Adaptive buffer status reporting

Abstract

A variable buffer status report configuration is transmitted from a wireless communication network node to a user equipment. The configuration may include one or more functions to compute a buffer status report indication indicating a metric related to a buffer of the user equipment or related to uplink traffic stored in the buffer of the user equipment, or calculates a table indicating metrics related to a buffer of the user equipment or related to uplink traffic stored in the buffer of the user equipment. The configuration may include a function to determine a precision variable that corresponds to a step size between different criteria or criterion functions that are used to determine the buffer status report indication. The size of the buffer status report indication may vary based on the indicated value. The user equipment may apply different reception configurations, or a function thereof, to determine a buffer status report indication based on different parameters, such as traffic type, traffic quality of service, buffer size, or amount of buffered uplink traffic.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. non-provisional patent application No. 17 / 975,988, filed on October 28, 2022, and entitled “ADAPTIVE BUFFER STATUS REPORTING,” the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Background Art

[0003] The term "New Radio" (NR), associated with the fifth generation mobile wireless communication system ("5G"), refers to technical aspects in a radio access network ("RAN") for wireless, which includes several quality of service (QoS) classes, including ultra-reliable low latency communications ("URLLC"), enhanced mobile broadband ("eMBB"), and massive machine type communications ("mMTC"). The URLLC QoS class is associated with strict latency requirements (e.g., low latency or low signal / message latency) and high reliability radio performance, while conventional eMBB use cases may be associated with high capacity wireless communications that may allow for less stringent latency requirements (e.g., higher latency than URLLC) and lower reliability radio performance than URLLC. The performance requirements for mMTC may be lower than those for the eMBB use case. Some use case applications involving mobile devices or mobile user equipment (such as smartphones, wireless tablets, smart watches, etc.) may impose varying loads or demands on given RAN resources. Summary of the invention

[0004] A simplified summary of the disclosed subject matter is presented below in order to provide a basic understanding of some of the various embodiments. This summary is not a broad overview of the various embodiments. It is neither intended to identify the key or important elements of the various embodiments nor to define the scope of the various embodiments. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the disclosure in a concise form to pave the way for the detailed description presented later.

[0005] In an example embodiment, a method includes: causing, by a radio access network node including a processor, to send a first variable buffer status reporting configuration to a first user equipment, the first variable buffer status reporting configuration may include one or more functions, one or more precision variables, or one or more precision variable values ​​(corresponding to one or more size ranges). The method may also include: causing receiving a first buffer status reporting indication, the first buffer status reporting indication indicating first uplink traffic data buffered in the first user equipment according to the first variable buffer status reporting configuration. The method may also include: allocating a first uplink resource based on the first buffer status reporting indication, the first uplink resource to be used by the first user equipment to send the first uplink traffic data. The method may also include: causing sending a first resource indication of the first uplink resource to the first user equipment; and monitoring the first uplink resource for the first uplink traffic data. The first buffer status reporting indication may be determined by the first user equipment based on applying a value corresponding to a determined metric of the first user equipment (such as, for example, an amount of buffered uplink traffic, a buffer size of the first user equipment, a traffic type of the buffered uplink traffic, or other metric) to a function of the variable buffer status reporting configuration. The first user equipment may use the first variable buffer status reporting configuration to determine a customized buffer status reporting configuration or a customized table with customized criteria to determine various metrics, such as buffer size, traffic size / volume, traffic type, device type, etc. Thus, the first user equipment may adjust the first variable buffer status configuration to current, real-time or existing conditions, traffic or metrics at the first user equipment. The same first buffer status reporting configuration may be used to cause the first user equipment to determine different determined buffer status reports or reporting indications for a given amount of buffered uplink traffic, depending on different metrics determined by the first user equipment or changes in parameter values ​​belonging to the first user equipment.

[0006] The first variable buffer status reporting configuration may include at least a first index function of a first precision variable, wherein the first variable buffer status reporting configuration includes a first buffer status criterion function corresponding to the first index function, and wherein the first buffer status criterion function includes the first precision variable. The first precision variable may include a step size variable, and the first variable buffer status reporting configuration may include a different value specific to the first user equipment to replace the first precision variable based on a metric determined by the first user equipment.

[0007] The first precision variable may include the first data amount.For example, the first variable buffer status report configuration may include a step value for the first precision variable in a function of the buffer status report configuration based on the traffic size determined at the first user equipment.

[0008] The first variable buffer status reporting configuration may include at least a second index function of a second precision variable, wherein the first variable buffer status reporting configuration includes a second buffer status criterion function corresponding to the second index function. The second buffer status criterion function may include a second precision variable, wherein the second precision variable includes a second data amount (e.g., a value for a second range or second type of buffered uplink traffic). The first precision variable may be associated with a first buffered traffic size range in the first variable buffer status reporting configuration. In addition, the second precision variable may be associated with a second buffered traffic size range in the first variable buffer status reporting configuration.

[0009] The example embodiment method may also include: causing, by the radio access network node, sending a second variable buffer status reporting configuration to the first user equipment. The example method may also include: causing receiving a second buffer status reporting indication corresponding to the first user equipment, the second buffer status reporting indication indicating second uplink traffic data buffered in the first user equipment according to the second variable buffer status reporting configuration. The example method may also include: allocating a second uplink resource based on the second buffer status reporting indication, the second uplink resource to be used by the first user equipment to send the second uplink traffic data. The example method may also include: causing sending a second resource indication for the second uplink resource to the first user equipment. The example method may also include: monitoring the second uplink resource for the second uplink traffic data sent by the first user equipment. The first variable buffer status reporting configuration corresponds to a first type of traffic, and the second variable buffer status reporting configuration corresponds to a second type of traffic. Therefore, the UE may determine the first buffer status reporting indication for the first type of uplink buffered traffic using the first variable buffer status reporting configuration, and the UE may determine the second buffer status reporting indication for the second type of uplink buffered traffic using the second variable buffer status reporting configuration. The second variable buffer status reporting configuration may include a second index, which includes a second index function of a second precision variable, wherein the second variable buffer status reporting configuration includes a second buffer status criterion function corresponding to the second index function, and the second buffer status criterion function includes a second precision variable.

[0010] The first precision variable corresponds to a first type of traffic, and the second precision variable may correspond to a second type of traffic. The first type of traffic may correspond to a first quality of service, and the second type of traffic corresponds to a second quality of service.

[0011] The first buffer status report indication may include a first index value (the first user equipment may calculate, derive or otherwise determine the first index value by determining a metric of the user equipment and applying the metric to the first buffer status report configuration or a function contained therein), and allocating the first uplink resource may include: determining, by the radio access network node, the first uplink resource based on the first index value. The first uplink resource may include one or more timing opportunities, or one or more frequencies, to be used by the first user equipment to send buffered uplink traffic corresponding to the first buffer status report indication.

[0012] The example embodiment method may further include: causing, by the radio access network node, sending a second variable buffer status reporting configuration to the second user equipment, wherein the second variable buffer status reporting configuration is different from the first variable buffer status reporting configuration. Therefore, different user equipments may receive different variable buffer status reporting configurations.

[0013] An example embodiment system may include a computer executable component of a communication network node, the computer executable component including a processor, the processor configured to: send a first variable buffer status index function to a user equipment, and receive a first buffer status report indication, the first buffer status report indication corresponding to the user equipment and indicating first uplink traffic data buffered at the user equipment (the first buffer status report indication may be generated by the user equipment based on the first variable buffer status index function). The processor may be configured to: allocate a first scheduled uplink time resource based on the first buffer status report indication, which is to be used by the user equipment to send the first uplink traffic data. The processor may be configured to: send a first resource indication for the first scheduled uplink time resource to the user equipment, and monitor the first scheduled uplink time resource for the first uplink traffic data sent by the user equipment.

[0014] The first variable buffer status index function includes at least one of a first precision variable or a first boundary variable, wherein the first variable buffer status index function includes a first buffer status criterion function corresponding to the first index function, wherein the first buffer status criterion function includes at least one of the first precision variable or the first boundary variable, wherein the first precision variable corresponds to a first buffer data amount range, wherein the first variable buffer status index function includes at least a second precision variable or a second boundary variable, wherein the first variable buffer status index function includes a second buffer status criterion function corresponding to the second index function, wherein the second buffer status criterion function includes at least one of the second precision variable or the second boundary variable, and wherein the second precision variable corresponds to a second buffer data amount range.

[0015] The processor of the computer executable component of the communication network node can also be configured to: allocate a first buffer status report indication resource size, which is to be used by the user equipment to send the first buffer status report indication, wherein the first buffer status report indication resource size is based on a first precision variable, or allocate a second size buffer status report indication resource size, which is to be used by the user equipment to send the first buffer status report indication, wherein the second size buffer status report indication resource size is based on a second precision variable.

[0016] The processor of the example embodiment system may also be configured to: send a second variable buffer status index function, and receive a second buffer status report indication, the second buffer status report indication corresponding to the user equipment and indicating the second uplink traffic data buffered in the user equipment (the second buffer status report indication may be generated by the user equipment based on the second variable buffer status index function). The processor may be configured to: allocate a second scheduled uplink time resource based on the second buffer status report indication, which is to be used by the user equipment to send the second uplink traffic data. The processor may be configured to: send a second resource indication for the second scheduled uplink time resource to the user equipment. The processor may be configured to: monitor the second scheduled uplink time resource for the second uplink traffic data sent by the user equipment, wherein the first variable buffer status index function corresponds to the first type of traffic, and the second variable buffer status index function corresponds to the second type of traffic. The first variable buffer status index function may include a first index function of a first precision variable, and the first variable buffer status index function includes a first buffer status criterion function corresponding to the first index function. The second variable buffer status index function may include a second index function of a second precision variable, and the second variable buffer status index function includes a second buffer status criterion function corresponding to the second index function. Additionally, a first precision variable may correspond to a first type of flow and a second precision variable may correspond to a second type of flow.

[0017] In an example embodiment, a non-transitory machine-readable medium may include executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a node of a communication network, cause the following operations to be performed, the operations including: sending a first variable buffer status reporting configuration to a first user equipment, and receiving a first buffer status reporting indication from the first user equipment, the first buffer status reporting indication indicating first uplink traffic data buffered in the first user equipment according to the first variable buffer status reporting configuration. The operations may include: allocating a first uplink time resource and a first uplink frequency resource based on the first buffer status reporting indication, which is to be used by the first user equipment to send the first uplink traffic data. The operations may include: sending a first resource indication of the first uplink time resource and the first uplink frequency resource to the first user equipment. The operations may also include: monitoring the first uplink time resource and the first uplink frequency resource used for the first uplink traffic data sent by the first user equipment.

[0018] In an embodiment, the operation may further include: sending a second variable buffer status report configuration to the first user equipment, and receiving a second buffer status report indication corresponding to the first user equipment, the second buffer status report indication indicating the second uplink traffic data buffered in the first user equipment according to the second variable buffer status report configuration. The operation may include: allocating a second uplink time resource and a second uplink frequency resource based on the second buffer status report indication, which is to be used by the first user equipment to send the second uplink traffic data. The operation may include: sending a second resource indication for the second uplink time resource and the second uplink frequency resource to the first user equipment. The operation may also include: monitoring the second uplink time resource and the second uplink frequency resource for the second uplink traffic data from the first user equipment.

[0019] In an embodiment, the operation may further include: sending a third variable buffer status report configuration to the second user equipment, wherein the third variable buffer status report configuration is different from the first variable buffer status report configuration or the second variable buffer status report configuration. The first variable buffer status report configuration includes a first precision variable, and the third variable buffer status report configuration includes a third precision variable. In addition, the first precision variable and the third precision variable may correspond to a first device category of the first user equipment and a second device category of the second user equipment, respectively. The operation may further include: allocating a first size uplink resource, which is to be used by the first user equipment to send a first buffer status report indication, wherein the size uplink resource is based on the first precision variable. The operation may further include: allocating a second size uplink resource, which is to be used by the second user equipment to send a third buffer status report indication, wherein the second size uplink resource is based on the third precision variable.

[0020] From the perspective of a user equipment, another example embodiment may include: causing, by a user equipment including a processor, receiving a first variable buffer status report configuration function from a radio access network node; generating, by the user equipment, a first buffer status report indication according to the first variable buffer status report configuration function, the first buffer status report indication corresponding to a first uplink traffic portion (e.g., packets of a first uplink traffic flow) buffered in a first memory portion of the user equipment. The example method may include: causing, by the user equipment, sending the first buffer status report indication to the radio access network node. The example method may include: causing, by the user equipment, receiving a first resource indication for a first uplink resource from the radio access network node, the first uplink resource being allocated by the radio access network node based on the first buffer status report indication. The example method may also include: causing, by the user equipment, sending the first uplink traffic portion to the radio access network node using the first uplink resource.

[0021] In an embodiment, the first variable buffer status report configuration function may include one or more index functions of a first precision variable, and the first variable buffer status report configuration function may include one or more buffer status criterion functions corresponding to the one or more index functions, wherein at least one of the one or more buffer status criterion functions includes the first precision variable. The example embodiment method may also include: analyzing, by the user equipment, the first uplink traffic portion according to the one or more buffer status criterion functions to obtain an analyzed first uplink traffic portion value. The example method may include: determining, by the user equipment, a determined index function of the one or more index functions based on the analyzed first uplink traffic portion value. The example method may also include: determining, by the user equipment, a first index value corresponding to the first uplink traffic portion based on the determined index function, wherein the first buffer status report indication includes the first index value. The first precision variable may include a configured data amount, or may be replaced by a configured data amount, such as a step size in bytes.

[0022] An example method embodiment centric to a user equipment may further include: causing, by the user equipment, receiving a second variable buffer status report configuration function from a radio access network node. The example method may include: causing, by the user equipment, generating a second buffer status report indication according to the second variable buffer status report configuration function, the second buffer status report indication corresponding to a second uplink traffic portion buffered in a second memory portion of the user equipment. The example method may include: causing, by the user equipment, sending the second buffer status report indication to the radio access network node. The example method may include: causing, by the user equipment, receiving a second resource indication for a second uplink resource from the radio access network node, the second uplink resource being allocated by the radio access network node based on the second buffer status report indication. The example method may further include: causing, by the user equipment, sending the second uplink traffic portion to the radio access network node using the second uplink resource.

