Method for reducing the rate of protocol data units in mobile communications and apparatus therefor

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses for reducing protocol data unit (PDU) rates in mobile communications. Various solutions for reducing PDU rates in mobile communications are described. A processor of an apparatus, which can be implemented in a user equipment (UE), generates a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) data PDU containing a plurality of service data units (SDUs). The apparatus then passes the PDCP data PDU to a receiver of the apparatus.

Description

[0001] Cross-referencing of related patent applications

[0002] This disclosure is part of a non-provisional application that claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 087,937, filed October 6, 2020, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] This disclosure generally relates to mobile communications, and more particularly to reducing the rate of protocol data unit (PDU) in mobile communications. Background Technology

[0004] Unless otherwise stated herein, the methods described in this section are not considered prior art to the claims listed below, and are not admitted as prior art by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

[0005] 3rd Generation Partnership Program (3) rd 3GPP Technical Specification 38.323, in Chapter 6.1.1, specifies that Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) data PDUs, in addition to the PDU header, may contain one or more of the following: user plane data, control plane data, and Message Authentication Code-Integrity (MAC-I). Furthermore, Chapter 6.2.2 of 3GPP TS 38.323 does not propose any means of transmitting multiple Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) service data units (SDUs) within a single PDC / PPDU. Specifically, Chapter 6 of 3GPP TS 37.324 does not specify a method for transmitting multiple SDAP SDUs within a single SDAP PDU. A Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) acknowledgement (ACK) is a TCP header with the ACK flag set. In the case where a TCP ACK does not carry any data, it is an empty TCP ACK.

[0006] There are one-to-one mappings between certain protocols, including: from upper layers (e.g., upper-layer SDUs) to PDCP SDAP SDUs, from PDCP SDAP SDUs to PDCP SDAP data PDUs, from PDCP SDUs to PDCP PDUs, and from PDCP PDUs to Radio Link Control (RLC) SDUs in Internet Protocol (IP) packets. This one-to-one mapping often results in high SDU / PDU rates across the TCP, User Datagram Protocol (UDP), IP, SDAP, PDCP, and RLC layers when IP packets are small (e.g., with TCP ACKs less than 100 bytes). The same problem can also occur on network-side peer entities and typically at any layer processing packet-based data. As the amount of data per SDU / PDU decreases, the overhead associated with transmission, reception, synchronization, and processing per SDU / PDU often becomes dominant (e.g., less payload and more header information). TCPACK is an extreme example where, for IPv4, the payload data size is zero, while the header size is 40 bytes.

[0007] Due to the delayed ACK algorithm specified in Request for Comment (RFC) 1122, the ratio of TCP forward link TCP data packets to TCP reverse link TCP ACK packets is 1 / 2 (e.g., one TCP ACK for every two TCP data packets). For a 100 Mbps TCP forward flow with approximately 9000 TCP data packets per second and using a 1400-byte maximum transfer unit (MTU), approximately 4500 reverse TCP ACKs will be sent. While 40 to 60 bytes of ACK data (in IPv4) may not seem like much, the rate of this ACK flow can be high due to the high downlink data rate. The ratio of TCP data to ACK throughput can be approximately 20. For 100 Mbps of forward TCP data, there will be 5 Mbps of reverse ACK traffic. The TCP ACK rate problem may be exacerbated by the fact that multiple TCP ACKs are buffered in the user equipment (UE) before the network grants uplink resources for uplink transmission. When the UE receives this authorization, it needs to populate the authorization with TCPACK, resulting in an MTU / ACK size of 1400 bytes / 40 bytes, which is 35 times higher than the packet rate of regular TCP data packets using the MTU size. Therefore, a solution is needed to reduce the PDU rate in mobile communications. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The following summary is merely illustrative and not intended to be limiting in any way. That is, it is provided to illustrate the concepts, highlights, benefits, and advantages of the novel and non-obvious techniques described herein. Selected embodiments are further described in the detailed description below. Therefore, the following summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to define the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0009] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide solutions and methods for addressing the problems described herein. More specifically, it is believed that the various solutions proposed in this disclosure provide solutions to the problem of reduced PDU rates in mobile communications.

