Apparatus and method for supporting flexible uplink resource request

Abstract

Various example embodiments relate to methods, apparatuses, and systems that support flexible uplink resource requests. A terminal device can include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code can be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to perform actions including triggering a buffer status report (BSR) by an uplink data arrival to a logical channel, and selectively triggering one or both of a scheduling request (SR) procedure and a random access (RA) procedure based on a predetermined condition for transmitting the triggered buffer status report.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The various example embodiments described herein relate generally to communication technologies, and more specifically to methods, apparatus, and systems that support flexible uplink resource requests. Background Technology

[0002] Some abbreviations found in the instruction manual and / or accompanying drawings are defined as follows:

[0003] 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project

[0004] BSR Buffer Status Report

[0005] CE control elements

[0006] C-RNTI Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier

[0007] gNB Next Generation Node B

[0008] LCG logical channel group

[0009] LCH logical channel

[0010] MAC Media Access Control

[0011] NTN non-terrestrial network

[0012] OTA (Over-the-Air)

[0013] PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel)

[0014] PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

[0015] RA Random Access

[0016] RACH Random Access Channel

[0017] RRC Radio Resource Control

[0018] RSRP reference signal received power

[0019] RSRQ reference signal reception quality

[0020] SINR signal interference-to-noise ratio

[0021] SR scheduling request

[0022] 3GPP has begun work on non-terrestrial networks (NTN) to bring satellite links to the 5G New Radio (NR) interface. NTN offers many advantages, including extending coverage to areas lacking terrestrial network infrastructure and providing reliable service. Summary of the Invention

[0023] The following provides a brief overview of exemplary embodiments to provide a basic understanding of certain aspects of the various embodiments. It should be noted that this overview is not intended to identify key features of the basic elements or define the scope of the embodiments, and its sole purpose is to introduce some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description provided below.

[0024] In a first aspect, an example embodiment of a terminal device is provided. The terminal device may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to use the at least one processor to cause the terminal device to perform actions including: triggering a buffer status report (BSR) upon arrival of uplink data on a logical channel, and selectively triggering one or both of a scheduling request (SR) procedure and a random access (RA) procedure based on predetermined conditions for transmitting the triggered buffer status report.

[0025] In a second aspect, an example embodiment of a network device is provided. The network device may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to use the at least one processor to cause the network device to perform actions, including providing a terminal device with a configuration for selectively triggering one or both of a scheduling request (SR) procedure and a random access (RA) procedure.

[0026] In a third aspect, example embodiments of a method implemented at a terminal device are provided. The method may include triggering a buffer status report (BSR) via uplink data arriving at a logical channel, and selectively triggering one or both of a scheduling request (SR) procedure and a random access (RA) procedure based on predetermined conditions for transmitting the triggered buffer status report.

[0027] In a fourth aspect, example embodiments of a method implemented at a network device are provided. The method may include providing a terminal device with a configuration for selectively triggering one or both of a scheduling request (SR) procedure and a random access (RA) procedure.

[0028] In a fifth aspect, example embodiments of a device implemented at a terminal device are provided. The device may include means for triggering a buffer status report (BSR) via uplink data arriving at a logical channel, and means for selectively triggering one or both of a scheduling request (SR) procedure and a random access (RA) procedure based on predetermined conditions for transmitting the triggered buffer status report.

[0029] In a sixth aspect, example embodiments of a device implemented at a network device may be provided. The device may include means for providing a terminal device with a configuration for selectively triggering one or both of a scheduling request (SR) process and a random access (RA) process.

[0030] In a seventh aspect, an example embodiment of a computer program product is provided. The computer program product may be embodied in at least one computer-readable medium and includes instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a terminal device, cause the terminal device to execute the method according to the aforementioned third aspect.

[0031] In an eighth aspect, an example embodiment of a computer program product is provided. The computer program product may be embodied in at least one computer-readable medium and includes instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a network device, cause the network device to execute the method according to the fourth aspect described above.

[0032] Other features and advantages of exemplary embodiments of this disclosure will also become apparent from the following description of specific embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the principles of exemplary embodiments of this disclosure by way of example. Attached Figure Description

[0033] Some exemplary embodiments will now be described by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0034] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a non-terrestrial network architecture in which an example embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented.

[0035] Figure 2 This is a schematic message flow diagram illustrating the process of scheduling uplink data transmissions in a conventional communication system.

[0036] Figure 3 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method for requesting resources for uplink data transmission according to an example embodiment.

[0037] Figure 4 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating an example of selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process according to an example embodiment.

[0038] Figure 5 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating an example of selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process according to an example embodiment.

[0039] Figure 6 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating an example of selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process according to an example embodiment.

