Cache status reporting triggered by data drop

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention relates to a buffer status report (BSR) triggered by data drop. And the terminal equipment discards the uplink data. In addition, the terminal device triggers the BSR based on the drop of the uplink data. Therefore, network capacity can be increased, power consumption can be saved, and transmission efficiency can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments relate to the field of telecommunications, and in particular to methods, devices, apparatuses, and computer-readable storage media for communications. Background Art

[0002] The user equipment (UE) uses a buffer status report (BSR) to communicate to the base station the amount of data waiting to be transmitted over the channel. Based on the BSR, the base station allocates resources for the UE's data transmission. The UE then sends data to the base station based on the allocated resources. However, in some cases, the amount of data waiting to be transmitted may change due to some reasons. In these cases, research and development is needed to reduce the impact of this change. Summary of the invention

[0003] In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution related to BSR triggered by data discard.

[0004] In a first aspect, a terminal device is provided, comprising: at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the terminal device to at least: discard uplink data; and trigger a buffer status report based on the discarding of the uplink data.

[0005] In a second aspect, a network device is provided. The network device includes: at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the network device to at least: receive a buffer status report from a terminal device; and, based on the buffer status report, determine that the buffer status report is triggered by discarding of uplink data at the terminal device.

[0006] In a third aspect, a method implemented at a terminal device is provided. The method includes: discarding uplink data at the terminal device; and triggering a buffer status report based on the discarding of the uplink data.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a method implemented at a network device is provided. The method comprises: receiving a buffer status report from a terminal device at the network device; and determining, based on the buffer status report, that the buffer status report is triggered by discarding of uplink data at the terminal device.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes: a component for discarding uplink data at a terminal device; and a component for triggering a buffer status report based on the discarding of the uplink data.

[0009] In a sixth aspect, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes: a component for receiving a buffer status report from a terminal device at a network device; and a component for determining, based on the buffer status report, that the buffer status report is triggered by discarding of uplink data at the terminal device.

[0010] In a seventh aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, the medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least execute a method according to any one of the third to fourth aspects above.

[0011] In an eighth aspect, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions, which, when executed by a device, cause the device to at least perform a method according to any one of the third to fourth aspects above.

[0012] In a ninth aspect, a terminal device is provided, comprising a discarding circuit system configured to discard uplink data; and a triggering circuit system configured to trigger a buffer status report based on the discarding of the uplink data.

[0013] In a tenth aspect, a network device is provided. The network device includes a receiving circuit system configured to receive a buffer status report from a terminal device; and a determining circuit system configured to determine, based on the buffer status report, that the buffer status report is triggered by discarding of uplink data at the terminal device.

[0014] It should be understood that the invention summary is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0016] Figure 1 illustrates an example environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0017] Figure 2 illustrates a signaling flow between a terminal device and a network device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 3 A flowchart of a method implemented at a terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0019] Figure 4 A flowchart of a method implemented at a network device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated;

[0020] Figure 5 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing some example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0021] Figure 6 A block diagram illustrating an example of a computer readable medium according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0022] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for illustrative purposes and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, and do not represent any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various other ways except for the way described below.

[0024] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0025] In this disclosure, references to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," and "an example embodiment" indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment must include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. In addition, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, those skilled in the art believe that it is within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0026] It should be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. can be used to describe various elements in this article, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiment, the first element can be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element can be referred to as the first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0027] The term used herein is only used to describe specific embodiments, but is not intended to limit exemplary embodiments. The singular form "one", "one" and "the" used herein also include plural forms, unless the context clearly states otherwise. It is further understood that the term "includes", "comprising", "having", "having", "including" and / or "comprising" specifies the existence of the features, elements and / or components when used in this article, but does not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or their combinations. As used in this article, "at least one of the following items: <list of two or more elements>" and "at least one of the lists of <two or more elements>" and similar wording (wherein the list of two or more elements is connected by "and" or "or") refer to at least any one element in these elements, or at least any two or more elements in these elements, or at least all elements in these elements.