[0023] The first precision variable may correspond to a first uplink traffic type of the first uplink traffic portion, and the second precision variable may correspond to a second uplink traffic type of the second uplink traffic portion. The user equipment may determine the first uplink traffic type and associate the first precision variable or a value corresponding thereto with the first uplink traffic type, and the user equipment may determine the second uplink traffic type and associate the second precision variable or a value corresponding thereto with the second uplink traffic type. The first uplink traffic type may correspond to a configured first quality of service, and the second uplink traffic type may correspond to a configured second quality of service. The first uplink traffic type may correspond to a determined first quality of service, and the second uplink traffic type may correspond to a determined second quality of service, wherein the user equipment analyzes the first uplink traffic type and the second uplink traffic type to determine their respective qualities of service.

[0024] The first index value may be generated based on the first precision variable or based on a value associated therewith in the first buffer status report configuration function. The second buffer status report indication may include a second index value, and the second index value may be generated based on the second precision variable or based on a value associated therewith in the first buffer status report configuration function.

[0025] In another example embodiment, a user equipment may include a processor configured to: receive a first variable buffer status reporting configuration from a radio access network node; generate a first buffer status reporting indication according to the first variable buffer status reporting configuration, the first buffer status reporting indication corresponding to a first uplink traffic portion buffered in a first memory portion of the user equipment. The processor may be configured to: send the first buffer status reporting indication to the radio access network node; receive a first resource indication for a first uplink resource from the radio access network node, the first uplink resource being allocated by the radio access network node based on the first buffer status reporting indication. The processor may also be configured to: send the first uplink traffic portion to the radio access network node using the first uplink resource.

[0026] The first variable buffer status report configuration may include one or more indexes, the index including one or more corresponding index functions of at least one of a first precision variable or a first boundary variable, wherein the first variable buffer status report configuration may include one or more buffer status criterion functions corresponding to the one or more index functions. In this regard, at least one of the buffer status criterion functions may include at least one of the first precision variable or the first boundary variable. The processor may also be configured to: analyze the first uplink traffic portion according to the one or more buffer status criterion functions to obtain an analyzed first uplink traffic portion value, and determine a determined index function in the one or more index functions based on the analyzed first uplink traffic portion value. The processor may also be configured to: determine a first index value corresponding to the first uplink traffic portion based on the determined index function, wherein the first buffer status report indication includes the first index value, and wherein the first precision variable includes the amount of data.

[0027] The data amount of the first precision variable may correspond to the memory size of the first memory portion. The data amount of the first precision variable corresponds to the traffic size of the first uplink traffic portion buffered in the first memory portion.

[0028] The processor of the user equipment is further configured to: receive a second variable buffer status reporting configuration from the radio access network node, and generate a second buffer status reporting indication according to the second variable buffer status reporting configuration, the second buffer status reporting indication corresponding to the second uplink traffic portion buffered in the second memory portion of the user equipment. The processor may also be configured to: send the second buffer status reporting indication to the radio access network node, and receive a second resource indication for a second uplink resource from the radio access network node, the second uplink resource being allocated by the radio access network node based on the second buffer status reporting indication. In addition, the processor may be configured to: send the second uplink traffic portion to the radio access network node using the second uplink resource, wherein the first precision variable corresponds to the first uplink traffic type, and the second precision variable corresponds to the second uplink traffic type. The first uplink traffic type may correspond to a first quality of service, and the second uplink traffic type may correspond to a second quality of service. The first index value may be generated based on the determined index function and the first precision variable or the first boundary variable. Additionally, the second index value may be generated based on a second index function of the second buffer status report configuration and a second precision variable or a second boundary variable of the second variable buffer status report configuration.

[0029] In an embodiment, the data amount of the first precision variable may correspond to the traffic size of the first uplink traffic portion buffered in the first memory portion.

[0030] In another embodiment, a non-transitory machine-readable medium includes executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a user equipment, cause the following operations to be performed, the operations comprising: receiving a variable buffer status reporting configuration from a radio access network node, the variable buffer status reporting configuration comprising a first index function and a second index function, a first buffer status criterion function corresponding to the first index function, and a second buffer status criterion function corresponding to the second index function; generating a first buffer status reporting indication according to the variable buffer status reporting configuration, the first buffer status reporting indication corresponding to a first uplink traffic portion buffered in a memory of the user equipment. The operation may also include: sending the first buffer status reporting indication to the radio access network node. The operation may also include: receiving a first resource indication for a first uplink resource from the radio access network node, the first uplink resource being allocated by the radio access network node based on the first buffer status reporting indication. The operation may also include: sending the first uplink traffic portion to the radio access network node using the first uplink resource.

[0031] The first buffer status criterion function or the first index function may include at least one of a first precision variable or a first boundary variable, and wherein the second buffer status criterion function or the second index function may include at least one of a second precision variable or a second boundary variable.

[0032] The first buffer status report indication may be generated according to a first index function based on a first uplink traffic portion having a traffic portion size corresponding to the first precision variable or a configuration value corresponding to the first precision variable.

[0033] The first buffer status report indication may be generated based on a first uplink traffic portion according to a second index function, the first uplink traffic portion having a traffic portion size corresponding to a second precision variable.

[0034] The operation may also include: generating a second buffer status report indication according to the variable buffer status report configuration, the second buffer status report indication corresponding to the second uplink traffic portion buffered in the memory of the user equipment. The operation may also include: sending the second buffer status report indication to the radio access network node, and receiving a second resource indication for a second uplink resource from the radio access network node, the second uplink resource being allocated by the radio access network node based on the second buffer status report indication. The operation may also include: sending the second uplink traffic portion to the radio access network node using the second uplink resource. The first uplink traffic portion may correspond to a first type of traffic, the second uplink traffic portion may correspond to a second type of traffic, the first precision variable or a configuration value associated therewith may correspond to the first type of traffic, and the second precision variable or a configuration value associated therewith may correspond to the second type of traffic. In addition, the first buffer status report indication may be generated according to the first index function and the first buffer status criterion function, and the second buffer status report indication may be generated according to the second index function and the second buffer status criterion function. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Figure 1 A wireless communication system environment is shown.

[0036] Figure 2 An example virtual reality device is shown.

[0037] Figure 3A An example variable buffer status reporting configuration is shown.

[0038] Figure 3B An example table determined according to a variable buffer status reporting configuration is shown.

[0039] Figure 4A timing diagram of an example method embodiment for configuring and using a variable buffer status reporting configuration is shown.

[0040] Figure 5 A flow-specific variable buffer status reporting configuration of an example embodiment is shown.

[0041] Figure 6 An aggregated buffer status reporting format indication of an example embodiment is shown which indicates one or more buffer status reporting indication sizes of corresponding one or more buffer status reporting indications determined by a user equipment based on a buffered flow and a variable buffer status reporting configuration.

[0042] Figure 7 A timing diagram of an example method to configure a UE to use a traffic-specific or device-type-specific variable buffer status reporting configuration is shown.

[0043] Figure 8 A flow chart of an example method for configuring a UE to use a variable buffer status reporting configuration is shown.

[0044] Fig. 9 A block diagram of an example method is shown.

[0045] Fig.10 A block diagram of an example user device is shown.

[0046] Fig.11 A block diagram of an example non-transitory machine-readable medium is shown.

[0047] Fig.12 A block diagram of an example method is shown.

[0048] Fig.13 A block diagram of an example user device is shown.

[0049] Fig.14 A block diagram of an example non-transitory machine-readable medium is shown.

[0050] Fig.15 An example computer environment is shown.

[0051] Fig.16 A block diagram of an example wireless UE is shown.

[0052] Fig.17A A user equipment is shown having a memory buffering uplink traffic of a first type.

[0053] Fig. 17B A user equipment is shown having a memory buffering uplink traffic of a second type.

[0054] Fig. 17CA user equipment having a memory buffering a first type of uplink traffic and a memory buffering a second type of uplink traffic is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] As a prerequisite, those skilled in the art will be able to understand that the embodiments presented have wide practicality and applicability. In addition to the embodiments described herein, many methods, embodiments and adaptations of the present application and many changes, modifications and equivalent arrangements will be obvious or reasonably inspired from the essence or scope of the various embodiments of the present application.

[0056] Therefore, although the present application has described in detail the contents related to various embodiments, it should be understood that the present disclosure exemplarily illustrates one or more concepts expressed by various exemplary embodiments, and is intended only to provide a complete and instructive disclosure. The following disclosure is not intended to and should not be interpreted as limiting the present application or excluding any other embodiments, adaptations, changes, modifications and equivalent arrangements in any way, and the embodiments described herein are only limited by the attached claims and their equivalents.

[0057] As used in the present disclosure, in some embodiments, the terms "component", "system", etc. are intended to refer to or include an entity related to a computer or an entity related to an operating device having one or more specific functions, where the entity can be hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software being executed. As an example, a component can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, an execution thread, a computer executable instruction, a program, and / or a computer. By way of example only and not limitation, both an application running on a server and a server can be a component.

[0058] One or more components may reside within a process and / or execution thread, and the components may be localized on a computer or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components may be executed by various computer-readable media having various data structures stored thereon. Components may communicate via local and / or remote processes, such as by signals carrying one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, a distributed system, and / or with other systems across a network (such as the Internet) via signals). As another example, a component may be a device having a specific function, the specific function being provided by a mechanical component, the mechanical component being operated by an electrical or electronic circuit system, the electrical or electronic circuit system being operated by a software application or firmware application executed by a processor, wherein the processor may be inside or outside the device, and at least executes part of the software or firmware application. As yet another example, a component may be a device providing a specific function by an electronic component (without a mechanical component), the electronic component wherein may include a processor to execute software or firmware (at least partially endowing the function of the electronic component). Although various components are illustrated as separate components, it should be understood that multiple components may be implemented as a single component, or a single component may be implemented as multiple components, without departing from the spirit of the example embodiments.

[0059] The term "cause" as used herein is to "cause" one or more actions or operations in the context of a system, device, or component, and is related to the nature of a complex computing environment (in which multiple components and / or multiple devices can participate in some computing operations). For example, non-limiting examples of actions that may or may not involve multiple components and / or multiple devices include: sending or receiving data, establishing a connection between devices, determining an intermediate result to obtain a result, etc. In this regard, a computing device or component can cause the operation by playing any role in completing the operation. Therefore, when the operation of a component is described herein, it should be understood that in the scenario where the component causes the operation, the operation can be selectively completed with the cooperation of one or more other computing devices or components (such as but not limited to sensors, antennas, audio and / or visual output devices, other devices, etc.).

[0060] In addition, various embodiments can be implemented as methods, devices or products using standard programming and / or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware or any combination thereof to control the computer to implement the disclosed subject matter. The term "product" as used herein is intended to cover a computer program that can be accessed from any computer-readable (or machine-readable) device or computer-readable (or machine-readable) storage / communication medium. For example, a computer-readable storage medium can include, but is not limited to, a magnetic storage device (e.g., a hard disk, a floppy disk, a magnetic strip), an optical disk (e.g., a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD)), a smart card, and a flash memory device (e.g., a card, a stick, a USB flash drive). Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications can be made to this configuration without departing from the scope or spirit of the various embodiments.

[0061] The PDCCH of the 5G NR system can deliver downlink and uplink control information to cellular devices. Compared with the control channel design of the fourth generation (e.g., LTE), the 5G control channel is able to match the requirements of URLLC and eMBB use cases and can provide effective coexistence between these different QoS classes.

[0062] Unlike the fourth generation control channel, the 5G PDCCH channel can be beamformed using the preferred channel vector of each UE and embedded with a demodulation-aided demodulation reference signal (DMRS). The PDCCH can be modulated using a fixed QPSK modulation scheme and a conservative coding rate to maximize the reliability of receiving the PDCCH channel at the UE device. For example, in order to meet the reliability level of URLLC 10e-5, the PDCCH channel decoding capability can be enhanced at the device end.

[0063] The resource size of each PDCCH channel, which may carry downlink control information ("DCI") for one or more UEs, may be time-varying and may be referred to as the PDCCH aggregation level. In particular, to enhance PDCCH decoding, the network may increase the resource size of the PDCCH channel and correspondingly adopt a more conservative and less resource-efficient PDCCH coding rate. This means that the same amount of PDCCH control information is transmitted at the expense of consuming more channel resources to transmit the PDCCH information, with a stronger coding rate (i.e., more redundant bits for error detection and correction).

[0064] There are two types of PDCCH channels. The first is the UE-specific PDCCH, where a set of channel resources is monitored regularly by a single UE / device. Once configured, the device will attempt to blindly decode these candidate resources in case they could potentially carry DCI information. This DCI information includes the scheduled uplink or downlink grant, the transmission configuration, and information about common system signaling and updates. In addition, blind decoding is the process by which the UE attempts to decode the DCI using all possible transmission configurations and aggregation levels. This means that a lot of power will be consumed on the device side; however, this is necessary because the UE does not yet know the actual configuration of the PDCCH channel and the corresponding transmission. After successfully decoding the PDCCH, it will understand these configurations. In active mode, the UE can monitor one or more configured PDCCH search spaces, where the search space means a set of candidate resources that can carry PDCCH / DCI information. The search space definition can be used to refer to PDCCH channels of different sizes (i.e. aggregation levels), and therefore, the size of the resources required to carry the PDCCH can vary.

[0065] All UEs monitor the common PDCCH search space. These common PDCCH channels typically carry DCI information relevant to all devices. Examples include system update and control information, full UE power control information, and general system information.

[0066] For each scheduled downlink or uplink transmission, there is usually a preceding PDCCH control transmission that informs the UE device of the resources scheduled by the network for that transmission, as well as the transmission configuration for uplink transmission or downlink reception. Therefore, PDCCH transmissions are considered signaling overhead and should always be minimized, but are necessary for successful device transmission and / or reception.

[0067] As an example use case (illustrating example embodiments disclosed herein), virtual reality ("VR") applications and VR variants (e.g., mixed and augmented reality) may perform best during certain periods when using NR radio resources associated with URLLC, while at other times, lower performance levels may be sufficient. Virtual reality smart glasses devices may consume NR radio resources at a given wideband data rate with more stringent radio latency and reliability criteria to provide a satisfactory end-user experience.

[0068] 5G systems should support “any reality” (“XR”) services. XR services may include VR applications, which are a widely adopted XR application that provides an immersive environment (which can stimulate the end user’s senses to make them feel “tricked” into being in an environment different from their actual environment). XR services may include augmented reality (“AR”) applications, which can enhance the real-world environment by providing additional virtual world elements via the user’s senses (focusing on real-world elements in the user’s actual surroundings). XR services may include mixed reality (“MR”) applications, which help merge or bring the virtual and real worlds together, enabling end users of XR services to interact with elements of their real environment and the virtual environment simultaneously.

