Apparatus and method for forwarding data from a remote device to a network node

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to devices and methods for forwarding data from a remote device to a network node. An intermediate device and method for relaying data from a remote wireless device to a base station with reduced latency are discussed. The method includes the step of receiving a transmission having control information and data. It is determined from the control information that the data is to be forwarded to a wireless communication node, and that a future data transmission including the data to be forwarded is scheduled. An amount of data in the future data transmission is estimated from the control information. A resource request is generated including the estimated amount of data in the future data transmission, and the resource request is transmitted to the wireless communication node.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments involve relaying data from a wireless device to a network node in a wireless communication network via an intermediate relay device. Background Technology

[0002] Device-to-device (D2D) transmissions are becoming increasingly common. New radio (NR) uses higher frequencies than traditional 3G devices, and the effective propagation distance of these higher-frequency signals is significantly reduced. This makes D2D communication more important to provide a method for sending data to devices with backhaul capabilities across multiple hops or stages. Sending data across multiple hops can significantly increase data transmission latency, especially when resources need to be requested and provided before each transmission.

[0003] The implementation aims to reduce latency in such multi-device transmissions. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The independent claims define the scope of protection sought for the various embodiments of this disclosure. Examples and features described in this specification that are not within the scope of the independent claims (if any) shall be interpreted as examples useful for understanding the various embodiments of this disclosure.

[0005] According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the present invention, in a first aspect, an apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising: components for receiving a transmission including control information and data; components for determining, based on the control information, that the data is to be forwarded to a wireless communication node, and that future data transmission including the data to be forwarded is scheduled; components for estimating, based on the control information, the amount of data in the future data transmission; components for generating a resource request, the resource request including the estimated amount of data in the future data transmission; and components for transmitting, the components for transmitting being configured to transmit the resource request to the wireless communication node.

[0006] When data is transmitted through multiple stages or hops of intermediate devices, the latency of multi-stage transmissions can be quite long. This is especially true if there is a delay in acquiring resources for forward transmissions. This delay can be reduced by requesting resources for any forward transmissions in advance. However, when control information is sent along with data during transmission, in some cases, prior requesting resources for forward transmissions of that data based on control information within the same time slot or TTI (Transmission Time Interval) is not straightforward. However, it has been recognized that received control information can also be associated with one or more future data transmissions, and if this information is used to estimate the amount of data in such future transmissions, resources for forward transmissions of data received in those future transmissions can be requested before the data arrives, thereby reducing latency.

[0007] In some embodiments, the future data transmission scheduled above may include retransmission of the data or periodic data transmission.

[0008] If data from the original transmission is not received correctly and cannot be decoded, control information regarding future data transmissions can be received, thus causing one or more retransmissions of the data. In this case, increased latency is a significant issue; however, the control information sent in the original transmission will be relevant to any retransmissions. Therefore, when data cannot be decoded but the control transmission can, advance resource requests can be generated so that resources for the forward transmission are quickly available when a data retransmission does occur. The received control information can also be relevant in other cases, such as when the data is one transmission in a periodic data transmission set, making the control information relevant again to future data transmissions in that periodic set.

[0009] In some embodiments, the control information includes information about frequency resources and modulation and coding schemes to be used in the future data transmission, and the estimation component estimates the amount of data based on the frequency resources and modulation and coding scheme information.

[0010] In some embodiments, the control information further includes a priority indication indicating the priority of the data in the future data transmission; the estimation component is configured to estimate a logical channel group for forwarding the data based on the priority indication and a mapping between previously received data and the priority indication; and the component for generating the resource request generates a buffer status report, which includes the data volume and the logical channel group.

[0011] In some embodiments, the above transmissions are received on one or more sidechain channels.

[0012] In some embodiments, the one or more sidechain channels mentioned above include channels above the PC5 interface.

[0013] In some embodiments, the control information further includes a time resource allocation, which indicates the timing of at least one future data transmission; and wherein the estimation component is configured to determine the transmission time of the generated resource request based on the time resource allocation.

[0014] In some embodiments, the aforementioned estimation component is configured to estimate the reception time of the future data transmission based on the aforementioned time resource allocation, and the determined transmission time for the generated resource request is determined to be prior to the estimated reception time of the future data transmission.

[0015] In some embodiments, the determined time is selected as a predetermined time period prior to the estimated reception time of future data transmission.

[0016] In some embodiments, the future data transmission includes the data retransmission, and the time resource allocation indicates the timing of a plurality of the data retransmissions, and the estimation component is configured to select one of the data retransmission timings when estimating the reception time of the data retransmission.