[0040] Figure 7 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating an example of selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process according to an example embodiment.

[0041] Figure 8 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating an example of selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process according to an example embodiment.

[0042] Figure 9 This is a schematic message flow diagram illustrating a process for configuring selective triggering conditions according to an example embodiment.

[0043] Figure 10 This is a functional block diagram illustrating a device implemented at a user equipment according to an example embodiment.

[0044] Figure 11 This is a functional block diagram illustrating a device implemented at a network device according to an example embodiment.

[0045] Figure 12 A structural block diagram of a communication system according to an example embodiment is shown.

[0046] Throughout the accompanying drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements. Repeated descriptions of the same elements will be omitted. Detailed Implementation

[0047] Hereinafter, some exemplary embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description includes specific details intended to provide a comprehensive understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts can be practiced without these specific details. In some cases, well-known circuits, technologies, and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the described concepts and features.

[0048] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to any suitable entity or device that provides a cell or coverage area through which terminal devices can access a network or receive services. Network devices are often referred to as base stations. The term "base station" as used herein can mean a Node B (or NB), an evolved Node B (or eNodeB or eNB), or a gNB or ng eNB. A base station can be embodied as a macro base station, a relay node, or a low-power node such as a pico or femtocell. A base station can consist of several distributed network units such as a central unit (CU), one or more distributed units (DU), one or more remote radio heads (RRHs) or remote radio units (RRUs). The number and functionality of these distributed units depend on the chosen discrete RAN architecture. Base stations can be deployed on the ground or in the air, for example, on satellites, high-altitude platform stations, unmanned aerial vehicle systems, balloons, aircraft, etc.

[0049] As used herein, the terms "terminal device" or "user equipment" (UE) refer to any entity or device capable of wireless communication with or with network devices. Examples of terminal devices may include mobile phones, mobile terminals (MT), mobile stations (MS), subscriber stations (SS), portable subscriber stations (PSS), access terminals (AT), computers, wearable devices, vehicular communication devices, machine-type communication (MTC) devices, D2D communication devices, V2X communication devices, sensors, etc. The term "terminal device" is used interchangeably with UE, user terminal, mobile terminal, mobile station, or wireless device.

[0050] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a non-terrestrial network architecture 100 in which an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented. (See reference...) Figure 1 The non-terrestrial network (NTN) architecture 100, which can be integrated as part of a cellular communication network, may include a user equipment (UE) device 110, a satellite 120, an NTN gateway 130, and a terrestrial base station shown as gNB 140. The UE 110 can communicate with the satellite 120 via a serving link 101, and the satellite 120 can communicate with the gateway 130 via a feeder link 103. Although Figure 1 The image shows one satellite 120, but there may be multiple satellites 120 that can communicate with each other via inter-satellite links (ISL). Gateway 130 provides interconnection between satellite 120 and ground infrastructure such as gNB 140, core network (not shown), and data network.

[0051] Satellite 120 can be implemented as a so-called transparent satellite or a regenerable satellite. For a transparent satellite, its payload acts as an analog radio frequency repeater to perform frequency conversion and radio frequency amplification for both the serving link 101 and the feeder link 103. The transparent satellite repeats the NR radio interface from the serving link 101 to the feeder link 103 and vice versa, and the satellite radio interface (SRI) on the feeder link 103 is an NR-Uu interface. That is, the transparent satellite does not terminate the NR-Uu interface. Gateway 130 supports the function of forwarding NR-Uu interface signals. For a regenerable satellite, its payload regenerates the signals received from the serving link 101 and the feeder link 103. The NR-Uu radio interface is on the serving link 101, and the satellite radio interface, which can be implemented as, for example, an N2 / N3 interface, is on the feeder link 103. That is, a base station, such as a gNB, is deployed on satellite 120. It should be understood that satellite 120 can also be replaced by, for example, an aircraft, a balloon, an high-altitude platform station, an unmanned aerial vehicle system, etc.

[0052] To support NR radio access for satellite links, the long round-trip delay (up to 541ms) caused by the distance between UE 110 and satellite 120 is a problem that needs to be addressed. Figure 2 This is a message flow diagram illustrating the process of scheduling uplink data transmissions in a traditional communication system. (Reference) Figure 2 When new uplink data arrives in the buffer of UE 110 in RRC connection mode, UE 110 can trigger a Buffer Status Report (BSR) to inform gNB 120 how much data is in the UE buffer to be transmitted, so that gNB 120 will allocate UL grant for uplink data transmission. However, UE 110 may not have UL-SCH resources for transmitting the BSR, then it triggers a Schedule Request (SR) and transmits the SR to gNB 120 using the configured PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) resources. In response to the SR, gNB 120 will allocate UL grant to UE 110, on which the BSR can be transmitted to gNB 120, so that gNB 120 knows how much data to be transmitted at UE 110. In response to the received BSR, gNB 120 allocates UL grant to UE 110 to transmit uplink data. As shown in the figure, the BSR-SR process takes two round-trip times (RTTs) from the time the data arrives at the UE 110's buffer to the time the UE 110 is properly scheduled with resources appropriate for the data volume and the required Quality of Service (QoS). If the gNB 120 is deployed on a satellite or communicates with the UE 110 via a satellite, the BSR-SR process will result in significant over-the-air (OTA) latency.

