Layer 2 (L2) procedure for application data unit (ADU)-based scheduling

Abstract

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a method for wireless communication by a transmitter node. The transmitter node receives one or more of a plurality of data packets within the same set of protocol data units (PDUs), the plurality of data packets belonging to one or more sets of PDUs. The transmitter node applies one or more identical processing procedures to the one or more data packets within the same set of PDUs.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of and priority to PCT patent application No. PCT / CN2022 / 095113 filed on May 26, 2022, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Background Art Technical Field

[0003] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wireless communications, and more particularly, to layer 2 (L2) procedures for scheduling based on protocol data unit (PDU) aggregations.

[0004] Related technical description

[0005] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, broadcasts or other similar types of services. These wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available wireless communication system resources with those users.

[0006] Although wireless communication systems have made tremendous technical progress over the years, challenges still exist. For example, complex and dynamic environments can still attenuate or block signals between wireless transmitters and wireless receivers. Therefore, there is a continued desire to improve the technical performance of wireless communication systems, including, for example: improving the speed and data carrying capacity of communications, improving the efficiency of using shared communication media, reducing the power used by transmitters and receivers when performing communications, improving the reliability of wireless communications, avoiding redundant transmission and / or reception and related processing, improving the coverage area of ​​wireless communications, increasing the number and types of devices that can access wireless communication systems, increasing the ability of different types of devices to communicate with each other, increasing the number and types of wireless communication media available for use, etc. Therefore, there is a need to further improve wireless communication systems to overcome the above-mentioned technical challenges and other challenges. Summary of the invention

[0007] One aspect provides a method for wireless communication by a receiver node, the method comprising: receiving multiple data packets belonging to one or more protocol data unit (PDU) sets, and an indication of a policy indicating a delivery procedure for one or more data packets in each PDU set to a higher layer; and delivering the one or more data packets within the same PDU set to the higher layer according to the policy.

[0008] On the other hand, a method for wireless communication by a transmitter node is provided, the method comprising: receiving one or more data packets among multiple data packets within the same PDU set, the multiple data packets belonging to one or more PDU sets; and applying one or more identical processing procedures to the one or more data packets within the same PDU set.

[0009] Other aspects provide: an apparatus operable to, configured to, or otherwise adapted to perform the aforementioned method and those described elsewhere herein; a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of the apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the aforementioned method and those described elsewhere herein; a computer program product embodied on a computer-readable storage medium, the computer-readable storage medium comprising code for performing the aforementioned method and those described elsewhere herein; and an apparatus comprising components for performing the aforementioned method and those described elsewhere herein. By way of example, an apparatus may include a processing system, a device having a processing system, or a processing system cooperating through one or more networks.

[0010] For purposes of illustration, the following description and drawings set forth certain features. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The accompanying drawings depict certain features of the various aspects described herein and should not be considered to limit the scope of the disclosure.

[0012] Figure 1 An example wireless communication network is depicted.

[0013] Figure 2 An example decomposed base station (BS) architecture is depicted.

[0014] Figure 3 Aspects of an example BS and example user equipment (UE) are depicted.

[0015] Figure 4A , Figure 4B , Figure 4C and Figure 4D Various example aspects of data structures for a wireless communication network are described.

[0016] Figure 5 An example layer 2 (L2) architecture is depicted.

[0017] Figure 6 An example transmitting node Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) entity and a receiving node PDCP entity are depicted.

[0018] Figure 7 An example PDCP protocol data unit (PDU) is depicted.

[0019] Figure 8 A method for wireless communications by a receiver node is described.

[0020] Fig. 9 A method for wireless communications by a transmitter node is described.

[0021] Fig.10 Example PDCP out-of-order delivery of data packets based on PDU aggregation is depicted.

[0022] Fig.11 Example PDCP in-order delivery of data packets based on PDU aggregation is depicted.

[0023] Fig.12 An example flow of PDU aggregation information indicating that the PDU aggregation information is added to a PDCP header across an L2 protocol stack is depicted.

[0024] Fig.13 An example PDCP header with PDU aggregation information is depicted.

[0025] Fig.14 An example flow of PDU aggregation information across an L2 protocol stack indicating that the PDU aggregation information is added to a medium access control (MAC) sub-PDU header is depicted.

[0026] Fig.15 An example MAC sub-PDU header with PDU aggregation information is depicted.

[0027] Fig.16 An example plurality of sub-PDUs assembled into a single PDCP PDU are depicted, wherein each sub-PDU is associated with one or more first attributes.

[0028] Fig.17 An example plurality of sub-PDUs assembled into a single PDCP PDU are depicted, wherein each sub-PDU is associated with one or more second attributes.

[0029] Fig.18 An example grouping of all sub-PDUs forming a single PDCP PDU is depicted, wherein each sub-PDU is associated with one or more third attributes.

[0030] Fig.19 Aspects of an example communications device are depicted.

[0031] Fig. 20 Aspects of an example communications device are depicted. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus, methods, processing systems, and computer-readable media for layer 2 (L2) procedures for scheduling based on protocol data unit (PDU) sets. The L2 procedures may include packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer procedures, radio link control (RLC) layer procedures, and / or medium access control (MAC) layer procedures.

[0033] Extended reality (XR) applications generate and consume data units that are larger than Internet Protocol (IP) packets (e.g., data packets). A data unit is called a PDU set. A PDU set is also called an application data unit (ADU). When a PDU set is sent over a core network (CN), the PDU set is segmented into data packets. Although the data packets of each PDU set usually arrive at the receiver at approximately the same time, in some cases, the data packets of each PDU set may not arrive at the same time. In addition, all data packets in a PDU set have the same quality of service (QoS) requirements.

[0034] Current L2 protocols are configured and executed based on individual data packets (and their QoS requirements) rather than on PDU sets. That is, different L2 protocols are applied to different data packets, and different data packets (due to their different arrival times) can be processed separately. However, in a PDU set, all data packets have the same QoS requirements and must be processed together. This is because if any data packet of a PDU set does not meet the QoS deadline of the data packet or is lost, the remaining data packets of the PDU set become useless and the PDU set must be discarded.

[0035] The present application describes enhancements to L2 procedures for supporting scheduling based on PDU sets to enable successful processing (e.g., jointly or separately) of data packets of the PDU sets. For example, the enhancements to the L2 procedures may enable determination of data packets belonging to the same PDU set and subsequent application of the same processing procedures to the data packets of the same PDU set. The L2 procedures proposed herein can meet the same quality of service (QoS) requirements of the data packets of the PDU set during processing of the data packets.

[0036] Introduction to wireless communication networks

[0037] The techniques and methods described herein can be used in various wireless communication networks. Although various aspects may be described herein using terms commonly associated with 3G, 4G and / or 5G wireless technologies, various aspects of the present disclosure may also be applicable to other communication systems and standards not explicitly mentioned herein.

[0038] Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication network 100 is depicted in which various aspects described herein may be implemented.

[0039] In general, the wireless communication network 100 includes various network entities (alternatively, network elements or network nodes). A network entity is typically a communication device and / or a communication function performed by a communication device (e.g., user equipment (UE), base station (BS), component of a BS, server, etc.). For example, various functions of a network and various devices associated with and interacting with the network may be considered network entities. In addition, the wireless communication network 100 includes ground aspects, such as ground-based network entities (e.g., BS 102), and non-ground aspects, such as satellites 140 and aircraft 145, which may include airborne network entities (e.g., one or more BSs) that can communicate with other network elements (e.g., ground BSs) and UEs.

[0040] In the depicted example, the wireless communication network 100 includes a BS 102, a UE 104, and one or more core networks (such as an evolved packet core (EPC) 160 and a 5G core (5GC) network 190) that interoperate to provide communication services over various communication links (including wired and wireless links).

[0041] Figure 1 Various example UEs 104 are depicted, which may more generally include: a cellular phone, a smart phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, a video device, a digital audio player, a camera, a game console, a tablet computer, a smart device, a wearable device, a vehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or small kitchen appliance, a healthcare device, an implant, a sensor / actuator, a display, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Always-On (AON) device, an edge processing device, or other similar devices. UE 104 may also be more generally referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a station, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a remote device, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, and others.

[0042] BS 102 communicates wirelessly with (e.g., sends signals to or receives signals from) UE 104 via communication link 120. Communication link 120 between BS 102 and UE 104 may include uplink (UL) (also referred to as a reverse link) transmissions from UE 104 to BS 102 and / or downlink (DL) (also referred to as a forward link) transmissions from BS 102 to UE 104. In various aspects, communication link 120 may employ multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and / or transmit diversity.

[0043] BS 102 may generally include: NodeB, enhanced NodeB (eNB), next generation enhanced NodeB (ng-eNB), next generation NodeB (gNB or gNodeB), access point, transceiver base station, radio BS, radio transceiver, transceiver function, transmission and reception point, and / or other. Each of BS 102 may provide communication coverage for a corresponding geographic coverage area 110, which may sometimes be referred to as a cell, and may overlap in some cases (e.g., a small cell 102' may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps with the coverage area 110 of a macro cell). For example, a BS may provide communication coverage for a macro cell (covering a relatively large geographic area), a pico cell (covering a relatively small geographic area, such as a stadium), a femto cell (relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home)), and / or other types of cells.

[0044] Although BS102 is depicted as a single communication device in various aspects, BS102 can be implemented in various configurations. For example, one or more components of BS102 may be decomposed, including a central unit (CU), one or more distributed units (DU), one or more radio units (RU), a near real-time (near RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC, to name a few examples. In another example, various aspects of BS102 may be virtualized. More generally, a BS (e.g., BS102) may include components located at a single physical location or components located at various physical locations. In an example in which BS102 includes components located at various physical locations, various components may each perform each function, so that various components together achieve functions similar to those of BS102 located at a single physical location. In some aspects, a BS102 including components located at various physical locations may be referred to as a decomposed radio access network (RAN) architecture, such as an open RAN (O-RAN) or virtualized RAN (VRAN) architecture. Figure 2 An example decomposed BS architecture is depicted and described.

[0045] Different BSs 102 within the wireless communication network 100 may also be configured to support different radio access technologies (such as 3G, 4G, and / or 5G). For example, a BS 102 configured for 4G LTE (collectively referred to as the Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) may interface with the EPC 160 via a first backhaul link 132 (e.g., an S1 interface). A BS 102 configured for 5G (e.g., 5G NR or Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) may interface with the 5GC 190 via a second backhaul link 184. The BSs 102 may communicate with each other directly or indirectly (e.g., via the EPC 160 or the 5GC 190) over a third backhaul link 134 (e.g., an X2 interface), which may be wired or wireless.