[0028] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0029] (a) a pure hardware circuit implementation (such as an implementation using only analog and / or digital circuitry), and

[0030] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable):

[0031] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and

[0032] (ii) any portion of hardware processor(s) (including digital signal processor(s)) with software, software and memory(s) that work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions), and

[0033] (c) Hardware circuits and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portions of microprocessor(s), that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but which may not be present when the software is not required for operation.

[0034] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term circuitry also covers a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0035] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any suitable communication standard, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiplexing (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal equipment and the network equipment in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including but not limited to the third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, future fifth generation (5G) communication protocol, and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there will certainly be communication technologies and systems of future types that can embody the present disclosure. It should not be regarded as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to the above-mentioned system.

[0036] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services from the network. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, a network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), such as a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a new radio (NR) NB (also known as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, a low-power node (such as a femto, a pico), etc.

[0037] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, the terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS) or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device (such as a digital camera), a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in industrial and / or automated processing chain environments), consumer electronic devices, equipment operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0038] As mentioned above, the UE uses the BSR to communicate to the base station the amount of data waiting to be transmitted over the channel. The BSR for LTE is specified in 3GPP TS 36.321, and the BSR for NR is specified in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) TS 38.321 and 38.321. The BSR trigger is specified in NR as follows:

[0039]

[0040]

[0041] As can be seen, there are two main triggers. For example, the BSR may be triggered based on an event, such as data arrival or filling. As another example, the BSR may be triggered based on a timer, such as a retransmission timer or a periodic timer.

[0042] The following Extended Reality (XR) research items were agreed upon in the Radio Access Network (RAN) [RP-220285].

[0043]

[0044]

[0045] In XR, the discarding of protocol data units (PDUs) may become more frequent. However, discarding packets in the transmitter makes the previous BSR outdated and causes more resources to be scheduled than required, which in turn increases power consumption and reduces overall cell capacity. Therefore, how to reduce the impact caused by data discarding remains an important issue that requires research and development.

[0046] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a solution of a BSR triggered by data discard is provided. Through this solution, a terminal device discards uplink data. In addition, the terminal device triggers a BSR based on the discard of uplink data.

[0047] The scheme optimizes the update of BSR by triggering BSR based on the discard of uplink data. In this way, it is possible to avoid scheduling more resources than required, thereby increasing network capacity, saving power consumption and improving transmission efficiency.

[0048] The principles and embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 , which illustrates an example environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0049] Environment 100 (which may be part of a communication network) includes terminal devices 110 and network devices 120 that communicate with each other or with other devices via each other.

[0050] The communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of devices and cells. In the communication environment 100, the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 may transmit data and control information to each other. The link from the network device 120 to the terminal device 110 is called a downlink (DL), and the link from the terminal device 110 to the network device 120 is called an uplink (UL).

[0051] It should be understood that the two devices shown in environment 100 are for illustration purposes only and do not represent any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. In some example embodiments, environment 100 may include additional devices that communicate with terminal device 110 and network device 120.

[0052] Communications in environment 100 may follow any suitable communications standards or protocols that already exist or will be developed in the future, such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Advanced LTE (LTE-A), Fifth Generation (5G) New Radio (NR), Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) standards, and employ any suitable communications technology, including, for example, Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Time Division Multiplexing (TDM), Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), Code Division Multiplexing (CDM), Bluetooth, ZigBee, and Machine Type Communications (MTC), Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC), Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC), Carrier Aggregation (CA), Dual Connectivity (DC), and New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U) technologies.

[0053] Figure 2 FIG2 illustrates a signaling flow 200 between a terminal device and a network device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to FIG200. Figure 1 The signaling flow 200 is described.

[0054] like Figure 2 As shown, the terminal device 110 discards (205) the uplink data. The terminal device 110 then triggers (210) a BSR based on the discarding of the uplink data.

[0055] For example, whenever a PDU discard occurs for a logical channel (LCH) belonging to a logical channel group (LCG), the terminal device 110 may trigger a BSR for the LCH. The discard may be performed at both the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer and the radio link control (RLC) layer. Whether to consider discards at both the PDCP layer and the RLC layer, discards at the PDCP layer, or discards at the RLC layer may be explicitly configured via a radio resource control (RRC) message. In some examples, the network device 120 may send an indication that the uplink data includes one of the following items: data at the PDCP layer, data at the RLC layer, or both data at the PDCP layer and data at the RLC layer.