[0053] In traditional systems, the Random Access (RA) procedure is used as a fallback mechanism for the SR procedure. Specifically, if UE 110 does not have valid PUCCH resources configured for a pending SR, or if UE 110 has already attempted to transmit the SR a maximum number of times, UE 110 will initiate an RA procedure and can transmit a BSR MACCE via Msg.3 during a four-step RA3 process or via Msg.A during a two-step RA process. The RA procedure increases the success rate of transmitting a BSR, but it does not reduce OTA latency associated with non-terrestrial networks because it is performed after the SR procedure.

[0054] The following describes a more efficient approach for uplink resource requests. In some example embodiments, a flexible triggering strategy can be used for both the SR and RA processes. In response to a BSR being triggered, the SR process, RA process, or both can be triggered based on predetermined conditions. The triggered RA process can be a two-step RA process. Compared to the SR process and the four-step RA process, which take at least two RTTs to receive a UL grant for uplink data transmission, the two-step RA process reduces one RTT because the BSR can be transmitted in Msg.A. If both the SR and RA processes are triggered, the BSR can be encoded as the first UL grant available based on either the SR or RA process. In this way, uplink data can be transmitted more timely, and OTA latency can be improved. It should be understood that the example embodiments discussed herein are applicable to both non-terrestrial and terrestrial networks.

[0055] Figure 3 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method for requesting resources for uplink data transmission according to an example embodiment. Figure 3 The method can be implemented on user equipment devices connected to non-terrestrial networks or terrestrial networks, such as the UE110 described above.

[0056] refer to Figure 3 In 210, UE 110 may trigger a buffer status report (BSR) when uplink data arrives on a logical channel. In some embodiments, a BSR may be triggered when certain events occur. For example, a BSR may be triggered if the uplink data belongs to a logical channel with a higher priority than any logical channel containing available uplink data belonging to any logical channel group, or if none of the logical channels belonging to a logical channel group contain any available uplink data. It should be understood that the example embodiments are not limited to the example events described above, and a BSR may also be triggered in response to some other events.

[0057] Then at 220, UE 110 may selectively trigger one or both of the scheduling request procedure and the random access (RA) procedure based on predetermined conditions for BSR transmission. Depending on the predetermined conditions, UE 110 may trigger the SR procedure, the RA procedure, or both the SR and RA procedures at 220, which will be discussed in detail later.

[0058] The triggered RA procedure can be a two-step RA procedure, allowing a BSR to be transmitted via Msg.A, which reduces uplink scheduling latency by one RTT compared to an SR procedure that consumes at least two RTTs for uplink scheduling and a four-step RA procedure. In some embodiments, when an RA procedure is triggered at 220, whether triggered alone or in conjunction with an SR procedure, UE 110 can perform an RA type evaluation to select between a two-step and a four-step RA procedure. For example, UE 110 can measure the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and compare the measured RSRP (L1-RSRP) or its filtered value (L2 / L3-RSRP) with a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold may be referred to as the RA type selection threshold, and it can be configured by the network. For example, the network can configure the RA type selection threshold via the parameter msgA-RSRP-Threshold. If the measured RSRP is higher than or equal to the threshold, UE 110 will select and execute a two-step RA procedure. On the other hand, if the measured RSRP is below a threshold, indicating that a two-step RA procedure cannot be selected and UE 110 must perform a four-step RA procedure instead, UE 110 can stop the RA procedure and trigger the SR procedure if it has not been triggered or has not been triggered previously. In some embodiments, the RA type evaluation can be performed before operation 220 to ensure that a two-step RA procedure is triggered. In this way, UE 110 can avoid an unnecessary four-step RA procedure. It should be understood that other measurements such as Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) and Signal-to-Interference-Noise Ratio (SINR) can also be used in the RA type selection evaluation.

[0059] As described above, the BSR can be transmitted via Msg.A during the triggered two-step RA process. When UE 110 receives a network response including a UL grant for uplink data transmission (e.g., DCI format 0), UE 110 can stop / cancel the SR process if the SR process has already been triggered at 220. It is generally expected that UE 110 will receive the UL grant from the two-step RA process earlier than from the SR process, because the two-step RA process is one RTT faster than the SR process. In some embodiments, when UE 110 receives a UL grant for uplink data transmission (e.g., via DCI format 0), if the RA process and / or the SR process are in progress, UE 110 can stop / cancel them and initiate uplink data transmission on the UL grant, regardless of which process the UL grant was received from.

