and two radio interface protocol entities 230 and 240. Upper-layer entity 210 may include or execute one or more application modules (e.g., application 212, application 214) and a network stack, such as TCP / IP. Radio interface protocol entities 230 and 240 may provide two separate UL transport paths to network 250 (e.g., BS 105 and core network). UE 215 may include hardware and / or software components configured to implement upper-layer entity 210, PDCP entity 220, and radio interface protocol entities 230 and 240.

[0050] like Figure 2As shown, in some cases, radio interface protocol entity 230 implements the LTE RAT, while radio interface protocol entity 240 implements the NR RAT. LTE radio interface protocol entity 230 includes LTE RLC entity 232, LTE MAC entity 234, and LTE PHY entity 236. NR radio interface protocol entity 240 includes NR RLC entity 242, NR MAC entity 244, and NR PHY entity 246. In some cases, a segmented radio bearer configuration can be applied to NR-NR dual connectivity mode. In other words, both radio interface protocol entities 230 and 240 can be NR radio interface protocol entities, and wireless communication links 204 and 206 are NR communication links. In some other cases, segmented radio bearers can be configured between other suitable RATs. Furthermore, in some cases, the UE operates in standalone mode, using only one of the radio interface protocol entities 230 or 240 connected to a single RAT (e.g., LTE or NR).

[0051] PDCP entity 220 can provide services to upper-layer entity 210, such as user plane data transmission, header compression and decompression, encryption and integrity protection, PDCP sequence number maintenance, and sequential packet transmission. PDCP entity 220 can receive acknowledged data transmission services (including indications of successful PDCPPDU transmission) and / or unacknowledged data transmission services from LTE RLC entity 232 and / or NR RLC entity 242.

[0052] Radio interface protocol entities 230 and 240 can operate independently of each other, but can provide substantially similar services and / or functions. RLC entities 232 and 242 can perform packet connection, segmentation, resegmentation and reassembly, and / or ARQ. In some cases, LTE RLC entity 232 can perform packet reordering, while NR RLC entity 242 may not perform packet reordering, as packet reordering can be performed at NR's PDCP entity 220. In the transmission path, MAC entities 234 and 244 can perform mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC Service Data Units (SDUs) from one or more logical channels onto transport blocks (TBs) for transmission on the transport channels to the corresponding entities 236 and 246, and / or HARQ retransmission. In the receive path, MAC entities 234 and 244 can perform demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from one or more logical channels, which are derived from TBs transmitted on the transport channel from the corresponding PHY entities 236 and 246, respectively, scheduling information reporting, error correction via HARQ, and / or facilitating Quality of Service (QoS) processing. PHY entities 236 and 246 carry data information destined for and from the corresponding MAC entities 234 and 244, respectively. PHY entities 236 and 246 can perform cell search, cell measurement, error coding, error decoding, modulation, demodulation, and / or physical channel scheduling and reporting.

[0053] In some aspects, PDCP entity 220 receives packets from upper-layer entity 210 and buffers data packets in UL PDCP queue 202 (e.g., at a buffer memory). For example, in some cases, PDCP entity 220 receives data packets from application modules (e.g., application 212 and / or application 214) and buffers data packets for the application modules in UL PDCP queue 202 or a buffer. Data can be buffered in one or more areas of general-purpose memory, specific memory, dedicated memory array, and / or storage memory. To aid buffering, the employed storage memory can be designated for buffering, although such designation is not mandatory. The buffer memory can be a separate storage memory and / or can be integrated into the general-purpose memory providing buffering. In some cases, the buffer can be PDCP PDU-specific, where the buffer can hold only PDCP data. In some cases, the buffer memory is part of the modem of UE 215.

[0054] As an example, a PDCP entity can add a PDCP packet header to a data packet (e.g., an upper-layer packet) and perform sequence numbering to associate each data packet with a sequence number in ascending order. PDCP entity 220 can store the data packets along with the PDCP packet header and associated sequence number at UL PDCP queue 202. Data packets can be stored in consecutive order based on sequence number. Data packets can be referred to as PDCP packets or PDCP PDUs. When operating in dual-connectivity mode, PDCP entity 220 can route a portion of packets to radio interface protocol entity 230 and another portion to radio interface protocol entity 240 for transmission to network 250. PDCP packets transmitted via LTE radio interface protocol entity 230 can be processed by LTE LC entity 232, LTE MAC entity 234, and LTE PHY entity 236 before transmission via wireless communication link 204 (e.g., an LTE link). Similarly, PDCP packets transmitted via NR radio interface protocol entity 240 can be processed by NR RLC entity 242, NR MAC entity 244, and NR PHY entity 246 before transmission via wireless communication link 206 (e.g., NR link). In some cases, when operating in standalone mode, PDCP entity 220 can route all packets to one of radio interface protocol entities 230 and / or 240.

[0055] In some aspects, each of the LTE-RLC entity 232 and NR-RLC entity 242 may have a buffer queue and may store transmitted packets along with RLC sequence numbers in the RLC buffer queue. Since the LTE RLC entity 232 and NR-RLC entity 242 can operate independently, each LTE RLC entity 232 and NR-RLC entity 242 can maintain its own RLC packet sequence number and, in some cases, perform ARQ processing independently. Network 250 may send RLC acknowledgments (ACK) / negative acknowledgments (NACK) to UE 215 via the appropriate link using the corresponding RAT. For example, for packets transmitted via LTE wireless communication link 204, UE 215 may receive ACK or NACK via LTE wireless communication link 204. Alternatively, for packets transmitted via NR wireless communication link 206, UE 215 may receive ACK or NACK via NR wireless communication link 206. For each ACK received at LTE RLC entity 232, LTE RLC entity 232 may report the ACK to PDCP entity 220. Once a NACK is received, the LTE RLC entity 232 can retransmit the corresponding packet to the network 250. Similarly, for each received ACK or NACK at the NR RLC entity 242, the NR RLC entity 242 can report the ACK or NACK to the PDCP entity 220. Once a NACK is received, the NR RLC entity 242 can retransmit the corresponding packet to the network 250.

[0056] In some aspects, LTE PHY entity 236 can perform OTA transmissions using a different Transmission Time Interval (TTI) and / or UL scheduling timeline than NR PHY entity 246. For example, LTE PHY entity 236 can use a TTI of approximately 1 millisecond (ms), while NR PHY entity 246 can use a TTI of approximately 0.125 ms. Furthermore, LTE PHY entity 236 can have a UL grant scheduling delay of approximately 3 TTIs (e.g., approximately 3 ms), while NR PHY entity 246 can schedule UL grants in the same time slot (e.g., <0.125 ms). Accordingly, wireless communication links 204 and 206 can have different throughputs and / or different retransmission timelines. Additionally, wireless communication links 204 and 206 can have different channel conditions (e.g., different signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) and / or different block error rates (BLER)). For example, wireless communication link 204 can have lower throughput, lower SNR, and / or lower BLER compared to wireless communication link 206. Different throughput and / or channel conditions on wireless communication links 204 and 206 can affect the amount of data that needs to be buffered in UL PDCP queue 202.

[0057] Furthermore, the amount of data buffered in the UL PDCP queue 202 may be affected when UE 215 switches between different configurations. For example, during dynamic radio environments (e.g., based on RRC / L2 / PHY layers, channel quality (CSF), and / or other metrics), network 250 can reconfigure UE 215 to different configurations via radio bearer procedures. Similarly, UE 215 may initiate procedures due to radio conditions (e.g., radio link failure), resulting in a reconfiguration process for UE 215. These reconfigurations may occur within the same RAT (e.g., different parameters / carriers / etc.), to a different RAT (e.g., as a fallback / redirect / switching), and / or between dual-connectivity and standalone modes (e.g., from dual-connectivity to standalone, or from standalone to dual-connectivity). During reconfiguration and steady-state operation, UE 215 may experience UL transmission delays, causing data from application modules (e.g., applications 212 or 214) to accumulate in the UL PDCP queue 202, which may adversely affect application performance and user satisfaction. In this respect, when UE 215 encounters delays in UL transmission (e.g., due to reconfiguration and / or connectivity issues), PDCP entity 220 can continue to receive new packets. These packets can be received from upper-layer entity 210, such as from application modules (e.g., applications 212 and / or 214). As a result, the number of packets held in the buffer can continue to increase, and eventually the buffer may be full (or reach a threshold of interest (e.g., 90% capacity)).