[0017] In some embodiments, the aforementioned estimation component is configured to: determine the quality of the channel on which the transmission is received, and select one of the data retransmission timings based on the channel quality, wherein a higher channel quality triggers the selection of an earlier data retransmission timing among the plurality of data retransmission timings.

[0018] In some embodiments, the aforementioned estimation component is configured to: determine the resources allocated for the aforementioned data retransmission, and select one of the aforementioned data retransmission timings based on the allocated resources.

[0019] In some embodiments, the aforementioned transmission component is configured to transmit the resource request to the aforementioned wireless communication node at the aforementioned time determined by the aforementioned estimation component.

[0020] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes: a component for receiving a resource grant in response to the resource request; wherein, in response to receiving the resource grant, the component for transmission is configured to: transmit the data of the future data transmission on the granted resource when the future data transmission has been received, and transmit an updated resource request on the granted resource when the future data transmission has not yet been received.

[0021] In some embodiments, the component includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to cause the execution of the device together with the at least one processor.

[0022] According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the present invention, a system is provided, the system comprising: a remote wireless device; a further wireless communication network node; and an apparatus according to a first aspect, the apparatus including a relay node for relaying data from the remote wireless device to the further wireless communication network node; wherein the remote wireless device is configured to transmit a wireless communication signal including control information and the data to the apparatus on one or more sidechain channels; the apparatus is configured to estimate the amount of the data based on the control information, and generate a resource request, and transmit the resource request to the further wireless communication network node; and the further wireless communication network node is configured to provide resource authorization for the transmission of the data from the apparatus to the further wireless communication network node in response to the receipt of the resource request.

[0023] In some embodiments, the additional wireless communication network node is a base station. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes user equipment.

[0024] According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the present invention, a method is provided, the method comprising: receiving a transmission including control information and data; determining, based on the control information, that the data is to be forwarded to a wireless communication node, and that future data transmission including the data to be forwarded is scheduled; estimating, based on the control information, the amount of data in the future data transmission; generating a resource request, the resource request including the estimated amount of data in the future data transmission; and sending the resource request to the wireless communication node.

[0025] In some embodiments, the future data transmission scheduled above may include retransmission of the data or periodic data transmission.

[0026] In some embodiments, the control information includes information about frequency resources and modulation and coding schemes to be used in the future data transmission, and the estimation step estimates the amount of data based on the frequency resources and modulation and coding scheme information.

[0027] In some embodiments, the control information further includes a priority indication indicating the priority of the data in the future data transmission; the estimation step estimates the logical channel group for forwarding the data based on the priority indication and the mapping between previously received data and the priority indication; the step of generating the resource request generates a buffer status report, which includes the data volume and the logical channel group.

[0028] In some embodiments, the control information further includes a time resource allocation, which indicates the timing of the at least one future data transmission; and the estimation step determines the transmission time of the generated resource request based on the time resource allocation.

[0029] In some embodiments, the estimation step estimates the reception time of the future data transmission based on the time resource allocation, and the determined transmission time of the generated resource request is determined to be before the estimated reception time of the future data transmission.

[0030] In some embodiments, the method includes estimating the determined time as a predetermined time period prior to the estimated reception time of future data transmission.

[0031] In some embodiments, the future data transmission includes the data retransmission, and the time resource allocation indicates the timing of a plurality of the data retransmissions, and the estimation step selects one of the data retransmission timings when estimating the reception time of the data retransmission.

[0032] In some embodiments, the estimation step determines the quality of the channel on which the transmission is received, and selects one of the data retransmission timings based on the channel quality, with higher channel quality triggering the selection of an earlier data retransmission timing among the plurality of data retransmission timings.

[0033] In some embodiments, the estimation step determines the resources allocated for the data retransmission and selects one of the data retransmission timings based on the allocated resources.

[0034] In some embodiments, the above-described sending step sends the resource request to the above-described wireless communication node at the time determined in the above-described estimation step.

[0035] In some embodiments, the method further includes: receiving a resource grant in response to the resource request; and in response to the receipt of the resource grant, transmitting the data of the future data transmission on the granted resource when the future data transmission has been received, and sending an updated resource request on the granted resource when the future data transmission has not yet been received.

[0036] According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the present invention, a computer program is provided, the computer program including instructions for causing a device to perform at least the following operations: determining, based on control information received in a transmission including data and control information, that the data to be forwarded to a wireless communication node and that future data transmission including the data to be forwarded is scheduled; estimating, based on the control information, the amount of the data in the future data transmission; and generating a resource request, the resource request including the estimated amount of the data in the future data transmission.