[0046] The wireless communication network 100 may subdivide the electromagnetic spectrum into various categories, frequency bands, channels, or other characteristics. In some aspects, the subdivision is provided based on wavelength and frequency, where frequency may also be referred to as a carrier, subcarrier, channel, tone, or subband. For example, 3GPP currently defines frequency range 1 (FR1) as including 600 MHz-6 GHz, which is often (interchangeably) referred to as "below 6 GHz". Similarly, 3GPP currently defines frequency range 2 (FR2) as including 26 GHz-41 GHz, which is sometimes (interchangeably) referred to as "millimeter wave" ("mmW" or "mmWave"). A BS (e.g., a mmWave BS such as BS 180) configured to communicate using mmWave / near mmWave radio bands may utilize beamforming (e.g., 182) with a UE (e.g., 104) to improve path loss and distance.

[0047] The communication link 120 between the BS 102 and, for example, the UE 104 may be through one or more carriers, which may have different bandwidths (e.g., 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, 20 MHz, 100 MHz, 400 MHz, and / or other MHz) and may be aggregated in various aspects. The carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. The allocation of carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or fewer carriers may be allocated for DL ​​compared to UL).

[0048] Communications using higher frequency bands may have higher path loss and shorter range than communications at lower frequencies. Therefore, some BSs (e.g. Figure 1180) may utilize beamforming 182 with UE 104 to improve path loss and distance. For example, BS 180 and UE 104 may each include multiple antennas, such as antenna elements, antenna panels and / or antenna arrays, to facilitate beamforming. In some cases, BS 180 may send beamformed signals to UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182''. UE 104 may receive beamformed signals from BS 180 in one or more receive directions 182". UE 104 may also send beamformed signals to BS 180 in one or more transmit directions 182". BS 180 may also receive beamformed signals from UE 104 in one or more receive directions 182'. BS 180 and UE 104 may then perform beam training to determine the best receive and transmit directions for each of BS 180 and UE 104. It is noteworthy that the transmit direction and receive direction of BS 180 may be the same or different. Similarly, the transmit direction and receive direction of UE 104 may be the same or different.

[0049] Wireless communication network 100 also includes a Wi-Fi AP 150 that communicates with a Wi-Fi station (STA) 152 via a communication link 154 in, for example, the 2.4 GHz and / or 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum.

[0050] Certain UEs 104 may communicate with each other using a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), and / or a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH).

[0051] The EPC 160 may include various functional components, including: a mobility management entity (MME) 162, other MMEs 164, a serving gateway 166, a multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS) gateway 168, a broadcast multicast service center (BM-SC) 170, and / or a packet data network (PDN) gateway 172, such as in the depicted example. The MME 162 may communicate with a home subscriber server (HSS) 174. The MME 162 is a control node that handles signaling between the UE 104 and the EPC 160. In general, the MME 162 provides bearer and connection management.

[0052] Generally, user Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered through the Serving Gateway 166, which itself is connected to the PDN Gateway 172. The PDN Gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation and other functions. The PDN Gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 are connected to the IP Services 176, which may include, for example, the Internet, an Intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a Packet Switched (PS) streaming media service, and / or other IP services.

[0053] The BM-SC 170 may provide functionality for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The BM-SC 170 may serve as an entry point for content provider MBMS delivery, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS bearer services within a public land mobile network (PLMN), and / or may be used to schedule MBMS delivery. The MBMS Gateway 168 may be used to distribute MBMS services to BSs 102 belonging to a multicast broadcast single frequency network (MBSFN) area broadcasting a specific service, and / or may be responsible for session management (start / stop) and for collecting eMBMS related charging information.

[0054] 5GC 190 may include various functional components, including: access and mobility management function (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, session management function (SMF) 194, and user plane function (UPF) 195. AMF 192 may communicate with unified data management (UDM) 196.

[0055] AMF 192 is a control node that handles signaling between UE 104 and 5GC 190. AMF 192 provides, for example, Quality of Service (QoS) flow and session management.

[0056] Internet Protocol (IP) packets are delivered through UPF 195, which is connected to IP Services 197 and provides UE IP address allocation and other functions for 5GC 190. IP Services 197 may include, for example, the Internet, Intranet, IMS, PS streaming services, and / or other IP services.

[0057] The wireless communication network 100 also includes a protocol data unit (PDU) aggregation component 198, which can be configured to perform Figure 8 Operation 800 and / or Fig. 9 The wireless communication network 100 also includes a PDU aggregation component 199, which can be configured to perform Figure 8 Operation 800 and / or Fig. 9 Operation 900.

[0058] In various aspects, a network entity or network node may be implemented as a converged BS, a decomposed BS, a component of a BS, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, a sidelink node, to name a few examples.

[0059] Figure 2 An example decomposed BS 200 architecture is depicted. The decomposed BS 200 architecture may include one or more central units (CUs) 210 that may communicate directly with a core network 220 via a backhaul link, or indirectly with the core network 220 through one or more decomposed BS units, such as a near real-time (near-RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) 225 via an E2 link, or a non-real-time (non-RT) RIC 215 associated with a service management and orchestration (SMO) framework 205, or both. The CU 210 may communicate with one or more distributed units (DUs) 230 via respective midhaul links, such as an F1 interface. The DU 230 may communicate with one or more radio units (RUs) 240 via respective fronthaul links. The RU 240 may communicate with respective UEs 104 via one or more radio frequency (RF) access links. In some implementations, a UE 104 may be served simultaneously by multiple RUs 240.

[0060] Each of the units (e.g., CU 210, DU 230, RU 240, and near-RT RIC 225, non-RT RIC 215, and SMO framework 205) may include or be coupled to one or more interfaces configured to receive or send signals, data, or information (collectively, signals) via a wired or wireless transmission medium. Each of the units or an associated processor or controller that provides instructions to the communication interface of the unit may be configured to communicate with one or more of the other units via a transmission medium. For example, the units may include a wired interface configured to receive or send signals to one or more of the other units via a wired transmission medium. Additionally or alternatively, the unit may include a wireless interface that may include a receiver, a transmitter, or a transceiver (such as a radio frequency (RF) transceiver) configured to receive or send signals, or both, to one or more of the other units on a wireless transmission medium.

[0061] In some aspects, CU 210 may host one or more higher layer control functions. Such control functions may include radio resource control (RRC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), etc. Each control function may be implemented using an interface configured to communicate signals with other control functions hosted by CU 210. CU 210 may be configured to handle user plane functions (e.g., central unit-user plane (CU-UP)), control plane functions (e.g., central unit-control plane (CU-CP)), or a combination thereof. In some specific implementations, CU 210 may be logically divided into one or more CU-UP units and one or more CU-CP units. When implemented in an O-RAN configuration, the CU-UP unit may communicate bidirectionally with the CU-CP unit via an interface (such as an E1 interface). As needed, CU 210 may be implemented to communicate with DU 230 for network control and signaling.

[0062] DU 230 may correspond to a logical unit that includes one or more BS functions for controlling the operation of one or more RUs 240. In some aspects, DU 230 may host one or more of a radio link control (RLC) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and one or more high physical (PHY) layers (such as modules for forward error correction (FEC) encoding and decoding, scrambling, modulation and demodulation, etc.) at least in part according to functional divisions such as those defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In some aspects, DU 230 may further host one or more low PHY layers. Each layer (or module) may be implemented using an interface that is configured to communicate signals with other layers (and modules) hosted by DU 230 or with control functions hosted by CU 210.

[0063] The lower layer functions may be implemented by one or more RUs 240. In some deployments, the RU 240 controlled by the DU 230 may correspond to a logical node that hosts RF processing functions or low PHY layer functions (such as performing fast Fourier transform (FFT), inverse FFT (iFFT), digital beamforming, physical random access channel (PRACH) extraction and filtering, etc.), or both, based at least in part on functional partitioning (such as lower layer functional partitioning). In such an architecture, the RU 240 may be implemented to handle over-the-air (OTA) communications with one or more UEs 104. In some specific implementations, real-time and non-real-time aspects of control plane and user plane communications with the RU 240 may be controlled by the corresponding DU 230. In some scenarios, this configuration may enable the implementation of the DU 230 and the CU 210 in a cloud-based RAN architecture (such as a vRAN architecture).

[0064] The SMO framework 205 may be configured to support RAN deployment and provisioning of non-virtualized network elements and virtualized network elements. For non-virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 205 may be configured to support the deployment of dedicated physical resources for RAN coverage requirements, which may be managed via an operation and maintenance interface (such as an O1 interface). For virtualized network elements, the SMO framework 205 may be configured to interact with a cloud computing platform (such as an open cloud (O-Cloud) 290) to perform network element lifecycle management (such as instantiating virtualized network elements) via a cloud computing platform interface (such as an O2 interface). Such virtualized network elements may include, but are not limited to, CU 210, DU 230, RU 240, and near-RT RIC 225. In some specific implementations, the SMO framework 205 may communicate with hardware aspects of the 4G RAN (such as an open eNB (O-eNB) 211) via the O1 interface. In addition, in some specific implementations, the SMO framework 205 may communicate directly with one or more RUs 240 via the O1 interface. The SMO framework 205 may also include a non-RT RIC 215 configured to support the functionality of the SMO framework 205 .

[0065] The non-RT RIC 215 may be configured to include logic functions that enable non-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources, artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI / ML) workflows including model training and updating, or policy-based guidance of applications / features in the near-RT RIC 225. The non-RT RIC 215 may be coupled to or in communication with the near-RT RIC 225 (such as via an A1 interface). The near-RT RIC 225 may be configured to include logic functions that enable near-real-time control and optimization of RAN elements and resources via data collection and actions through an interface (such as via an E2 interface) that connects one or more CUs 210, one or more DUs 230, or both, and the O-eNB with the near-RT RIC 225.

[0066] In some implementations, in order to generate an AI / ML model to be deployed in the near-RT RIC 225, the non-RT RIC 215 may receive parameters or external enrichment information from an external server. Such information may be utilized by the near-RT RIC 225 and may be received from a non-network data source or from a network function at the SMO framework 205 or the non-RT RIC 215. In some examples, the non-RT RIC 215 or the near-RT RIC 225 may be configured to tune RAN behavior or performance. For example, the non-RT RIC 215 may monitor long-term trends and patterns of performance and employ AI / ML models to perform corrective actions through the SMO framework 205 (such as via reconfiguration of O1) or via the creation of RAN management policies (such as A1 policies).

[0067] Figure 3 Aspects of an example BS 102 and UE 104 are depicted.

[0068] In general, BS 102 includes various processors (e.g., 320, 330, 338, and 340), antennas 334a-334t (collectively 334), transceivers 332a-332t (collectively 332) including modulators and demodulators, and other aspects that enable wireless transmission of data (e.g., data source 312) and wireless reception of data (e.g., data sink 339). For example, BS 102 can transmit and receive data between BS 102 and UE 104. BS 102 includes a controller / processor 340 that can be configured to implement various functions described herein related to wireless communication.

[0069] BS 102 includes a controller / processor 340 that can be configured to perform various functions related to wireless communication. In the depicted example, controller / processor 340 includes a PDU aggregation component 341, which can represent Figure 1 The PDU aggregation component 199 of the BS 102. It is worth noting that, although depicted as an aspect of the controller / processor 340, in other specific implementations, the PDU aggregation component 241 may additionally or alternatively be implemented in various other aspects of the BS 102.