[0010] In one aspect, a method is provided that may include: generating a PDCP data PDU containing a plurality of SDUs. The method may further include: transmitting the PDCP data PDU to a receiver.

[0011] In another aspect, an apparatus may include a transceiver and a processor coupled to the transceiver. The transceiver may be configured to communicate wirelessly with a network. The processor may be configured to generate a PDCP data PDU containing multiple SDUs. The processor may also be configured to deliver the PDCP data PDU to a receiver. In generating the PDCP data PDU, the processor may be configured to concatenate the multiple SDUs during the generation of the PDCP data PDU, or to generate the PDCP data PDU using a PDCP data PDU format having a multi-PDU (mPDU) container field or a plain mPDU field, wherein the mPDU container field or the plain mPDU field is configured to contain the multiple SDUs.

[0012] This invention proposes a method and apparatus for reducing the protocol data unit rate in mobile communications, achieving the beneficial effect of reducing PDU rate.

[0013] It is worth noting that, although the descriptions provided herein may apply to certain radio access technologies, networks, and network topologies (such as 5G), th This disclosure is made within the context of Generation (5G) and New Radio (NR) mobile communications, but the proposed concepts, schemes, and any variations / derivatives thereof can be implemented, used, and carried out by other types of radio access technologies, networks, and network topologies such as (e.g., but not limited to): Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, LTE-AdvancedPro, Internet of Things (IoT), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), and non-terrestrial network (NTN) communications. Therefore, the scope of this disclosure is not limited to the examples described herein. Attached Figure Description

[0014] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of this disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. It will be apparent that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, as some components may be shown in a manner not proportional to their actual dimensions in order to clearly illustrate the concepts of the disclosure.

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an example network environment in which various proposed schemes according to this disclosure can be implemented.

[0016] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of an example scenario under the proposed scheme according to this disclosure.

[0017] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an example scenario under the proposed scheme according to this disclosure.

[0018] Figure 4 This is a block diagram of an example communication device and an example network device according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0019] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of an example process according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0020] This document discloses detailed embodiments and implementations of the claimed subject matter. However, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments and implementations are merely illustrative of the claimed subject matter, which can be implemented in various forms. This disclosure may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as limiting the exemplary embodiments and implementations set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments and implementations are provided to make the description of this disclosure thorough and complete, and to fully convey the scope of this disclosure to those skilled in the art. In the following description, details of well-known features and / or techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presented embodiments and implementations.

[0021] Overview

[0022] Embodiments of this disclosure relate to various techniques, methods, schemes, and / or solutions related to PDU rate reduction in mobile communications. According to this disclosure, many possible solutions can be implemented separately or in combination. That is, although these possible solutions may be described separately below, two or more of these possible solutions may be implemented in one combination or another.

[0023] Figure 1 A schematic diagram illustrating an example network environment 100 in which various solutions and schemes according to this disclosure can be implemented is provided. (See also...) Figure 1Network environment 100 may involve a user equipment (UE) 110 that wirelessly communicates with wireless network 120 (e.g., a 5G NR mobile network or another type of network such as a non-terrestrial network (NTN)). UE 110 may wirelessly communicate with wireless network 120 via base station or network node 125 (e.g., eNB, gNB, transmit-receive point (TRP), or satellite). In network environment 100, UE 110 and wireless network 120 may implement various schemes related to PDU rate reduction in mobile communications, as described below.

[0024] Under the scheme proposed according to this disclosure, multiple consecutive upper-layer SDUs associated with the same SDAP / PDCP stream can be transmitted in PDCP data PDUs using either the first method or the second method (e.g., using a one-to-many mapping). In the first method, the multiple consecutive upper-layer SDUs can be concatenated into a single PDCU data PDU. In the second method, multiple SDAPSDUs can be transmitted in a PDCP data PDU using one or more PDCPPDU formats.