[0037] In some embodiments, the computer program includes instructions for causing the apparatus to perform the method according to the above embodiments.

[0038] According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the present invention, an apparatus is provided, comprising: a circuit system configured to receive a transmission including control information and data; a circuit system configured to determine, based on the control information, that the data is to be forwarded to a wireless communication node, and that future data transmission including the data to be forwarded is scheduled; a circuit system configured to estimate, based on the control information, the amount of data in the future data transmission; a circuit system configured to generate a resource request, the resource request including the estimated amount of data in the future data transmission; and a circuit system configured to transmit, the circuit system configured to transmit the resource request to the wireless communication node.

[0039] In some embodiments, the control information includes information about frequency resources and modulation and coding schemes to be used in the future data transmission, and the circuit system is configured to estimate the amount of the data based on the frequency resources and modulation and coding scheme information.

[0040] In some embodiments, the control information further includes a priority indication indicating the priority of the data in the future data transmission; the circuitry configured to estimate estimates a logical channel group for forwarding the data based on the priority indication and a mapping between previously received data and the priority indication; and the circuitry configured to generate generates a buffer status report, which includes the data volume and the logical channel group.

[0041] In some embodiments, the control information further includes a time resource allocation, which indicates the timing of the at least one future data transmission; and wherein the circuit system configured to estimate is configured to determine the transmission time of the generated resource request based on the time resource allocation.

[0042] In some embodiments, the circuit system configured to estimate is configured to estimate the reception time of the future data transmission based on the time resource allocation, wherein the determined transmission time of the generated resource request is determined to be prior to the estimated reception time of the future data transmission.

[0043] In some embodiments, the future data transmission includes the data retransmission, and the time resource allocation indicates the timing of a plurality of the data retransmissions, and the circuitry configured to estimate is configured to select one of the data retransmission timings when estimating the reception time of the data retransmission.

[0044] In some embodiments, the circuitry configured to estimate is configured to determine the quality of the channel on which the transmission is received, and to select one of the data retransmission timings based on the channel quality, wherein a higher channel quality triggers the selection of an earlier data retransmission timing among the plurality of data retransmission timings.

[0045] In some embodiments, the circuit system configured to estimate is configured to: determine the resources allocated for the data retransmission, and select one of the data retransmission timings based on the allocated resources.

[0046] In some embodiments, the circuitry configured to transmit is configured to send the resource request to the wireless communication node at the time determined by the circuitry configured to estimate.

[0047] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes: a circuit system configured to receive a resource grant or allocation in response to the resource request; wherein, in response to the receipt of the resource grant, the circuit system configured to transmit is configured to transmit the data of the future data transmission on the granted resource when the future data transmission has been received, and to send an updated resource request on the granted resource when the future data transmission has not yet been received.

[0048] According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the present invention, an apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured together with the at least one processor to cause the apparatus to perform at least: determining, based on the control information received in a transmission including data and control information, that data to be forwarded to a wireless communication node, and that future data transmission including the data to be forwarded is scheduled; estimating the amount of data in the future data transmission based on the control information; and generating a resource request, the resource request including the estimated amount of data in the future data transmission.

[0049] Further specific and preferred aspects are set forth in the appended independent and dependent claims. Features of the dependent claims may be suitably combined with features of the independent claims, and may be combined in combinations other than those expressly specified in the claims.

[0050] When a device feature is described as operable to provide a function, it should be understood that this includes device features that provide the function or are adapted or configured to provide the function. Attached Figure Description

[0051] Some exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0052] Figure 1 The user plane protocol stack of L2 U2N relay is shown;

[0053] Figure 2 The typical process of UL data transmission for a remote UE is illustrated;

[0054] Figure 3 The process of UL data delivery for a remote UE according to one embodiment is illustrated;

[0055] Figure 4 A method according to one embodiment is illustrated schematically;

[0056] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating the steps of a method according to one embodiment is shown schematically; and

[0057] Figure 6 A system according to one embodiment is illustrated schematically. Detailed Implementation

[0058] Before discussing the example embodiments in more detail, an overview will first be provided.

[0059] This disclosure is based on the idea that a relay UE (user equipment) can estimate / predict upcoming UL data from a remote UE, such that early UL resource requests (e.g., UL SR UL scheduling requests and / or UL-BSR UL buffer status reports) can be sent to the gNB before the actual data arrives at the relay UE's data buffer.