[0060] In some embodiments, prior to operation 220, UE 110 may determine that the conditions for triggering the SR procedure are met. In other words, at 220, UE 110 may ensure that the SR procedure is triggerable, and then it will selectively trigger one or both of the SR and RA procedures based on predetermined conditions. For example, if UE 110 detects that no UL-SCH resources are available for new transmission, or the MAC entity is configured with a configured uplink grant and the BSR is triggered for a logical channel that allows the SR procedure, or the UL-SCH resources available for new transmission do not meet the Logical Channel Priority (LCP) mapping restrictions configured for the logical channel that triggers the BSR, then UE 110 may determine that the SR procedure is triggerable. It should be understood that under some other conditions, UE 110 may also determine that the SR procedure is triggerable. In some embodiments, if UE 110 determines that the SR procedure cannot be triggered, then UE 110 may trigger the RA procedure, i.e., a two-step RA procedure or a four-step RA procedure, and may not perform operation 220.

[0061] The following will refer to Figure 4-8 Examples of selectively triggering one or both of the SR and RA processes are described. It should be understood that exemplary embodiments are not limited to such examples.

[0062] Figure 4 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating an example of selectively triggering one or both of the SR and RA processes according to an example embodiment. Reference Figure 4At 310, UE 110 can determine whether the logical channel that triggered the BSR has a priority higher than or equal to a priority threshold. In some embodiments, the priority threshold can be configured by the network as an absolute priority threshold. For example, the network can specify a priority level as the threshold for UE 110. In some embodiments, the priority threshold can be configured by the network as a relative threshold. If one or more logical channels other than the logical channel that triggered the BSR have available uplink data in the buffer, the relative threshold can be calculated based on the highest priority of the one or more logical channels, regardless of which logical channel group they belong to. If the other logical channels do not contain available data in the buffer, the relative threshold can be calculated based on the lowest priority of the other logical channels. For example, the relative threshold can be calculated as (P LCH +Tr), where P LCH This represents the highest priority of the logical channel with available data besides the logical channel that triggered the BSR, or the lowest priority of the logical channel that does not contain data when none of the logical channels configured for UE 110 besides the logical channel that triggered the BSR contain available uplink data in the buffer, and Tr represents a relative threshold parameter configured by the network. The relative threshold parameter Tr can have a positive value if the increased priority value indicates a higher priority, and a negative value if the increased priority value indicates a lower priority or zero. In some examples, the logical channels considered for determining the relative threshold can be logical channels belonging to substantially the same logical channel group as the logical channel that triggered the BSR. In some other examples, when no logical channel has data, the relative threshold is calculated based on the lowest priority logical channel in the logical channel group that triggered the BSR. In some other examples, among logical channels that contain data, the relative threshold is calculated based on the highest priority logical channel in all or some logical channel groups.

[0063] If UE 110 determines at 310 that the logical channel triggering BSR has a priority higher than or equal to the priority threshold, it knows that the new uplink data to be transmitted has a high priority and can trigger the RA procedure or both the SR and RA procedures at 320. As mentioned above, the two-step RA procedure can reduce the uplink scheduling delay by one RTT, and the parallel SR and RA procedures are operable to schedule uplink transmissions in a more timely manner. If UE 110 determines at 310 that the logical channel triggering BSR has a priority lower than the priority threshold, it knows that the new uplink data to be transmitted does not have a sufficiently high priority and can trigger the SR procedure. In this way, Figure 4 The process can trigger the RA process for high-priority data transmission and avoid unnecessary RA processes for low-priority data transmission.

[0064] Figure 5 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating an example of selectively triggering one or both of the SR and RA processes according to an example embodiment. Reference Figure 5 At 410, UE 110 can trigger one or both of the SR and RA processes based on the configuration of the logical channel that triggered the BSR. For example, the network can configure UE 110 to specify which logical channel of UE 110 should trigger which process, i.e., the RA process, the SR process, or both RA and SR processes. Alternatively or additionally, the network can configure UE 110 to specify which logical channel group of UE 110 should trigger which process. Then, if new data arrives on the logical channel and the BSR is triggered, UE 110 can trigger one or both of the RA and SR processes based on the configuration of the logical channel or logical channel group. In some embodiments, the network can configure UE 110 to enable or disable selective triggering of the RA and SR processes for the logical channel or logical channel group of UE 110. If the BSR is triggered for data arrival on a logical channel for which selective triggering is enabled, UE 110 can trigger the RA process for the logical channel or both the RA and SR processes. On the other hand, if selective triggering is disabled for the logical channel, UE 110 will trigger the SR process for the logical channel.