[0069] Different XR use cases can be associated with certain radio performance targets. XR use cases, unlike URLLC or eMBB, typically require high-capacity links (with stringent radio and reliability levels) for a satisfactory end-user experience. For example, compared to a 5Mbps URLLC link with a 1ms radio budget, some XR applications require a 100Mbps link with an allowed radio latency of several milliseconds. Therefore, 5G radio design and related procedures may adapt to the new XR QoS classes and related targets.

[0070] Traffic with certain characteristics related to XR services can promote XR services. For example, XR traffic is often periodic, with packet sizes and packet arrival rates that vary over time. In addition, different packet traffic flows for a single XR session may have different effects on the end-user experience. For example, smart glasses that are streaming 180-degree high-resolution frames may use most of the capacity of a broadband service to satisfy the user experience. However, frames that will be presented to the user's posture direction (e.g., the front direction) are critical to the end user's satisfactory user experience, while frames that will be presented to the user's peripheral vision have less impact on the user experience, so the frame can be associated with a lower QoS requirement for transmitting traffic packets than the QoS requirement for transmitting the posture direction traffic flow. Therefore, stream differentiation that prioritizes some streams or some packets in an XR session over other streams or packets can help to effectively utilize the capacity of the communication system to deliver traffic. In addition, XR-enabled devices (e.g., smart glasses, projection wearable devices, etc.) may be more power-constrained than conventional mobile handheld devices due to the limited form factor of the device. Therefore, technologies that maximize energy-saving operation at XR-enabled devices are highly desirable. Therefore, the traffic flow of a user device or XR session accessing an XR service can be associated with certain QoS indicators to meet the performance goals of the XR service in terms of perceived data rate or end-to-end latency and reliability.

[0071] A user equipment ("UE") having uplink traffic to be transmitted may transmit an uplink scheduling request ("SR") via an uplink control channel between the user equipment and a radio access network node ("RAN") serving the UE after establishing an initial connection with the network RAN. The SR transmission indicates important information to the RAN node, such as the availability of uplink traffic on the device side, so that the RAN can allocate a set of available uplink resources appropriate to the UE accordingly for transmitting the uplink traffic from the UE. However, the network / RAN needs to understand the size or amount of uplink traffic to be transmitted by the UE in order to allocate an appropriate amount of uplink resources (e.g., uplink transmission opportunities scheduled with a certain periodicity and at a certain frequency or within a certain frequency range). A buffer status report ("BSR") transmitted from the UE to the RAN may convey to the RAN the amount of traffic to be transmitted by the UE.

[0072] Typically, a BSR report is transmitted from a UE device to a serving base station (e.g., RAN), which includes information indicating the size or amount of uplink traffic buffered at the device. Reporting the buffer status from the device to the serving cell is important because the BSR report indicates to the serving RAN the size of uplink traffic currently buffered by each device, so the network can efficiently allocate uplink resources of appropriate size for these uplink traffic transmissions. In order to reduce the overhead of BSR reporting (because each uplink transmission needs to be reported), several buffered traffic size ranges are defined, where each range is associated with a BSR integer index. Therefore, a device can only transmit the BSR index corresponding to the traffic range in which its buffered traffic size lies.

[0073] In order to reduce the amount of BSR reporting overhead (e.g., uplink resources used for buffer status reporting instead of for transmitting actual uplink traffic packets), the exact size of the buffered uplink traffic is quantized into several predefined / configured size ranges and / or levels. Therefore, a table of predefined BSR size ranges and related BSR indices is defined and configured in the UE device, where each BSR index corresponds to a certain BSR range (e.g., a certain size or amount of buffered uplink traffic (e.g., in bytes)).

[0074] However, the problem is the quantization step size (represented by the BSR index) between two consecutive buffered traffic size ranges. The step size can be predefined and hard-coded in a fixed BSR table that is broadcast to all devices, where the step size is non-uniform. That is, a smaller fixed step size is used for a smaller buffered traffic range, and a larger step size is used for a larger traffic range. For example, a single BSR index can indicate a buffered traffic range from 240k bytes to 300k bytes.

[0075] The spacing between different quantization levels is typically non-uniform and predefined. For example, a smaller quantization step size is used for a range of smaller amounts of buffered uplink traffic, while a larger step size is used for a range of larger amounts of buffered uplink traffic. Therefore, a conventional BSR report only includes an index into a table corresponding to the current uplink traffic size, which typically results in a reduction in reporting overhead because the index value may include fewer bytes to be transmitted in the uplink report message (compared to the number of bytes available for transmitting the value of the actual size of the buffered uplink traffic).

[0076] However, due to the low resolution / precision / coarseness when using a large, defined and configured step size value for a large amount of buffered uplink traffic at the UE, a RAN receiving a BSR based on a hard-coded range in a table stored on the UE may result in the RAN allocating sufficient uplink resources to accommodate the amount of uplink traffic buffered in the UE at the maximum value of the range, even though the actual amount of buffered uplink traffic is at or close to the low end of the configured hard-coded range associated with the BSR indication sent from the UE to the RAN. For 5G use cases with extremely high capacity and latency requirements (such as URLLC, VR, AR, etc.), this may result in increased scheduling delays and reduced network capacity. Since the network / RAN does not have knowledge of the fine / near accurate buffered traffic size of the UE device, the RAN may allocate more resources than required, or in some cases less than required, for the buffered uplink traffic. As a result, this results in allocating uplink resources for non-existent uplink traffic, or scheduling multiple transmission times for the transmission of buffered uplink traffic (which requires additional scheduling delays), resulting in reduced spectral efficiency. Therefore, "under-allocation" or "over-allocation" for a given UE generally results in wasted uplink network resources that could have been allocated or used for uplink traffic from another UE device. Increasing the number of quantization levels (e.g., ranges) can reduce the amount of resource over- or under-allocation, but the set of index values ​​required to represent a larger number of possible ranges may require more bytes to indicate a given index in the uplink BSR indication transmission, which also increases the reporting overhead for BSR reporting.

[0077] Therefore, for efficient uplink transmission, adaptive dynamic BSR reporting based on the amount or type of uplink traffic buffered at the UE is required, especially for capacity-critical and latency-critical use cases where the buffered traffic size changes dynamically over time depending on the type of traffic flow and associated Quality of Service (QoS) settings.

[0078] As disclosed herein, a variable buffer status reporting configuration (which may include one or more functions) may be transmitted from the RAN to the UE to be used by the UE to calculate a buffer status indication based on a precision value, rather than having the UE use a conventional, predetermined, hard-coded table (with defined traffic size ranges associated with certain BSR index values).

[0079] Now turning to the attached figure, Figure 1 An example of a wireless communication system 100 that supports blind decoding of PDCCH candidates or search spaces according to aspects of the present disclosure is illustrated. The wireless communication system 100 may include one or more base stations 105, one or more UEs 115, and a core network 130. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may be a long term evolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pro network, or a new radio (NR) network. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support enhanced broadband communications, ultra-reliable (e.g., mission-critical) communications, low-latency communications, communications for low-cost and low-complexity devices, or any combination thereof. As shown, examples of UE 115 include smartphones, cars or other vehicles, or drones or other aircraft. Another example of a UE may be a virtual reality device 117, such as smart glasses, virtual reality head-mounted devices, augmented reality head-mounted devices, and other similar devices that may provide images, videos, audio, touch, taste, or smell to the wearer. The UE (such as VR device 117) can send or receive wireless signals with the RAN base station 105 via a long-range wireless link 125, or the UE / VR device can receive or send wireless signals via a short-range wireless link 137, which can include a wireless link with the UE device 115 (such as a Bluetooth link, a Wi-Fi link, etc.). The UE (such as device 117) can communicate simultaneously via multiple wireless links, such as communicating with the base station 105 via link 125 and communicating via a short-range wireless link. The VR device 117 can also communicate with a wireless UE via a cable or other wired connection. The RAN or its components may be implemented by one or more computer components, which may refer to Fig.12 Give a description.

[0080] Continue the discussion Figure 1, base stations 105 may be dispersed throughout a geographic area to form the wireless communication system 100, and may be devices of different forms or with different capabilities. The base stations 105 and the UEs 115 may communicate wirelessly via one or more communication links 125. Each base station 105 may provide a coverage area 110, and the UEs 115 and the base stations 105 may establish one or more communication links 125 over the coverage area 110. The coverage area 110 may be an example of a geographic area in which the base stations 105 and the UEs 115 may support signal communications according to one or more radio access technologies (RATs).

[0081] The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout the coverage area 110 of the wireless communication system 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary, mobile, or both at different times. The UEs 115 may be devices of different forms or with different capabilities. Figure 1 Some example UEs 115 are illustrated in FIG. 1. The UEs 115 described herein may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115, base stations 105, or network devices (e.g., core network nodes, relay devices, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, or other network devices), such as Figure 1 shown.

[0082] Base stations 105 may communicate with core network 130, or with each other, or both. For example, base stations 105 may interface with core network 130 via one or more backhaul links 120 (e.g., via S1, N2, N3, or other interfaces). Base stations 105 may communicate with each other via backhaul links 120 (e.g., via X2, Xn, or other interfaces), either directly (e.g., between base stations 105), indirectly (e.g., via core network 130), or both. In some examples, backhaul links 120 may include one or more wireless links.

[0083] One or more of the base stations 105 described herein may include or may be referred to by a person of ordinary skill in the art as a base station transceiver, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next generation NodeB or a giga-NodeB (any of which may be referred to as a bNodeB or a gNB), a Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, or other suitable terms.

[0084] UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, a wireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscription device, or other suitable terms, where "device" may also be referred to as other examples such as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client. UE 115 may also include or may be referred to as a personal electronic device, such as a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a personal computer, or a router. In some examples, UE 115 may include or be referred to as other examples such as a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communication (MTC) device, which may be implemented in various objects (such as other examples such as devices, vehicles, or smart meters).

[0085] UE 115 may be able to communicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115 (which may sometimes act as relays) as well as base stations 105 and network devices (including macro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations, among other examples), such as Figure 1 shown.

[0086] The UE 115 and the base station 105 can communicate with each other wirelessly via one or more communication links 125 on one or more carriers. The term "carrier" may refer to a set of radio frequency resources having a defined physical layer structure for supporting the communication link 125. For example, a carrier for the communication link 125 may include a portion (e.g., a bandwidth portion (BWP)) of a radio frequency spectrum segment that operates according to one or more physical layer channels for a given radio access technology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). Each physical layer channel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals, system information), control signaling for coordinating carrier operations, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communication system 100 may use carrier aggregation or multi-carrier operation to support communication with the UE 115. Depending on the carrier aggregation configuration, the UE 115 may be configured with multiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink component carriers. Carrier aggregation may be used with frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD) component carriers.

[0087] In some examples (e.g., in a carrier aggregation configuration), a carrier may also have acquisition signaling or control signaling that coordinates the operation of other carriers. A carrier may be associated with a frequency channel (e.g., an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (EARFCN)) and may be located according to a channel grid for discovery by UE 115. A carrier may operate in a standalone mode, where a UE 115 may perform initial acquisition and connection via a carrier, or a carrier may operate in a non-standalone mode, where a different carrier (e.g., the same or different radio access technology) is used to anchor the connection.

[0088] The communication link 125 shown in the wireless communication system 100 may include an uplink transmission from the UE 115 to the base station 105, or a downlink transmission from the base station 105 to the UE 115. A carrier may carry downlink or uplink communications (e.g., in FDD mode) or may be configured to carry both downlink and uplink communications (e.g., in TDD mode).

[0089] A carrier may be associated with a specific bandwidth of a radio frequency, and in some examples, the carrier bandwidth may be referred to as the "system bandwidth" of the carrier or wireless communication system 100. For example, the carrier bandwidth may be one of a plurality of determined bandwidths of a carrier of a particular radio access technology (e.g., 1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, or 80 megahertz (MHz)). The devices of the wireless communication system 100 (e.g., base station 105, UE 115, or both) may have a hardware configuration that supports communication on a particular carrier bandwidth, or may be capable of being configured to support communication on one of a set of carrier bandwidths. In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may include a base station 105 or UE 115 that supports simultaneous communication via carriers associated with multiple carrier bandwidths. In some examples, each service UE 115 may be configured to operate on a portion (e.g., subband, BWP) or all of the carrier bandwidth.

[0090] The signal waveform transmitted by the carrier may be composed of multiple subcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)). In a system using MCM technology, a resource element may be composed of a symbol period (e.g., the duration of a modulation symbol) and a subcarrier, where the symbol period and the subcarrier spacing are inversely proportional. The number of bits carried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme (e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of the modulation scheme, or both). Therefore, the more resource elements received by UE 115 and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate for the UE. Wireless communication resources may refer to a combination of radio frequency resources, time resources (e.g., search space), or spatial resources (e.g., spatial layers or beams), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further increase the data rate or data integrity of communications with UE 115.

[0091] One or more digital configurations for a carrier may be supported, where the digital configuration may include a subcarrier spacing (Δf) and a cyclic prefix. A carrier may be divided into one or more BWPs with the same or different digital configurations. In some examples, a UE 115 may be configured with multiple BWPs. In some examples, a single BWP for a carrier may be active at a given time, and communications for a UE 115 may be limited to one or more active BWPs.

[0092] The time interval for the base station 105 or the UE 115 may be expressed as a multiple of a basic time unit. For example, the basic time unit may refer to T s =1 / (Δf max ·N f ) seconds sampling period, where Δf max It can indicate the maximum subcarrier spacing supported, and N f The maximum supported discrete Fourier transform (DFT) size may be indicated. The time intervals of the communication resources may be organized according to radio frames, each radio frame having a specified duration (e.g., 10 milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame may be identified by a system frame number (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023).

[0093] Each frame may include multiple consecutively numbered subframes or time slots, and each subframe or time slot may have the same duration. In some examples, a frame may be divided into subframes (e.g., in the time domain), and each subframe may be further divided into multiple time slots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable number of time slots, and the number of time slots may depend on the subcarrier spacing. Each time slot may include multiple symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of a cyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period). In some wireless communication systems 100, a time slot may be further divided into multiple mini-time slots, each of which contains one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix, each symbol period may contain one or more (e.g., N f ) sampling period. The duration of a symbol period may depend on the subcarrier spacing or the operating frequency band.