[0060] This disclosure specifically focuses on how a relay UE determines / predicts the arrival of UL data from a remote UE based on the SCI (Sidechain Control Information) of the initial SL transmission when the relay UE fails to correctly receive the initial SL (sidechain) transmission from a remote UE and therefore anticipates that a retransmission of the payload (either a HARQ-based retransmission or a blind retransmission without HARQ feedback) will occur soon. It also relates to periodic data transmissions, where the control information is associated with a set of data transmissions that will occur periodically. The control portion of the transmission can be the Sidechain Control Information (SCI) and can be transmitted on the PSCCH (Physical Sidechain Control Channel). The SCI carries information required by the receiving UE to enable reception on the PSSCH (Physical Sidechain Shared Channel) and to demodulate data transmitted as part of the same transmission (i.e., transmitted in the same time slot).

[0061] According to the standardized UL BSR MAC CE format (Uplink Buffer Status Report Media Access Control Control Element), the relay UE needs to determine the following information in order to send an early UL resource request to the gNB for estimated upcoming UL data from the remote UE:

[0062] • The amount of upcoming UL data from the remote UE (corresponding to the buffer size of the UL BSR MAC CE). This can be determined based on the Frequency Resource Allocation and Modulation Coding Scheme Information Element (IE) in the SCI. When the remote UE transmits UL data to the relay UE via SL, the remote UE indicates the resource allocation for initial transmission and retransmission in the SCI. If the relay UE can correctly receive the SCI, the amount of upcoming UL data can be determined based on the Frequency Resource Allocation and Modulation Coding Scheme, even if the initial transmission of the SL data portion is not correctly received.

[0063] The UL Logical Channel (LC) for upcoming UL data from a remote UE can be determined based on the Priority IE in the SCI. Although the priority of SL communication is not directly linked to the UL LC, the relay UE can learn from previous SL transmissions from the remote UE to the relay UE which SL transmission with indicated priority is mapped to which SL LC. The relay UE is also configured by the gNB with a mapping from SL LC to UL LC during SL relay connection establishment. Therefore, the relay UE can determine the UL LC based on the Priority IE in the SCI of the initial SL transmission from the remote UE. Based on the determined UL LC for the upcoming UL data and the configuration of the UL LC-to-Logical Channel Group (LCG) mapping, the relay UE can form the LCG field of the UL BSR MAC CE as an early resource request to the gNB.

[0064] Since the UL BSR MAC CE does not contain UL data arrival timing information, the gNB can schedule UL authorization at any time after receiving the UL BSR MAC CE. The relay UE needs to estimate the arrival time of upcoming UL data from the remote UE to avoid prematurely triggering the UL BSR. The arrival time of upcoming UL data from the remote UE can be determined based on the time resource allocation IE in the SCI. Here, the time resource allocation corresponding to SL retransmissions or future periodic SL transmissions should be used to determine the arrival time of upcoming UL data from the remote UE.

[0065] The SCI of the initial SL transmission may include several (typically up to two) SL retransmissions. When more than one SL retransmission resource is indicated in the SCI of the initial SL transmission, the data arrival time can be determined based on the time resource allocation for the first or second retransmission. One of the two to be selected may depend on the SL link quality monitored by the relay UE from the remote UE (e.g., the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) of the PSCCH (Physical Shared Control Channel)) to determine whether to use the time resource allocation for the first or second retransmission information. For example, for a good SL link quality measurement, the time resource allocation for the first SL retransmission may be used because it has a high potential to correctly receive the UL data from the remote UE after the first retransmission. Otherwise, the time resource allocation for the second retransmission is used. In another embodiment, whether / when the relay UE triggers an inter-UE coordination (IUC) for retransmission for the remote UE (i.e., whether / when the relay provides a set of (non-)preferred resources for retransmission to the remote UE) in the event of unsuccessful reception of the initial transmission can determine whether to use the time resource allocation for the first or second retransmission information. For example, if the remote UE has already provided the remote UE with a set of (non)preferred resources for the first or second retransmission, the time resource allocation for the first or second SL retransmission can be used because it has a high potential to correctly receive the remote UE's UL data after the first or second retransmission.

[0066] In the event that future data transmission is not a retransmission but one of a set of periodic data transmissions, timing can be estimated based on the periodic timing information associated with the set of periodic transmissions.