[0056] In some example embodiments, the BSR may be triggered in various ways. For example, the terminal device may trigger the BSR based on the amount of discarded uplink data and at least one threshold. For example, the network device 120 may configure at least one threshold per LCH or per LCG, and then send the configured at least one threshold to the terminal device 110.

[0057] In some example embodiments, the at least one threshold may include a first threshold, and if the terminal device 110 determines that the amount of discarded uplink data is above the first threshold, it may trigger a BSR. For example, the first threshold may be an absolute number of bytes.

[0058] In some example embodiments, the at least one threshold may include a second threshold, and if the terminal device 110 determines that the ratio of the amount of discarded uplink data to the total amount of buffered uplink data before discarding is higher than the second threshold, it may trigger a BSR. For example, the second threshold may be 50% of the total amount of buffered uplink data.

[0059] In some example embodiments, the at least one threshold may include a third threshold, and if the terminal device 110 determines that the ratio of the amount of discarded uplink data to the amount of remaining uplink data after discarding is higher than the third threshold, it may trigger a BSR.

[0060] In some example embodiments, the at least one threshold may include a fourth threshold and a fifth threshold, and if the terminal device 110 determines that the amount of discarded uplink data is higher than the fourth threshold and the amount of remaining uplink data after discarding is lower than the fifth threshold, it may trigger a BSR. If the remaining uplink data after discarding is still higher than the fifth threshold, the BSR may not be triggered. In this case, both the discarded data and the remaining data may be considered together.

[0061] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 110 may generate a logical channel identifier associated with the BSR to indicate that the BSR is triggered by discarding. In this case, the network device 120 may determine that the BSR is triggered by discarding based on the logical channel identifier. In this case, as an example, the BSR may indicate the number of discarded uplink data. Alternatively or additionally, the BSR may indicate the number of remaining uplink data after discarding. In this case, a new BSR (called a buffer discard report BDR) may be introduced to signal the number of discarded uplink data.

[0062] Then, in some example embodiments, terminal device 110 may send (215) a BSR to network device 120. Thus, network device 120 may receive (220) a BSR from terminal device 110. Network device 120 may then determine (225) based on the BSR that the BSR was triggered by the discarding of uplink data at terminal device 110. Reporting of the BSR may be done per LCG (such as the BSR) or per LCH to provide finer granularity. That is, terminal device 110 may send the BSR to network device 120 per LCH or per LCG.

[0063] In an example embodiment where the BSR indicates the amount of remaining uplink data after discarding, terminal device 110 may trigger a BSR if it determines that the buffer status level (BS level) of the BSR is different from the previous BS level of the previous BSR sent to network device 120. In this case, a comparison may be made with the previously reported BSR, and only BSRs that result in a different BS level being signaled are allowed.

[0064] In an example embodiment in which the BSR indicates the amount of remaining uplink data after discarding, if the terminal device 110 determines that there is a difference between a first BS level and a second BS level, it can trigger a BSR, where the first BS level corresponds to the total cached uplink data of the previous BSR minus the transmitted uplink data, and the second BS level corresponds to the total cached uplink data of the previous BSR minus the transmitted uplink data and the discarded uplink data. In this case, the data that has been transmitted can be taken into account to ensure that the reported information is useful to the network device 120. In other words, this means that there must be a BS level difference between subtracting the transmitted data from the total cached uplink data and subtracting the transmitted data and discarded data from the total cached uplink data. For example, if 800 bytes are cached and a BSR with BS level 4 is sent, 100 bytes are sent, which results in BS level 3, and then 100 bytes are discarded that still result in BS level 3, and there may be no need to trigger a BSR.