[0070] Generally speaking, the UE 104 includes various processors (e.g., 358, 364, 366, and 380), antennas 352a-352r (collectively 352), transceivers 354a-354r (collectively 354) including modulators and demodulators, and other aspects that enable wireless transmission of data (e.g., retrieved from a data source 362) and wireless reception of data (e.g., provided to a data sink 360). The UE 104 includes a controller / processor 380 that can be configured to implement various functions described herein related to wireless communications.

[0071] UE 104 includes a controller / processor 380 that can be configured to perform various functions related to wireless communication. In the depicted example, the controller / processor 380 includes a PDU aggregation component 381, which can represent Figure 1 The PDU aggregation component 198 of the UE 104. It is worth noting that, although depicted as an aspect of the controller / processor 380, in other specific implementations, the PDU aggregation component 381 can be additionally or alternatively implemented in various other aspects of the UE 104.

[0072] Regarding example downlink transmissions, BS 102 includes a transmit processor 320 that can receive data from a data source 312 and control information from a controller / processor 340. The control information can be for a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), a physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH), a physical HARQ indicator channel (PHICH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a group common PDCCH (GC PDCCH), and / or others. In some examples, the data can be for a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0073] The transmit processor 320 may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) data and control information to obtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. The transmit processor 320 may also generate reference symbols (such as for a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), a PBCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS), and a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS)).

[0074] The transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 330 may perform spatial processing (e.g., pre-decoding) on ​​data symbols, control symbols, and / or reference symbols, where applicable, and may provide an output symbol stream to a modulator (MOD) in a transceiver 332a-332t. Each modulator in the transceiver 332a-332t may process a corresponding output symbol stream to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and up-convert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The downlink signals from the modulators in the transceivers 332a-332t may be transmitted via antennas 334a-334t, respectively.

[0075] To receive downlink transmissions, UE 104 includes antennas 352a-352r that can receive downlink signals from BS 102 and can provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) in transceivers 354a-354r, respectively. Each demodulator in transceivers 354a-354r can condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a corresponding received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator can further process the input samples to obtain received symbols.

[0076] A MIMO detector 356 may obtain received symbols from all demodulators in transceivers 354a-354r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive processor 358 may process (e.g., demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE 104 to a data sink 360, and provide decoded control information to a controller / processor 380.

[0077] With respect to example uplink transmissions, the UE 104 also includes a transmit processor 364 that may receive and process data from a data source 362 (e.g., for a PUSCH) and control information from a controller / processor 380 (e.g., for a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)). The transmit processor 364 may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., for a sounding reference signal (SRS)). The symbols from the transmit processor 364 may be pre-decoded by a TX MIMO processor 366, if applicable, further processed by a modulator in the transceivers 354a-354r (e.g., for SC-FDM), and transmitted to the BS 102.

[0078] At BS 102, uplink signals from UE 104 may be received by antennas 334 a-334 t, processed by demodulators in transceivers 332 a-332 t, detected by MIMO detector 336 if applicable, and further processed by receive processor 338 to obtain decoded data and control information transmitted by UE 104. Receive processor 338 may provide decoded data to data sink 339 and decoded control information to controller / processor 340.

[0079] Memory 342 and memory 382 may store data and program codes for BS 102 and UE 104, respectively.

[0080] The scheduler 344 may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and / or uplink.

[0081] In various aspects, BS 102 may be described as sending and receiving various types of data associated with the methods described herein. In these contexts, "sending" may refer to various mechanisms for outputting data, such as outputting data from a data source 312, a scheduler 344, a memory 342, a transmit processor 320, a controller / processor 340, a TX MIMO processor 330, a transceiver 332a-332t, an antenna 334a-334t, and / or other aspects described herein. Similarly, "receiving" may refer to various mechanisms for obtaining data, such as obtaining data from an antenna 334a-334t, a transceiver 332a-332t, a RX MIMO detector 336, a controller / processor 340, a receive processor 338, a scheduler 344, a memory 342, and / or other aspects described herein.

[0082] In various aspects, the UE 104 may also be described as sending and receiving various types of data associated with the methods described herein. In these contexts, "sending" may refer to various mechanisms for outputting data, such as outputting data from a data source 362, a memory 382, ​​a transmit processor 364, a controller / processor 380, a TX MIMO processor 366, a transceiver 354a-354t, an antenna 352a-352t, and / or other aspects described herein. Similarly, "receiving" may refer to various mechanisms for obtaining data, such as obtaining data from an antenna 352a-352t, a transceiver 354a-354t, a RX MIMO detector 356, a controller / processor 380, a receive processor 358, a memory 382, ​​and / or other aspects described herein.

[0083] In some aspects, the processor may be configured to perform various operations (such as those associated with the methods described herein) and send (output) data to or receive (obtain) data from another interface configured to send or receive data, respectively.

[0084] Figure 4A , Figure 4B , Figure 4C and Figure 4D Describes a method for use in a wireless communication network such as Figure 1 Various aspects of the data structure of the wireless communication network 100).

[0085] Specifically, Figure 4A is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of a first subframe within a 5G (e.g., 5G NR) frame structure, Figure 4B is a diagram 430 illustrating an example of a DL channel within a 5G subframe, Figure 4C is a diagram 450 illustrating an example of a second subframe within a 5G frame structure, and Figure 4D FIG480 is a diagram illustrating an example of UL channels within a 5G subframe.

[0086] Wireless communication systems may utilize orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP) on both the uplink and downlink. Such systems may also support half-duplex operation using time division duplex (TDD). OFDM and single carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) can be used to maximize the system bandwidth (e.g., Figure 4B and Figure 4D ) is divided into multiple orthogonal subcarriers. Each subcarrier can be modulated with data. Modulation symbols can be transmitted in the frequency domain using OFDM and / or in the time domain using SC-FDM.

[0087] The wireless communication frame structure may be frequency division duplex (FDD), where for a particular set of subcarriers, subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated to either DL or UL. The wireless communication frame structure may also be time division duplex (TDD), where for a particular set of subcarriers, subframes within the set of subcarriers are dedicated to both DL and UL.

[0088] exist Figure 4A and Figure 4C In the wireless communication frame structure, TDD is used, where D is DL, U is UL, and X can be used flexibly between DL / UL. The UE can be configured with a time slot format (dynamically configured by DL control information (DCI) or semi-statically / statically configured by radio resource control (RRC) signaling) through the received time slot format indicator (SFI). In the depicted example, the 10ms frame is divided into 10 equally sized 1ms subframes. Each subframe may include one or more time slots. In some examples, each time slot may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the time slot format. The subframe may also include a micro-time slot, which typically has fewer symbols than a whole time slot. Other wireless communication technologies may have different frame structures and / or different channels.

[0089] In certain aspects, the number of time slots within a subframe is based on the time slot configuration and the parameter set. For example, for time slot configuration 0, different parameter sets (μ) 0 to 5 allow for 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 time slots per subframe, respectively. For time slot configuration 1, different parameter sets 0 to 2 allow for 2, 4, and 8 time slots per subframe, respectively. Thus, for time slot configuration 0 and parameter set μ, there are 14 symbols / time slot and 2μ time slots / subframe. The subcarrier spacing and symbol length / duration are a function of the parameter set. The subcarrier spacing may be equal to 2 μ × 15kHz, where μ is parameter set 0 to 5. Thus, parameter set μ=0 has a subcarrier spacing of 15kHz, and parameter set μ=5 has a subcarrier spacing of 480kHz. The symbol length / duration is inversely related to the subcarrier spacing. Figure 4A , Figure 4B , Figure 4C and Figure 4D An example is provided for slot configuration 0 with 14 symbols per slot and parameter set μ=2 with 4 slots per subframe. The slot duration is 0.25 ms, the subcarrier spacing is 60 kHz, and the symbol duration is approximately 16.67 μs.

[0090] like Figure 4A , Figure 4B , Figure 4C and Figure 4DAs depicted in , a resource grid can be used to represent a frame structure. Each time slot includes a resource block (RB) (also called a physical RB (PRB)) extending, for example, 12 consecutive subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into a plurality of resource elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on the modulation scheme.

[0091] like Figure 4A As illustrated, some of the REs carry data for UEs (eg, Figure 1 and Figure 3 The RS may include a demodulation RS (DMRS) and / or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) for channel estimation at the UE. The RS may also include a beam measurement RS (BRS), a beam refinement RS (BRRS), and / or a phase tracking RS (PT-RS).

[0092] Figure 4B Examples of various DL channels within a subframe of a frame are illustrated.The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) carries DCI within one or more Control Channel Elements (CCEs), each CCE comprising, for example, nine RE Groups (REGs), each REG comprising, for example, four consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol.

[0093] The primary synchronization signal (PSS) may be in symbol 2 of a particular subframe of a frame. The PSS is transmitted by a UE (e.g., Figure 1 and Figure 3 104) is used to determine subframe / symbol timing and physical layer identification.

[0094] A Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) may be within symbol 4 of a particular subframe of a frame. The SSS is used by the UE to determine the physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing.

[0095] Based on the physical layer identifier and the physical layer cell identifier group number, the UE can determine the physical cell identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the location of the aforementioned DMRS. The physical broadcast channel (PBCH) carrying the master information block (MIB) can be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization signal (SS) / PBCH block. The MIB provides the system frame number (SFN) and the number of RBs in the system bandwidth. The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system information (such as system information blocks (SIBs)) that is not sent via the PBCH, and / or paging messages.

[0096] like Figure 4CAs illustrated, some of the REs carry DMRS for channel estimation at the BS (indicated as R for a particular configuration, but other DMRS configurations are possible). The UE may send DMRS for PUCCH and DMRS for PUSCH. The PUSCH DMRS may be sent, for example, in the first one or two symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCH DMRS may be sent in different configurations depending on whether a short PUCCH or a long PUCCH is sent and depending on the specific PUCCH format used. UE104 may send a sounding reference signal (SRS). The SRS may be sent, for example, in the last symbol of a subframe. The SRS may have a comb structure, and the UE may send the SRS on one of the comb structures in the comb structure. The SRS may be used by the BS for channel quality estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling on the UL.

[0097] Figure 4D Examples of various UL channels within a subframe of a frame are illustrated. The PUCCH may be located at a position as indicated in one configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI), such as scheduling requests, channel quality indicator (CQI), precoding matrix indicator (PMI), rank indicator (RI), and HARQ ACK / NACK feedback. The PUSCH carries data and may additionally be used to carry a buffer status report (BSR), a power headroom report (PHR), and / or UCI.

[0098] Example Quality of Service (QoS)

[0099] Quality of Service (QoS) refers to the measurement of the overall performance of a service as experienced by users of a network. In order to quantitatively measure QoS packet loss rate, relevant aspects of the service such as bit rate, throughput, transmission delay, availability, etc. are considered. QoS includes requirements for all aspects of the connection, such as service response time, packet loss rate, signal-to-noise ratio, crosstalk, echo, interruption, frequency response and / or loudness level.