[0067] Using network nodes such as user equipment to relay data received from wireless devices such as smartwatches or remote nodes to network nodes or base stations with backhaul capabilities allows the use of wireless signals with higher frequencies and therefore shorter ranges. Figure 1 The document describes the user plane protocol stack for L2-based U2N (User Equipment to Network) relay, where Uu-SDAP (User Equipment to Network Service Data Adaptation Protocol) and PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol) terminate between the remote UE and gNB, while lower-level protocol stacks such as RLC (Radio Link Control), MAC (Media Access Control), and PHY (Physical) terminate in each link of the PC5 and Uu interfaces, respectively. Therefore, for relay services of remote UEs on the Uu (User Equipment to Network) interface between the relay UE and gNB, the functions of lower-level protocols such as UL Scheduling Request (SR), UL Buffer Status Report (UL-BSR), and UL scheduling (e.g., UL dynamic authorization or configuration authorization) should be supported.

[0068] for Figure 1In the L2 U2N trunk shown, the services of the remote UE are transmitted between the remote UE and the gNB via two links: i) SL over the PC5 interface between the remote UE and the trunk UE, and ii) UL / DL over the Uu interface between the trunk UE and the gNB. This introduces additional latency / wait time compared to a direct link between the remote UE and the gNB. Furthermore, in order to deliver the remote UE's UL data to the gNB, the trunk UE needs to request UL resources (e.g., by sending a UL SR and / or UL BSR to the gNB) when the remote UE's data arrives in the trunk UE's data buffer, and then send the remote UE UL data to the gNB after obtaining UL authorization from the gNB. Figure 2 This sequential process also extends the delay in the delivery of UL data from the remote UE to the gNB.

[0069] Figure 2 The diagram schematically illustrates data transmission between a remote UE 60 and a network gNB node 50 via an intermediate relay UE 5. It shows how a two-stage transmission process can cause delays in data transmission, particularly when the initial step 1 of sending the initial transmission results in data not being successfully received.

[0070] Therefore, in initial step 1, the remote UE 60 transmits an uplink transmission including control information and data. Both control information and data are transmitted within the same Transmission Time Interval (TTI). The control information includes multiple indicators, a priority indicator indicating the priority of the sidechain channel used for communication, frequency resource allocation indicating frequency resources used for the transmission and for additional retransmissions (in some cases, up to two additional retransmissions), time resource allocation indicating the timing delay between retransmissions, a modulation and coding scheme indicator, and several other indicators such as a resource reservation period indicator.

[0071] Relay UE 5 may fail to decode the data received in the initial transmission and sends a signal indicating this in step 2. In this embodiment, it is a HARQ NACK signal. In response, remote UE 60 sends a retransmission of the initial transmission in step 3. Relay UE 5 correctly receives the retransmission and sends a resource request including the UL-BSR to the gNB in ​​step 4. The gNB 50 responds in step 5 with uplink granting or uplink resource allocation for the resource, and the relay UE 5 responds in step 6 by sending the uplink data it received from the remote UE on the granted resource. It can be seen that there is a significant delay between the initial transmission from remote UE 60 and the final step 6 of sending the data to the gNB 50.

[0072] Figure 3 The embodiments illustrate how this delay can be reduced. Figure 3During the process, relay UE 5 responds to the initial transmission received from remote UE 60 by sending an indication that data was not successfully received. Relay UE 5 also analyzes the control information it has received and estimates the amount of data it expects to receive when the data is retransmitted. Then, in step 3, it generates an uplink resource request to send to gNB 50, which includes the estimated amount of data, thus requesting uplink grant before receiving data. In step 4, relay UE 5 receives the retransmitted data, and shortly thereafter, it receives uplink grant in step 5. Since it now has data and uplink grant, it can send the uplink data of the remote UE to the gNB in ​​step 6, which is faster than it could have done in step 6. Figure 2 The process takes place much earlier.

[0073] It should be noted that although HARQ feedback is assumed to be used in this example, the embodiment is also applicable to sidelink transmission duplication and blind retransmissions that do not support HARQ feedback. In such an embodiment, the initial sidelink transmission indication from the remote UE 60 does not apply HARQ, but control information for future retransmissions is still included in the SCI of the initial SL transmission. If the data of the initial SL transmission is not correctly decoded, the relay UE can still determine relevant information about upcoming uplink data based on the expected duplication of the sidelink transmission that will occur automatically without feedback.

[0074] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating the steps in a method according to an embodiment is shown.