[0094] A subframe, slot, mini-slot, or symbol may be the smallest scheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) in the wireless communication system 100 and may be referred to as a transmission time interval (TTI). In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., the number of symbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally or alternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wireless communication system 100 may be dynamically selected (e.g., in a burst of a shortened TTI (sTTI)).

[0095] Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according to various techniques. Physical control channels and physical data channels may be multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example, using one or more of a time division multiplexing (TDM) technique, a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) technique, or a hybrid TDM-FDM technique. A control region (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET)) for a physical control channel may be defined by a plurality of symbol periods and may extend across a system bandwidth or a subset of a system bandwidth of a carrier. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) may be configured for a group of UEs 115. For example, one or more UEs in UE 115 may monitor or search a control region or space to obtain control information according to one or more search space sets, and each search space set may include one or more control channel candidates at one or more aggregation levels arranged in a cascaded manner. The aggregation level for a control channel candidate may refer to the number of control channel resources (e.g., control channel elements (CCEs)) associated with coded information of a control information format having a given payload size. The search space sets may include a common search space set configured for sending control information to multiple UEs 115 and a UE-specific search space set for sending control information to a specific UE 115. Other search spaces and configurations for monitoring and decoding them are disclosed herein, which are novel and not conventional.

[0096] The base station 105 may provide communication coverage via one or more cells, such as macro cells, small cells, hot spots, or other types of cells, or any combination thereof. The term "cell" may refer to a logical communication entity used to communicate with the base station 105 (e.g., via a carrier), and may be associated with an identifier used to distinguish neighboring cells (e.g., a physical cell identifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID), or other). In some examples, a cell may also refer to a geographic coverage area 110 or a portion of a geographic coverage area 110 (e.g., a sector) on which a logical communication entity operates. Such cells may range from smaller areas (e.g., structures, subsets of structures) to larger areas, depending on various factors, such as the capabilities of the base station 105. For example, a cell may be or include a building, a subset of a building, or an external space between or overlapping geographic coverage areas 110, and the like.

[0097] A macro cell typically covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., a radius of several kilometers) and may allow unrestricted access to a UE 115 with a service subscription to a network provider that supports the macro cell. A small cell may be associated with a base station 105 with lower power than a macro cell, and the small cell may operate in the same or different (e.g., licensed, unlicensed) frequency band as the macro cell. A small cell may provide unrestricted access to a UE 115 with a service subscription to a network provider, or may provide limited access to a UE 115 associated with a small cell (e.g., a UE 115 in a closed subscriber group (CSG), a UE 115 associated with a user in a home or office). A base station 105 may support one or more cells, and may also support communication on one or more cells using one or more component carriers.

[0098] In some examples, a carrier may support multiple cells, and different cells may be configured according to different protocol types (e.g., MTC, narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB)), which may provide access for different types of devices.

[0099] In some examples, base stations 105 may be mobile and thus provide communication coverage for mobile geographic coverage areas 110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may overlap, but the different geographic coverage areas 110 may be supported by the same base station 105. In other examples, overlapping geographic coverage areas 110 associated with different technologies may be supported by different base stations 105. The wireless communication system 100 may include, for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of base stations 105 provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas 110 using the same or different radio access technologies.

[0100] The wireless communication system 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations 105 may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations 105 may not be aligned in time in some examples. The techniques described herein may be used for synchronous or asynchronous operation.

[0101] Some UEs 115, such as MTC or IoT devices, may be low-cost or low-complexity devices and may provide automated communication between machines (e.g., via machine-to-machine (M2M) communication). M2M communication or MTC may refer to data communication technology that allows devices to communicate with each other or with a base station 105 without human intervention. In some examples, M2M communication or MTC may include communications from devices that integrate sensors or meters to measure or capture information and relay such information to a central server or application that utilizes the information or presents the information to a person interacting with the application. Some UEs 115 may be designed to collect information or implement automated behavior of machines or other devices. Examples of applications for MTC devices include smart metering, inventory monitoring, water level monitoring, equipment monitoring, healthcare monitoring, wildlife monitoring, weather and geological event monitoring, fleet management and tracking, remote security sensing, physical access control, and transaction-based business charging.

[0102] Some UEs 115 may be configured to employ a reduced power consumption mode of operation, such as half-duplex communication (e.g., a mode that supports one-way communication via transmission or reception but not simultaneous transmission and reception). In some examples, half-duplex communication may be performed at a reduced peak rate. Other power saving techniques for UE 115 include entering a power saving deep sleep mode when not actively communicating, operating on a limited bandwidth (e.g., according to narrowband communication), or a combination of these techniques. For example, some UEs 115 may be configured to operate using a narrowband protocol type associated with a defined portion or range (e.g., a set of subcarriers or resource blocks (RBs)) within a carrier, within a guard band of a carrier, or outside a carrier.

[0103] The wireless communication system 100 can be configured to support ultra-reliable communication or low-latency communication, or various combinations thereof. For example, the wireless communication system 100 can be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) or mission-critical communication. UE115 can be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency or critical functions (e.g., mission-critical functions). Ultra-reliable communication may include dedicated communication or group communication, and may be supported by one or more mission-critical services, such as mission-critical push-to-talk (MCPTT), mission-critical video (MCVideo), or mission-critical data (MCData). Support for mission-critical functions may include service priorities, and mission-critical services may be used for public safety or general commercial applications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, mission-critical, and ultra-reliable low-latency may be used interchangeably herein.

[0104] In some examples, UE 115 may also be able to communicate directly with other UE 115 on a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 135 (e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) or D2D protocol). The communication link 135 may include a sidechain communication link. One or more UEs 115 using D2D communication may be located within a geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 105. Other UEs 115 in such a group may be located outside the geographic coverage area 110 of the base station 105, or otherwise unable to receive transmissions from the base station 105. In some examples, a group of UEs 115 communicating via D2D communication may use a one-to-many (1:M) system in which a UE transmits to each other UE in the group. In some examples, the base station 105 facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communication. In other cases, D2D communication is performed between UEs 115 without the participation of the base station 105.

[0105] In some systems, the D2D communication link 135 can be an example of a communication channel (such as a sidelink communication channel) between vehicles (e.g., UE 115). In some examples, vehicles can communicate using vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, or some combination of these communications. Vehicles can signal information related to traffic conditions, signal scheduling, weather, safety, emergency situations, or any other information related to the V2X system. In some examples, vehicles in a V2X system can communicate with roadside infrastructure (such as roadside units) using vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication, or communicate with the network via one or more RAN network nodes (e.g., base station 105), or both.

[0106] The core network 130 may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) or a 5G core (5GC), which may include at least one control plane entity (e.g., a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF)) for managing access and mobility and at least one user plane entity (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), a packet data network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or a user plane function (UPF)) for routing or interconnecting packets to an external network. The control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS) functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management for UEs 115 served by base stations 105 associated with the core network 130. User IP packets may be transmitted via a user plane entity, which may provide IP address allocation and other functions. The user plane entity may be connected to IP services 150 of one or more network operators. IP services 150 may include access to the Internet, (multiple) intranets, IP multimedia subsystems (IMS), or packet-switched streaming services.

[0107] Some of the network devices, such as the base station 105, may include a subcomponent, such as an access network entity 140, which may be an example of an access node controller (ANC). Each access network entity 140 may communicate with the UE 115 through one or more other access network transmission entities 145, which may be referred to as radio heads, smart radio heads, or transmit / receive points (TRPs). Each access network transmission entity 145 may include one or more antenna panels. In some configurations, the various functions of each access network entity 140 or base station 105 may be distributed across various network devices (e.g., radio heads and ANCs), or merged into a single network device (e.g., base station 105).

[0108] The wireless communication system 100 may operate using one or more frequency bands, typically in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300 gigahertz (GHz). Typically, the region of 300 MHz to 3 GHz is referred to as the ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because the wavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter long. UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings and environmental features, but the waves may penetrate structures sufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to a UE 115 located indoors. Transmissions using UHF waves may be associated with smaller antennas and a shorter range (e.g., less than 100 kilometers) than transmissions using smaller frequencies and longer waves in the high frequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portions of the spectrum below 300 MHz.

[0109] The wireless communication system 100 may also operate in the super high frequency (SHF) region using a frequency band from 3 GHz to 30 GHz (also known as a centimeter wave band), or in the extremely high frequency (EHF) region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz) (also known as a millimeter wave band). In some examples, the wireless communication system 100 may support millimeter wave (mmW) communications between the UE 115 and the base station 105, and the EHF antennas of the corresponding devices may be smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In some examples, this may facilitate the use of antenna arrays within the device. However, the propagation of EHF transmissions may be affected by greater atmospheric attenuation and shorter range than SHF or UHF transmissions. The technology disclosed herein may be applied across transmissions using one or more different frequency regions, and the designated use of bands across these frequency regions may vary by country or regulatory agency.

[0110] The wireless communication system 100 can use both licensed and unlicensed radio frequency spectrum segments. For example, the wireless communication system 100 can employ license assisted access (LAA), LTE-unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in an unlicensed band such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band. When operating in an unlicensed radio frequency spectrum segment, devices such as base stations 105 and UEs 115 can employ carrier sensing for conflict detection and avoidance. In some examples, operations in unlicensed bands can be based on carrier aggregation configuration, used in combination with component carriers (e.g., LAA) operating in licensed bands. Operations in unlicensed spectrum can include downlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2D transmissions, among other examples.

[0111] The base station 105 or UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas that may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity, receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications, or beamforming. The antennas of the base station 105 or UE 115 may be located within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels that may support MIMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming. For example, one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located at an antenna assembly such as an antenna tower. In some examples, the antennas or antenna arrays associated with the base station 105 may be located at different geographic locations. The base station 105 may have an antenna array having multiple rows and columns of antenna ports that the base station 105 may use to support beamforming for communications with the UE 115. Similarly, the UE 115 may have one or more antenna arrays that may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally or alternatively, the antenna panel may support radio frequency beamforming of signals transmitted via the antenna ports.

[0112] The base station 105 or UE 115 can use MIMO communication to exploit multipath signal propagation and improve spectral efficiency by sending or receiving multiple signals via different spatial layers. This technology can be referred to as spatial multiplexing. Multiple signals can be sent, for example, by a transmitting device via different antennas or different antenna combinations. Similarly, multiple signals can be received by a receiving device via different antennas or different antenna combinations. Each of the multiple signals can be referred to as a separate spatial stream and can carry bits associated with the same data stream (e.g., the same codeword) or different data streams (e.g., different codewords). Different spatial layers can be associated with different antenna ports for channel measurement and reporting. MIMO technology includes single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO), in which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to the same receiving device, and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO), in which multiple spatial layers are transmitted to multiple devices.

[0113] Beamforming (which may also be referred to as spatial filtering, directional transmission, or directional reception) is a signal processing technique that can be used in a transmitting device or a receiving device (e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) to shape or guide an antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatial path between the transmitting device and the receiving device. Beamforming can be achieved by combining signals conveyed via antenna elements of an antenna array so that some signals propagating in a particular direction relative to the antenna array experience constructive interference, while other signals experience destructive interference. Adjustments to signals conveyed via antenna elements may include the transmitting device or the receiving device applying an amplitude offset, a phase offset, or both to signals carried via antenna elements associated with the device. Adjustments associated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by a set of beamforming weights associated with a particular orientation (e.g., relative to the antenna array of the transmitting device or the receiving device, or relative to some other orientation).

[0114] The base station 105 or the UE 115 may use beam scanning techniques as part of a beamforming operation. For example, the base station 105 may use multiple antennas or antenna arrays (e.g., antenna panels) to perform beamforming operations for directional communications with the UE 115. The base station 105 may send some signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) multiple times in different directions. For example, the base station 105 may send signals according to different sets of beamforming weights associated with different transmission directions. Transmissions in different beam directions may be used to identify the beam direction (e.g., by a transmitting device (such as, the base station 105) or by a receiving device (such as, the UE 115)) for later transmission or reception by the base station 105.

[0115] Some signals, such as data signals associated with a particular receiving device, may be transmitted by base station 105 in a single beam direction, e.g., a direction associated with a receiving device, such as UE 115. In some examples, the beam direction associated with transmissions along a single beam direction may be determined based on signals transmitted in one or more beam directions. For example, UE 115 may receive one or more of the signals transmitted by base station 105 in different directions and may report to the base station an indication of the signal received by UE 115 with the highest signal quality or other acceptable signal quality.

[0116] In some examples, transmissions by a device (e.g., a base station 105 or a UE 115) may be performed using multiple beam directions, and the device may generate a combined beam for transmission (e.g., from the base station 105 to the UE 115) using a combination of digital precoding or radio frequency beamforming. The UE 115 may report feedback indicating precoding weights for one or more beam directions, and the feedback may correspond to a configured number of beams across the system bandwidth or one or more subbands. The base station 105 may send a reference signal (e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS)), which may be precoded or unprecoded. The UE 115 may provide feedback for beam selection, which may be a precoding matrix indicator (PMI) or codebook-based feedback (e.g., a multi-panel type codebook, a linear combination type codebook, a port selection type codebook). Although these techniques are described with reference to signals sent by base station 105 in one or more directions, UE 115 may employ similar techniques to send signals multiple times in different directions (e.g., to identify a beam direction for subsequent transmission or reception by UE 115) or to send signals in a single direction (e.g., to transmit data to a receiving device).

[0117] A receiving device (e.g., UE 115) may try multiple reception configurations (e.g., directional listening) when receiving various signals (e.g., synchronization signals, reference signals, beam selection signals, or other control signals) from a base station 105. For example, a receiving device may try multiple reception directions by receiving via different antenna subarrays, by processing received signals according to different antenna subarrays, by receiving according to different reception beamforming weight sets (e.g., different directional listening weight sets) applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, or by processing received signals according to different reception beamforming weight sets applied to signals received at multiple antenna elements of an antenna array, any of which may be referred to as "listening" according to different reception configurations or reception directions. In some examples, a receiving device may use a single reception configuration to receive along a single beam direction, for example, when receiving a data signal. The single reception configuration may be aligned on a beam direction determined based on listening according to different reception configuration directions (e.g., a beam direction determined to have the highest signal strength, the highest signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or other acceptable signal quality based on listening according to multiple beam directions).