[0025] Referring to the first method, the PDCP layer or entity at UE 110 can concatenate several SDAP SDUs into a single PDU (which may be interchangeably referred to herein as a "multi-PDU" or "mPDU"), and then forward that mPDU to the peer PDCP entity. The number of concatenated SDUs in each PDU is configurable and can depend on the available SDUs in the PDCP buffer when concatenation occurs. For example, concatenation can be performed when radio network 120 grants UE 110 an authorization for transmission, and therefore, the PDCP layer / entity at UE 110 can perform selective quality of service (QoS) flow (e.g., concatenation for non-time-critical flows) based on concatenation and / or forwarding. Alternatively or additionally, concatenation can be performed if a certain amount of data to be concatenated is buffered (e.g., a concatenation criterion based on a counter) and / or if a certain amount of time has elapsed since the previous concatenation instance (e.g., a concatenation criterion based on a timer).

[0026] Furthermore, in the first approach, concatenation can be selectively performed on certain flows. For example, the PDCP layer / entity can determine whether to concatenate SDUs from a given IP flow due to QoS characteristics (e.g., not to concatenate for real-time or time-critical services). Under the proposed scheme, TCPACKs can be concatenated and forwarded immediately to improve TCP forward link performance.

[0027] Referring to the second method, a new “PDCP data PDU” format can be used, in which the new PDCP data PDU contains a “plaintext mPDU” or an “mPDU container”. Figure 2 Example scenario 200 illustrates an implementation of the second method under the proposed scheme. (Refer to...) Figure 2 An mPDU can contain one of multiple cascaded PDCP SDUs. Under the proposed scheme, the data format of the PDCP data PDU can be indicated to the receiver or receiving entity in one or more of the following ways: (i) using the R field in the header of the PDCP data PDU to include the new bit M (in octet 1); (ii) reaching an agreement via signaling; (iii) indicating by dynamically using the header in the PDCP data field; and (iv) using the header in a "plaintext mPDU" or "mPDU container" (e.g., mPDU container, plaintext mPDU, PDCP data PDU, PDCP control PDU, etc.).

[0028] In the proposed scheme, the "mPDU" container can carry one or more PDCP SDUs for a PDU session. The mPDU type field can indicate the type of multiple mPDUs (e.g., mPDU 1 to mPDU n), for example (but not limited to): mPDU container, plaintext mPDU, PDCP data PDU, SDAP PDU, TCPACK PDU, user data convergence (UDC) PDU, Ethernet PDU, etc. The use of the mPDU type can be agreed upon or signaled. Furthermore, an optional mPDU descriptor field can be used to carry information required for PDCP entity synchronization. This information may include (for example, but not limited to): TCPACK compression context information or Ethernet header compression information. The total length and individual length of the included mPDUs can be indicated to the receiver / receiving entity.

[0029] In the proposed scheme, the "plaintext mPDU" can contain an SDAP SDU mapped to a PDU session. An optional PDU type field can be used to indicate the type of PDU carried by the plaintext mPDU, for example (but not limited to): PDCP control, PDCP data, TCPACK, Ethernet, UDC, etc. For example, the PDU type field can indicate that the included "mPDU 1 to mPDU n" contain a PDCPPDU or another PDU type. Additionally, an optional mPDU descriptor field can be used to carry information required for PDCP entity synchronization. The carried information may include (for example, but not limited to): TCPACK compression context information or Ethernet header compression information. The length of the mPDU can be indicated to the receiver / receiving entity.