[0075] In step 1, an initial transmission including control information and data is received from the remote UE. Data decoding fails. In step 2, the relay user equipment determines the expected attributes of the uplink data that was not successfully received from the remote UE. It does this by determining the expected data volume based on the frequency resource allocation and modulation and coding scheme information elements of the control information in the SCI (Sidelink Control Information). It also determines the uplink logical channel based on the priority information element of the received SCI. At this point, the priority information element indicates the priority of the sidelink channel, and this can be mapped to the logical channel by looking at previously received transmissions and the logical channels and priorities associated with them. Once the logical channel is determined, a logical channel group can be determined according to the network configuration. The expected arrival time of the retransmitted data is then determined based on the time resource allocation information element in the control information, as this indicates the retransmission timing of the data. At this point, multiple retransmissions may exist, and in this case, it will determine whether it expects the data to arrive in the first or subsequent retransmission. It will determine this based on one of the following: the determined channel quality of the sidechain channel, which maps to the likelihood that the next transmission will be successfully decoded; and / or the resources available for retransmission to the remote UE, and whether these are preferred or unpreferred resources.

[0076] Once the arrival time of the retransmission is determined, an appropriate time can be estimated for sending the resource request. This should be before data reception, but not too early, so that the data is received when the authorized uplink resources are scheduled. In some embodiments, it can be within a predetermined time period before the estimated time of receiving the retransmission.

[0077] Once these attributes of the expected uplink data have been determined, a resource request is generated, which may be a buffer status report, and this is sent to the gNB at the time determined in step S3.

[0078] If an uplink grant is received and it is determined that the expected data has not yet arrived and should not arrive when the resources are scheduled, the uplink grant can be used to retransmit a resource request or an updated resource request. If the remote UE can only use SL resource allocation (RA) mode 2 (i.e., UE autonomous resource selection) for its SL transmissions to the relay UE, then reserved resources for future periodic SL transmissions can be re-evaluated or pre-allocated if other SL UEs with higher priority services indicate overlapping SL resources for their SL transmissions. If the relay UE detects a remote UE resource re-evaluation or pre-allocation based on its own sensing results, then if UL data transmission from the remote UE is delayed due to the remote UE's resource re-evaluation or pre-allocation, the relay UE can be triggered to use the UL grant to send an updated UL BSR instead of the remote UE's uplink data.

[0079] In the above embodiments, the time reservation period IE in the SCI of the SL transmission is used to predict the time of data retransmission. However, the relay UE can also use it to determine the upcoming UL data from the remote UE for periodic services, so that if the gNB does not have a suitable UL configuration authorization (CG), the relay UE can send an early UL resource request to the gNB.

[0080] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating the steps of the method according to an embodiment is shown schematically. In the initial step S10, a transmission is received from a remote UE at an intermediate relay UE. In step D5, it is determined whether the relay UE can successfully decode the data. If so, in step S70, it generates and sends a resource request indicating the amount of data already received. If not, the steps of the method according to the embodiment are performed, and these include step S20, estimating the amount of data based on control information constituting the initial transmission along with the data, followed by step S30, estimating the logical channel group. In step S40, the arrival time of the data in subsequent retransmissions is estimated. At this point, the data can be retransmitted at the set time indicated in the control information, and the UE can estimate whether the first subsequent retransmission will be successful, or whether it is more likely that the data will only be successfully received in the second retransmission. This can be determined based on the quality of the sidechain channel or the resources allocated to the remote device.

[0081] The UE will then generate a resource request in step S50, which will include an estimated amount of data and an estimated logical channel group. Then, in step S60, it will send the resource request at a time selected based on the estimated data arrival time. At this point, it is expected that uplink grants will be received shortly after the data is received, so that the data arrives before the time allotted for the scheduling resources used to send the data.

[0082] Figure 6 A system according to an embodiment is illustrated. The system includes a remote UE 60 (a smartwatch in this embodiment), an intermediate relay UE 5, and a network node or base station 50. The intermediate relay UE 5 includes an antenna 8, a receiving and transmitting circuitry system 10 for receiving and transmitting signals, a determining circuitry system 12, a decoding circuitry system 20, an estimating circuitry system 22, a resource request generation circuitry system 26, and a control circuitry system 24. The determining circuitry system 12 determines, based on the decoded control information portion of the received transmission, that data transmitted in the transmission should be forwarded to the wireless communication node (base station 50), and that the data will be retransmitted from the remote device 60. This data retransmission can occur because the decoding circuitry system 20 cannot decode the data. In the event that the data is not correctly decoded, the UE 5 can generate and send a signal indicating this to the remote device 60; alternatively, the UE 5 may have already received information that the remote device is operating in blind retransmission, in which case no signal will be sent.