[0118] The wireless communication system 100 can be a packet-based network that operates according to a layered protocol stack. In the user plane, the communication at the bearer or packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer can be based on IP. The radio link control (RLC) layer can perform packet segmentation and reorganization to communicate on a logical channel. The medium access control (MAC) layer can perform priority processing and multiplex logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer can also use error detection technology, error correction technology, or both to support retransmission at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the radio resource control (RRC) protocol layer can provide the establishment, configuration, and maintenance of the RRC connection between the UE 115 and the base station 105 or the core network 130 (supporting the radio bearer for user plane data). At the physical layer, the transport channel can be mapped to the physical channel.

[0119] UE 115 and base station 105 may support data retransmission to increase the likelihood of successfully receiving data. Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback is a technique for increasing the likelihood of correctly receiving data on communication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of error detection (e.g., using cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward error correction (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request (ARQ)). HARQ may improve throughput at the MAC layer under poor radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise ratio conditions). In some examples, a device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, where a device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific slot for data received in a previous symbol in the slot. In other cases, a device may provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot or according to some other time interval.

[0120] Now go to Figure 2 , which illustrates a virtual reality ("VR") application system 200. In system 200, a wearable VR device 117 is shown from the perspective of a wearer or viewer. VR device 117 may include a central or posture visual display portion 202, a left visual display portion 204, and a right visual display portion 206, which may be used to display primary visual information, left peripheral visual information, and right peripheral visual information, respectively. As shown, portions 202, 204, and 206 are demarcated by different lines, but it should be understood that hardware or software may facilitate a gradual transition from primary information display to peripheral information display.

[0121] As described above, different XR use cases may require different corresponding radio performance. In general, for XR use cases, but unlike URLLC or eMBB use cases, high-capacity radio links are required to carry XR data traffic (e.g., data streams including visual information) with stringent radio levels (e.g., latency) and reliability levels for a reasonable end-user experience. For example, some XR applications require a 100Mbps link with a radio latency budget of approximately 2mS, compared to a 5Mbps URLLC link with a 1ms radio latency budget.

[0122] Based on the research, several characteristics of XR data traffic have been identified: (1) XR traffic characteristics are typically periodic, with packet sizes and packet arrival rates that vary over time; (2) XR-enabled devices may be more power-constrained than conventional mobile handheld devices (e.g., smart glasses, projection wearables, etc.) due to the limited form factor of the devices; (3) Users do not perceive multiple data packet streams corresponding to different visual information for a given XR session as having the same impact on the end-user experience.

[0123] Therefore, in addition to the need for XR-specific power usage efficiency, smart glasses (such as wearable device 117) require broadband capacity to provide an optimal user experience when streaming 180-degree high-resolution frames. However, it has been determined that data corresponding to frames carrying primary or central visual information (i.e., posture or forward direction) is most important to end-user satisfaction, while frames corresponding to peripheral visual information have less impact on the user experience. Therefore, accepting higher latency for less important traffic flows so that resources originally allocated to less important traffic flows can be used for traffic flows corresponding to more important traffic or devices carrying more important traffic can be used to optimize the overall capacity and performance of a wireless communication system (such as a 5-G communication system using NR technology, methods, systems, or devices). For example, a wireless data traffic flow carrying visual information for display on a center or posture visual display portion 202 can be given priority over a wireless data traffic flow carrying visual information for a left visual display portion 204 or a right visual display portion 206.

[0124] The performance of a communication network in providing XR services can be determined, at least in part, based on the satisfaction of users of the XR services. Each user using an XR service can be associated with certain QoS metrics to meet the performance goals of the user's service in terms of perceived data rate, end-to-end latency, and reliability.

[0125] 5G NR radio systems typically include a physical downlink control channel ("PDCCH") that can be used to deliver downlink and uplink control information to cellular devices. The 5G control channel can facilitate operation according to the requirements of URLLC and eMBB use cases, and can facilitate efficient coexistence between these different QoS classes.

[0126] Dynamic device-specific buffer status reporting with specific step sizes for the buffer range.

[0127] The accuracy of BSR quantization significantly affects scheduling latency, device, and network achievable capacity. Due to the time-varying nature of uplink traffic for each device class in a 5G system, it is inefficient to use a fixed pattern across all buffer sizes to enhance quantization accuracy (e.g., a smaller step size for determining the index value for RAN traffic to be transmitted to the user device). For example, some user devices may typically transmit a moderate amount of traffic packets, while other user devices may typically transmit a larger amount of traffic packets (e.g., VR traffic). Therefore, a fixed step size for all devices, even if more precise / smaller than a step size corresponding to a less efficient BSR quantization, may not be optimal.

[0128] To improve uplink resource usage efficiency, as disclosed herein, the gNB or RAN may dynamically configure each of a plurality of user equipments to have a device-specific BSR precision and a corresponding step size suitable for the traffic type or device class of the device. The configured BSR step size is associated with each range of buffer sizes, for example, a specific step size for a specific buffered traffic size in the uplink buffer of the device. Thus, in an embodiment, the user equipment may generate, compile and construct or otherwise determine a determined BSR table or a determined BSR configuration (which may vary or change according to changing conditions, such as the amount and type of traffic) based on the configured device-specific and buffer-size-specific BSR step size (received from the RAN in a variable buffer status report configuration). (It should be understood that the term "table" is used for illustrative purposes in the figure, and other forms of storing configurations and functions using configurations may be used instead of tables). The user equipment may generate, calculate or otherwise determine an index value based on a row of the determined BSR table, which may correspond to a range of bytes of buffered traffic. The user equipment may transmit the determined index value as a buffer status report indication to the RAN serving the user equipment. Different device classes or different user devices buffering different types of traffic may adjust or determine to use different BSR reporting accuracy / precision values ​​for use in one or more functions of a variable buffer status reporting configuration based on a range of amounts of buffered traffic, which range may correspond to uplink traffic to be transmitted that may be available at the device or buffered by the device, thereby reducing scheduling latency and enhancing overall network capacity and efficiency while minimizing BSR reporting overhead (because the overhead will be adjusted between different devices based on the priority or criticality of the uplink traffic buffered for transmission by the device).

[0129] Now go to Figure 3A, which illustrates an example variable buffer status reporting configuration 300. The dynamic BSR configuration table 300 and reporting procedures (using indications determined based on the variable BSR configuration table) may facilitate determining buffer status indications corresponding to uplink traffic buffered in a given user equipment. The RAN 106 may transmit the variable buffer status reporting configurations 300a to 300n to one or more user equipment 115A to 115n. The variable buffer status reporting configurations 300 transmitted from the RAN 105 to the UE 115 may be different and device-specific, or the same variable buffer status reporting configuration may be transmitted from the RAN 105 to the devices 115A to 115n. Different variable buffer status reporting configurations 300 may include different functions from one device to the next. For the criteria field 305 and the buffer status indication field 310 of one UE, the functions in different rows A to H may be different from the configuration 300 transmitted to the UE device, or the functions may be the same for the UE device, but different devices may use different variables based on parameters, such as, for example, the buffer size of the UE 115, the amount of traffic buffered in the UE, the type of traffic buffered in the UE, or the device type of the UE. The function in field 310 can be referred to as an index function of the first precision variable, and the function of field 305 can be referred to as a buffer status criteria function and can correspond to the index function on the same rows A to H shown in the configuration 300 of Figure 3. The precision variable can be referred to as a step size or step variable, and the configuration 300 can include different precision variables for different traffic size ranges 315 or 320. The traffic size range can be defined by the configuration 300.

[0130] The first size range 315 may correspond to a first range threshold β1 and a first step size / first precision variable step1 and a first step number n1, and the second size range 320 may correspond to a second range threshold β2 and a second step size / second precision variable step2 and a first step number n2. The UE 115 may determine which range of the configuration 300 to use when determining a buffer status report indication indicating uplink traffic residing in a buffer of the UE based on the uplink traffic buffered in the buffer of the UE.

[0131] Thus, the RAN node 105 may configure each UE 115 with new information elements, including: device-specific BSR step size groups, where one group may include multiple step sizes, each step size being associated with a certain buffered traffic size range, or an index to a predefined BSR table from a list of BSR tables, corresponding to several available BSR step size groups. The RAN may transmit multiple different variable buffer status reporting configurations 300 to the UE 115, and each time the UE should change the buffer status reporting configuration, later transmit an indication of which variable buffer status reporting configuration to use, instead of transmitting the entire configuration to be used by the UE. The UE 115 may determine which of the multiple variable buffer status reporting configurations to use. The UE 115 storing multiple variable buffer status reporting configurations may consume more memory space of the UE, but may also reduce downlink traffic resource usage when the RAN 105 indicates to the UE which of the several buffer status reporting configurations to use.

[0132] Different UE devices 115A to 115n may transmit buffer status reports of different sizes, or buffer status report indications of different sizes, because the size of the index calculated according to the function in field 310 varies based on the BSR step size group adopted by each device (e.g., the step size group corresponding to the entry in range 315 in configuration 300 is different from another step size group (e.g., the group corresponding to range 320)). After receiving the buffer status report indication calculated by the UE 115 based on the amount of traffic stored in the UE's buffer according to the variable buffer status reporting configuration 300, the RAN 115 may allocate sufficient uplink resources to carry the uplink traffic from the UE to the RAN. In a scenario where the UE 115 has buffered different types of traffic to be transmitted, in an embodiment, the UE may use the same variable buffer status reporting configuration 300 to indicate the amount of aggregate buffered traffic and transmit a single buffer status report indication accordingly. In another embodiment described in more detail below regarding a UE determining multiple buffer status reporting indications corresponding to different traffic types, a UE 115 having different types of traffic to transmit may use different buffer status reporting configurations to determine different corresponding buffer status reporting indications to transmit to the RAN 105. The RAN 105 may allocate different uplink resources to a given UE for different uplink traffic types based on the different buffer status reporting indications received from the UE.

[0133] FIG. 17A to FIG. 17C Different examples of traffic buffered in the buffer / memory 1634 of the UE 1660 are shown. Fig.17A In FIG. 1 , the capacity of the buffer 1634 is shown as 400 bytes. The first type of traffic 1705 is buffered in the buffer 1634. Figure 3A, the UE 115 (which may include Fig.17A The memory 1634 shown in FIG. 1634 may calculate the buffer status report indication based on the capacity size of the buffer 400 bytes, or may calculate the buffer status report indication based on 180 bytes of the first type of traffic 1705 buffered in the buffer. If the variable buffer status report configuration includes a configuration of the first group 315 entries A to D of the table 300, which has a first precision variable or step variable step1 (25 bytes), a first step number n1 of 10, a first threshold β1 of 250 bytes, and an index function defined for the first range entry 315 of ((previous index value - 1) x step1) < The size of the buffer flow < ((current index value) x step1)((previousindex value-1) x step1) < size of buffered traffic < ((current index value) x step1), then UE 115 may determine that the buffer status report index is 8, which would correspond to the criterion range of the criterion function shown in field 305 of table 300: 175KB < buffered traffic size < 200KB. (It should be understood that in the example, the precision variable step1, the number of steps n1, and the threshold β1 used to define the extent of the first range 315 are interrelated, such as β1 / n1=step1, so the term precision variable may refer to one of step1, β1, or n1 if the other term is known, defined, or configured). Figure 3A In FIG. 3 , the lower limit function of the criterion function 305 is surrounded by a rectangle, and the upper limit function of the criterion function is surrounded by an ellipse.

[0134] Fig. 17B A second type of traffic, namely traffic 1707, is shown, which is different from the first traffic type 1705, such as Fig.17A and Fig. 17B The user device can use different variable buffer state configurations or different precision variables to generate instructions Fig.17A Compared to the buffer status report of flow 1705 shown in , the same user equipment may use different variable buffer status configurations or different precision variables to determine the buffer status indication to be transmitted to the RAN to indicate flow 1707, even if flow 1707 and flow 1705 both include 180 bytes. (It should be understood that reference Figure 3A , Fig.17A and Fig. 17B The traffic is described in bytes (B), but can also be described in kilobytes (KB) or other units).

[0135] Fig. 17C A first buffered uplink traffic of a first type 1705 (comprising 180 bytes of data) and a second buffered uplink traffic of a second type 1710 (comprising 150 bytes of data) are shown. The first traffic 1705 and the second traffic 1710 comprise 330 bytes in total. Thus, the UE may generate a buffer status report indication based on the amount of buffered data comprising 330 bytes. As described in more detail below with reference to the traffic-aware buffer status report, the UE may generate a buffer status report indication for the first buffered uplink traffic 1705 (comprising 180 bytes of data). Fig. 17C The uplink traffic buffered in the buffer 1634 shown in FIG. 1 generates and transmits two different buffer status report indications.

[0136] Figure 3B An example table 350 is shown, which can be obtained by inputting precision variables or step sizes step1 and step2, boundary variables or boundary functions β1 and β2, and the number of steps n1 and n2 for each range 315 and 320, respectively, into Figure 3A , as shown in the function to determine or "fill", as shown in reference Figure 3A In Figure 3B In the example shown, for the first range 315, step1=2 bytes, β1=10 bytes and n1=5 steps, while for the first range 320, step2=5 bytes, β2=20 bytes and n2=2 steps. Figure 3A The UE of the described variable buffer status reporting configuration 300 may calculate the buffer status reporting index / indication 310 by applying the determined amount of buffered traffic to one or more functions 305, or the UE may calculate the variable buffer status reporting configuration and store the variable buffer status reporting configuration as Figure 3B Table 350 shown in FIG. 1 and looking up the buffer status report indication in column 360 in the table (whose value may correspond to Figure 3A Function 310 in configuration 300 shown, or may be obtained from Figure 3A 310 in the configuration 300 shown), the column 360 and the expression 355 (which may correspond to Figure 3A 300) is associated with the corresponding function 305 in the configuration 300 shown, where the buffer status report indication in column 360 corresponds to the amount of uplink traffic buffered in the UE for transmission. (It should be understood that due to Figure 3B The numbers used in the example shown in the table 350 result in a different number of rows for the first range 315 and the second range 320 than for the configuration 300. The rows of the table 350 may not be the same as those in the configuration 300. Figure 3A The configuration shown in 300 lines corresponds exactly, so Figure 3B Letters are not shown to identify the rows of table 350 to avoid confusion.)