[0030] Figure 3 Example scenario 300 illustrates an implementation of the first method under the proposed scheme. Figure 3 In the example shown, rules can be predefined so that cascading can be performed only on flow A (e.g., non-time-critical services) and not on flow B (e.g., real-time or time-critical services), and flow B will be forwarded immediately without cascading delay. See reference. Figure 3 The PDCP layer or entity at UE 110 receives SDUs from flow A and flow B in a random order (e.g., SDU1 from flow A, SDU2 from flow B, and SDU3 from flow A). On one hand, the PDCP layer / entity appends the SDUs from flow A (e.g., SDU1 and SDU3) to cascade into an mPDU. On the other hand, the PDCP layer / entity immediately forwards the SDUs from flow B (e.g., SDU2) without delay. The PDCP layer / entity at UE 110 continues to collect SDU data until one or more cascading criteria are met (e.g., counter-based cascading criteria and / or timer-based cascading criteria). In this example, the PDCP entity triggers the forwarding of the mPDU when network node 125 schedules authorization for UE 110 to transmit data or when a timer-based or counter-based criterion is met. The PDCP entity at UE 110 creates an mPDU with SDU1 and SDU3 and forwards it to the peer PDCP entity. More specifically, the PDCP entity places each SDU into an mPDU container and performs several tasks, including: (i) setting the mPDU container type field to "mPDU container"; (ii) setting the total length of the mPDU container based on the length of the SDUs (e.g., SDU1 and SDU3); and (iii) setting the mPDU descriptor to include information about the PDCP entity's state (e.g., counts, sequence numbers (SNs), etc.) and / or the packet's QoS flow identifier (QFI). The PDCP entity then forwards the PDCP data PDUs with mPDUs to the peer PDCP entity via the link layer. The peer PDCP entity can then forward the individual SDUs to the receiver / receiving entity.

[0031] Exemplary Implementation

[0032] Figure 4 Example communication device 410 and example network device 420 are illustrated according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Each of the communication device 410 and network device 420 can perform various functions to implement the schemes, techniques, processes, and methods described herein regarding PDU rate reduction in mobile communications, including the scenarios / schemes described above and the processes described below.

[0033] Communication device 410 may be part of an electronic device, which may be a UE, such as a portable or mobile device, a wearable device, a wireless communication device, or a computing device. For example, communication device 410 may be implemented in a smartphone, smartwatch, personal digital assistant, digital camera, or computing device such as a tablet computer, laptop computer, or notebook computer. Communication device 410 may also be part of a machine-type device, such as an IoT, NB-IoT, IIoT, or NTN device, home appliance, wired communication device, or computing device, such as a stationary or fixed device. For example, communication device 410 may be implemented in a smart thermostat, smart refrigerator, smart door lock, wireless speaker, or home control center. Alternatively, communication device 410 may be implemented in the form of one or more integrated circuit (IC) chips, for example (and not limited to): one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more reduced-instruction-set computing (RISC) processors, or one or more complex-instruction-set computing (CISC) processors. For example, communication device 410 may include Figure 4 At least some of the components shown, such as processor 412. Communication device 410 may also include one or more other components unrelated to the scheme proposed in this disclosure (e.g., internal power supply, display device, and / or user interface device), and therefore, for simplicity and brevity, such components of communication device 410 are not included in... Figure 4 It is shown in the text, but not described in the following text.

[0034] Network device 420 may be part of an electronic device / station, which may be a network node such as a base station, small cell, router, gateway, or satellite. For example, network device 420 may be implemented in an eNodeB in an LTE network, in a gNB in ​​5G, NR, IoT, NB-IoT, IIoT, or in a satellite in an NTN network. Alternatively, network device 420 may be implemented in the form of one or more IC chips, for example (and not limited to): one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more RISC or CISC processors. For example, network device 420 may include... Figure 4At least some of the components shown, such as processor 422. Network device 420 may also include one or more other components unrelated to the scheme proposed in this disclosure (e.g., internal power supply, display device, and / or user interface device), and therefore, for simplicity and brevity, such components of network device 420 are not included in... Figure 4 It is shown in the text and not described below.

[0035] In one aspect, the respective processors in processors 412 and 422 may be implemented as one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more CISC processors. That is, even though the singular term "processor" is used herein to refer to processors 412 and 422, according to this disclosure, the respective processors in processors 412 and 422 may include multiple processors in some embodiments and a single processor in other embodiments. In another aspect, the respective processors in processors 412 and 422 may be implemented as hardware (and optionally firmware) having electronic components including (e.g., and not limited to): one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more registers, one or more inductors, one or more memristors, and / or one or more variable capacitors, configured and set to achieve a particular purpose according to this disclosure. In other words, in at least some embodiments, each of processors 412 and 422 is a dedicated machine that is specifically designed, set up and configured to perform specific tasks according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, including power consumption reduction of devices (e.g., as represented by communication device 410) and networks (e.g., as represented by network device 420).