[0065] Similarly, the trigger conditions described with respect to data discard also apply to the DC case. In the DC case, there are two schedulers, and one of the schedulers may not be aware of the change in the amount of remaining data to be sent due to the scheduling of another network device. In the DC case, one scheduler may not be aware of the decision of the other scheduler, and the BSR can be triggered to affect the latest BS level. For example, the above-mentioned triggering method associated with the threshold and the BS level difference can be used.

[0066] For example, if the terminal device 110 determines that the amount of uplink data sent by the other network devices is above a threshold, it may trigger a BSR. As another example, if the terminal device 110 determines that the ratio of the amount of uplink data sent by another network to the total amount of buffered uplink data to be sent by the network device is above a threshold, it may trigger a BSR. As another example, if the terminal device 110 determines that the amount of uplink data sent by another network is above a threshold and the amount of remaining uplink data is below another threshold, it may trigger a BSR.

[0067] For example, a BSR may be triggered if there is a difference between a third BS level and a fourth BS level, where the third BS level corresponds to the total cached uplink data of the previous BSR minus the uplink data sent by the network device, and the fourth BS level corresponds to the total cached uplink data of the previous BSR minus the uplink data sent by the network device and the uplink data sent by another network device.

[0068] In some example embodiments, the BSR may indicate the amount of uplink data discarded when the indicated BS level has not changed. This may be helpful in situations where discarding does not result in a change in the BS level according to the current BS table due to quantization.

[0069] In this way, by quickly providing the network device 120 with up-to-date information about possible drops at the terminal device 110, uplink resources may be reallocated to other terminal devices to increase network capacity and save UE power consumption.

[0070] Figure 3 300 illustrates a method implemented at a terminal device 110 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to Figure 1 The method 300 is described from the perspective of the terminal device 110 .

[0071] At block 310, the terminal device 110 discards the uplink data. At block 320, the terminal device 110 triggers a buffer status report based on the discarding of the uplink data.

[0072] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 110 triggers the buffer status report by: triggering the buffer status report based on the amount of discarded uplink data and at least one threshold. In some example embodiments, the at least one threshold is configured by the network device 120 per logical channel or per logical channel group. In some example embodiments, the at least one threshold comprises a first threshold, and the terminal device 110 triggers the buffer status report based on the amount of discarded uplink data and at least one threshold by: triggering the buffer status report based on determining that the amount of discarded uplink data is above the first threshold.

[0073] In some example embodiments, at least one threshold includes a second threshold, and the terminal device 110 triggers a cache status report based on the amount of discarded uplink data and the at least one threshold by: triggering a cache status report based on determining that a ratio of the amount of discarded uplink data to the total amount of cached uplink data before discarding is higher than the second threshold.

[0074] In some example embodiments, at least one threshold includes a third threshold, and the terminal device 110 triggers a cache status report based on the amount of discarded uplink data and the at least one threshold by: triggering a cache status report based on determining that a ratio of the amount of discarded uplink data to the amount of remaining uplink data after discarding is higher than the third threshold.

[0075] In some example embodiments, at least one threshold includes a fourth threshold and a fifth threshold, and wherein the terminal device 110 is caused to trigger a cache status report based on the amount of discarded uplink data and at least one threshold by: triggering a cache status report based on determining that the amount of discarded uplink data is higher than the fourth threshold and the amount of remaining uplink data after discarding is lower than the fifth threshold.

[0076] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 110 generates a logical channel identifier associated with the buffer status report to indicate that the buffer status report is triggered by discarding.

[0077] In some example embodiments, the buffer status report indicates at least one of: an amount of discarded uplink data; or an amount of remaining uplink data after discarding.

[0078] In some example embodiments, terminal device 110 is caused to trigger a cache status report by: triggering the cache status report based on determining that the cache status level of the cache status report is different from a previous cache status level of a previous cache status report sent to network device 120 .

[0079] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 110 is caused to trigger a cache status report by: triggering a cache status report based on determining that there is a difference between a first cache status level and a second cache status level, the first cache status level corresponding to the total cache uplink data of a previous cache status report minus the transmitted uplink data, and the second cache status level corresponding to the total cache uplink data of the previous cache status report minus the transmitted uplink data and the discarded uplink data.