[0058] According to 3GPP TS 38.321v.16.2, Section 5.4.5 Buffer Status Report (which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), a UE can send a BSR to the network. In this regard, there are three different types of BSRs that can be triggered: regular BSR, periodic BSR, and padding BSR. A regular BSR can be triggered by: (1) the arrival of logical channel data with a higher priority than the data already present in the logical channel group; (2) a zero-to-non-zero buffer transition (e.g., the arrival of new data); or (3) the expiration of the BSR retransmission timer. A periodic BSR can be triggered by the expiration of a periodic timer. A padding BSR can be triggered by padding bytes that become available after the Logical Channel Priority (LCP) procedure. When triggering a BSR (e.g., regular, periodic, or padding), if uplink grant is available, the UE can attempt to send the data in the buffer and / or BSR information based on the LCP procedure, available bytes, available grant, etc. If no uplink grant is available, the UE can initiate a scheduling request (SR) procedure if the triggered BSR is a regular BSR. That is, periodic BSRs and filling BSRs may not trigger the SR procedure. Therefore, in some cases, when no uplink resources are available, only regular BSRs can trigger the SR procedure and associated transmission of the scheduling request (SR) to BS 105. This can lead to unnecessary delays in uplink data transmission, adversely affecting the performance of applications running on the UE.

[0059] These types of problems can be particularly exacerbated for applications that generate data at regular intervals (e.g., video streaming, virtual reality, augmented reality, video games, audio streaming, etc.). For example, packet latency and / or dropout can cause jitter, instability, or otherwise negatively impact the user experience of applications generating audio / video streams. In some cases, video quality may degrade (e.g., due to codec adaptation based on insufficient perceived UL data throughput) and become unrecoverable, unlike methods based on trial and error rather than BSR. As described below, various aspects of this disclosure provide solutions to these problems that can facilitate improved data throughput, smoother application execution, better user experience, and / or more efficient use of network resources.

[0060] Figure 3This is a signaling diagram illustrating Buffer Status Report (BSR) technology 300 according to some aspects of this disclosure. As shown, at 310, the application of UE 115 (e.g., application 212 and / or 214) is active. Therefore, before transmission over the communication link, this application may be generating uplink data stored in the buffer (e.g., as described above regarding...). Figure 2 (As discussed). For example, the application can generate uplink data stored in the buffer of the UE's modem.

[0061] At point 320, a BSR condition may exist. According to this disclosure, the presence of a BSR condition at point 320 can trigger a regular BSR. In this respect, even if a regular BSR might not be triggered under normal BSR procedures (e.g., in 3GPP TS 38.321v.16.2, section 5.4.5 Buffer Status Reporting), a regular BSR can still be triggered based on the BSR condition. Therefore, in some cases, the presence of a BSR condition allows the UE to utilize an enhanced BSR procedure (e.g., see...). Figure 7 ).

[0062] In some aspects of this disclosure, a BSR condition exists at 320 when one or more conditions are present. These conditions may be based on the application's state, buffer state, network connectivity state, and / or other conditions associated with the UE, the application running on the UE, and / or the network. For example, in some cases, the BSR condition is at least partially based on the UE's application being active. In some cases, the application's activity state is determined based on at least one of IP tuples, Quality of Service (QoS) Flow Indicator (QFI), or application-specific indicators associated with the application. In some cases, the BSR condition is at least partially based on the application encountering one or more performance problems related to the transmission of UL packets. For example, in some cases, due to problems related to the transmission (or lack thereof) of UL data packets, the BSR condition is at least partially based on the application dropping one or more packets, changing the codec (e.g., moving to a lower resolution codec and / or a lower bandwidth codec), and / or otherwise adjusting performance parameters.

[0063] In some cases, the BSR status is based at least in part on the UE switching between dual-connectivity and standby modes (e.g., from dual-connectivity to standby, or vice versa). In some cases, the BSR status is based at least in part on the UE switching between dual-connectivity LTE and NR modes to LTE-only mode. In some cases, the BSR status is based at least in part on the type of RAT that the UE is connected to or supported by a BS, including whether the UE is connected to a terrestrial RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, 3G, etc.) and / or a non-terrestrial RAT (e.g., satellite-based RAT). In some cases, the BSR status is based at least in part on the type of BS that the UE is connected to, including, for example, whether the UE is connected to a terrestrial BS (e.g., a BS attached to a tower, building, vehicle, or other structure or part thereof on Earth), a non-terrestrial BS (e.g., a BS attached to a satellite, balloon, or other device or part thereof independent of Earth), and / or other types of BS. In some cases, the BSR status is based at least in part on whether the UE is operating in dual-active and / or dual-standby modes (e.g., when the UE is a multi-SIM UE).

[0064] In some cases, the BSR status is at least in part based on the UE's buffer containing application-related data that meets a threshold. In this regard, the threshold can be based on data volume, time volume, and / or a combination of data volume and time volume. A specific value for the threshold can be based on the application's operating parameters and / or the user's ability to detect delays in successfully clearing data from the buffer via uplink transmission. Therefore, in some cases, the threshold amount of data and / or the threshold time can be set to facilitate application operation in a way that maintains a good user experience. In some cases, the threshold can be variable or change over time based on the application's state (e.g., UL data load).

[0065] In some cases, the BSR status is at least partially based on the fact that uplink grants are unavailable for the UE to transmit data in the UE's buffer for a certain period of time. In some cases, the data in the buffer is application-related. In some cases, this period of time is based on the application's operating parameters. For example, applications that generate real-time data streams (e.g., video and / or audio) may have relatively strict timing requirements (e.g., 100-150ms) before jitter, freezing, and / or other issues adversely affect the user's application experience. Therefore, in some cases, the period of time during which the UE determines that UL grants are unavailable for transmitting data in the buffer may be based on the timing requirements required to operate the application in a way that preserves a good user experience. In some cases, this period of time may be variable or change over time based on the application's state (e.g., UL data load).

[0066] In some cases, the BSR condition is based at least in part on the condition of one or more sensors associated with the UE (e.g., temperature sensor, motion sensor, accelerometer, pressure sensor, speed / rate sensor, etc.). The UE may include one or more sensors and / or be coupled to and / or communicate with one or more external sensors. In some cases, the BSR condition is based on measurements from one or more sensors meeting thresholds (e.g., above or below a temperature threshold, above or below a pressure threshold, above or below a motion threshold, above or below a speed / rate threshold, etc.).

[0067] At 330, the UE sends a scheduling request (SR) to BS 105. In some cases, once the UE determines at 320 that a BSR condition exists, there is no available UL authorization to send data and / or a BSR. Therefore, at 330, the UE can send the SR to the BS.

[0068] At 340, BS 105 grants uplink resources to the UE and sends a UL grant indicating the UL resources to the UE. In some cases, BS 105 uses the uplink grant to grant UE 115 sufficient uplink resources to send a BSR (e.g., a regular BSR) to the BS. However, at 340, the uplink grant may not be sufficient to allow UE 115 to send application-related uplink data in the UE's buffer to BS 105.