[0036] In some embodiments, the communication device 410 may further include a transceiver 416 coupled to the processor 412 and capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some embodiments, the communication device 410 may further include a memory 414 coupled to the processor 412 and accessible by the processor 412 and storing data therein. In some embodiments, the network device 420 may further include a transceiver 426 coupled to the processor 422 and capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some embodiments, the network device 420 may further include a memory 424 coupled to the processor 422 and accessible by the processor 422 and storing data therein. Therefore, the communication device 410 and the network device 420 may wirelessly communicate with each other via transceiver 416 and transceiver 426, respectively.

[0037] Each of the communication device 410 and the network device 420 may be a communication entity capable of communicating with each other using various proposed schemes according to this disclosure. To aid understanding, the following description of the operation, function, and capabilities of each of the communication device 410 and the network device 420 is provided in the context of a mobile communication environment where the communication device 410 is implemented in or as a communication device or UE (e.g., UE 110), and the network device 420 is implemented in or as a network node or base station (e.g., network node 125) of a communication network (e.g., wireless network 120). It is also noteworthy that although the example embodiments described below are provided in the context of mobile communication, they can also be implemented in other types of networks.

[0038] Under the various proposed solutions related to PDU rate reduction in wireless communication according to this disclosure, utilizing a communication device 410 implemented in or as UE 110 in network environment 100 and a network device 420 implemented in or as network node 125, the processor 412 of the communication device 410 can generate a PDCP data PDU containing multiple SDUs. Furthermore, the processor 412 can transmit the PDCP data PDU to a receiver.

[0039] In some implementations, multiple SDUs may include multiple consecutive upper-layer SDUs associated with the same SDAP data stream.

[0040] In some implementations, during the generation of PDCP data PDUs, the processor 412 may concatenate multiple SDUs. In some implementations, during the concatenation of multiple SDUs, the processor 412 may selectively concatenate one or more SDU streams during the generation of PDCP data PDUs, such that a first SDU stream associated with a first QoS ID is concatenated, while a second SDU stream associated with a second QoS ID is not concatenated. For example, the first SDU stream may be associated with a non-time-critical service, and the second SDU stream may be associated with a real-time service or a time-critical service.

[0041] In some implementations, the number of cascaded SDUs can be based on the SDUs available in the PDCP buffer at the time of cascading. It is noteworthy that the SDUs may not be in the PDCP buffer, but may arrive and be cascaded upon arrival. Alternatively or additionally, the number of cascaded SDUs may be based on any one or both of the following: (a) the amount of cascaded data based on a counter, and (b) the amount of time elapsed since the previous cascading based on a timer.

[0042] In some implementations, during the generation of PDCP data PDUs, processor 412 can use a PDCP data PDU format with an mPDU container field to generate PDCP data PDUs, the mPDU container field containing multiple plaintext mPDUs from one or more IP flows. In such cases, predetermined bits in the header of the PDCP data PDU can be set to indicate that the PDCP data PDU format has an mPDU container field containing multiple plaintext mPDUs. Furthermore, the PDCP data PDU format can be agreed upon with the network using signaling for PDCP control PDUs. Additionally, during the transmission of PDCP data PDUs, processor 412 can dynamically indicate the PDCP data PDU format using the header in the data field of the PDCP data PDU. Moreover, the plaintext mPDU can contain multiple SDUs associated with the PDU session.

[0043] In some implementations, during the generation of PDCP data PDUs, processor 412 can use a PDCP data PDU format with a plaintext mPDU field configured to contain multiple SDUs from an IP stream or SDAP data stream. In this case, predetermined bits in the header of the PDCP data PDU are set to indicate that the PDCP data PDU format has a plaintext mPDU field containing multiple SDUs. Furthermore, the PDCP data PDU format can be agreed upon with the network using signaling for PDCP control PDUs. Additionally, during the transmission of PDCP data PDUs, processor 412 can dynamically indicate the PDCP data PDU format using the header in the data field of the PDCP data PDU. Moreover, the header of the plaintext mPDU field can be set to indicate that the PDCP data PDU format has a plaintext mPDU field containing multiple SDUs. Furthermore, the plaintext mPDU field can contain an SDAP SDU associated with the PDU session.