[0100] In 5G New Radio (NR), QoS is implemented at the QoS flow level. Each QoS flow packet (e.g., data packet) is classified and marked using a QoS flow identifier (QFI). For example, a first QoS flow is associated with video packets (e.g., WhatsApp videos and Skype videos), and a second QoS flow is associated with video streaming packets (e.g., YouTube video streams). One or more QoS flows are mapped to one or more data radio bearers (DRBs) in the access network. For example, DRBs transport packets carried by an Evolved Packet System (EPS) between a User Equipment (UE) and a network entity.

[0101] In a 5G network, a 5G QoS Identifier (5QI) mechanism may be used in which packets are classified into different QoS classes. In this way, QoS may be customized according to specific requirements. Each QoS class has its own assigned QoS characteristics (e.g., such as packet delay and packet loss rate). Therefore, some packets may receive better QoS than other packets.

[0102] The network entity maps individual QoS flows to one or more DRBs. A protocol data unit (PDU) session may contain multiple QoS flows and several DRBs. For example, a PDU session provides end-to-end user plane connectivity between a UE and a specific data network through a user plane function (UPF). A PDU session supports one or more QoS flows, and a DRB transports the one or more QoS flows.

[0103] The network entity provides one or more QoS flow descriptions associated with a PDU session to the UE at PDU session establishment time or at PDU session modification time. Each QoS flow description may include a) a QFI; b) if the QoS flow is a guaranteed bit rate (GBR) QoS flow: 1) a guaranteed flow bit rate (GFBR) for uplink, 2) a GFBR for downlink, 3) a maximum flow bit rate (MFBR) for uplink, 4) a MFBR for downlink and / or 5) an averaging window applicable to both uplink and downlink, or if the QoS flow is a non-GBR QoS flow: 1) a reflective QoS attribute (RQA) in downlink and / or 2) additional QoS flow information; c) a 5G QoS identifier (5QI), if the QFI is not the same as the 5QI of the QoS flow identified by the QFI; d) an allocation and retention priority (ARP), and / or e) an EPS bearer identifier (EBI), if the QoS flow can be mapped to an EPS bearer. All packets belonging to a particular QoS flow have the same 5QI.

[0104] The network entity provides the UE with QoS rules associated with the PDU session. The QoS rules may be provided when the PDU session is established or when the PDU session is modified. Each QoS rule includes an indication of whether the QoS rule is a default QoS rule, a QoS rule identifier (QRI), a QFI, a packet filter set, and / or a priority value.

[0105] Example Layer 2 (L2) of the New Radio (NR) protocol stack

[0106] The New Radio (NR) radio protocol stack has two categories: 1) control plane stack and 2) user plane stack. If the data corresponds to signaling or control messages, the data is transmitted through the control plane. User data is transmitted through the user plane.

[0107] like Figure 5 As illustrated in FIG, the user plane protocol stack (e.g., Layer 2 (L2)) of NR is divided into sublayers such as a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a medium access control (MAC) layer. In NR, carrier aggregation is supported, and data for each carrier may be processed independently in the SDAP layer, the PDCP layer, the RLC layer, and multiplexed in the MAC layer.

[0108] The SDAP layer may perform mapping between Quality of Service (QoS) flows (e.g., associated with one or more data packets (e.g., protocol data units (PDUs)) and data radio bearers (DRBs) (e.g., due to a QoS framework). The SDAP layer may also perform marking QoS Flow IDs (QFIs) in both downlink packets and uplink packets (e.g., downlink due to reflective QoS and uplink due to a QoS framework). A single protocol entity of SDAP is configured for each separate protocol data unit (PDU) session.

[0109] The PDCP layer can perform header compression and decompression of Internet Protocol (IP) data (e.g., robust header compression (ROHC)), maintain PDCP sequence numbers (SNs), perform in-order delivery of upper layer PDUs upon re-establishment of lower layers, perform reordering and eliminate duplication of lower layer service data units (SDUs), perform PDCP PDU routing for the case of offloaded bearers, perform retransmission of lower layer SDUs, encrypt and decrypt control plane data and user plane data, perform integrity protection and integrity verification of control plane data and user plane data, control timer-based data discard, and perform security operations (e.g., encryption, decryption, integrity protection, integrity verification, etc.).

[0110] The RLC layer may operate in a plurality of operation modes including a transparent mode (TM), an unacknowledged mode (UM), and an acknowledged mode (AM). The RLC layer may perform delivery of upper layer PDU error correction through automatic repeat request (ARQ) for AM data delivery and segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs for UM and AM data delivery. For UM and AM data delivery, the RLC layer may maintain the SN independently of the SN in the PDCP. The RLC layer may perform re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs for AM data delivery, detect duplicate data for AM data delivery, discard RLC SDUs for UM and AM data delivery, detect protocol errors for AM data delivery, and / or perform RLC reconstruction.

[0111] The MAC layer can perform mapping between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing MAC SDUs from one or more logical channels onto transport blocks (TBs) to be delivered to the physical layer (PHY) via transport channels, demultiplexing MAC SDUs from TBs delivered from PHY via transport channels to one or more logical channels, scheduling information reporting, error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), priority handling between UEs with the help of dynamic scheduling, priority handling between logical channels of a UE with the help of logical channel prioritization, and / or padding.

[0112] A collection of sample extended reality (XR) applications and protocol data units (PDUs)

[0113] Extended reality (XR) applications may include virtual reality (VR) applications, augmented reality (AR) applications, and / or mixed reality (MR) applications. XR applications generate and consume data units that are larger (e.g., in size) than Internet Protocol (IP) packets (e.g., data packets). The data unit is referred to as a protocol data unit (PDU) set. A PDU set is also referred to as an application data unit (ADU). When a PDU set is sent over a core network (CN), the PDU set is segmented into data packets. Although the data packets of each PDU set typically arrive at the receiver at approximately the same time, in some cases, the data packets of each PDU set may not arrive at the same time. In addition, all data packets in a PDU set may have the same quality of service (QoS) requirements.

[0114] There are two types of PDU sets. One type of PDU set is called a Type A PDU set, and the other type of PDU set is called a Type B PDU set. With respect to a Type APDU set (e.g., an all or nothing PDU set), if any data packet in a Type A PDU set is lost (e.g., during transmission) or misses a deadline (e.g., associated with a QoS requirement for the data packet), the remaining data packets in the Type A PDU set become useless. With respect to a Type BPDU set, reception of a Type B PDU set is considered successful when a decoding criterion is met (e.g., a predetermined number of data packets or bytes of a Type B PDU set are received).

[0115] Current Layer 2 (L2) procedures (e.g., PDCP layer procedures, MAC layer procedures, etc.) are configured and executed based on individual data packets (and associated QoS requirements) rather than PDU sets. That is, different L2 procedures are applied to different data packets, and different data packets can be processed separately. However, in a PDU set, all data packets of the PDU set have the same QoS requirements and must be processed together. This is because if any data packet of a PDU set does not meet the QoS deadline of the data packet, the remaining data packets of the PDU set become useless and the PDU set must be discarded. Therefore, there is a need for enhancements to L2 procedures for supporting PDU set-based scheduling (e.g., to manage the (e.g., jointly or separately) processing of data packets of a PDU set).

[0116] As mentioned above and as Figure 6 As illustrated in , according to the current L2 procedures, when a data packet (or Ethernet frame) arrives at the Radio Access Network (RAN), the RAN first performs QoS mapping to classify the data packet into a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) in the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer. Then, the RAN packs the data packet (i.e., SDAP PDU) into a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) PDU. The PDCP layer procedures performed in the assembly of the PDCP PDU include sequence numbering, robust header compression (ROHC), integrity protection, ciphering, and the addition of a PDCP header.

[0117] Currently, if Figure 7 As illustrated in FIG, one SDAP PDU is mapped to a single PDCP PDU, and there is no multiplexing of multiple SDAP PDUs into a single PDCP PDU. However, in some applications (e.g., XR applications), a group of data packets of a PDU set (e.g., all or nothing PDU set) must be delivered simultaneously. Therefore, it is necessary to implement aggregation of the group of data packets (e.g., SDAP PDU set) and handle it as a single PDCP PDU for L2 procedures.

[0118] Aspects related to user plane procedures based on protocol data unit (PDU) aggregation

[0119] Aspects of the present disclosure provide apparatus, methods, processing systems, and computer-readable media for Layer 2 (L2) procedures for scheduling based on protocol data unit (PDU) aggregations.

[0120] The current L2 procedures are configured and executed based on individual data packets rather than on multiple data packets belonging to the same PDU set. That is, different L2 procedures are applied to different data packets, and different data packets can be processed separately. The present application describes enhancements to the L2 procedures for supporting scheduling based on PDU sets to achieve successful processing of data packets of the PDU sets (e.g., jointly or separately). For example, enhancements to the L2 procedures can make it possible to determine data packets belonging to the same PDU set and subsequently apply the same processing procedures to the data packets of the same PDU set. The L2 procedures proposed herein can meet the same quality of service (QoS) requirements for data packets of the PDU set during the processing of the data packets.

[0121] For reference Figures 8 to 18 To understand the L2 procedure for PDU set-based scheduling proposed in this article.

[0122] Figure 8 Example operations 800 for wireless communication are illustrated. For example, operations 800 may be performed by a receiver node (e.g., such as Figure 1 Operation 800 may be implemented as a processor (e.g., Figure 3 In addition, the transmission and reception of signals by the receiver node in operation 800 may be performed by one or more antennas (e.g., Figure 3 In some aspects, the transmission and / or reception of signals by the receiver node may be implemented via a bus interface of one or more processors (e.g., controller / processor 380) that obtains and / or outputs signals.

[0123] Operations 800 begin at 810 by receiving a plurality of data packets belonging to one or more PDU sets and an indication of a policy indicating a delivery procedure for the one or more data packets in each PDU set to a higher layer. For example, a receiver node may use Figure 1 or Figure 3 The UE 104 and / or Fig.19 The antenna and / or receiver / transceiver assembly of the device is shown to receive multiple data packets and instructions.

[0124] At 820, the receiver node delivers one or more data packets within the same PDU set to a higher layer according to the policy. For example, the receiver node may use Figure 1 or Figure 3 The UE 104 and / or Fig.19 The processor of the device is shown to deliver one or more data packets within the same PDU set to a higher layer.

[0125] It should be noted that Figure 8 This is merely one example of a method, and other methods including fewer, additional, or alternative steps are possible consistent with the present disclosure.

[0126] Fig. 9 Example operations 900 for wireless communication are illustrated. For example, operations 900 may be performed by a transmitter node (e.g., such as Figure 1 Operation 900 may be implemented as a processor (e.g., Figure 3 In addition, the transmission and reception of signals by the transmitter node in operation 900 may be performed by one or more antennas (e.g., Figure 3 In some aspects, the transmission and / or reception of signals by the transmitter node may be implemented via a bus interface of one or more processors (e.g., controller / processor 380) that obtains and / or outputs signals.