[0069] At position 350, UE 115 sends a BSR to BS 105. In some cases, at position 350, UE 115 sends a regular BSR. As shown, the transmission of a regular BSR at position 350 will trigger a BSR retransmission timer 355. For this purpose, the BSR retransmission timer 355 can have a fixed length (e.g., 300ms). During this time, and for a period of time prior to the BSR condition becoming available, active applications can continuously generate new data. However, because application-generated data can have the same priority as other application-related data in the LCG, and the buffer is not moving from a zero state to a non-zero state (because there is always data storage), a regular BSR will not be triggered under normal BSR procedures. Therefore, data may continue to accumulate in the buffer, which may lead to packet delays and / or drops, potentially negatively impacting the user's application experience.

[0070] After the BSR retransmission timer 355 expires, UE 115 can send a further BSR to BS 105 at 360. In some cases, UE 115 sends a regular BSR at 360.

[0071] At 370, BS 105 authorizes uplink resources to the UE and sends a UL authorization indicating the UL resources to the UE. In some cases, BS 105 authorizes uplink resources to the UE 115 sufficient to begin transmitting application-related uplink data stored in the UE 115's buffer.

[0072] At 380, UE 115 begins transmitting application-related UL data stored in the UE's buffer. However, due to the delay of 390 between the transition from BSR status at 320 and the start of UL data transmission at 380, the user experience may be negatively affected (e.g., jitter, skipping, freezing, etc.). In this regard, in some cases, the delay 390 can be between 500ms and 1000ms or more.

[0073] Figure 4 This is a signaling diagram illustrating some aspects of BSR technology 400 according to this disclosure. BSR technology 400 is similar in many respects to the above-described... Figure 3 The BSR technology 300 is described above. Therefore, some details described above regarding BSR technology 300 will not be repeated here. However, as shown in the figure, for BSR technology 400, UE 115 has an uplink grant that allows the UE to send a BSR to BS 105 without first sending an SR to BS 105.

[0074] As shown in the figure, at 410, the application of UE 115 (e.g., application 212 and / or 214) is active. Therefore, this application may be generating uplink data stored in a buffer (e.g., as described above) before transmission over the communication link. Figure 2 (As discussed). For example, the application can generate uplink data stored in the buffer of the UE's modem.

[0075] At position 420, a BSR condition may exist. According to this disclosure, the presence of a BSR condition at position 420 can trigger a regular BSR. In this respect, even if a regular BSR might not be triggered under normal BSR procedures (e.g., in 3GPP TS 38.321v.16.2, section 5.4.5 Buffer Status Reporting), a regular BSR can still be triggered based on the BSR condition. Therefore, in some cases, the presence of a BSR condition leads the UE to utilize an enhanced BSR procedure (e.g., see...). Figure 7 As discussed above, in some aspects of this disclosure, a BSR condition exists when one or more conditions are present. These conditions may be based on the application's state, buffer state, network connectivity state, and / or other conditions associated with the UE, the application running on the UE, and / or the network.

[0076] At 450, UE 115 sends a BSR to BS 105. In some cases, once the BSR condition is determined to exist at 420, the UE has available UL authorization for sending the BSR. In some cases, at 450, UE 115 sends a regular BSR. As shown, sending a regular BSR at 450 will start the BSR retransmission timer 455.

[0077] After the BSR retransmission timer 455 expires, at point 460, UE 115 can send a further BSR to BS 105. In some cases, at point 460, UE 115 sends a regular BSR.

[0078] At 470, BS 105 grants uplink resources to the UE and sends a UL grant indicating the UL resources to the UE. In some cases, BS 105 grants uplink resources to the UE 115 sufficient to begin transmitting application-related uplink data stored in the UE 115's buffer.

[0079] At 480, UE 115 begins transmitting application-related UL data stored in the UE's buffer. However, due to the delay of 490 since the BSR condition becomes present at 420 and the UE begins transmitting UL data at 480, the user experience may be negatively affected (e.g., jitter, skipping, freezing, etc.). In this respect, in some cases, the delay 490 can be between 400ms and 1000ms or more.

[0080] Figure 5 This is a signaling diagram illustrating some aspects of BSR technology 500 according to this disclosure. In respect of the UE initially lacking uplink authorization for transmitting uplink data and / or BSR, BSR technology 500 is similar in some respects to the above description. Figure 3 The BSR technology 300 is described. However, as shown in the figure, BSR technology 500 can avoid unwanted delays in UL data transmission, thereby improving user satisfaction and experience with the application compared to BSR technology 300 by using an enhanced BSR process.

[0081] As shown in the figure, at point 510, the application of UE 115 (e.g., application 212 and / or 214) is active. Therefore, before transmission over the communication link, this application may be generating uplink data stored in a buffer (e.g., as described above regarding...). Figure 2 (As discussed). For example, the application can generate uplink data stored in the buffer of the UE's modem.

[0082] At position 520, a BSR condition may exist. According to this disclosure, the presence of a BSR condition at position 520 can trigger a regular BSR. In this respect, even under normal BSR procedures (e.g., under 3GPP TS 38.321v.16.2, section 5.4.5 Buffer Status Reporting), a regular BSR may not be triggered, but it can still be triggered based on the presence of a BSR condition at position 520. Therefore, in some cases, the presence of a BSR condition leads the UE to utilize an enhanced BSR procedure (e.g., see...). Figure 7 ).

[0083] In some aspects of this disclosure, a BSR condition exists at 520 when one or more conditions are present. These conditions may be based on the application's state, buffer state, network connectivity state, and / or other conditions associated with the UE, the application running on the UE, and / or the network. For example, in some cases, the BSR condition is at least partially based on the UE's application being active. In some cases, the application's activity state is determined based on at least one of IP tuples, Quality of Service (QoS) Flow Indicator (QFI), or application-specific indicators associated with the application. In some cases, the BSR condition is at least partially based on the application encountering one or more performance problems related to the transmission of UL data packets. For example, in some cases, due to problems related to the transmission of UL data packets (or a lack of UL data packets), the BSR condition is at least partially based on the application dropping one or more packets, changing the codec (e.g., moving to a lower resolution codec and / or a lower bandwidth codec), and / or otherwise adjusting performance parameters.

[0084] In some cases, the BSR condition exists at least in part based on the UE switching between dual-connectivity and standby modes (e.g., from dual-connectivity to standby, or vice versa). In some cases, the BSR condition exists at least in part based on the UE switching between dual-connectivity LTE and NR modes to LTE-only mode. In some cases, the BSR condition is at least in part based on the type of RAT to which the UE is connected or supported by the BS, including, for example, whether the UE is connected to a terrestrial RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, 3G, etc.) and / or a non-terrestrial RAT (e.g., satellite-based RAT). In some cases, the BSR condition is at least in part based on the type of BS to which the UE is connected, including, for example, whether the UE is connected to a terrestrial BS (e.g., a BS connected to a tower, building, vehicle, or other structure or part thereof on Earth), a non-terrestrial BS (e.g., a BS connected to a satellite, balloon, or other device or part thereof independent of Earth), and / or other types of BS. In some cases, the BSR condition is at least in part based on whether the UE is operating in dual-active and / or dual-standby modes (e.g., when the UE is a multi-SIM UE).

[0085] In some cases, the BSR status exists at least in part based on the fact that application-related data in the UE's buffer meets a threshold. In this regard, the threshold can be based on data volume, time volume, and / or a combination of data volume and time volume. A specific value for the threshold can be based on the application's operating parameters and / or the user's ability to detect delays in successfully clearing data transmitted from the buffer via the uplink. Therefore, in some cases, the threshold amount of data and / or the threshold time can be set to facilitate application operation in a way that maintains a good user experience. In some cases, the threshold can be variable or change over time based on the application's state (e.g., UL data load).

[0086] In some cases, the BSR status is based at least in part on the status of one or more sensors associated with the UE (e.g., temperature sensor, motion sensor, accelerometer, pressure sensor, speed / rate sensor, etc.). The UE may include one or more sensors, and / or be coupled to one or more external sensors, and / or communicate with one or more external sensors. In some cases, the BSR status is based on the measurement results of one or more sensors meeting thresholds (e.g., above or below a temperature threshold, above or below a pressure threshold, above or below a motion threshold, above or below a speed / rate threshold, etc.).