[0044] Exemplary process

[0045] Figure 5 An example flow 500 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. Flow 500 may be an example implementation (whether partial or complete) of the above-described scheme regarding PDU rate reduction in mobile communications according to the present disclosure. Flow 500 may represent one aspect of the features implemented by communication device 410 and network device 420. Flow 500 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as illustrated by blocks 510 and 520 and one or more sub-blocks 512, 514, and 516. Although illustrated as discrete blocks, the individual blocks of flow 500 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated according to desired implementations. Furthermore, the blocks of flow 500 may be... Figure 5The process 500 may be executed in the order shown, or alternatively in a different order. Process 500 may be implemented by communication device 410 or any suitable UE or machine-type device. Process 500 is described below in the context of communication device 410 and network device 420, purely for illustrative purposes and not for limitation. Process 500 may begin at block 510.

[0046] In block 510, process 500 may include: processor 412 of communication device 410 (implemented in or as UE 110) generating a PDCP data PDU containing multiple SDUs. Process 500 proceeds from block 510 to block 520.

[0047] In block 520, process 500 may include: processor 412 passing PDCP data PDU to receiver.

[0048] In some implementations, multiple SDUs may include multiple consecutive upper-layer SDUs associated with the same SDAP data stream.

[0049] In some implementations, in generating PDCP data PDU, process 500 may include: processor 412 performing one of several different operations represented by sub-blocks 512, 514, and 516.

[0050] In subframe 512, during the generation of PDCP data PDUs, process 500 may include: processor 412 concatenating multiple SDUs while generating PDCP data PDUs. In some embodiments, during the concatenation of multiple SDUs, process 500 may include: processor 412 selectively concatenating one or more SDU streams while generating PDCP data PDUs, such that a first SDU stream associated with a first QoS ID is concatenated, while a second SDU stream associated with a second QoS ID is not concatenated. For example, the first SDU stream may be associated with a non-time-critical service, and the second SDU stream may be associated with a real-time service or a time-critical service. In some embodiments, the number of concatenated SDUs may be based on the SDUs available in the PDCP buffer at the time of concatenation. It is worth noting that the SDUs may not be in the PDCP buffer, but may arrive and be concatenated upon arrival. Alternatively or additionally, the number of concatenated SDUs may be based on any one or both of the following: (a) the amount of data concatenated based on a counter, and (b) the amount of time elapsed since the previous concatenation based on a timer.

[0051] In subframe 514, during the generation of PDCP data PDUs, process 500 may include: processor 412 generating a PDCP data PDU using a PDCP data PDU format with an mPDU container field, the mPDU container field containing multiple plaintext mPDUs from one or more IP flows. In this case, predetermined bits in the header of the PDCP data PDU may be set to indicate that the PDCP data PDU format has an mPDU container field containing multiple plaintext mPDUs. Additionally, the PDCP data PDU format can be agreed upon with the network using signaling for PDCP control PDUs. Furthermore, during the delivery of PDCP data PDUs, process 500 may include: processor 412 dynamically indicating the PDCP data PDU format using the header in the data field of the PDCP data PDU. Moreover, the plaintext mPDU may contain multiple SDUs associated with the PDU session.

[0052] In subframe 516, during the generation of PDCP data PDUs, process 500 may include: processor 412 generating a PDCP data PDU using a PDCP data PDU format with a plaintext mPDU field configured to contain multiple SDUs from an IP stream or SDAP data stream. In this case, predetermined bits in the header of the PDCP data PDU are set to indicate that the PDCP data PDU format has a plaintext mPDU field containing multiple SDUs. Additionally, the PDCP data PDU format can be agreed upon with the network using signaling for PDCP control PDUs. Furthermore, during the delivery of PDCP data PDUs, process 500 may include: processor 412 dynamically indicating the PDCP data PDU format using the header in the data field of the PDCP data PDU. Moreover, the header of the plaintext mPDU field can be set to indicate that the PDCP data PDU format has a plaintext mPDU field containing multiple SDUs. Furthermore, the plaintext mPDU field may contain an SDAP SDU associated with the PDU session.