[0127] Operations 900 begin at 910 by receiving one or more data packets from a plurality of data packets within the same PDU set. The plurality of data packets belong to one or more PDU sets. For example, a receiver node may use Figure 1 or Figure 3 The UE 104 and / or Fig. 20 The antenna and / or receiver / transceiver components of the device are shown to receive one or more data packets of the plurality of data packets within the same PDU set.

[0128] At 920, the sender node applies one or more identical processing procedures to one or more data packets within the same PDU set. For example, the sender node may use Figure 1 or Figure 3 The UE 104 and / or Fig. 20 The processor of the illustrated apparatus applies one or more identical processing procedures to one or more data packets within the same PDU set.

[0129] It should be noted that Fig. 9 This is merely one example of a method, and other methods including fewer, additional, or alternative steps are possible consistent with the present disclosure.

[0130] In some aspects, a receiver node receives a plurality of data packets belonging to one or more PDU sets at a service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer. In some aspects, the receiver node then determines (e.g., based on a policy indicating a type of each of the one or more PDU sets) whether a PDU set in the one or more PDU sets is a type A PDU set or a type B PDU set.

[0131] In certain aspects, one or more data packets within the same PDU set are processed in the same manner according to a policy (e.g., the policy may indicate a processing procedure for the one or more data packets in each PDU set). For example, all data packets in the same PDU set may be routed to the same Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) entity. For example, a receiver node may map each data packet within the same PDU set to a single PDCP protocol data unit (PDU) (i.e., aggregation of data packets in the same PDU set into a single PDCP PDU when the data packets arrive at approximately the same time).

[0132] In certain aspects, a receiver node determines not to deliver multiple data packets of the same Type-A PDU set to a higher layer until all data packets of the same Type-A PDU set are received. For example, PDUs belonging to the same Type-A PDU set in a reordering buffer at a PDCP entity are not delivered to upper layers unless all PDUs have been received (e.g., from lower layers in a reordering buffer at a PDCP entity). The completeness of a Type-A PDU set (i.e., all data packets of the Type-A PDU set have been received) may be indicated by a last data packet indicator in a PDU set header.

[0133] In certain aspects, when any data packet in a PDU set reaches a packet delay budget (PDB) limit, the receiver node determines to discard all data packets in the PDU set. For example, when any PDU in the same type A PDU set or type B PDU set reaches the PDB limit of the PDU while in a reordering buffer at a PDCP entity, all PDUs in the same type A PDU set or type B PDU set (e.g., including future arriving PDUs) are discarded.

[0134] In certain aspects, when at least a predetermined number of data packets or bytes of a Type B PDU set (e.g., according to a policy) are received in a reordering buffer at a PDCP entity, the receiver node delivers the Type B PDU set to a higher layer. For example, once a decoding criterion is met (e.g., X% of data packets or bytes of the Type B PDU set are received), the Type B PDU set is considered complete and delivered to the upper layer. The remaining data packets of the Type B PDU set that may arrive later are discarded. In certain aspects, the decoding criterion may be signaled in the PDU set header.

[0135] In certain aspects, when a data radio bearer (DRB) is configured for out-of-order delivery of multiple data packets at a PDCP entity, a receiver node delivers multiple data packets belonging to one or more PDU sets to a higher layer based on the PDU sets instead of the PDCP PDUs. That is, the PDCP PDUs cannot be delivered out of order unless the decoding criteria for the PDU sets have been met (e.g., all data packets in the type APDU set have been received).

[0136] like Fig.10 As illustrated in , the first PDU, the third PDU, the fourth PDU and the eighth PDU belong to the first PDU set. The second PDU, the fifth PDU, the sixth PDU and the seventh PDU belong to the second PDU set. During the PDCP out-of-order delivery operation based on the PDU set of the L2 procedure, the first PDU, the second PDU, the fifth PDU, the sixth PDU and the eighth PDU are received in the receiver buffer. At this time, the third PDU, the fourth PDU and the seventh PDU have not been received. Since the second PDU, the fifth PDU and the sixth PDU are in sequence (and belong to the same second PDU set), the second PDU, the fifth PDU and the sixth PDU can be delivered to the upper layer even when the third PDU and the fourth PDU are not received in the receiver buffer. This allows PDUs in QoS flows that are more sensitive to delay to not be blocked by other PDUs in front of them.

[0137] In some aspects, all data packets (or PDUs) within the same PDU set are associated with a common discard timer, regardless of the arrival time of the data packets. In this case, upon expiration of the common discard timer, the radio link control (RLC) layer is instructed (e.g., by other layers) to discard all data packets associated with the same PDU set.

[0138] In certain aspects, the sender node routes all data packets within the same PDU set to the same uplink (UL) offload bearer (eg, even when the amount of data exceeds a predetermined routing threshold within the PDU set).

[0139] In certain aspects, when the DRB is configured for in-order delivery of one or more PDU sets at a PDCP entity, the receiver node delivers a plurality of data packets belonging to the one or more PDU sets to a higher layer based on the PDU sets instead of the PDCP PDUs.

[0140] In some aspects, (e.g., for a type B PDU set) the order of packets within the PDU set is not required. For example, one or more PDU sets may include a first PDU set and a second PDU set. Based on the ordered delivery process, the second PDU set cannot be delivered to a higher layer until all data packets of the first PDU set are received. However, the data packets in the first PDU set may be delivered to a higher layer out of order.

[0141] like Fig.11 As illustrated in , the first PDU, the third PDU, the fourth PDU, and the eighth PDU belong to the first PDU set. The second PDU, the fifth PDU, the sixth PDU, and the seventh PDU belong to the second PDU set. During the PDCP ordered delivery operation based on the PDU set of the L2 procedure, the first PDU, the second PDU, the fourth PDU, the fifth PDU, the sixth PDU, the seventh PDU, and the eighth PDU are received in the receiver buffer. At this time, the third PDU has not yet been received. Therefore, the first PDU set is not yet complete. However, although the first PDU set is not yet complete, the first PDU, the fourth PDU, and the eighth PDU of the first PDU set can be delivered to a higher layer (for example, because the first PDU set is the first in the receiver buffer). In addition, although the second PDU set is complete because all data packets of the second PDU set have been received, the second PDU set can not be delivered to a higher layer until the first PDU set is complete (i.e., the third PDU is received).

[0142] In certain aspects, one or more RLC procedures may be performed on data packets (or PDUs) based on individual PDUs, independent of their PDU set association. For example, at the RLC layer, conventional reassembly operations may be applied to the RLC PDUs, and PDU set level reassembly may be left to the PDCP layer. In addition, RLC PDUs with sequence numbers outside the window of the receiver node may be individually discarded.

[0143] In certain aspects, when the RLC layer receives a PDU set discard indication associated with a specific PDU set from the PDCP layer, the transmitter node may discard all PDUs in the transmitter buffer for the PDU set. The receiver node may discard all PDUs in the reassembly buffer and ignore future arriving data packets (if any) of the data packets in the PDU set.

[0144] In certain aspects, a receiver node may discard RLC data packets in a Type A PDU set at the RLC layer (e.g., when the RLC data packets reach an L2 deadline). The discarding of the RLC data packets may trigger the discarding of other data packets in the Type A PDU set (e.g., in a PDCP or MAC layer buffer). For example, the discarding of other PDUs in the same Type A PDU set that are already in a PDCP reordering buffer. In another example, the discarding of a MAC PDU that may contain MAC sub-PDUs associated with the same Type A PDU set. In certain aspects, the discarding of the RLC data packets may trigger the sending of a status of the RLC data packets (e.g., an RCL Status PDU) to a transmitter UE (e.g., subject to a separate t-StatusProhibit timer).

[0145] In some aspects, it may be more efficient to schedule MAC PDUs individually regardless of their affiliation with any PDU set. However, in some other cases (e.g., when deadline-based scheduling is configured for DRBs), it may be more efficient to schedule the MAC PDUs based on their affiliation with the PDU set.

[0146] In certain aspects, when at least one transport block (TB) exceeds a preconfigured scheduling deadline, the transmitter node discards all TBs in a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) buffer that include data associated with the same PDU set.

[0147] In certain aspects, when a MAC sub-PDU associated with a MAC PDU reaches an L2 deadline, the receiver node may determine a MAC PDU in a Type A PDU set at the MAC layer as obsolete. In certain aspects, the receiver node may then skip any uplink grants for the obsolete MAC PDU. This may trigger the discarding of other data packets in a Type APDU set in a PDCP or RLC layer buffer.

[0148] In certain aspects, when a DRB is configured with both a Quality of Service (QoS) Profile Identifier (QPI) and a PDU set, the receiver node applies QPI-based procedures for each PDU set. For example, when a DRB is configured with both a QPI and a PDU set, all QPI-specific improved procedures presented herein are applied for each PDU set instead of for each PDU.

[0149] In some aspects, a receiver node may need a PDU aggregation header indicating PDU aggregation information associated with one or more PDU aggregations. In a sender node, a cross-layer indication may be used to communicate the PDU aggregation information within the sender node. In a receiver node, a first layer in which the PDU aggregation header is used corresponds to a layer in which the PDU aggregation information must be added to a protocol header. In one example, the layer may be a PDCP layer (e.g., because no other layer at the receiver node uses the PDU aggregation information).

[0150] In some aspects, the receiver node extracts PDU set information associated with one or more PDU sets from a General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol User Plane (GTP-U) extension header associated with each of the plurality of data packets. Fig.12 As illustrated in , when the PDU set accessory data packet arrives at the SDAP layer, the PDU set information is extracted from the GTP-U header of the PDU set accessory data packet. In some cases, whether the transmitter node can aggregate the data packets arriving at the same time of the same PDU set into a single PDCP PDU may depend on the node implementation.

[0151] In certain aspects, PDU set information associated with one or more PDU sets is sent between different layers of the user plane protocol stack using cross-layer indications. For example, cross-layer indications can be used to pass PDU set information associated with a PDU to a lower layer.

[0152] In certain aspects, PDU set information associated with one or more PDU sets is added to a header of a PDCP data packet at a PDCP entity. For example, at the PDCP layer, the PDU set information is added to a PDCP PDU header, and a receiver node extracts the PDU set information from the PDCP PDU header at the PDCP layer. Fig.13As illustrated in , the PDU set information indicates at least: a packet number indicator (NPI) indicating the number of packets, a content policy indicator (CPI) indicating whether a content policy is included, a PDU set sequence number (SN), a last packet indicator (LPI), a PDU index, a content policy type indicator (CPT) indicating the type of content policy included, and PDU set reception information. In this example, if the PDU number field is included in the PDU set information, the NPI is equal to 1. If the PDU set reception information field is included, the CPI is equal to 1. The PDU set SN indicates the SN of the PDU set. If the PDU is the last PDU in the PDU set, the LPI is equal to 1. The PDU index is an index of a PDU within the PDU set, which indicates the total number of PDUs in the PDU set. If the PDU set reception information is based on the number of bytes, the CPT is equal to 1. If the PDU set reception information is based on the number of data packets, the CPT is equal to 0. When the CPT is equal to 1, the PDU set reception information field is 15 bits; and when the CPT is equal to 0, the PDU set reception information field is 7 bits.