[0087] In some cases, the BSR condition exists at least in part based on the fact that uplink grants are unavailable for the UE to transmit data in the UE's buffer for a certain period of time. In some cases, the data in the buffer is application-related. In some cases, this period of time is based on the application's operating parameters. For example, applications that generate real-time data streams (e.g., video and / or audio) may have relatively strict timing requirements (e.g., 100-150ms) before jitter, freezing, and / or other issues that adversely affect the user's application experience. Therefore, in some cases, the period of time during which the UE determines that UL grants are unavailable for transmitting data in the buffer may be based on the timing requirements required to operate the application in a way that maintains a good user experience. In some cases, this period of time may be variable or change over time based on the application's state (e.g., UL data load).

[0088] At 530, the UE sends a scheduling request (SR) to BS 105. In some cases, once the UE determines that a BSR condition exists at 520, there is no available UL authorization for sending data and / or the BSR. Therefore, at 530, the UE may send an SR to the BS.

[0089] At 540, BS 105 grants uplink resources to the UE and sends a UL grant indicating the UL resources to the UE. In some cases, BS 105 uses the uplink grant to grant UE 115 sufficient uplink resources to send a BSR (e.g., a regular BSR) to the BS. However, at 540, the uplink grant may not be sufficient to allow UE 115 to send application-related uplink data in the UE's buffer to BS 105.

[0090] At position 550, UE 115 sends a BSR to BS 105. In some cases, at position 550, UE 115 sends a regular BSR. The transmission of a regular BSR at position 550 can trigger a BSR retransmission timer 555, as shown in the figure. For this purpose, the BSR retransmission timer 555 can have a fixed length (e.g., 300ms). However, compared to... Figure 3In contrast to BSR technology 300, for BSR technology 500, at point 560, the UE does not wait for the BSR retransmission timer 555 to expire before sending another BSR. That is, the UE can send a regular BSR at point 560 instead of waiting for the BSR retransmission timer 555 to expire. In some cases, the UE can trigger a regular BSR at point 560 by treating a BSR condition as present and no uplink resources available for transmission of application-related data in the UE's buffer for a given period of time. Alternatively, in some cases, the UE can trigger a regular BSR at point 560 by treating a BSR condition as present and no uplink resources available for transmission of application-related data in the UE's buffer for a given period of time, initiating the removal of data from the buffer to trigger a zero-to-non-zero state change and / or higher priority data in the LCG.

[0091] At 570, BS 105 grants uplink resources to the UE (in response to the BSR sent at 560) and sends a UL grant indicating the UL resources to the UE. In some cases, BS 105 grants uplink resources at 570 sufficient to initiate the transmission of application-related uplink data stored in the UE 115's buffer.

[0092] At position 580, UE 115 begins transmitting the application-related UL data stored in its buffer. As shown in the figure, the delay 590 between the BSR condition becoming active at position 520 and the UE starting to transmit UL data at position 580 is significantly reduced compared to the delay 390 of BSR technology 300. In this respect, in some cases, the delay 590 can be between 50ms and 200ms or less. Thanks to BSR technology 500, the user's application experience can be uninterrupted and unaffected by negative impacts (e.g., jitter, skipping, freezing, etc.).

[0093] Figure 6 This is a signaling diagram illustrating some aspects of BSR technology 600 according to this disclosure. Regarding the aspect where the UE has uplink authorization for transmitting BSR, BSR technology 600 is similar in some aspects to that described above. Figure 4 The described BSR technology 400 is similar. However, as shown in the figure, BSR technology 600 can avoid unwanted latency in UL data transmission, thus improving user satisfaction and experience with the application compared to BSR technology 400 by using an enhanced BSR process. BSR technology 600 is also similar in some aspects to the above-mentioned… Figure 5 The BSR technology 500 is described above. Therefore, some details of the description of BSR technology 500 above will not be repeated here.

[0094] As shown in the figure, at point 610, the application of UE 115 (e.g., application 212 and / or 214) is active. Accordingly, before transmission over the communication link, this application may be generating uplink data stored in a buffer (e.g., as described above regarding...). Figure 2 (Discussed). For example, the application can generate uplink data stored in the buffer of the UE's modem.

[0095] At position 620, a BSR condition may exist. According to this disclosure, the presence of a BSR condition at position 620 can trigger a regular BSR. In this respect, even if a regular BSR might not be triggered under normal BSR procedures (e.g., under 3GPP TS 38.321v.16.2, Section 5.4.5 Buffer Status Reporting), it is still possible to trigger a regular BSR based on the presence of a BSR condition at position 520. Therefore, in some cases, the presence of a BSR condition leads the UE to adopt an enhanced BSR procedure (e.g., see [reference needed]). Figure 7 As mentioned above... Figure 5 In some aspects of this disclosure, as discussed, a BSR condition exists when one or more conditions are present. These conditions may be based on the application's state, buffer state, network connectivity state, and / or other conditions associated with the UE, the application running on the UE, and / or the network.

[0096] At position 650, UE 115 sends a BSR to BS 105. In some cases, at position 650, UE 115 sends a regular BSR. The transmission of a regular BSR at position 650 can initiate a BSR retransmission timer 555, as shown in the figure. For this purpose, the BSR retransmission timer 655 can have a fixed length (e.g., 300ms). However, compared to... Figure 4 In contrast to BSR technology 400, for BSR technology 600, the UE does not wait for the BSR retransmission timer 455 to expire before sending another BSR at 660. That is, at 660, the UE can send a regular BSR instead of waiting for the BSR retransmission timer 655 to expire. In some cases, at 660, the UE can trigger a regular BSR by treating application-related data in the UE's buffer where the BSR condition exists and no uplink resources are available for transmission for a period of time as a regular BSR trigger. Alternatively, in some cases, at 660, the UE can trigger a regular BSR by treating application-related data in the UE's buffer where the BSR condition exists and no uplink resources are available for transmission for a period of time as a regular BSR trigger, in order to begin removing data from the buffer, triggering a zero-to-non-zero state change in the LCG and / or higher priority data.

[0097] At 670, BS 105 grants uplink resources to the UE (in response to the BSR sent at 660) and sends a UL grant indicating the UL resources to the UE. In some cases, BS 105 grants uplink resources at 670 sufficient to initiate the transmission of application-related uplink data stored in the UE115's buffer.

[0098] At position 680, UE 115 begins transmitting application-related UL data stored in the UE's buffer. As shown in the figure, the delay 690 between the BSR status becoming active at position 620 and the UE beginning to transmit UL data at position 680 is significantly reduced compared to the delay 490 of BSR technology 400. In this respect, in some cases, the delay 690 can be between 20ms and 200ms or less. As a result of BSR technology 600, the user's experience with the application can be uninterrupted and without negative impacts (e.g., jitter, skipping, freezing, etc.).

[0099] Figure 7 This is a flowchart of a wireless communication method 700 according to some aspects of this disclosure. Various aspects of method 700 can be performed by a computing device (e.g., a processor, processing circuitry, and / or other suitable components) or by other suitable units for performing the steps of a wireless communication device. For example, a wireless communication device (e.g., UE 115, 215, or 800) can employ one or more components (e.g., processor 802, memory 804, BSR module 808, transceiver 810, modem 812, and one or more antennas 816) to perform the steps of method 700. Method 700 can employ methods similar to those described above. Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 and / or Figure 6 The BSR techniques 300, 400, 500, and / or 600 are described respectively, using similar mechanisms. As shown in the figure, method 700 includes several enumeration steps, but various aspects of method 700 may include additional steps before, after, and between the enumeration steps. In some aspects, one or more enumeration steps may be omitted or performed in a different order.