[0080] In some example embodiments, the uplink data received by the terminal device 110 from the network device 120 includes an indication of one of the following items: data at a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, data at a radio link control (RLC) layer, or both data at the PDCP layer and data at the RLC layer.

[0081] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 110 sends the buffer status report to the network device 120 per logical channel or per logical channel group.

[0082] Figure 4 A flowchart 400 of a method implemented at a network device 120 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. For discussion purposes, reference will be made to Figure 1 Method 400 is described from the perspective of network device 120 .

[0083] At block 410, the network device 120 receives a buffer status report from the terminal device 110. At block 420, the network device 120 determines, based on the buffer status report, that the buffer status report is triggered by a discard of uplink data at the terminal device 110.

[0084] In some example embodiments, the network device 120 is caused to determine that the buffer status report is triggered by discarding by determining that a logical channel identifier associated with the buffer status report indicates that the buffer status report is triggered by discarding.

[0085] In some example embodiments, the buffer status report indicates at least one of: an amount of discarded uplink data; or an amount of remaining uplink data after discarding.

[0086] In some example embodiments, the uplink data sent by network device 120 to terminal device 110 includes an indication of one of the following items: data at a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, data at a radio link control (RLC) layer, or both data at the PDCP layer and data at the RLC layer.

[0087] In some example embodiments, the received buffer status report is per logical channel or per logical channel group.

[0088] In some example embodiments, the network device 120 sends at least one threshold to the terminal device 110 for the terminal device 110 to trigger a buffer status report based on the amount of discarded uplink data. In some example embodiments, the network device 120 configures at least one threshold per logical channel or per logical channel group.

[0089] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of executing method 300 (e.g., terminal device 110) may include a component for executing the corresponding steps of method 300. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module.

[0090] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for discarding uplink data; and means for triggering a buffer status report based on the discarding of the uplink data.

[0091] In some example embodiments, the means for triggering a buffer status report includes means for triggering a buffer status report based on the amount of discarded uplink data and at least one threshold. In some example embodiments, the at least one threshold is configured by the network device per logical channel or per logical channel group.

[0092] In some example embodiments, the at least one threshold includes a first threshold, and the component for triggering a cache status report based on the amount of discarded uplink data and the at least one threshold includes: a component for triggering a cache status report based on determining that the amount of discarded uplink data is higher than the first threshold.

[0093] In some example embodiments, at least one threshold includes a second threshold, and the component for triggering a cache status report based on the amount of discarded uplink data and the at least one threshold includes: a component for triggering a cache status report based on determining that a ratio of the amount of discarded uplink data to the total amount of cached uplink data before discarding is higher than the second threshold.

[0094] In some example embodiments, at least one threshold includes a third threshold, and the component for triggering a cache status report based on the amount of discarded uplink data and the at least one threshold includes: a component for triggering a cache status report based on determining that a ratio of the amount of discarded uplink data to the amount of remaining uplink data after discarding is higher than the third threshold.

[0095] In some example embodiments, at least one threshold includes a fourth threshold and a fifth threshold, and the component for triggering a cache status report based on the amount of discarded uplink data and the at least one threshold includes: a component for triggering a cache status report based on determining that the amount of discarded uplink data is higher than the fourth threshold and the amount of remaining uplink data after discarding is lower than the fifth threshold.

[0096] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for generating a logical channel identifier associated with the buffer status report to indicate that the buffer status report is triggered by discarding.

[0097] In some example embodiments, the buffer status report indicates at least one of: an amount of discarded uplink data; or an amount of remaining uplink data after discarding.

[0098] In some example embodiments, means for triggering a cache status report includes means for triggering the cache status report based on determining that a cache status level of the cache status report is different than a previous cache status level of a previous cache status report sent to the network device.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the component for triggering a cache status report includes: a component for triggering a cache status report based on determining that there is a difference between a first cache status level and a second cache status level, the first cache status level corresponding to the total cache uplink data of a previous cache status report minus the transmitted uplink data, and the second cache status level corresponding to the total cache uplink data of the previous cache status report minus the transmitted uplink data and the discarded uplink data.