[0065] Figure 6 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating an example of selectively triggering one or both of the SR and RA processes according to an example embodiment. Reference Figure 6 At 510, UE 110 can determine whether the radio link between UE 110 and the network has a quality better than or equal to a quality threshold. In some embodiments, UE 110 can measure the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and compare the measured RSRP (L1-RSRP) or its filtered value (L2 / L3-RSRP) with a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold may be based on (e.g., equal to or higher than), for example, the RA type selection threshold msgA-RSRP-Threshold, or it may be a new configurable threshold used to evaluate the radio link quality of UE 110. If the measured RSRP is higher than or equal to the threshold, it indicates that UE 110 has good radio link quality, and it can perform a two-step RA procedure. On the other hand, if the measured RSRP is lower than the threshold, it indicates that UE 110 has poor radio link quality, and it will not perform a two-step RA procedure. Instead, UE 110 will select and perform a four-step RA procedure. It should be understood that other measurements such as Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) and Signal-to-Interference-Noise Ratio (SINR) can also be used to evaluate radio link quality.

[0066] If UE 110 determines at 510 that the radio link quality is better than or equal to a quality threshold, UE 110 may trigger either a two-step RA procedure or both a two-step SR and RA procedure at 520, because it knows that a two-step RA procedure will be selected and executed due to good radio link quality. As mentioned above, a two-step RA procedure can reduce uplink scheduling delay by one RTT, and the parallel SR and RA procedures are operable to schedule uplink transmissions in a more timely manner. If UE 110 determines at 510 that the radio link quality is worse than a quality threshold, UE 110 may trigger an SR procedure at 530, because it knows that if an RA procedure is triggered, a four-step RA procedure will be selected due to poor radio link quality, and a four-step RA procedure will not reduce uplink scheduling delay compared to the SR procedure. In this way, UE 110 can avoid an unnecessary four-step RA procedure.

[0067] Figure 7 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating an example of selectively triggering one or both of the SR and RA processes according to an example embodiment. Figure 7 In the example, selective triggering of one or both of the SR and RA processes can be based on the timing of the SR transmission. The UE can be configured with periodic SRs in symbols or time slots via higher-level parameters such as periodicityAndOffset used for transmitting SR via the PUCCH. periodicity and the offset SR in the time slot offset Utilizing periodic SR periodicity and offset SR offset The UE can determine the timing of the SR transmission. (Reference) Figure 7 At 610, UE 110 can calculate the time period until the next SR transmission opportunity and determine whether this time period is longer than or equal to a time threshold. If UE 110 determines at 610 that the time period until the next SR transmission opportunity is longer than or equal to the time threshold, it can trigger the RA procedure or both the RA and SR procedures at 620 for faster uplink scheduling, because UE 110 knows that the SR will be transmitted later beyond the time threshold, and it may result in high scheduling latency. If UE 110 determines at 610 that the time period until the next SR transmission opportunity is shorter than the time threshold, UE 110 can trigger the SR procedure at 630, because it knows that the SR will be transmitted soon (within the time threshold) and the subsequent scheduling latency will be acceptable.

[0068] Figure 8 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating an example of selectively triggering one or both of the SR and RA processes according to an example embodiment. Reference Figure 8At point 710, UE 110 can trigger either the earlier transmission timing in the SR or RA process. As mentioned above, UE 110 can trigger based on periodic SRs configured by the network. periodicity and offset SR offset The timing of the SR (Signal Response) transmission is determined. Furthermore, the UE 110 can determine the timing of the RA (Rapid Response) transmission based on the PRACH configuration provided by the network. Therefore, the UE 110 can determine which of the SR and RA processes has the first arrival transmission timing, thus triggering the earlier process.

[0069] Already combined Figure 4-8 Some example conditions for selectively triggering one or both of the SR and RA processes are discussed. It should be understood that the above example conditions can be applied individually or in combination, and other conditions may also be used in the selective triggering of the RA and SR processes.