[0100] At 710, method 700 includes determining whether an application is active. In some cases, the activity of an application is determined based on at least one of an IP tuple, a Quality of Service (QoS) Flow Indicator (QFI), or an application-specific indicator. That is, in some cases, the presence of an application-associated IP tuple, an application-associated QFI, and / or an application-specific indicator can be used to determine whether an application is active. If the application is not active at 710, method 700 continues to 720, where the UE follows the normal BSR procedure. If the application is active at 710, method 700 continues to 730.

[0101] At 730, method 700 includes determining whether a BSR condition exists. In some cases, the existence of a BSR condition is determined based on: the application's condition; the UE's transition between dual-connectivity and standalone modes (e.g., from dual-connectivity to standalone, or vice versa); data in the UE's buffer meeting a threshold (e.g., based on data volume, time volume, and / or a combination of data volume and time volume); a failure of a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) for a previous BSR (e.g., a previous regular BSR); and / or an uplink grant being unavailable for the UE to transmit data in the UE's buffer for a period of time (e.g., application-related data). If the BSR condition does not exist at 730, method 700 proceeds to 720, where the UE follows a normal BSR procedure. If the BSR condition exists at 730, method 700 proceeds to 740.

[0102] At 740, method 700 includes: employing an enhanced BSR process. In this respect, the enhanced BSR process may include the above-mentioned... Figure 5 and Figure 6 The description of BSR technology 500 and 600, and the following about Figure 10Aspects of the described wireless communication method 1000. For example, according to the enhanced BSR procedure of this disclosure, the presence of a BSR condition at 730 can trigger a regular BSR. In this respect, even if a regular BSR may not be triggered under a normal BSR procedure (e.g., in 3GPP TS 38.321v.16.2, Section 5.4.5 Buffer State Report), a regular BSR can still be triggered based on the presence of a BSR condition. Furthermore, the enhanced BSR procedure of this disclosure may include: removing data from the UE's buffer. In some cases, data is removed from the UE's buffer by moving at least a portion of the data from the buffer to an application module (e.g., moving the data to a higher-level memory associated with the application). In some cases, data is removed from the buffer by discarding all or part of the data. That is, the discarded data may be dropped or otherwise not sent to the BS. In some cases, the data removed from the buffer is resubmitted to the buffer to trigger a regular BSR (e.g., as a result of a zero-to-non-zero state change, and / or the presence of higher-priority data in the LCG).

[0103] Figure 8 This is a block diagram of an exemplary UE 800 based on some aspects of this disclosure. UE 800 may be as described above. Figure 1 The UE 115 discussed in the text or mentioned above Figure 2 The UE 215 discussed herein. As shown in the figure, the UE 800 may include a processor 802, a memory 804, a BSR module 808, a transceiver 810 including a modem subsystem 812 and a radio frequency (RF) unit 814, and one or more antennas 816. These components may communicate with each other directly or indirectly, for example, via one or more buses.

[0104] Processor 802 may include a central processing unit (CPU), digital signal processor (DSP), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), controller, field-programmable gate array (FPGA) device, another hardware device, firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein. Processor 802 may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0105] Memory 804 may include cache memory (e.g., cache memory of processor 802), random access memory (RAM), magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory devices, hard disk drives, other forms of volatile and non-volatile memory, or combinations of different types of memory. In one aspect, memory 804 includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Memory 804 may store or has recorded instructions 806 thereon. Instructions 806 may include, when executed by processor 802, causing processor 802 to incorporate aspects of this disclosure (e.g., ...). Figures 2-7 and Figure 10 Instructions 806 are instructions that perform the operations described herein with reference to UE 115, 215. Instruction 806 may also be referred to as program code. Program code can be used to cause a wireless communication device to perform these operations, for example, by causing one or more processors (such as processor 802) to control or command the wireless communication device. The terms “instruction” and “code” should be interpreted broadly to include any type of computer-readable statement. For example, the terms “instruction” and “code” can refer to one or more programs, routines, subroutines, functions, procedures, etc. “Instruction” and “code” can include a single computer-readable statement or multiple computer-readable statements.

[0106] BSR module 808 can be implemented via hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, BSR module 808 can be implemented as a processor, circuitry, and / or instructions 806 stored in memory 804 and executed by processor 802. In some examples, BSR module 808 can be integrated within modem subsystem 812. For example, BSR module 808 can be implemented via a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or general-purpose processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuitry) within modem subsystem 812.

[0107] BSR module 808 can be used in various aspects of this disclosure, such as Figures 2-7 and Figure 10Regarding the BSR module 808, it is configured to determine the presence of a Buffer Status Report (BSR) status. In some cases, the BSR module 808 determines the presence of a BSR status based on the application's status. In some cases, the application's status is that the application is active. In some cases, the BSR module 808 determines that the application is active based on at least one of an IP tuple, a Quality of Service (QoS) Flow Indicator (QFI), or an application-specific indicator. That is, in some cases, the BSR module 808 may utilize the presence of an application-associated IP tuple, an application-associated QFI, and / or an application-specific indicator associated with the application to determine that the application is active. In some cases, the application's status is that the application is experiencing one or more performance problems related to the transmission of UL data packets. For example, in some cases, the BSR module 808 determines the presence of a BSR status based on the application dropping one or more packets, changing the codec (e.g., moving to a lower resolution codec and / or a lower bandwidth codec), and / or otherwise adjusting performance parameters. In some cases, the BSR module 808 determines the existence of a BSR condition based on the UE's transition between dual-connectivity and standalone modes (e.g., from dual-connectivity to standalone, or vice versa). In some cases, the UE determines the existence of a BSR condition based on the UE's transition from dual-connectivity LTE and NR modes to LTE-only mode. In some cases, the BSR module 808 determines the existence of a BSR condition based on the data in the UE's buffer meeting a threshold. In this regard, the threshold may be based on the amount of data, the amount of time, and / or a combination of the amount of data and the amount of time. In some cases, the BSR module 808 determines the existence of a BSR condition based on the failure of a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) for a previous BSR (e.g., a previous regular BSR).

[0108] In some cases, the BSR module 808 determines that the uplink grant is unavailable for the UE to transmit data in the UE's buffer for a certain period of time. In some cases, the data in the buffer is application-related. In some cases, the time period is based on the application's operating parameters. In some cases, the time period can be variable or change over time based on the application's state (e.g., UL data payload).

[0109] In some cases, the BSR module 808 removes data from the UE's buffer. In other cases, the BSR module 808 removes data from the UE's buffer by moving at least a portion of the data from the buffer to the application module. For example, data in the buffer may be moved to a higher-level memory associated with the application. In some cases, the BSR module 808 removes data from the buffer by discarding all or part of the data. In some cases, the data removed from the buffer is then resubmitted to the buffer by the BSR module 808 for UL transmission by the transceiver 810.

[0110] As shown in the figure, transceiver 810 may include modem subsystem 812 and RF unit 814. Transceiver 810 may be configured to communicate bidirectionally with other devices (e.g., BS 105). Modem subsystem 812 may be configured to modulate and / or encode data from memory 804 and / or BSR module 808 according to modulation and coding schemes (MCS) (e.g., low-density parity-check (LDPC) coding scheme, turbo coding scheme, convolutional coding scheme, digital beamforming scheme, etc.). RF unit 814 may be configured to process (e.g., perform analog-to-digital conversion, or digital-to-analog conversion, etc.) modulated / coded data from modem subsystem 812 (e.g., PUCCH, PUSCH, ACK / NACK, SR, BSR, MAC-CE, RLC status polling, etc.) (on output transmission) or transmissions from another source (e.g., another UE 115 or BS 105) (e.g., RRC configuration; UL authorization, etc.). RF unit 814 can be further configured to perform analog beamforming in conjunction with digital beamforming. Although shown as integrated within transceiver 810, modem subsystem 812 and RF unit 814 can be separate devices coupled together at UE 800 to enable UE 800 to communicate with other devices. Furthermore, as described above, in some cases, modem subsystem 812 includes a buffer (e.g., memory) that stores UL data associated with one or more upper-layer applications of UE 800.