[0137] Now go to Figure 4, which shows a timing diagram 400 showing actions of configuring a UE 115 to use a variable buffer status reporting configuration to provide a buffer status reporting indication based on criteria that vary based on a buffer of the UE 115. The criteria may be based on a buffer size of the UE 115 device, an amount or size of traffic buffered in a buffer or memory of the UE, a device type of the UE, or a traffic type of traffic buffered in the UE. The UE 115 may be referred to as a wireless transmit receive unit (“WTRU”).

[0138] At act 405, the RAN 105 may send a dynamic / variable buffer status report (“BSR”) configuration to the WTRU 115, which receives the configuration sent at act 405 at act 410. The variable BSR configuration sent at act 405 may include a device-specific BSR step group index. The device-specific step group index may correspond to a step size of a configured BSR step group list, where a step group corresponds to one or more BSR step sizes associated with one or more corresponding traffic size ranges that may be applied to uplink traffic buffered in a buffer of the UE 115. In the event that the UE 115 determines that it is buffering uplink traffic, the UE may generate a BSR table at act 415 based on the configured BSR step size group corresponding to the amount of buffered uplink traffic, or based on another metric (such as the UE's buffer size) or based on the type of uplink traffic buffered by the UE. At action 420, the UE 115 determines a BSR index or BSR indication corresponding to the actual size of the buffered traffic, so that the determined BSR indication indicates the amount of traffic, traffic type, or buffer size of the UE. The UE 115 may determine the BSR reporting indication based on a function, or by comparing, for example, the amount of uplink traffic it has in its buffer ready for transmission with a table that it may have determined based on a criterion function in the variable buffer status reporting configuration received at action 410. The table or determination of the buffer status reporting indication may also be based on an index function corresponding to a corresponding criterion function corresponding to the UE's uplink traffic, uplink traffic type, or uplink buffer size. At action 425, the UE 115 sends the determined BSR index / indication using uplink scheduling during a configured uplink control channel opportunity. At act 430, upon receiving the buffer status report indication sent at act 425, the RAN 105 may allocate network uplink resources, such as timing and / or frequency resources (e.g., one or more uplink transmission opportunities and one or more corresponding frequencies or frequency ranges), to be used by the UE 115 to transmit traffic buffered by the UE. At act 435, the RAN 105 sends an indication of the allocated uplink resources to the UE 115. Upon receiving the indication of the allocated resources, at act 440, the UE 115 transmits the uplink traffic buffered in the UE's buffer or memory.

[0139] Traffic-aware buffer status reporting.

[0140] Now go to Figure 5, which shows a schematic diagram of an example variable buffer state configuration 500 that a UE may use to indicate one or more traffic sizes or traffic types to a serving RAN using traffic range groups or identifiers 510 that may indicate different categories of buffered traffic corresponding to different traffic flow identifiers 515, or the identifiers may correspond to different traffic types, such as flows for different purposes or with different quality of service levels or requirements. Fig. 17C Different first uplink traffic 1705 of a first type and a first size and second uplink traffic 1710 of a second type and a second size are shown buffered in the same UE 1660. Figure 5 As described above, different traffic-specific group size identifiers 510 of the variable buffer status configuration 500 may correspond to different corresponding BSR reporting tables or functions 520 (which may be used to determine a buffer status step size 525 and a corresponding range value 530). One or more step sizes 525 and range values ​​530 may be used with a variable buffer status reporting configuration (such as the configuration 300 described above with reference to FIG. 3 ) to determine multiple buffer status reporting indices or indications corresponding to uplink traffic of multiple traffic flows buffered in the UE. Thus, the UE may transmit different buffer status reporting indications simultaneously or substantially simultaneously, each of which is associated with a certain type of uplink traffic or a certain uplink traffic flow buffered in one or more uplink buffers of the UE. Such different buffer status reporting indications may indicate to the serving RAN network a more refined or more comprehensive report of the uplink traffic buffered by the UE for uplink transmission, which may prompt the serving / receiving RAN to improve the efficiency of allocating uplink resources for the traffic types indicated by the different buffer status reporting indications, so that, for example, a first uplink resource allocation may be effectively tuned towards meeting a first QoS target / requirement for a first buffered uplink traffic flow, and a second uplink resource allocation may be effectively tuned towards meeting the first QoS target / requirement for a second buffered uplink traffic flow.

[0141] Therefore, if Figure 5As shown, the RAN may configure the UE device with traffic-specific BSR step size groups, where different BSR group identifiers may result in different BSR quantization precisions being associated with different corresponding traffic type identifiers, flow identifiers, or quality of service class identifiers ("QCI"). Thus, for critical traffic flows, a highly sophisticated BSR function or one or more tables calculated or determined therefrom (corresponding to multiple different traffic flows buffered by the UE) may be established, while a more relaxed BSR may be employed (using precision variables or replacing their values ​​in the function), which may result in lower precision for less critical (e.g., best effort) buffered traffic types. It should be understood that multiple buffer status report identifiers may facilitate enhanced resource allocation for different traffic flows, but at the expense of increased buffered traffic reporting indication overhead.

[0142] Therefore, in an embodiment, when the UE device receives the traffic-specific BSR configuration 500, it can dynamically construct the corresponding BSR table, thereby selecting the BSR index that best matches the size of each actual buffered traffic type from each BSR table. Figure 6 , variable buffer status reporting configuration 600 illustrates an embodiment that a UE may use to indicate to a RAN a format or size of one or more buffer status reporting indications that may be transmitted or have been transmitted by the UE.

[0143] Therefore, the UE device may compile an aggregated BSR report that may include a plurality of different BSR indexes determined from the constructed BSR table to reflect how much buffered traffic is available and the corresponding traffic types, such as Figure 6 This can result in different aggregate BSR reports of different sizes that vary over time if generated by the same device at different times. This phenomenon can be attributed to the BSR index variation due to the different availability of different buffered traffic types at different times.

[0144] In an embodiment, the RAN / gNB may blindly decode the received aggregated BSR report and may try possible large and small cases until the RAN / gNB is able to extract the actual transmitted BSR index within the aggregated BSR report. This typically does not add additional BSR reporting overhead, but may come at the expense of higher RAN / gNB processing complexity.

[0145] In another embodiment, the BSR sending device (e.g., user equipment) may transmit an additional indication in the scheduling request transmission, which indicates to the receiving RAN / gNB the real-time selected BSR step size group for the BSR index of the aggregated BSR report. Accordingly, the RAN / gNB may determine the format and size of the buffer status report indication of the aggregated BSR report, and thus perform a conventional and less complex decoding of the received BSR report. However, due to the additionally transmitted BSR format indication, this may increase the BSR reporting overhead, but may bring the benefit of faster and simpler decoding operations on the RAN node side.

[0146] Now go to Figure 7 , which shows a timing diagram of a method 700 for configuring a UE 115 with a variable buffer status reporting configuration to determine a buffer status indication to obtain uplink resources for transmitting uplink traffic buffered in the UE to the RAN 105. At action 705, the RAN 105 sends to the UE / WTRU 115, receiving a dynamically variable buffer status report (BSR) stepping configuration from the serving cell RAN 105, the configuration may include a plurality of traffic-specific BSR stepping group indices (based on a defined BSR stepping group list), each of which indicates one or more BSR step sizes associated with a size range of uplink traffic in the UE's buffer, or may be associated with a flow identifier, traffic type, or quality of service class identifier (QCI). At action 710, the UE 115 receives the variable buffer status reporting configuration transmitted at action 705. At action 715, in the case of buffering uplink traffic in the UE 115, the UE determines a BSR step size group associated with each buffered traffic type, flow ID, or QCI ID. The UE 115 compiles one or more corresponding BSR tables based on the determined BSR step size groups and determines one or more BSR indexes corresponding to one or more corresponding buffered traffic types, flow identifiers, or QCIs. In an embodiment, at action 720, the UE / WTRU 115 may transmit the determined BSR indexes, each having a certain determined size, using an uplink scheduling indication during a configured uplink control channel opportunity. In another embodiment, at action 720, the UE / WTRU 115 may send a separate indication of the selected BSR step size group (from a predefined list of BSR step size groups) associated with the buffered traffic type and the corresponding BSR index / report.

[0147] Now go to Figure 8, which shows a flow chart of a method 800, which configures a UE to use one or more variable buffer status reporting configurations to indicate uplink traffic buffered in the UE to a RAN serving the UE so that the RAN can allocate resources that the UE can use to transmit the buffered uplink traffic to the RAN. The method 800 starts at action 805. At action 810, the RAN transmits a variable buffer state configuration to the UE device. The variable buffer state configuration can be device-specific, in other words, one UE can receive a different variable buffer state configuration from another UE. At action 815, the UE device receives the variable buffer state configuration transmitted at action 810. At action 820, the UE that receives the variable buffer status reporting configuration evaluates the uplink traffic that it has buffered for uplink transmission. The evaluation performed by the UE at action 820 may include, but is not limited to: determining the size or amount of traffic buffered in the buffer, the total size of the buffer, the type of traffic that can be buffered at the UE device, the quality of service that can be associated with the traffic buffered at the UE device, the device type of the UE, or another metric associated with a parameter related to the uplink traffic buffered by the UE.

[0148] At action 825, the UE determines a precision variable value, which may have been received in a variable buffer state configuration, or may have been otherwise configured or determined, for use based on the evaluation of the buffered traffic at action 820. Different precision variables may be determined depending on the amount of traffic the UE has buffered, the size of the buffer, the type of traffic the UE has buffered, or the device type of traffic the UE has buffered.

[0149] At act 830, based on the precision variable values ​​determined at act 825, the UE determines a buffer status report indication by applying their determined precision variable values ​​to a function of, or a table derived from, the variable buffer status configuration received at act 815. At act 835, it is determined whether more indexes need to be determined - for example, if the UE has buffered multiple types of traffic, different indexes corresponding to different types of traffic may be determined. If it is determined at act 835 that another index is to be determined, then method 800 returns to act 825.

[0150] If it is determined at act 835 that another buffer status report index is not to be determined, the method 800 proceeds to act 840. At act 840, it is determined at the UE whether the UE is configured to transmit a buffer status report indication format indication. The buffer status report indication format indication may include a size of the buffer status report indication, which may vary based on the uplink traffic buffered in the UE. The format indication may be transmitted to the RAN that transmits the variable buffer status configuration at 810 during the uplink control channel configuration. The buffer status report indication format indication may contain information that informs or makes the RAN aware of the size of the buffer status report indication that the UAE may soon transmit to the RAN. If it is determined at act 840 that the UE is configured to or needs to send a buffer status report indication format indication, the method 800 proceeds to act 845. At act 845, the UE sends a buffer status report indication format indication to the RAN and proceeds to act 847. The indication sent at act 845 may include an indication of the size of the buffer status report indication to be sent by the UE (sending the format indication at act 845). If it is determined at act 840 that a buffer status report indication format indication does not need to be sent or the UE is not configured to send such an indication, the method 800 proceeds to act 847 .

[0151] At action 847, the UE sends a buffer status report indication to the RAN. The buffer status report indication may include an index, which may have been determined by the UE by determining a precision value or a step value in size (e.g., a value in bytes), and using the determined precision value as a value in place of a precision variable in a function including the precision variable, which precision variable or function may be part of the variable buffer status report configuration received at action 815.

[0152] At act 850, the RAN receives and decodes the buffer status report indication. The decoding at act 850 may include blind decoding, or may include decoding using a device-specific identifier corresponding to the UE that sent the buffer status indication at act 847. The decoding at act 850 may be performed according to the buffer status report indication format indication sent at act 845. After decoding the buffer status report indication at act 850, the RAN may allocate uplink resources to cause uplink transmission of uplink traffic buffered in the UE from the UE.

[0153] At action 860, the RAN sends an uplink resource allocation indication to the UE. At action 865, the UE receives the resource allocation indication. The resource allocation may include, for example, a timing opportunity for transmitting uplink traffic packets or messages, or the resource allocation indication may indicate an uplink frequency for transmitting uplink traffic buffered at the UE. At action 870, the UE transmits the buffered uplink traffic according to the uplink resources indicated in the resource allocation received at action 865. Method 800 ends at action 875.

[0154] Now go to Fig. 9 , which shows an example embodiment method 900, the method 900 comprising: at block 905, by a radio access network node including a processor, causing a first variable buffer status reporting configuration to be sent to a first user equipment; at block 910, causing a first buffer status reporting indication to be received, the first buffer status reporting indication indicating first uplink traffic data buffered in the first user equipment according to the first variable buffer status reporting configuration; at block 915, allocating a first uplink resource based on the first buffer status reporting indication, which is to be used by the first user equipment to send the first uplink traffic data; at block 920, causing a first uplink resource to be sent to the first user equipment Sending a first resource indication for a first uplink resource; at block 925, monitoring the first uplink resource used for first uplink traffic data; at block 930, wherein the first variable buffer status reporting configuration includes at least a first index function of a first precision variable, wherein the first variable buffer status reporting configuration includes a first buffer status criterion function corresponding to the first index function, and wherein the first buffer status criterion function includes a first precision variable; and at block 935, by the radio access network node, prompting the sending of a second variable buffer status reporting configuration to a second user equipment, wherein the second variable buffer status reporting configuration is different from the first variable buffer status reporting configuration.

[0155] Now go to Fig.10, the figure shows an example system 1000, the system 1000 includes a computer executable component of a communication network node at block 1005, the computer executable component including a processor, the processor being configured to: send a first variable buffer status index function to a user equipment; at block 1010, receive a first buffer status report indication corresponding to the user equipment and indicating first uplink traffic data buffered at the user equipment; at block 1015, based on the first buffer status report indication, allocate a first scheduled uplink time resource to be used by the user equipment to send the first uplink traffic data; at block 1020, send a first resource indication of the first scheduled uplink time resource to the user equipment; at block 1025, monitor the first scheduled uplink time resource for the first uplink traffic data sent by the user equipment; at block 1030, the first variable buffer status index function includes at least one of a first precision variable or a first boundary variable, wherein the first variable buffer status index function includes a first variable buffer status index function corresponding to the first precision variable or the ... A first buffer status criterion function corresponding to an index function, wherein the first buffer status criterion function includes at least one of a first precision variable or a first boundary variable, wherein the first precision variable corresponds to a first buffer data amount range, wherein a first variable buffer status index function includes at least a second precision variable or a second boundary variable, wherein the first variable buffer status index function includes a second buffer status criterion function corresponding to the second index function, wherein the second buffer status criterion function includes at least one of a second precision variable or a second boundary variable, and wherein the second precision variable corresponds to a second buffer data amount range; and at block 1035, wherein the processor is further configured to: allocate a first buffer status report indication resource size, which is to be used by a user device to send a first buffer status report indication, wherein the first buffer status report indication resource size is based on the first precision variable, or allocate a second size buffer status report indication resource size, which is to be used by a user device to send a first buffer status report indication, wherein the second size buffer status report indication resource size is based on the second precision variable.