[0053] Additional Notes

[0054] The topics described herein sometimes illustrate different components contained within or connected to other components. It should be understood that the architectures depicted are merely exemplary, and in practice, many other architectures can be implemented to achieve the same functionality. Conceptually, any arrangement of components used to achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” to achieve the desired functionality. Thus, any two components combined here to achieve a particular function can be considered “associated” with each other to achieve the desired functionality, regardless of the architecture or intermediate components. Similarly, any two such associated components can also be considered “operably connected” or “operably linked” to each other to implement the desired functionality, and any two components that can be suchly associated can also be considered “operably linked” to each other to implement the desired functionality. Specific examples of operationally linked components include, but are not limited to, components capable of physically cooperating and / or physically interacting and / or components capable of wirelessly interacting and / or components capable of logically interacting and / or components capable of logically interacting.

[0055] Furthermore, for any plural and / or singular terms used in this context, those skilled in the art can translate them from plural to singular and / or from singular to plural as appropriate, depending on the context and / or application. For clarity, various singular / plural substitutions can be explicitly described herein.

[0056] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that, generally, the terms used herein, and especially those used in the appended claims (e.g., the body of the appended claims), are intended to be “open-ended” terms (e.g., the term “comprising” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “at least having,” the term “comprising” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” etc.). Those skilled in the art will also understand that if there is an intent to state a particular number of referenced claims, such intent will be explicitly stated in those claims, and furthermore, without such statements, such intent does not exist. For example, to aid understanding, the appended claims may contain the use of introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce the claim statements. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed as implying that a claim statement introduced by the indefinite article "a" or "an" will limit any particular claim containing such an introductory claim statement to an embodiment containing only one such statement, even if the same claim includes the introductory phrase "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" or "an" should be interpreted as meaning "at least one" or "one or more"); the same applies to the use of definite articles for referencing claim statements. Furthermore, even if a specific number of referred claim statements are explicitly stated, those skilled in the art should recognize that such a statement should be interpreted as meaning at least the number stated (e.g., a bare statement of "two statements" means at least two statements, or two or more statements, in the absence of other modifiers). Furthermore, in instances where the convention of “at least one of A, B, and C” is used, this syntactic structure is generally intended to be understood by a person skilled in the art to mean the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” should include, but is not limited to, systems having a single A, a single B, a single C, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together, etc.). In instances where the convention of “at least one of A, B, or C” is used, this syntactic structure is generally intended to be understood by a person skilled in the art to mean the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” should include, but is not limited to, systems having a single A, a single B, a single C, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together, etc.). It should also be understood by a person skilled in the art that, in practice, any transition words and / or phrases presenting two or more alternative terms (whether in the specification, claims, or drawings) should be understood to contemplate the possibility of including one, any, or both of these terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” should be understood as including the possibility of “A” or “B” or “A and B”.

[0057] Based on the foregoing, it should be clear that the various embodiments of this disclosure have been described for illustrative purposes, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this disclosure. Therefore, the various embodiments described herein are not intended to be limiting, and the true scope and spirit are indicated by the following claims.

Claims

1. A method for reducing the protocol data unit rate in mobile communication, the method comprising: Generate packet data aggregation protocol data units containing multiple service data units; as well as The packet data convergence protocol data unit is transmitted to the receiver. The step of generating the packet data aggregation protocol data unit includes: cascading the multiple service data units when generating the packet data aggregation protocol data unit. The step of concatenating the multiple service data units includes: selectively concatenating one or more service data unit streams when generating the packet data aggregation protocol data unit, such that the first service data unit stream associated with a first quality of service identifier is concatenated, while the second service data unit stream associated with a second quality of service identifier is not concatenated. The step of generating the packet data convergence protocol data unit includes: generating the packet data convergence protocol data unit using a packet data convergence protocol data unit format having a multiprotocol data unit container field, wherein the multiprotocol data unit container field contains multiple plaintext multiprotocol data units from one or more data streams.

2. The method for reducing the protocol data unit rate in mobile communication according to claim 1, characterized in that, The plurality of service data units include a plurality of consecutive upper-layer service data units related to the same service data adaptation protocol data stream.