[0111] RF unit 814 can provide modulated and / or processed data, such as data packets (or more generally, data messages containing one or more data packets and other information), to antenna 816 for transmission to one or more other devices. Antenna 816 can further receive data messages transmitted from other devices. Antenna 816 can provide the received data messages for processing and / or demodulation at transceiver 810. Transceiver 810 can provide demodulated and decoded data (e.g., RRC configuration; UL licensing; split radio bearer configuration, independent radio bearer configuration, PDCCH, PDSCH, ACK / NACK, RLC status polling, etc.) to BSR module 808 and / or processor 802 for processing. Antenna 816 can include multiple antennas of similar or different designs to maintain multiple transmission links. RF unit 814 can configure antenna 816.

[0112] In one aspect, UE 800 may include multiple transceivers 810 implementing different RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In another aspect, UE 800 may include a single transceiver 810 implementing multiple RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In yet another aspect, transceiver 810 may include various components, wherein different combinations of components can implement different RATs.

[0113] In some cases, transceiver 810 is configured to send at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) to the base station (BS), based at least in part on the existence of a BSR status and the fact that uplink grants are unavailable for the UE to transmit data in the UE's buffer for a period of time. In some cases, transceiver 810 may send an SR to the BS. In some cases, transceiver 810 receives a UL grant from the BS in response to the SR. In some cases, the UL grant may allow transceiver 810 to send a BSR to the BS (e.g., a regular BSR).

[0114] In some cases, at 1030, transceiver 810 sends a regular BSR to the BS. Additionally, in some cases, transceiver 810 sends a regular BSR to the BS before the BSR retransmission timer expires. In some cases, transceiver 810 receives an uplink grant from the BS in response to the regular BSR. In this respect, the UL grant is sufficient for transceiver 810 to transmit application-related data in the buffer without adversely affecting application-related operations, execution, and / or user experience.

[0115] Figure 9 This is a block diagram of an exemplary BS 900 based on some aspects of this disclosure. The BS 900 can be as shown above. Figure 1The network 100 discussed herein includes BS 105. As shown, BS 900 may include processor 902, memory 904, BSR module 908, transceiver 910 including modem subsystem 912 and RF unit 914, and one or more antennas 916. These components may communicate with each other directly or indirectly, for example, via one or more buses.

[0116] Processor 902 may have various features as a particular type of processor. For example, these may include a CPU, DSP, ASIC, controller, FPGA device, another hardware device, firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein. Processor 902 may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors combined with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

[0117] Memory 904 may include cache memory (e.g., cache memory of processor 902), RAM, MRAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, solid-state memory devices, one or more hard disk drives, memristor-based arrays, other forms of volatile and non-volatile memory, or combinations of different types of memory. In some aspects, memory 904 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Memory 904 may store instructions 906. Instructions 906 may include, when executed by processor 902, causing processor 902 to perform the operations described herein (e.g., ...). Figures 2-3 and Figures 6-10 Instructions (in all aspects). Instruction 906 can also be called code, and it can be broadly interpreted as including, as mentioned above, the instructions. Figure 4 Any type of computer-readable statement is being discussed.

[0118] BSR module 908 can be implemented via hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, BSR module 908 can be implemented as a processor, circuitry, and / or instructions 906 stored in memory 904 and executed by processor 902. In some examples, BSR module 908 can be integrated within modem subsystem 912. For example, BSR module 908 can be implemented via a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or general-purpose processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuitry) within modem subsystem 912. BSR module 908 can be used in various aspects of this disclosure, for example, Figures 2-7 All aspects.

[0119] As shown in the figure, transceiver 910 may include modem subsystem 912 and RF unit 914. Transceiver 910 may be configured to communicate bidirectionally with other devices (e.g., UE 115, 215 and / or 800 and / or another core network element). Modem subsystem 912 may be configured to modulate and / or encode data according to MCS (e.g., LDPC coding scheme, turbo coding scheme, convolutional coding scheme, digital beamforming scheme, etc.). RF unit 914 may be configured to process (e.g., perform analog-to-digital conversion, or digital-to-analog conversion, etc.) modulated / encoded data (e.g., RRC configuration, UL authorization, split radio bearer configuration, independent radio bearer configuration, PDCCH, PDSCH, ACK / NACK, RLC status polling, etc.) from modem subsystem 912 (on output transmissions) or from another source such as UE 115, 215 and / or UE 800 (e.g., SR, BSR, MAC-CE, etc.). RF unit 914 can be further configured to perform analog beamforming in conjunction with digital beamforming. Although shown as being integrated together in transceiver 910, modem subsystem 912 and / or RF unit 914 can be separate devices coupled together at BS 105 to enable BS 105 to communicate with other devices.

[0120] RF unit 914 can provide modulated and / or processed data, such as data packets (or more generally, data messages containing one or more data packets and other information), to antenna 916 for transmission to one or more other devices. This may include, for example, transmitting information to complete attachment to the network and communication with an established UE 115, 215, or 800, according to some aspects of this disclosure. Antenna 916 can further receive data messages transmitted from other devices and provide the received data messages for processing and / or demodulation at transceiver 910. Transceiver 910 can provide demodulated and decoded data (e.g., SR, BSR, MAC-CE, PUCCH, PUSCH, ACK / NACK, RLC status polling, etc.) to BSR module 908 and / or processor 902 for processing. Antenna 916 may include multiple antennas of similar or different designs to maintain multiple transmission links. In one aspect, BS 900 may include multiple transceivers 910 implementing different RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In one aspect, the BS 900 may include a single transceiver 910 that implements multiple RATs (e.g., NR and LTE). In another aspect, the transceiver 910 may include various components, wherein different combinations of components can implement different RATs.

[0121] In some cases, transceiver 910 is configured to receive at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) from the UE. In some cases, transceiver 910 may send a UL grant to the UE in response to an SR and / or a BSR. In some cases, the UL grant may allow the UE to send a BSR to transceiver 910 (e.g., a regular BSR). In some cases, the UL grant may be sufficient to allow the UE to send application-related data in the UE's buffer.

[0122] Figure 10 This is a flowchart of a wireless communication method 1000 according to some aspects of this disclosure. Aspects of method 1000 may be performed by a computing device of a wireless communication device (e.g., a processor, processing circuitry, and / or other suitable components) or by other suitable units for performing the steps. For example, a wireless communication device (e.g., UE 115, 215, or 800) may utilize one or more components, such as processor 802, memory 804, BSR module 808, transceiver 810, modem 812, and one or more antennas 816, to perform the steps of method 1000. Method 1000 may employ the methods described above regarding... Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 and / or Figure 6 The BSR technology 300, 400, 500 and / or 600 are described respectively, as well as the above regarding Figure 7 A similar mechanism is described in method 700. As shown, method 1000 includes several enumeration steps, but various aspects of method 1000 may include additional steps before, after, and between the enumeration steps. In some aspects, one or more enumeration steps may be omitted or performed in a different order.

[0123] At box 1010, the UE determines that a Buffer Status Report (BSR) condition exists. In some cases, the UE determines the existence of a BSR condition based on the condition of the application. In some cases, the application condition is that the application is active. In some cases, the UE determines that the application is active based on at least one of an IP tuple, a Quality of Service (QoS) Flow Indicator (QFI), or an application-specific indicator. That is, in some cases, the presence of an application-associated IP tuple, an application-associated QFI, and / or an application-associated application-specific indicator can be used by the UE to determine that the application is active. In some cases, the application condition is that the application is encountering one or more performance problems related to the transmission of UL data packets. For example, in some cases, the UE determines that a BSR condition exists based on the application dropping one or more packets, changing the codec (e.g., moving to a lower resolution codec and / or a lower bandwidth codec), and / or otherwise adjusting performance parameters.