[0100] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further includes means for receiving an indication from a network device that uplink data includes one of: data at a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, data at a radio link control (RLC) layer, or both data at the PDCP layer and data at the RLC layer.

[0101] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for sending a buffer status report to a network device per logical channel or per logical channel group.

[0102] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of method 300. In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause execution of the apparatus together with the at least one processor.

[0103] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing method 400 (e.g., network device 120) may include a component for performing the corresponding steps of method 400. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in a circuit system or a software module.

[0104] In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for receiving a buffer status report from a terminal device; and means for determining, based on the buffer status report, that the buffer status report is triggered by discarding of uplink data at the terminal device.

[0105] In some example embodiments, means for determining that the buffer status report is triggered by discarding includes means for determining that a logical channel identifier associated with the buffer status report indicates that the buffer status report is triggered by discarding.

[0106] In some example embodiments, the buffer status report indicates at least one of: an amount of discarded uplink data; or an amount of remaining uplink data after discarding.

[0107] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for sending to a terminal device an indication that uplink data comprises one of: data at a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, data at a radio link control (RLC) layer, or both data at the PDCP layer and data at the RLC layer.

[0108] In some example embodiments, the received buffer status report is per logical channel or per logical channel group.

[0109] In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for sending at least one threshold to the terminal device for the terminal device to trigger a buffer status report based on the amount of discarded uplink data. In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for configuring at least one threshold per logical channel or per logical channel group.

[0110] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing other steps in some embodiments of method 400. In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory, including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause execution of the apparatus together with the at least one processor.

[0111] Figure 5 The figure shows a simplified block diagram of a device 500 suitable for implementing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 500 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 1The terminal device 110 or the network device 120 is shown. As shown in the figure, the device 500 includes one or more processors 510, one or more memories 520 coupled to the processor 510, and one or more communication modules 540 coupled to the processor 510.

[0112] The communication module 540 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 540 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface required for communication with other network elements.

[0113] Processor 510 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network, and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 500 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time slaved to a clock synchronized with a main processor.

[0114] The memory 520 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 524, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 522 and other volatile memories that do not persist during power outages.

[0115] Computer program 530 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by associated processor 510. Program 530 may be stored in ROM 524. Processor 510 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 530 into RAM 522.

[0116] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 530, so that the device 500 may execute the reference Figures 2 to 4 Any process of the present disclosure discussed. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0117] In some example embodiments, the program 530 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 500 (such as in the memory 520) or in other storage devices accessible to the device 500. The device 500 may load the program 530 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 522 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc.

[0118] Figure 6 6 shows a block diagram of an example of a computer readable medium 600 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The computer readable medium 600 has a program 530 stored thereon. It should be noted that although the computer readable medium 600 is stored in Figure 6 Although depicted in the form of a CD or DVD, computer readable medium 600 may be in any other form suitable for carrying or storing program 530.

[0119] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented using hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented using hardware, while other aspects may be implemented using firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0120] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module, which are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the above reference Figure 3-Figure 4 Any of the methods described in . Typically, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functions of program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed. The machine executable instructions of program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0121] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device so that the program code is implemented when executed by the processor or controller in the flow chart and / or the block diagram. The program code can be executed completely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or completely on a remote machine or server.

[0122] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0123] The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or equipment, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media will include electrical connections with one or more wires, portable computer floppy disks, hard disks, random access memories (RAM), read-only memories (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. The term "non-transient" as used herein is a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal), not a limitation on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0124] In addition, although the operations are described in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown or in order or performing all the operations shown to obtain the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Certain features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0125] Although the disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features or acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as At least one memory stores instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to at least: discarding uplink data; and A buffer status report is triggered based on the discarding of the uplink data.

2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is configured to trigger the cache status report by: The buffer status report is triggered based on the amount of the discarded uplink data and at least one threshold.

3. The terminal device according to claim 2, wherein the at least one threshold is configured by the network device according to the logical channel or according to the logical channel group.

4. The terminal device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the at least one threshold comprises a first threshold, and wherein the terminal device is caused to trigger the buffer status report based on the amount of the discarded uplink data and the at least one threshold by: The buffer status report is triggered based on determining that the amount of the discarded uplink data is higher than the first threshold.