[0156] Now go to Fig.11 , Fig.11A non-transitory machine-readable medium 1100 is shown, which includes executable instructions at block 1105, which, when executed by a processor of a node of a communication network, cause the following operations to be performed, the operations including: sending a first variable buffer status report configuration to a first user equipment; at block 1110, sending the first variable buffer status report configuration to the first user equipment; at block 1115, receiving a first buffer status report indication from the first user equipment, the first buffer status report indication indicating first uplink traffic data buffered in the first user equipment according to the first variable buffer status report configuration; at block 1120, allocating a first uplink time resource and a first uplink frequency resource based on the first buffer status report indication, which is to be used by the first user equipment to send the first uplink traffic data; at block 1125, sending a first resource indication of the first uplink time resource and the first uplink frequency resource to the first user equipment; at block 1130, monitoring At block 1135, a second variable buffer status report configuration is sent to the first user equipment; at block 1140, a second buffer status report indication corresponding to the first user equipment is received, and the second buffer status report indication indicates the second uplink traffic data buffered in the first user equipment according to the second variable buffer status report configuration; at block 1145, based on the second buffer status report indication, a second uplink time resource and a second uplink frequency resource are allocated, which are to be used by the first user equipment to send the second uplink traffic data; at block 1150, a second resource indication for the second uplink time resource and the second uplink frequency resource is sent to the first user equipment; and at block 1155, the second uplink time resource and the second uplink frequency resource for the second uplink traffic data from the first user equipment are monitored.

[0157] Now go to Fig.12 , Fig.12An example embodiment method 1200 is shown, comprising: at block 1205, by a user equipment including a processor, causing a first variable buffer status report configuration function to be received from a radio access network node; at block 1210, by the user equipment, generating a first buffer status report indication according to the first variable buffer status report configuration function, the first buffer status report indication corresponding to a first uplink traffic portion buffered in a first memory portion of the user equipment; at block 1215, by the user equipment, causing the first buffer status report indication to be sent to the radio access network node; at block 1220, by the user equipment, causing a first resource indication for a first uplink resource to be allocated by the radio access network node based on the first buffer status report indication; at block 1225, by the user equipment, causing the first uplink traffic portion to be sent to the radio access network node using the first uplink resource at block 1230, wherein the first variable buffer status report configuration function includes one or more index functions of a first precision variable, and wherein the first variable buffer status report configuration function includes one or more buffer status criterion functions corresponding to the one or more index functions, wherein at least one of the one or more buffer status criterion functions includes the first precision variable, the method further comprising: by a user device, analyzing the first uplink traffic portion according to the one or more buffer status criterion functions to obtain an analyzed first uplink traffic portion value; at block 1235, by a user device, determining a determined index function in the one or more index functions based on the analyzed first uplink traffic portion value; at block 1240, by a user device, determining a first index value corresponding to the first uplink traffic portion based on the determined index function; and at block 1245, wherein the first buffer status report indication includes the first index value.

[0158] Now go to Fig.13 , Fig.13An example user equipment 1300 is shown, the user equipment 1300 includes a processor at block 1305, the processor being configured to: receive a first variable buffer status reporting configuration from a radio access network node; at block 1310, generate a first buffer status reporting indication according to the first variable buffer status reporting configuration, the first buffer status reporting indication corresponding to a first uplink traffic portion buffered in a first memory portion of the user equipment; at block 1315, send the first buffer status reporting indication to the radio access network node; at block 1320, receive a first resource indication for a first uplink resource from the radio access network node, the first uplink resource being allocated by the radio access network node based on the first buffer status reporting indication; at block 1325, send the first uplink traffic portion to the radio access network node using the first uplink resource; at block 1330, wherein the first variable buffer status reporting configuration includes one or more indexes The index includes one or more corresponding index functions of at least one of a first precision variable or a first boundary variable, wherein the first variable buffer status report configuration includes one or more buffer status criterion functions corresponding to the one or more index functions, wherein at least one of the buffer status criterion functions includes at least one of the first precision variable or the first boundary variable, and wherein the processor is further configured to: analyze the first uplink traffic portion according to the one or more buffer status criterion functions to obtain an analyzed first uplink traffic portion value; at block 1335, determine a determined index function in the one or more index functions based on the analyzed first uplink traffic portion value; at block 1340, determine a first index value corresponding to the first uplink traffic portion based on the determined index function; and at block 1345, wherein the first buffer status report indication includes the first index value, and wherein the first precision variable includes the amount of data.

[0159] Now go to Fig.14 , Fig.14A non-transitory machine-readable medium 1400 is shown, which includes executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a user equipment, cause the following operations to be performed, which operations include at block 1405: receiving a variable buffer status reporting configuration from a radio access network node, the variable buffer status reporting configuration including a first index function and a second index function, a first buffer status criterion function corresponding to the first index function, and a second buffer status criterion function corresponding to the second index function; at block 1410, generating a first buffer status reporting indication according to the variable buffer status reporting configuration, the first buffer status reporting indication corresponding to a first uplink traffic portion buffered in a memory of the user equipment; at block 1415, sending the first buffer status reporting indication to the radio access network node; at block 1420, receiving a first resource indication for a first uplink resource from the radio access network node, the first uplink resource being allocated by the radio access network node based on the first buffer status reporting indication; at block 1425, sending the first uplink traffic portion to the radio access network node using the first uplink resource. at block 1430, wherein the first buffer status criterion function or the first index function includes at least one of the first precision variable or the first boundary variable, and wherein the second buffer status criterion function or the second index function includes at least one of the second precision variable or the second boundary variable; at block 1435, wherein the first buffer status reporting indication is generated based on the first uplink traffic portion according to the first index function, the first uplink traffic portion having a traffic portion size corresponding to the first precision variable; at block 1440, generating a second buffer status reporting indication according to the variable buffer status reporting configuration, the second buffer status reporting indication corresponding to the second uplink traffic portion buffered in the memory of the user equipment; at block 1445, sending the second buffer status reporting indication to the radio access network node; at block 1450, receiving a second resource indication for a second uplink resource from the radio access network node, the second uplink resource being allocated by the radio access network node based on the second buffer status reporting indication; and at block 1455, sending the second uplink traffic portion to the radio access network node using the second uplink resource.

[0160] To provide additional context for the various embodiments described herein, Fig.15 The following discussion is intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment 1500 in which various embodiments described herein may be implemented. Although the embodiments have been described above in the general context of computer-executable instructions that may be executed on one or more computers, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments may also be combined with other program modules and / or implemented as a combination of hardware and software.

[0161] Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the method can be practiced with other computer system configurations, including single-processor or multi-processor computer systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, Internet of Things devices, distributed computing systems, and personal computers, handheld computing devices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, etc., each of which can be operatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

[0162] The embodiments described herein may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where certain tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

[0163] Computing devices typically include various media, which may include computer-readable storage media, machine-readable storage media, and / or communication media, the two terms being used differently in this article as shown below. Computer-readable storage media or machine-readable storage media can be any available storage media that can be accessed by a computer, including both volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. As an example and not limitation, computer-readable storage media or machine-readable storage media can be implemented in conjunction with any method or technology for storing information (such as computer-readable or machine-readable instructions, program modules, structured data, or unstructured data).

[0164] Computer-readable storage media may include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disk read-only memory (CDROM), digital versatile disk (DVD), Blu-ray disk (BD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, solid-state drives or other solid-state storage devices, or other tangible and / or non-transitory media capable of storing the desired information. In this regard, the terms "tangible" or "non-transitory" as applied to storage, memory, or computer-readable media herein should be understood as excluding only propagating transient signals per se as modifiers and not disclaiming all standard storage, memory, or computer-readable media that are not merely propagating transient signals per se.

[0165] Computer-readable storage media can be accessed by one or more local or remote computing devices (eg, through access requests, queries, or other data retrieval protocols) to perform various operations on the information stored by the media.

[0166] Communication media typically contain computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other structured or unstructured data in a data signal (such as a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism), and include any information transfer or transmission media. The term "modulated data signal" or signal refers to a signal whose characteristics are set or changed in such a way that information is encoded in the signal or signals. By way of example and not limitation, communication media include wired media (such as a wired network or direct wired connection) and wireless media (such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media).

[0167] Reference again Fig.15 , an example environment 1500 for implementing various embodiments of aspects described herein includes a computer 1502, which includes a processing unit 1504, a system memory 1506, and a system bus 1508. The system bus 1508 couples system components including, but not limited to, the system memory 1506 to the processing unit 1504. The processing unit 1504 can be any of a variety of commercially available processors and can include cache memory. Dual microprocessors and other multi-processor architectures can also be used as the processing unit 1504.

[0168] The system bus 1508 may be any of several types of bus structures, which may further interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memory controller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of commercially available bus architectures. The system memory 1506 includes ROM 1510 and RAM 1512. A basic input / output system (BIOS) may be stored in a non-volatile memory such as ROM, an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an EEPROM, wherein the BIOS contains the basic routines that help transfer information between elements within the computer 1502 (such as during startup). The RAM 1512 may also include a high-speed RAM, such as a static RAM for caching data.

[0169] The computer 1502 also includes an internal hard disk drive (HDD) 1514 (e.g., EIDE, SATA), one or more external storage devices 1516 (e.g., a magnetic floppy disk drive (FDD) 1516, a memory stick or flash drive reader, a memory card reader, etc.), and an optical drive 1520 (e.g., can read or write from a CD-ROM disk, a DVD, a BD, etc.). Although the internal HDD 1514 is shown as being located within the computer 1502, the internal HDD 1514 can also be configured for external use in a suitable chassis (not shown). In addition, although not shown in the environment 1500, a solid-state drive (SSD) can be used to supplement or replace the HDD 1514. The HDD 1514, (multiple) external storage devices 1516, and the optical drive 1520 can be connected to the system bus 1508 via a HDD interface 1524, an external storage interface 1526, and an optical drive interface 1528, respectively. The interface 1524 for external drive implementations may include at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus (USB) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 interface technologies. Other external drive connection technologies are also contemplated within the scope of the embodiments described herein.

[0170] The drives and their associated computer-readable storage media provide non-volatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executable instructions, etc. For the computer 1502, the drives and storage media are suitable for storing any data in an appropriate digital format. Although the above description of computer-readable storage media refers to the respective type of storage device, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that other types of computer-readable storage media (whether existing or developed in the future) can also be used in the example operating environment, and further, any such storage media can contain computer-executable instructions for performing the methods described herein.

[0171] A number of program modules may be stored in the drives and RAM 1512, including an operating system 1530, one or more application programs 1532, other program modules 1534, and program data 1536. All or portions of the operating system, applications, modules, and / or data may also be cached in RAM 1512. The systems and methods described herein may be implemented using various commercially available operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0172] Computer 1502 may optionally include emulation technology. For example, a virtual machine hypervisor (not shown) or other intermediary may emulate the hardware environment of operating system 1530, and the emulated hardware may optionally be different from the hardware of operating system 1530. Fig.15. In such an embodiment, operating system 1530 may include one of multiple virtual machines (VMs) hosted at computer 1502. In addition, operating system 1530 may provide a runtime environment, such as a Java runtime environment or a .NET framework, for application 1532. A runtime environment is a consistent execution environment that allows application 1532 to run on any operating system that includes a runtime environment. Similarly, operating system 1530 may support containers, and application 1532 may take the form of a container, which is a lightweight, independent, executable software package that includes, for example, the application's code, runtime, system tools, system libraries, and settings.

[0173] In addition, the computer 1502 may include a security module, such as a trusted processing module (TPM). For example, using a TPM, the boot component hashes the next boot component and waits for the result to match a security value before loading the next boot component. This process can be performed at any layer in the code execution stack of the computer 1502, for example, applied to the application execution level or the operating system (OS) kernel level, thereby achieving security of code execution at any level.

[0174] A user may enter commands and information into the computer 1502 through one or more wired / wireless input devices, such as a keyboard 1538, a touch screen 1540, and a pointing device such as a mouse 1542. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, an infrared (IR) remote control, a radio frequency (RF) remote control or other remote control, a joystick, a virtual reality controller and / or a virtual reality headset, a game controller, a stylus, an image input device (e.g., camera(s)), a gesture sensor input device, a visual motion sensor input device, an emotion or facial detection device, a biometric input device (e.g., a fingerprint or iris scanner), and the like. These and other input devices are typically connected to the processing unit 1504 through an input device interface 1544, which may be coupled to the system bus 1508, but may be connected through other interfaces, such as a parallel port, an IEEE 1394 serial port, a game port, a USB port, an IR port, a BLUE Interfaces, etc.

[0175] A monitor 1546 or other type of display device may also be connected to the system bus 1508 via an interface, such as a video adapter 1548. In addition to the monitor 1546, computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, and the like.

[0176] The computer 1502 can be connected to one or more remote computers, such as (multiple) remote computers 1550, in a network environment using logical connections by wired and / or wireless communications. (Multiple) remote computers 1550 can be workstations, server computers, routers, personal computers, portable computers, microprocessor-based entertainment devices, peer devices, or other common network nodes, and typically include many or all of the elements described relative to the computer 1502, but for simplicity, only a memory / storage device 1552 is shown. The depicted logical connections include wired / wireless connections to a local area network (LAN) 1554 and / or a larger network, such as a wide area network (WAN) 1556. Such LAN and WAN network environments are common in offices and companies and facilitate enterprise-wide computer networks (such as intranets), all of which can be connected to a global communication network (such as the Internet).

[0177] When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 1502 can be connected to the local network 1554 through a wired and / or wireless communication network interface or adapter 1558. The adapter 1558 can facilitate wired or wireless communication with the LAN 1554, which can also include a wireless access point (AP) disposed thereon for communicating with the adapter 1558 in a wireless mode.

[0178] When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 1502 may include a modem 1560 or may be connected to a communication server on the WAN 1556 by other means to establish communications on the WAN 1556, such as through the Internet. The modem 1560 may be internal or external and may be a wired or wireless device and may be connected to the system bus 1508 via the input device interface 1544. In a network environment, program modules described relative to the computer 1502 or portions thereof may be stored in the remote memory / storage device 1552. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are examples and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.