[0124] In some cases, the UE determines the existence of a BSR condition based on the UE's switching between dual-connectivity and standalone modes (e.g., from dual-connectivity to standalone, or vice versa). In some cases, the UE determines the existence of a BSR condition based on the UE's switching between dual-connectivity LTE and NR modes to LTE-only mode. In some cases, the UE determines the existence of a BSR condition based on the type of RAT that the UE is connected to or supported by the BS (including, for example, whether the UE is connected to a terrestrial RAT (e.g., NR, LTE, 3G, etc.) and / or a non-terrestrial RAT (e.g., satellite-based RAT)). In some cases, the UE determines the existence of a BSR condition based on the type of BS that the UE is connected to (including, for example, whether the UE is connected to a terrestrial BS (e.g., a BS connected to a tower, building, vehicle, or other structure or part thereof on Earth), a non-terrestrial BS (e.g., a BS connected to a satellite, balloon, or other device or part thereof independent of Earth) and / or other types of BS). In some cases, the UE determines the existence of a BSR condition based on whether the UE is operating in dual-active and / or dual-standby modes (e.g., when the UE is a multi-SIM UE).

[0125] In some cases, the UE determines whether a BSR condition exists based on whether the data in the UE's buffer meets a threshold. In this regard, the threshold can be based on the amount of data, the amount of time, and / or a combination of the amount of data and the amount of time. For example, in some cases, a BSR condition exists if the amount of application-related data stored in the buffer meets a threshold amount (e.g., greater than X kilobytes). Furthermore, in some cases, a BSR condition exists if the amount of application-related data stored in the buffer meets a threshold time (e.g., greater than Y ms). Additionally, in some cases, a BSR condition exists if the amount of application-related data stored in the buffer meets a threshold amount (e.g., greater than X kilobytes) within a threshold time (e.g., greater than Y ms). The specific value of the threshold can be based on the application's operating parameters and / or the user's detectability of the delay in clearing data from the buffer. For example, applications generating real-time data streams (e.g., video and / or audio) may have relatively strict timing requirements (e.g., 100-150 ms) before jitter, freezing, and / or other issues adversely affect the user's application experience. Therefore, in some cases, threshold amounts of data and / or threshold times can be set to facilitate application operation in a way that maintains a good user experience. In some cases, the thresholds can be variable or change over time based on the application's state (e.g., UL data load).

[0126] In some cases, the UE determines the presence of a BSR condition based on the status of one or more sensors associated with the UE (e.g., temperature sensor, motion sensor, accelerometer, pressure sensor, speed / rate sensor, etc.). The UE may include one or more sensors and / or be coupled to and / or communicate with one or more external sensors. In some cases, the UE determines the presence of a BSR condition based on the measurement results from one or more sensors meeting thresholds (e.g., above or below a temperature threshold, above or below a pressure threshold, above or below a motion threshold, above or below a speed / rate threshold, etc.).

[0127] At box 1020, the UE determines that the uplink grant is unavailable for transmitting data in the UE's buffer for a certain period of time. In some cases, the data in the buffer is application-related. In others, this period is based on the application's operational parameters. For example, as mentioned above, applications generating real-time data streams (e.g., video and / or audio) may have relatively strict timing requirements (e.g., 100-150ms) before jitter, freezing, and / or other issues negatively impact the user's application experience. Therefore, in some cases, the period during which the UE determines the uplink grant is unavailable for transmitting data in the buffer may be based on the timing requirements required by the application to operate in a way that maintains a good user experience. In some cases, this period may be variable or change over time based on the application's state (e.g., UL data load).

[0128] At box 1030, at least in part, based on the existence of a BSR condition and the fact that uplink grants are unavailable for the UE to transmit data in the UE's buffer for a period of time, the UE transmits at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) to the base station (BS). In some cases, once the UE determines that a BSR condition exists, there are no available UL grants to transmit a BSR (e.g., similar to...). Figure 5 Therefore, the UE can send an SR to the BS. In some cases, the UE receives a UL authorization from the BS in response to the SR. In some cases, this UL authorization may allow the UE to send a BSR to the BS (e.g., a regular BSR).

[0129] In some cases, the UE has available uplink grant and uses the available uplink grant at 1030 to send a BSR (e.g., similar to...). Figure 6In some cases, at 1030, the UE sends a regular BSR to the BS. Additionally, in some cases, the UE sends a regular BSR to the BS before the BSR retransmission timer expires. In some cases, the UE receives an uplink grant from the BS in response to the regular BSR. In this respect, the UL grant may be sufficient for the UE to send application-related data in the buffer without adversely affecting application-related operations, execution, and / or user experience.

[0130] In some cases, method 1000 includes the UE removing data from its buffer. In some cases, the UE removes data from its buffer by moving at least a portion of the data from the buffer to the application module. For example, data in the buffer may be moved to a higher-level memory associated with the application. In some cases, the UE removes data from the buffer by discarding all or part of the data. In some cases, the data removed from the buffer is subsequently resubmitted to the buffer in anticipation of UL transmission. By removing data from the buffer and discarding all or part of the data and / or reintroducing all or part of the data back into the buffer, the buffer can transition from a zero state (after data removal) to a non-zero state (reintroduction of data or introduction of new data) for application-associated data, which can trigger a regular BSR transmission to the BS.

[0131] As discussed above, in some cases, the UE determines that the uplink grant is unavailable for transmitting data in its buffer and sends a BSR in the context of transitions between dual-connectivity and standalone modes, UE reconfiguration, and / or other conditions caused by variable radio network conditions. In other cases, the UE determines that the uplink grant is unavailable for transmitting data in its buffer and sends a BSR during a stable connection with the network. That is, in some cases, even during a stable connection with the network, one or more BSR conditions may exist, and the UE may employ a BSR technique similar to that described herein.

[0132] In some cases, the UE determines that a BSR condition exists based on the failure of a Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) for a previous BSR. In some cases, the previous BSR is a regular BSR. In this respect, if the previous BSR is not successfully received by the BS, the UE will not receive an ACK (or UL authorization) from the BS. Some communications (e.g., RLC AM PDUs) have the capability to be retransmitted in the event of a HARQ failure, and under normal BSR procedures (e.g., 3GPP TS 38.321 v.16.2, Section 5.4.5 Buffer Status Reporting), the UE may need to wait for the BSR retransmission timer to expire before attempting to retransmit a regular BSR. However, according to this disclosure, in some cases, a HARQ failure for a previous BSR can cause the UE to determine that a BSR condition exists and continue transmitting another regular BSR (e.g., similar to the previous BSR transmission) at box 1030 before the BSR retransmission timer associated with the previous BSR transmission expires. Figure 5 and Figure 6 BSR technology 500 and 600).

[0133] Information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different techniques and methods. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips mentioned throughout the above description can be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, light fields or light particles, or any combination thereof.

[0134] The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with this disclosure can be implemented or performed using a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor; however, alternatively, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors with a DSP core, or any other such configuration).

[0135] The functions described herein can be implemented using hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented using software executed by a processor, the functions can be stored on or transmitted via a computer-readable medium as one or more instructions or code. Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and the appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, the functions described above can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or any combination thereof. Features implementing the functions can also be physically placed in various locations, including portions distributed such that the functions are implemented in different physical locations. Furthermore, as used herein (including in the claims), the word “or” as used in the list of entries (e.g., in a list of entries ending with phrases such as “at least one of” or “one or more of”) indicates an inclusive list, such that, for example, a list of [at least one of A, B, or C] means A, or B, or C, or AB, or AC, or BC, or ABC (i.e., A and B and C).