[0070] Figure 9 This is a schematic message flow diagram illustrating a process for configuring selective triggering conditions according to an example embodiment. (See reference) Figure 9 At 810, UE 110 may receive from gNB 120 a configuration for selectively triggering one or both of the SR and RA procedures. For example, gNB 120 may transmit the configuration when UE 110 is connected to gNB 120, or in response to a UE capability report received from UE 110 indicating that UE 110 is an NTN-capable UE and that it supports selective triggering of the RA and SR procedures. In some embodiments, the selective triggering configuration may include an indicator indicating whether selective triggering is enabled or disabled at UE 110. If it is disabled, UE 110 will trigger the SR procedure for BSR, and the RA procedure will be used as a fallback mechanism for the SR procedure. If selective triggering is enabled, UE 110 may selectively trigger one or both of the RA and SR procedures for BSR, as described above. In some embodiments, the selective triggering configuration may include one or more indicators indicating whether one or more logical channels (or logical channel groups) configured for UE 110 are enabled or disabled to selectively trigger one or both of the SR and RA procedures. In some embodiments, selective triggering configuration may include one or more parameters to configure predetermined conditions for selectively triggering one or both of the SR and RA processes. For example, as referenced above. Figure 4-8 The parameters may include absolute or relative priority thresholds, radio link quality thresholds, time thresholds, RA type selection thresholds, etc.

[0071] Figure 10This is a functional block diagram illustrating a device 900 according to an example embodiment. Device 900 may be implemented at or as part of a user equipment such as UE 110 discussed above. References Figure 10 The device 900 may include: a first means 910 for triggering a buffer status report (BSR) by the arrival of uplink data on a logical channel; and a second means 920 for selectively triggering one or both of a scheduling request (SR) process and a random access (RA) process based on predetermined conditions for the transmission of the BSR.

[0072] In some embodiments, the second device 920 may include device 921, which is used to trigger the RA process or both the SR process and the RA process if the logical channel that triggers the BSR has a priority higher than or equal to a first threshold, or to trigger the SR process if the logical channel that triggers the BSR has a priority lower than the first threshold.

[0073] In some embodiments, the second device 920 may include device 923 for triggering one or both of the SR process and RA process based on the configuration of the logical channel that triggers the BSR.

[0074] In some embodiments, the second device 920 may include device 925, which is used to trigger the RA process or both the SR process and the RA process when the radio link quality measurement value of the terminal device is better than or equal to the second threshold, or to trigger the SR process when the radio link quality measurement value of the terminal device is worse than the second threshold.

[0075] In some embodiments, the second device 920 may include device 927, which is used to trigger the RA process or both the SR process and the RA process when the SR is emitted after a time period and the time period is greater than or equal to a third threshold, or to trigger the SR process when the SR is emitted within a time period and the time period is shorter than the third threshold.

[0076] In some embodiments, the second device 920 may include a device 929 for triggering one of the SR and RA processes that has an earlier launch timing than the other.

[0077] In some embodiments, the device 900 may further include a third means 930 for determining the conditions for triggering the SR process before selectively triggering the SR process and the RA process.

[0078] In some embodiments, the device 900 may further include a fourth means 940 for evaluating the choice of RA type between a two-step RA process and a four-step RA process when the RA process is triggered, and for stopping the RA process and triggering the SR process if the four-step RA process is to be selected and the SR process has not yet been triggered.

[0079] In some embodiments, the device 900 may further include a fifth means 950 for stopping the SR process if the SR process has been triggered when a network response is received during the RA process.

[0080] In some embodiments, the device 900 may further include a sixth means 960 for stopping the RA process and / or SR process if an uplink license for BSR transmission is received.

[0081] In some embodiments, the device 900 may further include a seventh means 970 for receiving from the network a configuration for selectively triggering one or both of the SR and RA processes.

[0082] Figure 11 This is a functional block diagram illustrating a device 1000 according to an example embodiment. Device 1000 may be implemented in or as part of a network device such as the gNB 120 discussed above. Reference Figure 11 The device 1000 may include a first means 1010 for providing a terminal device with configuration for selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request (SR) and random access (RA) processes. In some embodiments, the configuration for selectively triggering one or both of the SR and RA processes may include an indicator indicating whether selective triggering is enabled or disabled at the terminal device, one or more indicators indicating whether selective triggering is enabled or disabled for one or more logical channels configured for the terminal device, and / or one or more parameters configuring one or more conditions for selectively triggering one or both of the SR and RA processes.

[0083] Figure 12 This is a block diagram illustrating a communication system 1100 in which an example embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented. The communication system 1100 may be part of a communication network such as a non-terrestrial network or a terrestrial network. Figure 12 As shown, the communication system 1100 may include a terminal device 1110 that can be implemented as the UE 110 described above, and a network device 1120 that can be implemented as the base station (gNB) 120 described above.

[0084] refer to Figure 12Terminal device 1110 may include one or more processors 1111, one or more memories 1112, and one or more transceivers 1113 interconnected via one or more buses 1114. The one or more buses 1114 may be address, data, or control buses and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, copper cables, optical fibers, or other electrical / optical communication devices. Each of the one or more transceivers 1113 may include a receiver and a transmitter connected to a plurality of antennas 1116. The plurality of antennas 1116 may form an antenna array to perform beamforming communication with network device 1120. The one or more memories 1112 may include computer program code 1115. The one or more memories 1112 and computer program code 1115 may be configured to, when executed by the one or more processors 1111, cause terminal device 1110 to perform the processes and steps described above in relation to UE 110.