3. The method for reducing the protocol data unit rate in mobile communication according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first service data unit stream is associated with non-time-critical services, and the second service data unit stream is associated with real-time services or time-critical services.

4. The method for reducing the protocol data unit rate in mobile communication according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number of the multiple service data units being cascaded is based on the available service data unit stream in the packet data aggregation protocol buffer during the cascading.

5. The method for reducing the protocol data unit rate in mobile communication according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number of the cascaded service data units is based on any one or two of the following: The amount of data cascaded based on counters, and Based on the amount of time elapsed since the previous cascade.

6. The method for reducing the protocol data unit rate in mobile communication according to claim 1, characterized in that, A predetermined bit in the header of the packet data convergence protocol data unit is set to indicate that the packet data convergence protocol data unit format has a multiprotocol data unit container field that contains the plurality of plaintext multiprotocol data units.

7. The method for reducing the protocol data unit rate in mobile communication according to claim 1, characterized in that, The packet data convergence protocol data unit format is consistent with the network by using the signaling of the packet data convergence protocol control protocol data unit.

8. The method for reducing the protocol data unit rate in mobile communication according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of transmitting the packet data convergence protocol data unit includes: using the header in the data field of the packet data convergence protocol data unit to dynamically indicate the format of the packet data convergence protocol data unit.

9. The method for reducing the protocol data unit rate in mobile communication according to claim 1, characterized in that, The plurality of plaintext multiprotocol data units include the plurality of service data units associated with a protocol data unit session.

10. The method for reducing the protocol data unit rate in mobile communication according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of generating the packet data convergence protocol data unit includes: generating the packet data convergence protocol data unit using a packet data convergence protocol data unit format having a plaintext multiprotocol data unit field, wherein the plaintext multiprotocol data unit field is configured to include the plurality of service data units from an Internet Protocol stream or a Service Data Adaptation Protocol data stream.

11. The method for reducing the protocol data unit rate in mobile communication according to claim 10, characterized in that, A predetermined bit in the header of the packet data convergence protocol data unit is set to indicate that the packet data convergence protocol data unit format has the plaintext multiprotocol data unit field containing the plurality of service data units.

12. The method for reducing the protocol data unit rate in mobile communication according to claim 10, characterized in that, The packet data convergence protocol data unit format is consistent with the network by using the signaling of the packet data convergence protocol control protocol data unit.

13. The method for reducing the protocol data unit rate in mobile communication according to claim 10, characterized in that, The step of transmitting the packet data convergence protocol data unit includes: using the header in the data field of the packet data convergence protocol data unit to dynamically indicate the format of the packet data convergence protocol data unit.

14. The method for reducing the protocol data unit rate in mobile communication according to claim 10, characterized in that, The header in the plaintext multiprotocol data unit field is set to indicate that the packet data aggregation protocol data unit format has the plaintext multiprotocol data unit field containing the plurality of service data units.

15. The method for reducing the protocol data unit rate in mobile communication according to claim 10, characterized in that, The plaintext multiprotocol data unit field contains service data adaptation protocol service data units associated with the protocol data unit session.

16. An apparatus for reducing the protocol data unit rate in mobile communications, the apparatus being implemented in a user equipment, the apparatus comprising: A transceiver configured to communicate wirelessly with a network; as well as A processor, coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform the following operations: Generate packet data aggregation protocol data units containing multiple service data units; as well as The packet data convergence protocol data unit is transmitted to the receiver. Specifically, in generating the packet data aggregation protocol data unit, the processor is configured to execute: The multiple service data units are concatenated when generating the packet data aggregation protocol data unit; In cascading the plurality of service data units, the processor selectively cascades one or more service data unit streams when generating the packet data aggregation protocol data unit, such that the first service data unit stream associated with the first quality of service identifier is cascaded, while the second service data unit stream associated with the second quality of service identifier is not cascaded. The packet data aggregation protocol data unit is generated using a packet data aggregation protocol data unit format with a multiprotocol data unit container field, wherein the multiprotocol data unit container field contains multiple plaintext multiprotocol data units from one or more data streams.

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