[0083] The estimation circuitry 22 estimates the amount of data it expects to receive in the data retransmission based on the control information, and the resource request generation circuitry 26 generates a resource request that includes the estimated amount of data and a logical channel group. The estimation circuitry 22 can also estimate the expected arrival time of the data retransmission.

[0084] Control circuitry system 24 controls transmission circuitry system 10 to send resource requests at a time dependent on the estimated time. At this point, the request should be sent before the expected arrival of the data to reduce waiting time, but not too far in advance, as it is desirable to receive authorization after data reception so that the data is available when scheduled authorized resources. If the data does not arrive at the expected time, another UE may have already pre-allocated resources scheduled for retransmission; therefore, authorized uplink resources can be used to send resource requests for updates to send the delayed data when it arrives.

[0085] In summary, by triggering the UL SR or BSR before the actual UL data arrives due to SL retransmission, the proposed scheme significantly reduces the latency of UL data delivery from remote UEs to the gNB in ​​U2N relays. Furthermore, this scheme avoids transmission buffer overflow at the relay UE, especially when the relay is serving multiple remote UEs, as queuing latency at the relay UE is significantly reduced.

[0086] Those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the steps of the various methods described above can be performed by a programmed computer. Here, some embodiments are also intended to cover program storage devices, such as digital data storage media, which are machine- or computer-readable and encoded with a program of machine-executable or computer-executable instructions, wherein these instructions perform some or all of the steps of the methods described above. The program storage device may be, for example, a digital memory, a magnetic storage medium such as a disk and magnetic tape, a hard disk drive, or an optically readable digital data storage medium. Embodiments are also intended to cover computers programmed to perform the steps of the methods described above.

[0087] In this application, the term "circuit system" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0088] (a) Hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation only in analog and / or digital circuit systems), and

[0089] (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (if applicable):

[0090] (i) A combination of (multiple) analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and

[0091] (ii) Any part of a hardware processor(s) having software (including (multiple) digital signal processors), software, and (multiple) memories, which work together to cause a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions, and

[0092] (c) (Multiple) hardware circuits and / or (multiple) processors, such as (multiple) microprocessors or a portion thereof, which require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but may be absent when operation does not require software.

[0093] This definition of circuit system applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claim. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuit system also includes implementations of only hardware circuitry or a processor (or processors) or a portion of hardware circuitry or a microprocessor and its accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuit system also includes (e.g., and if applicable to elements of a particular claim) baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices, or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or networking devices.

[0094] Although embodiments of the invention have been described with reference to various examples in the preceding paragraphs, it should be understood that modifications may be made to the given examples without departing from the scope of the claimed invention.

[0095] The features described above may be used in combinations other than those explicitly described.

[0096] Although the functions have been described with reference to certain features, these functions can be performed through other features, whether or not they are described.

[0097] Although features have been described with reference to certain embodiments, these features may exist in other embodiments, whether or not they are described.

[0098] Although the foregoing description attempts to draw attention to those features of the invention that are considered particularly important, it should be understood that the applicant claims protection for any patentable features or combinations thereof mentioned above and / or shown in the drawings, whether or not they are specifically emphasized.

Claims

1. A device for communication, comprising: A component used to receive transmissions including control information and data; A component for determining, based on the control information, that the data is to be forwarded to another wireless communication network node, and including the scheduling of future data transmission of the data to be forwarded; A component for estimating the amount of data in the future data transmission based on the control information; A component for generating a resource request, the resource request including an estimated amount of data in the future data transmission; The component for transmitting is configured to send the resource request to the other wireless communication network node; The control information also includes time resource allocation, which indicates the timing of at least one of the future data transmissions; The future data transmission includes the data retransmission, and the time resource allocation indicates the timing of multiple data retransmissions; as well as The component used for estimation is configured to: determine the quality of the channel on which the signal is received, and select one of the data retransmission timings based on the channel quality, wherein a higher channel quality triggers the selection of an earlier data retransmission timing among the plurality of data retransmission timings.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the scheduled future data transmission comprises: The data is retransmitted or transmitted periodically.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The control information includes information about frequency resources and modulation and coding schemes to be used in the future data transmission, and the estimation component estimates the amount of data based on the frequency resources and modulation and coding scheme information.

4. The apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein: The control information also includes: a priority indication that indicates the priority of the data in the future data transmission; The component used for estimation is configured to: estimate the logical channel group for forwarding the data based on the priority indication and a mapping between previously received data and the priority indication; The component used to generate the resource request generates a buffer status report, the buffer status report including the amount of data and the logical channel group.