[0179] When used in a LAN or WAN networking environment, the computer 1502 can access a cloud storage system or other network-based storage system in addition to or in place of the external storage device 1516 described above. Typically, the connection between the computer 1502 and the cloud storage system can be established over the LAN 1554 or WAN 1556 (e.g., through an adapter 1558 or a modem 1560, respectively). When the computer 1502 is connected to the associated cloud storage system, the external storage interface 1526 can manage the storage provided by the cloud storage system like other types of external storage with the help of the adapter 1558 and / or the modem 1560. For example, the external storage interface 1526 can be configured to provide access to cloud storage sources as if those sources were physically connected to the computer 1502.

[0180] Computer 1502 may be operable to communicate with any wireless device or entity operatively arranged in wireless communication, such as printers, scanners, desktop and / or portable computers, portable data assistants, communication satellites, any device or location associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., kiosks, newsstands, store shelves, etc.), and telephones. This may include Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) and BLUE Wireless technology. Therefore, the communication can be a predefined structure like traditional networks, or it can be an ad hoc communication between at least two devices.

[0181] Steering Fig.16 , which shows a block diagram of an example UE 1660. UE 1660 may include a smartphone, a wireless tablet, a laptop with wireless capabilities, a wearable device, a machine device that can facilitate vehicle telematics, a tracking device, a remote sensing device, etc. UE 1660 includes a first processor 1630, a second processor 1632, and a shared memory 1634. UE 1660 includes a radio front-end circuit 1662, which may be referred to as a transceiver in this article, but it should be understood that it generally includes a transceiver circuit system, a separate filter, and a separate antenna for facilitating signals in a wireless link (such as Figure 1 In addition, transceiver 1662 may include multiple sets of circuit systems or may be capable of being tuned to accommodate different frequency ranges, different modulation schemes, or different communication protocols to facilitate long-range wireless links (such as link), device-to-device links (such as link 135), and short-range wireless links (such as link 137).

[0182] Continue to Fig.161660 may also include a SIM 1664 or SIM profile, which may include information stored in a memory (memory 34 or a separate memory portion) to facilitate communication with Figure 1 Wireless communications with the RAN 105 or core network 130 shown in FIG. Fig.16 SIM 1664 is shown as a single component having a traditional SIM card shape, but it should be understood that SIM 1664 can represent multiple SIM cards, multiple SIM profiles, or multiple eSIMs, some or all of which can be implemented in hardware or software. It should be understood that a SIM profile can include information such as security credentials (e.g., encryption keys, values ​​that can be used to generate encryption keys, or shared values ​​shared between SIM 1664 and another device, which can be Figure 1 105 or components of the core network 130 shown in ). The SIM profile 1664 may also include identification information unique to the SIM or SIM profile, such as, for example, an International Mobile Subscriber Identity ("IMSI") or information that may constitute an IMSI.

[0183] SIM 1664 is shown coupled to both first processor portion 1630 and second processor portion 1632. Such an implementation may provide the advantage that first processor portion 30 may not need to request or receive information or data from SIM 1664 that may be requested by second processor 1632, thereby eliminating the use of the first processor acting as a "middle man" when the second processor uses information from the SIM to perform its functions and execute applications. First processor 1630, which may be a modem processor or baseband processor, is shown as being smaller than processor 1632, which may be a more complex application processor, to intuitively indicate the relative level of complexity (i.e., processing power and performance) and corresponding relative operating power consumption levels between the two processor portions. When UE 1660 does not need the second processor part 1632 to execute applications and process data related to the applications, keeping the second processor part 1632 in a sleep / inactive / low power consumption state, when the UE only needs to use the first processor part 1630 in listening mode to monitor the bearer management and mobility management / maintenance processes of the regular configuration, or to monitor the search space that the UE has been configured to monitor when the second processor part remains in an inactive / sleep state, power consumption can be reduced.

[0184] The UE 1660 may also include sensors 1666, such as, for example, temperature sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, barometers, humidity sensors, etc., which may provide signals to the first processor 1630 or the second processor 1632. The output devices 1668 may include, for example, one or more visual displays (e.g., computer monitors, VR devices, etc.), acoustic transducers (e.g., speakers or microphones), vibration components, etc. The output devices 1668 may include software that interfaces with output devices external to the UE 1660 (e.g., visual displays, speakers, microphones, tactile devices, olfactory or taste devices, etc.).

[0185] The following glossary of terms, given in Table 1, may be applicable to the description of one or more embodiments disclosed herein.

[0186]

[0187]

[0188] Table 1

[0189] The above description includes non-limiting examples of various embodiments. Of course, for the purpose of describing the disclosed subject matter, it is not possible to describe all conceivable combinations of components or methods, and those skilled in the art will recognize that further combinations and permutations of the various embodiments are possible. The disclosed subject matter is intended to encompass all such changes, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

[0190] With respect to the various functions performed by the above-described components, devices, circuits, systems, etc., the terms used to describe such components (including references to "means"), unless otherwise indicated, are also intended to include any structure (e.g., functional equivalent) that performs the specified functions of the components, even if not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structures. In addition, while a particular feature of the disclosed subject matter may be disclosed for only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of other implementations, which may be desirable and advantageous for any given or particular application.

[0191] As used herein, the terms "exemplary" and / or "illustrative" or variations thereof are intended to mean serving as examples, instances, or illustrations. For the avoidance of doubt, the subject matter disclosed herein is not limited to such examples. In addition, any aspect or design described herein as "exemplary" and / or "illustrative" is not necessarily to be construed as superior or preferred over other aspects or designs, nor is it meant to exclude equivalent structures and techniques known to those skilled in the art. In addition, to the extent that the terms "including," "having," "comprising," and other similar words are used in the detailed description or claims, these terms are intended to be inclusive - similar to the term "comprising" as an open transition word - without excluding any additional or other elements.

[0192] As used herein, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or" rather than an exclusive "or." For example, the phrase "A or B" is intended to include instances of A, B, and A and B. In addition, the articles "a" and "an" as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean "one or more" unless otherwise specified or clear from context to indicate a singular form.

[0193] The term "set" as used herein does not include an empty set, i.e., a set with no elements in it. Thus, a "set" in the present disclosure includes one or more elements or entities. Likewise, the term "group" as used herein refers to a set of one or more entities.

[0194] The terms "first", "second", "third", etc. used in the claims are used only for clarity and do not indicate or imply any temporal order unless the context clearly states otherwise. For example, "a first determination", "a second determination", and "a third determination" do not indicate or imply that the first determination should be made before the second determination, or vice versa, etc.

[0195] The description of the exemplary embodiments of the subject disclosure provided herein (including the content described in the abstract) is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Although specific embodiments and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made, which are considered to be within the scope of such embodiments and examples. In this regard, although the subject matter is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments and corresponding drawings, it will be understood that other similar embodiments may be used, or the embodiments may be modified and added to perform the same, similar, alternative or alternative functions as the disclosed subject matter, without departing from the disclosed subject matter. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but should be interpreted in breadth and scope according to the following attached claims.

Claims

1. A method comprising: causing, by a radio access network node comprising a processor, to send a first variable buffer status reporting configuration to a first user equipment; causing receiving a first buffer status reporting indication, the first buffer status reporting indication indicating first uplink traffic data buffered in the first user equipment according to the first variable buffer status reporting configuration; allocating a first uplink resource based on the first buffer status report indication, the first uplink resource to be used by the first user equipment to send the first uplink traffic data; causing a first resource indication for the first uplink resource to be sent to the first user equipment; and The first uplink resource is monitored for the first uplink traffic data.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first variable buffer status reporting configuration includes at least a first index function of a first precision variable, wherein the first variable buffer status reporting configuration includes a first buffer status criterion function corresponding to the first index function, and wherein the first buffer status criterion function includes the first precision variable.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first precision variable comprises a first data amount.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the first variable buffer status reporting configuration includes at least a second index function of a second precision variable, wherein the first variable buffer status reporting configuration includes a second buffer status criterion function corresponding to the second index function, wherein the second buffer status criterion function includes the second precision variable, wherein the second precision variable includes a second data amount, wherein the first precision variable is associated with a first buffer flow size range in the first variable buffer status reporting configuration, and wherein the second precision variable is associated with a second buffer flow size range in the first variable buffer status reporting configuration.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: causing, by the radio access network node, to send a second variable buffer status reporting configuration to the first user equipment; causing receiving a second buffer status reporting indication corresponding to the first user equipment, the second buffer status reporting indication indicating second uplink traffic data buffered in the first user equipment according to the second variable buffer status reporting configuration; allocating a second uplink resource based on the second buffer status report indication, the second uplink resource to be used by the first user equipment to send the second uplink traffic data; causing a second resource indication for the second uplink resource to be sent to the first user equipment; and The second uplink resource used for the second uplink traffic data sent by the first user equipment is monitored.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first variable buffer status reporting configuration corresponds to a first type of traffic, and wherein the second variable buffer status reporting configuration corresponds to a second type of traffic.

7. A method according to claim 5, wherein the second variable buffer status reporting configuration includes a second index, the second index includes a second index function of a second precision variable, wherein the second variable buffer status reporting configuration includes a second buffer status criterion function corresponding to the second index function, and wherein the second buffer status criterion function includes the second precision variable.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first precision variable corresponds to a first type of flow, and wherein the second precision variable corresponds to a second type of flow.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first type of traffic corresponds to a first quality of service and the second type of traffic corresponds to a second quality of service.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first buffer status report indication comprises a first index value, and wherein allocating the first uplink resource comprises: The first uplink resource is determined, by the radio access network node, based on the first index value.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The radio access network node causes a second variable buffer status reporting configuration to be sent to a second user equipment, wherein the second variable buffer status reporting configuration is different from the first variable buffer status reporting configuration.

12. A system comprising: A computer executable component of a communication network node, the computer executable component comprising a processor, the processor being configured to: Sending a first variable buffer status index function to a user equipment; receiving a first buffer status report indication corresponding to the user equipment and indicating first uplink traffic data buffered at the user equipment; allocating a first scheduled uplink time resource based on the first buffer status report indication, the first scheduled uplink time resource to be used by the user equipment to send the first uplink traffic data; Sending a first resource indication of the first scheduled uplink time resource to the user equipment; as well as The first scheduled uplink time resource for the first uplink traffic data sent by the user equipment is monitored.

13. A system according to claim 12, wherein the first variable buffer status index function includes at least one of a first precision variable or a first boundary variable, wherein the first variable buffer status index function includes a first buffer status criterion function corresponding to the first index function, wherein the first buffer status criterion function includes at least one of the first precision variable or the first boundary variable, wherein the first precision variable corresponds to a first buffer data amount range, wherein the first variable buffer status index function includes at least a second precision variable or a second boundary variable, wherein the first variable buffer status index function includes a second buffer status criterion function corresponding to the second index function, wherein the second buffer status criterion function includes at least one of the second precision variable or the second boundary variable, and wherein the second precision variable corresponds to a second buffer data amount range.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to: allocating a first buffer status report indication resource size, the first buffer status report indication resource size to be used by the user equipment to send the first buffer status report indication, wherein the first buffer status report indication resource size is based on the first precision variable, or Allocating a second size buffer status report indication resource size to be used by the user equipment to send the first buffer status report indication, wherein the second size buffer status report indication resource size is based on the second precision variable.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to: sending a second variable buffer state index function; receiving a second buffer status report indication corresponding to the user equipment and indicating second uplink traffic data buffered in the user equipment; allocating a second scheduled uplink time resource based on the second buffer status report indication, the second scheduled uplink time resource to be used by the user equipment to send the second uplink traffic data; sending a second resource indication of the second scheduled uplink time resource to the user equipment; and monitoring the second scheduled uplink time resource for the second uplink traffic data sent by the user equipment, wherein the first variable buffer status index function corresponds to a first type of traffic, wherein the second variable buffer status index function corresponds to a second type of traffic, wherein the first variable buffer status index function includes a first index function of a first precision variable, wherein the first variable buffer status index function includes a first buffer status criterion function corresponding to the first index function, wherein the second variable buffer status index function includes a second index function of a second precision variable, wherein the second variable buffer status index function includes a second buffer status criterion function corresponding to the second index function, wherein the first precision variable corresponds to the first type of traffic, and wherein the second precision variable corresponds to the second type of traffic.

16. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a node of a communication network, cause performance of operations comprising: Sending a first variable buffer status report configuration to a first user equipment; receiving a first buffer status report indication from the first user equipment, the first buffer status report indication indicating first uplink traffic data buffered in the first user equipment according to the first variable buffer status report configuration; allocating a first uplink time resource and a first uplink frequency resource based on the first buffer status report indication, the first uplink time resource and the first uplink frequency resource to be used by the first user equipment to send the first uplink traffic data; Sending a first resource indication of the first uplink time resource and the first uplink frequency resource to the first user equipment; as well as The first uplink time resource and the first uplink frequency resource used for the first uplink traffic data sent by the first user equipment are monitored.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 16, the operations further comprising: Sending a second variable buffer status report configuration to the first user equipment; receiving a second buffer status report indication corresponding to the first user equipment, the second buffer status report indication indicating second uplink traffic data buffered in the first user equipment according to the second variable buffer status report configuration; allocating a second uplink time resource and a second uplink frequency resource based on the second buffer status report indication, the second uplink time resource and the second uplink frequency resource to be used by the first user equipment to send the second uplink traffic data; Sending a second resource indication for the second uplink time resource and the second uplink frequency resource to the first user equipment; as well as The second uplink time resource and the second uplink frequency resource for the second uplink traffic data from the first user equipment are monitored.

18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise: A third variable buffer status reporting configuration is sent to a second user equipment, wherein the third variable buffer status reporting configuration is different from the first variable buffer status reporting configuration or the second variable buffer status reporting configuration.

19. A non-volatile machine-readable medium according to claim 18, wherein the first variable buffer status reporting configuration includes a first precision variable, wherein the third variable buffer status reporting configuration includes a third precision variable, and wherein the first precision variable and the third precision variable correspond to a first device category of the first user device and a second device category of the second user device, respectively.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise: allocating a first size uplink resource to be used by the first user equipment to send the first buffer status report indication, wherein the size uplink resource is based on the first precision variable; as well as Allocating a second size uplink resource to be used by the second user equipment to send a third buffer status report indication, wherein the second size uplink resource is based on the third precision variable.

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