[0153] In some aspects, the MAC layer may be the first layer where the PDU aggregation information is used at the receiver node, and thus the PDU aggregation information is added to the header at the MAC layer. Fig.14 As illustrated in , at the sender node, when the PDU set ancillary data packet arrives at the SDAP layer, the PDU set information is extracted from the GTP-U header associated with the PDU set ancillary data packet. The sender node can then use the cross-layer indication to pass the extracted PDU set information to the lower layer. In addition, then, at the MAC layer, the PDU set information is added to the MAC sub-PDU header. Fig.14 As further illustrated in , at the receiver node, the PDU aggregation information is extracted from the header of the MAC sub-PDU at the MAC layer. Then, the extracted PDU aggregation information is sent to one or more higher layers using a cross-layer indication.

[0154] like Fig.15As illustrated in , the PDU set information (e.g., in the MAC sub-PDU header) indicates at least an NPI, a PDU set reception information indicator (ARI), a PDU set SN, an LPI, a data packet index, a number of data packets, and PDU set reception information. In this example, if the PDU number field is included in the PDU set information, the NPI is equal to 1. If the PDU set reception information field is included, the ARI is equal to 1. The PDU set SN indicates the SN of the PDU set. If the data packet is the last data packet in the PDU set, the LPI is equal to 1. The PDU index is the index of the data packet within the PDU set (e.g., when the PDU index is generated by the XR application). The number of data packets corresponds to the total number of data packets in the PDU set. The PDU set reception information indicates the minimum number of data packets required for the receiver node to decode the PDU set.

[0155] In some aspects, PDCP procedures may be applied prior to aggregation of multiple data packets. For example, each SDAP PDU may be processed using PDCP procedures for sequence numbering, header compression, integrity protection, and / or encryption to form a sub-PDU (e.g., Fig.16 ). In some cases, the SN and Robust Header Compression (ROHC) fields in the sub-PDU may be optional (e.g., the SN and ROHC may be indicated by some flags in the header). In some cases, after adding the length field, the SDAP PDU is assembled into a sub-PDU (which may be the same as a regular PDCP PDU) along with other headers generated using the PDCP procedure. Fig.16 As further illustrated in , multiple sub-PDUs are assembled into a single PDCP PDU (e.g., including at least a PDCP header indicating an assigned SN for each PDCP PDU).

[0156] In some aspects, the PDCP procedure may be applied after aggregation of multiple data packets. For example, during application of the PDCP procedure, only the ROHC field is applied to the individual SDAP PDUs. Fig.17 As illustrated in FIG. 1 , after adding the length field, the SDAP PDU is assembled into a sub-PDU together with the ROHC header. Fig.17 As further illustrated in , multiple sub-PDUs are assembled into a single PDCP PDU (e.g., including at least a PDCP header indicating an assigned SN for each PDCP PDU and an integrity field such as a MAC). In certain aspects, the receiver node processes the PDCP PDU using PDCP procedures for header compression, integrity protection, and / or encryption.

[0157] In some aspects, the static and dynamic portions of the header associated with the data packet are separated. Each data packet forms the basis of a sub-PDU. The sub-PDU indicates the dynamic portion of the header (e.g., length, frame offset, lifetime, etc.). In some aspects, the receiver node maps all data packets in the multiple data packets to a single PDCP PDU. For example, Fig.18 , all sub-PDUs are grouped together and a common header (e.g., only static parts, such as source and destination addresses) are added to form a single PDCP PDU. In certain aspects, the receiver node may then process the PDCP PDU using PDCP procedures for sequence numbering, integrity protection, and / or ciphering (e.g., no ROHC is required). This process may reduce overhead because all sub-PDUs are grouped together and a common header is added.

[0158] In certain aspects, a network entity may configure via radio resource control (RRC) whether a DRB should perform aggregation of multiple data packets.

[0159] In certain aspects, when enabling a DRB to perform aggregation of multiple data packets based on RRC configuration, the network entity may RRC configure whether aggregation must be performed only within the same QoS flow, a configured subset of QoS flows, or all QoS flows in the same DRB. Each QoS flow may be identified based on its QFI, and a subset of QoS flows may be identified based on a QPI (e.g., a subset of the QFIs for a subset of QoS flows are mapped to the QPI).

[0160] In certain aspects, when the DRB is enabled to perform aggregation of multiple data packets based on the RRC configuration, the network entity may use the MAC CE to dynamically activate and deactivate aggregation of the multiple data packets.

[0161] In certain aspects, when DRB is enabled to perform aggregation of multiple data packets based on RRC configuration, the network entity may configure whether or how much buffering is allowed before aggregation of multiple data packets. If buffering is not configured, aggregation only applies to multiple data packets that arrive at the same time. If buffering is configured, the network entity may configure a delay threshold (e.g., after receiving an SDAP PDU, how long the receiver UE can buffer the SDAP PDU before aggregating the SDAP PDU with other SDAP PDUs).

[0162] Example Communication Device

[0163] Fig.19 Depicted are aspects of an example communications device 1900. In some examples, the communications device 1900 is a receiver node, such as described above with respect to Figure 1 and Figure 3UE 104 is described.

[0164] The communication device 1900 includes a processing system 1902 coupled to a transceiver 1908 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver). The transceiver 1908 is configured to transmit and receive signals (such as various signals as described herein) of the communication device 1900 via an antenna 1910. The processing system 1902 may be configured to perform processing functions of the communication device 1900, including processing signals received and / or to be transmitted by the communication device 1900.

[0165] The processing system 1902 includes one or more processors 1920. In various aspects, the one or more processors 1920 may represent one or more of the receive processor 358, the transmit processor 364, the TX MIMO processor 366, and / or the controller / processor 380, as described with respect to FIG. Figure 3 The one or more processors 1920 are coupled to the computer readable medium / memory 1930 via the bus 1906. In some aspects, the computer readable medium / memory 1930 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer executable code) that, when executed by the one or more processors 1920, cause the one or more processors 1920 to perform operations related to the computer readable medium / memory 1930. Figure 8 The described operations 800 or any aspects related thereto. It should be noted that reference to a processor performing a function of the communication device 1900 may include one or more processors performing that function of the communication device 1900.

[0166] In the depicted example, computer readable medium / memory 1930 stores: code (e.g., executable instructions) for receiving 1931, including code for receiving a plurality of data packets belonging to one or more protocol data unit (PDU) sets and an indication of a policy for a delivery procedure of one or more data packets in each PDU set to a higher layer; and code for delivering 1933, including code for delivering one or more data packets within the same PDU set to a higher layer according to the policy. Processing of code 1931-1933 may cause communication device 1900 to perform operations related to Figure 8 The described operations 800 or any aspect related thereto.

[0167] The one or more processors 1920 include circuits configured to implement (e.g., execute) code stored in a computer-readable medium / memory 1930, the circuits including: a circuit for receiving 1921, including a circuit for receiving a plurality of data packets belonging to one or more PDU sets and an indication of a policy for delivery procedures of one or more data packets in each PDU set to a higher layer; and a circuit for delivering 1923, including a circuit for delivering one or more data packets within the same PDU set to a higher layer according to the policy. Processing using circuits 1921-1923 may cause the communication device 1900 to perform operations related to Figure 8 The described operations 800 or any aspect related thereto.

[0168] The various components of the communication device 1900 may provide for performing Figure 8 The described operation 800 or any aspect related to the operation means. For example, the means for sending, transmitting or outputting for sending may include Figure 3 The transceiver 354 and / or antenna 352 of the UE 104 illustrated in FIG. 1 , and / or Fig.19 The transceiver 1908 and antenna 1910 of the communication device 1900 in FIG. 1 may include Figure 3 The transceiver 354 and / or antenna 352 of the UE 104 illustrated in FIG. 1 , and / or Fig.19 The transceiver 1908 and antenna 1910 of the communication device 1900.

[0169] Fig. 20 Depicted are aspects of an example communications device 2000. In some examples, the communications device 2000 is a transmitter node, such as described above with respect to Figure 1 and Figure 3 UE 104 is described.

[0170] The communication device 2000 includes a processing system 2002 coupled to a transceiver 2008 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver). The transceiver 2008 is configured to transmit and receive signals (such as various signals as described herein) of the communication device 2000 via an antenna 2010. The processing system 2002 may be configured to perform processing functions of the communication device 2000, including processing signals received and / or to be transmitted by the communication device 2000.

[0171] The processing system 2002 includes one or more processors 2020. In various aspects, the one or more processors 2020 may represent one or more of the receive processor 358, the transmit processor 364, the TX MIMO processor 366, and / or the controller / processor 380, as described with respect to FIG. Figure 3The one or more processors 2020 are coupled to the computer readable medium / memory 2030 via the bus 2006. In some aspects, the computer readable medium / memory 2030 is configured to store instructions (e.g., computer executable code) that, when executed by the one or more processors 2020, cause the one or more processors 2020 to perform operations related to the computer readable medium / memory 2030. Fig. 9 The described operations 900 or any aspects related thereto. It should be noted that reference to a processor performing a function of the communication device 2000 may include one or more processors performing that function of the communication device 2000.

[0172] In the depicted example, the computer-readable medium / memory 2030 stores: code (e.g., executable instructions) 2031 for receiving, including code for receiving one or more data packets of a plurality of data packets within the same PDU set, wherein the plurality of data packets belong to one or more PDU sets; and code 2033 for applying, including code for applying one or more identical processing procedures to the one or more data packets within the same PDU set. Processing of the codes 2031-2033 may cause the communication device 2000 to perform operations related to Fig. 9 The described operations 900 or any aspects related thereto.

[0173] The one or more processors 2020 include circuits configured to implement (e.g., execute) code stored in a computer-readable medium / memory 2030, the circuits including: a circuit 2021 for receiving, including a circuit for receiving one or more data packets in a plurality of data packets within the same PDU set, wherein the plurality of data packets belong to one or more PDU sets; and a circuit 2023 for applying, including a circuit for applying one or more identical processing procedures to the one or more data packets in the same PDU set. Processing using circuits 2021-2023 may cause the communication device 2000 to perform operations related to Fig. 9 The described operations 900 or any aspects related thereto.

[0174] The various components of the communication device 2000 may be used to perform Fig. 9 The described operation 900 or any aspect related to the operation means. For example, the means for sending, transmitting or outputting for sending may include Figure 3 The transceiver 354 and / or antenna 352 of the UE 104 illustrated in FIG. 1 , and / or Fig. 20 The transceiver 2008 and antenna 2010 of the communication device 2000 in FIG. 1 may include Figure 3 The transceiver 354 and / or antenna 352 of the UE 104 illustrated in FIG. 1 , and / or Fig. 20The transceiver 2008 and antenna 2010 of the communication device 2000.