[0085] Network device 1120 can be implemented as a single network node, or decomposed / distributed across two or more network nodes using different functional partitioning architectures and different interfaces, such as a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a remote radio head-end (RRH). Network device 1120 may include one or more processors 1121, one or more memories 1122, one or more transceivers 1123, and one or more network interfaces 1127 interconnected via one or more buses 1124. The one or more buses 1124 may be address, data, or control buses, and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, copper cables, optical fibers, or other electrical / optical communication devices. Each of the one or more transceivers 1123 may include a receiver and a transmitter connected to multiple antennas 1126. Network device 1120 can operate as a base station for terminal device 1110 and wirelessly communicate with terminal device 1110 via multiple antennas 1126. The multiple antennas 1126 may form an antenna array to perform beamforming communication with terminal device 1110. One or more network interfaces 1127 may provide wired or wireless communication links through which network device 1120 may communicate with other network devices, entities, or functions. One or more memories 1122 may include computer program code 1125. One or more memories 1122 and computer program code 1125 may be configured to, when executed by one or more processors 1121, cause network device 1120 to perform the processes and steps described above in relation to base station (gNB) 120.

[0086] The one or more processors 1111, 1121 discussed above can be any suitable type for a local technology network, and may include one or more of the following: general-purpose processors, special-purpose processors, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), processor-based multi-core processor architectures folded with one or more processors, and special-purpose processors such as those developed based on field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). The one or more processors 1111, 1121 may be configured to control other elements of the UE / network device and cooperate with them to implement the processes described above.

[0087] One or more memories 1112, 1122 may include at least one storage medium of various forms, such as volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Volatile memory may include, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM) or cache. Non-volatile memory may include, but is not limited to, read-only memory (ROM), hard disk, flash memory, etc. Furthermore, one or more memories 1112, 1122 may include, but is not limited to, electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, devices, or any combination thereof.

[0088] It should be understood that the blocks in the figures can be implemented in various ways, including software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. In some exemplary embodiments, one or more blocks may be implemented using software and / or firmware, such as machine-executable instructions stored in a storage medium. In addition to or in place of machine-executable instructions, some or all of the blocks in the figures may be implemented at least partially by one or more hardware logic components. Examples, but not limited to, illustrative types of hardware logic components that may be used include field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), application-specific standard products (ASSPs), system-on-a-chip (SoCs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), etc.

[0089] Some example embodiments also provide computer program code or instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a device or apparatus to perform the processes described above. The computer program code for performing the processes of the example embodiments can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The computer program code can be provided to one or more processors or controllers of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that, when executed by the processor or controller, the program code causes the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code can be executed as a standalone software package, executing entirely on a machine, partially on a machine, partially on a machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote computer or server.

[0090] Some example embodiments also provide computer program products or computer-readable media in which computer program code or instructions are stored. A computer-readable medium can be any tangible medium that may contain or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. A machine-readable medium can be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. Machine-readable media can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus, or devices, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of machine-readable storage media will include electrical connections having one or more wires, portable computer floppy disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable optical disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0091] Furthermore, although the operations are described in a specific order, this should not be construed as requiring such operations to be performed in the specific order or sequence shown, or requiring all of the operations shown to obtain the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the foregoing discussion, these details should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular example embodiments. Certain features described in the context of individual example embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single example embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single example embodiment may also be implemented individually or in any suitable sub-combination in multiple example embodiments.

[0092] Although the subject matter is described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological actions, it should be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not limited to the specific features or actions described above. Rather, the specific features and actions described above are disclosed as examples of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory including computer program code, said at least one memory and said computer program code being configured to utilize said at least one processor to enable the terminal device to: Buffer status reports are triggered by uplink data arriving at the logical channel. Based on predetermined conditions in the buffer status report used for triggering the launch, one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process may be selectively triggered. as well as When the random access procedure is triggered: Evaluate the choice of random access type between two-step and four-step random access procedures; as well as If the four-step random access procedure is to be selected, and the scheduling request procedure has not yet been triggered, then the random access procedure is stopped and the scheduling request procedure is triggered.

2. The terminal device as described in claim 1, wherein, Selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process based on predetermined conditions includes: If the logical channel that triggers the buffer status report has a priority higher than or equal to a first threshold, the random access procedure or both the scheduling request procedure and the random access procedure are triggered; or The scheduling request process is triggered when the logical channel that triggers the buffer status report has a priority lower than the first threshold.