5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transmission is received on one or more sidechain channels.

6. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The component used for estimation is configured to determine the transmission time for generating the resource request based on the time resource allocation.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the component for estimation is configured to: estimate the reception time of the future data transmission based on the time resource allocation, wherein the determined transmission time for generating the resource request is determined to be prior to the estimated reception time of the future data transmission.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the component for estimation is configured to select one of the data retransmission timings when estimating the reception time of the data retransmission.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the component for estimation is configured to: determine resources allocated for the data retransmission, and select one of the data retransmission timings based on the allocated resources.

10. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein: The component for transmission is configured to send the resource request to the other wireless communication node at the time determined by the component for estimation.

11. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: A component for receiving resource authorization in response to the resource request; in In response to the receipt of the resource authorization, the component for sending is configured to: send the data of the future data transmission on the authorized resource when the future data transmission has been received, and transmit an updated resource request on the authorized resource when the future data transmission has not yet been received.

12. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the component comprises: At least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code being configured to cause the execution of the device together with the at least one processor.

13. A communication system, comprising: Remote wireless devices; Other wireless communication network nodes; as well as The apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, the apparatus comprising a relay node for relaying data from the remote wireless device to the additional wireless communication network node; wherein: The remote wireless device is configured to transmit wireless communication signals, including control information and the data, to the device on one or more sidechain channels. The device is configured to: estimate the amount of data in future data transmission based on the control information, generate a resource request, and send the resource request to the other wireless communication network node; The additional wireless communication network node is configured to: provide resource grants in response to the receipt of the resource request, the resource grants being used for the transmission of the estimated amount of data from the device to the additional network node in the future data transmission; The control information also includes time resource allocation, which indicates the timing of at least one of the future data transmissions; The future data transmission includes the data retransmission, and the time resource allocation indicates the timing of multiple data retransmissions; as well as The estimation includes determining the quality of the channel on which the signal is received, and selecting one of the data retransmission timings based on the channel quality, with higher channel quality triggering the selection of an earlier data retransmission timing among the plurality of data retransmission timings.

14. A method of communication, comprising: Receives transmissions including control information and data; Based on the control information, it is determined that the data is to be forwarded to the wireless communication node, and future data transmission including the data to be forwarded is scheduled; Based on the control information, estimate the amount of data in the future data transmission; as well as Generate a resource request, the resource request including the estimated amount of data in the future data transmission; as well as Send the resource request to the wireless communication node; The control information also includes time resource allocation, which indicates the timing of at least one of the future data transmissions; The future data transmission includes the data retransmission, and the time resource allocation indicates the timing of multiple data retransmissions; as well as The estimation includes determining the quality of the channel on which the signal is received, and selecting one of the data retransmission timings based on the channel quality, with higher channel quality triggering the selection of an earlier data retransmission timing among the plurality of data retransmission timings.

15. A computer-readable storage medium comprising a computer program stored thereon, the computer program including instructions for causing a device to perform the following operations: Based on the control information received during the transmission including data and control information, it is determined that the data is to be forwarded to the wireless communication node, and future data transmission including the data to be forwarded is scheduled. Based on the control information, estimate the amount of data in the future data transmission; Generate a resource request, the resource request including the estimated amount of data in the future data transmission; The control information also includes time resource allocation, which indicates the timing of at least one of the future data transmissions; The future data transmission includes the data retransmission, and the time resource allocation indicates the timing of multiple data retransmissions; as well as The estimation includes determining the quality of the channel on which the signal is received, and selecting one of the data retransmission timings based on the channel quality, with higher channel quality triggering the selection of an earlier data retransmission timing among the plurality of data retransmission timings.

16. An apparatus for communication, comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions causing the apparatus to: Receives transmissions including control information and data; Based on the control information, it is determined that the data is to be forwarded to another wireless communication network node, and future data transmission including the data to be forwarded is scheduled. Based on the control information, estimate the amount of data in the future data transmission; Generate a resource request, the resource request including the estimated amount of data in the future data transmission; Send the resource request to the other wireless communication network node; The control information also includes time resource allocation, which indicates the timing of at least one of the future data transmissions; The future data transmission includes the data retransmission, and the time resource allocation indicates the timing of multiple data retransmissions; as well as The estimation includes determining the quality of the channel on which the signal is received, and selecting one of the data retransmission timings based on the channel quality, with higher channel quality triggering the selection of an earlier data retransmission timing among the plurality of data retransmission timings.

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