[0175] Sample Clauses

[0176] Specific implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:

[0177] Clause 1: A method for wireless communication by a receiver node, the method comprising: receiving a plurality of data packets belonging to one or more protocol data unit (PDU) sets, and an indication of a policy indicating a delivery procedure for one or more data packets in each PDU set to a higher layer; and delivering the one or more data packets within the same PDU set to the higher layer in accordance with the policy.

[0178] Clause 2: A method, alone or in combination with clause 1: wherein the policy indicates a processing procedure for the one or more data packets in each PDU set; and according to the policy, the one or more data packets within the same PDU set are processed in the same manner.

[0179] Clause 3: The method, alone or in combination with the first clause, further comprising: mapping each data packet within the same set of protocol data units (PDUs) to a single packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) PDU.

[0180] Clause 4: The method, alone or in combination with the first clause, wherein the one or more PDU sets comprise at least one of: a Type A PDU set or a Type B PDU set.

[0181] Clause 5: A method alone or in combination with the first clause, wherein: the policy indicates the type of each PDU set in the one or more PDU sets; and based on the policy, it is determined whether the PDU set in the one or more PDU sets is a type A PDU set or a type B PDU set.

[0182] Clause 6: A method alone or in combination with clause 4, wherein when the PDU set among the one or more PDU sets is the type A PDU set: determining whether at least one of the one or more data packets within the type A PDU set is lost during the delivery to the higher layer or does not meet a deadline according to a quality of service (QoS) requirement associated with the type A PDU set; and when the at least one data packet is lost or does not meet the deadline according to the QoS requirement, determining that the remaining data packets of the one or more data packets within the type A PDU set are useless.

[0183] Clause 7: The method, alone or in combination with clause 4, further comprising: determining that reception of the type B PDU set is successful when at least a predetermined number of data packets or a certain number of bytes of the type B PDU set are received.

[0184] Clause 8: A method alone or in combination with Clause 4, the method further comprising: determining not to deliver multiple data packets of the same type A PDU set in a reordering buffer at a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity to the higher layer until all of the data packets of the same type A PDU set are received from the lower layer in the reordering buffer at the PDCP entity.

[0185] Clause 9: A method alone or in combination with Clause 4, the method further comprising: when any data packet in the type A PDU set or the type B PDU set reaches a packet delay budget (PDB) limit while in a reordering buffer at a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity, determining to discard all data packets in the same type A PDU set or the type BPDU set.

[0186] Clause 10: A method alone or in combination with clause 4, wherein the delivering further comprises delivering the type B PDU set to the higher layer when at least a certain number of data packets or a certain number of bytes are received in a reordering buffer at a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity according to the policy associated with the type B PDU set.

[0187] Clause 11: A method alone or in combination with the first clause, wherein the delivery further comprises: delivering the multiple data packets based on the one or more PDU sets when a data radio bearer (DRB) is configured for out-of-order delivery of the multiple data packets at a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity.

[0188] Clause 12: A method, alone or in combination with the first clause, further comprising: discarding all hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) buffers when at least one transport block (TB) including data associated with the same PDU set exceeds a preconfigured scheduling deadline.

[0189] Clause 13: The method, alone or in combination with the first clause, further comprising: when a data radio bearer (DRB) is configured with both a quality of service (QoS) profile identifier (QPI) and a PDU set, applying a QPI-based procedure for each PDU set.

[0190] Clause 14: A method, alone or in combination with the first clause, further comprising: extracting PDU set information associated with the one or more PDU sets from a General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol User Plane (GTP-U) extension header associated with each of the multiple data packets.

[0191] Clause 15: The method, alone or in combination with clause 14, wherein said PDU set information associated with said one or more PDU sets is sent between different layers of a user plane protocol stack using a cross-layer indication.

[0192] Clause 16: The method, alone or in combination with clause 14, wherein the PDU set information associated with the one or more PDU sets is added to a header of a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) data packet at a PDCP entity.

[0193] Clause 17: The method, alone or in combination with clause 1, wherein said receiving further comprises: receiving said plurality of data packets at a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer.

[0194] Clause 18: A method, alone or in combination with the first clause, wherein: a header of a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) data packet indicates at least PDU aggregation information, and the PDU aggregation information indicates at least one of the following: NPI, CPI, PDU aggregation sequence number (SN), LPI, PDU index, CPT or PDU aggregation reception information.

[0195] Clause 19: A method, alone or in combination with the first clause, further comprising: processing each data packet within the same PDU set using one or more Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) procedures for at least one of the following: sequence numbering, header compression, integrity protection, or encryption.

[0196] Clause 20: The method, alone or in combination with clause 19, wherein the header of each processed data packet within the same PDU set indicates a length field.

[0197] Clause 21: The method, alone or in combination with clause 20, further comprising: mapping all processed data packets within the same protocol data unit (PDU) set to a single PDCP PDU.

[0198] Clause 22: The method, alone or in combination with clause 1, wherein the header of each data packet within the same PDU set indicates a length field.

[0199] Clause 23: The method, alone or in combination with clause 22, further comprising: mapping all data packets within the same PDU set to a single Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) PDU set.

[0200] Clause 24: The method, alone or in combination with clause 23, further comprising: processing the set of PDCP PDUs using one or more PDCP procedures for at least header compression.

[0201] Clause 25: The method, alone or in combination with the first clause, further comprising: mapping all data packets of the plurality of data packets to a single Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) PDU set associated with a common header.

[0202] Clause 26: The method, alone or in combination with clause 25, wherein: said common header corresponds to a static portion of a header associated with a data packet, and said static portion of said header comprises at least a source address and a destination address.

[0203] Clause 27: The method, alone or in combination with clause 25, further comprising: processing the set of PDCP PDUs using one or more PDCP procedures for at least one of: sequence numbering, integrity protection, or ciphering.

[0204] Clause 28: A method, alone or in combination with the first clause, wherein the delivery further comprises: delivering the multiple data packets belonging to the one or more PDU sets when a data radio bearer (DRB) is configured for ordered delivery of the one or more PDU sets at a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity.

[0205] Clause 29: A method alone or in combination with Clause 28, wherein: the one or more PDU sets include a first PDU set and a second PDU set, and based on the ordered delivery of the one or more PDU sets, the second PDU set cannot be delivered to the higher layer until all data packets of the first PDU set are received.

[0206] Clause 30: The method, alone or in combination with clause 4, further comprising: discarding a radio link control (RLC) data packet in the type A PDU set at a RLC layer when the RLC data packet reaches a layer 2 (L2) deadline.

[0207] Clause 31: A method, alone or in combination with clause 30, wherein said discarding further triggers discarding of other data packets in said Type A PDU set in a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) or Medium Access Control (MAC) layer buffer.

[0208] Clause 32: The method, alone or in combination with clause 30, wherein said discarding further triggers sending of a status of said RLC data packet to a sender node.

[0209] Clause 33: A method, alone or in combination with clause 4, further comprising: determining that a MAC data packet is obsolete when a MAC sub-data packet associated with a MAC data packet in the type A PDU set at a medium access control (MAC) layer reaches a layer 2 (L2) deadline.

[0210] Clause 34: The method, alone or in combination with clause 33, further comprising: skipping any uplink grant for said MAC data packets which are out of date.

[0211] Clause 35: A method, alone or in combination with clause 33, wherein the determining further comprises triggering discarding of other data packets in the set of type A PDUs in a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) or radio link control (RLC) layer buffer.

[0212] Clause 36: The method, alone or in combination with the first clause, further comprising: extracting the PDU aggregation information from a header of a medium access control (MAC) sub-data packet at a MAC layer.

[0213] Clause 37: A method, alone or in combination with clause 36, further comprising: sending the extracted PDU set information to one or more higher layers using a cross-layer indication.

[0214] Clause 38: A method for wireless communication by a transmitter node, the method comprising: receiving one or more data packets from a plurality of data packets within a same protocol data unit (PDU) set, the plurality of data packets belonging to one or more PDU sets; and applying one or more identical processing procedures to the one or more data packets within the same PDU set.

[0215] Clause 39: The method, alone or in combination with clause 38, further comprising: determining whether the PDU set is a Type A PDU set or a Type B PDU set based on an indication received from a higher layer.

[0216] Clause 40: The method, alone or in combination with clause 38, wherein the one or more identical processing procedures correspond to procedures associated with at least a discard timer and a medium access control (MAC) layer enhancement.

[0217] Clause 41: The method, alone or in combination with clause 38, wherein PDU set information associated with the one or more PDU sets is added to a header of each data packet.

[0218] Clause 42: The method, alone or in combination with clause 38, wherein all data packets within the same PDU set are associated with a common discard timer.

[0219] Clause 43: The method, alone or in combination with clause 38, further comprising: routing all data packets within the same PDU set to the same uplink (UL) offload bearer.

[0220] Clause 44: A method alone or in combination with Clause 38, the method further comprising: discarding all data packets within the same PDU set when the radio link layer (RLC) receives an indication from a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity to discard the PDU set.

[0221] Clause 45: A method, alone or in combination with clause 38, further comprising: discarding all TBs in a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) buffer when at least one transport block (TB) including data associated with the same PDU set exceeds a preconfigured scheduling deadline.

[0222] Clause 46: A method, alone or in combination with clause 38, further comprising: adding the PDU aggregation information to a header of a medium access control (MAC) sub-data unit at a MAC layer.

[0223] Clause 47: A method alone or in combination with clause 46, wherein: the PDU set information indicates at least one of the following: NPI, ARI, PDU set sequence number (SN), LPI, data packet index, number of data packets or PDU set reception information.

[0224] Clause 48: A method, alone or in combination with clause 38, wherein the application further comprises: applying one or more radio link layer (RLC) procedures to the one or more data packets within the same PDU set at the RLC layer based on information associated with each individual data packet.

[0225] Clause 49: A method, alone or in combination with clause 48, further comprising discarding each individual data packet at the RLC layer based on the information associated with each individual data packet in accordance with the one or more RLC procedures.

[0226] Clause 50: An apparatus, the apparatus comprising: a memory including executable instructions; and a processor configured to execute the executable instructions and cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of clauses 1 to 49.

[0227] Clause 51: An apparatus comprising means for performing the method of any of clauses 1 to 49.

[0228] Clause 52: A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising executable instructions which, when executed by a processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of clauses 1 to 49.

[0229] Clause 53: A computer program product embodied on a computer readable storage medium, the computer program product comprising code for performing the method according to any of clauses 1 to 49.

[0230] Additional considerations

[0231] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. The examples discussed herein are not limited to the scope, applicability, or aspects set forth in the claims. Various modifications to these aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, the functions and arrangements of the elements discussed may be changed. Various examples may omit, replace, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For example, the described methods may be performed in a different order than the described order, and various actions may be added, omitted, or combined. In addition, the features described with respect to some examples may be combined in some other examples. For example, any number of aspects set forth herein may be used to implement a device or practice method. In addition, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to cover such devices or methods practiced using other structures, functions, or structures and functions other than the various aspects of the present disclosure set forth herein or different from the various aspects of the present disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of the claims.

[0232] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the present disclosure may be implemented or performed using a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device (PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be any commercially available processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, for example, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, a system on a chip (SoC), or any other such configuration.