5. The terminal device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the at least one threshold comprises a second threshold, and wherein the terminal device is caused to trigger the buffer status report based on the amount of the discarded uplink data and the at least one threshold by: The buffer status report is triggered based on determining that a ratio of the amount of the discarded uplink data to a total amount of buffered uplink data before the discarding is higher than the second threshold.

6. The terminal device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the at least one threshold comprises a third threshold, and wherein the terminal device is caused to trigger the buffer status report based on the amount of the discarded uplink data and the at least one threshold by: The buffer status report is triggered based on determining that the ratio of the amount of the discarded uplink data to the amount of remaining uplink data after the discarding is higher than the third threshold.

7. The terminal device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the at least one threshold comprises a fourth threshold and a fifth threshold, and wherein the terminal device is caused to trigger the buffer status report based on the amount of the discarded uplink data and the at least one threshold by: The buffer status report is triggered based on determining that the amount of the discarded uplink data is higher than the fourth threshold and the amount of remaining uplink data after the discarding is lower than the fifth threshold.

8. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: A logical channel identifier is generated in association with the buffer status report to indicate that the buffer status report is triggered by the discarding.

9. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the cache status report indicates at least one of the following items: the amount of discarded uplink data; or The amount of remaining uplink data after said discarding.

10. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is configured to trigger the cache status report by: The buffer status report is triggered based on determining that the buffer status level of the buffer status report is different than a previous buffer status level of a previous buffer status report sent to the network device.

11. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the terminal device is configured to trigger the cache status report by: triggering the cache status report based on determining that there is a difference between the first cache status level and the second cache status level, The first buffer status level corresponds to the total buffered uplink data of a previous buffer status report minus the transmitted uplink data, and the second buffer status level corresponds to the total buffered uplink data of the previous buffer status report minus the transmitted uplink data and the discarded uplink data.

12. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: The uplink data received from the network device includes an indication of one of: data at a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, data at a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, or both the data at the PDCP layer and the data at the RLC layer.

13. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the terminal device is further configured to: The buffer status report is sent to the network device according to the logical channel or according to the logical channel group.

14. A network device comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to at least: receiving a cache status report from a terminal device; as well as Based on the buffer status report, it is determined that the buffer status report is triggered by discarding of uplink data at the terminal device.

15. The network device of claim 14, wherein the network device is caused to determine that the buffer status report is triggered by the discard by: Determining that a logical channel identifier associated with the buffer status report indicates that the buffer status report was triggered by the discarding.

16. The network device of claim 14, wherein the cache status report indicates at least one of the following: the amount of said uplink data discarded; or The amount of remaining uplink data after said discarding.

17. The network device according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the network device is further configured to: The uplink data sent to the terminal device includes an indication of one of the following items: data at a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, data at a radio link control (RLC) layer, or both the data at the PDCP layer and the data at the RLC layer.

18. The network device according to any one of claims 14 to 17, wherein the received buffer status report is received by logical channel or by logical channel group.

19. The network device according to any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein the network device is further configured to: At least one threshold is sent to the terminal device for the terminal device to trigger the buffer status report based on the amount of the discarded uplink data.

20. The network device of claim 19, wherein the network device is further caused to: The at least one threshold is configured per logical channel or per logical channel group.

21. A method comprising: discarding uplink data at the terminal device; as well as A buffer status report is triggered based on the discarding of the uplink data.

22. A method comprising: receiving, at the network device, a cache status report from the terminal device; as well as Based on the buffer status report, it is determined that the buffer status report is triggered by discarding of uplink data at the terminal device.

23. An apparatus comprising: means for discarding uplink data at a terminal device; as well as Means for triggering a buffer status report based on the discarding of the uplink data.

24. An apparatus comprising: means for receiving, at the network device, a buffer status report from the terminal device; as well as Means for determining, based on the buffer status report, that the buffer status report is triggered by discarding of uplink data at the terminal device.

25. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to at least perform the method according to claim 23 or 24.

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