[0136] As those skilled in the art will understand by now, and depending on the specific application at hand, many modifications, substitutions, and variations can be made to the materials, apparatus, configuration, and methods of use of the devices of this disclosure without departing from its spirit and scope. Therefore, the scope of this disclosure should not be limited to the specific embodiments described herein, as they are merely examples thereof, but should be fully proportionate to the scope of the appended claims and their functional equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for performing wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: Based on the application's status, determine whether the Buffer Status Report (BSR) status exists; Determine that the uplink grant cannot be used by the UE to transmit application-related data in the UE's buffer for a period of time; The data is removed from the buffer at least in part based on the existence of the BSR condition and the fact that the uplink grant is unavailable for the UE to transmit the data in the buffer during the time period. Resubmit at least a portion of the data removed from the buffer to the buffer; as well as At least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) is sent to the base station (BS) based at least in part on the at least part of the data being resubmitted to the buffer.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Determining whether the BSR condition exists based on the status of the application includes: The application is determined to be active based on at least one of the following: IP tuple, Quality of Service (QoS) Flow Indicator (QFI), or application-specific indicator.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Determining whether the BSR condition exists based on the status of the application includes: The existence of the BSR condition is determined based on at least one of the following: The application discards one or more packets; The application changes the codec; or Failure of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) for previous BSR.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The determination that the BSR condition exists further includes: The existence of the BSR condition is determined based on the UE's switching between dual-connectivity mode and standalone mode.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The determination that the BSR condition exists further includes: The existence of the BSR condition is determined based on whether the data in the buffer of the UE meets the threshold.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Removing the data from the buffer of the UE includes moving at least a portion of the data from the buffer to the application module.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The determination that the BSR condition exists further includes: The existence of the BSR condition is determined based on at least one of the following: The type of Radio Access Technology (RAT) supported by the BS; The UE's multi-subscriber identity module (multi-SIM) connection mode; or The status of one or more sensors associated with the UE.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein, Sending at least one of the BSR or the SR includes: sending a regular BSR to the BS.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein, The sending of the regular BSR is further based on: the zero-to-non-zero state change in the buffer resulting from removing the data from the buffer and resubmitting at least a portion of the data to the buffer.

10. A user equipment (UE), comprising: processor; A buffer memory that communicates with the processor; as well as A transceiver that communicates with the processor, wherein the user equipment is configured to: Based on the application's status, determine whether the Buffer Status Report (BSR) status exists; and Determine that the uplink grant cannot be used by the UE to transmit application-related data in the UE's buffer memory for a period of time; The data is removed from the buffer memory, at least in part, based on the existence of the BSR condition and the fact that the uplink grant is unavailable for the UE to transmit the data in the buffer memory during the time period. Resubmit at least a portion of the data removed from the buffer memory to the buffer memory; and At least in part based on the at least portion of the data being resubmitted to the buffer memory, at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) is sent to the base station (BS).

11. The UE according to claim 10, wherein, The UE is further configured as follows: The existence of the BSR status is determined by identifying that the application is active based on at least one of IP tuples, Quality of Service (QoS) Flow Indicator (QFI), or application-specific indicator.

12. The UE according to claim 10, wherein, The UE is further configured to determine that the BSR condition exists based on at least one of the following: The application discards one or more packets; The application changes the codec; or Failure of Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) for previous BSR.

13. The UE according to claim 10, wherein, The UE is further configured as follows: Based on the UE's switching between dual-connection mode and standalone mode, it is determined that the BSR condition exists.

14. The UE according to claim 10, wherein, The UE is further configured as follows: Based on the fact that the data in the buffer of the UE meets the threshold, it is determined that the BSR condition exists.

15. The UE according to claim 10, wherein, The UE is further configured as follows: The data is removed from the buffer memory by moving at least a portion of the data from the buffer memory to the application module.

16. The UE according to claim 10, wherein, The UE is further configured as follows: The existence of the BSR condition is determined based on at least one of the following: The type of Radio Access Technology (RAT) supported by the BS; The UE's multi-subscriber identity module (multi-SIM) connection mode; or The status of one or more sensors associated with the UE.

17. The UE according to claim 10, wherein, The UE is further configured as follows: Send a regular BSR to the BS.

18. The UE according to claim 17, wherein, The UE is further configured as follows: The regular BSR is sent based on the zero-to-non-zero state change in the buffer memory caused by removing the data from the buffer memory and resubmitting the at least portion of the data to the buffer memory.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon for wireless communication of a user equipment (UE), the program code comprising: Code used to enable the UE to determine whether the buffer status report (BSR) status exists based on the application's status; Code used to enable the UE to determine that uplink authorization is not available for the UE to transmit application-related data in the UE's buffer for a period of time; Code for causing the UE to remove the data from the buffer at least in part based on the existence of the BSR condition and the fact that the uplink grant is unavailable for the UE to transmit the data in the buffer during the time period; Code for causing the UE to resubmit at least a portion of the data removed from the buffer to the buffer; as well as Code for causing the UE to send at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) to the base station (BS) based at least in part on the at least part of the data resubmitted to the buffer.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 19, wherein, The code used to enable the UE to determine whether the BSR condition exists based on the status of the application includes: Code used to enable the UE to determine that the application is active based on at least one of IP tuples, Quality of Service (QoS) Flow Indicator (QFI), or application-specific indicator.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 19, wherein, The code used to enable the UE to determine that the BSR condition exists based on the status of the application includes at least one of the following: Code used to cause the UE to determine whether the BSR condition exists based on the application by dropping one or more packets or changing at least one of the codecs; Code used to enable the UE to determine whether the BSR condition exists based on the UE's switching between dual-connectivity mode and stand-alone mode; Code used to enable the UE to determine whether the BSR condition exists based on the data in the UE's buffer meeting a threshold; or Code used to enable the UE to determine whether the BSR condition exists based on the failure of the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) for the previous BSR.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 19, wherein, The code for causing the UE to remove the data from the UE's buffer includes: Code for causing the UE to move at least a portion of the data from the buffer to the application module.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 19, wherein, The code used to cause the UE to send at least one of the BSR or the SR includes: Code used to enable the UE to send a regular BSR to the BS.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 23, wherein, The code used to cause the UE to send the conventional BSR includes: Code for enabling the UE to send the conventional BSR based on a zero-to-non-zero state change in the buffer caused by removing the data from the buffer and resubmitting at least a portion of the data to the buffer.

25. A user equipment (UE), comprising: The unit used to determine whether a buffer status report (BSR) status exists based on the application's condition; A unit used to determine that uplink authorization is not available for the UE to transmit application-related data in the UE's buffer within a certain time period; A unit for removing data from the buffer based at least in part on the fact that the BSR condition exists and the uplink grant is unavailable for the UE to transmit the data in the buffer during the time period; A unit for resubmitting at least a portion of the data removed from the buffer to the buffer; as well as A unit for sending at least one of a BSR or a scheduling request (SR) to a base station (BS) based at least in part on the at least part of the data resubmitted to the buffer.

26. The UE according to claim 25, wherein, The unit for determining whether the BSR condition exists based on the condition of the application includes: Units for determining that the application is active based on at least one of IP tuples, Quality of Service (QoS) Flow Indicator (QFI), or application-specific indicator.

27. The UE according to claim 25, wherein, The unit for determining whether the BSR condition exists based on the condition of the application includes at least one of the following: Unit for determining whether the BSR condition exists based on the application's actions of discarding one or more packets or changing at least one of the codecs; A unit for determining whether the BSR condition exists based on the UE's switching between dual connectivity mode and standalone mode; A unit for determining whether the BSR condition exists based on the data in the buffer of the UE satisfying a threshold; or Units used to determine whether the BSR condition exists based on the failure of the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) for the previous BSR.

28. The UE according to claim 25, wherein, The unit for removing the data from the buffer of the UE includes: A unit for moving at least a portion of the data from the buffer to the application module.

29. The UE according to claim 25, wherein, The unit for transmitting the BSR or at least one of the SRs includes: A unit used to send a regular BSR to the BS.

30. The UE according to claim 29, wherein, The unit for sending a regular BSR further includes: A unit for sending the conventional BSR based on a zero-to-non-zero state change in the buffer caused by removing the data from the buffer and resubmitting at least a portion of the data to the buffer.

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