[0233] As used herein, a phrase referring to "at least one of" a list of items refers to any combination of those items (including single members). As an example, "at least one of a, b, or c" is intended to cover: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, and abc, as well as any combination with multiple identical elements (e.g., aa, aaa, aab, aac, abb, acc, bb, bbb, bbc, cc, and ccc, or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

[0234] As used herein, the term "determining" encompasses a wide variety of actions. For example, "determining" may include calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, searching (e.g., searching in a table, a database, or another data structure), ascertaining, and the like. Moreover, "determining" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), and the like. In addition, "determining" may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, and the like.

[0235] The method disclosed herein includes one or more actions for implementing the method. The method actions may be interchangeable with each other without departing from the scope of the claims. In other words, unless a specific order of actions is specified, the order and / or use of specific actions may be modified without departing from the scope of the claims. In addition, the various operations of the method described above may be performed by any suitable component capable of performing the corresponding function. The component may include various hardware and / or software components and / or modules, including but not limited to circuits, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or processors.

[0236] The following claims are not intended to be limited to the various aspects shown herein, but should be given the full scope consistent with the language of the claims. Within the claims, unless explicitly stated, reference to an element in the singular form is not intended to mean "one and only one", but "one or more". Unless otherwise specifically stated, the term "some" refers to one or more. Any claim element is not interpreted according to the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112 (f) unless the element is explicitly stated using the phrase "parts for...". All structural and functional equivalents of the elements of the various aspects described throughout the present disclosure that are known or will be known later to a person of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims. In addition, regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly stated in the claims, anything disclosed herein is not intended to be disclosed to the public.

Claims

1. A receiver node configured for wireless communication, the receiver node comprising: a memory including computer executable instructions; and a processor configured to execute the computer executable instructions and cause the receiver node to: receiving a plurality of data packets belonging to one or more protocol data unit (PDU) sets and an indication of a policy indicating a delivery procedure to a higher layer for the one or more data packets in each PDU set; as well as The one or more data packets within the same PDU set are delivered to the higher layer according to the policy.

2. The receiver node according to claim 1, wherein: The policy indicates a processing procedure for the one or more data packets in each PDU set; and The processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to process the one or more data packets within the same PDU set in the same manner according to the policy.

3. The receiver node of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to map each data packet within the same set of protocol data units (PDUs) to a single packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) PDU. 4 . The receiver node of claim 1 , wherein the one or more PDU sets include at least one of: a Type A PDU set or a Type B PDU set.

5. The receiver node of claim 1 , wherein: The policy indicates a type of each of the one or more PDU sets; and The processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to determine whether a PDU set in the one or more PDU sets is a type A PDU set or a type B PDU set based on the policy.

6. The receiver node according to claim 4, wherein when the PDU set in the one or more PDU sets is the Type A PDU set: the processor being configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to determine whether at least one of the one or more data packets within the set of type A PDUs is lost during the delivery to the higher layer or does not meet a deadline according to a quality of service (QoS) requirement associated with the set of type A PDUs; and The processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to determine that remaining data packets of the one or more data packets within the type APDU set are useless when the at least one data packet is lost or does not meet the deadline according to the QoS requirement.

7. The receiver node of claim 4, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to determine that reception of the Type B PDU set is successful when at least a predetermined number of data packets or a certain number of bytes of the Type B PDU set are received.

8. The receiver node of claim 4, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to determine not to deliver multiple data packets of the same type A PDU set in a reordering buffer at a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) entity to the higher layer until all of the data packets of the same type A PDU set are received from a lower layer in the reordering buffer at the PDCP entity.

9. The receiver node of claim 4, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to determine to discard all data packets in the type A PDU set or the type B PDU set when any data packet in the same type A PDU set or the type B PDU set reaches a packet delay budget (PDB) limit while in a reordering buffer at a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity.

10. The receiver node of claim 4, wherein the delivering further comprises: The set of Type B PDUs is delivered to the higher layer when at least a certain number of data packets or a certain number of bytes are received in a reordering buffer at a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) entity according to the policy associated with the set of Type B PDUs.

11. The receiver node of claim 1 , wherein the delivering further comprises: The plurality of data packets are delivered based on the one or more PDU sets when a data radio bearer (DRB) is configured for out-of-order delivery of the plurality of data packets at a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity.

12. A receiver node according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to discard all hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) buffers when at least one transport block (TB) including data associated with the same PDU set exceeds a preconfigured scheduling deadline.

13. The receiver node of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to apply a Quality of Service (QoS) Profile Identifier (QPI)-based procedure for each PDU set when a data radio bearer (DRB) is configured with both a QPI and a PDU set.

14. A receiver node according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to extract PDU set information associated with the one or more PDU sets from a General Packet Radio Service Tunneling Protocol User Plane (GTP-U) extension header associated with each of the multiple data packets.

15. The receiver node of claim 14, wherein the PDU set information associated with the one or more PDU sets is sent between different layers of a user plane protocol stack using a cross-layer indication.

16. The receiver node of claim 14, wherein the PDU set information associated with the one or more PDU sets is added to a header of a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) data packet at a PDCP entity.

17. The receiver node of claim 1, wherein the receiving further comprises: The plurality of data packets are received at a Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer.

18. The receiver node of claim 1, wherein: The header of a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) data packet indicates at least PDU aggregation information, and The PDU set information indicates at least one of the following: NPI, CPI, PDU set sequence number (SN), LPI, PDU index, CPT or PDU set reception information.

19. A receiver node according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to process each data packet within the same PDU set using one or more Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) procedures for at least one of the following: sequence numbering, header compression, integrity protection, or encryption.

20. The receiver node according to claim 19, wherein the header of each processed data packet within the same PDU set indicates a length field.

21. The receiver node of claim 20, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to map all processed data packets within the same protocol data unit (PDU) set to a single PDCP PDU.

22. The receiver node of claim 1, wherein a header of each data packet within the same PDU set indicates a length field.

23. The receiver node of claim 22, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to map all data packets within the same PDU set to a single Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) PDU set.

24. The receiver node of claim 23, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to process the set of PDCP PDUs using one or more PDCP procedures for at least header compression.

25. The receiver node of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to map all of the plurality of data packets to a single Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) PDU set associated with a common header.

26. A receiver node according to claim 25, wherein: The common header corresponds to a static portion of a header associated with a data packet, and The static portion of the header includes at least a source address and a destination address.

27. The receiver node of claim 25, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to process the set of PDCP PDUs using one or more PDCP procedures for at least one of: sequence numbering, integrity protection, or ciphering.

28. The receiver node of claim 1, wherein the delivering further comprises: The plurality of data packets belonging to the one or more PDU sets are delivered when a data radio bearer (DRB) is configured for in-order delivery of the one or more PDU sets at a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity.

29. A receiver node according to claim 28, wherein: The one or more PDU sets include a first PDU set and a second PDU set, and Based on the in-order delivery of the one or more PDU sets, the second PDU set cannot be delivered to the higher layer until all data packets of the first PDU set are received.

30. The receiver node of claim 4, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to discard a radio link control (RLC) data packet in the type A PDU set at a radio link control (RLC) layer when the RLC data packet reaches a layer 2 (L2) deadline.

31. The receiver node of claim 30, wherein the discarding further triggers discarding of other data packets in the set of Type A PDUs in a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) or Medium Access Control (MAC) layer buffer.

32. The receiver node of claim 30, wherein the discarding further triggers the sending of the status of the RLC data packet to a sender node.

33. A receiver node according to claim 4, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to determine that the MAC data packet is out of date when a MAC sub-data packet associated with the MAC data packet in the type A PDU set at a medium access control (MAC) layer reaches a layer 2 (L2) deadline.

34. The receiver node of claim 33, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to skip any uplink grants for the MAC data packets that are out of date.

35. The receiver node of claim 33, wherein the determining further comprises: The discarding of other data packets in the type A PDU set in a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) or radio link control (RLC) layer buffer is triggered.

36. The receiver node of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to extract PDU aggregation information from a header of a medium access control (MAC) sub-data packet at a MAC layer.

37. The receiver node of claim 36, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the receiver node to send the extracted PDU aggregation information to one or more higher layers using a cross-layer indication.

38. A transmitter node configured for wireless communication, the transmitter node comprising: a memory including computer executable instructions; and a processor configured to execute the computer executable instructions and cause the sender node to: receiving one or more data packets from a plurality of data packets within a same protocol data unit (PDU) set, the plurality of data packets belonging to one or more PDU sets; as well as One or more same processing procedures are applied to the one or more data packets within the same PDU set.

39. The transmitter node of claim 38, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer executable instructions and further cause the transmitter node to determine whether the PDU set is a Type A PDU set or a Type BPDU set based on an indication received from a higher layer.

40. The transmitter node of claim 38, wherein the one or more identical processing procedures correspond to procedures associated with at least a discard timer and a medium access control (MAC) layer enhancement.

41. The transmitter node of claim 38, wherein PDU set information associated with the one or more PDU sets is added to a header of each data packet.

42. The sender node of claim 38, wherein all data packets within the same PDU set are associated with a common discard timer.

43. The transmitter node of claim 38, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the transmitter node to route all data packets within the same PDU set to the same uplink (UL) offload bearer.

44. The transmitter node of claim 38, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer executable instructions and further cause the transmitter node to discard all data packets within the same PDU set when a radio link layer (RLC) receives an indication from a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entity to discard the PDU set.

45. A transmitter node according to claim 38, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the transmitter node to discard all hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) buffers when at least one transport block (TB) including data associated with the same PDU set exceeds a preconfigured scheduling deadline.

46. ​​The transmitter node of claim 38, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions and further cause the transmitter node to add the PDU aggregation information to a header of a medium access control (MAC) sub-data unit at a MAC layer.

47. A sender node according to claim 46, wherein: The PDU set information indicates at least one of the following: NPI, ARI, PDU set sequence number (SN), LPI, data packet index, data packet number, or PDU set reception information.

48. The sender node of claim 38, wherein the application further comprises: Based on information associated with each individual data packet, one or more radio link layer (RLC) procedures are applied to the one or more data packets within the same PDU set at the RLC layer.

49. The transmitter node of claim 48, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer executable instructions and further cause the transmitter node to discard each individual data packet at the RLC layer based on the information associated with each individual data packet in accordance with the one or more RLC procedures.

50. A method for wireless communication by a transmitter node, the method comprising: receiving one or more data packets from a plurality of data packets within a same protocol data unit (PDU) set, the plurality of data packets belonging to one or more PDU sets; as well as One or more same processing procedures are applied to the one or more data packets within the same PDU set.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein all data packets within the same PDU set are associated with a common discard timer.

52. The method of claim 50, wherein the applying further comprises: Based on information associated with each individual data packet, one or more radio link layer (RLC) procedures are applied to the one or more data packets within the same PDU set at the RLC layer.

53. The method of claim 52, further comprising: Each individual data packet at the RLC layer is discarded based on the information associated with each individual data packet in accordance with the one or more RLC procedures.

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