3. The terminal device as described in claim 2, wherein, The first threshold is configured as an absolute priority threshold or a relative priority threshold, and the relative priority threshold is calculated based on the highest priority of the other logical channels that contain available uplink data, or based on the lowest priority of the other logical channels when none of the other logical channels contain available uplink data.

4. The terminal device as described in claim 1, wherein, Selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process based on predetermined conditions includes: The scheduling request process and one or both of the random access process are triggered based on the configuration of the logical channel that triggers the buffer status report.

5. The terminal device as described in claim 1, wherein, Selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process based on predetermined conditions includes: If the radio link quality measurement value used for the terminal device is better than or equal to the second threshold, the random access procedure or both the scheduling request procedure and the random access procedure are triggered; or The scheduling request process is triggered when the radio link quality measurement for the terminal device differs from the second threshold.

6. The terminal device as described in claim 1, wherein, Selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process based on predetermined conditions includes: If the timing of the scheduling request is after a certain period of time and the period of time is greater than or equal to a third threshold, the random access procedure or both the scheduling request procedure and the random access procedure are triggered; or The scheduling request process is triggered when the timing of the scheduling request is within a time period and the time period is shorter than the third threshold.

7. The terminal device as described in claim 1, wherein, Selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process based on predetermined conditions includes: The one that triggers the scheduling request process and the random access process has an earlier launch timing than the other.

8. The terminal device as described in claim 1, further comprising: When a network response is received during the random access process, if the scheduling request process has already been triggered, the scheduling request process is stopped.

9. The terminal device as described in claim 1, further comprising: When an uplink permission for transmitting the buffer status report is received, if the random access procedure and / or the scheduling request procedure are in progress, they are stopped.

10. The terminal device as described in claim 1, further comprising: Receive configuration from the network for selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process.

11. The terminal device as claimed in claim 10, wherein, The configuration for selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process includes one or more of the following: An indicator that indicates whether the selective triggering is enabled or disabled at the terminal device; One or more indicators, each indicating whether the selective triggering of one or more logical channels configured for the terminal device is enabled or disabled; as well as One or more parameters used to configure the predetermined conditions.

12. The terminal device as described in claim 1, further comprising: Before selectively triggering the scheduling request procedure and the random access procedure, it is determined that the conditions for triggering the scheduling request procedure are met.

13. A method implemented at a terminal device, comprising: Buffer status reports are triggered by uplink data arriving at the logical channel. Based on predetermined conditions in the buffer status report used for triggering the launch, one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process may be selectively triggered. as well as When the random access procedure is triggered: Evaluate the choice of random access type between two-step and four-step random access procedures; as well as If the four-step random access procedure is to be selected, and the scheduling request procedure has not yet been triggered, then the random access procedure is stopped and the scheduling request procedure is triggered.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein, Selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process based on predetermined conditions includes: If the logical channel that triggers the buffer status report has a priority higher than or equal to a first threshold, the random access procedure or both the scheduling request procedure and the random access procedure are triggered; or The scheduling request process is triggered when the logical channel that triggers the buffer status report has a priority lower than the first threshold.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein, Selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process based on predetermined conditions includes: The scheduling request process and one or both of the random access process are triggered based on the configuration of the logical channel that triggers the buffer status report.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein, Selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process based on predetermined conditions includes: If the radio link quality measurement value of the terminal device is better than or equal to the second threshold, the random access procedure or both the scheduling request procedure and the random access procedure are triggered; or The scheduling request process is triggered when the radio link quality measurement value used for the terminal device is different from the second threshold.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein, Selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process based on predetermined conditions includes: If the timing of the transmission for the scheduling request is after a period of time and the period of time is greater than or equal to a third threshold, the random access procedure or both the scheduling request procedure and the random access procedure are triggered; or The scheduling request process is triggered when the launch timing for the scheduling request is within a time period and the time period is shorter than the third threshold.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein, Selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process based on predetermined conditions includes: The one that triggers the scheduling request process and the random access process has an earlier launch timing than the other.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising: When a network response is received during the random access process, if the scheduling request process has already been triggered, the scheduling request process is stopped.

20. The method of claim 13, further comprising: When an uplink permission for transmitting the buffer status report is received, if the random access procedure and / or the scheduling request procedure are in progress, they are stopped.

21. The method of claim 13, further comprising: Receive configuration from the network for selectively triggering one or both of the scheduling request process and the random access process.

22. The method of claim 13, further comprising: Before selectively triggering the scheduling request procedure and the random access procedure, it is determined that the conditions for triggering the scheduling request procedure are met.

23. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a terminal device, cause the terminal device to perform the method of any one of claims 13-22.

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